Touring Utah's Parks

[Carla]

I've been wanting to ride in Utah for a long time now. Last month I flew from San Francisco to Atlanta and back, and from my window seat viewed a tantalizing route -- a canyon that stretched for miles and miles, a chocolate brown streak in a golden desert -- might that have been Canyonlands? I thought I'd like to find a nice motorcycling route there, enjoy the ride, then park the bike, go on a hike for a couple days/nights, maybe rent a mountain bike, then get back on the bike, ride some more, rinse, repeat...

Ara & Spirit's blog came to my attention (from the Internet Sidecar Owners Klub (http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SCT/)group). Ara's driving, Spirit's enjoying the view from the sidecar, tongue hanging out of mouth, sport goggles fashionably skewed. They're off-roading it and the blog has great words, photos, and maps, that are making me very, very envious. I know I know I know a trip to Utah is in my future.

And now Dale (from the same group) says that there's a "Red Rock Rendezvous" in Panguitch, UT, from the 14-17 June. It's put on by the Utah BMW group (http://www.beehive-beemers.org/).

Tina Lopez's story Moab Motorcycle Touring (http://openroad.tv/index.php?categoryid=16&p25_id=182) is just GREAT! Check out the photos.

Enjoy Ara's dispatches, make your goal the Red Rock Rendezvous, explore Tina's Mohab report, and report back!

[canyonchaser]

There are some absolutely wonderful roads in Utah - but they may not be where you would expect (depending on what you are looking for in motorcycle roads).

My dad loves the long, lonesome highways, but those drive me batty. I like the twists and turns - the tighter and twistier the better - combined with epic scenery. (is twistier a real word?)

Anyway, Moab doesn't really have a whole lot to offer for great riding unless you don't mind going 30 mph behind camper vans and RV's through national parks, but look up such roads as Highway 12 between Torrey and Escalante - I swear its where they filmed the Coyote and RoadRunner Cartoons. Its that epic!

http://www.canyonchasers.net/travel/2001/images/mem01_11.jpg

Plus there are lots more. We do a ride every memorial day where we ride for three days and only go straight for about 40 miles.

dp

[Carla]

Canyonchaser, thanks for the tip on Highway 12 between Torrey and Escalante and the great photo. I'll mark my map! LOL, do you really see roadrunners? I think I might have seen them in Texas and Arizona -- fast little suckers the color of the earth so I never was sure. Hey, your Canyon Chasers Motorcycle Sport Touring (http://www.canyonchasers.net/) site is just great! I don't think I could keep up with you all just now on the funny old bikes I'm riding these days. (Maybe I will get that Guzzi Breva, after all.) I love the passage from your Vernal ride (http://www.canyonchasers.net/travel/2005/vernal.php), "Only a few RV's stood between us and an unhindered ride to the top, but they were easily surpassed by our superior power to weight ratio and exuberance." We can relate!

[Mark Hammond]

Don’t stop at Escalante – keep riding east on Route 24 into Capitol Reef National Monument! I deemed this the best motorcycling road in America when I first found it in 1999, and still I consider it among the nation’s finest. The tarmac was unblemished and sure, and I tore along a river valley graced by low canyon walls with impunity. It was September. The kids were back in school, and traffic was light. It was absolutely marvelous.

I like Moab a lot. There’s a little commercial campsite in town with everything you need within walking distance, and under-the-stars camping is available in Arches Nat’l Park and elsewhere. The stunning rock formations in Arches make it worth the touristy tedium. Getting in or out of Moab, Route 128 linking to I-70 is a beaut. Heading south, it starts as narrow, pitted tarmac and as it nears Arches opens up into splendid canyon. I took this pic there in September 2006. That's my '84 Honda V65 Sabre.

<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a27/RideFar/WesternStatesTour143.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

Bryce and Zion are of course obligatory. I did some riding in the north, too, Routes 16 and 36 down to Ogden and Salt Lake City. Not bad (is any ride “bad?”) but it’s like Colorado on a smaller scale. Traffic was fairly heavy.

It’s the spectacular canyonlands and low traffic density in the south that make Utah a motorcycling mecca, IMHO.

Enjoy the ride, Carla!

Finally, a caveat: Utah is no paradise for the proverbial “beer drinker with a motorcycling problem.” Beer is watered down by state law, and bars are few and far between, comparatively. Bring some Belfast with you … ;)

[Carla]

Any excuse to keep riding is a good excuse, but a road that's deemed by such an experienced world traveler (http://ridefar.typepad.com/) as one of America's best motorcycling roads is a fantastic reason to keep going, going, going. Thank you for the picture. ENTICING to see a bike loaded fully for touring.
And thanks for the tip re the beer. I'll stop by the grocery store and stock up for when I land at camp. My 'natural' solution to ibuprofin. :)
Carla

[canyonchaser]

Finally, a caveat: Utah is no paradise for the proverbial “beer drinker with a motorcycling problem.” Beer is watered down by state law, and bars are few and far between, comparatively. Bring some Belfast with you … ;)

Not necessarily. There is a loophole. Utah has alcohol by weight and alcohol by volume. If you drink any major brand of brew, then Yes it does have less alcohol - but if you stick to any of Utahs local suds, its just as potent! And we have some fine local beers.

dp