9/5/11 (Monday)
Daily mileage: 192 miles
Overall average: 30 mph
At 7am I woke up and went over to the judds camp. They had invited the prior night to a breakfast of eggs sausage and pancaked. As the guys were loading up to go on the trail ride tyson asked if I wanted to take a spin around the campground on brents crf450r and i did. Really fun bike with tons of torque.
Malcolm warming up by the fire
Breck representin'
Tyson's getting pumped for the days ride
Loader up
Creek by the Marveeso Campground
As they set off I wished them well and snapped a picture.
Decided to catch up on reporting for yesterday, so i started a fire, since it was still early and chilly out. Thanks to a couple of inmates, I now know how to start a fire in theory. On the other hand, I needed to be efficient so I busted out the fuel bottle and wallah instant fire. After a couple of hours of writing and then packing, i set off for Moab.
The ride today's in western Colorado was pretty straightforward with well maintained gravel roads and no mountain passes.
Love Sinclair the Brontosaurus
As i roll into Utah red rocks start to appear though I could see mountain in the backgound.
The sky was big and beautiful and fluffy clouds lined the sky before me.
There was a section of road that was gated and had a sign that said there might be nuclear fallout and to be careful. Not sure what that was about bit I went around the gate.
As I ride on I get closer to the manti lasal state forest and the mountain that before was a blip on the horizon. Going up the mountain was fun as there was some nice atv rocky and rough double tracks that wind their way around the mountain top. Again very trailride like.
Cool alien trees again
At this point it was getting very dark as there were black clouds that had begun to envelope the mountaintop. When I reach the highest point on the other side of the mountain, I could see thundercloud maybe 15 or 20 miles away coming my direction.
I buckled down, zipped up my vents, put on my balaclava and continued on. Eventually I did hit some rain and the klim suit dis it's job. The rain wasn't coming down that hard so guess I was lucky.
In Moab I check into the sleep inn. Since I had arrived Moab at 5:30 I went to the car wash and to oreilly for motor oil to prep for the maintenance that was to take place tomorrow. I like working on a clean bike so the Powerwash was a welcome service. Planning on hitting up Moab powersports for a front tire early tomorrow morning.
After doing my chores, I went to the Moab diner. Their signature green chile was what caught my eye. Stuffed myself silly and then went back to the hotel to wind down. *While I was frolicking in the pool and and soaking in the hottub, my klim suit and other clothes was spinning in a washer cleaning off the the sampling of dirt and sweat from the last week and a half.
Back in my room I went to get my computer to post yesterday's report and to watch the steel city mx nationals I discover that the screen was cracked. I think it must've been from placing it upside down in duffel. My tools are below so there must've been a pressure point that causes the screen to crack. Oh well. To those thinking about carrying a computer. Either get some sort of hard shell over case, or get a panasonic toughbook. I think I will invest in one of those when I get back to NY. The computer is covered by Amex so no worries. Just stinks because now. I can't load up the Nevada and oregon maps. These are the two states that are notoriously hard to navigate through. Helmet cam will have to be put on hold which is ok. I don't think it's really a necessity for this trip after having experienced using it.
I have big enough card on my panasonic to last me the whole trip so no worries there. My iPhone is operational so I can still capture my reporting and makes simple post. I just can't upload all the associated pictures.
I will survive.