Exploring America & Canada on a Tiger 800xc

3,885 miles into an America & Canada trip, about time I started posting ride reports... First timer!

I don't quite have everything together yet to do a proper report on the first leg (2,539 miles from Kelowna BC to San Diego) so I will start with leg 2, the ride around Arizona.

(Edit: Pacific Coast posts start page 3, post #54)
(Edit: The Southwest posts page 6, post #104)

Back story: I work 2 weeks straight in the Canadian arctic at a diamond mine and then have 2 full weeks off. So my girlfriend and I decided to use these two-week periods to ride around the Continent on my Triumph Tiger 800xc. We made it from Kelowna BC down to San Diego in September to beat the winter, and will be in the Southern states until springtime. At that point we plan to ride up the East coast all the way to Newfoundland, and then back across to BC.



The bike loaded up and ready to depart San Diego! We have camped about 1/3 of the nights so far.



Hailey and I!

That's a great plan you have, so just keep posting.

How was it been riding the tiger with a passenger?

Actually, that's a question I too would love to here your thoughts on. It's a bike I've considered for our pending RTW trip starting in 18 months time. I also agree, that's a great plan. Work and travel, that is.

Graeme.

Our trip started near the San Diego airport at Hailey's sister's apartment. First day we planned to cross through California, taking a more scenic route and avoiding interstates like the plague.



The first 15 miles or so we rode North up Highway 163 (puke), which we then exited off onto Pomerado road into the Scripps Poway Parkway. This put us onto Highway 67 which we road to Ramona. It was rolling hills and ranches, light traffic and some very dry patches of vegetation, quite a relaxing start to the trip really. At this point we turned off to Highway 78 and headed for Santa Ysabel. Where we met up with what looked like a car club taking their classics out for a Sunday drive. Got stuck in the middle of this group so it slowed us a bit but it was cool seeing these old shiny cars lined up as far as you could see ahead and behind. Got old after a few miles though so I was glad to head north up Highway 79 and leave them behind.

Mostly the same type of scenery from here on, we went through Warner Springs and then started getting hungry and looking out for a place to eat lunch. A few miles before Aquanga we spotted the County Line BBQ & Café and pulled in. It was a cool looking place in the middle of nowhere, with average food and very nice people running it (Yelp Review).





After lunch we turned off onto the 371 to meet up with Highway 74. This route was completely empty I don't remember seeing a single other vehicle on the road for about 30 miles. Turning onto Highway 74 also put us into the Santa Rosa-San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (what a mouthful). The ride got real interesting here as we started climbing, getting some good elevation and some colder weather. This point was when I regretted not having anything under my riding pants. But the nice smooth curves and the view made it bearable.


Crossing over the hills


Coming down the other side! Before we stopped at the visitor's center for some national monument stamps. It was also nice to stretch our legs and warm up at the lower elevation.

Palm Desert seemed like a pretty strange city to ride through after all the miles of dry dead parched hills. It looked a bit too high class for my blood! We just cruised right through admiring all the green lawns, with a stop for gas on the far side just past Indio. And then onto the I-10 (Ughhhh). It was short lived and then we reached the Cottonwood Springs Road Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park!





We were pretty excited to be riding into this well-known park, although it was a bit later than we had expected. The sun was just about skimming the mountains when we started on the 35 mile trip to the Jumbo Rock Campground (Yelp Review) where we planned to camp for the night. It was getting COLD very quick, but damn it was a beautiful sky, very purple and red right over the mountains.



We had the road to ourselves while traversing the park and we really soaked it all in, pulling up to our campsite just as the sun was setting. We set up quick and had some leftover pizza and granola bars for dinner. After the sun went down I layered up and set up my camera outside to take a crack at some star photos. Unfortunately I haven't quite mastered this skill yet and they came out pretty terrible. Next time!



Final Mileage for the day: 211 mi.

It's been great for us so far! Once I had the suspension set properly it made a huge difference and its a real smooth ride.That being said, I'm relatively new at riding with a passenger and we haven't spent much time 2 up on anything unpaved.

The fact that we are doing this trip in sections makes how we are packed a little more forgiving, but I'm sure with a good strategy you would be able to pack up for two, long term, no problem.

I'm in, all ears.

I'm still at n00b level zero so have to wait for my next post to get moderated!...

We climbed out of the tent as the sun rose and had a delicious breakfast of granola bars and campstove coffee. During this gourmet meal, we enjoyed the sun coming over the rocks and warmed our bodies back up to a reasonable temperature.





Hailey wandered off and snapped a lucky shot of a coyote.



After breaking down camp and packing up the tiger again, we took a drive down to the end of the campsite to see all the nice spots we missed out on because we had arrived so late. The campsite we chose in the fading dusk light was decent, but next time I would choose a site that got some morning sun.



Skull Rock was about a mile down the road, so on our way out of the park we pulled over and wandered around among the boulders.



After the stop, we rode north towards Twentynine Palms and the Joshua Tree Oasis. We had to stop by the visitors center to get a stamp in Hailey's national park passport book, of course. From there we started driving east and saw the sign saying 100 miles until next service - so we made a quick U-turn and filled up before starting across the desert.



This was the start of a fantastic cross desert trek - alone, speeding dead straight or in long lazy curves of clear asphalt, between mountains and past lonely desert shacks.



About halfway between Twentynine Palms and Parker, we pulled over at this pole decked out with signs pointing to towns, restaurants, bars and who knows what else.









While we were there a fellow adventure rider pulled up wondering which direction to the closest gas station. He was heading back north after taking his bike all the way from San Francisco down around the Baja peninsula and back up through inland Mexico! So Jealous.

The closest fuel was at the junction of highway 62 and 95, a few miles before Parker where we were headed, so we followed him in case we had to siphon a half gallon if he ran out. I would hate to run out of fuel somewhere like this!



Our buddy made it with just fumes, I'm sure, and we waved and continued on our way, pulling into Parker AZ (under this nifty bridge) and stopped at the fanciest restaurant in town, Big Bellie Subs.



From Parker we headed up to Lake Havasu City where we stopped for some supplies, batteries, a small lantern, earplugs and some dehydrated meals in case we camped again. We also made a wrong turn and unintentionally drove over the London Bridge, yeah THAT one.



Heading towards the I-40 from Lake Havasu City, we could see some retirement communities nestled in the small hills on the lake shore. I can see why people come down here for the winter.





Look a locomotive! (Hailey will try to deny it, but I have the power to make trains honk their horns as we pass them by)

We jumped on the I-40 West for a short while, and turned off towards Topock for the longest uninterrupted section of Route 66 in America!









I loved the route 66 signs painted on the highway. This road has some serious history and fantastic scenery, especially in the mountains before Oatman.



Wow, Oatman was cool! I wish we had ended up here for the night. This place really struck me as a wild wild west town that hasn't changed much.



Saloons and wooden walkways lining the streets.



And here we have the mayor of the town... Yep just wild Burros (donkeys essentially) roaming the streets without a care in the world. They think they run the place.

After Oatman the rode got very windy and slow, but it was fun climbing the hills and really leaning into the curves.



The road was definitely not the smoothest, and had a fair number of gravel patches just to keep you on your toes. It was 30 miles from Oatman to Kingman, our destination for the night, and when we pulled into town we spotted this strange gas station.



Canada Mart? What!?



We checked into the El Travatore Motel, which claims to have the worlds largest route 66 mural, how oddly specific... It also boasts Hollywood theme rooms. We ended up in the John Wayne room, which consisted of 3 posters of John Wayne, and a whole bunch of drafty cracks in the doors and windows - it took forever to warm the room up!



We walked down the street to the Dambar & Steak House for dinner and a few beers, then called it a night.



I also spotted this amazingly vintage poster advertising the 1997 Calgary Stampede. So out of place.

Final Mileage for the day: 243 mi.

While we wait for my second post to be moderated... here is a video Hailey made from our Pacific Coast trip!

Thanks! I was really curious at what point I would get free reign.

Awesome, I rode across the SF Bridge in July, it was awesome. You see it in movies all your life, but to be there in the moment was amazing. Thanks for sharing the ride report, the video was great.

I used awesome twice in one sentence...that's...well awesome. LOL

Thanks! Yeah it was awesome riding over the golden gate on such a beautiful sunny day, especially with minimal traffic. More posts to come! Trying to get them out day by day until I catch up, then in February I'll be writing them live as I go from near Phoenix to New Orleans.

The next stop on our trip was the Grand Canyon! Neither of us had been there before so we were pretty excited for it. Before leaving Kingman we fueled up with breakfast at a classic american diner, The Roadrunner Cafe.





After breakfast we stopped at the Route 66 museum, located in the Historic Kingman Powerhouse. Lots of great info here! Sounds like traveling across the country back in the day was just the absolute worst, and then absolute best during the heyday of cruisin' Route 66.



Back on the road, we continued north along the old route 66, passing run down houses, old and boarded up stores, deserted gas stations and whole towns that were mostly deserted when the interstates were built.



Going on a raving tip from the clerk at the museum, we stopped for lunch at the Diamond Creek Restaurant in Peach Springs on the Haulapai Indian reservation. Not exactly the best tip I have ever received.. Our time on this historic highway came to an end at Seligman where we sacrificed a bit of our day on the I-40 to make it to the Grand Canyon before dark.



After about 40 miles on the dreaded I-40, we took a detour through Williams (This isn't necessary if you are heading to the Grand Canyon - the highway runs parallel and you can take the Grand Canyon exit north after the town). It's a pretty cool looking town, definitely a tourist destination for travelers heading to the canyon and those traveling Route 66. We passed by a bunch of restaurants I would have preferred over Diamond Creek.



After Williams we turned North onto Highway 64 (which then turned joined up with the 180) for a 59 mile sprint to our final destination! We knew it was going to be cold at night, and as we got closer we could feel the temperature dropping. I was really happy to have heated grips at this point. The road dove over rolling hills with trees and brush on either side as we climbed towards the canyon rim.



Pulling through Tusayan we stopped at the Grand Canyon Imax theater with the intention of stopping to watch the film "Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets", but it was PACKED with tourists so we continued on to the park. We got to the Grand Canyon Village by late afternoon and parked at the main visitors center. As usual we went inside and looked through everything before getting another National Park stamp for Hailey. From there we walked out to the rim and took a few photos on the busy overlook.









It was getting close to sunset so we went and checked into our room at The Maswik Lodge. After quick showers we strolled over to the Bright Angel Trailhead, which is one of the main trails (especially for mule trains) down into the bottom of the canyon. We ventured about half a km along the trail and got some nice photos as the colours of the sky changed to purple and red.





For dinner we decided on The Arizona Room. The Bright Angel restaurant seemed too family oriented and the El Tovar up the hill sounded fancy and it was mentioned we would probably need to make reservations. The Arizona Room has a spectacular canyon view so we watched the last light of day fade into shadows with a bottle of Grand Canyon wine.

After dinner we went over to the Bright Angel Lounge for some more drinks and live music. Not a bad place to stop in for a couple after a day of riding and sightseeing!

We left half drunk and I peed into the Grand Canyon on the walk back to the lodge. So Satisfying.

Final Mileage for the day: 195.6 mi.

Good start, looking forward to the next installment. Ride safe.

The morning started with a stroll back to the Bright Angel Trailhead at the canyon rim. We thought there would be nicer views with the morning light vs. dusk. Turns out we were right! While we didn't make it too far down the trail into the canyon, we got some nice shots from one of the first main switchbacks. This was right after a warning sign for the dangerous overlook, that I of course walked out to..






To keep it quick for breakfast we stopped at the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria and then hit the road.

We started heading East and made a few stops at the different lookouts along the way out of the National Park, along with a couple high speed drivebys on the side of the road when no cars were parked. The views were incredible!



We took a little longer to stop at the desert view lookout because it had another visitor’s center and new national park passport stamp for Hailey, also a different view, and a cool stone tower.



While at Desert View, I tried to call ahead to Mountain Motorrad in Flagstaff (previously Eurogeek Motorsport to set up a service when we rode through (the pesky gear symbol showed up for my 6,000 mile). Unfortunately they were a small shop busy finishing off all their current repairs before a holiday vacation, so they couldn’t fit me in. They were extremely friendly however, recommending a place in Scottsdale, and gave us a great tip on a side route to take when we road south from Page.





We continued on Highway 64 towards Cameron, and the canyon slowly shrunk into the distance. Now and then we could see the rim. There was also about 10,000 native jewelry roadside shops.



We could definitely tell the temperature was dropping at this point. I was glad to have the thermal layer in my Olympia jacket. We quickly came up to Cameron, stopped for gas and then headed North, passing by a cool bridge.





It was another day of clear sunny skies as we went straight North. At The Gap Trading Post we had to turn on to the 89T. This is the new route to Page after the 89 was blocked by a landslide in early 2013. This detour cut our plans to head to Vermillion cliffs for a night. The extra 100 miles of riding didn't really interest us, especially considering the cold this far north at the Utah border. Will have to come back South in the summer to see them! (and try to get a permit to see The Wave)

The ride from The Gap to Page is rolling desert hills and the odd rock formation turning brighter orange and red as we approached Page. I couldn’t believe how few people we saw on this entire trip, the highways were mostly empty and we cruised through the chilly desert on our own.




We made it to Page and checked into our accomodations, the Red Rocks Motel around 2 pm. After getting some awesome tips from the owner, we headed over for a late lunch at the Dam Bar & Grille.

We got back on the bike in the evening and set off to Horseshoe Bend for sunset. This was one of the highlights of this trip. We parked in a red dirt lot and hiked 1/4 mile or so in the sand to the edge of the viewpoint. Wow! Loved this view.











What a spectacular place! We got back on the bike just before the light was totally gone for the day, and headed back to the Red Rock Motel for some leftover pizza.





Final Mileage for the day: 146.6 mi.

You guys are doing it right.
I meet so many guys working that kind of shift work in the mines of Northern Ontario, and think if I were in that position I'd just be gallivanting around the country with my free time. Good job on you for actually doing it.

You two are hitting some really scenic areas!


Nice ride report for sure.