Southern Utah by GSXR - A 3-day trip

Hi guys,

This is my first ride report and had a great time. Lets get the ball rolling with this little promotional poster...




Lets start by saying that Idaho winters are long. They are long and they are cold. This most recent one has been longer and colder than most. The hibernation was spent steeped in the writings of Edward Abbey and between pages and frequent sips of Scotch whisky a trip plan was hatched. I promised myself that as soon as the snow melted, and 60 degree days were on the horizon, I would take a jaunt into Abbey land. For those not acquainted with the writings of Abbey, he was a conservationist and spent most of his time in isolation contemplating the red rock deserts of southwest Utah and Arizona. His writings are thought provoking and controversial and his tone acerbic. Regardless of ones view point of wilderness preservation, his books paint a pretty good portrayal of the American desert. A number of years ago I had ridden through Monument Valley with my good friend (and cousin) and the solitude of the desert had a lasting impact on me. This time the scribe was drawing me back. I wanted to see it again. I would camp and ride. The desert was calling me for 3 days of company.

Don’t expect any daunting off road excursions, my friends, this will be a ‘Road Warrior’ trip and the true adventure purists must wait until another day for rocks and single track. The bike is my ‘06 GSXR 600 so the route would be strictly blacktop. I concede that a hyper sports bike is a rather sharp tool for the task at hand but the Gixxer is my only steed at present. It’s my commuter, my track day tool and now my tourer. Ibuprofen will take care of the wrist and neck pain….

Bike preparation was fairly simple - oil and filter change, lower the footpegs to their lowest setting and mount some new rubber on the back. A couple of nights spent in the 'Man Castle' got the scoot trip ready.




3 days on the road meant that packing must be conservative and minimal. I followed the basic packing concept of world bike traveler Ted Simon (re: Jupiter’s Travels) and split my packaging by department: Office, Wardrobe, Kitchen, and Bedroom. On the trip I found that this concept worked quite well and made unpacking and repacking a pretty easy affair. See below.


Stacked and packed.

Do these bags make my ass look big?

A close up of the office / humidor...


The planned route would take me approx 1200+ miles. (subject to change as my whim dictates..)

Day 1: Aberdeen, ID to Capitol Reef National Park
Day 2: Capitol Reef National Park to Moab (via Bullfrog / Halls Crossing)
Day 3: Moab back to Idaho.

Indeed. Where's the advil and icy hot?

thistle77,

Hey don't forget a stop at "Back of Beyond" while in Moab. It's the brick and mortar book-stop for Edward Abbey and Neil Pert. Southern Utah is great. I haven't been there since '04 but I'm headed back this year. BTW, that "Chasing Che" you have stashed in your bag is a pretty good read.

Ride Safe, JB2

I left Aberdeen on a brisk and chilly Thursday morning. The sky was a brilliant blue. Said my goodbyes and hit the road.


Chasing shadows.

The weather was quite a bit colder than I anticipated and I scolded myself for not wearing an extra fleece under my leather jacket. The Landsend thermal underwear was not cutting it. I continued on (shivering) and joined the slab (I-15).

Stopped for my first fill up in Downey, ID




There is still a lot of slab to cover until I intersect with Hwy 89 at Nephi. I consoled my self by plugging in my i-Pod and listening to Bruce Springsteen. Watched the world go by. Malad,Tremonton,Brigham City, Ogden, Layton. And, Farmington, Bountiful (now there's an interesting name) and Salt Lake and Sandy. The world goes by.

JB2,

Yep. The 'Back of Beyond' book store is still there. It turned out to be a bit of an Abbey Shrine. They have a section at the back of the store with a great collection of rare books. A first Edition of "Jonathon Troy" for a paltry $2300 if you so desire... I did'nt have the money, so I picked up "Adventures with Ed" for $20

RC

I finally exited the slab at Nephi and joined Hwy 89 south. The temperature had increased slightly and the shivers were kept a bay for the meantime. I got a shot of the bike after a fuel stop in Sandy. She's a beatiful ride and I was loving her every minute. Who says you need an armchair to tour...



Finally Hwy 89






Despite the weather warming up, I didn't like the look of the snow on these upper elevations. I would have two summits to cross before dropping into the canyon lands and I knew they would be cold.

Keep pressing on.



I stopped for another fuel stop in Loa. They had a big dinosaur out front and I could'nt resist taking a picture of my bike with this piece of commercial tat as a foreground.

It was about 5:30pm and I was reaching my limit for one day of riding. I had covered about 450 miles today and stopped in Torrey, UT filled up on 91 Octane and a Red Bull.

I asked the girl behind the counter if there was an entry fee to get into Capitol Reef Nat'l Park.

Conversation kind of went like this:

ME: "Do you know if there is an entry fee to get into the park?"
HER: "An entry fee to get into the bar???!!"

Clearly my Scottish accent was being a bit of a barrier here.

Take 2
ME: "No, no. The park. Is there an entry fee to get in the park?"
HER: "Oh! I thought you said 'bar'" There was no bar. "I dunno, never been there"
ME: A little incredulous "But it's only 10 miles that way" (pointing)
HER: "Nope, never been there"

I thanked her kindly for her time and for her extensive knowledge of her surroundings and continued on my way.

There was no entry fee to get into the park.



Finally, this is what I had come to see. I slowed to the obligatory 50 MPH and surveyed, with wonder, at the beauty of my surroundings.

And took photographs...


And more...


and more...



The 'Fluted Wall'

I finally reached Fruita (campsite within CRNP) and set up my camp for the evening. Shelter first. Food second.

This was a great campsite and I would reccommend it to any riders heading that way. For a mere $10 I had a site, and full access to toilets, fresh water, pay phone etc.



Casa 'Eureka Apex'


Considering how early it was in the season, I was surprised that the campsite was as busy. Both loops A and B were full, and C was filling up. All around me there were RV's and I was amazed at the sheer volume of 'stuff' that they were packing. Every amienity known to man was packed in these mobile houses. I felt smug in the fact of my own reliance. My basic neccessities were packed into bags equivalent to, say, that of a large back pack.

I tried to ignore the rich smells of T-Bone steaks cooking nearby and settled for this...


Washed down with this...


I finished up my meager offering and settled down at the bench to fill out my journal with a little night cap... and a Perdomo Lot 23...


Bedded down for the night and was satisfied with my first day of travel. 479 miles on a Gixxer.

I must admit that I woke up this morning feeling decidedly groggy. Last evenings Johnnie Walker was not sitting well.

I boiled some water for a cup of coffee and dismantled my tent. By the time I was packed, my coffee was tepid at best. I choked it down and hit the road. My belly rumbling.



Inside this helmet there is a collosal headache...



This morning I'm heading to Hanksville, UT and then heading south to Bullfrog to catch the ferry across Lake Powell. I planned on stopping in H/ville for breakfast. Meantime my belly was as empty as the terrain around me.




I finally reached Hanksville and was rewarded with a great breakfast at the curiously named 'Blondies Restaurant'




I was'nt disappointed. This meal hit the spot.

Another fill up for the bike after breakfast and then continued south on Hwy 95 towards Bull Frog. The building to the gas station was hollowed into the side of the cliff. I thought that was pretty neat.


I kept heading south deep into Abbey land.



The roads were long and devoid of law enforcement... Miles were just rolling by...

i just read Desert Solitaire and The Monkeywrench Gang for the first time. Great writing!!

jealous of your trip, here in dixieland...

thanks for the RR!!

nick

great to see a fellow sportbiker out there touring.. Great write up!!

Looks like you had a great trip! I wouldn't mind stoppin at Blondie's for some breakfast!

You should have asked the girl at the gas station if she knew where her "Wee sleekit coorin timorous beastie"was!!!

Albert theturtleshead

Ha, ha, ha. I'm not sure if even 95% of this forum would get that one!

More pics coming.

Nice pics and write up!
What kind of rubber did you
have on the bike and how would
you rate them for a road trip? Thanks.

After a great ride down Hwy 276 - long radius corners and a good road surface. I finally made it to Bullfrog.

It was exactly 12 noon and the next ferry over to Halls Crossing was at 1pm.

This left enough time for a nap, and I basked in the warm sun.

It was so pleasant. I did'nt want to leave.

I was running Bridgestone Battlax BT014's (front and rear). The front held up really well, the back got a little flat spot and was starting to shed some rubber especially when riding on the slab. Overall I would rate them pretty high. A good tire.