Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle trip to Utah’

The Ride So Nice We Did It Twice

Thursday, June 11th, 2026


This stretch through the slickrock was really the only place I could confidently say I recognized from the day before.

I was skeptical of Tom’s route planning for this 5-day RMMRC Utah ride when I saw that he had us backtracking on Day Three every mile we had ridden on Day Two plus some. And really, if that was what we did it would have been less than wonderful, although only to an extent.

But we pulled out a map and put our heads together and came up with a somewhat different route where we backtracked on the really good part but took a different route rather than the less interesting part.

The thing was, we were going over one of the very best roads in Utah on Day Two and you know you’ve heard it said that a road looks completely different going the other way. Well, it’s true. We went back through all this terrific country and if we had ridden it yesterday you could have fooled me.

So we had left Green River and ridden to where Utah 24 runs south to Hanksville, then followed 24 west to Torrey. It was the part from Torrey that was fabulous. Of course doing it the other direction would be fabulous, too. And it was. But rather than turn east to Hanksville we went west, up to Loa, and then took Utah 72 over Hogan Pass and then down to I-70 on the other side.

This was a very nice road that I had ridden last year coming home from the RMMRC trip where I got sick and had to abandon the trip. And I had forgotten that all the way up and down over that pass it was just sweeper after sweeper. Perfect motorcycle road, except that this year there were several sections interlaced with masses of pretty fresh tar snakes. It wasn’t hot, so they weren’t soft and oozy but I know I still slipped a couple times and they made the ride incredibly bumpy. Fortunately it was just sections, not the entire stretch of road.

Of course, that gave us even more of I-70 to ride but this particular stretch is actually pretty scenic. One of the best places to stop–only available if you are eastbound–is the Spotted Wolf Canyon View Area. And we did stop. Plus, we only had to go a few miles east past Green River to reach Crescent Junction, where we turned south on US 191 to Moab. The road south to Moab was not anywhere near as busy as it could have been so that part of the ride was nice and went quickly.

And then Moab. I remember when this was a small town. We used to take camping trips over there, to Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. That was 40 years ago. I don’t think there’s a single commercial building in Moab that was there 40 years ago that is still standing. I miss the old Moab.

Anyway, it wasn’t as crowded as I expected so I guess it was OK staying there. I generally avoid Moab these days.

And tomorrow we’re heading back into Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you try to look like a biker.

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No One To Blame But Me

Monday, June 8th, 2026


On the Utah trip.

I was undecided before we took off on this recent RMMRC Utah trip whether to wear my leather jacket or the mesh. I figured it could be hot in Utah but first we had to get there and that meant the Colorado high country. So I decided to call Tom, who was the organizer of this trip, and ask him what he thought.

Tom said he was wearing his mesh jacket. I was still a bit skeptical but decided that was the way I would go.

What a bad decision. Look at it this way. It’s still spring. Utah gets warm sooner than Colorado but it’s still spring. Don’t dress for summer in Utah, and especially in Colorado, if it’s not summer. And sure, I followed Tom’s suggestion, but the decision was all still mine so I don’t blame him. Heck, I know for a fact that he got cold, too.

On the day we left it was chilly in the early morning. That should have been my first warning heading out to the meet-up spot that I should put on my electric vest before heading up the hill, just to be safe. Did I do that? No. Did it get cold going up? You bet. By the time we reached the tunnel my fingertips were going numb and I was truly cold. Then, as I noted before, I knew I’d never get warm at least until we reached Vail.

When we stopped for lunch in West Glenwood Springs I finally put on my electric vest and plugged that baby in. That, and lower elevation, finally got me warm. So the next day, heading out from Green River, Utah, with a good wind blowing already, I had the sense to start the day with the vest on and plugged in. Man, did I need it. But even still, some of the high spots we passed it was so cold–and this was Utah–that again my fingertips were going numb. But thank goodness for the vest.

The third day I was finally really getting the idea. I wore everything from the day before and also an extra-warmth base-layer pair of long underwear. It was still cold but I now had on everything other than my rain suit that could keep me warm. Actually, putting on the rain suit would have been a good idea because it would have blocked the wind and it was really the cold wind that made the most difference. But on this day we also went lower than any other part of the trip and it actually got hot. I did not object.

The fourth day I expected it to finally get a bit warmer so I left off the base-layer longies and that would have been OK except that in a somewhat confused start to the day’s ride I managed to not have my vest plugged in or even zipped up. I knew there was no way I could safely plug that thing in while moving, but I tried anyway. No way. Better alive and cold than dead. When we finally made a stop I made darn sure to get that thing plugged in and zipped up.

Finally on the fifth day I had it all together and was as warm as could be expected. But the point is, it was still cold. It was still springtime in Colorado and we were in the high country. What idiot goes riding in the high country in the spring wearing summer gear?

I hope I don’t ever do it again but I know myself well enough to not swear it will never happen. You try to learn from experience but you only sometimes succeed.

Biker Quote for Today

Interstates undeniably allow us to make good time, but I question if they make time good. And making time good is why I ride motorcycles — Eric Trow

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Off To Utah On 5-Day Ride

Monday, June 1st, 2026


Stopped to catch a view in Utah.

Five of us with the RMMRC headed to Utah last week on a 5-day ride. On the BMWs were Dave, Lindsay, and Tom. Gene was on his Yamaha and I was on my Suzuki.

We met out at the Phillips 66 in Morrison and the first order of business was to link our communicators. We failed and headed out with only two linked, Tom riding lead and Gene riding sweep. It was a chilly morning destined to get a lot colder before it got warm.

Our destination on Day One was Green River, Utah, which is about 330 miles. We were doing it all on I-70, just to get there. We ran up from Morrison past Red Rocks, got on I-70, and blasted west.

The first point of interest came at the foot of Floyd Hill. At that spot I-70 comes down a steep incline and then makes a hard turn left into Clear Creek Canyon. That hard left makes the turn a bit of a hazard. The state has been working for a couple years now to straighten out the bend and generally improve that stretch of road but all that has been visible all this time has been some earth-moving as they cut into the hillside a bit.

That has changed. Down at the bottom you now see tall pillars with a short slab of what will be highway indicating the route of the new flyover they’re putting in. Around the bend you see more pillars indicating that they are raising the highway leading to the curve and you can see where the lane will go right through a notch they have cut in the hillside. Very interesting.

We climbed on up toward the Eisenhower Tunnel and by now my fingers were getting numb and I was cursing my failure to wear my electric vest. I had it with me but it wasn’t doing me any good in my bag. We got through the tunnel and headed down to Silverthorne and as it didn’t get much warmer down there I knew I was going to be cold all the way to Vail.

Up from Silverthorne, past Frisco, past Copper Mountain, and up Vail Pass. Just over the top of Vail we encountered more major highway construction. Apparently they are widening the road on that side and there is already a high median barrier in place. However, we were heading west on the eastbound side of that new barrier because they’re just in the process of building the highway on the westbound side. Also, up at the top of Vail Pass, there was a brand new rest area to replace the old one that has been closed for a couple years. Your tax dollars at work. Probably good expenditures.

Tom was setting an aggressive pace the whole way and after we got down and through Vail he bumped it up another notch. We stopped for lunch in West Glenwood and headed on toward Grand Junction. We had discussed where we would need to get gas and we all agreed we could make it to Fruita. But at this blistering pace–80 to 90–my gas mileage was suffering badly. We got into Debeque Canyon and I was down to just one bar on my fuel gauge and it was flashing red. I had no helmet communications but Gene, just behind me, did and I waved him up. I pointed to my gas tank and he got the idea. He told Tom I needed to stop for gas so Tom pulled off at Palisade. I really don’t think I would have made it to Fruita.

Off we went again and once we got into Utah we were truly blasting. That stretch of I-70 has an 80 mph speed limit and we were going the obligatory 5 to 10 mph faster–or more. And the wind was blasting us in the face. Google says from Palisade to Green River is 113 miles. My fuel gauge was showing three bars of five when we got there. Normally I get about 140 on my first two bars.

So now we were in Utah. The slog portion of the trip was over. Tomorrow the real fun begins.

Biker Quote for Today

The bike is an extension of my being; we ride as one.

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