My trip to the Sport-Touring.Net 2003 National, in Custer, South Dakota.

Part I. Gainesville to Salt Lake City

Thursday my trip started out OK. Sandy wished me "via con dios" and away I went, leaving Florida (Land of Grey Hairs) at 7:30am. Unfortunately, she also jinxed me by telling me in no uncertain terms that I need to gas up regularly out west so I don't run out of petrol -- I ran out of gas shortly into Alabama (Land of Forrest Gump), 1 mile from the first gas station in the state (Doh!). After pushing the heavily loaded down bike to the gas station, I filled up and grabbed lunch at the worlds slowest gas station, then made my way through Mississippi (Land of Swamps) and Louisiana (Land of Cajuns) towards Texas (Land of the Electric Chair).

Note: I-10 west of Baton Rouge is really messed up because of road construction (I sat in traffic for an hour, I even got off the bike and took photos for posterity). 'Road work ahead' would become a recurring theme, and antagonist, for my trip...

Once I hit Texas I continued like a mad-man until I reached San Antonio, arriving shortly after 11:30pm. I was pretty wiped out, so I just checked into the La Quinta, got signatures for my SS1000, and went to bed.

Total miles: 1035/1035

Friday I headed into New Mexico (Land of Enchanment). I took I-10 west from San Antonio until I hit US-285. I then took 285 north through Pecos (home of the worlds first rodeo) and Carlsbad until I finally arrived in Roswell (Americas first Space Port). I stopped in the International (and interplanetary I must presume) UFO Museum and Research Center.

After my visit to the research center, I headed west towards Socorro on US-70. On the way, I saw the Capitan mountain range, and thought it might be neat to visit the mountains. The only paved route to get there would have put me 160 miles out of my way, but my AAA map showed a 'short-cut' which looked to only have about 10 miles of dirt road.

Since there was a bunch of road construction on 70 through the Hondo Valley anyway, I decided to try my luck with the 'short-cut' to El Cap, and proceeded to head north on NM-368 until it hit the dirt road, 17 miles from 70. I took my chances and off-roaded the first 5 miles of the road until I the road went through a locked gate with a sign that stated unequivocally that it was private property and tresspassers were unwelcome. As if the sign wasn't a good enough deterrant, they had a few cow skulls sitting on fence posts, as if to say "this could be your head on this pike if you cross our property line."

So, I doggedly turned tail and headed back south to 70. Once on 70, I continued west until it split onto 380. I took 380, and came into the town of Capitan, the birth place of Smokey The Bear. I made a quick stop for some gatoraide and met two other guys riding beemers; an RT and an old R75. We chatted for a bit, and they told me they were headed back home to Maine (Land of Frozen Lobsters), and I thought I came a far way...

Continuing on 380, I passed the White Sands Missle Range (where you can buy "Trinitium" from road-side stands), and the "Valley of Fires" which was pretty with the lava rocks and saguro cactii in bloom.

I trekked on into San Antonio, NM, and hopped on I-25 for the 15 mile journey into Socorro, New Mexico (hey does that really mean "help me please" in Spanish???) where I crashed for the night. No, I don't mean "crashed" as in "vehicular wreck" but rather "crashed" as in "went to sleep." The sunset in Socorro was very pretty with the deep reds bringing out the best in the surrounding mountains.

Total miles: 711/1746.

Saturday I took off west on route 60 and saw the VLA (Very Large Array, radio astronomy geeks would know about it), but I couldn't find Jodie Foster anywhere. I guess she's still hanging out in the second base in Japan. The elevation at the VLA was around 6000', and it was COOOOLD! I was really glad to have remembered to pack my jacket liner.

After visiting the VLA, I continued west on 60 into the town of Datil. I stopped at the local greasy spoon, which I think was named "The Grilled Grizzley Inn," and enjoyed a western omelette, with green chili's and all. The waitress and I struck up a conversation about her running; I noticed she had on a "rock-n-roll marathon" sweat shirt. I told her about my two runs at MCM and one run at Disney, and suggested she avoid Disney. I wished her good luck with her running, and continued west.

Always in the search for a good short-cut, I took 60 west to 603, in the hopes that 603 would save me 20 miles or so. It was a dirt road, but I was undaunted. I trekked down it for about 2 miles before giving up; the road was so 'wash-borded' my teeth were chattering and I thought everything was about to fall apart on my bike. I turned around and continued west on 60 to the town of Quemado.

In Quemado I hopped on 36 north through the Navajo reservation. Just a few miles onto 36 and I was stopped because of "road work ahead." 36 was one-laned, and I had to wait for the pilot vehicle to travel 300'. While waiting, I chatted with the flag guy who was pretty impressed I was some idiot on a motorcycle from Florida standing around on a road in the middle of nowhere, but that nowhere being in the desert. Harumph.

After being given the go-ahead, I took 36 until I hit 53, and headed west towards Zuni. A few miles down 53 I turned north on 4 then north on 602. 4 is a really pretty stretch of road which goes through a valley of high cliff walls until it merges back into 602.

I took 602 into the town of Gallup where I stopped for gas and water. After Gallup, I hopped on US-666 (was I on the devil's highway??) up to Cortez, Colorado. US-666 north of Gallup is your typical "Classic Desert" with mesas and plateaus, and scrub brush, and not much else. As stark and barren as it seemed, you could feel the life breathing through the desert; the occassional deer stood and looked from the side, birds flew overhead, and plants were everywhere.

Once in Cortez, I noticed the words "ruins" on my GPS. "Ruins, hunh? Maybe I should check that out" and the 10 minutes later I was at the entrance to Mesa Verde. I went into Mesa Verde, where it looked like it might rain. The ranger said "they're calling for a downpour!", so I quickly setup my tent and sat around waiting for the storm that never came. Oh well, I got to read a few chapters of "Up Country" by Nelson de Mille. After giving up on the rain, I went into the park to look at the Anasazi cliff dwellings -- really neat stuff.

After my trip to through the park, I decided I needed to celebrate my wonderous vacation. I stopped in the camp store and bought a can of Budweiser, the king of beers, to celebrate my travels. That night I cooked Chef Boyardee, and drank bud, and felt like a king.

Total miles: 368/2114

Sunday brought me into Utah (Land of Polygamy). I headed east on the devils highway into Monticello, UT. In front of me were the Abajo Mountains, and they called to me. I rode up to the highest point you can ride (9000'), and got an incredible view of Canyonlands National Park below my feet. Inspired, I headed back into Monticello for some gas and water, then took UT-191 north to UT-211. UT-211 goes into Newspaper Rock state park, and ultimately ends in Canyonlands. Riding around in the valley for a few hours made me wish I had either a dual sport, a 4x4, or less sense because there were plenty of "back country" roads you can traverse to see many neat things.

After Canyonlands I continued north on 191 into Moab. A quick stop for lunch, and I headed down an interesting road, UT-128, which claimed to have 20mph curves for 45 miles. It stretches along the Colorado River, and is pretty scenic with the red cliff walls rising a thousand feet above your head. There were lots of "adventure tour" rafters in the river, and plenty of camping by the side of the road, but I had another destination in mind -- Arches.

I continued North on 191 and went into Arches around 5pm (EST). I arranged to check out the camp-sites, and proceeded directly there. On the way into Arches I ran into another biker on a solo journey across the country. He is from Virginia, but just took a job in Nashville, so arranged an extra month between gigs. I followed him up to the camp-sites, where we chose sites.

I chose unwisely and wound up between some college kids smoking dope and watching National Lampoons Vacation from their portable TV, and some other guy who couldn't stay off his cell phone (he kept calling everyone he knew to say what a lovely time he's having). At any rate, after pitching tent I went for a short hike. My short hike turned into two hours, which included a 30 minute break in a spot where I could hear no sounds except the wind and birds. I think I found bliss..

After my hike I decided "enough with camp food, I'm having a dinner in Moab tonight!" and headed into town. Riding through town I saw a magical sign which called me by name (Guinness Draught on tap), and stopped in at "The Poplar Place". The food was good, the pint was welcomed, and the whole meal (salad, lasagnia, and a pint of the inky stuff) cost $11.

While there I met a guy from New Hampshire (Land of a Thousand Snow Banks) who had just spent the previous two weeks in a 4x4 in the back country, and it showed. However, he also had tales of walking through Anasazi Ruins, finding woven baskets that were still partially intact after 500 years, and just about convinced me I should be on a dual-sport or 4x4 (see above comments about off-roading). I would have really thought he was a crack-pot, but his description of finding the lost City of Cebola was truly enchanting..

Dinner was finished, and I bid the waitress "Adieu" as I made my way back to the camp-site. Just my luck, the sun was setting! I rode through the rich red and pink valleys and hills on my way to the camp-site. The red light flickered off the rocks making their rich colors all the more vivid. I got back to the camp-site just as the sun was going down, and it was really magnificent; pinks, reds, purples and azures everywhere.

That evening, the sky was so clear I laid on my back on a picnic table and watched the stars; I swear it was so clear I was able to make out two satellites at perpendicular orbits (and a dozen or so jet liners, so no, the satellites were not planes).

Total miles: 314/2428

Monday I woke up at 7:45EST (5:45 local time), as the sun was rising. The pink and blue skies were so pretty I had to get a picture of the view from my tent. I broke camp in 15 minutes and went through Arches during the sunrise -- wow. My destination for the day was Salt Lake City, about 250 miles north-west, where I had a scheduled tune-up at the BMW dealership there.

I headed north on 191 until it ends at I-70. I then headed west on I-70 until I arrived in Green River, where I stopped for breakfast. While at breakfast, I met an Viet Nam vet (192nd infantry) who served in '68 (the same year as the Tet Offensive in Khe Sanh). He was returning to his home in Ventura, CA from a trip to D.C. for a big POW/MIA rally that he attended on Memorial Day. We talked for about an hour. The war really screwed up his head, and he's spent most of his life since as a traveling troubadoor (sp?), earning his living as a musician. I bid him good luck on his quest, and continued on I-70 until it reached 191 north.

191 north of Green River was pretty, but we had to stop 3 times because of that 'road work ahead' bastard. There was even one two mile stretch where 191 was nothing but a gravel road. I followed 191 north into the town of Price, where I hopped on 6 north-west to Spanish Fork.

6 was fantastic -- a valley with snow capped mountains surrounding me, a true delight for the eyes. And, although we were stopped for 'road work ahead' once, the 'road work ahead' was to clear out a tree that had fallen on the road..

From Spanish Fork I took I-15 north to Salt Lake, arriving by 2pm (EST).

My first order of business was to find the BMW SLC dealership, just so I knew how to get there on Tuesday when they would be open. Sure enough, the dealership was five miles north of where I thought it would be because it was in NORTH Salt Lake City, which is a completely seperate town. After finding the dealership, I got a hotel in SLC proper, and checked the city out.

It'd been 4 years since I last visited Salt Lake City, and it's changed for the worse. The air quality is down, the traffic is up, and everyone drives like they're from Miami; maybe they are??

I spent the afternoon running some other errands, buying a 128mb CF card for my camera, since I think my 256mb card will be full soon, and some woolite so I could do some laundry. Oh yeah, a shower too; I was a tad grungy after three days in the desert sans shower.

Total miles: 338/2766

Posted at: 19:47 on 21/06/2003   [ / ] #