20 days of October
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Another road trip or organized event would be nice before the weather turns foul and I park the bike for the winter.
I had heard of an event called the Flying Monkey Adventure Rally being held in East Zion, UT at the Zion Ponderosa Ranch. Would I truck the bike down or would I ride. Nice dream but out of the question - it was too far. Then I heard Giant Loop, a motorcycle luggage manufacturer based out of Bend, OR, was having an overnight camp out at East lake in the Newberry Volcano in Central Oregon. That I can do! I started thinking, I'd already be a day out if I went to the Giant Loop event, I could just get up the next morning and continue south for a couple of days and attend the Flying Monkey rally. That would be great, but a long ride back home. Hey, how about the Nevada Back County Discovery Route (NVBDR)? This was the first summer it was open. Maybe I could just ride from the Flying Monkey rally to the south end of the NVBDR in Oatman, AZ, and ride the NVBDR all the way north to Jarbidge, NV. From there it's just a two day ride back home. As I'm contemplating, how would I get out of my daily responsibilities to do this trip, my sister calls up and asked if I could come down to Elko, NV, and install a bathroom sink. I told her about the trip I was thinking about and told her I would get back with her. Now back to my responsibilities, I have to get the girls to school and other curricular activities. Yeah, that's it, I'll ask my good friend Bobby D if he'll drive the girls around for about 12 days. The call goes out, he says yes. I break the news to the family, advise I shouldn't be gone longer than about 12 days. Advising 3 weeks probably would have been met with some resistance. I'm good to go, now the planning and prep. I sign up to go to both events, buy 6 Butler maps, update my GPS software, and download the NVBDR tracks, get my InReach SOS device subscription active, buy a super warm sleeping bag & base layer clothing, prep my bike, pack, and I'm off. 1st slide presentation: Bike prep, packing, leaving for the trip, travels to the Giant loop camp out, and travels to Cathedral Gorge State Park , NV |
CATHEDRAL GORGE STATE PARK, NV
CEDAR BREAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT, UT
Travel from Cathedral Gorge state park to Cedar Breaks National Monument & Brian Head Peak
Travel from Cathedral Gorge state park to Cedar Breaks National Monument & Brian Head Peak
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BRIAN HEAD PEAK, UT
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The Flying Monkey Adventure Rally
Travel from Brian Head Peak to East Zion, Zion Ponderosa Ranch
While I'm attending the Flying Monkey rally, I hear there is going to be an afterally with Tyler of eveRide (Youtube) in St. George, UT. I can't not attend, I'm all the way down here and it's on the way to the start of the NVBDR. I text the fam, I'm going to be a couple of extra days, the ride is taking longer than I thought it would :).
While at the rally, I notice my rear tire is pretty worn. Dang, do I have enough tire to get me back home? Yes!, I'm in luck, a guy I had been riding with at the rally happens to have a rear tire for sale -Sold! I'll carry it with me encase I need it.
2nd slide presentation: Everyone starting to roll in, some fun riding with a couple of guys I met at the rally, group photo, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC provided shrimp boil, some more riding, and a hosted dinner and raffle.
Travel from Brian Head Peak to East Zion, Zion Ponderosa Ranch
While I'm attending the Flying Monkey rally, I hear there is going to be an afterally with Tyler of eveRide (Youtube) in St. George, UT. I can't not attend, I'm all the way down here and it's on the way to the start of the NVBDR. I text the fam, I'm going to be a couple of extra days, the ride is taking longer than I thought it would :).
While at the rally, I notice my rear tire is pretty worn. Dang, do I have enough tire to get me back home? Yes!, I'm in luck, a guy I had been riding with at the rally happens to have a rear tire for sale -Sold! I'll carry it with me encase I need it.
2nd slide presentation: Everyone starting to roll in, some fun riding with a couple of guys I met at the rally, group photo, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC provided shrimp boil, some more riding, and a hosted dinner and raffle.
Zion National Park, UT
& the ride to St. George, UT
The ride through Zion was spectacular and to St. George challenging at first but easy going until we arrived in St. George. We got caught in a dust storm at a convenience store that came out of nowhere. Spent about an hour there before we decided to get a hotel room instead of camping in a dust storm. We jumped on the bikes, braced ourselves for the ride and miraculously made it to our hotel without incident.
& the ride to St. George, UT
The ride through Zion was spectacular and to St. George challenging at first but easy going until we arrived in St. George. We got caught in a dust storm at a convenience store that came out of nowhere. Spent about an hour there before we decided to get a hotel room instead of camping in a dust storm. We jumped on the bikes, braced ourselves for the ride and miraculously made it to our hotel without incident.
AFTER RALLY video with Tyler of eveRide
St. George, UT
On the ride, I'd hit a deep depression in the road pretty hard and right after that my bike started making a noise, watch the video and find out what the problem turned out to be.
(I'm in the video a couple of times, but a leading role @ 21:45)
St. George, UT
On the ride, I'd hit a deep depression in the road pretty hard and right after that my bike started making a noise, watch the video and find out what the problem turned out to be.
(I'm in the video a couple of times, but a leading role @ 21:45)
Day one of the Afterally was fun, except for the wind & dust, it still hadn't stopped blowing.
Up to this point, I hadn't ridden any advanced or expert stuff because I kept thinking I still have the NVBDR to ride and I have to get me and the bike home in one piece. The hill climb below is one of those advanced sections I did not participate in. I also decided not to partake in day 2 of the afterally as it was geared toward expert level riders. I instead decided to try to find gas can and head for Oatman, AZ. (The stretch between Austin & Elko is a good 200 miles, if you don't get off track.) Found a 1.5 gal gas can & hit the road.
Up to this point, I hadn't ridden any advanced or expert stuff because I kept thinking I still have the NVBDR to ride and I have to get me and the bike home in one piece. The hill climb below is one of those advanced sections I did not participate in. I also decided not to partake in day 2 of the afterally as it was geared toward expert level riders. I instead decided to try to find gas can and head for Oatman, AZ. (The stretch between Austin & Elko is a good 200 miles, if you don't get off track.) Found a 1.5 gal gas can & hit the road.
NVBDR
Arrived in Oatman @ about 3:15 pm and started the route.
Arrived in Oatman @ about 3:15 pm and started the route.
Random thoughts:
3rd slide presentation: Traveling north on the NVBDR starting in Oatman, AZ, and ending in Jarbidge, AZ.
Total mileage was approximately 3,650 miles.
- The route wasn't necessarily hard, however, there were challenging sections. Deep sand in areas, miles of slow rocky roads, a water crossing, lots of silt and silt covered pot holes, and short washed out rocky sections.
- The route seem boring or tedious at times because of long valley roads and the same scenery.
- It also seemed as thought additional routes were put in just to extend the mileage and time.
3rd slide presentation: Traveling north on the NVBDR starting in Oatman, AZ, and ending in Jarbidge, AZ.
Total mileage was approximately 3,650 miles.
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