The Ride of my Life.

[klaviator]

Debbi and I had conflicting schedules for the summer of 89. She was teaching summer school the first half of the summer and I couldn't get away the second half due to work. So this was my chance to do a really epic 2 week motorcycle trip. I decided to go for a 2 week ride in June through the west, particularly Colorado and then maybe Yellowstone.

I had no definite plan except that on the last few days I would visit Debbi's brother in Sacramento and some old friends in Monterrey. I thought I'd head east and ride Arizona including a stop at the grand Canyon and then head towards Co where I would just wing it.

Then, a few days before leaving I saw an article in the travel section of the newspaper about Bryce Canyon and Zion NP. There where some awesome  pics and Bryce Canyon in particular interested me.

But I really wanted to ride through Arizona and revisit the Grand Canyon. 

I have always been a procrastinator.  The night before I left on my trip I still hadn't made up my mind which way to go.

The morning of day one of my trip I sat at the breakfast table with maps in front of me as well as the article on Bryce Canyon and Zion. My dilemma was one I had faced before and would face many times again. The decision between doing something that I had done before and knew was great or try something new and take a chance.

This time I decided to do something new. So I got on the bike and rode north on I-15.

And I rode.

And rode some more.

Interstate riding is not exactly my favorite. Eventually I crossed into Nevada. When I got to Las Vegas I decided to stop for a quick look. I had never been there before. I found the Casino District, parked the bike and took a look into one of the big casinos

It took me about 10 seconds to realize there was nothing of interest for me there so I got back on the bike. I stopped at some fast food place, got lunch then got back on to the interstate. It was mostly boring but there where two things that surprised me. One was the fact I had not noticed I would be going through a small piece of Arizona, making this a 4 state day. Second was the Virgin River Gorge. Quite a scenic change. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics. I continued on to St George where I had no problem finding a nice inexpensive motel for the night. There was also a good restaurant right by the motel. It was my first time in Utah and it was off to a good start.

The next morning I hit the road and headed for Zion NP.  I was really much more interested in Bryce canyon but this was on the way so no reason not to check it out......

As I rode from St. George to Zion I had almost no idea what I was about to experience. Back then there was no internet. I couldn't just google Zion NP and find thousands of pics and videos of the place like I could today. I suppose I could have gone to a library and maybe found a book. But I didn't. I just had that newspaper article which had one or two pics.

So when I rode into Zion I was glad I had a tank bag on my bike to cushion my jaw as it dropped down from the scenery. Like I said earlier, I had no idea. I rode into the park and took a left down the road that ends at the Narrows. I hiked into the narrows as far as I could without getting my feet wet and then turned around. It looked like it would be interesting to hike further but I wasn't dressed for it. I have since found out that it is a spectacular hike but you do need to come prepared for a hike in the river.

Then I backtracked and headed out of the park to the East. I did take some pics but keep in mind that these were taken with a cheap 35mm camera by someone who knew nothing about photography. These pics don't do the place justice. Also I took these pics so long ago that they are probably out of order.



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The Narrows:



This was one of the most awesome roads I had ever ridden.  Great curves and spectacular scenery.



I rode through a tunnel and came out the other side to scenery unlike anything I had seen before.  It almost felt like I was on another planet.  I only took one pic :(

[klaviator]

After Zion I headed over towards Bryce Canyon.  This was on the way.



Bryce Canyon was very different from Zion.  Instead of being surrounded by the scenery you just looked down on it.  Still very scenic but not nearly as impressive to me as Zion. 

This was the view:



I wasn't the only one enjoying the view:



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[klaviator]

After Bryce I headed West on 12. I planned on stopping and getting a room since it was getting somewhat late but I didn't see any motels that looked very inviting so I kept on riding. Again, I had no idea what was ahead. Those of you who have ridden 12 know what I was in for. It was simply one of the most scenic roads on the planet. I didn't many pics.  The best way to describe it is that it was like riding on another planet. At one point 12 runs along a ridgeline with rock landscape in every direction as far as you can see. This next pic was taken somewhere along 12.



Then the road suddenly dropped into a canyon and back out.  I later found out this was Escalante Canyon.




Eventually the road climbed up to a much higher elevation and totally different landscape.



I stopped at a scenic lookout and enjoyed the view for 100+ miles into the distance. There were a couple of young guys on motorcycles there as well. I talked to them a bit and then we headed North to find a place to spend the night.

When we headed off it was getting dark and the road was overrun with deer and cattle ???  So we had to ride real slow. At the end of 12 we took a left I found a cheap motel room in a small town, I don't remember which one. They went looking for a campground. Then I headed out for dinner and ran into these guys again at the Restaurant. So we had dinner together. They were on a real interesting adventure. Both were poor college students. One was on a Nighthawk 650, the other on a beat up old Yamaha 650 twin. They had left California and were headed to Pennsylvania to visit someone. They had little money so they planned on eating only 2 meals per day and camping. The guy on the Yamaha had all his stuff in plastic trash bags held on with bungees. They had credit cards and said they would end up deep in dept but didn't want to waste the opportunity to do an epic ride like this while they had the time. I really enjoyed the chance to meet and talk to these guys. They were true adventure riders.

[klaviator]

The next morning I headed out toward Colorado. Before I left town I saw the two guys I had met the previous day at a gas station. So I pulled in. We were all going the same way and decided to ride together.

While this day was not nearly as spectacular as the previous day it was still a great ride with some nice curvy roads and plenty of scenery.

I think this was Capital Reef.



Somewhere in Utah.



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We ended up riding to Cortez, Co. where I found a totally forgettable motel room and the other guys went their way.

[klaviator]

The next morning I rode to Durango and then up 550, the Million Dollar highway. It is another one of the top scenic roads in the country. I took some pics but they may not be in order.



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Silverton, Co.



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Ouray, Co.



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I followed 550 to Montrose where I took a right on 50 and rode by the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It was not a National park back then.   Then I took a left and went north on 92 which I remember as being a great ride.



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My pics don't come close to capturing how scenic this road was.  The trees where all a brilliant bright green and the road was just a fantastic curvy road!

I took a right on 133 in Hotchkiss. I didn't get too far when the weather was starting to look bad ahead and it was getting late. I came across a place with cabins for rent so I stopped and checked it out. I got a nice little cabin for around 20 bucks!

So I spent the night at this peaceful place alongside a river in the middle of nowhere.

[klaviator]

I had now experienced 3 days of simply stunning scenery. Not only that, this was all new territory for me. All of this scenery was part of a great adventure, that of riding into the unknown. At least it was unknown to me. It would be hard to duplicate today. Sure, I expect to ride to places I have not been to before but most likely I will have seen pictures and read about it on ADV or some other source on the internet. As much as I love to read ride reports, they do take some of the adventure out of riding.  Of course, reading ride reports does encourage me to go to places I would otherwise not go.

Back to 1989, there were no forums and I was heading out on a fourth consecutive day of what was probably the most adventurous and scenic ride of my life up to this point. Would this day measure up to the previous three?

I headed towards Aspen. There was more great scenic riding but nothing stands out in my mind. I stopped and had lunch in Aspen then continued towards the Independence pass. This part of the ride I remember well. 82 east of Aspen is simply stunning. There is a section with a sheer drop off to the right which I did not get any pics of. Then there is eventually a point where I could see these Ginormous mountains ahead. The scale of these mountains was simply larger than anything I had seen before. The realization that the road would take me way up into these mountains was somewhat mind boggling. Making everything even more scenic and more of an adventure was the fact that these mountains where all white. There was still a tremendous amount of snow at higher elevations. Unfortunately I did not do a good job of capturing what I just described on film. Here are some pics I did take.

I thought these old cabins were cool.



Looking ahead.



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I followed 82 to the end and then went left on 24 and through Leadville. I am not sure of my route after that but ended up on I-70 for a while before getting off to go over the Loveless pass. I had driven this pass years earlier in my car while headed from Florida to California but of course it was much better doing it on a bike.

I'm pretty sure I took this from a scenic viewpoint off of I-70.



The Loveland pass is a fun ride but also has a lot of 18 wheelers on it because those with hazardous cargo can't go through the tunnel on I-70.



Keep in mind as you look at these pics that this was in June!

I got back on I-70 and got off on 40 which I took North.



I stopped and spent the night in Granby. Rocky Mountain National Park would be the start of my next day's ride.

[klaviator]

Happy New Year to everyone following along!

Time to continue this report.  The time frame for this trip was over 29 years ago.  Hard to believe so much time has passed.....and how much older I am today :(


The next morning I headed up over Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National park. It is the highest paved through road in the U. S. Between it being morning and the high elevation it was a cold ride. I can only find a couple of pics from this part of the ride.

I think this is heading out of Granby but that's just a guess.




Somewhere on Trail Ridge Road?



I bought a post card of Trail Ridge Road road. I know it's cheating but:




Then I headed into Estes Park. I figured this place would be a very expensive tourist trap town being right outside this National Park but I found a nice motel room for only 40 bucks. :)  So far I had found less expensive rooms but I also had stayed at small mom & pop places. This was a nice motel with an indoor pool and jacuzzi's in the rooms. The price would normally have been much higher but the lady at the desk said the tourist season was off to a slow start so they were still using off season rates. This would end up being the nicest place I stayed during this trip.

Since it was still early I rode back to the park. I did find this very scenic spot:



I also rode back up trail Ridge Road a ways to get this pic and just because it was a twisty road with awesome views.




It was on this ride that I encountered a rain shower and put on my rain suit for the first and only time of the entire trip.

Then I headed back to Estes Park. That night I was undecided about where to ride the next day. My original plan was to head up through Yellowstone. However, the last few days in Colorado had been fantastic. I even sent Debbi a post card (remember, no texting or Emails back then) saying that if the scenery got any better I might never come back.

Looking at a Colorado map I saw all kinds of interesting roads and passes. I was really tempted to try to ride as many of them as I could. On the other hand, I had never been to Wyoming of Yellowstone. Yellowstone was the most visited of the national Parks and there must be a reason for that. The saying "So many roads, so little time" applied here.

What to do

So I did what I often do and procrastinated. I would decide the next morning.

[klaviator]

The next day I got up and still couldn't make up my mind so I punted the decision to later in the day. I would ride east to Ft Collins then take a left into Wyoming where I would eat lunch and then decide whether to head for Yellowstone or turn around. I had never been to Wyoming and this would at least allow me to add it to my list of states visited and ridden.

The ride to Ft Collins was a pretty nice ride as it ran along an river and had some nice curves. Then I took 287 to Laramie. I don't remember it being a very exciting ride but it was one of those picture perfect days and I just enjoyed being on the bike and riding.

After lunch I decided to continue on to Yellowstone. I got on I-80 and then rode 287 to the town of Dubois. Not real spectacular so no pics. The only thing I remember about the ride was a long stretch of road construction and having to ride on dirt on 287.

In Dubois I found a motel room. Instead of a guard dog they had :D



The next morning I headed west out of Dubois. It was a nice scenic but chilly ride.



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I rode into Grand Teton National Park.



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And then I crossed into Yellowstone National Park. I rode the loop around the park in a clockwise direction. Of course I took some pics. Most likely these aren't in order.

Being on a bike I didn't want to get too close to this guy:



Yellowstone Lake.



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As you can see, Yellowstone is very scenic and there is a reason so many people visit it. However, I was not that impressed. After Utah and Colorado I was spoiled and Yellowstone seemed a little anti-climatic. On top of that there was a lot of traffic in the park so I didn't enjoy riding there as much as Utah and Colorado. If I had visited Yellowstone before Utah and Colorado I probably would have been much more impressed.

I guess that the big difference was that Utah and Colorado felt like a real adventure while in Yellowstone I felt like a tourist who happened to be on a motorcycle. Still, I am glad I went there. I would have kicked myself if I hadn't. 

[klaviator]

When I left Yellowstone it was to the west. I was surprised when I saw a Welcome to Montana sign ???  I didn't notice that I would be going into Montana on my map studies. No problem, check off one more state from my list :)

Actually I was only in Montana for a short distance and then crossed into Idaho. I did get one pic in West Yellowstone, Montana. Note the price of gas.



Then I barely remember any of Idaho. Much of it was interstate. I spent the night in Southern Idaho or Northern Utah.

The next day I rode I-15 through the Salt Lake City area. I took a short excursion into the mountains east of I-15. Nothing very memorable from that ride. I did get a pic of the Great Salt lake.



I headed west on I-80 and soon saw a large area covered by snow ???



Actually it was the Bonneville Salt Flats. Sorry, I didn't take the Venture out on the salt for a top speed run.

I continued on until reaching Elko Nevada. I figured I would be able to find a cheap motel room there. I figured wrong. The less expensive places like the Motel 6 where all full. What, this place was out in the middle of Nowhere. What's up? The only attraction I could see were the casinos but I guess that was enough. I ended up staying in a dive that was also the most expensive room of my trip. I was glad to get back on the road the next morning.

When I got into the Sierras near Lake Tahoe I considered getting off and riding around in the mountains a bit but I was getting burned out and tired so I just continued on to Sacramento where I visited Debbi's Brother and his wife.

The next day I rode to Monterey where I visited an old friend.

Bob and Sue:



The next day I rode home. I know I rode Highway One to start but I have no other recollection of that last day.

That was the end of my trip.  The end was a bit anti climatic.  The best part of my trip by far was in Utah and Colorado which came during the first half of my trip.  Overall this was one of my most memorable trips ever.  It was my first really long vacation where I all I did was ride, take pics, eat and sleep.  I averaged over 300 miles a day. 

I had no doubt I would be doing more trips like this.

In the meantime I had some business to attend to in San Diego.  I needed to find a replacement for my FJ1100.

[Brian A]

I am really enjoying your story Win.

It is interesting and serves to remind us all just how much there is to see and do "out there" on a motorcycle.

Also, I enjoy seeing some places I too have visited. And seeing and reading about many of the bikes from the 80s that I still remember so well.

Good stuff. All of it.

Good stuff.

[Chuck & Susan]

Can't wait to see where the next journey takes us!!!  :)

Thanks Klav!!

[Spicciani2]

Awww man..... I was really hoping you would buy that newly released ninja250.... 
This is amazing!    I need to do a better job of taking and saving my photos from past motorcycles and rides....

[klaviator]

Brian, Chuck and Spiccianni, thanks for taking the time to reply to this thread.  Let me comment on your replies which turn out to be very timely.

First, Chuck, where will this report take me next?  Right now I was back in San Diego looking for a new bike but my tour at HC-11 was scheduled to end in 6 months.  That meant I would likely be leaving San Diego.  The normal procedure was to start talking to the detailer about my next assignment about 6 months ahead of time so I was probably doing that about now.  I'll leave you in suspense about that for now and get back to California.

Brian,  It never seems like I have enough time to do even a fraction of the rides I would like to do but as I look back and write this story it reminds me of all the really cool stuff I was able to do on motorcycles.  As for 80s motorcycles, it was still in the 80s and I was looking at some of those bikes.  More on that later.

Spiccianni.  When I first started working on this project I wasn't sure I had enough pics to be able to do good job writing my story.  As I dug through a ton of very disorganized pictures, sorting them out and scanning them I realized I had taken more pictures than I thought.  There is a lesson here for the younger readers here.  Take lots of pics, someday you will look back and be glad you did.

[klaviator]

My FJ1100 had been my dream bike. However, the last year or so that I had owned it I had started thinking that a smaller lighter bike might be better. Riding Tomi's Ninja 750 and Phil's VFR 750 made me realize how much easier those bike were to ride. Of the two I preferred the Ninja. It was super smooth, had light and neutral steering, was nearly as quick as my FJ and had a slightly higher top speed.  The VFR didn't feel as good to me but with an aftermarket pipe it had one of the best sounding motors ever!  Despite the check from the insurance company a new bike was probably not in my budget. So I started looking in the classified ads. I also started looking around at dealers.

As much as I wanted a 750, the small bike bug was also making it's appearance. One of the bike I found at a dealer was a leftover Yamaha SRX6 which was marked down considerably. I took it for a test ride. It really was a fun bike but I didn't think it would be fast enough to keep up with my friends on sport rides and also I wanted a bike I could go touring on and I didn't think the SRX6 would work. However it was a really cool bike and I still really like it. 



I also considered the Ninja 250 but like the SRX6, I thought it would be a fun ride but too slow.

One day I stopped by a Yamaha dealer in Escondido. They had a nearly new 89 Kawasaki EX500 sitting on the showroom floor. Some guy had bought it without telling his wife and she made him get rid of it. It had 800 miles on it, looked brand new and was still under warranty.  It was considerably less than a new one.

I had ridden one of these a year or two earlier when we where looking for a bike for Debbi but wasn't impressed.  For some reason this one just felt much better.  I was hooked. This bike was a blast to ride.  So I bought it.

I figured that this bike would scratch that small bike itch I had and then in a couple of years I would go out and buy that 750 I really wanted.



I was a little concerned that I would miss the power of the FJ1100. So I started riding the EX on my favorite roads with my riding friends.

Lack of power?

It didn't have the kick of the FJ but I did see 130 on the speedo. I'm sure that was a little high but still not bad for a 500cc twin. More importantly, this thing was much easier to ride in the curves.

It was also much faster.

I no longer had to work to keep up with other riders. One day I was following a guy on an FZR1000 up the East Grade of Palomar. This guy was a fast rider and had NO chicken strips on his rear tire. After following him for a while I decided he wasn't going fast enough so when we came to a curve with a good view ahead I pulled into the other lane, passed him and then left him behind!

I now was leaving behind those riders I used to have trouble keeping up with. And I was doing it with little effort. No I did not miss the power of the FJ.  Why was this bike so much faster?

My theory was that it recalibrated my internal tilt meter.  What's that?  Everyone has one.  When you go into a curve it tells you when you have reached your limit in lean angle.  On the FJ this happened much sooner than on the EX.  The EX had very light steering and was very neutral which really boosted my confidence.  It also had less power which meant that I could really use all that it had without scaring myself.  All this made it way more fun to ride than the FJ.  It handled so good that I wore out the OEM front tire before wearing out the rear.

Another pic.  My 80s bike and my very stylish 80 riding gear ;D

[klaviator]

The EX500 was not just a good sportbike, it made a surprisingly good sport touring bike. I made a couple of overnight/weekend trips to one of my favorite roads in SoCal; the Angeles Crest Highway.

The Angeles Crest Highway, for those not familiar, is a 66 mile long road that starts in the LA suburb of La Canada and ends in the small town of Wrightwood. It is pretty much non stop curves with spectacular views and elevations up to 7900 feet. At that time there were no buildings on that road except for Newcomb's ranch and a ski area. It was, and I'm sure still is, a very popular road for motorcycle riders. The connecting roads like the Angeles Forest Highway and Upper Big Tujunga Rd were also awesome roads.

The first ride there on the EX was with Debbi and our friends Tomi and Phil. We spent Friday night in San Bernadino, rode the Crest and surrounding roads on Saturday and spent Saturday night in Palmdale.

This next pic has some of my favorite bikes form the 80s; Ninja 750, VFR750 and my EX500.



Most people probably don't realize there are ski areas just outside LA.



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Newcomb's Ranch.  This place was a real popular hangout for motorcyclists.  On a Weekend you might see a hundred bikes here, some of them real exotic.