Matts_12GS Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 Nice!!!! BTW...you were early. Ouray V is in August. We were the advance scouting group... Link to comment
cali_beemer Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 We make a quick pit stop and come out to find that Uncle Jed has been replaced with the Java Monster! I love those Java Monster energy drinks. They are addicting.......I am really enjoying these threads. I feel like I went to Torrey but didnt..... Link to comment
Kenny Haynes Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Hard to get enough of the San Juans. What a great area. Looks like fun! Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 I forgot to mention, that this particular day was my birthday. It was great to be out riding some incredible highways with great friends that day! Thanks again Shannon and Chris! Link to comment
lawnchairboy Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 My pleasure man of many stenches. Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 My pleasure man of many stenches. OUCH! Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 My pleasure man of many stenches. Pot. Kettle. Kettle. Pot... Link to comment
TN_R_Girl Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Boys... let's not go there ... (it was bad enough in real life! ) Anyway, here's a couple other pics from Day 4 that I thought folks might enjoy: The Clampetts at Molas Pass The start of 100 miles of mining tunnels at Silverton! The basis for Galt Gulch (Ouray, CO, as seen from a turnout on the Million Dollar Highway): Link to comment
90%angel Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 What an epic adventure! Lovin' getting caught up on these tales after coming back from vacation! Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 The basis for Galt Gulch (Ouray, CO, as seen from a turnout on the Million Dollar Highway): I learned something today; thanks. Thanks also to da three of you's for the ride tale and pics; you are stoking my wanderlust. Link to comment
Dennis Andress Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Torrey is about people. Yes, there are a lot of great riding roads, awesome scenery, and a relaxed constabulary. But, it's been happening twice a year for 10 years now. That kind of staying power doesn't come about just because of a bunch of twisty asphalt. What were you doing when Richard arrived? I find it's hard to get people to understand where Torrey is. Very few know Capital Reef National Park even exists. Some will recognize the names Zion and Bryce, but not know anything about them. This year, I'm simply saying that Torrey is about an hour and twenty minutes from the nearest traffic light. Did I mention the scenery? Let me get around to the Clampetts. They seemed a little wide-eyed and excited when I brought up the idea of riding to Cedar Breaks by way of Utah 12. Living on the left coast, I find it interesting to ride with people from the other side. There's this culture gap regarding speed limits, double-yellow lines, and twisty roads that doesn't come easy for them. We worked it out though. I'll let Matt describe how to keep up on a GS... Seems I always stop for pictures here.. Utah 14 to Cedar Breaks still had some sand and gravel on it. And, some of the most vicious tar snakes to date. These things were soft and squishy to my boot when there was snow right next to the road. Sad, how recessing bots dots so they don't present a hazard to motorcycles is becoming more and more common, yet tar snakes are not considered a risk. Okay, I'll step down off the soap box. Navajo Lake was still somewhat frozen. For some reason, the new bikes are in most of the pictures I took. This one's got Shannon in it too. Matt showing the latest "Day in The Snow" style from Florida. We made it to the summit, but the road to Cedar Breaks National Monument was closed. 175 miles of tight mountain roads, interrupted by miles of high speed sweepers, had taken its toll. The morning's wide-eyed enthusiasm was gone. We were met by a vicious head wind when we stopped for gas at the bottom of Utah 14. At one point I got ahead of the group and pulled over at the junction of 89 and 12 to wait. As I pulled out behind them I noticed that the road was straight and no one was coming, so I passed the group to get back in front. Chris started yelling in the radio about seeing a truck with a law enforcement sticker on the door. I looked around, but didn't see anything. Hey, without pictures, it didn't happen.... To Chris, Matt, and Shannon: Thanks for making a bunch of good Torrey memories. If you've never been to Torrey, go. It's a beautiful place. If you can get there for one of the BMWST gatherings all the better. We'll do our best to show you that Torrey is all about the people. There are more pictures over here Dennis Link to comment
lawnchairboy Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 had a blast, although I had to work on my anticipatory throttle to have a prayer of keeping the streaking K-bikes in sight. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the LEO in the truck didn't come after you for a talk when we made the right turn heading back in to Bryce, you made the jump to light speed right next to him where he sat on the side of the road. A pleasure to ride with you both, until the devil winds started kicking up. Chris Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 High winds indeed, it was a good precursor for the next day's drive across KS! It was a great day, a wonderful ride up over and amongst the deer, all the snow on the ground (in May? Seriously?) and of course the scenery. Dennie and Laney thanks for showing us around, I had a ball chasing those rocket ships you two were riding. Jethro and Dennis, Nikon spokesmodels Some "proper" perspective at the first photo opp stop: And one of my favorite pictures from the trip, in large part because of the guy riding a snow mobile 150 yards away from where we too, these. ShannieMae even talked a stranger into taking a group shot for us Thanks again you two, I can't wait to play triple digit crack the whip again! Link to comment
Whip Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Well done. How many days till Torrey XX???? Link to comment
norah Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Dennis...as always you have awesome pictures with a great ride tale. Thanks so much for sharing and hope to be able to ride with you all in the fall!! Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Thursday morning dawned clear in Ouray and knowing that we had a lot of miles to make, Shannon and I suited up and hit the road about 8AM. We made for Telluride up highway 62 and cut down highway 145 to Cortez, CO. We did our first 140 miles down enjoying lots of great scenery and wonderful sweepers along the river. We didn't take a lot of photos at this point as were pretty excited to get to the Four Corners monument and get into UT. So, onward we pushed after gas in Cortez, and then things started to unravel... From Cortez to the 4 corners we started off on loose gravel that was freshly oiled, unmarked and generally crappy as we progressed south on CO 161... We got to the corner to make the turn over to the Four Corners and were greeted by a sign that read "Four Corners Monument Closed" Undaunted, we figured that we might be able to see at least something... We were wrong... Continuing on, we headed up highway 191 toward 163 to 261, the Mokee Dugway.... Come on already, Richard! Truth be told, I was paranoid of dropping the GS on here so I took it a tad too easy and messed up some of Shannon's timing on the corners. About halfway up I finally got my groove and started riding it more comfortably, this dual-sport stuff is still pretty new to me. Yep, Shannie Mae did it on the 1100S. As we hadn't been able to do much at the Four Corners we decided to check out the Natural Bridge NP as it's just about at the intersection of 261 and UT95. It was neat, but I felt it was over hyped by the park staff. I was naughty though and rode around without my helmet in the park... Sightseeing out of the way and with another 150 miles to go, we hit the highway on a date with a road we heard was "transcendant," UT95. It was ok... It was a ball! We made really good time flying up the road from the park up to the overlook just north of Glenn Canyon in just over an hour IIRC. As we pulled into the overlook, there was this creepy guy who looked oddly familiar... I tried to dispose of him... Actually, this day was Chris' birthday. Part of the EPIC NATURE of this trip was that our birthdays are on consecutive days. Doing the trip across the birthdays... You get the idea. He had trailered over to Torrey from Ouray whilst we were lolly-gagging down south. He unloaded his bike at the hotel and hauled ass down looking for us so he could use concern for our safety as an excuse to ride his favorite road... We made a quick gas stop in Hanksville and steamrolled our way into the hotel where a quick change and a shower had us all presentable to head over to the Chuckwagon to see what kind of lunatics frequent this Torrey place... Link to comment
BFish Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Matt and company, Been enjoying the chapters of this trip. Thanks for taking us along. Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 good stuff This really makes me want to get back out there. I suppose I need to put a Torrey on the tentative calendar for next year. Link to comment
TN_R_Girl Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Ok ... a couple points of clarification here: 1. Jethro & Uncle Jed were talking ("babbling") the night before about dual-sport stuff ... which I, of course, tuned out. 2. They also discussed something called the "Mokee Dugway" ... again, it was buried amongst talk of dual sport stuff, so I tuned it out. 3. They claim they talked to me about the feasibility of doing the Dugway on my S ... I don't remember any such conversation ... nor did I realize that the Dugway involved any dual sporting, so when they asked if I thought that route was ok, I of course said "Sure!" and then proceeded to tune them out. I will admit, I started to get concerned about the route picked by Jethro when, after leaving the Four Corners I realized the long, dusty road appeared to dead end at the red rock cliffs. I got even MORE concerned when I saw signs indicating that the pavement was going to end in 6 miles. And yes ... as Jethro grinned at me while we sat on a sand shoulder ... I again had to ask myself just "WTF was I thinking???" when I agreed to come on this trip Nevertheless, heading back was clearly not an option at this point, so I took a deep breath and proceeded to follow Jethro up and around and up and around all those crazy gravel switchbacks! *** As for Natural Bridges, yes, it may have been a bit overhyped, but it's still amazing. I especially liked the way you can see how the waterways shape(d) the rocks and bridges. As well as some really cool rock formations like this: Not to mention the Godzilla-Style crows to be seen around the area: (And no, the crow was not that big, but I was messing with the zoom on my new point & shoot camera and I thought that ended up being a trippy looking shot ) Anyhow ... we did the rest as described by Jethro, but I think it bears mentioning that I had one of the most moving experiences of my life on this leg of the trip. It seemed to be getting a bit late and we were running pretty hard through some river canyon type terrain (you know the kind ... sandy, dusty and scrubby looking). As I remember it, we came up and over a relatively small, non-descript rise and found ourselves confronted by The Valley of the Gods. I do not believe there has ever been a more aptly named place. I wish I were more poetic so I could accurately describe the feelings evoked in me by what I saw ... The beauty of that surreal landscape made my heart squeeze so hard it hurt; and it is not an exaggeration to say that despite the heat, I found myself covered in goosebumps ---chilled from head to toe with tears filling my eyes. We did not stop, so no photo to share ... but truthfully, I'm kinda glad ... because I'm not sure a photo would really capture what I'm so pathetically trying to describe here. *** Anyhoo ... onward we went; crossed paths with Uncle Jed overlooking Hite City When we got to the Boulderview, we were met with cold beers generously provided by some more BMWST "strangers" and then headed to the CW. I was so excited, I could barely see straight! I was finally at Torrey! And I was finally going to meet some of the folks whose posts I've been following for years! As I was standing around meeting all the people whose names I knew I wouldn't stand a chance of remembering, I heard somebody say "Shannon??" I turned around and there was Laney! We'd been crossing paths on-line for years (both here and on the VFRD board) and I was REALLY excited to meet in person! By the way ... if you don't know this already, be careful ... for being so petite, Laney can give absolutely rib CRUSHING hugs!! It was AWESOME! So, after introductions were made, I ventured a request to ride with she & Dennis the next day to which they generously acquiecsed ... I just didn't think this trip could get ANY Better!! Link to comment
TN_R_Girl Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Well said! It was a fabulous day and I was so tickled to get to ride with you guys! (And again, sorry about being so slow on the uptake with the passing on the double yellow, etc... actually, I don't hesitate to do that at home, but tend to be a bit more tentative when I'm on unfamiliar roads in completely unfamiliar terrain! ) The only pictures I can add that might be of interest are this shot I got of the Kiva Koffeehouse (what a COOL place!) A quick shot of a happy Laney: And, well, Jethro being Jethro (or maybe this is the "wide eyed enthusiasm" you were mentioning earlier?? Link to comment
TN_R_Girl Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 The basis for Galt Gulch (Ouray, CO, as seen from a turnout on the Million Dollar Highway): I learned something today; thanks. Thanks also to da three of you's for the ride tale and pics; you are stoking my wanderlust. You're welcome! (I'm glad you got the reference!) Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 I wish I were more poetic so I could accurately describe the feelings evoked in me by what I saw ... The beauty of that surreal landscape made my heart squeeze so hard it hurt; and it is not an exaggeration to say that despite the heat, I found myself covered in goosebumps ---chilled from head to toe with tears filling my eyes. We did not stop, so no photo to share ... but truthfully, I'm kinda glad ... because I'm not sure a photo would really capture what I'm so pathetically trying to describe here. Thats the best part of any trip. That few seconds where you kinda just go "WOW!". Try explaining it to someone who doesn't ride or travel by motorcycle and you will be left with blank stares of confusion. We get ya Link to comment
Joel Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 I wish I were more poetic so I could accurately describe the feelings evoked in me by what I saw ... The beauty of that surreal landscape made my heart squeeze so hard it hurt; and it is not an exaggeration to say that despite the heat, I found myself covered in goosebumps ---chilled from head to toe with tears filling my eyes. We did not stop, so no photo to share ... but truthfully, I'm kinda glad ... because I'm not sure a photo would really capture what I'm so pathetically trying to describe here. Thats the best part of any trip. That few seconds where you kinda just go "WOW!". Try explaining it to someone who doesn't ride or travel by motorcycle and you will be left with blank stares of confusion. We get ya +1. The description is not pathetic. BTDT, and look forward to doing it again. It can happen lots of places, but Utah is pretty good at triggering it. Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Hey Shannon/glad you had a great trip west/told you it was going to be fun. Link to comment
TN_R_Girl Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Hey Shannon/glad you had a great trip west/told you it was going to be fun. You sure did!! But I don't think I realized HOW fun!! (speaking of which, can't wait to hear about your trip ) Link to comment
90%angel Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 You survived the Mokee Dugway! Congrats! I did it on my RS, slip-slidin' around. I had the biggest grin on my face, but I do think my first words when I got to the top were "$h!T!!!!, that was crazy!" Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 You survived the Mokee Dugway! Congrats! I did it on my RS, slip-slidin' around. I had the biggest grin on my face, but I do think my first words when I got to the top were "$h!T!!!!, that was crazy!" Her daintiness looked at me and said "THAT was F@#$%^&g insane.... $h!t!!" Then she giggled... Link to comment
90%angel Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Her daintiness looked at me and said "THAT was F@#$%^&g insane.... $h!t!!" Then she giggled... Yeah, that's about right!! Link to comment
Whip Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 I wish I were more poetic so I could accurately describe the feelings evoked in me by what I saw ... The beauty of that surreal landscape made my heart squeeze so hard it hurt; and it is not an exaggeration to say that despite the heat, I found myself covered in goosebumps ---chilled from head to toe with tears filling my eyes. We did not stop, so no photo to share ... but truthfully, I'm kinda glad ... because I'm not sure a photo would really capture what I'm so pathetically trying to describe here. Well said I get that feeling every time I turn Northwest outa Blanding on to 95. I wish I was there right now. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 all the snow on the ground (in May? Seriously?)May, pffft. Boulder Mountain got buried over the weekend, UT12 had several inches on it over the summit. Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 all the snow on the ground (in May? Seriously?)May, pffft. Boulder Mountain got buried over the weekend, UT12 had several inches on it over the summit. sorry Bob, I'm just used to water skiing by May... Link to comment
lawnchairboy Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 "I get that feeling every time I turn Northwest outa Blanding on to 95." Amen brother Whip, Amen. Link to comment
Joel Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Nice of you & Laney to escort the Clampetts through some of the Promised Land. Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 As much as we hated to do it, we had to finally start heading back to life and reality. After chasing Dennis and Laney up and down UT12 we were packing up the bikes and found that it was about 985 miles to my brother's house where we were thinking of stopping 2 days out. Suddenly the idea occurred to help Shannie Mae get her Saddle Sore done. So, we looked at routes, fiddled with the plans and all of a sudden, we looked upon it and it was good. Well, the beers were good, the plan was about average. Nonetheless, up with the sun, gone with the wind all the way down to Sweeper Madness. A gas receipt to start the day, KAVU conditions and we were gone! After sweeper madness it was about 650 miles of I-70 to the next turn. Except for the WIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We did the 500 mile right turn with the wind beating us up... We got all the way to Limon, CO and had to pack it in. A bottle of wine a baseball game on the tube and mcdonald's for dinner. Day 7 was done about 500 miles short... Link to comment
Albert Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 There's nothin' more 'merican than baseball, Big Macs and wine. Link to comment
flars Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 What goes with a Big Mac??? Red, white, blue, or pink - or do you recommend the current vintage of MD2020 as the 'drink that goes with everything' ? Link to comment
lawnchairboy Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I think you can only get 20/20 in "current"... My 7th day was a dirt ride with Eddd, courtesy of the Whip Yammie 450 machine. A ton a fun, pics already posted, thanks again for the loaner bike, I didn't drop it... hard. chris Link to comment
TN_R_Girl Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Absolutely nothing to add here ... Only that wind sucks!! Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 18, 2010 Author Share Posted June 18, 2010 What goes with a Big Mac??? Red, white, blue, or pink - or do you recommend the current vintage of MD2020 as the 'drink that goes with everything' ? We subscribed to the Red, White and Drunk all over train of thought Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 19, 2010 Author Share Posted June 19, 2010 Up and out of Limon, CO quickly to try and get some miles done before the winds picked back up. We did the last couple hours of CO and hit the KS border mid morning, making good time and in good shape for the long run. KS, is a funny place and the light seems to make it do weird things to your perspectives. I think it's the way it reflects off all the boring... Nonetheless, we pressed on, KS, MO, up and around St Louis to the north and then down into IL. Western IL smells pretty bad. Especially on a humid night when all those fine smells seem to cling to you. Yechhh! It was in Metropolis, IL that we took our only picture of the entire day... That was our last gas stop to make it home. We hit Nashvegas, got a closing receipt and Shannie Mae had qualified for her SaddleSore 1000 with the IBA. It was a good ride, mostly without drama and I was glad to be a part of helping a friend achieve one of her goals. Link to comment
Paul Mihalka Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 "We hit Nashvegas, got a closing receipt and Shannie Mae had qualified for her SaddleSore 1000 with the IBA." Congratulations, Shannon! Link to comment
TN_R_Girl Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Thanks Paul And thank you Matt!! I have to make one additional observation here: everybody complains about the "boring" in Kansas, but after the dry, flat, dull of Eastern Colorado, I thought the rolling green of Kansas was quite pretty And while I've got the documentation together for the IBA application, I'm having trouble getting hold of a map that I can copy and put with the paperwork I tried to print off the Google map that shows our route, but it didn't work very well ... so the quest for my official IBA membership continues Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Can't you use Mapsource to print out a map or your route? I'll save the congrats for AFTER you figure out the paperwork Link to comment
ElevenFifty Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Congrats!! I use a freeware program MWSNAP to capture images on the screen ... just get Google or MapSource to show what you want and MWSNAP will grab just that and make a printable image for you - Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 I have to make one additional observation here: everybody complains about the "boring" in Kansas, but after the dry, flat, dull of Eastern Colorado, I thought the rolling green of Kansas was quite pretty I guess I must have tried to block it out from the east side of Denver... I70 was mighty pretty; until you get to Denver it seems Link to comment
Joel Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I've been reserving my applause until the end, or near the end, of this tag-team tale. This is close enough. Good on all 3 of ya. Link to comment
LuckyLeif Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Western IL smells pretty bad. Especially on a humid night when all those fine smells seem to cling to you. Yechhh! Ahhh, swine confinement pens. That's the smell of money (or maybe, NOT) Link to comment
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