With business closed due to maintenance, went for a much-needed throttle therapy.for three days. On day one I left home in the morning under a cloudy sky and with the temperatures in the low 50's on my way to Utah. North of cajon pass and all the way past Baker, temperatures fluctuated between 40 and 50 F. Las Vegas was a bit warmer, but decided to keep my layers on a little bit longer; Once I arrived to Mesquite NV, the layers had to come off as it was 76 F according to the gauge on my bike. Made my way to St. George where my cousin lives. Drank his beer, ate his food and had a good time catching up with him, his brother and their families. After dinner we visited snow canyon state park in Ivins UT. Great and fun park with plenty of camping, hiking, walking and camping spaces. Hiked a few places, took some photos and went back to my cousin's house for more drinking, more conversation and couch surfing. On day two, I made my way to Sand Hollow resort in Hurricane to drive on and enjoy the views the golf course offers. Great views surround the links, Zion National Park being one of them and very close. After visiting the resort, I made my way to interstate 15 and headed north. My goal was to ride around Brian Head and Cedar Breaks National Monument. As I rode further away from St.George, it was clear to me that I would need warmer clothes. Temperature dropped from low 50's to the low 40's, and interstate 15 was wet in some areas due to ice melting from the even lower temperatures the night before. I was going to brave the cold and ride to Brian Head and Cedar Breaks from Parowan as I was, but after filling up the tank and reading that the altitude was above 10K feet, I realized that I had left my riding pants back in St George. Good thing I always carry plenty of thermal base layers in my bags. UT 143 is a fun road. Plenty of turns and a blind "S" turn that climbs several feet in less than a 40 feet or so and can be a very technical road. As I got closer to Brian Head and gained altitude, snow was more and more visible. Temperature was at 36 F and dipped to 32 F just outside of town. From Brian Head I made my way to Cedar Breaks National Monument on UT 148. Fun road with great views and plenty of photo opportunities. Snow on the side of the road and on the peaks that extended down to the slopes made it an interesting ride. Black ice in some areas made me lose traction a couple of times, nothing happened, but I found one bite mark on the seat later on. Piles of snow are being pushed in parking lots corners waiting for spring to melt. UT 148 after Cedar Breaks is another fun road. Gravel and rocks falling down the mountain side, along with mud and water slowed me down a bit, but is no big deal because I truly enjoyed the chilly weather and the views. Headed west on UT 14 to Cedar city. Stopped for breakfast/lunch at "brick house cafe" I was looking forward to a good steak, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat a sandwich I haven't had in many years: "The count of fonty cristo" Turkey, ham, Swiss cheese on French toast with powder sugar and served with raspberry jalapeno jam. Just decadent. On the way back to St George I stopped at Kolob Canyon, which is located on the northwest side of Zion National Park. Layers came off, weather was in the high 60's, but a little cloudy. Kolob has a well-kept road, and albeit being a small -only about 5 miles long- park, it has plenty of dedicated spots to enjoy the views and take photos. The views of the cliffs is spectacular and breath-taking. Steep walls and deep canyons with a changing landscape just has to be enjoyed. On a side note, I didn't see a single motorcycle on the loop I rode from St. George, Parowan, Brian Head, Cedar Breaks, Cedar City and Kolob Canyon. There were a few when I got back to St. George. Great day of riding! Day three is the day to get back home. Left St.George on old highway 91 passing through the towns of Santa Clara, Ivins and the Indian community of Kayenta. Nice roads with turns and sweepers all the way down to littlefield AZ. Old highway 91 was the main road that connects Mesquite NV and St. George UT before I-15 was built in the 1960's through the virgin river gorge. According to wikipedia, at the time of opening in 1973, the virgin river gorge was the most expensive section of rural interstate per mile. That part of the country connects the Colorado plateau and the Mojave desert. The 12 miles or so from Littlefield AZ to the UT border is a rider's delight: sweet sweepers and fantastic scenery in either direction. Ever since I heard about "Valley Of Fire State Park in NV" I wanted to visit, today was the day. Valley Of Fire is Nevada's first state park and is located about twenty miles east of I-15. The road reminds me of the road on Death Valley from Shoshone to bad water basin: turns, deeps, gravel, rocks and the occasional soft sand on the road. This park has interesting rock formations and landscape that change colors throughout the day. The visitor center is located about four miles from the park's entrance. Souvenirs, maps, snacks and refreshments are available. Not a very big park, I didn't ride the entire lenght, but I know I will go back and dedicate ample time to explore it. After riding the park I made a right turn onto NV 167, I never imagined this road is such a beauty! This road is about 60 miles long from Valley of Fire's south entrance to Henderson NV. All kinds and bikes and bikers waving and warning of hazards on the road made this stretch what riding is all about. Amazing views, mountains of different colors and shapes, views to lake Mead, sweepers and occasional tight turns make this road one of my new favorites. I will definitely go back! Not much to report from Las Vegas to Orange County after having lunch in Primm NV. Everything was going well until........ ....About twenty miles from Baker trouble was knocking on my door. I smelled scents of melted metal/rubber/coolant and visible smoke. Looked in my mirrors, turned around, got as close to the engine as I could, did some hard braking, rapid acceleration, engaged the V-Tech, checked the temperature gauge and did everything I could, but I was unable to detect any problems without stopping. I had made up my mind to stop in Baker to trouble-shoot any issues when I saw smoke in front of me. Smoke billowing from the rear axle of a semi assured me that nothing was wrong with my bike and gave me peace of mind to keep on riding without any worries. All in all, great three days of riding.
Nice, just what I needed to see, something more than the regular stuff, good job on all accounts, food, golf and a VFR.. Yes, cool beans.
You're probably setup how my display was too, "VFRWorld Dark". Go to the bottom left of the webpage and look at the settings bar, click the arrow and change it to "VFRWorld Ligh", your back ground will change allowing you to read his post. You can change t back any time you like or leave it as is.
