Howdy, all.

Just returned (1 July) from the longest and most amazing road trip of my life. That I did it on the bike and with my dad made it that much better.

My dad and one of his friends have been planning this trip for about a year. At that time I was living in Great Falls, MT so they made sure to swing through there on the route and I was going to take leave and ride with them for about a week. During the final stages of the planning, I moved to Las Vegas and it looked like I was going to be in training while they were riding and I wasn't going to be able to join them. My dad planned on swinging through Vegas and spending a few days with me. About a month before the ride began, my training was delayed and everything fell into place for me to take leave and ride with them, not for just a week, but for three!

The group consisted of myself on a '03 FXDL, my dad on his '04 Kawasaki Vulcan 2000, his friend on a mid '90s Gold Wing, his next door neighbor on a '99 Road Star Silverado, my uncle on a '04 VTX1800, my cousin on a '03 VTX1800 and another cousin driving a chase truck and pulling a utility trailer with an awning built onto it that served as a camper for my uncle, cousins and me and doubled as an emergency bike hauler, just in case. My uncle and cousin decided to go on the trip about 3 weeks out and bought their bikes just for the trip.

They left from Pensacola, FL on the 6th of June and I was supposed to meet them in Manitou Springs, CO on the 11th of June. I allocated 2 days to ride there from Vegas and planned a scenic route along the border of Utah and Arizona taking in Zion National Park and Lake Powell, heading through the Four Corners and then across Colorado. My plan was to camp in the area of Cortez, CO and ride the rest of the way to Manitou the second day. You know what they say about the best laid plans...

I got a late start out of Vegas due to some issues with my dog getting sick and crapping all over the living room carpet and didn't get on the road until about 1300 on the 10th. I rode until I couldn't stand the cold any more and ended up spending the night in Kayenta, AZ in the middle of the Navajo Reservation. There was only one room available in town and I ended up paying a lot more than I wanted to, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I was nervous about leaving the bike unattended and had I gotten a ground floor room I probably would have rolled it right in the door, but as it was I just had to park it and have faith...

I awoke the next morning to find my bike untouched, much to my relief, and got on the road around 0800. It was a bit chilly but I expected it to warm up as the morning progressed. WRONG! Not only did it not get any warmer but it also started to rain off-and-on. I owned a very nice rain suit, but as with most of my gear, it was packed away awaiting the move into our new house and unavailable for the trip. I tried to buy a new rainsuit as well as some warm clothes for the trip but those things are both impossible to get in Las Vegas in the summer. I got wet, wet and cold! I rolled into Montrose, CO with one purpose: find better riding clothes for the conditions or find a room and spend the night. I found the one motorcycle dealer in the town and fortunately they had a very nice selection of leathers and $270 later I was back on the road, now much better equipped to weather the rain. I managed to avoid the weather for the rest of the day and had a very enjoyable ride, until I got into Manitou Springs. I stopped to call my dad to find out where they were staying and no sooner had I hung up the phone than the bottom fell out. It was less than a mile to their motel, but in that time I managed to get soaked through to the bone and pelted with hail. At least the leathers got broken in...

We spent the next day in the local area visiting friends and got on the road on Mon. the morning of the 13th. This was by far the most tedious day of

 

Great story, and sounds like a great trip with your Dad and other assorted family. The accident sucks, and you can't do anything about the weather, but it sounds like it all worked out pretty well in the end. I would have loved to do that trip with my father.

 

Some highlights of the trip:

Zion National Park is amazing! Video clips will be forthcoming.

US 50 across southern Colorado is gorgeous. It runs through a river canyon right beside the water and is about as winding a road as you could ask for. It's in very good condition and the traffic was almost non-existent during my ride. I have video of this as well.

The Black Hills of SD offer tons of great riding. If you go to Sturgis or are in that area, take in the Needles Highway and 16A. They make a nice loop from right around the Crazy Horse Monument to Mt Rushmore and are without a doubt some of the twistiest roads on earth. Once more, I have video. If in the area be sure to hit Spearfish Canyon as well.

US 89 from White Sulphur Springs to Great Falls, MT. Lightly traveled mountain road in really good condition with beautiful scenery all around.

US 83 from Woodworth to Big Fork, MT. Same as above but with more traffic.

"Going to the Sun" road through Glacier National Park. If you have the chance, travel this road by any means available and soon. The road is deteriorating and there has been talk of closing it either for several years to make repairs or permanently. Words cannot describe it...

The Kananaskis Highway through the front range of the Canadian Rockies. If I had know about this ride when I lived in MT I would have made the trip many times.

Canadian Hwy 93 through Banff and Jasper National Parks. Even with the rain dampening the trip (pun intended) it was incredible. Caution: The road is REALLY rough in spots, you've been warned!

TransCan 1 from Kamloops to Hope, BC through Fraser Canyon. This road is under construction causing some delays and the number of big rigs is high for a two lane mountain road but once the construction is complete the ride shoud be great.

I-90 (interstate?!? *gasp*) between Cour d' Alene, ID and Missoula, MT. Imagine a twisty mountain road that you don't have to worry about oncoming traffic. This is that road.

US 89 from Belgrade to West Yellowstone, MT. Another winding canyon road right next to a river. Sorry, no video because of weather.

Finally, US 89 between Garden City and Logan, UT. We had no idea that this stretch of road would be this spetacular. The climb out of Garden City is currently under construction and is oiled gravel and really rough, but once past that 2-3 miles you will find that the rest next 40 miles are more than worht the hassle. Unfortunately we hit the climb right at dusk and I didn't think to get out my night-time glasses ahead of time and there is nowhere to stop in the canyon. There were also tons of deer about and an a'hole in a cage pulling a boat in a real big hurry right behind us. Despite the fact that I was worried about hitting a deer or getting run over and I couldn't see really well, I was still in awe of the ride. When we stopped for gas in Logan my dad and I both commented on how it would have been the hands down best ride of the trip if we had hit it about 3 hours earlier and could actually see.

 

The timing of the trip couldn't have worked out better and there was no way I could pass up the chance to take a trip like this with my dad. He's not old (59 this year) but he's getting worried about his own mortality. He lost his dad in Dec of '03 and his older brother, with whom he'd always talked about doing a similar trip, just this last Christmas. He'd talked about not going and my stepmom wouldn't hear of it. When I found out that I was going to have a chance to ride with them for a good while I knew that because of my job, I may never get another chance...

 

Sure sounds like a great ride! Thanks for letting me "come along."

 

Great ride, and a great re-cap. I have ridden many of the roads you were on, and as you described, they are majestic.

Regards,

Bill

 

What a terrific ride thanks for sharing it with us. Post some pics or clips of your movies if you get the chance.

 

That was a great recap of your ride (thanks for sharing).It sounds like a once in a lifetime ride.I'd give any thing to have been able to take a ride like that with My dad.It will have to be done with My Son.




Thanks for sharing the ride with us.



Craig

 

You and your Dad sharing that ride is priceless. Congratulations on a great experience!
TC

 

I'll be working on downloading all the video to the computer for editing over the next few weeks and then finding a place to host them. I have over 6 hours of footage so it might take a while.

I'll also be working on a website with the story of the trip and with lots of pictures. Most of my pictures are genuinely huge files. After I filled up the two small memory cards that I brought with me, I went and bought a really big one and upped the resolution on the camera to 3 megapixel with 16 bit color. I'll post a link once the site is up.

Here's a small taste of the pictures I took. This one is in Jasper National Park in west-central Alberta.

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