4000 mile solo trip from Lousiana to Utah + Colorado

[Stacey]

Hi Everybody,

This is a short trip report of my second annual trip up to Colorado and Utah. This year was the first time on my 2008 FJR, last year I had a GSXR 1000 which was

not nearly as comfortable. The trip was great with no problems and great weather the entire way. The following are some of the routes and pics:

Day 1 was all slab work with the heavy traffic mainly in Dallas.

Day 2 was mainly slab work with a lot of long staight roads.

This was the first sign that things were fixing to change. ( Those look like hills in the distance )

This is a pic just north west of Taos New Mexico

Day 3 started in Pagosa Springs and went across some great roads in Utah

The balloon festival in Pagosa Springs was a great surprise.

Monument Valley and Mexican Hat were still hotter than I wanted

This is a snap shot just north of Mexican Hat on hwy 261 near the top of the gravel road section.

Day 4 started in Richfield UT and made a loop down to Bryce and back up to Torrey UT.

Day 5 took me to Moab and Arches NP, then over to Colorado NM near Grand Junction

Day 6 took me up the Black canyon of the Gunnison and up to Carbondale and over to Aspen and Independence Pass.

Day 7 took me to Monarch Pass and then South back toward Texas and Lousiana.

Day 8 was all slab work at high speed with my Escort 8500 x50 paying for itself the entire way home.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Great pix Stacey. I've ridden a lot of those roads, more than once because the scenery was so beautiful.

Jill

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Stacey,

What a wonderful trip and pics.

What a beautiful country we live in with all these possibilities.

Thanks for taking us along.

 

[Stacey]

The total mileage for the trip was 4000 miles and I camped about half the time and done hotels the other half. These are some of the things that I learned

from the trip.

1. Don't expect to get cell phone coverage at those great remote camping sites. If you've got to make a check in call at night with your significant other then

you may want to call in during the last major town you pass before going off the grid.

2. There are hundreds of tourist from Germany, France, Holland, and Belgium that come over to rent motorcycles and tour Utah and Colorado.

3. I ate dinner with 15 French riders and found that they were very serious about their wine. I was able to order my meal and completely eat it before they decided

on exactly which wine they wanted. They were very organized with one van travelling with them with all of the luggage so the bikes did not have to carry much gear

at all. They appeared to be having a blast and I really enjoyed talking with them.

4. Schedule your camping stops with at least 30 minutes of day light left to get setup before it gets dark if possible.

5. Camping in Colorado is great in the National forest areas if you don't mind roughing it a little bit.

6. The Olympia Phantom suit with a Tour Master heated vest will work great down to 30 deg F with out using the inner liner.

7. The Olympia Phantom suit with all the vents open and the front zipper half way down is comfortable up to 95 if your moving and using water sprayed on your chest.

8. Wear sunscreen on your hands if you take your gloves off. I thought that was BS since I get a lot of sun on my hands but I quickly burned my hands on my first day.

9. If you have a GPS and a digital camera then you need to "Geo-Synch" all of your pics. I used the free GpicSync program off the internet and it worked great. Note that

Central time is -5 hrs offset from the UDT (Universal date time ) that the GPS system uses.

10. Side water jugs are great when crossing Monument Valley.

 

[canyonman]

Great pics. thanks for sharing.

I too have visited many of those places and traveled several of those roads. Great memories

 

[Murph]

Great report, great pics, and great tips. Thanks for sharing! :clapping:

 

[El Toro Joe]

Nice job, looks like you had alot of fun.

 

[TCMike]

Looks like a hell of a trip. Nice pic with the balloons in the background.

Am I seeing things, or do you have a hydration unit on each side? :huh:

One to put fluids in, and the other to drain them? :biggrinsmiley:

 

[rogdeb]

Very nicely done Stacey, thanks for sharing. Ridden many of those roads and passes ourselves -- NM and CO are beautiful States to ride in.

Love that "Monument Valley/Mexican Hat" road pic -- hasn't changed at all

 

[Stacey]

This is a link to a write up on my side hydration kegs:

DIY Hydration system w/ manual in-line pump

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...mp;#entry497251

Once I started using the system these are some things I learned:

1) It is nice to always have water to clean your helmet visor and windshield off with regardless of where you stop.

2) When camping it is nice to fill up one with 2 can cokes and then pack with ice so that you will have a caffene fix for the next morning.

3) In cooler weather, if you get in a bind for space then one of the kegs can be used for storing your tools or first-aids kit.

4) In an emergency, you can sacrifice the hand pump and tube and use as a manual gasoline pump to pull gas from one motorcycle tank into another.

5) Replacement hand bulb pumps and tubes can be purchased at Walmart for 5 bucks.