Moab Magic

Holy Moly!!

What a day/night - not sure where to begin as the day started out in Burley, ID with the weather threatening to rain by mid morning so I high-tailed it out before and actually did beat the rains out of ID.  They weren't kidding about the strong winds - I had a permanent lean heading southeast on 84 to UT against a serious southern wind that I've learned was a nice 30mph wind with gusts of 40....yeah leaning that hard just to go straight for about 40 miles was a serious workout at 80mph :D  Leaving ID with sunshine in front of me and dark clouds in the mirror was really inspiring for me to lay some miles down.  ID is beautiful and I made sure to take some pics in the "High  Crosswind" and "Sandstorm" areas, but they are still in late winter as some people made sure to let me know they don't see many motorcycles out this time of year...yeah ready to leave!

I have to give major props to the Uly today - no hiccups or losing it's groove; just plenty of power and stability for a solid 8hrs of spirited riding...did I mention that gobs of mad power and torque to pass anything on the road and a calm cruising speed of 80+mph?  The Uly is sounding alot richer with a sweet exhaust note that just begs a twist of the throttle.  So far for 1100+ miles I have only listened to the music inside my head (and there's tons of that) and the sound of the Uly...OH YEAH!!!

Yesterday's cold wet winter experience was replaced with all four seasons today.  As soon as entering UT not only was I amazed at the mountain scenery and warmer temps, but I could see shadows of clouds on the road in front of me and whenever entering a dark cloud area got some snow with the drop in the temperature that was followed by sunshine and warmth.  I counted about a half dozen clouds that dropped snow for more than a few miles but that would be it - I could smell rain, but never got wet on this day :)  The worst part of the ride was through Salt Lake City - it seems all city riding is the same - lots of cagers not following the law and just randomly changing lanes with no concern for anyone else on the road.  The Uly was awesome there with power always being there for me to ride in space away from that craziness with a few bursts of 90+mph to stay away.  After getting south of Salt Lake City I jammed on US 6 which was just amazing!  Some fun two lane riding with passing lane on the uphills - now I know why the Uly has a flash to pass switch :) At 7700+ft the Uly had no problems blasting past anything on the road.  I did stop to take some pics & video but found it hard to stop with so much fun road.  It snowed up there too with some wild crosswinds and sudden temp drops, but only for a few miles at a stretch.  The scenery on US6 is amazing!  The colors and terrain are so worth the ride - not to mention the signs displaying "Dangerous Curves" - I think the Uly was made for those curves as it felt very comfortable and I never had to hesitate on any line.

After some straight stretches where it appeared I could see for miles and miles (so 110+mph feels pretty stable as well :) I took some pics and began to see big white fluffy clouds in the blue sky that were reflecting some hints of red....Moab was ahead!  I was so excited to get there that I didn't stop for fuel and was about to run out 10 miles outside of Moab so I stopped and finally got to use one of the external fuel packs to freshen up my tank. While I was fueling a dude on a new KLR rode by and of course I gave him a big wave and he waved back.  After the fuel I actually caught up to that dude and he looked to be having a hard time as he pulled to the side of the road - I doubled back to check on him but he seemed ok - I think either he was a beginner or just got the KLR as he waved me off.  Made me think of my KLR sitting at home...almost wish I had it here, well actually made me wish I had a KLX250 up here.  The Uly is a great touring adventure bike, but as I'm learning it's off-road manners are very nervous - I couldn't help but take the Uly in some of the red dirt up here where the pavement ends, it's not the machine for that stuff, but it looks bad ass in the pics I took :D

So I'm sure everyone has heard of Moab and knows of it's red rocks and that it's an outdoor mecca for anything outdoors.  There seems to be a magical energy of this place - the smells are different the air is mellow  but with energy and the red rocks, cliffs, water and trails are so intense.  I so want to rent a mountainbike and get my single-track on, but I think I'm just going to be tourist this trip and take lots of pictures and casually ride around looking at stuff...anyone want to plan a future trip here?

After riding around on paved and unpaved roads until the sunset taking plenty of pics I had to find a good beer and some grub...The Moab Brewery satisfied that - great food and a nice vibe there, not mention it was packed on a Tuesday - perhaps the $2.75 pints and awesome beer!

I feel full energy here in Moab, but I also realize I just rode a solid 8hrs today so I should shut it down and recharge for tomorrow.  I have no idea at this time where I'm heading in the morning - I do want explore more and just soak it all in - I'll figure it out in the morning and see where the road leads.


"...and with dust in throat I crave
only knowledge will I save
to the game you stay a slave
rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond
call me what you will"