It wasn’t what I planned.

It wasn’t even twelve days.

But I had a blast.

I missed seeing some things I have wanted to see for a long time, and I saw some things I hadn’t even planned on seeing.

The storm changed everything.

When I realized that I would be riding over Glacier in a rain storm I figured time to try another route. That happened the second day.

And then I saw some of the most beautiful land I have ever seen.

Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado… just wow.

I won’t go over what I have written in the previous days logs but to say that being on a motorcycle in the West is one of those things that soothe me, give me some clarity, and is something I never hope to lose.

I travel alone. But I am never lonely.

I ride where I want, stop when I want to, and meet new and interesting people whenever I can.

My bike is a Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad. 

That is a big motorcycle with a V-Twin and saddle bags built in.

There is a certain comfort to that big machine not being blown around by passing trucks, or high desert winds.

And the longer I ride it, the more it just seems natural in its handling.

I took a class in slow speed maneuvering a few months ago in preparation for this trip and learned a lot about what I had no idea I was doing wrong.

This trip included many U-turns on two lanes of asphalt with no margin for error. I handled them just fine, for the most part.

I was chased by the storm for a few days, always seeming to barely out run it.

But it did catch up to me a few times and in Idaho I was caught in a flash hail storm that may have been the most dense rain I have ever experienced. Within a few seconds the water on the highway was 2 -3 inches deep, and visibility crashed to nearly zero.

I followed the slow car ahead of me to the side of the road where I simply put my head down and figured I would wait it out.

The rain was so dense I could not make out the kind of car only 6 feet away.

A pickup truck had pulled behind me (I realized after I could see a bit) and the string of cars was at least a half mile long after the initial 10 minutes of deluge. It continued to rain but I was able to keep going – slowly – as it finally dissipated. Within 30 minutes I had gone from dry to exceedingly wet to sunshine and rainbows.

Gotta love those mountains.

I found some incredibly beautiful roads, and some very challenging motorcycle roads.

Motorcycles like curves.

Motorcyclists call them twisties.

And I found some roads that were simply incredible on this journey.

In Nevada, the road from Milford to Ely has some incredible flatlands, but it also has some very cool twisties. Lots of sweeping curves – then miles of absolutely straight road through flats that were incredible.

Highway 89 from Logan, UT to Garden City, UT is also one twisted road.

It has some very tight corners, and they can surprisingly grow tighter as you are in them. 

Not knowing the road, I was very careful with speed and that was a good thing on several of those tight, tight, turns.

Going over the mountains from Flaming Gorge (Manila, UT) to Vernal, UT will take you through beautiful mountains with lots of curves and then a quick descent from the bluff over Vernal to the valley below with a series of super tight switchbacks that are very fun, and very slow.

I had long periods of absolutel straight roads in Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming, but I didn’t mind because the vistas went on forever.

And the roads were nearly deserted. 

I stopped to do a photo in Wyoming and was there for at least 10 minutes before a pickup rolled by.

Alone.

But never lonely.

It was quite cold when I was leaving Hot Sulphur Springs headed to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

I stopped at a little diner in Granby for some breakfast and got into a conversation with some adventurers who had just been over the mountain.

It was below freezing this morning, and wouldn’t be over 40 degrees before mid afternoon.

I am not prepared for that kind of cold so once again, plans had to change.

This was the point where I decided to leisurely make my way home and hope that next year gives me better conditions for riding those two passes.

I have ridden them before: Glacier during the big fires of a couple of years ago and the Trail Ridge Road last year on my fall color ride.

But my sights were set on Beartooth, but the storm had made it very, very cold as well, and I am simply not prepared for that extreme.

Next year Mt Gray and Beartooth.

I promise myself.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Next time I go out I am taking only my iPhone and my little Lumix pocket camera.

I don’t do photography on these rides. 

If there is a place to pull over, fine… but there are ten times more places where a car can pull over than a bike.

And leaving the gear bungeed to the bike whilst I head over the hills for a shot… naww, why invite tragedy.

I got about 20 photos from the trip and that was just fine with me.

I went to ride.

To clear my head.

To see places from a new perspective.

To be in the wind.

And I accomplished that well, I think.

I wasn’t out for as long as I had planned, but I was out and back on my own terms and that means something to me.

Now to plan the winter ride to Louisiana.

All photos in this series were made with an iPhone XS Max.
Minimal editing (contrast mostly).

Ride free, my friends.