Grand Canyon Drive By

From the westernmost corner of southern Utah the routes east are few and far between, mostly because there’s this gigantic canyon blocking almost all paths southward. So, it only makes sense to catch a glimpse of this famous canyon from its less famous North Rim.

The road from Hurricane, Utah to Jacob Lake, Arizona, is largely uninspired. Once at Jacob Lake however, the road turns to fun all the way into the National Park. Fun, that is, unless you’re stuck behind one of those Whales on Wheels rented from El Monte RV. But on a bike passing is far easier than in a car, so the Whales are easily slain and unfettered access to the curvy road regained.

The centerpiece of the North Rim Experience, aside from the big-ass hole in the ground, of course, is the Grand Canyon Lodge. This building is a testament to architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood and National Park style of the 1930s. It’s located right on the canyon edge, it’s big, it’s stone and logs, and what a view from every window.

The restaurant inside the great lodge is pure National Park institutional. The food is okay, but the lack of culinary inspiration is more than forgiven by the unparalleled view from each and every seat.

For the motorbike rider looking for a bit of dirt road, there is the Point Sublime road, 17 miles long and well maintained. If you’ve planned well in advance a day or two stay at the North Rim is available in the lodge, and a variety of cabins and campsites. Reservations are required and the place is booked months in advance.

The road east out of Jacob Lake is also tons of fun. A very curvy blacktop that drops in elevation down to the plateau that is home to the headwaters of the Grand Canyon, Navajo Bridge (the easternmost crossing of the Colorado River) and eventually Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. The road here is mind numbing – but, surprise, the scenery is great.

Glen Canyon Dam, dedicated by Lady Bird Johnson when she was First Lady, is an engineering marvel, but an environmentalist’s touchstone. Love Lake Powell, or hate it, it’s been a recreation Mecca since the early 1970s, and over a Memorial Day weekend it’s packed – even with $4 a gallon fuel prices.

The Lake Powell recreation area has a wide variety of sleepover options, from nicely maintained (if a bit sandy) campsites to a basic hotel, resort. A recent New York Times article talked a bit about a new American vacation phenomena called “luxury deprivation,” where people go out of their way, and spend money freely, for the illusion of “roughing it.” Okay, as a motorbike touring and camping enthusiast, the description fits. Here’s to riding all day and then roughing it by sipping a nice Robert Mondavi, enjoying a delicious salmon fettuccini, and then sleeping in a comfy goose down-filled sleeping bag inside a high-tech Eureka tent.

Up Over Around and Through

A day’s ride from Torrey to Hurricane

Highway 12 out of Torrey, Utah sweeps past some of the most pastoral settings you will ever see. Cattle and horses alike live the sweet life here in the valley below Boulder Mountain, munching happily all day long on the thickest, greenest pastures that smell freshly mown, even though they are not.

The Highway very quickly turns mountainous as it climbs toward the summit. 25, 35, and 45 mile per hour curves (recommended speeds) are swallowed up at significantly higher actual velocities. The big round curves and little double, triple and quadruple s-curves appear so often there are almost no sections of straight road. Automobiles and dreaded RVs are few and far between, and in retrospect, these slow movers that do appear help to moderate what would be an overwhelming tendency to go faster and faster with every turn. Don’t forget to breathe.

As the road climbs toward the snow covered summit the temperatures drop, and the rush of adrenaline and rapid heart rate create an annoying foggy faceshield — another clue that it might be time to lay off the throttle.

At the summit the road is wet but not icy. The ride down the mountain is just as much fun as the ride up. Can it get better than this? Oh yeah.

At the little settlement of Boulder on the western slope of the mountain is a little known back road called Burr Trail. If you’re riding anywhere near southwestern Utah this is one road that should not be missed, and it would’ve been if not for a nice tip from a nice couple from Colorado riding an R1150GS.

Burr Trail is about 75 miles long — a shortcut of sorts — and about half of it is roughly paved. Even though it may not go where you’re going, ride it and you won’t be disappointed.

Dropping through the Grand Staircase National Monument into Escalante is also a rider’s treat. As it says in the motorbiking bible, “the path of the righteous rider is beset on all sides by UNBELIEVEABLY BEAUTIFUL SCENERY." When does it stop? Well, it doesn’t.

On the way to Hurricane, and a night’s rest, is Zion National Park. You may balk at first when learning that, even if you’re just driving straight through, it’s going to cost $25 per car and $12 per motorcycle. Pay it. You will not regret the expense. Needless to say, again, the views are spectacular. The road may be packed with cars and motorhomes, but that’s okay, you want to go slow, believe or not. You may actually sprain your neck trying to capture all the scenery.

The ride from Torrey to Hurricane is slightly more than 200 miles, but it includes three of the most fantastic motorbiking roads in the southwest.

And at the end, if you have planned well, you can enjoy a delicious dinner and a welcome night’s rest under the stars.

Motorbiking Across Sand and Surf

One of the coolest little stretches of unpaved road anywhere is located in a very out-of-the-way corner of southeastern Utah. Riding north out of Mexican Hat on Highway 261 the road seems to dead end into an imposing cliff side. Signs along the way warn the drivers of Houses On Wheels and pickups pulling fifth wheel trailers that the road ahead is probably unsuited to their vehicles. The signs do not warn motorbikes to turn around, however, and they shouldn’t.

The unpaved portion of the program is called the “Moki Dugway” and it’s a section of dirt road switchbacks and inclines that is simply a blast to run. Dual sport bikes can make excellent time, for them the road is not nearly lengthy enough. Street bikes do well to take it slow, as the road is gravelly and loose.

The vistas from atop Moki Dugway are spectacular with views all the way south to Monument Valley.

The paved road that takes over from Moki crosses the Grand Gulch Primitive Area and is just a joy of a ride. The blacktop is curvy enough to keep the senses sharp and allows for decent speed. Halfway across Grand Gulch is a nice ranger station with clean bathrooms and plenty of information.

At Natural Bridges National Monument a left on Highway 276 heads straight for the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell. The approach to Lake Powell is a very nice section of road that traverses some amazing geology, the road is so well made that it’s smooth as silk.

The near-term destination is Hall’s Crossing and the ferry across the Lake. There’s something just plain fun about a motorbike on a boat on a lake. The $10 ferry is a quick half hour ride across one of the wider sections of the still green water and skirts a small city of houseboat moorings. The ride offers views of the tree-less lakeside and many happily recreating boaters. The boat docks seamlessly and Highway 276 continues north alongside the triple snowcapped peaks of the Henry Mountains.

The long-term destination for this day’s ride is Capitol Reef National Park, another area with almost other worldly geology. The road into Capitol Reef winds through a narrow, deep canyon and the nearby town of Torrey offers the rider a wide variety of places to stay and restaurants to try. The Rim Rock Café located between Capitol Reef and Torrey gives diners an unbeatable view from just about every table and has expertly grilled steaks and salmon that are served piping hot.

So, here’s to a motorbiking theme day of sand and surf and steaks and salmon.

A bit of the Old West

In southeast Utah, nestled next to the springtime raging San Juan River is the little town of Bluff. It’s one of those truly Old West settlements that didn’t exist until it was settled in April of 1880 when Fort Bluff was established.

What remains of that settlement is now the Bluff Historic Site and includes what’s left of an original settlers cabin and a larger stone house that has long since crumbled.

But Bluff is more famous because of the river. It’s a mini-Mecca for river runners who, along with the ubiquitous European tourists, keep the town a going concern. Whether eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or just picking up six pack at the local mini-mart, it’s common to hear people speaking German, French, or Dutch.

And speaking of eating and the Old West, when in Bluff it’s a treat to try the Cottonwood Steakhouse for a charbroiled chunk of Old West beef and a heapin’ helpin’ of Old West décor. At the Cottonwood the kitchen is outdoors. Rain or shine the cooks grill steaks, chops, and chicken, pan fry potatoes and boil big pots of cowboy beans while braving the cold fronts and thunderstorms of late May. During one recent dinner the sky opened and dropped an almost unbelievable quantity of rain mixed with hail — but the cooks toiled undaunted. While the kitchen is covered, one cook shrugged and said, “Yeah, but it leaks, and there’s not much you can do when the rain comes in sideways.”

The $20 14 ounce ribeye steak comes with those pan-fried potatoes and the beans, and was cooked more to the medium-well than the ordered medium, but was still crispy on the outside, more tender than expected, and very tasty. The pre-dinner salad was simple, but fresh and crunchy.

The dining room is adorned with all manner of shootin' irons, bear traps and three beautiful coyote pelts hanging proudly on the wall next to the fireplace. The napkins are red cowboy bandanas that are take-home keepsakes.

Proving that Utahns can take a joke, the restaurant proudly serves the whole line of Wasatch microbrews that includes Polygamy Porter, a dark, sweet beer that comically sports the slogan, “why have just one?”

Bluff is one of those towns that’s mostly a waypoint on the road from here to there. But this is one little town that’s also great place to stop and soak up a little history, have a nice steak, and smile as you sip an “Evolution Ale” and enjoy the amazing scenery.

To the four corners of the Earth

Geological oddities abound in the American southwest.

There’s literally a new, astounding earthly feature to be seen on both sides of the road every few minutes.

Geographical oddities, on the other hand are rare, mainly because they are mostly man made.

One of the great geographical oddities of the American southwest is Four Corners. This is the place where four American states, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at perfect right angles.

What makes it odd is singularly human.

But first you have to get there.

The Four Corners is not nearby anything. From Santa Fe it is quite a jaunt — south on Interstate 25 to Bernalillo, and the required breakfast of blue corn tortillas, eggs, beans, and potatoes at the venerable Range cafe.

Then it’s a journey back to the northwest on US 550 that on a day in late May can easily result in conditions that are less springtime and more Arctic. The road on a typically sunny New Mexico day is an easy traveler. On a more blustery day, or worse, it can be decidedly adversarial — can you say frozen rain and hail? Even though quitting, tucking tail and slinking home, or tucking into a local inn are thoughts that dominate the mind, pressing on is the best course — for in New Mexico it rarely rains like the three-or-four-day downpours of the northeast or Florida. “Don’t like the weather,” the locals say, “then just wait thirty minutes, it’ll change.”

Through the towns of Bloomfield and Farmington you stretch out into a no-man’s-land that eventually leads to the Four Corners monument, a monument — to surveyors.

It is in the middle of nowhere. How turn-of-the-century surveyors found this place and marked it is, well, history. And it is packed with tourists. And they are all doing the same thing. This is the oddity part. They are all doing whatever it takes to physically exist in four U.S. states at one time.

“Look mommy, I’m in Colorado,” a little boy shouts. “Yeah, well, I’m in Arizona,” counters his big sister. “I’m in Utah AND Arizona, now,” squeals the boy, upping the ante. “Give someone else a turn,” says the mom.

If you are from one the Four Corner states there’s also this weird feeling of underlying territoriality to the monument. Listening to the kids brag about how many states they were visiting simultaneously, I felt strangely insulted that no one seemed to brag about being in New Mexico. Then I realized I’d unwittingly parked my bike in Colorado. I felt a strange urge to move it to New Mexico, it would only be a matter of a few feet. What a silly thought, but I had the thought none-the-less.

Leaving the monument you exit New Mexico and enter Arizona headed toward the little town of Bluff, Utah. Utah, now there’s a state dominated by geological oddities, except that that most Americans believe it’s just dominated by genealogical oddities. Needless to say, Utah is a most misunderstood place.

Track day a beginner's blast

Chance to develop street riding skills

Once or twice a year New Mexico’s BMW Motorcycle dealers, Sandia BMW in Albuquerque and Santa Fe BMW try to host a BMW sponsored “track day” for interested BMW riders to hone their street riding skills and get just a taste of the motorcycle racing experience.

The dealerships foot the bill for 50 complimentary passes to track day, held at Albuquerque’s Sandia Motor Speedway, that features four classes of riders. The racer class is just what it’s named, followed by the experienced and beginner classes and the first-timers class, called “street school.”

After prepping the bikes by removing rear view mirrors and taping over all lights and signals — distractions like headlights are disliked on the track, and you really don’t need to see what’s behind you — and running all equipment trough a technical checkpoint to make sure boots, leathers, and helmets meet track standards and that all bikes are in top working order, street school holds class.

The young instructors of street school do an admirable job of communicating a fairly large amount of information in a very short period of time. Rules of the track are a crucial part of the schooling, as is safety, of course. Some valuable tips about finding the best “line” through the course are given, along with throttle, braking, countersteering, and vision lessons.

Nervous because you’ve never been on a track before? As you enter the course following closely behind your instructor in a small group of four riders you hope first that you won’t fall down, that you’ll remember all the tips and that you’ll not embarrass yourself. First time out, you go pretty slow, maybe even too slow, but then again maybe not. After 30 minutes or so on the track it’s time for lunch.

It’s a BMW sponsored event, so of course there are bratwurst and potato salad. And there’s a very large German Chocolate Cake decorated just like a BMW logo. Getting the theme?

The second round on the track is much faster, and the skills begin to surface. The 1.8 mile course includes a grandstand straightaway that begs for speed. Turn one is a right that’s sweeping and wide and exits into a slight uphill that hides turn two until you’re right on top of it. Turn three is a tightly pinched left hairpin that is sharply banked. If you take the right line you can just about chop the hairpin in half and blast out of it with good inertia, transitioning into turn four, a sweeping left that sets up turn five, a tight go-around right that almost feels like a complete circle. Turn six is another right that’s about a 90 degree turn and opens to a short throttle-up straightaway and turn seven, a tight right that becomes the long grandstand straightaway – back bigtime on throttle and start it all over again. Whew!

Fifteen laps later your head and hands are buzzing and as the signal for “time up” is given you exit the track laughing out loud inside your helmet. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing; no wonder so many people spend so much time trying to coax their physiology into giving it up to the brain. Track day is an activity recommended for any level rider, you can feel your skill grow as you round the course, and feel more confident as you reenter the public roadways on the journey home — it’s time well spent.