From camping outside of Grand Canyon Park to Denver, it was a 700 mile day to finish the Born Free trip last summer. The weather started out great riding through the Park and stopping to view the Canyon, but got a little crazier as we came up on Monument Valley. If you've never been to the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley, they're indescribable, you have to be there to realize how jaw-dropping these spots really are.
As we got out of the park, heading NorthEast towards Monument Valley, the wind started picking up, a lot. Wind and sand were hitting us pretty damn hard for a good 300 miles. Towards the end of this video you can see flags waving in the background next to my chop - that's how windy it was, I didn't speed up the video or edit it at all. Sandstorms are great when you're wearing a wife-beater and blasting down the road at 90 mph...
Cranked it up to Moab in near record time and it felt like my ass was gonna fall apart by the time I got off my bike. No time to waste, we headed North to I-70. With 300+ miles left and what looked to be a storm ahead of us, we got back on the highway and hit the entrance to the Rockies as the sun went down.
This was the middle of June, but it was cold as hell riding through the Rockies and rolling over some of the passes. When I'm cold on the bike, I usually just keep speeding up to make the next stop come faster. So, that's what I did, cracked the throttle. Got to Georgetown, the first exit after passing through the Eisenhower Tunnel and about 45 miles from Denver, and I couldn't feel my hands. Stopped at a gas station and asked the clerk to get me a warm bucket of water, then sat and soaked my hands for a good 20 minutes before I got back on the bike.
I was so cold, it hurt, but that's just something that comes with long trips. You ride through so many different weather patterns and temperatures, but, there's nothing you can do about it but be prepared before leaving in the first place. This is one aspect of riding cross-country that makes it special compared to hopping in a car, setting your cruise and A/C, and reclining your seat. That shit is boring.
With everyone taking trips already and my bike in pieces, it pisses me off, but I'll make up for it come June.
We'll see you at Born Free 3, which should make for an even better trip this summer... I'm itchin.
- Get out on your bike this summer and enjoy the USA. Whatever event or reason, live it.
...Gypsy riding across the United States, join in the movement...
6 years ago
