Jammin Round the World

How to triple boot Linux ubuntu, Windows 7 and Windows XP

2011-10-11T00:27:00.000-05:00

How to triple boot Linux ubuntu, Windows 7 and Windows XP

Starting with a cleanly formatted harddisk,
1) using the ubuntu start up CD, boot into ubuntu
2) partition hard drive for different OSs: small (4 GB) for XP, large (20 GB) for Win7 and as needed for ubuntu
3) first install ubuntu on its partition
4) second install Windows 7 on its partition
5) lastly install Windows XP on its partition
6) At this stage, when you restart your computer, it will automatically boot into XP with no menu option for which OS to boot into
7) boot from ubuntu CD (bypassing hard drive) and once in ubuntu, set g (ubuntu boot) as primary
8) reconfigure gstart menu for what you want your primary OS to be and set the time out for selection
9) voila, a triple booting windows and linux machine.

I set this up on my Gateway ec1803u semi-netbook for my 2 year motorcycle trip around the world and it's been working great. Haven't needed XP much but it's there in case 7 crashes. Still learning about ubuntu.

Weekend Ride for some Appalachian Twisties

2008-04-18T15:28:00.002-05:00

(ESTN Meet & Greet in Clearfield, PA)

With this being one of the longest winters in recent memory, my riding buddies and I were aching for the first real twisty ride of the season. In previous years, we were out of hibernation in February and touring by March. However this year, end of April would be our first out of town trip.

We were headed for the Eastern STN (Sport-Touring.net) Meet and Greet in Clearfield, PA, about 550 miles on the highway from Chicago. An annual meet has grown around having lunch at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield. This is a famous little restaurant for making ginormous burgers, like 15 lbs burgers. I went two years ago and there were about a 100 or more bikers there (many from the Pittsburgh area) and a few guys ordered the 15 pounder and shared it. If you eat their 2 pounder in like 20 minutes or so, it's free and so on for the other burgers. In our eyes, the burger is just a good excuse to go for a nice ride. Yes, it's a lot of highway slab to get there, but the twisties in south-western Pennsylvania and nearby West Virginia are worth the ride.

Six of us were going: Anna, Mike, Rick, Alex, Dan and I. To break up the monotony of the slab, the first four were going to do this trip over 4 days and Dan and I would just be making a weekend of it.

Instead of using the same slab, I-80 to Clearfield and back, I made a loop out of the route with us heading down to Indy and taking I-70 across Ohio and then to circle around Pittsburgh, we would be riding some twisties through West Virginia before heading up to Clearfield. Sunday morning, we would do some twisties before the lunch meet and then slab home on I-80. Many thanks to Garry (STN) from Pittsburgh who provided good info on the roads through OH, WV and PA. Always wise to contact the locals regarding their favorite roads.

Overall Route Map
_______________________________________

Day 1, Friday, April 18, 2008
Start: Libertyville, IL, 4:00 pm CDT
End: Indianapolis, IN, 10:00 pm EDT
Mileage: 220

We left Friday after work and were surprised how quickly we got through Chicago traffic. It seemed like no one was on I-294 near I-80. I was bracing for much worse, especially on a Friday afternoon. Once we got on I-65, it was good to get back in the rhythm of sport-touring. No matter how much everyone hates the slab, I actually enjoy it a bit, just a bit. It's an awesome way to cover ground fast and I enjoy listening to music while riding; there's something about it. And I-65 is actually not that bad of a highway, especially around dusk.

One incident worth mentioning: we pulled into a rest stop to put on another layer for the chill and in the good mood that I was, I quickly sped up past the century mark to get back in the flow of traffic, which was moving at a good clip. Just then I noticed some christmas lights from a police cruiser go by in the opposite direction and looked down at my radar detector and realized my earphones weren't plugged in to it! Fearing that the christmas lights were for us, I quickly exited the highway with Dan in tow and we stopped on the side of a dark exit ramp. When Dan realized why we had exited, he was like, "Oh, so we're running from the cops? Cool." Noooo, we were just letting things cool down a bit, hehe. It was all good and we were back on our way to Indy.
_______________________________________

Day 2, Saturday, April 19, 2008
Start: Indianapolis, IN, 6:30 am
End: Clearfield, PA, 9:30 pm
Mileage: 600

The next morning we got an early start and just as an observation, both Dan and I noted that the Indy skyline is really quite small. We went right through downtown and it was over before it even began. I'm sure Indy's a great city, but we're spoiled with the awesome Chicago skyline.

Leaving Indy at O'Dark Thirty.

A good thing about slabbing through Indiana is its 70 mph speed limit compared to all its neighboring states at 65. Go Indiana for being progressive. The previous night at dinner, my friend in Indy told Dan about my theory of safely speeding on the highway, which everyone else thinks is skewed (so do I). In my experience, generally speaking, depending on traffic, if you're doing 14 or below above the speed limit, you have a pretty good chance of not getting popped by the speed enforcers. And to give some more margin, 12 above the speed limit seems safe (this didn't work in Montana two years ago where I got popped for 12 over in a 75 zone). Anyways, we were comfortably cruising on I-70 at about 14 over and we even passed by a few hidden speed enforcers hiding under overpasses and no one batted an eyelid. We enter Ohio, back down to 65 mph and for a short spell we were cruising at 18 over the limit and promptly were asked by a cruiser to pull over, with no blips on the radar detector. He informed us that police aircraft nabbed us a few miles back and we were getting nice $85 tickets. See, if we had been doing 14 or less, I'm sure we would've been fine. Actually maybe not. Ohio is notorious for giving out tickets and we've been warned by locals not to go 5 over. The worst thing about that ticket was that we were only a few miles to the end of the slab before the twisties started.

Not letting that ticket dampen our weekend, after 300 miles of slab in the morning, we were ready for 300 miles of twisties through Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania in the afternoon. It was raining on and off all afternoon, so I couldn't take that much video, but the 3 videos below are a good representative of the roads we rode.

The twisties of south-eastern OH and northern WV.

OH-148 to the Ohio River was a great road to begin the twisties, but we encountered some traffic and realized we would have to be turning it down a few notches. The eastern side of the US definitely has some great roads, but generally being more crowded than the West, it's not as much fun to rail, because we have to be a lot more cautious of turning vehicles and other hazards. I guess those trips out West spoilt us. Also in general, the roads out East have a lot more blind corners with the vegetation growing right up to the road, not allowing us to see through the corner ahead of time. Oh well, they're still enjoyable to ride as you can see in the videos.

Dan and a long long slow coal train sneaking through the south-western Ohio hills.

Welcome to West Virginia, crossing the Ohio River.

I love bridges, they're a mix of engineering and art.

US-250 is another great road out here because it goes on for so long. It is twisty for more than 100 miles through northern West Virginia and has a nice rhythm to it, but there were many blind corners as noted above. Also, for being a US highway, there were a lot of driveways right on the highway with locals turning on and off constantly.

US 250, Part 1 - Panhandle of West Virginia [4:30]
Musik: Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 3/5

US 250, Part 2 - Panhandle of West Virginia [7:04]
Musik: The Doors - Light My Fire
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 3/5

A good representative of the roads we had in WV and PA - tight and winding with undulating road surfaces.

US 250 in Northern West Virginia.

Heading into the town of Hundred, WV.

Heading through Morgantown, WV into south-western PA was a nice pleasant ride. It was actually getting warm at this late in the afternoon and was probably the first 80 F temp we felt this year. It felt great. But with rain coming on and off, we were stopping often to put on rain gear and take it off. This was good for taking small breaks, as we were certainly aching a bit, but all these breaks were delaying our arrival into Clearfield.

Taking a shortcut through Morgantown, WV.

We also experienced quite a few blind crests.

Heading north on PA-166 along the Monongahela River.

PA-166

PA-166

PA-166

PA-166

The twisties of south-western PA near Pittsburgh. Heading north on PA-381, PA-711 and PA-403.

First time seeing a Smart Car on the highway, near Uniontown, PA. It's about half a highway lane wide.

Look at the nice sun we have here on the highway, US-40 and the dark ominous rain clouds that we would be riding through just up ahead.

Dan, sport-touring on his Honda CBR1000RR. Yes, it might be called a torture machine by some, but Dan loves it in the twisties.

Me, taking a picture of Dan taking a picture of me. Ghey. Haha.

At the crest of US-40 near Farmington looking back towards the Uniontown valley.

After going around Uniontown, we had to escape from a fast moving front of rain and picked up the pace through some twisty country roads as we headed north to Clearfield. PA-381 was a nice small country lane kind of road for a while and being on a narrow winding road definitely increases that sense of speed. While taking a quick break at a gas station in Seward, the attendant had a look at my directions on my tank bag and said we were not going the right way to Clearfield. He said our route looked to be twisting here and there and not going in a straight line. Exactly sir, thank you.

Dan, following a Harley on PA-381. Out in the twisties, all bikers and simply just bikers out enjoying the road. We waited until he waved us on.

I love the undulating roads - feels like a roller coaster... if you're going fast enough.

A power plant, probably coal, tucked away in the mountains.

Northern end of PA-381. The video starts from here.

PA 381 - Cruising through SW Pennsylvania [4:06]
Musik: Barenaked Ladies - If I Had A Million Dollars
My Rating > Road: 3/5, Scenery: 3/5

The motorcycle nirvana part of our ride. We did this stretch in the dark and it was a sublime ride.

It was getting dark by now and we still had about 70 miles of twisties left and there was no real big highway nearby to jump on, so we set off to cruise through the dark. We all know we shouldn't be riding twisties in the dark due to the increased danger factor of animals and reduced vision, but there's something sublime about railing through some twisties in the dark. The last bit getting into Clearfield: PA-286 and US-219 were actually the most enjoyable roads of the whole trip.

An enjoyable road to me doesn't necessarily have to be tight twisties or open sweepers; it's the rhythm that I'm looking for, compounded with other factors, such as time of day, traffic and scenery. We weren't railing per se, but moving fast enough that our focus was acute enough to clear any other thoughts from our minds. Railing at night requires a lot more concentration than the daytime, and that added concentration, I find, is close to the essence of motorcycling where nothing else matters at that moment besides being smooth and acting as one with the bike. Motorcycling nirvana.

We rolled into Clearfield at 9:30 pm after setting off this morning at 6:30 am and surprisingly, Dan and I weren't that fatigued and I had only one Red Bull the whole day. Not bad for the first ride of the season. Some stats from the GPS: we were moving for 10:30 hrs and stopped for about 4:30 hrs total. All those little breaks add up fast. We missed chatting with all the other STNers in the parking lot, as they had been there probably since 5 pm. We moved to the motel bar to hang out with everyone and had a good time.
_______________________________________

Day 3, Sunday, April 20, 2008
Start: Clearfield, PA, 1:30 pm EDT
End: Grayslake, IL, 10:30 pm CDT
Mileage: 700

The next morning, as per the forecast, it rained. But since we came here to ride, we rode. All 6 of us from Chicago went for a little loop that Anna mapped out that went through some scenic twisty roads just north of Clearfield. It was raining on and off, but surprisingly the pictures came out pretty decent.

Anna's Sunday morning loop.

Mike (Big Bird) getting suited up in his rain gear for a nice morning rain ride. Anna and Dan behind.

Rick and Alex ready to roll.

Taking a break on PA-555.

Rick and his Ducati ST3. Hmm, for the amount he talks about being bright and visible, he's pretty blacked out...

Dan and his Honduh. Seems like we all like black riding gear.

Mike and his Triumph Tiger.

Mike with Alex, Rick and Dan in front.

Alex in the super bright high-viz vest with Anna, Rick and Dan.

Anna, Rick and Dan.

Anna, Rick and Dan.

Looking back at Alex and Mike.

Anna

Anna

Anna

Anna

Dan and Anna.

Dan and Anna.

Dan and Anna.

Rick, Dan and Anna.

Taking a little break at the start to the Wykoff Run - a tight and twisty 10 mile run that snakes along a river.

Bridge heading into the Wykoff Run. The heavens opened up a few minutes later...

Regrouping back in Clearfield before heading for the lunch meet.

At lunch, the turnout was lower than two years ago, since most of the locals from Pittsburgh probably decided not to head out on such a rainy day. And no one ordered the huge burgers, but there's tonnes of other good food on their menu and I had some Broasted Caribbean Chicken Wings, which were finger-licking good. The wings were cooked in the sauce instead of simply being tossed in them. Since most of the riders present were ones that came from far away, we all had lite lunches so that we wouldn't fall asleep after a heavy lunch on the ride back. They had a raffle during lunch with some gift cards and t-shirt prizes and 3 of us from Chicago won something: Rick, Alex and Mike. Maybe they rigged it since we rode the furthest, hehe.

Dan and I were headed back to Chicago after lunch, while Anna and the rest of the crew were going to make it back over two days, trying to avoid as much slab as possible. We started off in heavy rain, but after crossing into Ohio, we were done with the rain and it was actually quite pleasant for the rest of the ride. The toll through Ohio cost us around $10 for each motorcycle and Dan, being a city boy thought the toll booths would simply take credit cards. I'm surprised actually that they don’t take credit cards. Dan pointed out that the rest stops were pretty snazzy along the tollway with plasma screens showing the weather, nice coffee shops, etc and maybe that's why they ticket so heavily - to pay for all this. And now on the Indiana toll road, they finally accept the I-Pass. We just cruised about 5-10 over the whole way back and tried to make our gas stops pretty quick in order to get home at a decent time, but simply filling gas and going to the restroom makes it a 15 min break.

This was my first sport-touring trip with a GPS and all though the route wasn't that complicated, we had fun noting the stats throughout the day: like moving average speed, overall average speed, top speed, etc. The GPS clearly showed the 10% speedometer error on the bikes and even though we went through the century mark a few times on the bike, we only crossed a true speed of 100 mph only once, that too in the dark.

Coming back to why I like to ride the slab, it gives me a chance to listen to audiobooks. For the ride back, I listened through Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope and enjoyed the recording. It's a good insight into Obama's character and his background and really shows that he seems to be a normal person like one of us, who happens to be in politics. I wish him the best.

Over two and half days, we did about 1,500 miles and 400 of those were twisties. It's certainly a high slab to twisty ratio, however the roads were very enjoyable and not like roads we get around here in the Mid-West, so it was definitely worth it.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the videos.

Lamborghini Test Drive

2008-02-23T19:04:00.000-06:00

Mohan and I were lucky enough to go along with Viv to a special open house that the Lamborghini dealership in Chicago was having. She got the invite from a friend who has many fast cars.

Sitting in a Lamborghini, that too a Gallardo Spyder for the first time (in the showroom).

The dealership looks very swanky and it's got two floors of exotic cars; all new Lamborghinis on the main floor and then an assortment of used exotics on the second floor. After sitting in a few cars and taking some pictures, which we thought was the main point of this open house, a salesman came up and started chatting us up. Trying to sound like a potential customer, I asked him about maintenance costs and things like ground clearance for Chicago's roads, etc. And then he asked if we had ever driven a Lamborghini. I figured this is where the truth would come out and he would now know that we were just mere plebeians. But he was a real nice guy, young too at 23 and just asked to make a copy of our driver's licenses and then we could be off on a test drive. Viv and I couldn't believe our luck. Here I was after dreaming about Lamborghinis and other exotic cars since my adolescent years, finally getting the chance to drive a real supercar, that too a convertible! I seriously thought it was too good to be true. I figured the general manager would pipe in saying something like we weren't really potential customers, etc. But I figured since they have a demo car, what harm could it be. Plus, I'm sure the demographics of potential customers has changed in the recent years. For all he knew, we could be new aspiring musicians with a big fat record deal or something. Anyways, I was beyond thrilled at this point.

I asked if he could get a manual car for the test drive, but the only car available was fitted with their E-gear, an automatic manual gearbox, with paddle shifters. The salesman was trying to impress right away and banged the gears up for a quick 0-60 time in a 30 mph zone. That signaled to me that this test drive was going to be fun. We got on the highway and he quickly got it to past a 100 mph. Wanting to show the car's handling ability, we exited and got on a narrow, twisty forest preserve road where the speed limit was 25 mph. Not having any regard for the speed limit, he was going about triple the limit and drove pretty good. There were no driveways on that road, so no worries.

Then it was my turn. Oh my god. It was only 32 F, but the sun was shining brightly and I asked if we could put the top down with the windows up, to let more of the engine's growl come through. Being cool, he said this would be his first convertible ride of the season. He explained how to get the car in neutral (pull back both levers), how to upshift (right lever) and down shift (left lever). Blipping the throttle ever so slightly was felt right in my heart. It was similar to standing next to those huge speakers at a club where you can feel the bass pump throughout your body. That throaty 500 horsepower V-10 just a few inches behind me. Oh, I was in heaven. I quickly got it up to third and was immediately very comfortable with the car. It's very easy to drive fast (not referring to straight line), cause the 4WD and handling was very precise. I slammed on the brakes once from 80 mph and it didn't even quiver or shake, it just simply reduced speed with no fuss. I exclaimed aloud to myself a few times that this was just pure sex!

The demo car was fitted with ceramic brakes, I think a $10,000 option or something, but mainly meant for the track. Not really practical for street driving, since they need a high temperature to operate efficiently, like on a track. So the brakes were a bit grabby and the E-gear was also quite notchy. It was quite tough to be smooth during shifts, but I appreciated the speed of the shifts; definitely much quicker than a manual gearbox.

On the highway, trying to change lanes to the right involved quite a few extended stretches of the neck to ensure the lane was clear. Having a co-pilot definitely helped in that regard. The steering is quite heavy, needed for the stability of so much power, which makes quick lane changes not so easy. Also, the turning radius is really huge, probably because the big wheels would be scrapping the wheel wells.

The salesman said he was quite impressed with my driving. He said I was driving the car the way it's meant to be driven. And he pointed out how I was keeping the revs up, in the fun zone, through the turns. I told him I rode sportbikes and had been to the track a few times and he said I was driving the car like a bike, keeping the revs up. Hehe.

I definitely see why see these cars are worth so much money. Of course, it's an indulgence, but hey, you live only once!

My favorite Lamborghini, the Diablo. She was sitting outside, collecting dust :(

Classic Supercar looks

Imagine this thing going 200 mph!

A new color for the Gallardo.

A bunch of used exotic cars awaiting new owners.

A few Gallardos, a Porsche 997, an Astone Martin Vantage.

Look at those sexy behinds!

If you're wondering what the Diablo badge looks like.

Viv in the Gallardo Spyder in the showroom.

Sitting in a Ferrari F355 Spyder. I've always loved this car's looks.

Mohan with a blood red Diablo.

A Diablo in all her glory. Scissor doors will always be cool.

With my next ride...
We figured out the best way to enter and exit a car with scissor doors; there's a proper technique.

Viv coming back from her test drive of a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

Coming back from my test drive of this sexy Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Amazing machine. He said he had a used one for only $129,000... Not bad, let me check my finances :)

It was awesome to see why people have always raved on so much about supercars and why they're so great. To experience it first hand was a big moment. I'm happy.

Thanxgiving Dinner

2007-11-16T14:12:00.000-06:00

I hosted a Thanxgiving Potluck Dinner at my place this year, with me baking a turkey for the first time and everyone else also making home-made dishes for the dinner. Our parents would be proud :)

A 14.5 lb fresh Turkey, which I would be baking for the first time. I went with fresh over frozen because I didn't want to deal with defrosting a huge lump of frozen bird.

Through research on Wikipedia and recipe websites, I decided to soak the bird in a brine solution for a day. This is basically a salty solution with other spices in it. Besides marinating the meat all throughout, it also helps cook the bird faster because the salt allows water to soak into the meat, which then heats up while baking and cooks the meat from inside out, plus it prevents the meat from drying out while baking. These are all the ingredients that went into the brine solution to marinate the Turkey for a day.

And here is the finished bird, right outta the oven (3 hours at 350F). I cooked it in a Turkey Bag (nylon), which kept the moisture in to prevent it from drying. It came out pretty good. Now this is a proper cultural experience - coming to America and baking a turkey :)

Viv going to work on her Smashed Cheesy Potatoes. Friends came over after work and finished up their dishes for the dinner.

Zoey helping out in the kitchen. We're trying to teach her not to beg...

Nichole preparing her Bubble Bread. She also brought home-made Apple Pies.

Allen and Viv preparing the veggie tray.

Ethan taking a stab at carving the Turkey.

The Turkey being carved.

The dinner spread: Sweet Potatoes (Kent and Bethany), Green Bean Casserole (Ethan), Apple Pie (Nichole), Pumpkin Pies (Kara), Cranberry Sauce (Ethan), Cornbred Stuffing with and without Sausage (moi), Smashed Chessy Potatoes (Viv) and the Veggie Tray (Allen). The other brought the drinks.

Dinner is served.

Dinner Time

Jennifer making the Spiked Spiced Cider, which I kept calling Spider through the night (it's a tongue twister).

Who needs a plate?! Vitaly just digging in.

A Vegetarian and a Carnivore - how do they get along?...

Vince, Jon, Nichole and Viv relaxing after dinner.

Jammin thru Mehico

2007-09-22T13:40:00.000-05:00

I went on an 18 day motorcycle adventure through Mexico during September and October 2007. It was a fantastic trip and I hope you enjoy the pictures and the ride report.

Below is an index of all the entries of my ride report.

Story Behind The Trip
The Route Plan
About The Bike
My Packing List
Day 1 - 3, Chicago to Creel, Mexico
Day 4, Riding down to Batopilas, Copper Canyon
Day 5, Riding up from Batopilas and on to Hidalgo del Parral
Day 6, Riding the Espinoza Diablo to Mazatlan
Day 7 - 8, Sayulita on the Pacific Coast
Day 9, Touring Tequila and Guadalajara
Day 10 - 11, Melaque and Zihuatanejo
Day 12 - 13, Teotihuacan to Guanajuato
Day 14 - 18, Monterrey, San Antonio and Home

And here is an interactive Google Map of my riding route with select pictures posted with their location:

Look what followed me home...

2007-07-25T08:56:00.000-05:00

Ok, she's not mine, but my roommate, Joe got a new doggie! She's a 6 month old Blue Nose Pit Bull. He got it from a friend who didn't have time to take care of her. Her name's Zoey and she's a very loveable doggie and already loves her new home :)

She quickly claimed the bed and was sniffing around everywhere.

Wasssup!

She loves me :)

Awww...

My friends from Philly, Caitlin and Jim stopped by who were on a road trip from the National Parks in Utah. They're both dog lovers and have a 2 year old chocolate lab back home. Caitlin wanted to take Zoey home.

Zoey loves getting attention and kisses...

...and also loves giving kisses back. She's quite the licker.

Very curious too, she checked out every corner of the house...

...even checking out the cleanliness of the sink. Perfect doggie for the house.

This is my first time getting to experience being a real dog-owner, sort of. Our family had big dogs when we were living in Zambia, Africa, but they were more watch dogs. I'm already loving having Zoey around. I think she needs some Doggles (doggie goggles) and maye a little helmet and away we go for a ride on the motorcycles...

Colorado - Day 10 & Epilogue

2007-07-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

Day 10
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Start: Lexington, NE, 8:00 am
End: Grayslake, IL, 11:00 pm
Mileage: 715

The route for Day 10: Lexington, NE to Grayslake, IL. Slabbing the remaining 700 miles to home.

We had good weather today and simply rode across on I-80 all the way to Illinois where we caught I-88, which was again very pleasant with no traffic. As I got closer to Chicago, the feeling of having to deal with bad drivers, traffic, construction, etc. didn't upset me as much as I knew that I had just enjoyed 8 days of beautiful riding on mountain passes and in deep canyons...

_______________________________________________________________

Epilogue
What a fantastic ride that was through beautiful Colorado, Arizona and Utah. It was everything I expected and more. The twisties we rode were mainly the big state highways and I'm sure there's lot of smaller roads to enjoy in that part of the country. And thanks to the relative remoteness of the western states compared to the mid-west and the east, there was less traffic on the roads and therefore less enforcement. However, being a holiday weekend, we did encounter our fair share of cager traffic.

Besides the federal ticket that Andy and I got, there weren't any other real upsets on the trip. Aileen did drop her bike but it sustained no real damage and I'm surprised Rick didn't drop his ST3 on this trip. Maybe, he doesn’t need those training wheels after all. Weather-wise too, we only experienced one day of real heavy rain over Independence Pass and some sprinkles here and there. It was definitely hot in Arizona, but nothing unbearable. Too bad the moto-camping didn't work out as planned, but all the other accommodations were as we expected.

Regarding costs for the trip, per person we spent about: $200 for 10 days of lodging; around $400 in gas; $300 in food and about $35 in park entrance fees for an average daily cost of $94. That's an excellent price considering the fun we had and the places we went.

The planning for next year's trip has already begun...

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 9

2007-07-06T17:57:00.000-05:00

Day 9
Friday, July 6, 2007
Start: Leadville, CO, 8:00 am
End: Lexington, NE, 10:00 pm
Mileage: 626

The route for Day 9: Leadville, CO to Lexington, NE. The last day of twisties before hitting the slab for home.

Today would be the last day of twisties with the Rocky Mountains spitting us out onto the freeway in Fort Collins. The highlights would be the Eisenhower Tunnel, Loveland Pass and then some unexpected joy towards the end. We met up with Jim Williamson from the Sport-Touring.Net motorcycle forum, who lives in Fort Collins and offered to show us a few good roads in the area.

As always, in the morning, the storm clears. Looking back at where we rode through from our Super 8 in Leadville, CO, the highest town in the US at 10,152 ft. (Picture by Andy)

Heading to Dillon on CO-91

Twisties in the fresh mountain morning air… just what the doctored ordered.

Andy on CO-91.

After meeting up with Jim in Dillon, we rode up I-70 to ride through the Eisenhower Tunnel, which is an engineering marvel being the highest vehicular tunnel in the world at 11,158 ft and it's about 1.7 miles long. We exited right after the tunnel and made the loop back to Dillon on Loveland Pass, which was the old way around these parts before the tunnel. HazMat Cargo still has to take Loveland Pass up and over as they are banned from traveling through the tunnel due to potential safety hazards and not having escape tunnels for traffic. There was considerable construction on both sides of the pass, but the other parts were still fun to ride and the scenery on the western side is quite picturesque. This is when we noticed Jim's unique way of riding his Honda Magna with his legs straight out on the highway pegs. He railed like this through the corners, which was great to see.

One of the few traffic lights on the Interstate system on I-70 at the west entrance to the Eisenhower Tunnel. It's probably used to direct traffic during weather hazards or other tunnel incidents.

Entering the eastbound Johnson Tunnel.

The Eisenhower Tunnel system is the highest vehicular tunnel in the world at 11,158 ft and it's about 1.7 miles long.

Looking back at the group.

Looking down from Loveland Pass Road at the east entrance of the tunnel. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

After riding the tunnel east, we took the old Loveland Pass Road to make a loop back into Dillon. Trucks and other haz-mat vehicles are banned from the tunnel and must make the twisty journey up and over the pass. There was lots of construction on both sides of the pass.

24 Loveland Pass, US-6 [4:54]
Riding up and over Loveland Pass, US-6 around the Eisenhower Tunnel. There's some construction on both sides of the pass, but good riding still / Andy
Musik: Barenaked Ladies - If I Had A Million Dollars
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 5/5

Loveland Pass Road (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Construction on one of the hairpins (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Riding some awesome corners on the way up to the summit. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

The Loveland Pass summit at 11,990 ft.

Aileen, heading west, down the mountain. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Construction on Loveland Pass Road, western side.

Construction on Loveland Pass Rd, western side. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

No guard rails even in the sharpest of corners…

With stunning scenery like this, extreme concetration was required to focus on riding the road (besides taking this picture while riding, of course).

Loveland Pass Road (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Looking back and taking a picture of… (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Jim, who joined us from the Sport-Touring.Net forum, riding an '84 Honda Magna V-65. The craziest thing was his riding style, with his legs straight on his pegs through all the twisties. And man, could he ride!

Heading back into town with the Dillon Reservoir in the background.

From there we headed north around the Rocky Mountain National Park, as there was scheduled heavy construction through the park's roads. Heading to Kremmling on CO-9 was kind of boring with nothing much to see or ride. This whole area is located in a huge basin called North Park and nearby is, you guessed it, South Park, where the cartoon show gets its name. After the decent US-40, CO-125 turned out to be another real gem. This road has almost no traffic, terrific sweepers and lots of 35 mph marked corners. The road surface wasn't the best, but we'll take it. The close proximity of the trees added a bit to the sensation of speed.

Heading north on CO-9 into Kremmling along the Green Mountain Reservoir.

Besides that bit, CO-9 was quite boring. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Railing on CO-125, an awesome stretch of twisty pavement, heading into Walden, CO.

25 CO-125 [5:22]
Riding the nice and rhythmic CO-125 north towards Walden, CO. The road surface wasn't perfect but the curves were very nice / Solo
Musik: Sunfreakz - Riding The Waves
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 3/5

Yes, there were tar snakes abound, but they didn't bother too much. The riding was good.

Andy and I on CO-125. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

CO-125 straightens out after coming down from Willow Creek Pass. This whole geographical area is actually called North Park. And on the other side is, you guessed it, South Park, where the show gets its name from.

Taking a break in Walden, CO. (Picture by Andy)

After gassing up in Walden, we took the crowded, scenic CO-14 towards Fort Collins. I was leading Andy and we weren't really riding all that fast when I got a radar blip around a corner and for a second was debating whether this was an erroneous detection or the real thing. Coming around the corner, we saw officer friendly with somebody already pulled over and pointing us to pull over behind him. We gladly obliged and waited patiently. The rest of the group rode by, once again pretending like they didn't know us. The officer was in an ok mood and said he got us doing 57 in a 45. Phew, that's not bad. After hearing that we were touring from Chicago, he didn't even check our licenses and just gave us a verbal warning to slow down and stop scaring any of the locals. He said this road sees lot of sportbike traffic from Fort Collins and looked like enforcement was being stepped up to protect the cagers going camping and fishing in the area. We caught up with the rest of the group and they couldn't believe that all we got was just warnings. Lady luck rides pillion.

CO-14 was getting even more exciting to ride as it entered a canyon system, but it was plagued with traffic. To rescue us, Jim took us on an amazing short-cut into Fort Collins on Stove Prairie Road. This was one of the highlights of the trip with this road rivaling Deals Gap. Check out the video and see the constant direction change and with smooth corners marked at 15 to 20 mph. These are not the same as 20 mph corners marked in Wisconsin, which are basically 90 degree turns. There were designed much better and were proper chicanes. Trying to keep up with Jim, who probably has this road memorized, was quite a task. The road surface was also very smooth but there were some big gravel spots, but not too much. Aileen dropped her bike just as we turned on to Stove Prairie as there was considerable gravel on the tight right turn. No biggie, she didn't even go down with the bike and was raring to get going right away. Jim promised that there'd be no more gravel and to our amusement, just a few hundred feet into the road we came across big patches of gravel. There were definitely some pucker moments with the road changing direction quite fast over some crests and decreasing radius turns that tightened up more than expected. I had tremendous fun on this road and am jealous of the motorcyclists living in Fort Collins, who have so much access to this fun ride.

Heading towards Cameron Pass on CO-14, our last mountain pass on this trip before hitting the slab for home.

Andy riding Cameron Pass on CO-14.

Aileen riding Cameron Pass on CO-14. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

26 CO-14, Cameron Pass [4:09]
Riding our last mountain pass on CO 14's Cameron Pass / Andy
Musik: Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 4/5

Andy on CO-14.

CO-14 (Picture by Jim Williamson)

CO-14 (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Aileen on CO-14.

Rick, Steven and Aileen on CO-14. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

Andy on CO-14 with Jim in the lead, taking us to Stove Prairie Road.

27 Stove Prairie Road [5:32]
Railing on the awesome Stove Prairie Road just outside of Fort Collins, CO. Looks like the road engineers didn't have a straight ruler with them - thank goodness! / Steven, Jim Williamson
Musik: Hed Kandi (Hott 22) - Make Up Your Mind
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 3/5

We entered Fort Collins and headed for a late lunch at Aileen's brother's house. After a good break, we hit the slab for home. Aileen and Steven were feeling quite guilty as they had left their children and family for over 9 days now and were eager to get back home. So, we stepped up the mileage and instead of doing an easy 140 miles of slab with two more days of interstate riding, we decided to do about 320 today and finish the remaining 700 or so the next day.

Leaving Aileen's brother's house in Fort Collins, after a nice lunch and rest. (Picture by Jim Williamson)

It's always a bit dreary to ride I-80 through Nebraska as there's no decent scenery to look at or any interesting cities along the way, unlike North or South Dakota (just marginally, though). We joked that Nebraska's main purpose was probably just to support everybody that was crossing the state on I-80. There's nothing really to stop and check out in the state besides the towns of Omaha and Lincoln. The western part of the state also had a strong manure smell in the air. One of the joys and probably downfalls of riding a motorcycle is getting to experience the local surroundings, including the smells, good and bad.

Oh yeah, baby - Nebraska, the good life… slabbing it home. (Picture by Andy)

Next: Day 10 & Epilogue, Heading Home

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 8

2007-07-05T17:56:00.000-05:00

Day 8
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Start: Moab, UT, 8:45 am
End: Leadville, CO, 7:30 pm
Mileage: 432

The route for Day 8: Moab, UT to Leadville, CO, ending with Independence Pass.

Saying goodbye to Utah, we would be riding through central Colorado on various twisting roads today as we headed east towards home. Crossing into Colorado on CO-90, we were stopped for about 15 mins as a massive herd of around 300 cattle made their way down the mountain from grazing up there during the spring. After being amused by the beef, we had to deal with their fresh lethal cow pies that were scattered all over the road ahead of us. We had to put more separation between us to stop getting cow dung flung onto us and our bikes from the bike ahead. A quick wipe down was needed at the next gas stop.

One last twisty in Utah on UT-46, before crossing into Colorado.

Again, the sign could use a bit more color, I say.

"Cattle Ahead" and not just one or two… (Picture by Rick)

…a whole herd of cattle, about 300 strong. They were coming down the mountain after grazing up there during the spring.

Steven, trying to make his way through the throngs.

The only downside to this was the danger to us riders from all the fresh cowpies that were dropped on these twisties that we'd be riding.

A straight shot into Naturita, CO to gas up. Hopefully this would be the last straight road we'd have to ride until the slab home.

Even though CO-141 looked twisty on the map, I didn't think it would be as much as fun as it really was. The turns were a bit tighter as this area continues the red canyon landscape from nearby Arches National Park. In my mind, riding Colorado was always pictured as tree filled mountainous passes, not canyon riding. What an amazing state.

Heading north on the awesome CO-141. Lots of twisties with good scenery.

17 CO-141 [4:48]
Riding CO-141 in the western part of Colorado. No high mountain passes here, but awesome red canyons that carry over from Utah / Andy, Steven
Musik: Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 3/5

Steven and Andy on CO-141.

Steven and Andy on CO-141.

Steven and Andy on CO-141.

Images of red rock canyons aren't usually associated with Colorado, but being so close to Arches, it's not so surprising.

Steven and Andy on CO-141.

One thing funny about Colorado state highway signs is that the state flag takes up half the sign, leaving less space for the highway number.

Steven and Andy on CO-141.

The scenery changed from dry canyons to a semi-lush landscape.

We hopped on I-70 for a bit from Grand Junction to the start of CO-65. This state continues to impress as its interstates are actually enjoyable to ride and scenic and probably don't warrant being called slab. The nice thing about CO-65, the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway is that the fun starts right as soon as you exit the highway. The first part is characteristic of dry canyon railing, then changes to a foresty mountain pass up and over Mesa Lakes.

Riding a bit of I-70 from Grand Junction to the start of CO-65. Interstate in this part of the country isn't so bad.

18 CO-65 Canyon Railing, Grand Mesa Scenic Byway [3:56]
Canyon Railing on the first half of CO-65, Grand Mesa Scenic Byway. Heading south towards Grand Mesa / Andy
Musik: The Black Eyed Peas feat. Sergio Mendes - Mas Que Nada
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 3/5

Steven riding to the top on Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway, CO-65, a very fun road.

Andy, Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway

Looking down from the peak at Mesa Lakes.

Doing what (male) motorcyclists do best.

Looking back at Aileen as we ride down into Cedaredge, CO.

19 CO-65 Mountain Pass, Grand Mesa Scenic Byway [5:02]
Riding up and over CO-65 on the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway towards Cedaredge, CO / Andy
Musik: Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 4/5

Beautiful road conditions.

After a break in Hotchkiss, we hoped on CO-133 towards the last feature of the day, Independence Pass. Just like on previous trips, the most fun always comes when you're least expecting it. CO-133 around the Paonia Reservoir was my favorite road of the whole trip. It was constant 35 mphs turns with nice smooth pavement with beautiful mountain and lake views. Let me move here, already!

Proof of the temperature at a Hotchkiss gas station. Mind you, this was in the shade.

Riding the awesome CO-133 from Hotchkiss to Carbondale, CO.

This was one of my favorite roads of the whole trip. Constant 35 mph turns.

20 CO-133 Paonia Reservoir [5:07]
Railing on CO-133 around the Paonia Reservoir. This was my favorite road on the whole trip. Constant 35 mph turns allowing for a nice rhythm to be set. And check out the scenery too. I want to move here! / Solo
Musik: Alice DeeJay - Better Off Alone
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 5/5

Aileen, coming out of riding some twisties.

Enjoying the view of the Paonia Reservoir.

More fun on CO-133

Steven, with some impressive peaks up ahead.

21 CO-133 McClure Pass [3:33]
Riding up and over CO-133's McClure Pass in drizzling rain / Andy, Steven
Musik: Dire Straits - Lady Writer
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 5/5

Aileen, clearly happy to be riding this awesome road. (Picture by Andy)

Taking a roadside break (Picture by Aileen)

Rick, on the last stretch of CO-133.

Crystal River, heading into Carbondale.

Crossing 40,000 miles on the odometer in Carbondale, CO. Myra's an awesome bike. Let's see if we can cross a 100K…

We encountered a bit of rain as we pulled into Carbondale, just as I crossed 40,000 miles on my 2004 GSX-R600. I think Suzuki should buy back my bike when I cross 100,000 miles to study reliability of their supersport bike. I could use a new bike by then.

I was hoping we could stop in the beautiful town of Aspen for a late lunch but a big storm was moving through and traffic was crazy mad in town. There's a four-lane highway all the way from the freeway into Aspen and traffic was constant the whole way. We got started on the road up to Independence Pass in a steady downpour, which wasn't too dampening on the spirits since traffic was quite dense on the road. The views and the road resembled the Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park and it was actually quite beautiful in the rain. The temperatures were in the mid 30s when we passed the summit at 12,095 ft and Aileen, being the smart rider she is was watching out for possible black ice forming on the roads that could slip us over the edge of the mountain. Steven was cold to the bone and just railed down the mountain, wanting to get to a warm hotel room as soon as possible. Coming down on the eastern side, there are no guard rails around the switchbacks and the 10 mph speed limit was duly followed. Just as the rain subsided, we pulled into the town of Leadville, which is the highest town in the US at 10,152 ft.

Heading into the rain-soaked mountains of Independence Pass on CO-82, south of Aspen.

The road was truly beautiful to ride through. Close foliage and good road quality.

22 Independence Pass Uphill, CO-82 [6:24]
Gently riding up CO-82 from Aspen to Independence Pass. Too bad we had to ride through here during a downpour, but it's beautiful nonetheless. It almost resembles the Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier National Park / Solo
Musik: Bob Dylan - Tambourine Man
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 5/5

CO-82

The views were also stunning, almost like Glacier National Park. I couldn't stop to take any pictures of the scenery as traffic was constant and serious rain was on the way.

A winding wet mountain road with steep rocky drop-offs.

CO-82

The summit of Independence Pass at 12,095 ft, the second highest paved road in the US. This is well above the tree line and there's only tundra up here. The temperatures were in the mid 30s, plus it was raining. We were cold. (Picture by Aileen)

The wet peak of Independence Pass. We were hoping it wouldn't get cold enough to start forming ice. That would be bad through these no-guard rail hairpins.

23 Independence Pass Downhill, CO-82 [7:05]
Gently riding down from Independence Pass (12,095 ft) in the rain with no guard rails. Heading east to Twin Lakes, CO / Solo
Musik: The String Cheese Incident - Take Five
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 4/5

At the bottom of the pass, at Twin Lakes, CO. The mountains create their own weather system.

The clouds hanging around at the mountain peaks, where it's nice and cool for them, creating havoc for us riding through there.

Next: Day 9, Exiting Colorado

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 7

2007-07-04T17:55:00.001-05:00

Day 7
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Start: Bryce Canyon, UT, 8:30 am
End: Moab, UT, 6:30 pm
Mileage: 489

The route for Day 7: Bryce Canyon, UT to Moab, UT, Capitol Reef National Park.

Along with the other famous roads in the sport-touring community of Lolo Pass in Idaho, Beartooth Pass in Montana are the southern Utah roads of UT-12, 24 and 95, which run from Bryce Canyon through Capitol Reef National Park to Arches National Park near Moab. Besides having endless twisties, they're also very remote and set in some amazing landscape.

Mine and Andy's campsite at Ruby's Inn Campground, just outside the entrance to Bryce. Yeah, the other 3 whimped out and got a hotel room. City slickers. I enjoyed gazing at the stars before falling asleep…

Someone mentioned earlier that the whole of southern Utah should be a National Park as just driving along you come across some awesome sites.

On UT-12 heading to Escalante. One thing that UT and CO do that is different from other areas is instead of just suggesting a lower speed limit through twisties, they just lower the whole speed limit. So, getting tickets in twisties could hurt more, but there's less enforcement out there anyways.

Real cowboys on a ranch.

After breakfast in Escalante, we enjoyed UT-12 into Capitol Reef National Park, which resembles Zion with massive sandstone cliffs. Someone pointed out earlier that this whole southern part of Utah should just be one huge national park as the awesome scenery doesn't stop once the park boundaries end. The terrain is also quite alien and resembles the surfaces of Mars and the Moon; not surprising that NASA conducts research out here for their various missions.

Stopping for breakfast at the Golden Loop Café in Escalante.

Andy and Aileen, framed by some nice cut rocks.

Steven and I looking out at the expanse below us on UT-12. (Picture by Andy)

Lots of curves and pretty rock formations on this road.

Rounded rocks

Twisties near Boulder, UT

Twisties near Boulder, UT

Looks like the road ends at this rock wall. Quick, turn right.

UT-12

UT-12

UT-12

I didn't want to give up riding the twisties for taking pictures of these awesome rocks, so I just took pictures while riding the twisites… You only need your right hand to ride anywayz…

Riding a small pass on UT-12

UT-12

Steven on UT-12

Steven on UT-12

Notice how the scenery changed within just 10 minutes.

Andy, Aileen and Steven on UT-12.

Andy, Aileen and Steven on UT-12.

Aileen and Steven on UT-12.

Overtaking one of the few vehicles we came across.

Taking a picture while overtaking. I should write a safe riders manual or something...

Aileen, Steven and Rick on UT-12.

This picture hasn't been photoshopped. The sky is just that clear out here. No big cities within a 200 mile radius.

Heading down into Capitol Reef National Park on UT-24.

Capitol Reef National Park

Puts things in perspective. The massiveness of these rocks was most outstanding.

The road through the park runs very close to some sheer cliffs.

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Check out the slash lines in the rock…

Hmmm, I'm no geologist, but looks like something major happened a couple million years ago to create this dark sediment layer… maybe a huge volcano erupted and ash got deposited (thanks History Channel).

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

15 Capitol Reef National Park, UT-24 & UT-95 [5:12]
Riding through the awesome Capitol Reef National Park on UT-24 and UT-95. The sandstone cliffs felt more imposing than those at Zion. The scenery also looks like we're riding on a Martian landscape / Andy, Steven
Musik: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow ((Hey Oh))
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 4/5

Interesting how these big rock formations are almost evenly spaced out, almost man-made. Some of this landscape looked like we were on the moon, besides the one little road of civilization.

That's quite a sight.

From Hanksville, heading south on UT-95, there are no towns for 125 miles till Blanding. Running out of gas was a little concern for Steven's, Aileen's and my bike, which we didn't want to experience in this desolate place with oppressive heat. To increase fuel mileage, we turned down our cruising speed and just enjoyed the sights. Being July 4th, we also didn't want to encounter any extra enforcement that was out for DUIs on this day of celebration.

This was seriously the road to nowhere… heading south on UT-95 after gassing up in Hanksville. The road is dead straight for about 15 miles, was putting me to sleep.

Thankfully, there were some nice sweepers waiting for us as the road crosses the northern end of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Red canyons on UT-95

Now, it felt like we riding on Mars, with so much red rock. And I think Nasa does testing out here for Mars missions.

Steven and Andy on UT-95

Steven and Andy on UT-95

UT-95

UT-95

UT-95

UT-95

Glimpses of Lake Powell from UT-95

UT-95

Crossing the Colorado River.

UT-95

UT-95

UT-95

There was almost no one on this road besides us, but we kept the speeds in check as it's about 125 miles between gas stations on this road and we didn't want to get stuck in this heat, above 100 F.

Varying sediment layers

UT-95

Cheese Box Butte, a mesa (couple hundred feet across), which has eroded it's peak down to this little nub.

A bunch of British bicyclists riding coast-to-coast. They started on the west coast a month back. We thought of giving them a tow up this huge hill, but alas, no rope… (Picture by Andy)

Eris (Andy's BMW K1200S) with the expanse of southern Utah behind her. (Picture by Andy)

With the fuel concerns in mind, I still didn't want to pass on visiting the Natural Bridges National Monument at the southern end of UT-95. The park rangers commented that they wouldn't try and venture between Hanksville and here on a bike on a day like this for the fear of breaking down. Meh, all in a day's work for sport-tourers. We took a ride on the loop around the park that brought us close to three natural bridge rock formations, which were pretty cool.

Steven, riding through the Natural Bridges National Monument on the Bridge View Drive.

Riding two-up with Rick so that I could take pictures freely as we quickly rode through the park. It was extremely hot and we were very low on gas.

The Sipapu Natural Bridge. A natural bridge is different from an arch in that water carved the hole through a wall of rock, while an arch is formed by wind erosion.

The Natural Bridge National Monument allows visitors to see 3 natural bridges from the road. Note the storm clouds off to the right.

The Kachina Bridge

The Kachina Bridge

Canyon carved by the river that formed the bridges.

The Owachomo Bridge

Rick at The Owachomo Bridge, which is only 9 feet thick at its center.

Running almost on fumes, we found an old Sinclair gas station at the intersection of UT-95 and US-191 but decided to push a bit further into Blanding since they didn't have premium grade gas. After a nice lunch at a local Mexican fast food chain, we pushed ahead to Moab to beat a storm that was following us. Riding up US-191 wasn't that exciting, that too with not much interesting scenery.

The Devil's Highway, US-666 got renumbered to US-491 in 2003. Before the change, these road signs were one of the most stolen signs.

An odd lonesome rock formation on US-191, heading north to Moab.

A natural arch by the roadside. (Picture by Rick)

Once again, after a dip in the pool at our hotel and unloading our luggage, Rick, Steven and I set off for an evening ride into Arches National Park. We had originally planned to camp in Moab, but the temperature at 8 pm was still in the high 90s and it would've been an uncomfortably hot night. I really liked the setup of this tour with bonus rides at the end of the day, giving everyone options to ride further or not. It was only 360 miles from this morning to Moab with another 100 miles in the bonus ride around Arches.

Prior to the trip, I was advised to ride up UT-128, which borders Arches National Park and runs along the Colorado River through a steep red cliff canyon. The landscape was amazing and again seemed out of this world. But I think we spent too much time here as the sun was setting fast as we entered Arches. My goal was to see the rock formation of Delicate Arch and Balanced Rock. There's a quick 10 minute hike from a parking lot to the vantage point of Delicate Arch. We got there just in time to click a few pictures in the last minutes of daylight. It was worth it and again, maybe I'll come back again to properly hike around the park and get closer to some of the other features of the park.

Riding the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, UT-128, which runs along the Colorado River with Arches National Park next door.

Riding through sunset created some beautiful sights.

Looking back at Rick and Steven.

UT-128

UT-128

UT-128

UT-128

UT-128

UT-128

The sun setting fast in these canyons.

UT-128

UT-128

UT-128

Notice how straight the walls of this rock's cliffs are…

UT-128

Using an automated ticket system to enter Arches National Park, cost was only $5 per bike.

16 Arches National Park and UT-128 [3:17]
Riding through the Red Cliff Canyons on UT-128 and then hitting Arches National Park just at sunset. We hiked to see Delicate Arch in the last moments of dusk / Steven, Rick
Musik: The Fugees - No Woman, No Cry
My Rating > Road: 3/5, Scenery: 5/5

Arches National Park is known for its numerous natural sandstone arches and other unique rock formations.

Arches National Park

Looks like Wile. E. Coyote's home… beep, beep

Arches National Park

Balanced Rock. Awesome picture.

Rick, giving some support to Balanced Rock.

Delicate Arch. We got here too late as the sun had already set, but the 10 minute hike up was still worth it. A longer hike takes you much closer to the arch.

Rick and Steven with Delicate Arch in the background.

Soaking in the awesome sunset. It's about 9:15 pm local time.

The bikes with the setting sun.

Next: Day 8, Independence Pass to Leadville, CO

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 6

2007-07-03T17:55:00.000-05:00

Day 6
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Start: Grand Canyon North Rim, AZ, 9:30 am
End: Bryce Canyon, UT, 5:30 pm
Mileage: 274

The route for Day 6: Grand Canyon North Rim, AZ to Bryce Canyon, UT, swinging by Zion National Park/

Today was the designated short/rest day of the tour at 274 miles as we would be spending considerable time at Utah's national parks of Zion, Cedar Breaks and Bryce. I heard the traffic through Zion might also consume a lot of time, so no need to hurry through these natural wonders. After a nice run back up the Grand Canyon Highway, we had breakfast in Kanab, UT and then turned into Zion National Park.

Our cabin at the Kaibab Lodge. Getting ready to leave.

Heading north on AZ-67, Grand Canyon Highway through the Kaibab National Forest. Endless sweepers and excellent road quality.

11 Kaibab to Kanab, AZ-67 & US-89 Alt, Grand Canyon Highway [5:02]
Riding AZ-67 and US-89 Alt from Kaibab Lodge near the Grand Canyon North Rim to Kanab, Utah. This is one beautiful road / Andy
Musik: Armin van Buuren - Burned with Desire
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 4/5

On US-89 Alt heading towards Zion National Park.

After seeing pictures and documentaries of this park, I was quite excited to finally be here. We knew that to get the most of the park, one should stop and take a hike into the inner regions to truly be amazed, but alas, we're on a tight schedule and getting a glimpse was good enough. I'll be back at a later time to properly enjoy the park. Zion is known for its rising cliffs and you get a good view of that from the road. Traffic wasn't bad, but we did have to wait for about 15 mins at the tunnel that takes you into the heart of the park.

At the entrance to Zion National Park. After reading and hearing so much about this place, I was quite excited. (Picture by Andy)

12 Zion National Park [6:07]
Riding UT-9 through Zion National Park. Shot using a helmet camera. Please excuse the poor framing of many shots, it didn't turn out as I planned / Andy
Musik: U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
My Rating > Road: 3/5, Scenery: 5/5

Checkerboard Mesa, with a natural grid pattern probably caused by water run off.

The eastern portal to the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel, which runs over a mile through the sandstone to emerge deep in the park.

The tunnel has 6 big windows cut into the cliff to provide sunlight and ventilation, and construction was completed in 1930.

Heading back east through the park.

Lots of massive sandstone mountains.

The switchbacks climbing up to the western portal of the tunnel.

Again on this trip it was a challenge to pay attention to the winding road with the awesome views just ahead.

Zion is known for extreme vertical cliffs and much better views can be had by taking hikes into the interior of the park.

Another view of the winding road.

The tops of the peaks appear white as their minerals have been blown away by the wind.

Coming up to the western entrance of the tunnel.

Since it was still quite a hot day, we were using our cooling vests and we re-wetted our vests at the main lodge in Zion on our way to our next stop, Cedar Breaks National Monument. Unbeknownst to me, Cedar Breaks is at an altitude of about 10,000 ft where it's considerably cooler and we ended up feeling much cooler than needed with our wet vests. Cedar Breaks was a very enjoyable site as the iron in the sandstone contrasts greatly with the green flora of Cedar. The whole region of southern Utah was at the bottom of an ancient lake about 50 million years ago and up shift in the ground over time has created these various canyons and cliffs. And this whole area all the way from the Grand Canyon through Zion to Bryce Canyon is known as the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Staircase"]Grand Staircase[/URL] as each cliff/canyon is a step higher than the other in the big picture.

A warning sign at the intersection of US-89 and UT-14 on our way to Cedar Breaks National Monument. For us, this means there's fun 25 miles up ahead.

The awesome view at Cedar Breaks National Monument, a natural amphitheather canyon. This area was created by uplift and erosion.

Hoodoos (tall thin spires of sedimentary rock) are abound here and at Bryce Canyon. The rich color is due to iron deposits in the rock.

Yes, we're all taking pictures of the same thing. (Picture by Aileen)

Aileen, Rick and I trying to pose for a picture. (Picture by Andy)

Yeah, we didn't realize that the Cedar Breaks rim is above 10,000 ft, meaning it was a little chilly and we mistakenly rewetted our cooling vests when we left Zion. You could say we were feeling a little nipply.

Panguitch Lake on UT-143

13 UT-143, Cedar Breaks National Monument [4:39]
Riding UT-148 and UT-143 around Cedar Breaks National Monument, heading to Panguitch, UT / Andy
Musik: Linkin Park - In The End
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 4/5

UT-143 to Panguitch from Cedar Breaks was a nice fun road with very little traffic. Most of these roads weren't too technical and were mainly sweepers following the contour of the land, which makes for very enjoyable riding for everybody. From there, turning on UT-12 and entering the classic stone arch signaled our destination for the day, the pink rocks of Bryce Canyon. Andy and I setup camp and then joined the others to cool off in the campground's pool before setting off for an evening ride through the park.

Aileen on UT-12 heading to Bryce Canyon National Park. This was a taste of the scenery to come.

Another classic shot from this part of the country: the stone arches on UT-12 near the entrance to Bryce Canyon.

After unloading our luggage, we relaxed by the pool at Ruby's Inn before heading off into Bryce for a sunset ride. (Picture by Aileen)

Andy, protecting his poor back, which probably hasn't seen the sun in over 10 years. (Picture by Aileen)

Get those predators out of the there! Momma's keeping an eye on them. (Picture by Aileen)

The road through Bryce Canyon is very enjoyable but the speed limit drops from 45 to 35 and we duly got served towards the end of the park. Yes, we probably shouldn't have been railing through a National Park, but it was the end of the day and there was hardly any cager traffic. We think we were setup by the ranger at the gate calling ahead to the patrol ranger that four sport bikes had just entered the park. We were running our radar detectors, however the patrol officer used instant-on just as he sped by us and clocked us for 60 in a 35. Only Andy and I got tickets as Rick and Steven were further behind and duly rode by us getting served like they didn't know us. Bastids! But that's the protocol. Oh well, it's a federal district ticket, which doesn't count towards insurance or your license record, so we just considered it a price to play. Andy and I joked that the officer took so long to process our tickets because when he called us in, the dispatch must've been like, "Oh, you finally caught those two. There are warrants out for them in Colorado and Arizona." LOL. We cruised back doing the speed limit, which was very painful on this awesome road. After a nice dinner at Ruby's Inn with the group, Andy and I enjoyed falling asleep under the clear starry sky of Bryce, which we had been looking forward to, while Rick, Steven and Aileen enjoyed the comforts of their hotel room.

The boys heading into Bryce Canyon National Park.

14 Bryce Canyon National Park [5:54]
Riding through Bryce Canyon National Park on UT-63. This was an awesome road! But yes, we did pay to use it... / Andy
Musik: Alibi - Eternity
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 5/5

The road was amazing! Lots of 25-35 mph turns and excellent road quality. All though the speed limit is quite low at 35 mph and…

Yup, we got popped by the ranger. First and only speeding ticket on the whole trip. 60 in 35. Thankfully it's a federal ticket, which doesn’t go on your state record. Freebie, besides the fine.

In hindsight, we probably shouldn't have been railing through a national park, but I don’t think we scared any of the other tourists and it was at the end of the day… (Picture by Andy)

Good thing we pulled over at a scenic overlook…

The rock is white again here because the wind has eroded its minerals.

A fine example of the hoodoos at Bryce. They don’t crumble because the structure is made of varying rocks that erode at different rates.

The view from Rainbow Point, the end of the scenic ride through the park. (Picture by Andy)

On our way back, doing the speed limit. What to do? Follow the road or the sign!?

Soaking up the scenery as it slowly goes by…

These deer are so used to human traffic they're not even bothered being so close to the road.

Look how brave this guy is; just casually walking across. Nice.

Next: Day 7, Capitol Reef & Arches Natl Park

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 5

2007-07-02T17:54:00.000-05:00

Day 5
Monday, July 2, 2007
Start: Ouray, CO, 8:30 am
End: Grand Canyon North Rim, AZ, 7:30 pm
Mileage: 514

The route for Day 5: Ouray, CO to Grand Canyon North Rim, AZ, passing through Monument Valley.

Today would be a high mileage day since we were trying to get to the Grand Canyon in time for sunset at the North Rim. We weren't expecting to ride any spectacular roads today but some sights along the way would be interesting such as Monument Valley in Arizona.

We started the day by continuing on the San Juan Scenic Byway loop by taking CO-62 to CO-145. The views from CO-62 show-cased a picturesque Rocky Mountain image. It was quite a treat to have such views for a morning ride. While railing on CO-145, we came into this opening in the trees and saw this awesome view of Trout Lake. It was the quintessential image of living in the mountains. A small lake surround by snowy peaks and pine forests. We saw a few houses around the lake and Andy was seriously considering moving out here. Further south on CO-145, the change from green forests to red rock was indicative of us getting closer to southern Utah.

What a sight to wake up to in the morning… On CO-62 (part of the San Juan Skyway) looking south at some Rocky Mountains. (Picture by Andy)

Stuck in construction traffic in the beautiful mountains…

At least the scenery was enjoyable while we waited.

6 CO-62 & CO-145 of the San Juan Skyway [8:03]
Riding CO-62 & CO-145 of the San Juan Skyway from Ridgway to Dolores, CO. Note the change from green forests to red rock towards the end of the video / Andy
Musik: Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 4/5

Trout Lake, CO… mmm mmm mmm good. Andy was thinking of settling down here.

The Blue Bikez

This picture doesn’t do it justice. A beautiful lake, surround by forests and show capped mountains. (Picture by Andy)

This was actually a very mild case of Helmet-bug-itis, but nonetheless, lots of summer bugs to deal with.

The Galloping Goose in Dolores, CO. They converted trucks in the 1950s to make them freight trains in these mountains.

After breakfast in Dolores, we headed for this small short-cut called Road G that would take us from Cortez, CO into south-eastern Utah. The original plan was to head down to the Four Corners site, but since we wanted to swing by Monument Valley, we decided cut out the Four Corners to save mileage. I got confirmation from an STNer that Road G was indeed paved all the way into Utah, because it looked like a small dirt road running by itself on the maps. It ran by Ute mountain which is a lone peak in south-western Colorado. The road was a little bumpy, but not too bad an option.

We came out onto US-191 heading for Mexican Hat. But before that, we swung by Goosenecks State Park where the San Juan River's intricate carvings into the sandstone are quite a sight to behold. After that we were looking forward to stopping by the Swinging Steaks place at the Mexican Hat Lodge, but they were closed.

7 Road G [4:25]
Riding Road G from Cortez, CO into south-western Utah, going by Ute Mountain and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument / Andy
Musik: Madonna vs Daft Punk - Get Into The Groove
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 3/5

A lonesome oil derrick on BIA-5068 in the south-eastern part of Utah having just crossed from Colorado on Rd-G.

Interesting rock formation at the intersection of UT-163 and US-191.

The road to nowhere… actually it's heading to Mexican Hat, UT.

Erosion is the name of the artist in southern Utah and here's another fine example of her work.

Red rock formations… abound in this part of the state.

Goosenecks State Park near Mexican Hat, UT.

The little San Juan river is responsible for this stunning canyon.

The group at Goosenecks State Park: Steven, Rick, me with Aileen and Andy. (Picture by Andy)

Looks like someone painted those patterns on those hills, on US-163.

The rock formation that gives Mexican Hat its name.

Since we had come down from nice and cool Colorado, the rise in temperature required the use of our cooling vests. These are simply nylon quilted vests that need to be soaked in cold water and then worn under a perforated jacket. As air moves over the vest, evaporative cooling keeps the core of your body cool. Rewetting is required every 2 hours or so in 100F weather.

Putting on our cooling vests in Mexican Hat at this spanking new Shell (stood out in the stark desert). We had hoped to eat at the Swinging Steaks place, but they were closed.

Rick and his super bright High-Viz cooling vest. Seriously, what's the point of a high-viz cooling vest when it's going to worn under the jacket???

After seeing lots of pictures of Monument Valley in movies, cartoons, ride reports, etc., I thought it wouldn't be that big a deal. But coming around the corner and seeing the road heading straight into the distance with the peaks of Monument Valley bearing down was an awesome sight. From here, we headed up to Page, AZ to check out Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.

8 Monument Valley on US-191 & US-163 [3:13]
Riding the open roads through Mexican Hat, UT and Monument Valley (US-191 and US-163). Some top speeds runs first and then the stunning scenery of Monument Valley / Andy
Musik: Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 4/5

The classic shot of Monument Valley on US-163, just south of Mexican Hat. It is quite outstanding.

Another pic with the sky and desert harmonizing.

This was as close as we got. When there's more time, I hear the jeep tour through the actual park is definitely worth it.

Rick, at the border with Utah and Arizona with Monument Valley in the background. (Picture by Rick)

Looking back at the group riding through the Navajo Indian Reservation on US-163 towards Kayenta, AZ.

Andy, re-soaking his cooling vest in an auto shop in Kayenta (there were no restrooms around).

Rick's always been on my case about not paying enough attention to wildlife on the side of the roads that could be a potential hazard to us. And it didn't help that while leading on this road, I somehow missed seeing a heard of sheep that were sitting right next to the shoulder. They weren't on the road, so what was the worry? I'm telling you, he spends more time looking for animals in the woods than paying attention to the road!

The nice thing about the open desert is that radar from the enforcement travels uninterrupted for a long distance. We got a blip about 10 miles out which slowly strengthened and we cruised by the officer doing the speed limit. Not to be facetious, but I was smirking and saying to the officer in my helmet, "you have a radar gun, I have a radar detector." :)

It was extremely hot as we pulled into Page with temps near the 120F range. After a quick lunch at Jack in the Box, we swung by for a few views of the dam and the lake, which looked very inviting with its bright blue contrasting with the red rock. Then, we were heading straight to our lodge just outside the Grand Canyon's North Rim.

On AZ-98 heading towards Page, AZ.

Rick, Steven and Andy on AZ-98.

It was blistering hot, around 115 F and not a breeze in sight. Check out the vapor heading straight up from the smoke stacks.

Glen Canyon Dam near Page, AZ.

The dammed man-made Lake Powell. This dam was a little controversial as it flooded many beautiful canyons and submerged lots of archeological and wildlife habitat areas. It took 17 years to fill the lake up.

The bridge of US-89 crossing the Colorado River at Lake Powell.

Heading south on US-89 towards US-89 Alt, just before the intersection, the view after traversing the closed-wall Antelope Pass is quite dramatic. Only then do you realize that you've been riding on a huge plateau as a big valley opens up below you. This valley is the northern most point of the Grand Canyon, of which we would be riding through to get to the North Rim. We passed Marble Canyon and the Cliff Dwellers (rocks that rolled down from the cliff). It was still quite hot but I still managed to stop for pictures as I'm not going to coming through this area anytime soon again. What's a little sweat, eh?

From there, the road rides very much straight in the big valley until we started climbing the valley walls into the cooler climate of the Kaibab National Forest. We climbed reaching up to 8,000 ft at the North Rim. The elevation change in this part of the country, and that experienced by us on this trip was very much welcomed compared to the flatlands of the Midwest.

Just south of Antelope Pass on US-89 near US-89 Alt intersection. Riding on a plateau behind us, the view suddendly opened up to this huge valley, which we would be riding through.

Looking back at Steven on US-89 Alt riding in a big valley. It was extremely hot at this point, hovering around 110 F.

Cool rock formations at Marble Canyon.

Rick and Andy with Marble Canyon in the background.

Heading to the North Rim of The Grand Canyon.

We were patiently waiting for this road to finally meet those hills in the distance so that we could climb out of this heat and ride some twisties.

Looking down at the valley that we were in. Looks like a glacier could have done this back in the Ice Age…

The twisty part of US-89 Alt with the previous long straight section down in the valley.

A turn on US-89 Alt with the expansive valley below.

The Grand Canyon Highway of AZ-67 from US-89 Alt towards the North Rim was a real gem of tarmac. The road is very smooth and wide with endless sweepers. The forest fire damage from the previous year that closed down this part of the park was still quite evident. However, the greenery further south makes this a truly enjoyable run, especially at sunset.

9 Kaibab Road, AZ-67, Grand Canyon Highway [5:45]
Riding AZ-67, the Grand Canyon Highway to the North Rim and to Kaibab Lodge. Notice all the trees burnt from a previous forest fire. Don't you just love those never-ending sweepers... / Andy
Musik: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along The Watchtower
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 4/5

We booked a cabin at the Kaibab Lodge, just north of the park entrance so that we could take in the sunset at the Grand Canyon. After showering up and unloading our luggage, we set off and enjoyed a beautiful sunset at the North Rim. It really is an awe-inspiring sight. We sat on the edge of the canyon and just relaxed as the sun winded down. It must've looked quite funny to the other tourists there to see us walking around up and over the rocks in our riding gear. And Andy and his extremely squeaky Oxtar boots should've been banned for the noise disturbance. I don't care if they're a good deal; I'll pay more for less squeaky boots. On the way back to the lodge, we enjoyed a nice little night ride. Even though we did over 500 miles today, having an awesome destination helps keep the motivation going throughout the day.

Riding through the Kaibab National Forest on our way to the North Rim of The Grand Canyon after unloading our luggage at the Kaibab Lodge.

Profile view of the awesome GSX-R machine.

Entering the park. We got there after 6 pm and the ticket booths were closed, so we went in for free. Yeah.

Yours truly.

The road was nice and twisty in the park, but we just saw the park ranger go by…

Oh the pain of doing the speed limit of 35 mph.

The Grand Canyon.

"Ok, I've seen it all, I'm ready to jump." Nahhh, just stretching and taking in the awesome view. But if I had a base jumper's parachute… hmmm… (Picture by Andy)

Andy with the setting sun.

Just taking it all in…

Definitely worth coming here at sunset. (Picture by Andy)

Quite a few other people were just sitting on cliffs and admiring nature's work. (Picture by Andy)

Yup, that was my view.

We rode from Chicago for this. Click the picture for the full size version. (Picture by Andy)

A panoramic view of the North Rim. Click the picture for the full size version. (Picture by Andy)

The sun quickly tucking away past the canyon wall. (Picture by Andy)

Andy, Grand Canyon

A Grand Canyon Sunset.

A US Geological Survery Datum stating the elevation at 8,153 ft. at Bright Angel Point.

Trying to capture the full moon from our lodge. (Picture by Andy)

10 Kaibab Road Night, Grand Canyon North Rim [4:15]
Riding back just after sunset from the Grand Canyon North Rim to the Kaibab Lodge. It's lighter than it looks due to my dark windscreen / Andy
Musik: Eric Clapton - I Shot the Sheriff
My Rating > Road: 3/5, Scenery: 2/5

Next: Day 6, Zion & Bryce Natl Park

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 4

2007-07-01T17:53:00.000-05:00

Day 4
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Start: Monarch, CO, 8:00 am
End: Ouray, CO, 7:00 pm
Mileage: 430

The route for Day 4: Monarch, CO to Ouray, CO. From the Blue Mesa Reservoir to the Million Dollar Highway.

After taking some showers to warm-up from the cold night where temps were around 40 F, we were off to Gunnison for breakfast. Packing up the campsite took a bit longer than we expected and since most of us didn't get very good sleep, we decided to call off camping for the rest of the trip (3 more nights were originally planned). However, Andy and I still wanted to camp at Bryce, since we had been looking forward to that for a long time.

Getting ready to leave after taking some hot showers. It was a very cold night with temps near the low 40s.

Our first mountain pass of the trip, Monarch Pass near Gunnison, CO at 11,312 ft.

US-50 snaking around the mountain down to Gunnison.

Steven coming around a corner.

1 Monarch Pass, Colorado [7:09]
Riding up and over Monarch Pass in Colorado near Gunnison / Andy, Aileen & Rick
Musik: Nalin & Kane - Beachball
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 5/5

In Gunnison, we took a loop around the Blue Mesa Reservoir on CO-92 because it looked very twisty and fun on the maps. This loop also allowed Steven to catch a nap to make up lost sleep and Aileen decided to relax in town, since a long day to Ouray was still ahead. Rick, Andy and I set off and we were not disappointed. I contacted a few riders on Sport-Touring.Net and noted down their advice on which roads were must rides in their state, of which CO-92 was one of them.

The twisty fun CO-92, which runs up a cliff from the Blue Mesa Reservoir.

Nice empty twisties.

2 Blue Mesa Reservoir Roads, CO-92, US-50 [7:04]
Riding the awesome roads of US-50 and CO-92 around the Blue Mesa Reservoir, near Gunnison, CO / Andy
Musik: Mijangos - Bahia
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 3/5

A cattle truck looking like it jack-knifed at the top of the twisty CO-92. The truck is parked in such a way to allow cattle to load directly into the truck from the range gates. A warning sign could've helped…

Rick's ST3 looking towards the end of the road. (Picture by Andy)

Rick taking a picture of his mug, ruining all his picutres. LOL.

Looking down the dam at the Blue Mesa Reservoir.

On US-50 heading back to Gunnison to pick up Steven and Aileen.

After the loop, we headed down CO-149 towards Durango and then the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray. The northern part of CO-149 is high-speed sweeper heaven. We're talking triple-digit corner-taking. It's an awesome feeling to be leaned over while doing triple digits. The road was very wide open with little traffic. It started to get a bit crowded near Lake City and after Creede, traffic slowed us down a lot, which continued onto US-160 all the way into Durango. It was another passing fest, but we toned down the double-yellow passing, since cagers are more likely nowadays to call for some enforcement, even the tourists.

On CO-149, which had massive sweeping sweepers. We're talking triple digit sweepers.

3 CO-149, near Lake City [3:53]
Riding long fast sweepers on CO-149 heading south to Lake City / Andy
Musik: Kylie Minogue - Love at First Sight
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 3/5

Crossing the Continental Divide at Spring Creek Pass, south of Lake City.

4 Slumgullion Pass on CO-149 [5:43]
Riding through Slumgullion Pass at 11,361 ft on CO-149 near Lake City, CO / solo
Musik: Mozart - Symphony No. 40
My Rating > Road: 4/5, Scenery: 3/5

CO-149 flatenned out around the city of Creede, but still made for good riding.

Looking back at Steven and Rick. I got bored sitting behind traffic and thus FotoMotion (moving photography) was initiated… I slowly perfected taking pictures while riding over the trip and they came out pretty good. Reverse shots are still a little tricky.

US-160 near Wolf Creek Pass

A hairpin section just south of Wolf Creek Pass. However it was plagued with traffic.

Rick, Andy and Steven weaving down the mountain.

I switched with Aileen for this stint. I had been dying to ride the new GSX-R750, which is an amazing bike.

From Durango, the Million Dollar Highway on US-550 to Ouray was one of the highlights of the trip. The road is famous for steep cliffs and not having any guard rails to protect vehicles. The name of the highway probably came about because the first 12 miles south of Ouray ascends very steeply and it was difficult to build a road through there back in the 1920s and when they finally built it with lots and lots of switchbacks, it cost them a lot of money. These days, it's officially called the San Juan Scenic Byway. The road starts of slow from Durango and then picks up and crosses three high mountain passes: Coal Bank Pass (10,640 ft.), Molas Pass (10,910 ft.) and Red Mountain Pass (11,018 ft.). It was a very entertaining road and very picturesque, as well. The last 15 miles or so into Ouray is the highlight with continuous switchbacks and lots of elevation change. Something happened with my camcorder and it didn't record this section, which would've made for a great video. Steven and I were railing all the way into Ouray.

Taking a traffic break on US-550, the Million Dollar highway heading north from Durango to Ouray. The road was too twisty to have a safe passing fest, so we just waited to create a gap.

Myra and Eris, soaking up the great view.

A beautifully set hairpin on US-550.

Aileen, setting up for the above hairpin…

Aileen, riding through the corner.

5 US-550 Million Dollar Highway [9:15]
Riding the famous Million Dollar Highway (US-550) from Durango to Ouray, CO. Note the lack of guard rails and the awesome scenery / Andy
Musik: Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing (Live with Eric Clapton)
My Rating > Road: 5/5, Scenery: 5/5

The air was so clear up there, that no touch up was needed for these pictures. Just beautiful.

Want to guess what they call this mountain range? (Picture by Andy)

Ouray's a nice little touristy mountain town. The steep cliffs of the mountains seem to be right in the town as they're quite imposing. The area's also known for some hot springs. We stayed at the Ouray Hotel, which was one of the pricier lodgings on the trip at $143 for a suite.

The beautiful town of Ouray, nestled high up in the rocks.

We stayed at the Ouray Hotel. Nice place.

A bunch of outta-towners walking out of The Outlaw bar. Appropriate.

Rick thrilled to see a red fire engine. He was thinking about pushing the clutch in and seeing this thing roll down the whole mountain.

Next: Day 5, Monument Valley & Grand Canyon North Rim

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 3

2007-06-30T17:52:00.000-05:00

Day 3
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Start: Great Bend, KS, 8:15 am
End: Monarch, CO, 7:00 pm
Mileage: 523

The route for Day 3: Great Bend, KS to Monarch, CO. Entering the Rocky Mountains.

We were officially done with slab yesterday, but we still had around 350 miles of state highways through Kansas and Colorado before hitting the Rocky Mountains. One of the reasons we chose to ride through Kansas' state highways was the ability to cruise at high speeds. There's very little enforcement and traffic, which allowed us to cruise in the triple digits. We got up and rode to Garden City, where we had a good country breakfast. I had the biscuits and gravy. Mmm mmm good, but not really ideal for riding...

Steven doing a little electrical maintenance on the bike. I think the battery terminal was loose.

Yes, we would finally be entering the heavenly state of Colorado. All though it would be another 150 miles or so till we hit the Rockies. And I think the sign could really use a bit of color… (Picture by Aileen)

Once we hit Pueblo, the original plan was to ride down CO-78 and climb this twisting looking bit into the mountains. Alas, our hopes were dashed 20 miles later when we saw a sign for "Gravel, Next 9 miles" including switchbacks. We had to turn around to Pueblo and enter the Rockies on CO-96, which wasn't bad at all.

On CO-78, the supposedly last bit of straight road before hitting the twisties in dem dar hills outside Pueblo.

But alas, it was all gravel twisties climbing up the mountain. (Picture by Andy)

Heading back to the pavement with Andy who missed the sign that said "Gravel, next 9 miles". We rode back to Pueblo to try another entry into the Rockies. (Picture by Aileen)

Now this is more like it. CO-96 had some decent twisties with some nice scenery. Pleasing. (Picture by Andy)

Yes, that's a storm brewing right behind me in Silver Cliff. We tried to outrun it but ended up getting nailed for a few minutes. Huge water drops. (Picture by Andy)

US-50 is a nice road, but there's too much through traffic on that road. It did make for a nice passing fest. We stopped in Salida to buy some beers for the campground at Monarch, which was about 10 miles from town. This would be our first night of camping and most of us would be using our camping gear for the first time and also preparing our own dinner for real. The change in altitude (8000 ft) was noticed when we had to walk up to the shower house, losing our breath pretty quickly. And I was hoping none of us would suffer from Altitude Sickness.

Our camp site at Monarch Spur Campground (around 8500 ft). We were nicely isolated from the rest of the RVs.

Rick, unloading his house that he packed in his hard luggage. Talk about traveling light.

Andy unpacking a matress pad and Rick setting up an individual tent, which we all had as it takes less space on the bike.

Motorcycle Art… Steven's boots being aired by the stream running by our campsite.

Makeshift Fridge - using the cold icy water to chill the brew. Nope, we didn't lose any bottles.

My tent under the tree.

Tent city

Nice to think that we rode here with everything that's setup here.

What a beautiful campsite…

Dinner time! Andy and Aileen got freeze-dried food which just needs hot water to rehydrate some tasty dinners.

Andy taking a piss, I mean filling water from his bladder into the JetBoil, which boils water very quickly.

Aileen preparing the origami dinner-ware (plastic, foldable bowls and cups) and that's a Spork (spoon with a fork).

The dinner table. Rick, Steven and I brought MREs, which Rick got a from a military surplus store. (Picture by Aileen)

I thought it was a Meal Ready to Eat. Liars, looks like it needs some preparation.

All the items that come with one MRE: main meal, heating packet, crackers, raisins, pop-tart, peanut butter and lemonade powder. The residual heat from the heating packet was great for sore muscles.

It become quite messy with all the packaging material.

Steven enjoying his Beef Stew. The food actually tasted pretty good.

Rick, trying to find gold with his cookware, like they probably did in these mountains back in the day.

The Abominable Snowman running around camp.

Sorting through laundry (done in the shower house) by a nice big fire. Mmmm, I love campfires.

Next: Day 4, Million Dollar Highway & Ouray, CO

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Day 1 & 2

2007-06-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

Day 1
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Start: Barrington, IL, 6:15 pm
End: Iowa City, IA, 10:30 pm
Mileage: 220

The route for Day 1: Barrington, IL to Iowa City, IA on I-88 and I-80.

Just like last year's trip to Montana where we had around a 1000 miles of Interstate (slab) before the twisties, we decided to leave on a Thursday evening and put away about 200 miles so that we'd only have one full day of slab before hitting the mountains on Day 3. We all met up in Dekalb (west of Chicago) and hit I-88 heading towards Iowa City. I've never actually been on I-88 outside the city and it's actually quite a nice bit of freeway. It was also very empty and the scenery was decent with nice rolling green hills. We also were riding into a very stunning sunset, where it seemed like it took forever to get completely dark.

Steven, myself and Rick leaving from Rick's house to Dekalb to meet up with Andy and Aileen.

The group ready to roll-out from Dekalb.

Rick using duct tape to seal a hole in Steven's rain suit. There's always some picture of Steven doing something crazy…

The bikes under flourescent light in the special parking area of our motel (on the sidewalk).

Finishing off dinner with some cheesecake. Steven waiting to get in on the action. (Picture by Aileen)
_______________________________________________________________

Day 2
Friday, June 29, 2007
Start: Iowa City, IA, 8:15 am
End: Great Bend, KS, 7:00 pm
Mileage: 571

The route for Day 2: Iowa City, IA to Great Bend, KS heading through Kansas City.

Today would be the full day of slab, and everyone was happily plugged in to their music players. We keep saying bike-to-bike communication would be nice on these long trips, but we never get around to it. It was overcast the whole day and that reduced the temps a bit, however that also lead to some rain throughout most of the day. It was just moist the whole day, not too bad. Andy let me ride his K12S for a bit and I got to play around with the Electronic Suspension Adjustment on that bike. It really does make a difference between Sport and Comfort modes, especially on the rough concrete construction patches. The interstate through Kansas City was actually pretty nice with lots of turns and elevation changes compared to the slab in Chicago.

Rick seems overly excited at the name of this gas station. He's truly an ODB.

Just after getting off the slab, this was the first real corner we came upon and we were so excited that we decided to take a picture of it. That's what riding so much slab will do to you.

Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend, KS. The recent rains in the area must have raised the water level where it was only a foot away from the road. It made for a cool shot with the gray road, gray water surface and overcast clouds. (Picture by Aileen)

Myra stands clear in the blur between road, water and sky.

The close to 600 miles of slab we did wasn't bad at all. The trick is to be motivated by knowing the heavenly twisties that lie at the end of this slab. We all have read many ride reports from Colorado and expressed envy at those who get to live in that state for their easy access to awesome roads. And now we'd be railing on them soon. Just thinking about stuff like that almost makes the drone of the slab go away.

A key to doing high mileage days is to reduce the length of rest stops and actually end up taking more breaks but making them quicker. We stopped every 100 miles or so for around 20 minutes. And another way to increase riding stamina throughout the day is not to break for a big sit-down lunch. A big meal will slow you down and make you sleepy in the afternoon, which is not good for riding. Instead we kept snacking at the gas stations throughout the day. We try to stay away from junk food and instead snack on trail mix, fruit, etc. A sit-down lunch also robs about an hour or more from the day's riding and instead we have a big breakfast in the morning and then a hearty rewarding dinner. Another thing we did for breakfast throughout the trip was to get up and ride about 50 to 100 miles before sitting down for a nice hearty breakfast. This also helped tide us over into the late afternoon. This routine again worked really well on this trip.

We stayed at the Travelers Budget Inn for $67 for all five of us in one big room with three queen beds. A little research before the trip lead me to finding some golden deals like the one above.

Brain Buckets of the group: Andy's, Aileen's, Steven's, mine and Rick's (Arai is leading).

Sorry to hurt your eyes with this picture, but Rick's always goofing off. He was thrilled to find this hat.

Waiting for the Beaver Express to open.

Meat. Corn-fed Kansas Steak. And it was reasonably priced too, almost cheap. Rick's holding half of a $25 meal.

The group with an awesome Kansas Steak dinner at Montana Mike's Steakhouse.

Next: Day 3, Monarch, CO

Ride Report Index

Colorado - Intro

2007-06-27T17:42:00.000-05:00

A Tour of Colorado's Mountains to Utah's Canyons on Video

Introduction

Colorado. Just saying its name conjures up images of the beautiful snow-capped Rocky Mountains. Images of outdoor activities, such as hiking, white-water rafting and skiing are quickly painted in your mind, along with the smell of fresh air and crystal clear water. Plus, for motorcyclists, it also means tones and tones of twisting tarmac up and over numerous mountain passes. Colorado is touted as the ultimate sport-tourer's paradise as besides having endless twisties, it also has amazing scenery around every corner.

Having ridden the northern Rockies the summer before, it left us salivating for what the southern Rockies held for us. Last year, we thoroughly enjoyed riding through Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. And this year, we planned our route through Colorado's mountain passes, Arizona's Grand Canyon and southern Utah's National Parks. All though we could spend a whole week in Colorado itself, we figured we might as well see what Arizona and Utah have to offer, since it's all quite far from Chicago.

Southern Utah in itself was a big attraction to us as the few state roads through that part of that state were mapped as endless twisties. Plus, the scenery of Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks were another attraction. And how could we not dip down to Arizona and visit the majestic Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, which I've been yearning to see since I've come to this country.

With the destinations decided, the route took shape covering 4800 miles in 10 days. The riders would be Andy (BMW K1200S), Rick (Ducati ST3), Steven (Kawasaki ZR1200), Aileen (Suzuki GSX-R750) and me on the Suzuki GSX-R600. This would be Aileen's first big sport-touring trip and we all had confidence in her after watching her rapid progress over the past year, having taken the MSF course only last spring.

Andy and I wanted to do some moto-camping on this trip, as it adds another dimension; another way to experience the places we'd be staying at. And we'd have some beautiful camp sites to choose from on this trip: the Grand Canyon, the National Parks in Utah and even the wilds of Colorado. Four camping nights were chosen along with nearby motels incase the weather wasn't cooperating.

We planned the trip over the July 4th weekend as it allows for a longer trip with fewer days off taken from work. Also, we had to make sure to plan our trip such that all the mountain passes through Colorado would be open. Most open after Memorial Day, but some can be closed even in June by freak snow storms. Going in July through Utah and Arizona's low lying regions would certainly mean temperatures in the 100s. But this would be a dry heat and our cooling vests proved adequate in similar temperatures on our trip last summer, so no one was worried. To counter the heat, we'd also be spending extended periods of time at cooler high altitudes through Colorado, from 8,000 ft to 12,000 ft. Regarding the high altitude, altitude sickness is a real concern and besides being properly hydrated before starting the trip, there's not much else one can do to fight it.

Lots of video was shot throughout the trip as it's a much better medium than pictures to capture what it felt like to be there and ride those roads. Just to note that most of the clips below show some good action but not all of them are us railing through twisties. Some clips were used to portray what the road and surrounding area looked like. All the videos can be viewed separately on this YouTube playlist.

There is also an interactive version of this ride report based on Google's new personalized maps. Click on the map below to watch videos and see pictures from the trip as they're marked along the route that we took.

Interactive Google Route Map with Videos and Pictures from the trip. Click the image to experience it.

Overall route map. 4800 miles over 10 days. The route was planned with us entering the Colorado Rockies south of Denver, riding through south-western Colorado, heading over to the Grand Canyon, up into Utah's national parks, and then heading back into Colorado, exiting the Rockies in Fort Collins.

Below is an index of the daily entries for this trip:

Day 1 & 2, Chicago to Great Bend, KS
Day 3, Monarch, CO
Day 4, Million Dollar Highway & Ouray, CO
Day 5, Monument Valley & Grand Canyon North Rim
Day 6, Zion & Bryce Natl Park
Day 7, Capitol Reef & Arches Natl Park
Day 8, Independence Pass to Leadville, CO
Day 9, Exiting Colorado
Day 10 & Epilogue, Heading Home

New York City

2007-06-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

I visited New York City in June to attend a childhood friend's wedding and also meet up with my friend from highschool, Ruchita and her bf, Vijay. We killed some time walking around Central Park and there's some obligatory shots of Times Square, as well.

I like New York, it has a nice vibe to it. Would like to live there at some point, just to experience it.

My friends, Ruchita and Vijay, walking under a characteristic Central Park tunnel. There's a guy playing the sax in the tunnel.

Praticing rock climbing on this massive rock that was probably left here during the last Ice Age (I watch the History Channel).

Ducks on a rock in a big pond, where people were playing with their mini sail boats.

Trying to emulate Balanced Rock at Arches National Park...

Bethesda Fountain the centerpiece of Central Park at sunset.

Vijay, Ruchita and me at Bethesda Fountain.

Capturing the setting sun's ray in quadrants.

The Bethesda Terrace leading to the main mall in the park.

There's all sorts of random life going on in Central Park. Caputring some roller bladers going backwards through a slalom course.

A samba band playing some good beats with people dancing all over.

This girl looked like a professional dancer. She was having a good time.

Dancing on skates...

I love the idea of Central Park, to have this huge green paradise amidst all that concrete.

Big trees in the middle of New York City.

Another random street party...

Times Square with every logo trying to grab your attention.

They have these in third world countries, but they don't look this good. There's even a separation between the driver and the passengers.

A horsey trying to merge into traffic.

The famous One Times Square building, on which the New Years Ball Drop happens. This building was built in 1904 by the New York Times, where Times Square gets its name from. There are no tenants in the building, because it would cost too much to upgrade it to current standards, but it rakes in the mullah from just the ads, which are seen by about one million people everyday walking through Times Square.

From simple billboards, they've upgraded to all out LCD High Def TV screens.

Looking the other way across Times Square.

A high contrast picture to highlight the brightest objects.

That Coke sign on the bottom is considered to be art as it's a 3-D electro-kinetic sculpture with LEDs all over it.

These huge eyes would move around, like Big Brother was literally looking down on us.

All the famous street signs in one area.

The Time Square Subway station, which looks rather dull compared to all the glitz right above.

Track Day at Blackhawk Farms Raceway

2007-06-02T10:47:00.000-05:00

I did a weekend of track riding at Blackhawk Farms Raceway, which is just north of Rockford in Illinois. This time I went with Dan, Aileen and Andy. Aileen would be taking her new Suzuki GSX-R750 to the track for the first time and Dan would be there on his Honda CBR1000RR. Andy was just tagging along as he's track bike-less for now. We figured this would be good practice for getting in the groove for our upcoming ten day sport-touring trip to Colorado and Utah. How we figured that, don't ask... cause you can't really take everything you learn on the track to the street, except maybe good body position and learning the limits of your bike. So, I guess that's a lot in the end.

We drove up Friday night to setup camp and out pit area for the weekend. We're allowed to camp for free on the track site itself next to the pits. Bad weather was predicted for the weekend, and it did rain, but it dried up really fast after each monsoon-like downpour.

By the afternoon of the first day I had figured out what was slowing me down around the track: I was letting of the gas and coasting through the corners instead of driving the throttle through the corner. Once I realized this, I immediately got a little faster and was consistently touching knee where I wanted to around the track. And I wasn't so scared of crashing in each corner by now. I was quite comfortable leaving the pits and in general felt good to be out on the track.

I found a rider, Matt on a Yamaha R6 from Milwaukee, in my group (Intermediate) whose pace was close to mine and we tagged along to pace each other during our sessions. I was a tad faster in some corners and likewise, he was faster in other corners and I believe we helped each other go a little faster. It was good fun. I was also playing around with different camera angles using my helmet camera and captured a rear view shot of Matt, a rider view of myself and other views.

And I really do like the track layout at Blackhawk. It's easy to learn how it flows, but it takes time to get on the right racing line around the track. I also love being leaned over for extended periods of time, like in the Carousel or Turn 4 through Turn 5. I'll probably go back once a year to this track...

Here are some pictures from the weekend and there's on-board video at the bottom:

Our pit area (where we park the bikes inbetween sessions on the track). That's Darren and Ron along with me. It was reasonably hot and humid prompting me to remove my two-piece leathers as soon as I got done. A one-piece leather suit, like Ron has, is much harder to remove and put on, so those guys just suffered.

Getting ready to go out for my session

Moi, coming down the front straight just after it had rained.

Andy, watching from the hot pit area.

Moi, about to cross the start/finish line.

Our pit area with the sun out

Ron, taking a nap after a really tiring day on the track. He just fell asleep right there on his hand.

Our little Tent City behind the pits. Andy and Aileen were trying out their new light-weight tents that we'd be using on our upcoming Colorado trip. Dan and I got the luxury two-person tents.

Dan, on the track.

Aileen

Dan, coming down the front straight.

Dan, leading a few riders around turn 1.

Dan, getting some instructions from a Control Rider (on-track instructor).

The Hot Pit. Everyone came in due a Red Flag incident on the track.

Dan, heading back on the track once the Green Flag was out.

The Blend Line - yellow line that entrants to the track must not cross to prevent a collision happening with riders already on the track.

Me, coming around Turn 4 (Photo courtesy Nolan)

Chasing Matt around Turn 5 (Photo courtesy Dan)

Between Turn 4 and 5 (Photo courtesy Alex)

Coming around Turn 4 (Photo courtesy Nolan)

Between Turn 4 and 5 (Photo courtesy Alex)

Between Turn 4 and 5 (Photo courtesy Alex)

The Track Map

On-board video:

One Hot Lap around Blackhawk Farms chasing my buddy Matt on a Yamaha R6

Rear View looking back at Matt

Rider View with the helmet camera mounted above the speedo looking back at my upper body. Note that you can see the reflection of the track on my visor...

Working with Control Rider Ron Hix for a few laps where he was trying to show me the best line around the track.

Track Day at Road America

2007-05-28T09:57:00.000-05:00

I went for a track day at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, just north of Milwaukee. This is a fabled track and they host many professional racing events here and that allure drew me to the track. It's a high speed track and my bike is not the best suited for its long straights. I have a 600 cc sportbike and a 1000 cc bike would be better suited. But it was still very exciting to ride the track. The week after our track day, the professional AMA race was held at the track and it was exciting to know that I had ridden on the same track as them.

This was my first track day of the year and I was taking it slow as I had another track day the following weekend. I finally got back to dragging knee around the corners, which I have been scared to do since my first crash last July at a track. It's always a bit unnerving when your knee puck touches the ground for the first time after a long gap. Then I quickly got back to loving it and I felt I rode well. I even put a few passes on bigger engined bikes coming out of slow corners. We call them parker-screamers, because inexperienced riders on big bikes go so slow in the corners it feels like they are parking the bikes and then they scream wide-open-throttle on the straights.

Here's a short clip of one lap around the Road America track.

(Picture Courtesy Gron4.com)

(Picture Courtesy Alex)

(Picture Courtesy Alex)

Dirt Riding in Mississippi

2007-04-06T10:10:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from my dirt-riding trip to Mississippi over the Easter weekend. It's April and we were expecting temperatures in the range of 60 to 70 F, but this blasted cold front had just moved in across the country and we were going to be lucky if the high temperature reached 50, meaning overnight lows in the 20s! Great time to go camping :/ Anywayz, we took the days off and we were going; at least it wasn't going to be snowing.

The plan was for Anna and I to drive down to Wall Doxey State Park in upper Mississippi (near Memphis) to meet up with her boyfriend, Mike, who was driving up from Lafayette in Louisiana.

Our campsite. For the cold nights, Mike brought an electric blanket (RV site) and I brought my down comforter, which was warm enough.

Mike's an excellent cook and we had Crawfish Etouffe, Shrimp Fettucine, Tuna with rice, etc... not typical camping food, thank goodness.

Anna and Mike with breakfast: Boudine (Creole sausage with rice and other things in it), very tasty.

We found lots of gravel roads around the area...

Sardis Lake, which is partly dry in the winter makes for lots of fun riding on the lake bed.

Doesn't look like this is Mississippi... I was having visions of being somewhere in the Sahara...

And yes, I present you the classic AdventureRider picture. Seriously, this stream was only 5 inches wide and I thought, "hey, I should be able to cross that," and what do you know... it's all soft clay.

It took 5 of us (local fisherman to the rescue) half an hour to yank her out. All the clay in the spokes was weighing her down.

Being a good poser, I should've left all the mud on there... but I didn't want it to cake over the engine or mess up my brakes, so a good hose down was in order. $2 well spent.

I took Mike and Anna back the next day.

One wouldn't normally see a motorcycle and a buoy right next to each other...

A real forest trail that was quite challenging: crossing water, fallen logs, etc... good fun.

Sitting by a campfire at nights is one of my favorite moments in the world. A fire is just so encapsulating.

More pictures and video from my helmet camera to follow.

Europe - Travel Inbound

2007-01-10T17:53:00.000-06:00

Click here to go to the start of the trip.
_____________________________________________

(Previous Stop: Venice and Milan)

I was just so happy to be able to check my bags in and walk around without them. The terminal at Milan was very crowded at 10 in the morning with many long haul flights leaving at the same time. The boarding line to Delhi and Chicago were right next to each other. The agents were also scanning in every passport before boarding and this delayed departure for an hour. I don't understand why they repeated this, since we just passed immigration.

To get over jet lag on the way back, I had to stay awake the whole flight and the whole next day so that at night back at home, I would fall asleep easily when it was actually waking up time in Europe. Luckily Alitalia had a great in-flight entertainment system with Audio/Video on Demand (meaning I could start/stop/pause whenever I wanted).

The great thing about flying is that no matter what the weather is like on the ground (foggy and rainy)...

...once you pass the clouds, it's always sunny up here (except at night of course).

Saying good-bye to the Alps that provided some exciting skiing and stunning scenery.

Lunch on Alitalia. It was some lasagna with salmon on veggies (again, but I'm trying to eat more fish when I can) and overall not bad.

Breakfast: that yellow bread was warm with some cheese in the middle, along with the pastry and Red Orange juice.

Ahoy there Long Island - the last bit of the Atlantic Ocean before touching down in New York.

Landing and that brings an end to this fabulous trip.

(Back to Trip Index)

Europe - Venice

2007-01-08T17:52:00.001-06:00

(Previous Stop: St Anton, Day 5)

With a day to kill before my flight back from Milan, I stopped by Venice for a night. This is a city like Paris and Rome, which we hear about so much all through our lives and have really high expectations for when we visit and so far, those expectations have been met. So, I guess next up is Rome then.

Of course the most unique thing about Venice is the lack of cars there and the numerous water canals running through the city. Everything that's normally brought in by truck (groceries, goods, etc) is all brought in by boat. I've tried to capture a little bit of what it's like in Venice...

Map of Venice (from Lonely Planet)

View from across the St Lucia train station... a cafe on the Grand Canal.

One of the only three bridges crossing the Grand Canal

A vaporetto, the public bus system, which is used by tourist and locals. It costs 5 Euros for each trip.

A couple starting off on a gondola ride, which are generally quite expensive. They start around 50 Euros and the gondolier doesn't usually sing like in the movies.

These two older gentlemen seemed to be practicing for some sort of race.

A private taxi boat

Looking down the Grand Canal

A sewage boat

A boat hauling goods and private taxi chatting with each other down the canal

The symbol of Venice, the traditional winged lion of the apostle St. Marks, whose tomb was robbed in Alexandria, Egypt by some Venetians in the 9th century. The religious leaders then made St. Marks the patron of Venice and have used his symbol since then.

Lots of parts of Venice are deteriorating...

Since there's only three bridges that cross the Grand Canal, many operators have a little ferry system to get across where the bridges are too far away.

Passing a loaded vaporetto

The Rialto Bridge, which is the most recognized symbol of Venice. My hostel was about 5 minutes from here.

Lots of colorful buildings

A traditional mask shop in Venice, aimed mostly at tourists.

The funny thing was this sign was above a little 2 inch wide window sill. Who would even consider sitting there?

Lots of dark and dingy alleys broke off from the main walkways.

A ski resort display in a shop window

Tourist Menus. Never eat at a place that has a tourist menu. It's usually more expensive and the food's worse, but the menu's simple and it's in English. Some old ladies were pondering the menu and I pointed them away and they thanked me profusely.

Some pigs showing off "all" their features.

An old water fountain

Looking across the Grand Canal at the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore

Some Middle Eastern architectural influence

The tower in St. Mark's Square

St. Mark's Square

St. Mark's Square

St. Mark's Basilica

One of the main shopping streets. Venice is clearly a walking city and part of the charm of the city is just walking around and getting lost. It's said to be very safe.

A boat hauling cement

Instead of a Garbage Truck, they have Garbage Boats.

There were signs for this lost Golden Retriever, Molly all over the city.

St Mark's Square in the morning. The pigeons are everywhere.

Notice the Heineken stashed behind one of the wings

The Winged Lion of Venice

A gondola stand

A taxi boat stand

Interesting street light holder...

My hostel room was on the second floor

_____________________________________________

Milan

There isn't really much to see in Milan besides the Duomo and then it basically comes down to shopping. It's the biggest city in Italy and thus attracts a variety of people trying to make a living in the city. There were lots of street hawkers and the city itself didn't feel all that glamorous, compared to Paris.

Heading down the main shopping alley, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele towards the Duomo.

The funny thing about this scene was the dog. These Native Americans were promoting their CD of natural sounding music, which had wolf calls and other sounds typical of Native American music. And this poor dog was going biserk and howling and barking at the music...

The main Ferrari Store, which is quite close to Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello.

The Duomo di Milano, which is known for its gothic architecture and its role in the establishment of Catholic traditions of worship.

Entrance to another shopping street from the square

One of the many "Meals on Wheels" kinda food stands which had roasted walnuts, gelato and other snacks.

This guy had crazy skills. He was sculpting flowers out of vegetables (beet roots, onions, etc). Note the two little gold fish carved from carrots.

That was the end of my short visit to Northern Italy. Venice was definitely worth it and totally lived up to its hype. Milan was also what I expected... Rome and Southern Italy are next.

(Next Stop: Inbound Travel)

Europe - St Anton, Day 5

2007-01-07T17:51:00.000-06:00

(Previous Stop: St Anton, Day 4)

On this last day of my skiing, I wanted to head over to the upscale ski town of Lech and see what kind of skiing was there...

Here's a few pics of the typical lifts at St Anton. When the red gates open, you scoot forward onto the moving carpet, which moves you ahead to the loading point. Worked great.

The chair lift gates. Instead of getting lift tickets like in the States, we got smart cards which we just had to keep in our jackets and as we got close to the sensor, it would recognize our valid lift pass and let us through. And you get a couple Euros back for giving back the card at the end of your stay.

The Arlenmahderbahn lift, which was needed in order to get to the free bus to Zurs. This chair lift begins at an elevation of 1834 m (6050 ft) and it rose about 700 meters. Most of the lifts here were at a resonably low elevation. In Utah and Colorado, most of the villages themselves are at 8000 ft and the lifts take you up to around 12,000 ft. Altitude sickness is definitely more of a problem in the US resorts.

One thing nice about the chair lifts here was the bubble enclosure to keep out any howling winds or blowing snow.

Warning sign on the bubble

I could tell I was in Lech (luxury ski town of the area) as I saw this display for a Maybach 52, which costs around $300,000.

The town of Lech

A massive 8 passenger chair lift system at Lech. The biggest I've seen is a 6 person one before.

The trail map at Lech showing a majority of the lifts and trails as being open.

"34b goes that-a-way..."

Two dogs getting frisky in the snow... must be the mountain air.

A hotel on the middle of the mountain

Looking down at the town of Lech

They had a tram (Rufikopf), which would basically scale the face of this steep mountain. Impressive stuff.

Looking down at the town of Zurs from the top of the Rufikopf Tram from Lech.

The top station of the Rufikopf Tram.

Heading down to Zurs. They had this trail called Der Weisse Ring, which was a massive ski trail loop between the towns of Lech and Zurs. I'd guess it's about 8 kms (5 miles) in length. Took me most of the afternoon to do.

One of the mini-lifts on the way to Zurs.

Lunch of sausage and beef goulash.

Continuing on Der Weisse Ring. Heading down to the Madlock-Joch Lift.

On the Madlock-Joch Lift

Looking back at Zurs and St Anton in the distance behind those peaks.

The very tiny Madlock-Joch Lift, which was generally slower than the other high-speed high traffic lifts.

One of the famous off-piste chutes in the St Anton area, which I'm told gets very narrow and steep. Being the last day and sore, I decided to skip it.

Der Weisse Ring trail maker

Looking down at the town of Lech

Now that's product placement. An all-wheel-drive Audi wagon at the top of the mountain.

Heading back on the bus... this truck came flying around this blind corner and almost collided with us.

Directions on how to close the bubble

Taking the Valluga tram (which this resort is known for) for my last run down. Looking down at a very high cat-walk ski trail coming down from the Valluga peak.

The backside of Mt. Valluga

Taking a little tow-bar lift to get us over to the front side of the mountain... and taking me home one last time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this ski trip and met some really great people on the chair-lifts and during meals, as well. The terrain is definitely the kind that I like to ski and I'll be back soon...

(Next Stop: Venice and Milan)

Europe - St Anton, Day 4

2007-01-06T17:50:00.000-06:00

(Previous Stop: St Anton, Day 3)

After finding what I liked at Zurs yesterday, I wanted to spend the whole day there and I loved it. Lots and lots of off-piste skiing, which kills the muscles. I was hurting very badly throughout the day and not just my legs, but upper body as well. Piste skiing (on groomed trails) is defintely a lot easier on the body than off-piste. It was also too hot for my taste in regards to skiing with the temperature hovering around 32 deg F. My ski gear is most ideal for around mid 20s temperature. With more energy being burnt during off-piste, I ended up sweating a lot more and had to cool off after every 30 minute run. This was my favorite day here.

A tunnel between St Anton and Zurs

Following another ski bus to Zurs through the tunnels

The start of my runs from the Zurs Trittkopf Tram. You basically had to ski off the face of this mountain... wonderful stuff.

Clear skys on a neighboring mountain

The mid-point tower for the tram. Today, I easily figured out the best way down the mountain without getting stuck like yesterday and the best thing was at times, I had the whole mountain to myself with very few other skiers there.

The tram

Part of the off-piste trail heading back down to the tram

View from the tram of the area that I skiied down

What is it with guys and having to mark their territory...

Me, at the top of the Trittkopf tram in Zurs.

If you squint really hard, you can see my territorial marking in the snow. View from the tram.

The top of the tram that had a nice little warming room inside.

Heading back home... those same awesome towering rocks.

The highway in the valley below

A few days after a snow storm, it's very hard to find any fresh powder as is demonstrated in the whole face of this mountain being skied out.

An injured skier getting air-lifted down to the hospital in the valley. Besides being injured, what a fun ride that would be...

Waiting for the bus back to my hotel... thin cross-country skis in comparison to my all-mountain skis.

The village of St Anton

It was much warmer down here than on the mountain and it was getting quite slushy...

(Next Stop: St Anton, Day 5)

Europe - St Anton, Day 3

2007-01-05T17:47:00.000-06:00

(Previous Stop: St Anton, Day 1 & 2)

The first two days I skiied the mountains that were close by to the main village. These were generally more crowded with longer lift lines and also more skier traffic on the trails. I was trying to get to the other two mountains, Zurs and Lech that were behind St Anton. One could take a bus to Zurs, but it cost 8 Euros. Plus, there was a way to ski over the mountains and ski down to another town which had a free bus to Zurs. This was also more adventurous since I had to take a series of lifts to get over the peaks. I got to Zurs in the afternoon and ended up loving the terrain there and figured I'd head straight there the next day.

It snowed overnight and below me was fresh, untouched powder snow... mmm...

My skis are an all-mountain ski, meaning that they can carve on the groomed trails and also float a little on the fluffy powder. But not having a proper powder ski (fat skis, which don't sink in the light snow), made skiing in the powder a little difficult. But I was enjoying it.

Results of a mini-avalanche, where the top melted and refrozen layer of snow slides down on the fluffy snow underneath.

Those are my tracks in the fresh snow...

My ski pole... it's 48 inches long, so you can guess how soft and deep the snow was here.

The very informative trail maps at the bottom or top of chair lifts. Green tells you which lifts and trails are open. A trail will be closed if there's not enough snow covering the rocks and other hazards underneath.

There was a bunch of people in crazy ski costumes. Here's Superman, then there's a bunny and Dr. Jekly behind him, a leprachaun, etc...

Even though it had just snowed overnight, their snow making machines were going on full blast as they were taking advantage of the temperature being below freezing. It hovered around 0 deg Celsius the whole time, making snow-making difficult at times.

View from the chair-lift of my fresh tracks in the snow. No one else seemed to be skiing my little hidden area.

The sun finally came out to a beautiful day

I got a little too adventurous one time down the mountain following these crazy snowboarders. I'm looking back up at those little trees that I just navigated through.

Looking down at the narrow chute that I'd have to tread slowly down...

Looking back up where I came from

I got to a point where I had to take off my skis and crawl myself out of there. Yes, it's so soft.

The thing about taking off your skis in soft powder is that you sink very easily... up to my knees in powder...

...and loving every moment of it

Waiting for the Trittkopf Tram at Zurs

This is how skiing should be. The tram climbed about 3300 ft (1 km) in height in just 4 minutes and then it took about 25 minutes to come down the mountain. Perfect.

The first time down this mountain, I was loving it. Lots of Steep N' Deep terrain and no real set trails down the mountain. You had to be a little adventurous. The downside of being adventurous is that you can make the wrong decision and I ended up taking the wrong path down the first time and got stuck on top of this 100 ft cliff for about half an hour. It was lots of heavy uphill hiking with my equipment to get out of there. But still worth it.

The cool thing about taking the bus to Zurs is the road tunnels that you pass through. The tunnels are cut into the side of the mountain and it's very twisty.

Some turns were really sharp and only one bus could pass at a time.

Taking the lift back home

Some very steep rocks that reminded me of some Lord of the Rings landscape...

The setting sun of a great third day of skiing in the Alps

This is what's called a White Ribbon of Death - one trail with tonnes of skiers and snowboarders on it. This was the trail home where people with varying skill levels ski very close to each other. This invites accidents and I fell victim to one of them. Somebody turned left into me and launched me forward on the hard ice knocking the wind out of me for a while. Luckily someone else stopped behind me and put up their board to prevent anyone else from running into me.

The ski town of St Anton with lots of nice shops and restaurants

(Next Stop: St Anton, Day 4)

Europe - St Anton, Day 1 & 2

2007-01-03T17:43:00.001-06:00

(Previous Stop: Heidelberg)

Now onto the main reason for this trip to Europe - 5 days of skiing in the Austria Alps. In the weeks leading upto the trip, I was getting nervous regarding the weather since this winter happened to be the warmest the Alps has experienced in a thousand years. Winter was having a late start and quite a few resorts had to delay their opening. But I seem to bring the snow with me where I go and it snowed about a foot or more in the days before I got to St Anton in Austria. It also snowed heavily right before my Colorado trip in December and also before my trip to Banff, Canada in Jan 06.

I chose St Anton after researching that it was a mountain aimed more at intermediate and expert skiers and that it was always a good bet for early season snow. I also chose Austria over the resorts in Switzerland or France because things were generally cheaper in Austria. Also, the chance to visit an authentic Austria ski town, which most resorts in the US try to emulate, couldn't be passed up.

I booked myslef in a little bed and breakfast (Haus Kleinhans) for 40 Euros a night, where I got my own single room with a private bath. The owner was very friendly and gave me lots of tips of where to ski each day and where to eat in town.

The difference between European and American ski resorts is in the amount of grooming that's done on the trails and the vast acerage increase. There're less defined trails in European resorts and lots more off-piste skiing within the resort boundaries, in general. My 40 Euro a day lift ticket got me access to five different mountains, which sometimes required a shuttle to get to the other side of the mountain.

St Anton, Day 1

Looking down at the St Anton valley

The new gondala that just opened this year, the Galzig Bahn

Mt. Valluga, the tallest peak in the area

It was still snowing the first day I was there and just a few days before, people said they were skiing on grass...

A communications tower on top one of the peaks

A snow cat, which is used to groom the main trails. As people ski on a certain trail, it will eventually start forming bumps and by the end of the day, a flat trail in the morning would become moguls in the afternoon. There was a whole army of these snow cats.

The Mooserwirt - on mountain pub. St Anton is also known for its very active Apres Ski (like a happy hour after the day's skiing). In Europe, it's also more customary to ski a little bit, take a little break, ski some more, grab a beer, ski some more... it's more relaxed. But almost everyone there (including kids) seemed to be advanced intermediates, at the least.

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St Anton, Day 2

The few trails that were mapped were marked really well with directions and colors, as well. Unlike the States, where the difficulty increases from Green to Blue to Black, in Europe it goes from Blue to Red to Orange to Black and sometimes this chanages between resorts. At least they're consistent with keeping a Black to be the most difficult.

Some fresh powder next to a trail. A majority of the skiers seemed to stick to the trail (piste) and only quite a few were venturing off-piste.

Day 2 was very foggy and visibility was very limited. There was lots of skiing like driving at night where you simply the follow the tail lights in front of you. I'd get behind somebody with a bright colored jacket and just follow them down.

This is supposed to make you a better skier, since you have to take whatever terrain comes at you. You can't plan a nice route around the bumps, you have to ride them and go with the flow...

A net to catch falling skiers. This was used in areas where the chair lift was crossing a small valley or if the terrain was unskiable below.

Mountains in the mist

Electricity tower in the middle of a trail

(Next Stop: St Anton, Day 3)

Europe - Heidelberg

2007-01-01T17:37:00.000-06:00

(Previous Stop: Brussels)

Next stop was Heidelberg, Germany, a small city south of Frankfurt. It's a unique city in Germany in that it didn't get bombed during World War II and currently houses the US Army headquarters in Europe along with other NATO offices. It also has Germany's oldest university; Ruprecht Karls University, founded in 1386. The city is also known for an abandoned castle that sits on a steep hill near the main village.

I was visiting my friend Stephan who lives here and studies Mechanical Engineering at Karlsruhe University (a top engineering school in the country). I met him while at Texas A&M through IAESTE (the international internship exchange program).

The old church in the center of the village

A building from the 15th century (I think) that had a very posh restaurant at the bottom.

A view of the castle (schloss) from the village

A good German dinner: huge pork chops with savory bread dumplings along with a massive helping of sauerkraut, with a good local brew.

A typical village in the German countryside (Stephan's mom worked at a bank here). Note the black cat crossing the road...

A sign with a slash through it means the posted sign no longer applies, so end 20 kmph zone. As soon as we left the town and saw the slash sign, Stephan hit the gas.

On the Autobahn for the first time in my life. Having been a BMW fan since middle school and loving everything about the German Autobahn since then, I have dreamt many times about the joy of driving without a speed limit. Stephan didn't disappoint, taking the VW Polo to 160 km/h (100 mph).

Taking a twisty mountain road up the backside to get to Heidelberg Castle

The woods near the Schloss

"Left to the castle"

Taking a little hike through the woods to get down a little bit. It was quite slippery on the wet leaves.

The castle's main entrance to the left with some typical terrain in the background.

A building in the castle grounds with a blue-tiled roof.

This was a great shot cause this building had no roof.

Strange, but the castle also housed the largest ever wine barrel (that's me on top).

Refreshment from different eras. Another massive wine barrel.

The Bavarian flag from when the King from Bavaria (Munich) used to stay here.

View of the old part of Heidelberg from the castle's balcony.

Each lion here had a different expression

Stephan

View of the exploded amunition tower. You can see its walls are around 7 feet thick and there was an explosion inside of the amunition which blew it outwards.

Down in the village looking up at the castle

"Yes, sit here and relax and wait for the bus." It's actually a bus stop of a mobile library.

A monkey sculpture at the Old Bridge Gate.

Cool looking branches

Shot of the old bridge and the castle in the background.

The Old Bridge Gate

A typical side street with bars and cafes here and there.

They actually took the effort to lay down all the bricks in this nice semi-concentric pattern. It's worth a shot.

Taking a train to head back up the mountain to our car.

Wurst mit frites - bratwurst and fries. A most excellent train station meal. They love their french fries all over Europe.

(Next Stop: St Anton, Day 1 & 2)