alfalfa

Birthday dessert for lil ol me, once we got back to 3Step. Our host is on the left. Chilly Saturday morning, as we pack up to head to Moab. Saying goodby to the "inn keeper"!

On the way out, earlier that morning, one of our guys had seen some houses "against the rock" he said. Our return route took us right by the rock he saw. What we found there was a polygamist sect of Mormons, who had built their houses on the inside of this semicircular rock formation. The houses cant be seen from the main highway, giving them some privacy. We found out later, after asking around, that the houses are actually built into the rock, with tunnels connecting the sister wives

3Step turns out to be a great little offroad BNB, with cabins and teepees and even room for camping. Breakfast included and dinner, if you want to pay extra. The food was really good and the owner's great people. Probably because they ride motorcycles. in dirt!. If you go, get this cabin. If you go, get the cabin above. Indoor plumbing and propane heater. Even has a kitchen! Below is the main house. Meals served, conversations had. And, yes. That truly is the bath house if you are not in the family cabin above. Just a heads up, this being Utah and all. Liquor stores are few and far between. So, if you need something stronger than beer, you will have to bring it in yourself. Friday morning, we got up and waited for temps to warm up by reviewing the various trail maps available at 3Step. We found an easy route out to Canyonlands and took off. About half the easy route was paved, but we got to do some fun, easy, hard and muddy dirt roads mixed in with the incredible views. Canyonlands gives the Grand Canyon a run for its money! Those hills in the bottom left of the picture above are probably several hundred feet high! Gives you a scale for the place. You can also see a dirt road running thru there, Lockhart Basin. That is part of the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route, rated Expert. Look up this road on YouTube to find out why! The camera flattens the slopes out, but behind the three riders was the tricky part. There were two options, but one must chose a direction quicker than our guy did But, as you can see. He survived.

While waiting for the temps to get over 40, we took a little jaunt down the hill to look at the Colorado River canyons. I know, the old codger doesnt understand the concept of selfies and was holding the phone wrong. Tires changed, we headed off for 3Step. On the way, we had to look at another canyon. Horseshoe Bend Right below the lookout. Zoom in and you can see boats and tents... Our route took us thru Monument Valley... (Forrest Gump, most western movies) somehow, the "short" ride to 3Step turned into an all day ride. What first showed as about 120 miles on the GPS, quickly became about 260 when you used the roads <G>. As approached Monticell0 (SW of 3Step) we noticed that the clouds in the pic above were getting thicker and darker. We never got rain of any measure, but the snow storm we rode thru the last few miles was interesting in the dark! <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8eOsdPgTdVM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The day was supposed to be a short ride into 3Step Hideaway, an offroad focused BNB. Totally off the grid, with cabins and teepees for staying in. Given the short day, we changed tires on my bike, going for some knobbies. One thing we discovered is that it is easier to break the bead on the old tire if you let all the air out first..... I dont carry many tools, etc on my bike on these trips. I just make sure our buddy, Dennis Godwin is along. He even carries spare bike parts! No, really. We are all trying to get the old tire off here....

Yeah. 4 layers of clothes will help, some times. (the snow storm in upcoming parts was "interesting")

It seemed like a good idea at the time - ride to Moab, UT as the temps wouldnt be in the 100s (38C) anymore. And, they werent. However, they were in the 30s (1C), tho. (you're welcome for the conversions to that weird system). Normally, these GS riders would be found at Starbucks, but the closest one was drive-thru only. So, Panera Bread it was: This bastard didnt tell us he was bringing heated gear and Hippo Hands!. Then, again, he does wash his GS after use. The real riders only layered up against the temps. (still under 40F at this time) The original plans were to spend the first night a friends second home in Duck Creek, UT, but the snow changed that plan. So we rode out to Page, AZ instead, at the bottom of Lake Powell. The lake was formed by damming the Colorado River. Being that the southwest portion of the country is mostly arid, most of the lakes are manmade. Powell is a large one!

We are leaving in the a.m. for Moab. Might not be the best idea

Easy now. The feminine's here ride more than most of the guys

club breakfast yesterday (picture a bunch of old farts, speaking loud enough to clear a restaurant while reliving their greatness). 24 showed for breakfast, which quickly dwindled to 8 when we mentioned doing some dirt riding after before the asphalt comments start, this was taken after we had come down out of the mountains. Not many other pictures cause i was too busy trying to keep up. I'm getting too old for this shit!

Nice pics all! shouldnt the "losers" get participation trophies, at least? or, is that an amurican thing?

Oh, he is a big Brazilian guy. Probably 6'-2" or so. Large, santa belly. I can say that cause he kicked my ass on the track. (and, yes. Bobby Fong is a small feller)

Retirement party for a long-time friend at work (30 yrs!) and then remembered i had a track day for Monday Stunk up the first session, second time at track and wasnt remembering any corners. This track is near Bakersfield and is flat! Hard to pick up details at first. My buddy works for a Suzuki dealer (hence the truck) and was gifted with a day of coaching from Bobby Fong, who races MotoAmerica. He was a little tired when the day was over

seems to me the bike would be useful for expediting deliveries, or pick-ups

Retirement party tomorrow, if we can find a venue (Company owner was going to use the rec center at his new digs, but that just fell thru!). Then, either play in the dirt again on Sunday, or spend some time readying the RR for track day on Monday!

I did a one year stint at the Anchorage, Alaska Water Utility. Great group of people to work for (in the design section). Obviously focused on solving problems and helping people. Management, on the other hand? Their biggest contribution each year was figuring out where to throw the excess cash before June 1st, or their budget would shrink the next year.

I pretend to be a Civil Engineer. Our company's specialty is private development, mostly. Subdivisions, commercial and industrial buildings. churches, schools, hospitals, ranches. we just try to stay away from public sector work as it is a drag on your spirit. The waste in public agencies would/should drive a normal person crazy!!

Fellow nerd here!

i used to walk to school. two miles, uphill both ways, 4' of snow and -20 degrees. Now, i cant fight my way past the SUVs dropping off the minions. Probably the only time around here where a vehicle has more than one person in it.

welllll, maybe. It is also the one bike that needed a full rebuild at 40k miles, to the tune of 80% of the bike value. Had i not got it mostly free from my brother, i would probably have thrown it in the ocean. It sure feels good off road, tho!. Not much for long distance riding. I took my 06 to Alaska in 2009, for about 5000 miles, and my butt hurt for months afterwards.

Thanks. good thing this interwebby thing is just a passing fad

sooo, you're saying that the web address is still adventuremotorcycles.net?

Hah, hah!!! I found you bastards!!! Kind of like my parents when i was young, you keep moving hoping i dont find you? anyways, Sunday was a fun dirt day! Took the KTM out to see if it still ran (carbs instead of fuel injection makes for fun times). Turns out, once you get some good fuel going thru it, its alright! North of home is an area known as Carizzo Plains. The little San Andreas fault runs thru it, but we dont worry about them trifles. The main road thru is a mixture of asphalt and gravel, but the best part are the offshoot roads. We probably spent about 3 hours putzing around in there, dropping bikes, etc. Great time had by all, as we prep for a trip to Moab, UT in October. Here's some pics. finished off at a great hole in the wall burger joint in beautiful downtown Taft, CA

if you have to ask....... well over 700 lbs (877 listed on website!!!)

Semi-quiet weekend. Test rode this: would say about 10x more comfortable than my R18, as would be expected. Wonder if this model should have come out first?