Spring plans solidifying
By Jake. Filed in Motorcycle Trips |Tags: journey, motorcycle, Triumph Tiger
After much thought and second guessing, I think I have finally nailed down my 2nd annual April Motorcycle Trip. The goal is to minimize time on anything paved with more than 2 lanes, so any of you with sage advice for route modifications please chime in. The plan looks like this, read the whole post to see the revised map:
April 20th – Depart SLC headed for someplace to camp near Ely, NV via the old Pony Express Trail
April 21st – Bishop, CA via Highway 50 and 722, loneliest road in America ! – A refreshing hot spring dip on the East edge of the Sierra Nevada’s always does a body good.
April 22nd – Death Valley, hoping to catch a glimpse of spring wildflowers and explore the area
April 23rd – Las Vegas – good spot for a cheap hotel and shower
April 24th – Springdale, UT – see some old friends and camp in Zion? Route would go through Valley of Fire SP along shores of Lake Mead, then it seems to have to follow I-15 along the Virgin River – anyone got any beta here to avoid 15?
April 25th – Cedar Mesa, UT – my favorite place on earth to find myself, could end up here for two days if the weather plays nice
April 26th – Moab, UT – Some friends, some beers and a little time to explore maybe?
Then home, I reckon. This all hinges on weather, time off of work getting approved and twisting people’s arms to take care of the girls. Anyone is welcome to tag along for all or part of the journey.
Google maps doesn’t have all the small roads, but this gives you the idea i think. Route recommendations are appreciated. I’m still debating whether to take my laptop for updates and get a USB broadband modem or just get a net book and not risk damage to my laptop – I’ll take suggestions there too.
Help support Mountain Life and get your motorcycle parts and outer wear here:
Friday, March 26th 2010 at 11:45 |
Battery power on the netbook will last much longer…they’re only a couple hundred dollars, so it may be worth it if you’re worried about trashing a nice laptop.
A nice smartphone might just be enough…
Sunday, March 28th 2010 at 01:08 |
2nd the netbook. I’ve had one for about 10 months, and its absolutely essential to me. I use it more than my desktop these days, and the newer ones (N450 atom cpu) will probably go around 8-10 hours on a 6-cell battery. You can get a refurb for around 250 on woot . . . or new for 300.
Monday, April 12th 2010 at 22:31 |
“April 24th – Springdale, UT – see some old friends and camp in Zion? Route would go through Valley of Fire SP along shores of Lake Mead, then it seems to have to follow I-15 along the Virgin River – anyone got any beta here to avoid 15?”
Don’t have the maps here right now, so can’t remember off the top of my head what might be a good options starting from Valley of Fire and heading toward Mesquite. There are some though. Just can’t recall which were a little too much work on a big bike. However, once you get to Mesquite, you have options.
You can stay south of I-15 and take the climb over the mountains on the road running between Mesquite and the St. George area. I’m thinking the snow may be close to being gone if it isn’t by now.
Another alternative would be to take the old highway north of 15 from Littlefield, AZ. Take the dirt turn off into the Joshua Tree/Bulldog Canyon road. Either cut off of that and into the Bloomington area or take it north into the reservation. Slab it into Santa Clara from there…
From St. George, you could take the dirt that runs up into Silver Reef.
I’ll look at the maps later and see if anything else comes to mind.
Thursday, April 15th 2010 at 23:30 |
Still can’t find my Nevada map, but it seem like there is a good dirt road for big bikes that you can start from the Carp exit, which is just east on I-15 where you will come out after leaving Valley of Fire S.P. Seems like it takes you right to the Utah border and then you can make it to the old highway. 91 I think might be the number.
Be careful going around Lake Mead. A friend was just through there and got a $400 speeding ticket. He couldn’t have been going that fast since he was just on a BMW GS. On a Tiger, you could really get into trouble.
Friday, April 16th 2010 at 07:39 |
Lol, Thanks for the info Mike. I have discovered a few viable options. Can’t wait to get on the road next week.
Me go fast on the Tiger??? would never happen