Covered 4 states on the first day. Okay it was 3 really as I left Virginia for West Virginia only to return to Virginia. Made me think of gerrymandering but its that Virginia heads far to the west and West Virginia dips south with one of its fingers. It was certainly Virginia’s day. So much beauty on the back roads. Living in it you would think it would become tiresome. But with miles of roads that follow babbling creeks and rivers and the backdrop of Appalachia and let's not forget the wild flowers. Incredible stuff aided by the Garmin GPS that allows you to adjust a slider effectively for beauty. The downside is the time beauty takes. But hey falling behind just adjust the slider and a new route appears with time and mileage from where ... read more

Went down to Wild Bills casino floor for a McDonalds coffee (only thing open) around 6:30am. In the vast floor with the usual array of blaring casino sights and sounds there was only one person in the whole place - I checked. He was asleep at a slot machine. At least I am not the only person on the planet. McDonalds coffee is a sort of liquid Soylent Green except it tastes of the cup, not of the alternative. I purposely wanted to leave early as the winds were supposed to gust to 40 mph later. The plan was to cut off I15 to Twentynine Palms, but as I closed in on the intersection my oil light went on and knowing there would be no gas that way through the Navajo reservation I kept going along ... read more

Started by seeing a bobcat in the wild. At first I thought it was one of the 3 Step dogs or perhaps a coyote, but the lack of tail and that bouncing feline movement left no doubts. A beautiful animal. Then perhaps the best days riding ever. The contrasts in scenery were amazing from towering red sandstone monoliths that iconize Utah to the rushing Colorado River and fertile canyons to gray sandstone that has you thinking you are navigating through a giant ash can to the snow covered peaks of the Boulder mountains. True sensory overload. The only comment that does the scenery justice is that you are coming back as soon as you can to explore further. Turns out it was the only day that Rob, Rik and I would ride together, but it could ... read more

Sunday - a day of rest. After a great brunch at the Eclectic Cafe we took a short ride from Moab out along Route 128 to Castle Valley. An incredibly scenic route along the Colorado River with the red canyons on either side. A motorcyclists dream. Back into Moab and an hour or two outside the closed public library stealing the wifi before heading off to the 3-step hideaway http://www.3stephideaway.com/. A place Rob had discovered 45 miles south west of Moab past LaSal. A wonderfully remote and self-sufficient place full of bikers and adventurers run by Scott And Julie nestled in the Lisbon Valley. Had fun navigating the K1300 up the dirt track to the hideaway - it was wet and slippery and I had to walk the bike along. Still feeling a bit unsure after ... read more

Well today had everything including a spill. No it is not a ploy to get you to keep reading. We were expecting rain, but not snow and worse hail. We took Route 84 north, around Espanola it started to rain and the previous beautiful views of canyons and 1-2 mesas gave way to cloud and much lower visibility, but still occasional those beautiful New Mexico vistas characteristic of high desert. On occasion, higher altitudes I guess, the rain turned to snow flakes but nothing was sticking. The temperature was down around freezing but no sign of slippery conditions. Certainly a challenging, but rewarding ride through Abinquiu and Charma. As you can see we stopped along the way to plug in our heated gear. We would not have made it without that cosy warmth. I have never ... read more