Starting The Season Right! 1.4

March 24, 2014

We had encountered a few cold moments up to this point. The day before was especially cold when we passed through Flagstaff. The seven thousand-foot elevation and time of year was the culprit. After freezing for a while we pulled off at a gas station and layered on PJs under our jeans and chaps to help stave off the cold. The morning of our last day topped them all, though.

Our first leg was a 75 mile trip from Paige, Arizona to Kanab, Utah. During the hour and twenty minutes we froze. Our hands were especially cold. I remember steering one-handed in the middle of my handlebars where the fairing covered wind chill, with my other hand close to my core for warmth. It didn't matter too much, though. By the time we arrived at the gas station in Kanab we were all extremely cold.

 

A customer overheard us discussing our planned route while we warmed up inside. He approached us and told us the highway leaving town was closed for a few hours. With no reason to kill time in Kanab, we looked for an alternate route. We discovered that if we backtracked eight miles we could take a dirt road that connected with the highway. After mapping it out we discovered the dirt road was fourteen miles. All we knew was it would be quicker than waiting for the main highway to reopen.

 

We backtracked and made it to the dirt road detour. By this time we were off road pros. At one point we pulled over and Aric suggested we separate by a few hundred yards to avoid riding in each others' dust clouds. I snapped a few pictures of our remote location since I forgot to on our first dirt road.

  

 

 

We successfully reconnected with the highway and followed it North. Every hour or so we would signal each other for a break to rest our back and stretch our legs. This continued until we were only fifty miles from home. We separated one by one off the freeway, each taking our exit to go home. I arrived home in the middle of the afternoon, completely satisfied with the trip, exactly 1,700 miles in its entirety.

 

 

In a little over two months I will be returning to Gilbert with the SL,UT Riders. This time each of us will have a passenger. The route is to be determined, but I imagine we'll be stopping in Las Vegas and at the Grand Canyon again.