Epic Adventure Post Mortem

Start from the Beginning: http://supersporttouring.blogspot.ca/2011/04/pre-trip-toronto-to-california-on-600rr.html

Jan 30, 2013 Update: Some pictures are not showing up as the image host link has been broken. I'll get onto fixing it, but for the time being, scroll down and check out the picture albums in this post :)
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So here is the long awaited post mortem of my epic 16 day adventure from Toronto to California and back. Lets start off with the cost since it was the most asked question throughout my trip.

Cost
Gas- $630
Food- $300
Lodging- $550
Tires- $550
Oil Change-$50
Speeding Tickets- $375

Total: $2455

I estimated the cost of my trip would be around $1500-2000 so my estimate was pretty close. Would have been right on if it werent for the tickets. It wasn't really my choice to spend the $550 on the tires but I happened to get a flat in Salt Lake City and I underestimated how much mileage my tires could take. The Michelin Power Pures were down to the wear bars at 7000kms. I thought they would last at least 10 000kms since thats how much my Pirelli Diablo Corsa 3's lasted. But the extreme heat/cold may have played a factor in how fast my tires wore out. I also spent a lot of time going straight so the middle of the tire wore out a lot faster.

Gas is a lot cheaper in the states and it does make a difference in the long haul. Whenever I filled up my gas tank in the states, the total was more often than not $10. When I crossed the border and filled in Canada, it was $15. That's approximately 33% cheaper. I filled with 87 octane gas as that is all my bike needs but there were points I was forced to fill with 85 octane in the midwest as a result of the lack of gas stations. I even filled in an unmanned gas station in the middle of no where in Colorado where there was a sign that the next gas station was 80 miles later. I had no choice, but the bike ran fine.

Food was mostly fast food. By the end of the trip, I hated Mcdonals, Burger King, Arbys, etc. Every now and then I treated myself to a nice dinner at a sit down restaurant. It was lonely at times during dinner as there was no one to really talk to, and you were sitting at a table by yourself. Sometimes it was pretty awkward too...Case 1: Walking into a bar & grille in South Dakota to have the whole crowd of Cowboys at the bar turn around and stare at you. Looks like theyve never seen an Asian man before. Well, to be fair, they probably havent, it was cowboy country.

In terms of lodging, I mostly stayed at Motels. I camped out once in Monument Valley and that was an amazing experience. It was my first time camping, moreover, my first time setting up a tent. It was pretty much the middle of the desert, no facilities so I didnt get a chance to shower or brush my teeth. After a long day of riding, I'd want a nice shower and a comfy bed to sleep in. Thinking back, I'd still do the same thing and camp out, but after this point, I realized that camping wasnt for me. It could have saved a lot of money though.

Length of Trip

In the short time that I was able to travel, I visited most of the places I wanted to visit. The only place that I wasnt able to go was Pikes Peak since the gates closed 30 mins before I got there. The mountain wasnt open all the way up anyways so I dont think I missed much.

If I could, I would have spent more time out West. Once I got there, I never wanted to leave but I had to face reality that I had a life to live back in Toronto. I had a job to start and I desperately needed money so the length of my trip was set in stone.

If I had more time, I would have explored all the cool places I passed by but I have my whole life to go back and revisit my adventure. There were times I wanted to stick around and look around but I had to keep track of the time. As a result of being pressed on time, I picked up the speeds in rural areas and for the most part, there werent any cops on the sideroads. But I got unlucky and bumped into Wisconsin's finest going 24mph over the speed limit. I took a chance, and paid the price.

Electronics
iPod- Kept me entertained throughout the long boring stretches of road.
iPhone- good for wireless internet as there are hotspots everywhere. Didnt use data as the roaming charges are crazy.
Laptop- If I had more money I would have bought a netbook since the laptop took up a lot of luggage space
SPOT- was really fun to have GTAMotorcycle and ADVRiders follow along on my trip. I got some really good advise from forum members on nearby attractions and weather updates. I even received assistance from an advrider who thought I was stranded from the snowstorm that hit Colorado/Wyoming. It turned out that another Toronto rider posted a rescue thread in Wyoming who happened to be in the exact same town I was in.
GoPro- was great for capturing videos of scenic twisty roads. It was too bad that the mount on my bike was a bit shakey but still captured footage okay. I had a 32GB card and an extra battery which allowed for about 3 hours of footage before the battery died.
Canon DSLR- I'm very glad I bought this camera. I was advised by a friend to get one because I'd regret not taking pictures with a good camera when I decide to look back on my trip. I bought it used for $370 which included the body, lens, extra batteries, charger and bag, not too bad if you ask me. I kept it in my backpack if I was slabbing it and around my neck through scenic destinations. I ended up taking a lot of moving pictures as I didnt have much time to stop and a lot of them turned out very well. Unfortunately, when I wiped out in Arizona, it got covered in dirt. There still is sand in the lens barrel but it still works okay.


Gear
-I probably would have left the tent at home knowing that camping isnt for me. It took up a lot of space and it was uncomfortable to have the tent taking up half my seat.
-Saddlebags increased storage space and drybags kept clothes/electronics dry.
-Wearing a backpack was OK. Ideally I wouldnt have worn one but I needed the storage space.
-Bungee cords hold bags very well but they scratch the fairings .Since it was my spare fairings, I didnt really care too much. Rachet tie downs dont hold luggage down very well.
-Rain jacket is a must for rain+cold. I was able to ride in freezing temperatures+windchill with my rain jacket as it blocked out the wind.
-Textile jacket+Textile pants were good, saved my skin a couple of times throughout the trip. It felt really sticky in the desert heat though. Wasnt very fun but I'm sure road rash isnt fun either.
-Scarfs are highly recommended for cold weather
-Waterproof socks highly recommended as well. Wringing out socks and putting wet socks back on really suck, especially if its cold.
-Heated gloves are a must if traveling through cold weather. With a sportbike, there's no protection from the wind and will be the leading factor in stopping you in cold weather.
-4 T shirts, underwear, socks. 1 Pair of jeans, 1 Pair of shorts, 1 Hoody was good enough for my trip. Clothes take up a lot of space so I was limited to the amount of clothes I was able to take. I kept 1 clean shirt, underwear, socks for sleep and cycled through the rest of the clothes while riding.

Tools/Equipment
-tire repair kit was used during my trip and can be a lifesaver
-carried basic tools
-electric air compressor would have worked well if I didnt melt it on my exhaust after my crash. Luckily the advrider's house I was staying at had an air compressor that I used after I got a flat.
-Duct tape and Zipties are a must
-Disc lock=Good peace of mind. But sometimes the alarm went off when there was frost
-Jerry can: I never needed to use it but almost did in the California Desert. I ended up drafting behind a truck for 40 miles before I got to a gas station and I just made it in time. It didnt affect balance as you'd think and I had enough clearance to scrape my peg (yes it happened). It served as a good frame slider but in hindsight, it was probably pretty dangerous. I dont think I'd carry one again, I'd rather be a little bit more diligent on my gas stops.


Highlights

Fun Factor:
1) California
2) Arizona
3) Colorado
4) South Dakota

Scenery:
1) Colorado
2) Utah
3) California
4) Arizona
5) South Dakota

Police Presence:
1) California
2) Michigan
3) Nebraska
4) Colorado
5) Nevada

Pictures:
South Dakota:
https://picasaweb.google.com/frankie...eat=directlink

Colorado:
https://picasaweb.google.com/frankie...eat=directlink 

Utah:
https://picasaweb.google.com/frankie...eat=directlink

California:


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.759296746970.2274329.89905068&type=1&l=39e7d8ed0a

My complete route map via SPOT:
http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view/?trip_id=254037 


Tips
-Dont speed on Michigan/Nebraska highways. Cops are EVERYWHERE
-In Wyoming, cops will fly down the highway and sneak up on speeders. Its too late when you see them coming up behind
-Use lots of bungee cords to hold luggage. Bring extra!
-Keep mentally alert.
-Know when to call it quits whether it is weather related, fatigue, etc
-Ask locals for good places to eat. Sometimes they'll point you to a gem
-Couch surfing can save a lot of money and the best part is meeting new people
-If you're in California, know where the photographers are. Who knows, someone might capture a picture you'll be able to keep for a lifetime.

Day 11: Salt Flats? Or Salt Lake?

Day 10: To the coast!

I'm in California, where its always warm and sunny!...Or not...



I would have thought it would be warmer and nicer today but apparently its not. Cloudy and about 13 degrees is what I woke up to. Oh well, at least I get to see the Pacific Coast Highway today!



A couple of days ago when I was staying with Clark and James, they told me that the Pacific Coast Highway was closed. In the hopes that it wasnt, I still headed that way.



At first, I got to the coast and I thought...oh okay, its just another beach but as I rode along, it started to get better. The road along the coast got twistier and higher so that you could see a lot more of the coast. It was beautiful.



As I progressed, I started seeing some road closed signs. Either way, I was going to go as far as I could. When I finally got to the "closure", there was a construction worker there holding a "stop/slow" sign. Hah, they just said it was closed to divert traffic I thought. They let me by and I enjoyed more of the heavenly road.



I rounded a curve and to my surprise, there was an unmanned road closed sign with a barrier going all the way across the road. Bummer. I guess this is where the fun ends. Just when it was getting good. Oh well, I tried my best and I have no regrets. Quote: William Hung.



Since there are not many roads leading from the Pacific Coast Highway back inland, I had to backtrack and head back to the main highway.



My goal was to get to Carson City which is near Reno, Nevada by sundown. Most of my afternoon consisted of long straight highways. It was late afternoon when I got to the bottom of the mountains between California and Nevada. It was getting cold but I was too lazy to take the wires for my heated gloves out from my luggage bags. It didnt look that far on the map...oh boy was I wrong.



The mountain passes got really high to the point where it was snowing pretty hard. Snowbanks were piled at least 6 ft high, I knew this wasnt going to be good. Sunlight was also disappearing and getting caught out in the mountains in darkness was not something I wanted to deal with.



I picked up the pace since I didnt see a cop all day and the roads were relatively predictable. As I rounded a curve, I saw a Sheriffs patrol car parked on the side of the road. Crap I thought. I passed him pretty fast since I didnt see him until the last minute but he didnt bother coming after me. About 5 minutes later, I was coming down a hill and another Sherrifs patrol car was coming the opposite way and lit the cherries. Busted.



Before he could turn around, I pulled over, turned off the bike and waited.



Cop: The reason why I stopped you was for your speed

Me: I was going pretty fast, I know. I'm just really cold and wanted to get out of the mountains before dark.

Cop: License and registration please



The first sheriffs patrol car that I passed earlier arrived and they started talking. The cop comes back to me...



Cop: So you came from Ontario huh?

Me: Yup.

Cop: What are you doing here?

Me: Just seeing the sights of America. Its a beautiful country.

Cop: Thats awesome.

Me: It was an amazing experience so far.

Cop: Well just slow it down. I dont want to be dragging you out of the trees down the road.



Anyhow, I took his advise because I knew that if I got stopped again in the same day, they're not going to be as easy on me.



Eventually, I made it to Carson City where I got a place to stay. No more mountains, no more cold. What a relief.

Day 15/16: An (un)eventful slab home

Well, nothing much to say here. My last 2 days were pretty uneventful. Hours and hours of long straight boring interstates. zzzzzzzzz. It was cold, raining, windy. I just wanted to go home.

4 hours left in my trip, my uneventful trip took a turn for the worse.

No I didnt get pulled over again. Had an encounter with an evil cager. Was taking the exit from the interstate junctions, cager in front of me started to take the right exit and I took the left exit. As I started to pass his rear bumper, he veered left into my and my arm struck his quarter panel pushing my right handlebar forward. As I tried to fight to keep the bike straight, my arm slipped off, handlebar turned the other way at lightning speed and I highsided. Bike went through a highway sign and I landed in the mud. Other car didnt stop and I picked my bike up from the mud. Not a minute later, a cop stopped behind me. I told him I was okay and not to call an ambulance since I'd end up racking up the bills. A while later, the cop let me go and I continued on my way home.

Coming home, visibility was horrible as heavy rain was coming down. I really only cared about going home so I pushed on. Got home, took a shower and had a nice long sleep in my comfy bed.

12000kms, 14 states, 4 police encounters, 2 crashes, thunderstorms, snowstorms and tornadoes...finally home and still alive!

Day 14: Snowstorm Pt 2

Well, I was hoping today would be a better day. The snowstorm went on for the rest of the night and the temperatures dropped.

Packed up and went to the Prairie Rose restaurant to meet Cowboy from advrider. On the phone the other night, he said look for a guy with a bright green jacket. Easy enough to spot him when I got there. Unfortunately he gave me the bad news and said I-80 was closed on the way to Cheyenne and there was really no other way to go East. Well, I guess I was stuck there for a while. We had breakfast and talked about riding, life, etc. By the end of our breakfast, we went back into his office to check the road conditions. I-80 was still closed, and the only other way out was a 150km detour. Only problem is that I would be going through a mountain pass and it was likely to be bad there. Well, you be the judge.





Road looks a bit slushy and the snow is just blowing across the road. It wouldnt be too much of a problem so I took the detour since I had to make up some ground. Although there was no snow or slush on the ground, it was worse than I thought. Black ice. The tire tracks were clear of black ice but the road surface between the tire tracks were covered in black ice. I started seeing cars spun out in the ditch and I started to wonder if I was a little crazy. It wasnt the first time someone thought I was a little crazy so maybe it was true.

Well, I eventually got to Fort Collins, Colorado, and headed East to Nebraska. My goal was to head as far East as possible before I took a break. I was in for another surprise....Tornadoes.




The storm was ahead and I knew it wasnt going to be good. Heavy rain is not too much of a problem for me, Ive ridden it before so I pushed on. The rain got heavier and rain turned into hail and storm winds. I think I've pushed my luck too far. Hail started to accumulate on the road and it sent me all wobbly. I managed to get the bike under control, I spotted a highway underpass where I stopped. Highway underpasses are not a good place to stop in tornado conditions but I could not risk wiping out on the hail. Visibility was 50-100m and if I wiped out, I surely would have been run over by the many trucks using I-80. Interestingly enough, across the interstate, there had been a spun out car, that is how bad the storm was. Ask this guy:






Eventually, the weather lightened up a little and I was able to head to the next exit where I found a place to stay. As I pulled up to the hotel, I saw another bike. A BMW. The rider asked me where I was from. It turns out that he was from Toronto too and runs his own site http://adventuremotorcycleroutes.ca/ Cool!

Called it a night and hoped tomorrow would be a little better...

Day 13: Snowstorm!

Rain was the forcast today in Grand Junction. No big deal, I've ridden in rain before, its just going to be another wet day.

As I headed to the lobby for some breakfast, one of the ladies asked me where I was going. I told her that I planned to get to Denver that night. She looked at me and that look on her face did not look good. She told me that the main interstate was closed up in the mountains due to accidents and weather. I wouldnt be able to make it through there, motorcycle or car. There was a huge storm system that covered all of Colorado and there was no way around it. Denver was out of the question.

After breakfast, I immediately went online and checked the weather forecast and radar. The weather system literally covered all of Colorado and Wyoming. Not minutes after I checked the weather, zigyphoto from advrider texted me and told me to call him. I was supposed to stay at his place in Boulder and he was concerned for my safety crossing over the Rockies.

We talked for a while to determine the best route out of Grand Junction. It was obvious that I would not be making it to Denver that night but I wanted to cover some ground. I had two options. Go North to Wyoming and then East, or go South to New Mexico and go East. I figured I had to go a little North anyways so thats the route I took. We knew that I would hit the storm at some point but at least the elevation is lower than the Colorado Rockies. Thats the chance I took.

As I headed North, there was snow at higher elevations. Riding along the road, it started rising and eventually, the road surface was level to the snowline off in the distance. It was now snowing. Eventually, the elevation got up to about 8000ft and snow started coming down harder. A state trooper coming the other way saw me and pulled a u-turn. Great...I was in for another police encounter wasnt I? He followed me for about 10 kms before he pulled another u-turn and went the other way. Was he curious? Watching out for me? Who knows, I'll never know.

Elevation started declining and the snow turned to rain. I was pretty relieved because once the snow starts to accumulate on the road, my day is done. Eventually, I got to I-80 in Wyoming and before hitting the highway, there were 2 BMW riders hanging out at an abandoned building. I stopped by and talked to them. Their destination was Texas and they asked how long the snow went for. I told them not too long and in return, they told me I was in for some trouble if I was going East. I was going East...

Snow started coming down pretty hard, elevation was rising. I was in for a winter wonderland. It was cold, road splash was everywhere, snow was accumulating on my helmet, visor was fogging. It was pretty bad but I was going to ride until snow started accumulating. I ended up drafting behind a truck as it was pretty windy and my heated gloves were failing. The trucker was aware that I was drafting him and he put on his 4-ways everytime there was a bend in the road. Eventually I took an exit to warm up...my hands and toes were now freezing. Ended up in the town of Laurmie.

As I was eating my nice warm Chili, Osman from Colorado sent me a text message with Cowboy's from advrider. I thought Osman found me a place to stay for the night so I called Cowboy and talked to him about the weather and a place to stay for the night. But he wasnt aware about the offer to stay for the night and I didnt want to put him in a difficult situation so I found myself a motel for the night. What happened was another rider from Toronto was stuck in the same town as me because of the snow and created a rescue thread on advrider. He thought it was me and contacted cowboy to save me. Was a simple misunderstanding and I misinterpreted the text message but I was glad someone was out there looking out for me. A nice warm shower for the night was enough to keep me happy.

Day 12: Unexpected Roadblock

Today would be an early morning. Capital_E had to leave for work at around 8 so I had to get up and pack an hour before that. I’m nearly all packed and Capital_E offers to push my bike out to the front so that I could strap my stuff on the bike. A few minutes later, he comes back in with that look. “Your bike has a flat”. Uh oh…

I had a flat tire kit so he helped me plug it while I continued packing my stuff. I offered to do it myself since he would be late for work but he called in and let his coworkers know he was going to be late. We got it all patched up and I was directed to the nearest motorcycle shop to get my tire changed. I needed a change anyways so I guess it was a good time to get a nail in my tire.

Two blocks later, I end up at Honda Suzuki of Salt Lake where I was going to get my tire changed. Motorcycle Parts in America are typically cheaper than Canadian motorcycle parts so I was expecting a pretty good price. I was kind of shocked when I heard the prices but they gave me a couple of discounts to help me out.

While I waited, I started up a conversation with Tarik, the Chief Operating Officer. He took me into his office where we talked about bikes and his love for motorcycle racing. Nice guy, definitely made my morning a little better. Tires were done in 1.5 hours and I was good to go. Since I was a little bit behind, I had to make a decision whether to skip Canyonlands National Park or Arches National Park in Utah. The decision will be made when I get there.

A few hours later, the canyon and orange rocks start to show up. Finally, I’m getting closer to Moab! From the pictures that were posted on advrider, Moab looked like an amazing place and one of the highlights of the trip and amazing it was. Since the National Parks were only a few miles away, I decided to visit both of them. I’d regret it if I missed out.















There was one more destination that was planned along the route. Highway 141. This scenic highway ran between two rock cliffs for about 160kms.









Amazing views the whole way through. I was a little behind schedule so I ended up getting caught out as it was getting dark. Kind of scary when you see deer popping out every 5 minutes. I made it to Grand Junction safe and sound and hit the bed.

Day 11: Salt Flats? Or Salt Lake?

Today I get to see the Bonneville Salt Flats! It’s the only highlight of the day so I’m looking forward to it. I’ve seen it on tv and in the movie “World’s Fastest Indian” and would like to check it out myself. Unfortunately, it was hours away and I’d have to deal with the boring Nevada desert

For most of the day, I was just droning along the highway. Well, more like flying down the highway. Unfortunately, Mr. Nice Policeman noticed my speed and stopped to chat. He told me I was doing 90 in a 75. Phew, I thought I was doing a lot faster. I actually slowed down to speed limit because I wanted to take the exit but there was a car in front of me who I wanted to overtake and that’s when I accelerated to 90. He’s a rider himself so he reduced my ticket from 15 over to 5 over. It’s still a $119 ticket though.

I eventually made it to the Salt Flats but it didn’t look like the Salt Flats. It looked more like a Salt Lake. For as far as you could see, the Salt Flats was filled with water. I was really looking forward to riding on the salt but I guess that wasn’t happening today. At least it looked nice.











After hanging out at the Salt Flats, I headed to Salt Lake City where I met up with Capital_E from advrider who was taking me in for the night. I settled in, and called it a night.

Day 10: To the coast!

I'm in California, where its always warm and sunny!...Or not...

I would have thought it would be warmer and nicer today but apparently its not. Cloudy and about 13 degrees is what I woke up to. Oh well, at least I get to see the Pacific Coast Highway today!

A couple of days ago when I was staying with Clark and James, they told me that the Pacific Coast Highway was closed. In the hopes that it wasnt, I still headed that way.

At first, I got to the coast and I thought...oh okay, its just another beach but as I rode along, it started to get better. The road along the coast got twistier and higher so that you could see a lot more of the coast. It was beautiful.







As I progressed, I started seeing some road closed signs. Either way, I was going to go as far as I could. When I finally got to the "closure", there was a construction worker there holding a "stop/slow" sign. Hah, they just said it was closed to divert traffic I thought. They let me by and I enjoyed more of the heavenly road.

I rounded a curve and to my surprise, there was an unmanned road closed sign with a barrier going all the way across the road. Bummer. I guess this is where the fun ends. Just when it was getting good. Oh well, I tried my best and I have no regrets. Quote: William Hung.



Since there are not many roads leading from the Pacific Coast Highway back inland, I had to backtrack and head back to the main highway.

My goal was to get to Carson City which is near Reno, Nevada by sundown. Most of my afternoon consisted of long straight highways. It was late afternoon when I got to the bottom of the mountains between California and Nevada. It was getting cold but I was too lazy to take the wires for my heated gloves out from my luggage bags. It didnt look that far on the map...oh boy was I wrong.

The mountain passes got really high to the point where it was snowing pretty hard. Snowbanks were piled at least 6 ft high, I knew this wasnt going to be good. Sunlight was also disappearing and getting caught out in the mountains in darkness was not something I wanted to deal with.





I picked up the pace since I didnt see a cop all day and the roads were relatively predictable. As I rounded a curve, I saw a Sheriffs patrol car parked on the side of the road. Crap I thought. I passed him pretty fast since I didnt see him until the last minute but he didnt bother coming after me. About 5 minutes later, I was coming down a hill and another Sherrifs patrol car was coming the opposite way and lit the cherries. Busted.



Before he could turn around, I pulled over, turned off the bike and waited.

Cop: The reason why I stopped you was for your speed
Me: I was going pretty fast, I know. I'm just really cold and wanted to get out of the mountains before dark.
Cop: License and registration please

The first sheriffs patrol car that I passed earlier arrived and they started talking. The cop comes back to me...

Cop: So you came from Ontario huh?
Me: Yup.
Cop: What are you doing here?
Me: Just seeing the sights of America. Its a beautiful country.
Cop: Thats awesome.
Me: It was an amazing experience so far.
Cop: Well just slow it down. I dont want to be dragging you out of the trees down the road.

Anyhow, I took his advise because I knew that if I got stopped again in the same day, they're not going to be as easy on me.

Eventually, I made it to Carson City where I got a place to stay. No more mountains, no more cold. What a relief.

Day 9: I've never ridden more twistier roads in my life!

I wake up and I'm finally in California. I made it. There were a couple of things that I was looking forward to doing while I was in California. 1) Canyon Riding, 2) Pacific Coast Highway, 3) Lane Splitting

The first thing that I did was head to the canyons. I picked a random canyon to go up and as soon as I entered the canyon road, twists and turns galore! You couldnt get enough. I had a little trouble getting used to it because of all the luggage on the back of my bike and the seating position that I was in. I could barely move myself off my bike because my backpack would catch onto my luggage. I made it to the top of one of the mountains and found two riders with the same bike as me. They were surprised to see that I've gone so far and we talked about my trip. Since they were local riders, they gave me some suggestions as to where to ride and what to watch out for. Of course they mentioned the snake (Mullholland Highway) which I was planning to go to. We then parted ways.



I ended up finding a road going down the mountain and it was quite exciting but very dangerous. A downhill road with twists and turns going downhill. One mistake and you're falling off the cliff. I treaded lightly since a mistake could spell disaster but I still had my fun.





Soon enough, I made it to the famous Mullholland Highway. The turns were faster and tighter than I've experienced the whole day. At one point, a decreasing radius turn caught me off guard and forced me to lean even harder into the turn at which point my peg scraped the ground. Yes, my peg scraped the ground even with all that luggage on it. I made it up to the top where the camera guys from RockStore Photos took a picture of me. I'm waiting for them to post it :D





At the top, the bikers hang out at the lookout point. I got off the bike and started looking around when I heard "Guys, this bike has Ontario plates! Is it yours?" It was definitely mine. I talked to a group of local riders who were very interested in my trip and I told them all about it. They eventually took me to another canyon called Latigo. That road is the best road I've ever ridden in my life. I know I keep saying that but its true! Now I know why they get 2000 miles off of their tires, they basically have a racetrack in their backyard.







It was time to head out and find a place to stay for the night. I ended up in some random town where I got a room in a motel and settled in.

Now a lot of people have been asking about this mysterious Nikki girl. As I was eating my Thai dinner, I decided to send her a text to see what she was about. A few texts later, we agreed to talk more on msn. I'm not made of gold and at 50 cents a text message, it gets expensive! We ended up talking all night and we hit it off. I really liked her, maybe Rico from the other day knew something about traveling that I didnt believe in. Its unfortunate that I dont really have time to go back to Arizona. But life is full of surprises and there's no telling what the future holds.

Day 8: A love story

I started out my day in Prescott where I stayed at Clark and James' place. Destination was the Apache Trail out in the desert. I've only seen the Apache Trail on video and the scenery looked awesome. The Apache Trail is a gravel road starting from the Rosevelt Dam and goes for about 22 miles.

On the way to the Apache Trail I stopped by a restaurant and bar to eat lunch and hydrate myself before I head deeper into the desert. This is where I met Rico, a musician who rode a Harley. He soon found out that I came from Toronto and talked about where I was riding to. He mentioned that this was a long trip and one of the questions he asked me was "What if you fall in love?" I wasnt too sure how to take it, its not the first time love was mentioned on my trip. Out in South Dakota, I stopped at a gas station and talked to a gas station attendant who was trying to figure out why in the world I would ride so far. One of the things she asked me was "Are you going there to see a girl?" If I was, I'd admit, it would be a good story. Something that you'd see in movies. Maybe its an American cliche to travel the country to find that one love. I'm sure its happened before, but not as common today with the internet and plane travel. Who knows, maybe I will live out that story. Unlikely though, this adventure is not about finding love, its about enhancing my love for riding. Enough with the love talk, lets get back to my ride.

I made it to the Rosevelt Dam where the Apache Trail started. I knew that there would be 22 miles of gravel road and that the scenery would be amazing but I was quite caught off guard when the whole 22 miles were pretty much washboard. I've never ridden such a bumpy road in my life. By the time I got there, it was about 40 degrees celcius and riding in full gear was not an option. I usually ride all the gear all the time but I made an exception. When you're going a maximum of 50km/h in 40 degree desert temperatures, you have to make a decision of whether you want to risk scrapes and bruises, or heat stroke.













Going through the trail, I got many thumbs up and head nods. I guess they dont expect to see a sportbike go through. Going through the midway point of the trail, I did have a scary moment. It wasnt motorcycle related, I rode through a swarm of wasps only wearing a t shirt. I tucked in behind my windscreen and rode a little faster. Getting a wasp in my tshirt or helmet would be very bad. Near Fish Creek Hill which is the most dangerous but most scenic part of the trail, I got a wave from a group of travellers in a van who stopped to take pictures. I was ready to take a break so I stopped to take pictures and chat. It turns out that one of them used to ride a V-Storm and was pretty happy to see a rider on the Apache Trail. They were an interesting group and before we left, I gave them my blog address and email. If you guys see this, post a comment!



The fun was over and I was to make it to the Los Angles area by the end of the night. This ride was the most difficult ride I've ever had to do. 40 degree temperatures and 600 kms through the desert was not fun at all. I had one of my pant legs pulled up and the wind on my skin felt like I was in a convection oven. I just wanted to get the hell out of there and 100mph sounded like a good option since I did not see a cop in the desert the whole day...at least in the Arizona desert. I eventually made it to revrandy's house at 11:30pm California time (2:30am Toronto time) and I just hit the sack as I got there. I made it to California!

Day 7: Its goin down

Camping in Monument Valley was an amazing experience. Well, most of it. Watching the sunset, seeing the stars, watching the sunrise was something I've never experienced before. To be honest, this whole camping experience was new to me. I've never camped by myself so I was hoping I could figure out how to put up the tent. I woke up several times because it was really cold at night. It must have been about 5 degrees and I was freezing. I stayed in my sleeping bag until the sun came up and it warmed up.

I camped out in the Valley of the Gods which is a dirt road that runs between the big rock monuments. Filled with washboards, elevation changes, switchbacks, large rocks. It was quite challenging for a sportbike but it was done.







Next stop was the Grand Canyon. Although I knew it would be a sight to see, I was expecting a little more. The first few lookout points, I stopped and take pictures but after the first lookout point, every following one was about the same.



I was supposed to meet a fellow advrider down in Prescott Arizona so that was my next destination. I made sure to take highway 89A which is a scenic twisty canyon ride. Boy was that fun but as I descended lower into the mountains, it got a lot hotter. It came to the point where I wanted to take off my sweater. A pullout point was ahead and I took that opportunity. Unfortunately, I didnt notice that the pavement was about 6 inches higher than the gravel until it was too late. The result:






I was okay but was more about the damage that could potentially end my trip early. Luckily, my frame sliders and the jerry can hanging off the side of my bike took the impact and my bike was unscathed for the most part.

Eventually I made it to a town called Jerome where I met up with winterhk from advrider. We gave our introductions and talked about my trip while waiting for other advriders outside of the Haunted Hamburger. There had been 2 girls from inside the restaurant who had been watching us. As soon as we noticed, one of them walked up to us and gave us her number. Her name was Nikki and she was a cutie. Unfortunately, I was leaving the state the next day so I didnt take the opportunity to return her call. Maybe I should drop a line, just to make things interesting. What do you say? ;)