This trip included the Winamucca Rally, Volusia Western Rally and 7 days of riding in the Western states. I don’t currently have my pictures but will post them with I return them from Nevada.

I’ve been thinking of this trip for months. Everything was ready, new bike, tent, cot, routes planned…I was ready. The night before a trip like this means one doesn’t get very much sleep. This time it was a little different. I was planning on leaving after work. That meant packing the night before, then strapping everything to the bike when I got home. The whole previous week had been coming at me 90 miles per hours. Big report at work needed to be completed and the house needed some winter clean up before I left.

Well the time finally came and I tied everything down. Tried to think of anything I was forgetting, jumped on the bike and realized I couldn’t find my key. I couldn’t find it anywhere and had to use my spear key. Not a good way to start a trip.

The temperature outside was 90 degrees when I hit Hwy 80 going east to Reno. 1 ½ hours later I was putting my jacket on because of the 45 degree temperature in Truckee, CA. Quite a temputure change.

Upon driving through Reno the wind picked up. I stopped to call Ronnie in Winamucca, NV. When I asked how the wind was and he said not good, high crosswinds all the way. Once outside of Reno, the wind got worst. At it’s worst point I was facing a 50 mph crosswinds. This should have been my first sign of the windy season.

Winamucca pictures will be posted later.

The second day at Ronnie’s I decided to shave my head. My hair had been a bit long and unruly so it had to go. After shaving I spend a good half hour in front of the mirror just rubbing my head. Weird!

The next morning we awoke at Ronnie’s place about 7am. The weather was already getting warm and Ronnie and I were ready to go. We took about an hour to fully pack the bikes and after saying goodbye to Claudine we were off. The new hair do felt weird.

We headed north to Ferney the east on Hwy 80. Our goal was to make it to Salt Lake City, UT by sunset. First stop was a rest stop on Hwy 80.

Of course it wouldn’t be Ronnie unless he whipped out the cell and call someone.

It was also a good time to peel off some leathers. There was not much shade around here.

As we closed in on the state of Utah I could see some snow.

We stopped at an exit and parked under the overpass. Without shade, it gets very hot. One thing I noticed is all the birds nesting under the overpass.

Then we hit the salt flats. There is a stretch of Hwy that goes for 52 miles without one turn in the road.

We finally reach SLC and find a motel to bed down in. Ronnie gives Warren a call and lets him know where to meet us. He shows up about dusk and checks in. Warren has driven all the way from Canada in one day which is very impressive.

Here is Warren after checking in.

A lovely SLC sunset.

Now we have 3 in our group. This is getting fun.

After eating we decided to have a few beers at Hooters and go visit the Mormon temple. OK, it was around midnight and most likely not the best time to visit. We parked and walked into the complex. Kind of surreal walking around this place at this time. Here is the Temple.

Back to the room and we all slept well that night.


The next morning Warren wanted to ride a few canyons before meeting with the other riders in Springville, UT. So off we go.

Right off the views become fantastic! After crossing the desert this was eye candy.

Did I mention Warren likes to lead? It’s always a learning experience riding with a new rider and Warren was great. He has a bit of mustang in him and it shows in his riding. Lots of fun no matter where he rides.

And the great thing about Ronnie is no matter how wild things get he’s always right there in my rear view mirror. He makes a great tail gunner.

This is looking back down in the Salt Lake City valley.

I noticed Warren was turning red. The kind of red that too much sun can bring, but this didn’t seem to worry him. In fact, he seems only bothered because of the tan lines his glasses were causing. Warren was in his element, riding a motorcycle free, not set to any road, taking in the beauty of this place and you could see it in him.

Enough playing for now, we return to I-15 and head south to meet up in Springville.

With all the excitement of meeting everyone at the Krackle Barrel I didn’t take any pictures. But I went from a group of 3 to a group of 6 bikes and 2 trucks. We had a lovely lunch and then it was on I-15 and south to Cedar City.

This stretch of I-15 is quite boring….and so Warren and I decided to switch bikes for about 10 miles. I have a VOL so I know what it feels like, but Warren’s was special. First off it’s a Canadian bike with only kilometers on the speedo so who knows how fast I was going. The Speedo said 140 and I was happy with that. Hope he had as much fun as I did.

We finally arrive in Cedar City to meet up with the rest of the group.

So here I was riding up this small windy road not knowing where the heck I was. It brought a smile to my face. Once we reached the top we turned onto this little dirt parking lot over looking Cedar City. I don’t know why the pick up truck with the couple in it decided to leave when we all pulled in because the view was fabulous.

This was one nice place to see everything. The city lights, the stars and the smells. Then the flashes started.

Flash!

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