Roadtrip ’06
Paul Paniagua, and Tom Lashbrook are on the road to the Blue Butt Rally, Monument Valley, and the Iron Butt Assoc. National Meet in Denver.
Epilogue
Paul arrived home Sunday afternoon after spending the night in the sprawling metropolis of Eureka, Nevada. Apparently Ely was sold out of hotel rooms. (Who in the heck goes to Ely on purpose?). Paul reported some wet roads on his trip, but he avoided the worst of any thunderstorms. He did not, however, avoid the worst of the Sunday westbound traffic back into the Bay Area on I 80. Lane splitting, and finally taking Green Valley Road out of Vacaville got him home about 4:30 PM.
I left Denver at 5:00 AM local time (4 AM Pacific) Sunday morning. My ride wasn’t very notable – an Egg McMuffin in Clifton, Colorado; a burger at the lunch counter in Top’s City Café, Delta, Utah; a Red Bull at the Chevron station at Boomtown; a bunch of fuel stops; and hours of iPod and XM radio later -- I was home a bit after midnight with 1,202 more miles covered.
Thanks for sharing the ride with us.
The route home
Saturday night, August 19, Denver
The closing banquet for the IBA National Meet is over, and I’m getting ready to ride home first thing tomorrow morning. Paul left this morning, planning on spending Saturday night on the road, probably in Ely.
I caught some interesting presentations, Friday and Saturday, including: The Ultimate Coast to Coast (Key West, FL to Deadhorse, AK); Fatigue Management; and Bob Higdon’s presentation on his 2004 ride across Siberia; and others.
There are no new pictures since I only sat in those seminars. I found the presentations worthwhile, but pics of a room full of people listening to somebody talk, wouldn’t be very exciting to look at.
Thursday, August 17, Denver
Paul and I left Blanding early on Wednesday, going north on US 191. We stopped at a little café in Monticello, Utah, for breakfast. After eating we rode together for a few miles farther north, but at UT 46 I turned east; Paul continued north to I 70. He was slabbing it to Denver to take in a Rockies game the next day at Coors Field.
I explored some of Colorado’s two lanes. I endorse CO SR 141 as a great motorcycle road, by the way.
I over-nighted in the town of Gunnison; then I left early on Thursday morning. I crested Monarch Pass (11,000+ feet) at about 0700. It was cold up there in spite of it still being an August day. I got into Denver early, and settled into my room.
Paul’s Weds route:
My Weds and Thurs route:
Tuesday, August 15, Monument Valley
We left the hotel in Blanding at about 0900 local time (0800 PDT). We rode south on US191, then continuing south on US163 to the turn off for the Navajo Tribal Park. We crossed into Arizona, paid our $5 each to the Navajos, and rode into Monument Valley.
We rode down the dirt road that is open to the general public; the full loop is about 14 miles. Paul and I made it down the road for a while, maybe a mile or two. We stopped a couple times to take photos. But the road is very rough, and in many spots, covered with a very fine silt. The riding was tough going -- the bikes were being bounced pretty hard in the ruts, and we would often fish-tail in the loose silt in spite of our slow speed. This road is suited to an enduro, or light weight dual sport, not 600+ pound street bikes with highway tires. We figured we had pushed our luck far enough. And since we had the pictures to prove we rode there, we turned around and rode back out. Updated pictures page.
On the way back north I stopped along side of US163, and took a few “road shots” with Monument Valley in the back ground:
We had lunch in a little cafe in the little town of Mexican Hat. The town is name for the rock formation to the town’s north:
Once back at the hotel in Blanding it was time for a little motorcycle maintenance (oil levels, tire pressures, etc.) Paul even took his to a near-by car wash. I washed my wind screen. But I figure the rest of the bike is just going to get dirty again, it can wait until I get home.
Paul is planning on riding directly to Denver tomorrow, US191 to I70. He’s going to a Rockies game. I’ll cruse around Colorado for another day before getting to Denver on Thursday.
Here’s today’s route:
To catch up, here’s Sunday’s route:
...and Monday’s route:
Monday, August 14, Utah
Two friends of mine have posted their own pictures from the Blue Butt:
Paul and I left Reno Sunday morning; east on I80 to Alt US95 to US95 south. We had lunch in Tonopah, then continued east on US6 to NV375, the ET highway. There is an awful lot of nothing out there. We traveled south on US93 for only a few miles to get a photo of the town limit sign for Ash Springs, Nevada. The town name works for the Hug-A-Tree tour. After the Ash Springs photo, we headed back north, then east on NV319, which became UT59, taking us to Cedar City for the night. 537 miles.
Monday we crossed most of the state of Utah, via the following state routes: 14, 143, 12, 24, 95, and US191. We stopped in Cedar Breaks National Monument; rode passed Bryce Canyon; through Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef, and Glen Canyon. Tonight we’re in Blanding. 377 miles.
Tomorrow Mexican Hat and Monument Valley.
Saturday, August 12, The Blue Butt
The rally went well, our group was back at the Peppermill a little after 12 noon; 244 miles. Here’s a few pics.:
Rally start, 0700
A question to be answered at Donner Pass
The covered bridge at Bridgeport state park
The 250 Blue Butt route
Friday, August 11
Four of us left A&S a little after noon. We had a quick lunch in Colfax at a place called “Mom’s Kitchen”. Afterwards we continued east on I80 to CA267. We rode around the north shore of Lake Tahoe, and over Mt. Rose on NV431. After some construction delay, we came into Reno from the south on US395.
Road construction break
Still waiting
After checking into our rooms, a few of us gather at one of the bars for a cold beer, before the riders’ meeting.
After the meeting we walked across the street to Ruby River steakhouse for Tonya’s birthday.
Tonya and her margarita
Nevada II checking in the riders
Prologue
Paul and I are meeting for coffee at the north Starbucks at 0930, Friday. August 11th. From there we are riding to A&S to meet with other riders before we all head to Reno for the annual Blue Butt Rally.
The tentative route to A&S
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