Sport Touring

Monday, May 13, 2019

Day 5 (1/2) - Colorado

This has been the most exciting day so far.

When I woke up at 05:15, it was cold enough to convince me to sleep in another half hour (still wasn’t as bad as the morning in California though). I quickly packed once awake, and then set off to see the Grand Canyon, which I’ve never seen before.

At first I was concerned I wouldn’t see much of it, as a heavy fog lay over the roads, and I couldn’t see anything from the scenic points I was driving by. The road was 22 miles long though, and after about 10 miles I finally came to a clearing in the fog and had a great view of the massive rockcanyons, extending for dozens of miles in either direction.

I spent at least an hour and a half in the area, taking in the scenery, taking pics, eating a small breakfast, etc. I’m glad I saw the area, but I doubt I’ll go back unless I want to hike the canyon or it’son the way to another location (and even then, I might skip it due to the $30 vehicle fee).

From there, I was riding through Indian reservations into Colorado. The lands were sparsely populated for the most part. The areas that had small Native American towns were pretty run down, and many areas were abandoned.

The scenery was interesting, but not captivating,and I found myself listening to my books more than paying attention to the landscape.

Once I hit Colorado, this changed.

I was taking a route that one of my professors recommended to me. When he was in grad school, he did what I’m doing more or less right now. He told me of a road that was to die for, going through the Colorado mountains. Having just driven it a few hours ago, I’d have to agree.

I’ll post a full video on YouTube, but essentially the first portion to the town Silverton was through a small snow storm (not bad enough to make motorcycle stop, though I did take my attention off the camera so I could operate the motorcycle in the slick conditions).

I stopped at Silverton to fill up and get some pizza. A lady at the station was kind enough help me figure out road/storm conditions and I spent about half an hour there talking with her. She has a son that’s 21, and she’s a 5th generation local.After purchasing some emergency supplies (candles, lighter, matches) I case I got stuck in the storm, I left for what she said was a gorgeous drive.

I went on a famous highway (?) that took my breath away. I’ll also be posting that full video later. I used the backpack mount, which should provide a much better video than the tank bag mount (stability, height, angle, etc.)

I don’t use the backpack mount because it’s uncomfortable to ride with the backpack for more than a few minutes, as it forces me to stay in a partial tuck over the bike.

The ride was great, and I throughly enjoyed it. Tothe point that I know I want to come back someday. There toad was perfect, as the roads were dry (more or less), but the snow was still surrounding me for a majority of the route.

After that, I stopped in another town to take a break. The ride hadn’t taken extremely long, but it was tiring with all the turns and caution required.

I set off once it was dark (about 21:00).

End Part 1

Day 5 (2/2) - Colorado

Once I was on the road, I realized that I could have made a better choice. The first 60 miles or sowe’re fine, the roads weren’t well lit, but my highbeams took care of that.

The only issue I have at night is that I can only run so many electronics at a time. If I’m running my high beams (which draw 110 watts) I only havean excess of 60 watts to use before I start drawing on the battery instead of the bikes alternator. My heated grips draw 60 watts, my jacket 70 watts, and each charging device 15 watts. During the day, when I don’t need my high beams, I can use all my accessories at full power, no issue at all. During the night, I have to decide between being able to see, and keeping my core warm and charging devices.

During the ride that night, I decided to charge my phone and headset from a portable charger, then turned on my high beams and heated grips. Itwas going to be more important to see properly and react quickly with my hands than to be comfortable. I figured I’d be able the 35 degree temperature (keep in mind wind chill droppedthat to 20)

The ride was extremely nerve wracking. There were no lights, and during the 100 mile stretch, I only saw 5 other drivers.

The issue is that these were winding mountain roads. For 40 miles. There were three straights that lasted more than 300 feet that I can recall, and the rest I the time I was focusing intensely on where I needed to be turning.

For those that are unaware of what turning on a motorcycle is like - it’s one of the greatest feelings you’ll ever have - especially at speed.

The issue is that I was on a fully loaded bike, in a very dark area, had no experience with that particular road, and was looking out for snow, rocks, deer/elk, gusts of wind, and slick spots (not to mention the cliff edges I was trying to avoid).

In addition to that, I needed to focus on proper riding techniques which include lane positioning, body positioning, head angle, lean angle, braking (linked brakes meant I needed to be wary of the rear sliding out), acceleration, etc. The list goes on, but essentially I was relying heavily on what I had learned on the race track and muscle memory from my past few years of riding.

To describe the experience, imagine going down winding road, there are no lights and the moon/stars are blocked by thick clouds. Your way is marked by white/red reflective poles on either side of the road, each about 3 feet tall and 15 - 20 feet apart. As you near one turn you move into the proper lane position needed for that corner, when a strong gust of wind suddenly pushes you out of position and points you off the mountain. In order to correct, you need to brake (without losing traction on the slick road), downshift and rev match, adjust lean angle and head angle, while scanning your new path. Keep in mind the while you’re mentally taxing yourself, you’re also physically tired from 1,000s of miles of riding and the 35° temperature.

This happened often, and it’s important to note that if you become fixated on something (such as the edge of the road or a marker), you invariably start moving towards it as your body automatically adjusts. I made sure that I always kept my eyes moving from I’ve marker to the next, though on occasion I would need to adjust if my gaze lingered on one pole for too long.

It was a difficult ride, and I believe I got to the next town at some time around 02:00. I stopped ata gas station to rest, tired but feeling confident in my skills considering the route I had just takenat night.

P.S. - it’s good I did go that far that night, as a snow storm started later in the night, and blocked that road - which was the only road I could take.