Day 2:
Fortunately, our prayers were answered and we got up Saturday morning to much fairer weather. Everything was still wet from the relentless rains from yesterday, but the skies had partially cleared and the rain was no longer falling. Today was going to be our big, full day on the bikes and I was elated to see such an improvement in the weather! The campground had a laundromat which we put to good use and all our riding gear, while still very dirty, was dry and ready for more action.
On Greg's recommendation, we decided to go run a section of the White Rim Trail inside Canyonlands National Park. There was about 25 miles of pavement to cover, so we dressed warm and got underway. Greg set a brisk pace on the pavement and we hit 90MPH on some of the more remote straight sections of road. While my bike could keep up those speeds for short sections, it was running basically at the rev limiter while his cruised along at much more comfortable RPM's. His 650 was clearly the better bike for fast pavement riding!
Soon enough, we hit dirt and I was surprised to see that Greg didn't really slow down! Keeping up was a daunting task at first, as this was really my first dirt bike ride of this type. But, I quickly got in my groove and found that the speeds were within the bikes capabilities, and even started having a lot of fun pushing the 400 harder and harder.
It wasn't all blazing-fast straightaways however... there were lots of puddles and fresh wash-outs to avoid, which can be quite a challenge at 50+ MPH! We came across this Deusy by the salt evaporation ponds on the south side of the potash plant. It was about 100 yards long and very slick on the bottom!
Greg valiantly offered to traverse the muck first, and then get photos of my attempt once on the other end. I think secretly he wanted to see me spill it!
We continued on and soon passed through the park boundary. There was a sign that posted the park-wide speed limit was 15 MPH. I'm sure that is just for cars and trucks, because I know we hit 5 times that limit on dozens of occasions! Before long we came to the intersection to turn up the Shaffer Switchbacks. We had planned to head to the visitors' center and purchase permits to run the White Rim Trail, but we found the road up the switchbacks was closed. We could no longer get the permits! Looking the other direction, we found a sign saying the White Rim Trail was also closed due to rain damage and washouts. We knew this was the case beforehand, and decided to chance it and run it without permits. We figured we'd have a good excuse for not buying them in advance, since the only route to the visitors' was closed.
We got moving again and started putting some long distances behind us, and fast! It's incredible the amount of trail you can cover on a good dirt bike... 4x4's don't even begin to compare to the speed and mobility of a motorcycle! Before long at all, we were coming across amazing views and breathtaking vistas of some of the best scenery nature has to offer. Cameras do this area no justice!
The temperature quickly rose as the sun burned away some of the less stubborn clouds. We began to shed our outer layers of gear and enjoy the nice, fall weather. Again, puddles would be the major obstacle of the day and there were hundreds of them! Some were crossed cautiously, some were swerved around, and some were powered through on just the rear wheel. My boots were never dry due to the almost constant splashing.
One particular puddle didn't look like much so I just drove into it slowly to cross. But, this monster turned out to be 30" deep in the middle and it almost swallowed me whole! Greg showed real support in my perilous moment by having a hearty belly laugh at my near misfortune. Thanks to me, he knew the puddle was deep on the left, so he decided to try the other side. It didn't treat him much better, as it was deeply rutted and it almost spilled him on his side!
Greg had his daily problem about then, which turned out to be a flat front tire. It was not a new puncture, but a plug from a previous ride that was failing due to the constant pounding we were giving it on the trail today. In only minutes, he had a new plug securely holding air and we were again on our way.
Further up the trail we encountered a Park Ranger's vehicle and decided to take a breather and face the music for not having permits to run the trail. I was pretty jealous of her work truck... a brand new Rubicon Unlimited!
To our surprise, she didn't end up asking us about the permits and just smiled and waved to us. We did feel compelled, however, to observe the posted speed limit for the next couple of miles while we were still in her view. No need to tempt fate! It was actually kind of a nice break, and my backside was starting to get
tender.
We took a lunch break at this spot at about mile 75 of our trip. It had a great view! After downing cold cans of Spaghetti-O's and peaches served with a Leatherman knife blade, we donned our gear and turned around for camp. We were both getting tired or sore and still had to do every mile over again on the way out.
While I felt we had pushed our speed hard on the way in, we really turned up the heat on the way out! I was really zipping across the roadway and having the time of my life on the DR-Z. It felt like racing the Baja 1000, running almost 100% speed for about 45 minutes straight. We took almost no breaks until we reached Musselman's Arch and decided to go walk across and get some photos. I had never been there before and it was quite a treat to walk across it!
The remainder of the ride back to camp was somewhat uneventful, but the riding was no less enjoyable and the scenery was no less dazzling. We kept up the furious pace all the way to the highway. Greg may say that keeping up with me was a lot of work, but it was just as hard for me to keep up when he was leading. He can work that 650 like it's half the size of bike it is!
We ate at the Moab Diner once we returned to town. I don't know that my burger was really all that great, but I was VERY worn out and it tasted like a slice of heaven that evening! After we were finished, I got an insatiable urge to go try the Slickrock Bike Trail on my DR-Z. The sun had just gone down, but I wanted to at least try the first part of the trail to see what my Suzuki could do on some more technical terrain.
By the time I got up there the light was beginning to fade quickly, so I wasted no time getting started and putting some distance behind me. The last few bikers were finishing the trail, and all of them seemed to be giving me confused or disgusted looks as I zipped along the trail. It was like they couldn't believe I was riding a motorcycle on THEIR mountain bike trail. It seemed ironic to me, since the trail was originally made in the late 60's as a motorcycle trail, so technically they were riding on MY trail!
I was having so much fun that I just kept on riding, thinking the end must be near. But the trail just kept going and the light was failing fast. I quickly realized that I still had my prescription sunglasses on... doh! My front light was a total joke and offered almost zero illumination, and to make matters worse the rain started to really come down. I was beginning to get pretty worried about my safety and ability to find my way back out. But, I had just barely enough light to keep seeing white paint marks and just kept pressing on. Finally, I stumbled across the Hell's Revenge trail, which I know by heart, and decided to follow it back to civilization.
By the time I got back to camp, I was completely soaked and it was pitch black outside. On the way back, I couldn't even see street signs with my weak headlight. I was glad to be safely back! I changed into fresh clothes and tossed my wet gear in the dryer again to be ready for the next day's ride. Greg and I then shot the bull around the campfire for hours and finally drifted off to our beds.
