Moab White Rim Moto Adventure

It's been a super long time since I've posted here, but that doesn't mean the adventures have ended. About a month ago, October 20th, I rode out to Moab on my GS to sample the red sand on my big 1200.
I rode out from Denver with friend Tom Gordon, through questionable weather. Vail Pass was chilly, but the roads were free of snow, so we cruised without incident. As we crossed into Utah, and turned south through Cisco, past Dewey Bridge along the Colorado River, we witnessed a blazing sunset on Fisher Towers.

We rolled through Moab just after dusk, stopping into the City Market for a few provisions, before heading out to the campsite to hook up with friends. We had a great site at the Gold Bar campground, right on the river. The fire was hot and the beer cold, when we arrived.

My new PIAA 520 lights threw out UFO quality brightness, which made me much more comfortable riding at night. I'm always looking out for a stray animal that wants to throw itself in front my bike.

The Potash road into Moab winds gently along the Colorado, between Tamarac bushes and some of the best sandstone slab in the country. Since our camp was about 10 miles outside of town, we got to ride the stretch of road several times during our stay. It never gets boring, although the scenery is distracting enough that you have to focus on keep your eyes on the road.

I'd ridden the White Rim in the spring of 2006 on a smaller, F650 Dakar, and found the terrain manageable overall. However, I was a little anxious to see how the 1200GS would handle this 90-mile stretch of backcountry dirt and rock. The 1200 is heavier, and would be much more expensive to repair if I had a high speed dismount. There are only a few spots on the White Rim that are concerning on a motorbike, and we all took everything in stride with no major crashes in our nine hour day. As we made our final ascent from canyon, we did run directly into a monster wind and rain storm which could've stopped us in our tracks if it had arrived 20 minutes earlier. We were lucky.

Relaxing for a few minutes between Rally sessions. We took breaks about every 10 miles of riding to enjoy the scenery and talk about near crashes!

This is a photo of "Crazy Matt," who is the first person I've met who rides a Nitrous injected BMW.

Bighorn and Cody fly fishing

Annie and I went north last weekend to fish near Cody, Wyoming and in the Bighorn mountains. Epic of course--that is the only way we roll. I won't bore myself (my only reader) with another long fishing story about gargantuan cutthroats and rainbows. Nor will I mention a slightly unnerving encounter with a 2,000-pound, pissed off, bull moose. I'll also not discuss the secret stretch of magical water known as the North Tongue, that's so stuffed with 20" trout, that you could just reach in and pull out a sushi roll .... I'll just post a few photos instead!

Annie and our talented guide, Scott Sweebe of Eastgate Anglers, are stalking monsters in Newton lake near Cody. The local rivers were blown out with mud, thanks to some recent rainfall, so we were limited to lake fishing in Cody.

This is a friendly bull moose we found munching on some willows in the Bighorns. He was pretty mellow, even though I think I intimidated him a bit.





Here I am holding one the many fish I plucked from this stream, using a secret weapon of a fly, which I'm unable to disclose. Anyhow, this guy was tucked up next to a small pour over and chased my fly 10 feet into the creek before gobbling it up like an idiot. Just kidding, he seemed kind of smart ... I was just smarter. I guess that's not much to brag about.






And, finally, here's Annie with her first fish ever. Three firsts: first time ever catching a fish, first time ever catching a fish on a fly rod (much more difficult than catching fish with dynamite) and first time ever refusing to hold a fish for a photograph.

Rifugios and Via Ferrata in the Dolomites

Via ferrata, the iron way, perhaps some of the most fun you can have in Italy between courses of vino and pizza. I was lucky enough to eplore the Dolomites and some of the legendary rifugios near Cortina D'Ampezzo recently. You can walk or ride a tram to many of these beautiful alpine "huts" during the summer months, or you can choose the more exciting route via ferrata. These famous cable routes enable hikers/climbers to quickly pass through the jagged and exposed Dolomite, with the safety of a fixed line. Originally developed for speedy troop movements during the first World War, they have grown in popularity and offer a unique way to enjoy this spectacular range. Travelers can move swiftly and travel light, with very little climbing experience. Leave the heavy pack at home; no tent necessary. When coupled with the support of alpine huts, which can provide a sit down meal, beer, wine and lodging, it's easy to have a great time, with no shortage of adventure.

While staying at a campground near Cortina, we climbed two amazing routes, Fiames and Lagazoui tunnel. Fiames was a straight forward cable route that towers high above the valley, enabling a bird's eye view of Cortina. You can finish this route with a several hour hike through the Dolomite natural park--complete with suspension footbridges, tunnels and lush forest--or you can descend a simple gulley back into the valley. Lagazoui is a unique via ferrata, as it takes you up (or down) Mt. Lagazoui through a man made tunnel. It's an amazing experience, and offers rich insight into the history of the area. The tunnels were constructed during WWI as a means for Austrian and Italian troops to mount offenses. A small headlamp is useful for this route.

Berghutten en Europe: beta on every alpine hut in Europe, by country and region.
Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: seems to be a good book to get you started planning