Utah Trip in September

[JonKerr]

So my Dad and I are planning a trip this summer. Main plan is ride from San Diego to Moab Utah and back. Since I've been laid up for a day and a half already, I spent some time today on Google Maps laying out some possible routes. I think this may be the best route. There will be a couple of days break after we get to Moab to ride around that whole area where ever we want to go. Should be a long but incredible trip.

Single Oak Pl to E Lakeview Rd - Google Maps

 

[bleedinblue]

Im excited for you Jon..It sounds like a great time.What does your dad ride?

 

[JonKerr]

2006 Harley Davidson Fatboy.

We have some other family and friends who are considering going too. Most of them on Harleys. One on a Triumph Thruxton if he's up to it being a new rider. Most of them have done many trips like this, some much longer than this. But will be the first one I'll be able to go on.

 

[bleedinblue]

I know how you feel, im dieing to go on a out of state trip.
Iv only ridden 3 Harleys, a 883, ex sheriff road king, and a fatboy my boss had.I liked the fatboy the best.
I was more comfortable turning on it with the wide front end, the road king weighed way to much for my tastes lol.
Any cool pit stops planned?

 

[JonKerr]

Day 1 San Diego to Vegas
Day 2 Vegas to a little town called Panguitch Ut.
Day 3 Panguitch to Moab - We'll spend 2 days in Moab riding around the parks there.
Day 6 Go from Moab to Page Arizona by way of Mexican Hat
Day 7 Page to Phoenix by way of Flagstaff
Day 8 Phoenix to Yuma
Day 9 Yuma back home to SD.

We're going to try and take as many back roads as we can as you can see if you look close to the detail on the map. But when we just need to get to one place to another we'll have to slab it. My dad has a Harley Davidson atlas that we'll have with us that's got all kinds of cool things to stop and see on it and all kinds of other back roads etc...

 

[bleedinblue]

Im jealous dude..seriously, I hope you have a blast.A day in vegas is all it takes lol.I stayed at the Monte Carlo for my 21st bday, had to count change to get a cab to the airport lol.It would be a cool place to ride at tho.You get to show Gretchen where Pac was shot at lol.Make sure you get a few pics of her with some crazy Vegas backgrounds for me.It will be a long time before I get my Vegas ride

 

[Jay S.]

Day 1 San Diego to Vegas
Day 2 Vegas to a little town called Panguitch Ut.
Day 3 Panguitch to Moab - We'll spend 2 days in Moab riding around the parks there.
Day 6 Go from Moab to Page Arizona by way of Mexican Hat
Day 7 Page to Phoenix by way of Flagstaff
Day 8 Phoenix to Yuma
Day 9 Yuma back home to SD.

We're going to try and take as many back roads as we can as you can see if you look close to the detail on the map. But when we just need to get to one place to another we'll have to slab it. My dad has a Harley Davidson atlas that we'll have with us that's got all kinds of cool things to stop and see on it and all kinds of other back roads etc...

Looks like an awesome trip bro! I have not ridden that part of the country...yet. I look forward to the pics and report.

 

[JonKerr]

So this trip has completely changed. A few weeks ago we decided we wanted to go to Yosemite instead. So we're going to ride up the coast first day up to Solvang. From there, ride to Kings Canyon. We'll spend a couple of days there riding through the Kings Canyon and Sequoia parks. From there we'll head up to Yosemite. Then back down, possibly to Vegas for a day, Hoover Damn, then back home. I'm so excited. I started getting my saddlebags together, working out what I'm going to use for a top bag on top of the saddlebags. I have a good sized duffelbag that I'm probably going to use. I'm hoping I can get away without needing my tank bag, but I have it if it's needed. I ordered a 12v power adapter and handlebar mount for my phone that I'll be using as a GPS and to play some music from time to time as well. I ordered a 18-200mm lens for my camera so I can just bring the one lens for my camera to take up less space. The GoPro will be coming with me too.

 

[Detrich]

Nice! Sounds like it's going to be fun.

One of my friends rode from LA to Vegas and said they had to rent a car & trailer their bikes back cuz they were so tired from all the mileage. lol

 

[JonKerr]

Wussies!!!!! lol. LA to Vegas is nothing. We'll be doing that milage pretty much every day for a week straight. lol.

 

[flyingminno]

Wussies!!!!! lol. LA to Vegas is nothing. We'll be doing that milage pretty much every day for a week straight. lol.

Try Colorado Springs to Vegas in a day, after 4 days of 500+ days! That was interesting for sure!

 

[Detrich]

Well, he didn't cop to it. But my guess is they partied too much in Vegas. And they were prolly too hung over to ride back safely. LOl

 

[JonKerr]

Try Colorado Springs to Vegas in a day, after 4 days of 500+ days! That was interesting for sure!

That's some serious milage. We're actually trying to keep the milage down to 250 to 300 a day since we're planning on making a lot of stops, especially once we're in the parks. I want to do a lot of photography and really appreciate being there again. I haven't been since I was 12 and I don't think I really appreciated where I was and what I was seeing last time.

Well, he didn't cop to it. But my guess is they partied too much in Vegas. And they were prolly too hung over to ride back safely. LOl

That's probably the case. lol.

 

[Mtn Rider]

When in Moab - Ride Highway 128

Maybe it's already on your route agenda when you get to Moab, but Highway 128 (aka the river road) is a great ride. It starts just north of Moab and follows the Colo River. Ride out about 25 miles (+/-) until the road turns north and away from the river and then back track the same route back to Moab. Great scenery and several Hollywood westerns were filmed in this area. Best in the morning or evening when the sunlight hits the rock formations. Watch out for the Mtn Bikers the first 5 miles or so.

Sounds like a great trip!

 

[Scott_Thomas]

Sounds like a blast bro, hope you can take time to enjoy the scenery. Can't wait till I get my carpal tunnel surgery so long rides don't bother me so much (even with my throttle lock).

 

[JonKerr]

All packed. Leaving in a few minutes. Ill update with some pics when i can.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[JonKerr]

We got into Solvang about 3 hrs ago. Stopped in at a motorcycle museum for the last 15 minutes that they were open. Took a lot longer than we expected. Malibu was insanely busy. Took forever to get through there. We ate at a little hole in the wall pizza place called D'Amores. (anyone from that area on here ever hear of it?) Apparently it's a popular place with the stars because they had tons of pics on the walls of stars with the owners, etc... Lots of "scenery" through there too. (both of the female and automotive persuasion. )

Leaving for Kings Canyon in the morning.

I didn't take any pics on the way up. Just some in the museum. I'm so pissed because we were in such a rush, I didn't get the camera setup properly. Most of them are blurry as hell. Here's a few shitty shots.

 

[JonKerr]

We've been in Kings Canyon for the last 2 days. The lodge we're in has no cell service and very limited WiFi. I'm barely getting on. This is one of the few websites it seems to like. Google being one it really doesn't so we've been having a lot of trouble planning out the rest of the trip. lol. Ended up using the room phone to call my wife at home and her map some things out and get us adresses and phone numbers for hotels in Bishop. Incredible day today and yesterday. Only rode about 60 miles today but some of the most beautiful roads and scenery I've ever experienced. Not to mention the Giant Sequoias. I've got a lot of pics, but here's one with the General Sherman and one of me riding past a very small baby Sequoia.

(OK it just took like 10 minutes to upload these two pics and one is rotated wrong. lol I'm not fixing it.)

Heading up to Yosemite tomorrow for a little while and going to stay in Bishop. Then head to Vegas the next day and possibly check out Hoover Damn depending on what time we get there. I'll post up more pics when I have a more dependable connection.

 

[JonKerr]

Long day today. Rode from Sequoia, back to Fresno, up to Yosemite, all the way through Yosemite, and we're in Bishop now. Wish I could have spent a LOT more time in Yosemite. We're beat. This was a very long day. Will put up some pics when I get a chance.

 

[JonKerr]

I'm still putting together pics and video. But I went ahead and plotted out the whole ride.

Google Maps Route

-Location C was the first overnight stop, just outside Solvang.
-Location E was the Stony Creek Lodge in the Sequoia/Kings Canyon area. We spent the 2nd and 3rd nights there and road and hiked all over the park from there.
-F and G are significant locations, basically the farthest north and farthest south we went in the park, General Sherman Tree and the General Grant Grove.
-I is the overlook at Yosemite Canyon. Most amazing view I've ever experienced on a bike when we came around the turn right before the tunnel.
-K was the 4th night in Bishop after we rode through Yosemite. (Yes we rode all the way through the park in one day. Wish I had more time. Will the next time.)
-The road between K and L was probably the biggest and most pleasant surprise on the whole trip. Tight twisting canyon road with huge rises and drops, big banking in the turns, etc... Then it turned boring with miles of straight flat runs into Vegas.
-N over night in Vegas at Excalibur. Met up with a riding buddy who lives there now and works in a very hugh end restaurant at the Paris.
-O back home. The ride from Vegas was miserable. over 100ºF most of the way and very heavy wind. I've made that trip dozens of times in a car and it's not a fun drive even in a car. It was 10x worse on the bikes.

Today I'm just sitting back and relaxing, watching all the F1, SBK, and AMA racing that recorded while I was gone. I'm so sore, especially my neck. This was a real test of how my neck can handle long rides. The answer is not very well. But it was worth it. I'll get some more pics up, and I'm going to be doing a few videos.