Motorcycle Road Trip: The Part Where I Skipped Zion

"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
08/08/2018 at 11:30 • Filed to: None

Yeah yeah, I know, I know I’m lame. I didn’t have the time for two reasons. But, see that top photo? It’s my favorite campsite of the whole trip! Anyways... At this point, I was already over my estimated mileage for the whole trip and my rear tire was bald. But I still had over a thousand miles to go.

Las Vegas happened to be the only city even close to the route I wanted to take, so it was Vegas or bust [a rear tire] for me! Not only that but a friend from school, elementary through the end of high school, lives there and we planned on grabbing lunch and catching up.

Because of my time constraints I stuck to the interstate as much as possible for this leg, and it’s where I experienced the hottest temperature, 106 degrees. Took about 2 bottles of Brawndo every 45 minutes to keep from dying of heat stroke or dehydration.

But I made it and we had lunch at the cracker barrel and I avoided the strip. Been there done that.

After lunch I made my way to Las Vegas Ducati where Xavier hooked up this waiter walk-in with a new rear tire. Good price and fast service. And o n top of that, he let me use a phone charger since the heat had my phone charging just enough to not die. Plus, he kept me hydrated while I waited. Only one problem. A bunch of Multistradas had come through recently and cleaned out their stock of scorpion trails. They only had one tire in my size. Pirelli Rosso Corsa 3. Ugh. Ok. I’ll deal. Beggars can’t be choosers. If it didn’t give me enough dirt traction I could just pin the throttle to make up the difference, right? I mean that’s what all the southerners do in the snow!

After that I went and chilled at a dairy queen for dinner, waiting out the temps just a bit and trying to find a campsite for the night. And find one I did. Lovell Canyon. Those are the actual coordinates to my actual campsite on the map. And yeah, best site of the whole trip! Why? Because I was alone! I walked around in the desert in my underwear and could’ve sang at the top of my lungs and no one would’ve known or cared. There was no light pollution so the stars were bright and beautiful. It was a wonderful 85 degrees in the middle of the night so I slept without my sleeping bag, the desert breeze blowing over me. Woke up the next morning to this:

Some of the roads in here? Not for the faint of heart or low of suspension. The main road in is fine, but some of the side roads to individual campsites could easily claim your oil pan for its own if you’re not careful.

And that was that. Only one post left!

DISCUSSION (15)

Nate Bleker > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/08/2018 at 11:38

This looks like a blast man, I’m supremely jealous. How much fuel planning did you have to do to make sure you didn’t die in the middle of the desert?

Ash78, voting early and often > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/08/2018 at 11:42

Sounds like an amazing trip so far!

But Cracker Barrel and Dairy Queen? You’re on the verge of getting your traveler card revoked for that.

Tristan > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/08/2018 at 11:45

Vegas without Tacos El Gordo isn't Vegas at all.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/08/2018 at 11:45

While I love my wife and my friends there’s just something about doing a solo trip that I love. I wish I had enough vacation that I could take a week to myself to go on a trip like this. Looks like it was a ton of fun.

Also, Zion is one of my favorite National Parks, you definitely should make sure to get there at some point.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Nate Bleker
08/08/2018 at 12:13

Not that much actually. Filled up every 100-150 miles to be safe, and gas stations were easy enough to find at that interval. But I carried spare fuel and have about a 200 mile range on the tank.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Ash78, voting early and often
08/08/2018 at 12:26

Oh no! And I just got my passport too! Guess I’ll have to send it back!

Neither me nor my friend had ever been to cracker barrel and it was his suggestion. And after that amount of heat I was in no mood to search something out, and dairy q ueen was right there in my way out of town.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Tristan
08/08/2018 at 12:27

Well that ti p is a little late!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
08/08/2018 at 12:28

Solo trips are my favorite!

Absolutely will go there.

Ash78, voting early and often > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/08/2018 at 12:47

No worries...one good thing about the US, if you’re in a pinch, you can find basically the same reliable stuff everywhere.

But telling me you’ve never been to Cracker Barrel is like saying you’ve never been to McDonald’s. It’s pretty much analogous to home cooking vs. burgers grilled in your backyard. We have Cracker Barrels at every exit and I still don’t get the allure. But it’s recognizable.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Ash78, voting early and often
08/08/2018 at 12:57

We never had cracker barrel anywhere I’ve lived; MN, WY , CO, OR. Until recently that is. It must be more southern/east coast. The food was fine I guess, but I probably won’t go back.

Tristan > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/08/2018 at 13:02

Next time! Pro tip- the North Vegas location off of Cheyenne and Losee doesn't have the insane wrap around the building line that the downtown location has.

CaptDale - is secretly British > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/08/2018 at 14:25

I am jealous

pip bip - choose Corrour > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/09/2018 at 06:02

great view!

being alone is a bonus

Decay buys too many beaters > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/10/2018 at 14:25

Dammit! The week I stay off the internet you go and publish three updates.

Looks to be a similar route I’m planning from the canyon through vegas, but I’m hoping to get a little further west for the day so I can stage for a midnight crossing of death valley.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Decay buys too many beaters
08/10/2018 at 15:37

Getting further west should be easy. Even with my stop at Ducati, a long lunch, and killing time at dairy q ueen, I had camp set up before 7.