The word for today was "HOT" - note capitals. Boots, shirts and jocks suffering as the day progress - most rode in T shirts and tonight sunburnt pink (or shocking scarlet in my case). First stop of the day was 500 metres from the motel at Doc Halliday Harley Davidson - more T shirts, and a nice pair of bumless leather chaps for Kim - she'll be a hit with the fetish set back in Auckland. Once on the freeway Doc opened it up - speed limit 80 and trucks were still passing us. 80-90mph (140-150kpm) is a great touring speed. Towns with lovely names like Silt, Rifle, Parachute and Fruita (yep, that spelling is correct) flashed by, as we followed the Colorado River into Utah. The scenery was as dramatic as any I have ever seen anywhere in the world, and as with all things American, it is done on a HUGE scale - no half measures here. Moonscapes looming hundreds of metre above us on one side of the road, lush meadows and a winery the width of the raid and the river away. Our big Harleys ate up the miles, down from 10,000 ft to 3500ft, then back up again. As we hit Utah, the Colorado River became more impressive and "commercial" with white river rafting enterprises making use of the resource. The road through the gorge proved a source of entertainment - subject to extremes in temperature, it had been covered in a cobweb of tar filling cracks - lots of tar. Each time a front wheel hit the tar it would slide a few inches - then bite again , but very frightening the first few times. We lost one of a bikes for a few minutes - Moth needed an emergency pit stop (think number 2's) by the road side breaking a multitude of local laws in the process. We passed a desolate little town called Cisco today - every building had fallen down in spite of the "no trespassing" signs (as if). It had once been a port on the river - unfortunately God and Mother nature intervened and the course of the river changed - shit happens. Final stop of the day was Arches National Park - more spectacular landscape. I was quite intrigued to come across another tourist in this very pristine spot, but she was obviously had come from afar, where face masks and selfie sticks are fashionable... Our drinks session is underway and as a consequence I am keen to go. Comments are closed.
|
Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
|