Harley Ride 2010 - Day 7

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Last day of the ride - Las Vegas to Saint George, Utah

Quick stop at Arlen Ness's Las Vegas store to see what custom bikes they might have in the store. It was worth the slight detour, some great conversation with the guys at the store, a tour of the fabrication area and the 'Toy Shop' where some sport and custom cars were on display.

We took the Lake Mead Parkway out of vegas for a scenic drive along Lake Mead. The only other picture for the day was a random 'tank' in Overton Nevada.

Day 7 Pics:




So that bring the 'Harley Ride 2010' to a finish. 7 Days of riding, 3 states, 2400kms. The original plan was altered due to weather with the final route here:



We went from freezing our assess off on the day we traveled to Page, to getting burnt as we crossed the desert floor. The scenery was as spectacular and impressive as it was my first time through the area. You never get tired of it. Mike couldn't believe the diversity of what we say in the 7 days from Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Lake Havasu and Las Vegas.

We'd been talking about the 'father and son' trip for over a year, and it was every bit worth the wait. We had a great time, road a lot of miles and can't wait until next year.

Harley Ride 2010 - Day 6

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Fantastic day in Lake Havasu City. Took a quick tour down to the lake via the London Bridge which was bought by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London and reassembled in Lake Havasu (Read More). The water, even at this time of the morning, and beach were great. Should have left some time for a swim or seadoo's.

From Lake Havasu we headed on famed ROUTE 66 through Oatman, AZ. Where the Donkeys reign the main street, and the Hotel is wallpapered in dollar bills. Mike was trying to figure out how much money was on the walls???

Continued on ROUTE 66 to Kingman and then on to the Hoover Dam. The damn was very impressive and interestingly enough there are police stops on both ends leading into the damn since the terrorist attacks on 9/11. This, along with the tourist, made crossing the dam slow.

We rolled into Las Vegas and I thought it would be fun to ride down the Vegas strip. We came in at the North end in Old Vegas and rode down to the south end of the strip in mid afternoon. It was slow at times, hot, but fun! We tackled Vegas in less then a day, hitting all the hotel promotional attractions, walked the strip, tried to do a little shopping, and took in Cirque du Soleil's "O". Definitely need to allow for 2 nights next year.

Pictures from Day 6:

Harley Ride 2010 - Day 5

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Today's ride was 600kms from Flagstaff to Lake Havasu City.

The start was amazing, Flagstaff to Sedona is a winding road in lush forest with red rock back drop as you approach Sedona. It was a fantastic way to start the day.

From Sedona the route was to Prescott, my favorite city in Arizona. Last year when we rolled into Prescott it was just one of those places that left a great impression and still does. The higher elevation keeps the temperatures moderate as far as Arizona goes and the Pine forest gives it a B.C. feel, with great pine smells.

From Prescott the roads were winding and we climbed up and down twice and then we finally hit the desert floor where the winds were HOT and the land desolate. Some excitement today when Mike's bike was dead and wouldn't start after we stopped. Of course we were somewhat in the middle of no where and it was friggen hot to be working around the engine. After some trouble shooting, found that the ground connection on the battery was loose and so was shorting out. This was probably some of what we experienced yesterday with the problems we saw with the Dyna after visiting the grand canyon.

Spending the night in Lake Havasu city and plan on sight seeing, including the London Bridge. Enjoy the pictures:

Harley Ride 2010 - Day 4

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We weren't sure where we'd end up last night, but the Moenkopi Legacy Inn in Tuba City on the 'Native American - Hopi' side of the highway was fantastic and the hospitality was amazing. The Moenkopi was in its first week of operation.

Hendrick, working on some maintenance issues at the front entrance, insisted we roll our bikes right up front where they could be watched by the front desk staff. He then gave us a quick lesson on the history between the Hopi's and the Navajo's.

The Hopi are a Native American people who primarily live on 2,500 sq mi Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi Reservation is entirely surrounded by the much larger Navajo Reservation. Hendrick claimed that the Navajo continue to this day to assume Hopi land that is not theirs. So how did we get onto this story? Hendrick was cleaning up the glass made by three pellet gun holes, which he said could have only come from across the the street, the Navajo side of the highway. The area is depressed and the Navajo he claimed were jealous of the new hotel. So clearly no love lost between these two tribes. For more on the Hope - Wikipedia

From Tuba City, we headed straight to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was an amazing day to visit the canyon, not a cloud in the sky. The impression I had one year ago on my first visit, was the same one that Mike had .... "OMG, this is amazing ... I can't believe how huge it is". If you've been there you'll know what I'm talking about.

Here's today's Grand Canyon Pictures:



Mike's Dyna was acting up a bit today, so a quick stop at the Grand Canyon Harley Davidson in Flagstaff for peace of mind. Great thing about Harley dealerships is that as a touring visitor, especially as far away as canada ;-), they prioritize your issues to try and get you back on the road ASAP. We received great service, and after a quick check were back on the road into Flagstaff for the night.

Harley Ride 2010 - Day 3

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Two sets of pictures today:
First - Antelope Canyon,
Second - Monument Valley

The day started early with a booked tour of Upper Antelope Canyon, which is located just outside of Page Arizona. Scott Campbell, a friend and avid photographer first made me aware of the 'slot canyon' with his pictures. The sandstone is carved every time there's a flash flood in the area. The floods are rare, but there were 14 last year. My pictures don't do justice to the true colours. Search 'antelope canyon' on google for some great professional shots.



Today's ride is probably best described as 'Back Tracking'. From Page AZ, we rode SE on Hwy98, East on Hwy160, entering Monument Valley at Kayenta on Hwy163. Riding North To Mexican Hat and then up the precarious switchback to Moki Dugway Overlook, only to turn back and retrace the route to Tuba City for the night.

The forecast is improving, not a cloud in the sky today, but was very surprised to see snow throughout Monument Valley.

More pictures of the great scenery and of course the 'bikes'.... and a couple of Mike and I. Enjoy.

Harley Ride 2010 - Day 2

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OMG ... was it a cold and a very windy ride today!!! Other then the scenery, it felt like an early spring ride in Alberta.

The Plan was to head north and visit Bryce Canyon, but with the weather forecast showing early morning snow and a high of only 42F .... we opted out. We decided to ride from St. George, thru Zion National Park, south on 89 at Mt Carmel Junction, and the the scenic 89A to Page, AZ.

First stop, Grafton Utah is a ghost town, just south of Zion National. 'Ultimate Tour Guide' Dave Bacon first showed me this place in 2008. Grafton is said to be the most photographed ghost town in the West, it has been featured as a location in several films, including 1929's In Old Arizona—the first talkie filmed outdoors—and the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Thru Zion and south on scenic 89A. The route took us up and over the Kalibab plateau at Jacob Lake (Gateway to the northern rim of the Grand Canyon) where the elevation reached 8000 ft and the temperature had to be in the low 40F's. There was snow on the ground, we were shaking at times with cold and our hands numb. Looking forward to the forecasted 92F at Lake Havasu later in the week.

It seemed that we dodged rain all day as we covered the plateau and then headed toward the Vermilion Cliffs, the second "step" up in the five-step "Grand Staircase". At one point we found ourselves heading through a down-burst, and as cold as it was it turned to snow. That was just plain weird.

The Navajo Bridge (left span), spans Marble Canyon and the Colorado river and was completed in 1929. The second bridge was completed in 1995 and currently handles all vehicle traffic.

We took the opportunity to ride into the local Marina on Lake Powell for dinner. Spectacular views at sunset.

Looking forward to warmer temperatures .....

Harley Ride 2010 - Day 1

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We departed Calgary at 5:30AM Friday and headed south. 18 hours and 1800Kms and we were in Cedar City, Utah. We finished the last bit of the travel this morning and will start out biking from St. George Utah.

We unloaded the bikes, did a little work and quickly headed out for a short ride into Zion National Park. Sunny and moderate temperatures today, but a strong wind.

We're supposed to be heading north and to a higher elevation to see Bryce Canyon in the morning, but the forecast is calling for snow showers, so we're rethinking day 2.

Pictures from today's ride, and yes this is where you'll see some great scenery with a lot including the bikes :-);

Bike Trip 2010

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Less than 2 weeks till we load up the bikes and head south!


My first year making the trip back in 2008 with 'Kwasi', 'Bacon' and 'Sid'. Each had done the trip, or variations over the past years, and for 'Bacon' it was his 9th or 10th consecutive year treking south for the ride. In a word, it was 'INCREDIBLE'.

The idea of getting on my bike and riding for days at a time was in itself enough - an adventure of sorts - just the guys. In the end it was all that, but the scenery along the way was breath-taking. There were many times when we rounded a corner only to look up see the most incredible landscape and works of nature. This happened day in and day out.

This year, Mike and I are making the trip and we're going to try and hit the highlights of the last two years. At this time of year, the traffic is light, the roads are magnificent, the scenery spectacular and so weather permitting, we're planning to follow a circular route as shown on the map below. That will give us access to ;

• Zion National Park, Utan
  
• Bryce Canyon, Utah
  
• Arches National Park, Utah
  
• Monument Valley, Utah
  
• Natural Bridges, Utah
  
• Antelope Canyon, Arizona
• Grand Canyon, Arizona

Weather permitting we'll try and hit all of them

Motorcyle Ride for Dad

The annual "Motorcycle Ride for Dad", the largest motorcycle event in Canada in support of prostate cancer research and education, held their Calgary ride Saturday, June 6th. Rides are held across Canada on different weekends during the spring and early summer. At the event in Calgary it was announced that they had raised in excess of $80,000.

I first heard of the ride one week prior to the event on CJay96 and decided to get involved and take part in both the ride and raising money for the cause. Through a generous network or friends, business colleagues and a couple of people I didn't even know personally (Twitter), the group generated 38 pledges amounting to $2,500 for the cause - Awesome. Thanks so much to those that pledged it was truly appreciated.

Unfortunately, Mother nature did not cooperate and we received a freak snow fall the morning of the ride. Although it cleared up somewhat by the planned 10:30 start for the ride, the organizing committee decided for safety reasons to postpone the ride to another weekend. They did go forward with the parade ride, a short police escorted ride in the city up to Mark's Work Wearhouse in Signal Hill.


You'll see the accumulated snow at our place in the pictures below. I didn't take any chances and posed for a few pictures on the bike in the snow and then drove down in the car to take part in the activities held during the day.

Laughlin River Run 2009

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Day 7-8

The 2009 - 27th Annual River Run is definitely showing signs of the economic times. 2008 was my first year, and i was amazed at the sheer volume of bikes in each of the hotel parking areas, the traffic and rumble of the bikes all day long up and down the strip.

In 2009 this was not the case. Things were considerably slower on the Thursday and although picked up Friday night, it's got a long way to go if it's to be compared to 2008. The vendor count was also noticeably smaller with a number of the hotels having considerably smaller vendor areas. I talked to a number of the vendors and they all echoed that this years numbers were down considerably going into the weekend, although optimistic, conceded that things were going to be slower then in the past.

Perhaps the tell tale sign at a bike gathering where 70%+ of the bikes are Harleys, was in fact the absence of Harley Davidson. One of the vendors commented that at Bike Week in Daytona which runs over two weekends, Harley Davidson only showed up for the second half of the show. Harley are running on tough times with many questioning their future. Time will tell.

We're heading out first thing tomorrow morning, so this is the end of my trip blog. Next updates will be for planned weekend trips through the summer months closer to home. Stay tuned.


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