Heading west: NYC to CO & UT

[victorb]

Next up, Utah!
Quick stop by Four Corners:

Then on to Monument Valley:

Monument Valley is impressive, but Valley of the Gods is really cool because you get to ride so close to the rocks:

Pictures just don't describe how amazing this place is.. I then headed back towards Mexican Hat, for a picture with the rock that gave the town its name:

and a steak!

 

[victorb]

Next morning, heading north, the road seems headed straight into a wall

Well yeah.. it is.. except it switches to dirt and goes up! it had rained the night before, so the dirt switchbacks were a little dodgy, but what a view!

On the other side, it's much greener and colder too.. There's a little snow here and there, but the scenery is pretty nice.

Quick stop in Natural Bridges NP:

Then I headed towards Canyonlands NP. to be continued..

 

[Hoshiko]

That looks like a great ride, some day I'll have the balls to do something like that.
I live in Brooklyn, want to go all the way to Washington and then take US1 down to CA

 

[victorb]

Clearly I suck at the whole ride report thing since I haven't made time to follow through on this since March! Oh well, I'll put some pictures in here to finish it up.

Somewhere in UT:

Canyonlands NP:

Arches NP:

More Canyonlands NP:

 

[victorb]

Found some snow over Dixie National forest:

Burr Trail in Capitol Reef NP:

Hwy 12 near Escalante, good fun!:

 

[victorb]

Bryce Canyon NP:

Zion NP:

More Zion:

 

[lytehouse]

Awesome :cheer:

 

[codeblue]

Damn, you ride in NYC, that is one challenging place to ride. I've been to the city dozens of times, and it's freaking crazy. Once you get out west, you will love the space, it so empty compared to the densely populated NE. Give me a shout if you get near Vegas. Might as well go to California, all this way to just turn around and head back east when you're just a state or two away.

Riding in the city is an exercise in defensive riding, but to do well you must be able to be on the offensive sometimes. Yes, even on the bike. I moved to Jersey City when I was 13 and learned to ride the Path trains into the city then and practically lived there everyday after school.
Drove in and out of the city once I got my driver's license because I have family living and working there.
My wife thinks I'm an aggressive driver in Jersey but a regular cabbie in the city, lol.
On occassions, I find myself riding into the city just to grab a bite at Greys Papaya on 6th and 12th by the Village.

 

[edgeofnj]

wow, not sure how i missed this thread previously. looks like you had a great trip, except for some inclement weather. great pics!

 

[victorb]

wow, not sure how i missed this thread previously. looks like you had a great trip, except for some inclement weather. great pics!

Yeah it was awesome, and the FZ never missed a beat!

The end: