Heading East Out West: (Report Complete with Map & Summary)

[gsun]

Enjoyed following along. Just one question - what's the story on the bike colors?

[WANDRNG]

Thoroughly enjoyed the entire write-up.  Thanks!
Glad you didn't sustain more damage than you did when bambi got in the way.
Question - was your bag "pinned" or did you have any additional mechanism in place to keep them from coming off?

Thanks.

Very lucky the deer encounter it wasn't worse.

Nope, no pins or devices - just as it comes from the factory.

In my opinion, if it was pinned substantially or used some other method of substantially securing the bags, I would have gone down. I'm 85% sure that during the impact the front of the bag hit said deer square in the butt. The bags attachment point was the weakest point in the bikes stability, saddlebag and deer's mass - triangle. Pretty sure if it was pinned and didn't give way, the deer would have had a much harder time walking (leaping) away and it would have forced the tail of the Concours sideways and started me into a spin motion probably resulting in me essentially highsiding over the left of the bike with the bike chasing me. (all speculation of course) - but I'm glad the saddlebag let loose.

This is not to say I think people shouldn't pin their bags. I just think in this one very specific situation it turns out the outcome was better because I hadn't.

[WANDRNG]

Enjoyed following along. Just one question - what's the story on the bike colors?

Thanks!

Had the bike for a little over a year. Dipped it with some copper color in the first month. Peeled that off and for the 8 months before the CCRRII that started this trip it had the green and black theme dip on it. [pics]

Decided to go back to 100% black for the CCRRII and this trip. Two days before leaving I peeled off the right side dip and when I got to the back of the bike I could hear this ever so faint hiss. Checked the air pressure and sure enough down to 20psi. Stopped the peeling and washing to deal with the tire (it had this tiny piece of metal that punctured it - looked like a staple from an office stapler - seriously).  By the time I purchased the new tire, removed the wheel and tire, took it for mounting and balancing and put it back on the Concours - I didn't feel like peeling and washing anymore.

So I rode to the CCRRRII and the whole trip half dipped. 

[gsun]

Really like the copper. What do you mean by dipped? In what?

[WANDRNG]

Really like the copper. What do you mean by dipped? In what?

The copper was my fav and first attempt and had a few problems that's why it didn't last to  long.

Plastidip - it's a rubberized paint that comes in spray paint cans or gallons for spray rigs. You spray on a few coats like paint - it doesn't harm the actual paint and when you're ready you just peel it off. People use it for painting cars, rims, motorcycles (same stuff that people dip tool handles into - hence "dip") There are threads here on the forum about it.

http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php?topic=61736.msg485048#msg485048  is one
http://wanderingbackroads.com/reports/copper/ - when I did the copper scheme
http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php?topic=62056.msg497367#msg497367 - peeling

[WANDRNG]

Full 11 Day Trip

Click to enlarge the map.

[WANDRNG]

Trip Summary and Stats

Days: 11

Miles: 3912

Hotels: 9

Hotel nights: 10 + 1 night at my cousins

Days riding in some amount of
     Rain: 5
     Snow: 2
     Below 45 degrees: 4
     Open Range: 9

Temps: High 102 -- Low 31

Excellent or memorable meals: 7 + the 2nd best McDonalds experience I ever had (the first was with with my Grandparents in the early 70's)

National Parks/Monuments: 8 visited ($80 for annual pass - individual would have been $150+)

• Yosemite National Park (Day 1)
• Cedar Breaks National Park (Day 3)
• Zion Nationa Park (including Kolob Canyon) (Day 4)
• Bryce National Park (Day 4)
• Canyonlands National Park (Day 5)
• Arches National Park (Day 5 & Day 6)
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Day 7)
• Dinosaur National Monument (Day 9 & Day 10)

State Parks: 1

• Dead Horse Point Utah State Park (Day 5)

Deer strikes: 1
     Hwy 30 at Park Valley Utah (Day 10)

Nostalgia Moments: Hundreds

New Adventure Memories: Countless

Recommended Roads (based on riding not scenery)

• CA Hwy 120 - Day 1
• Extraterrestrial Hwy 375 - Day 2
• Cedar Breaks Hwy 148 & Hwy 143 to Panguitch - Day 3
• UT Hwy 14 - Day 3
• UT Hwy 12 - Day 4
• UT46 - CO 90 - Day 6
• CO Hwy 145 - Day 6
• CO Hwy 550 & Million Dollar Hwy - Day 7
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP Portal Access Road - Day 7
• CO Hwy 50 over Monarch Pass - Day 7
• Pine Valley Road, CO - Day 8
• CO Hwy 67 - Day 8
• I-70 going west from Denver - Day 9
• CO Hwy 131 - Day 9
• UT Hwy 191 to UT Hwy 44 to WY Hwy 414 - Day 10
• UT Hwy 89 - Bear Lake to Logan - Day 10

Recommended Lodging

• Tonopah Station Casino & Hotel - Tonopah, NV
• Hanksville Inn - Hanksville UT
• Iron Horse Inn - Durango CO
• New Value Inn - Frisco, CO

Recommended Food (above average experience)

• Centro Woodfired Pizzeria , 50 W Center St., Cedar City, UT · (435) 867-8123
• Forscher traditional German bakery - 110 North State St. Orderville, UT 84758  - http://www.forscherbakery.com (between Zion & Bryce)
• Homeslice Pizza - 2915 Main St. Durango Colorado  http://homeslicedelivers.com/
• Ollie's Pub & Grub 620 Main St, Frisco, CO 80443 http://www.olliespub.com/

[Gumby]

So I rode to the CCRRRII and the whole trip half dipped. 

You should change your username to HalfDipped!

Great write up and pictures Keith. You need to send this kind of stuff to Dan for Concourier articles.

[Red Fox]

I read, viewed and enjoyed your whole report; surely one of the best trip reports I've read.  Hope you will do something like it again. 

Also - your final summary, below, is a great concluding post -  useful for me since I intend to ride into that general area ... 

Trip Summary and Stats

Days: 11

Miles: 3912

Hotels: 9

Hotel nights: 10 + 1 night at my cousins

Days riding in some amount of
     Rain: 5
     Snow: 2
     Below 45 degrees: 4
     Open Range: 9

Temps: High 102 -- Low 31

Excellent or memorable meals: 7 + the 2nd best McDonalds experience I ever had (the first was with with my Grandparents in the early 70's)

National Parks/Monuments: 8 visited ($80 for annual pass - individual would have been $150+)

• Yosemite National Park (Day 1)
• Cedar Breaks National Park (Day 3)
• Zion Nationa Park (including Kolob Canyon) (Day 4)
• Bryce National Park (Day 4)
• Canyonlands National Park (Day 5)
• Arches National Park (Day 5 & Day 6)
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Day 7)
• Dinosaur National Monument (Day 9 & Day 10)

State Parks: 1

• Dead Horse Point Utah State Park (Day 5)

Deer strikes: 1
     Hwy 30 at Park Valley Utah (Day 10)

Nostalgia Moments: Hundreds

New Adventure Memories: Countless

Recommended Roads (based on riding not scenery)

• CA Hwy 120 - Day 1
• Extraterrestrial Hwy 375 - Day 2
• Cedar Breaks Hwy 148 & Hwy 143 to Panguitch - Day 3
• UT Hwy 14 - Day 3
• UT Hwy 12 - Day 4
• UT46 - CO 90 - Day 6
• CO Hwy 145 - Day 6
• CO Hwy 550 & Million Dollar Hwy - Day 7
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP Portal Access Road - Day 7
• CO Hwy 50 over Monarch Pass - Day 7
• Pine Valley Road, CO - Day 8
• CO Hwy 67 - Day 8
• I-70 going west from Denver - Day 9
• CO Hwy 131 - Day 9
• UT Hwy 191 to UT Hwy 44 to WY Hwy 414 - Day 10
• UT Hwy 89 - Bear Lake to Logan - Day 10

Recommended Lodging

• Tonopah Station Casino & Hotel - Tonopah, NV
• Hanksville Inn - Hanksville UT
• Iron Horse Inn - Durango CO
• New Value Inn - Frisco, CO

Recommended Food (above average experience)

• Centro Woodfired Pizzeria , 50 W Center St., Cedar City, UT · (435) 867-8123
• Forscher traditional German bakery - 110 North State St. Orderville, UT 84758  - http://www.forscherbakery.com (between Zion & Bryce)
• Homeslice Pizza - 2915 Main St. Durango Colorado  http://homeslicedelivers.com/
• Ollie's Pub & Grub 620 Main St, Frisco, CO 80443 http://www.olliespub.com/

[WANDRNG]

So I rode to the CCRRRII and the whole trip half dipped. 

You should change your username to HalfDipped!

Great write up and pictures Keith. You need to send this kind of stuff to Dan for Concourier articles.

HalfDipped - I like that, but ah, no 

Thanks - it's nice to know the report is good for something other than helping my crappy brain remember

[WANDRNG]

I read, viewed and enjoyed your whole report; surely one of the best trip reports I've read.  Hope you will do something like it again. 

Also - your final summary, below, is a great concluding post -  useful for me since I intend to ride into that general area ... 

Thanks RF - it's great to hear that you enjoyed the read. I definitely plan to ride off on more adventures - I'll try to make the reports a little less long-winded.

I've seen ride summaries that include gas totals, gas $ totals, expense lists -- I'm just to lazy for that - set the trip odometer, count the days and list the best/exceptional roads, food and sleep spots for those they may want to use them is best I can do.