Clair
06-06-2005, 04:09 PM
Well, since we had a break in the weather and the sun was out, and the temp were to hit the low 80's, Todd and I decided to do a ride together. Same ride I had done the weekend before so another good workout for me.
The setup: Me with my new fancy Scorpion helmet on the VN750 with the perfectly sized windshield. Todd, with his great new Volusia sans a windshield (foreshadowing obviously). The ride is to start from SLC, head ip I-80 to East Canyon, take that up and over and around the lake, then head toward Morgan UT. From tehre we'll head northwest toward Snowbasin ski resort, then over east to Huntsville and up Hwy 36 toward evanston. We'll do this as an out and back, so at some point turning around and coming home the same route.
Sunday morning ... it's cool, about 60. So I just have a long sleeve t-shirt on under my JR Atomic jacket with the vents closed. Todd has some kewl fancy insulated thingy under his JR Mesh jacket. We meet at McD's for a quick snack and off we go. Mind you, SLC will be the lower point in this trip. Everything else will be in the upper elevations. We cruise up I-80 no problem with me in the lead. Then we head toward East Canyon where the real fun begins. Two lane road with some great switchbacks, S-turns, and tight sweepers on both the uphill and downhill side. Only real annoying aspect is that on the tight switchbacks on the uphill side, there's still gravel in the lane .... have to take them slower than I'd like, but oh well. Up we go ... and where's Todd? Slow down ... putt putt putt ... okay, there he is. Over the crest and down we go. Turn, LEAN in the curves. SLOW coming into them, use some throttle through them. Shift the weight ... ah, slowly getting this. Down toward the bottom now and ... where's Todd? Pull over and wait ... ah, there's Todd, okay, he's there, just going slow. Good man. Second year, new bike, he's taking things very conservative, smart boy.
Along we go, around the lake, through the fun curves and twisties ... again losing Todd, but I wait for him now and then ... and into Morgan we get. ya know ... it'd damn chilly out !!! This long sleeve t-shirt isn't cutting it under the jacket. So, when we get to the bottom of the hill to head towards Snowbasin I pull into a gas station so I can add layers. BRRRRR. Todd is as layered as he can get so ... Then it's off we go, up to Snow basin and into snowbasin. The road in and through snowbasin is fun and twisty. I handle it fine, wondering every now and then just how much faster Mike and his SB'ers would have taken it. LOL Once again I lose Todd in the curves so I park and wait for him at the bottom. In time he shows up and we're off. In Huntsville I gas up so that I can make sure I can get over the next pass and back with no problems. I already have 88 miles to this point and my range is typically between 135 and 160 miles before I hit reserve, depending on how my mileage is going. Todd boasts at this point about his 4.5 gallon gas tank ... bite me Todd! :-)
Off we go, heading east now up the mountain toward Evanston. Bugs, oh yes, there are bugs,and big juicy ones. I got it several times on the face shield and my windshield is getting peppered. Poor Todd, back there riding naked ... Up high we have snow on teh ground still, LOTS of snow. The road is clear, but at one point we had a cut through that was 7' or more of snow !! Pics to come on that one. The ride along the top was damn chilly as there was still plenty of snow, and wind to go along with it. Wind, snow, 50-60mph ... makes for some cold riding! Fun time through the turns though, really working them, shifting weight, looking THROUGH the turn, leaning, fun. Down we go, thankfully finding some warmth. Pass a cop on the way down, he's going up,so we wave to him. ALWAYS wave to cops I think. Better to stay on their good side. Once we're down in the flats, I find a nice wide area for us to u-turn and take a quick break. Now it's Todd's turn to lead.
Next Post ... Todd's turn.
The setup: Me with my new fancy Scorpion helmet on the VN750 with the perfectly sized windshield. Todd, with his great new Volusia sans a windshield (foreshadowing obviously). The ride is to start from SLC, head ip I-80 to East Canyon, take that up and over and around the lake, then head toward Morgan UT. From tehre we'll head northwest toward Snowbasin ski resort, then over east to Huntsville and up Hwy 36 toward evanston. We'll do this as an out and back, so at some point turning around and coming home the same route.
Sunday morning ... it's cool, about 60. So I just have a long sleeve t-shirt on under my JR Atomic jacket with the vents closed. Todd has some kewl fancy insulated thingy under his JR Mesh jacket. We meet at McD's for a quick snack and off we go. Mind you, SLC will be the lower point in this trip. Everything else will be in the upper elevations. We cruise up I-80 no problem with me in the lead. Then we head toward East Canyon where the real fun begins. Two lane road with some great switchbacks, S-turns, and tight sweepers on both the uphill and downhill side. Only real annoying aspect is that on the tight switchbacks on the uphill side, there's still gravel in the lane .... have to take them slower than I'd like, but oh well. Up we go ... and where's Todd? Slow down ... putt putt putt ... okay, there he is. Over the crest and down we go. Turn, LEAN in the curves. SLOW coming into them, use some throttle through them. Shift the weight ... ah, slowly getting this. Down toward the bottom now and ... where's Todd? Pull over and wait ... ah, there's Todd, okay, he's there, just going slow. Good man. Second year, new bike, he's taking things very conservative, smart boy.
Along we go, around the lake, through the fun curves and twisties ... again losing Todd, but I wait for him now and then ... and into Morgan we get. ya know ... it'd damn chilly out !!! This long sleeve t-shirt isn't cutting it under the jacket. So, when we get to the bottom of the hill to head towards Snowbasin I pull into a gas station so I can add layers. BRRRRR. Todd is as layered as he can get so ... Then it's off we go, up to Snow basin and into snowbasin. The road in and through snowbasin is fun and twisty. I handle it fine, wondering every now and then just how much faster Mike and his SB'ers would have taken it. LOL Once again I lose Todd in the curves so I park and wait for him at the bottom. In time he shows up and we're off. In Huntsville I gas up so that I can make sure I can get over the next pass and back with no problems. I already have 88 miles to this point and my range is typically between 135 and 160 miles before I hit reserve, depending on how my mileage is going. Todd boasts at this point about his 4.5 gallon gas tank ... bite me Todd! :-)
Off we go, heading east now up the mountain toward Evanston. Bugs, oh yes, there are bugs,and big juicy ones. I got it several times on the face shield and my windshield is getting peppered. Poor Todd, back there riding naked ... Up high we have snow on teh ground still, LOTS of snow. The road is clear, but at one point we had a cut through that was 7' or more of snow !! Pics to come on that one. The ride along the top was damn chilly as there was still plenty of snow, and wind to go along with it. Wind, snow, 50-60mph ... makes for some cold riding! Fun time through the turns though, really working them, shifting weight, looking THROUGH the turn, leaning, fun. Down we go, thankfully finding some warmth. Pass a cop on the way down, he's going up,so we wave to him. ALWAYS wave to cops I think. Better to stay on their good side. Once we're down in the flats, I find a nice wide area for us to u-turn and take a quick break. Now it's Todd's turn to lead.
Next Post ... Todd's turn.