Here is my Moab 2010 Trip Report -Day 1My 2001 KLR650, locked and loaded right before I left Denver -
I left at 8 am and by the time I crossed the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains (at Vail Pass on I-70) it was a brisk 39 degrees F. The temps quickly warmed as I descended to lower elevations, right up to the mid 90s by the time I reached Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It was there that the fairing frame broke (the 5th time) so I pulled into a Checker Auto Parts seeking a temp solution.
I bought some "Quicksteel" epoxy putty and wrapped that around the break. After it cured I continued to Moab. The temp fix lasted until I was just coming into Moab.
I checked into camp around 3 pm and setup my tent & stowed my gear.
Then I gave Fred at
Arrowhead Motorsports a call and asked if he had the time to do a quick welding repair. Fred laughed (he welded it twice last year) and told me to bring the bike over.
So I removed the fairing and cleaned up the break area, and then Fred welded up the frame. I installed the fairing and headed back to camp-
THANKS FRED!
When I arrived in camp, SLO-KLR was there, setting up his tent and getting his gear organized.
Then he changed the rear tire on his KLR -
After that we cleaned up, met everyone in camp that was around, and went to get some dinner. We went to the Moab Brewery and had a good beer and a good hamburger/onion rings combo- we both had the same thing.
And at 3 am we both had the same thing again, bad food that wanted out - pker1
Day 2The next day I was asked to lead a ride up the west side of La Sal Pass and then into Moab. We heard that there had been an avalanche up there but decided to take a look anyways.
The crew included -
Hurricane, Treeman, Steve, Mel Brooks, Guido, BobinFL, Little Cane, oldstove and me.
When we got to the top the pass was indeed blocked with snow. Steve found us a way past the first impasse and was awesome- helping those that tried to continue on. After the first hurdle oldstove blazed a path through another snow bank, and I gave it a go.
I didn't make it -
Then a pair of hikers told us that the pass had a huge area that was blocked by the avalanche, so we turned around and worked our way back. Steve helped all of us get out bikes turned in the mud & snow (it was a 90 deg turn) - thanks again Steve!
So we decided to head back to Moab for some lunch and and then go into the desert instead of the mountains.
On the way back to Moab we took a bunch of dirt back roads, following Treeman and his GPS. It was hot and crowded with cattle & cow pies, but we made it back and had a great lunch at the trusty Moab Diner.
After lunch we regrouped-
Hurricane, Mel Brooks, Treeman, Steve, oldstove, SLO-KLR and me.
Hurricane led us on a trip he guaranteed an awesome view of the canyons- Long Canyon or Pucker Pass as it is known.
To get there we went to Gemini Bridges and stopped near the arch for some pics & a break.
Here's Mel -
Here's Mel taking a pic with SLO-KLR & the arch....
Steve was kicking back on the edge of the cliff -
The canyon view....
oldstove & SLO-KLR enjoying the scenery -
We rode off to begin our descent into the canyon.
I didn't get any pics, but all I'm gonna say is that it was beautiful and in places a bit technical (the shelf and the sand).
I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
We went to Arrowhead after we got back from the ride, and I won a nice tire kit in the giveaway! My thanks to Fred and to Tim Bernard of Happy Trails!
Day 3I decided to go on a ride led by In2dabluz - the tenative route was Moab > Onion Creek > Kokapelli Trail > La Sal loop > Moab, approx 105 miles.
The riders were Grumpytoo, In2dalbluz, Scott, MarkyA, me, 449wireman and Pstan -
We headed into Onion Creek and it was immediatly apparent that the water crossings were higher than I had seen in the last 4 years- lotsa snowmelt.
The canyon -
In2dabluz-
449wireman-
Grumpytoo -
MarkyA -
Pstan -
Scott -
Somewhere farther along, near the Kokapelli Trail - (In2dabluz and MarkyA)
We stopped here - some of the riders needed a minute to contemplate the steep section ahead -
We continued on, riding the Kokapelli Trail, me riding sweep. I was behind Grumpytoo when his bike began to sputter and then it just quit. After multiple attempts at a restart, it was clear that something was wrong, so we put the bike off the side of the trail in the shade of a tree.
The first thing we found was that the fuel was boiling in the fuel tank, Grumptoo moved the tank panniers to the rear of the bike to improve the cooling, and with vapor lock and tank venting a possibility, I removed the fuel cap vent seals to ensure good venting.
It still wouldn't start. arrrggggg
And it was really hot, over 100 degrees -
I had grumpy remove the airbox drain plug and fuel just poured out- aha! A venting issue!
Or a float issue...
So we banged on the float bowl, but that didn't help.
Then I decided to look at the carb vent lines, and sure enough, the short vent tube (from the carb to the T in the T-mod) had collapsed in the heat, killing the engine.
After I disconnected the line, Grumpy started the bike right up and it ran just fine! :nana
So I hooked up the lower vent line to the carb and off we went....
We continued on, joining a dirt road that brought us up the east side of the La Sal mountains. We stopped here for some pics -
My trusty steed in the Moab heat -
We joined the La Sal Loop back to Moab, enjoying the lack of traffic and good road conditions.
Here's a pic that 449wireman took -
As we were riding the loop, I rode up on the one thing you don't want to see on a road that goes through Open Range - a big, tough looking BULL! Grumpy and I stopped when he stopped in the road broadside and stared at us. I was really not liking the idea of a badass bull running the 2 of us down!
Luckily for us, the bull blew us off and left the road and we continued on.
Back at camp we got cleaned up and shared a few laughs -
It was another great day of riding!
Later we went to Arrowhead for burgers, dogs, lemonade and more goodies that were given away!
Day 4A group of us decided to try La Sal Pass from the west side, see how far we could get.
The riders were Treeman, Big LV, Guido, oldstove, SLO-KLR, 449wireman and me.
Once we found the pass road, we began the climb up the pass. Stopped here for some shade & water -
We continued up and at the split, I went right while some of the others went left to ride the scree field I told them about. At the bottom of the right fork is a snowmelt stream, and it was rockin' - (pic by 449wireman)
After you cross you begin an immediate climb up the mountain, steep and rocky, but not too muddy. About half way up I stopped for some time in the Aspens. Here comes SLO-KLR -
449wireman was all smiles, all day -
The Aspens in their forest were stunning -
My bike taking a break too -
449wireman caught me at the midpoint in the forest, where we took another short break -
The crew - (Guido blazed to the top solo)
Then we continued on up -
At the avalanche area we stopped for snacks, water and photos -
Then we saddled up and rode back to town- another great ride with some great members! MOL>
We later went to Arrowhead for more food & giveaways, and Grumptoo was the big winner of the $1,000 Pannier set from Happy Trails!
Thanks Tim for the goodies and Fred for the event- I had a great time!
Back at camp it was more camaraderie and cold ones, and a good night sleep.
Day 5The trip home....
After saying my goodbyes to everyone in camp, Big LV & I left for Denver at 845 am or so. The plan was to take I-70 back to Denver as we both had things to do when we got home.
We stopped near Rifle Colorado for lunch, and I asked Big LV if she wanted to go an alternate route home. My new route was to leave I-70 at Glenwood Springs, then go to Aspen > Independence Pass > CO24 > Weston Pass then 285 north to Denver. A longer route, but one that was interesting and as we'd find out later , a bit challenging for loaded bikes.
So LV was all for it as she had never been over Independence Pass before.
Almost to the top od Independence -
The road we just rode u p-
The bikes -
Big LV decided to climb up higher for a better shot -
and a little sledding -
After we topped the pass, we stopped for more pics a bit to the west of the summit -
We later rode over Weston Pass. It was in a lot worse shape (the western half) than I remembered it and had my hands full in some of the trail.
We then joined 285 just south of Fairplay and stopped at the Kenosha Pass rec are for a water break. I took this pic of Webster Pass and Redcone (peak on the right), still snowed in -
We rode back to enver uneventfully- I was very happy to get there!
