So it seem that electric gear will help keep me warm and help the bike, win win. Because you can't buy what I want, and I'm too cheap anyway, I've been making my own gear. If anyone wants some pointers about building your own get, get back to me. I'll give you the amps and volts and how much wire to use. There's about 20 dollars involved.
But a fellow needs some cold country to test out his ideas, which I don't have much of in San Diego Ca. Sure I can take short rides up into the mtns, but to test my gear, I needed a few days in the cold.
Weve been having a cold snap over around the 4 corners area of Ut and Az, and Monument Valley is over that-a-way. I figured I'd run over there for some pictures and a bit of road time on my motorcycle. It'll give my wife a chance to do the Xmas shopping at home without me bothering her.
So I geared up last Thursday, Dec 17th, 2012, in my Feldsheer Riding suit with my electrics underneath to see what I could see. Ready to ride
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
As always it was good to hit the road again. You all know the feeling, wind in my hair and hair in my nose. This journey started promptly at 2pm.
I had to wait till my doctor appointment was completed. Seems as though the weight loss from the cancer has helped on the low level diabetes that I've been fighting. Total cholesterol is under a 100. I know, it's too much information, but the point is that it looks like I'm going to live forever, so you're just going to have to put up with these reports......... for a while at least.
As far as a this cold weather ride goes, it was over 70 when I left Oceanside Ca, and I was dressed for the cold. I was too hot till I gained the step up over Cajon Pass at San Bernadino. Going up to 2500 feet from sea level accounted for about a 10 degrees drop. I was a little more comfortable at the higher altitude.
Here's a URL for the route on Google maps if you want to follow more closely. http://goo.gl/maps/AaMnx
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| From Drop Box |
The Sabre was running beautifully....except that, I was trying to run the last legs/rubber off a square front tire. That's limiting me to low 70s on roads where low 80s are acceptable. Above 70mph the front wheel starts to vibrate a litle.
My ass melted into my tractor style Corbin seat, very comphy. I was so comfortable that I didn't want to stop for gas in only an hour, but not having a full tank of gas when I left dictated a pause for a fillup. Then the damn odometer's trip meter wouldn't reset. It's been acting up, so finally it will need some attention when I get home, but the gas guage still works so I don't see a problem there.
I was going to go out thru Yuma and work my way up toward the northeast corner of Az, but at the last minute I opted for the most direct route to Flagstaff, and then north to Page Az. There are the Navejo Bridges and Antelope Canyon up there that I want to see.
It started to get colder at sundown just east of Barstow. Temps probably dropped to the low 50 by the time I regassed at Ludlow. the Temperature was getting down to electric time. A few miles later I flipped the switch to on. I wated for the heat......nothing......wtf. Hummmm.........oh, I had a three position switch and had switched it from center off to the other off.
Once I got the correct on position, the heat came on in a welcome rush. Ain't that nice. I had to turn it off in about 10 minutes. The heat test was a success. The next 50 miles cooled some, and then I hit warmer conditions by 5 or 10 degrees as I approached the lower 1500 ft elevation of the Colorado river at Needles.
My heat gear is a tee shirt with wires weaved into it, which is connected to my heat pants, and plugged in to the bike's battery. The pant legs have about four 18 inch pieces of wire running down the legs that I take down to my feet. Those wires heat both my legs and feet.
It was a little after 7pm at the river. I had a 50 mile climb to 4000 ft at Kingman where I would spend the night. I figured that would be a better test for cold.
My feet were getting cold more than anything. I had two pair of fairly heavy socks on....and the wires from my heat pants were also running down in there between the sock layers and around my toes.
I think the temps at Kingman were low 40s, and the wires in the socks did heat my feet slowly. The rest of the gear was a little too hot, but not hot enough that I had to play the on and off game with the switch.
I've got this Mini HP netbook. I had it on the western tour last Sept. I couldn't get it to connect with motel internets that required a key. Well, last night I tried again, and it took me a couple hours to get connected.....but connectivity is looking up as I play with the netbook.
I was tired after all that, so I had a snack bar and went to bed about 11.
Morning now.......The weather channel says it's 45 degrees outside. I'll prolly leave here in about an hour. I have to climb to 7000 at Flagstaff. should be nice by the time I get there.
........Kingman to Monument Valley.........
I got out of the room at check out time, 11am. I was tired from yesterday and needed the extra rest.
Sure enough the weather was acceptable When I left Kingman. I started picking up snow in the shadows at about 5500 ft. with temps in the high 40s.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
No big deal. I cycled the heat on every once in a while. I can feel the warmth in my toes, but if I leave the heat on it will get too hot on my chest. Tomorrow I'll put another shirt on under my heat shirt for insulation. I'd like to be able to leave the heat on so my toes are getting heat all the time.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
By the time I got to Flagstaff the ground was covered solid with 8 to 10 inches of snow, but that snow was from last week so the pavement was snowless and for the most part dry. And at Flagstaff's 7000ft the heat was a good thing.
I stopped for more gas as I left Flag. I also had a pork sandwich at a BBQ joint next door. That was 2pm. It would soon be cooling off as evening approached
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
It was 70 miles north to the turnoff to Tuba City and Monument valley. I was dreaming of a short day's ride. I noticed that the road to the Navejo bridges was closed to Jacobs lake. That's the road that takes you to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Of course, the North Rim is closed for winter.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
There's some nice scenery on the way to Tuba City, but it's no Monument Valley.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I took the Tuba City cut off that goes to Kayenta and Monument Valley. That would add another 75 miles to my day. Oh well, some things can't be helped. I rode back up into the snow, as I gained a little altitude east of Tuba City.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
When I got to Monument Valley I'd forgotten how striking those buttes are.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
As you can see, I'm down out of the snow, but it's still cold...maybe 45 degree. It would get worse.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I thought that I'd get a room in Mexican Hat and then do the Mokie Dugway (hwy 261) tomorrow, but no rooms in MH, and Bluff's motel didn't have internet. That's all of the Monuments
Still good stuff though
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I rode on to Blanding Ut and arrived there at dusk. Blandings at 7000 ft again so I had the heat on steadily for the last hour. There was a nice Sunset as evening came on.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I pulled in there at 5:00pm. Got a room and went inside. I went back out to the bike, and left my credit card type room key inside. Oh Shit. I went back to the office, and it was closed for the night with a phone numbers to call for assistance. Did I mention it was cold outside. Luckily I caught the girl as she was going out the back door. No problem, she whipped me up another key. Now I have 2 keys.
I take my riding suit off and grab a Motel key and take off for the convenience store to get a snack dinner. Another Oh Shit, my wallet is in the riding suit. Back to the Motel....shit, shit, shit,.......this motel key won't work. Apparently when the girl made me a second key it canceled the first key which is the one I had.
Now I'm outside in just a long sleeve shirt and jeans......with no money and no cell phone so I can't call the emergency number. I later found out that water dripping off the eve is freezing when it hits the ground. So I'm getting cold.
I took myself to the convenience store across the street and asked the indian girl in there if she would just shoot me to put me out of my misery.
So she called the motel people for me and I got back in the locked room for the second time.
Other than that things are going swimmingly. The bike was running sweet, and the electrics are keeping me warm if not a bit too hot.
I'm going to bed now before I do something else stupid. LOL Day three.........
.........Ga-uhhh.....gauhhh. Gauhhh,gauh, gauh,gauh. Gauhhhhhhh......., click, click, click.........
Can you guess what that sound is? Yep, you guessed it. My battery turned the motor over a half dozen times, and then sounded out the multiple clicks of battery death. It wasn't even close to starting it.
It had been a low of 17 degrees overnight.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I may have discovered the Achilles heel of those UPS batteries that I use. I believe it was one of those batteries that failed me at Prudhoe Bay as well.....at 29 degrees.
So triple AAA showed up in about a half hour. He had one of those portable jump starters.....hooked it up, and the bike couldn't wait to start. That surprised me that it was so easy. Did I say that it was about 20 Degrees at 9am when I got that jump start. Oh, and I was very careful not to separate me from my motel key that morning. :)
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
So I was on the road by 10am. Headed south this time. It's too damn cold in Blanding at this altitude. I'd proved to myself that I have the gear for cold weather if I should want to ride in it. Now there is no need to prove it any further
I decided that I'd go home the way I'd come. I'd have to endure the 20 degree weather of the morning. I'd try to ride the Mokie Dugway into Mexican Hat on my return trip.
Here the homeward URL http://goo.gl/maps/t9Orf
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| From Drop Box |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I pointed the bike toward the Mokie Dugway. I reveled in the white lanscape,
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
....and thoroughly enjoyed being the only person on Route 95 north toward Hanksville. 261 is about 20 miles out that way. I was worried that it wouldn't be snow free, to my surprise, the road was clean. 261 continued to be clean on into the dirt Mokie Dugway section.
At the beginning of dirt and at the top of the hill, there is another road that goes out to Muley Point. That road had been graded of snow, but it still had an inch of snow, and is 5 miles long. I passed on Muley Point's scenic views. Now I have a reason to go back. :) Road to Mule Point
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
Dry it would be no problem for anyone, but there was a little melting snow and a bit of mud to be careful of, and one short section of unmelted snow/ice. The views from the top of the valley below were spectacular of course. When I got to the bottom, I saw the dirt 'Valley of the Gods' road. normally, I'd have taken that road, but I skipped that as well because it would have had muddy sections, I'm sure.
261 dead ended into the road back to Mexican Hat which I took toward home. The San Juan river at Mexican Hat, Az.[/SIZE]
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I gassed up in Kayenta, and got a meal off the dollar menu at McDonalds. I'd been playing tag with a black sedan rental car. He and his GF were at Micky D's as well. Turns out he was from NY. He'd flown into somewhere and was spending 5 days seeing the south West.
He was also going to Page to see The Indian Antelope Canyon. I thought that I might see them again as that was why I was going to Page. About 5 miles before Page, I pulled into the AC Indian site. It was a couple hundred yard dirt road with little open booths to sign you up for a tour. Their was no official booth person there, but I found Carol, A 45 yr old Indian maid who told me that a guide would take me down there in a vehicle, and let me off for an hour....then they would pick me up again. The 70 miles to Page was colder than I thought it would be, but the electrics kept me toasty.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
Carol, told me that that hour would cost me 31 dollars. NERT, NERT, NERT. The error sound was loud. 31 Dollars? Are you kidding me. These Indians are pricing themselves out of the game as far as I was concerned. I moved on. But I am wondering what is so damned good in Antelope Canyon. LOL Maybe they are getting the last laugh. 89 south from Page has a great set of hills that you go over just north of Bitter Springs and the junction of 89A Bitter Springs cutoff toward the Navajo Bridges on 89A
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
So I found the road that goes to the Navejo Bridges, 89A, and went the 25 miles out there. Turns out that road is open to Fredonia past the North Rim, not closed like I'd thought yesterday.
I stopped at the bridges for a few pictures and to look at some Indian Jewelry. There were two benches and 2 old Indians selling such. I just love that stuff. If I was a bling kinda guy, I have that stuff hanging all over me.
The old Indian pointed out a Condor on the opposite bank. Cool, and a bird watcher pointed out his wife over there with a spotting scope, and invited me to go have a closer look.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
He told me that these condors are scavengers, and eat primarily gut balls that hunters have left behind. Invariably these condors eat the shot that has killed the gut donator. He said that every condor has to be recaptured every year to treat them for heavy metal poisoning. ......can you believe that?
Anyway I passed on the long walk to look at the condor. It was 4:30 and I wanted to get 60 miles to Fredonia before dark. I had to cross another Mtn range, and didn't want to do it with ice on the road, or in the dark.
Sometimes a river is such a barrier that both banks are as good as separate worlds. So was this Colorado River area before the Navajo Bridges were put in in 1926.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
The scenery on the north side of the Colorado River was more Spec meter 10 (the Marble Canyon area). I lowered my head and promised to only stop a few times for pictures. It was 4500 ft at the bridges, and at least 7000 ft at the top of this range of mtns. It got chilly on top, and the views on the Fredonia side, as the evening sun shined on the opposing cliffs, were awesome.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
............The ride home Day 4.........
I left you folks as I drifted off to sleep wondering how I would start the bike Sunday morning. Fredonia is at 4500 ft VS Blanding at 6100ft. I'd guess the morning temp was just above freezing as the frost on my seat was getting soft when I tried to start it at 9am. To my glee, the bike fired right off. The battery was a touch slow, but good enough. Apparently the 15 less degrees at Blanding made the difference.
I geared up as usual, making the wires around my toes a bit more secure. Practice makes perfect. And for the first time I put on my Sierra Trading Co Baklava. If my gear had a weak spot it was cold air to my neck. I never had it so good as when I headed out toward Saint George Ut with the new neck guard.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
I cruised into Hurricane Ut snug as a bug in a rug. Now that I had mastered the cold, there were still things that I didn't like about the gear. That damned riding suit, though good for riding and probably crashing, is a pain in the butt to do anything else in.
I avoided restaurants because it would be too hot, and being able to take it off, isn't an option. Or going to the bathroom is a PIA as well.....or going for a walk-about to see sights. It's good for riding but bad for all else.
All in all, my winter ride was a success. The snow on the mountains was beautiful, but I don't need to see anymore snow now for a long time. LOL
I gassed up in St George and had a burrito and cup of coffee at the convenience store there. The short ride to Mesquite NV included the 5 mile long beautiful Virgin River Gorge, and was the last of the scenic route. In the middle of the Canyon I passed 4 cruisers on VTwins. They doubled the number of bikes that I had seen on the whole trip.
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
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| From Winter ride Northern Az |
From that point on there was no more eye candy. The next 400 mile home to San Diego was more of a job,...... but a nice job. The traffic thru Vegas moved along nicely. I electriced up to climb the mountain (4200ft) west of Vegas. Then pretty much spent the next 4.5 hours getting back down to sea level.
The only event was in the east bound lanes where an SUV was laying on it's roof with three miles of traffic stacked up to the west of it. Poor bastids.
In my direction I witnessed a Semi force a Suburban into traffic on his left. That could have gotten ugly, but the Suburban had just enough room.
Oh, I pulled to the side of the road where a cruiser type motorcycle was pulled over. He said he was all right because he had a trailer coming. He also said he'd owned a Sabre in the past. At that moment, I bet he wished he hadn't upgraded. Tee hee.
I enjoyed the ever increasing temperature while listening to the smooth rumble of my Sabre's heart.
Damn, that's was a fine ride. Just what I needed before Christmas. Happy to be home, though.
MERRY CHRISMAS to ALL
