Riding Moab with “The Bad News Bears”
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 5:22PM Riding Moab
Since he is newly retired (1 year) my sometime riding buddy ‘Recon’ got the idea he should rent a house and have a bunch of his buddies meet up and ride for a week. It was sold to us as a week of motorcycle riding, mountain biking, golfing and possibly some river rafting. It worked out pretty well with only the river rafting getting the axe because we simply ran out of time!
It was a great week and I had no idea I was meeting up with an older version of the “Bad News Bears!” The Characters in this real life movie were Recon, Todd, Rick, Tom and two new players I had never met, Duane and Craig. A brief description is Recon the hurry up and we can do two rides if you guys will just get ready guy. Todd the slower paced more methodical and let’s think this out guy. Rick the HADD (hyper attention deficit disorder) guy. Tom the kid from the family with money that wants to polish his bikes before and after he rides them guy. Then two new acquaintances, Duane the only non-prison worker in the group that enjoyed recording the trip with pictures and was more techno savvy than the rest of us by using his computer to watch ride videos guy. Craig the up for anything as long as you can keep him pointed in the right direction and self-appointed Chef/BBQ extraordinaire guy.
I had no idea of what to expect with these guys all together in a house for a week. As it turned out it was the most fun I have had in several of my moto trips! It was nonstop entertainment after the first day of settling in and they let the clowning begin.
We rode mountain bikes on Slick Rock trail and Porcupine Rim Trail. The riding and scenery was spectacular with breath taking views on both. Everyone had a great time and no one got hurt even with a couple of minor crashes! Duane our resident photographer made the comment that the pictures would not do this place justice, it has to be seen. I think Porcupine Rim fell into the category of ‘Best Ride Ever!’
We rode motorcycles around the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park which took us somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 hours. Along the way we stopped at sheer cliffs that dropped several hundred feet and you could ride right up to the edge. You could even sit on the edge and hang your feet over the side, well except for Tom. I think he had to stop and polish his bike whenever we started to get near the cliffs! Everyone started rolling right along until Rick decided to slide himself and his KLR 650 in the dirt like he was sliding into home plate head first! I looked in my mirror just in time to see an enormous cloud of dust! I stopped my bike and started back to where he was. He was already up and brushing the dirt from the front of himself, so I figured he must be ok because he is dusting himself off. By then the other guys were rolling up and I started yelling for them to take pictures! The cameras came out and we couldn’t help but laughing because he looked like Pig Pen! Rick was giggling at himself too. A few minutes and we were on our way. This ride ended up being about 160 miles and we were about half way so ol’ Ricky may have been getting a bit tired. So maybe it was time for a rest/lunch stop. We took a break and had our snacks then were back on the trail. More excellent views and lots of miles.
Then it happened again, but this time Rick didn’t slide, he tipped over on a short steep hill climb. A KLR 650 is not exactly a lightweight so down he goes in a heap. No harm, no foul and no injury. Until we get the bike up and discover he has broken his clutch perch. Oops, spare levers but no spare perch. So it became a patch job. Of course everyone’s first thought is Duct Tape! I thought the same thing and then realized I fit right in with this group! Oh Hell, we are a bunch of okie/rednecks! Then after reconsidering we came up with the Zip Tie fix! So now we are just plain ol’ rednecks. But the duct tape was still in our back pocket if necessary. 7 Zip Ties later and we are back on the trail.
We enjoyed the rest of the ride and took in lots of amazing scenery with Duane doing the best he could to capture it on camera.
The rest of the week had us all thoroughly enjoying ourselves with each ride and each meal being dubbed as “the best ride/dinner ever!” I asked Chef Craig once what was for dinner and he told me I had two choices, 1. Take it. 2. Or leave it! I found out in a hurry that this wasn’t Burger King!
Maybe this can become an annual event, if so I am in!
#33
“Just because it is a bad idea doesn’t mean it won’t be a good time!”
Lots of pictures in the photo gallery!
Reader Comments (2)
lol.. zip ties for the perch..!! well that explains why "Recon" mentioned that there were no zip ties included with the parts you had sent to me from Havasu. :) looks like an amazing trip, Id absolutely love to join up with you guys for a ride like that someday..
Taco Joe,
Remember "someday" is not one of the days in the week!
#33