Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126610
To find a vast majority of nature's wonders you have to get off the beaten path. Here, part of the group rides through Capitol Reef National Park. Ou t e tosd e~ter1lAdveIf!ure~ By Gary Van Voorhis t is early •-morning in Red Rock Country. • • The sun IS hghting up the rock formations • • SO they seem to shimmer with a red aura. The d eep hIue sky on Iy serves to accentuate t h e GJ brilliance of the contrasting colors . The road in either direc.. . . non disappears m~o t~e ho~on and the countryside IS rolling, 34 covered with scattered greenery. The only touch of civilization as one looks north and south, east and west, are telephone/electricity wires and poles. The place is Rim Rock Motel in Torrey, Utah near Capitol Reef National Park. We are nine days into a two week trek from Denver to Tucson on Volker Beer's Western Adventures motorcycle tour. Day in and day out our senses are assaulted by the vastness of the land and the contrasts of terrain, climate, flora , fauna and culture. Verbal or written descriptions do not do the grandeur justice and even color photos fail to capture the real feeling of being (nearly) alone with nature. There are mountains, canyons, mesas, desert and rolling arid wasteland split by long, lonely roads, sometimes black- top, sometimes dirt. If y?u ~ould p~t t~gether the ideal road rider s vacation It would probably include plenty of twisty roads combined with spectacular scenery, comfortable accommodations each night, and no worries about luggage, the bike or maintenance. Does that sound like something you'd like to do? Volker Beer had that same idea and turned it into a reality by the name of Western Adventures. In short, you get plenty of TT riding -- that's tum to tum .. in some of the most spectacular areas of the Southwest in a package that includes everything (motorcycle and all) except someone to twist the throttle for you. One of the definitions of the word adventure is "an exciting or remarkable experience." Western Adventures lives up to that and more. This particular two week jaunt through Colorado, Utah and Arizona totaled 2,200 miles in 12 days of riding. A person could certainly duplicate the tour and pernaps fin~ lod~ng at the places we stayed, but 10 doing so he .. o~she·:wouldmissoutonsharinga~d discussing each new adventure wah not only one, but many people. In addition , there is a certain flair that onedoes not encounter on what would be called a do-it-yourself tour.. A good portion of the people on each trip are from across the pond .. Germany, Switzerland, Austri.a, Great Britain and elsewhere. ThIS adds a double dose of adventure in that everyone is eager to talk to everyone else and after a day or two there doesn 't really seem to be a language barrier. The (Tucson-Denver/DenverTucson) two week package costs $1,890 for the rider and $1,190 for a passenger. This includes use of a bike, hotel accommodations for 14 nights, six dinners, six lunches, a welcome and farewell cocktail party and luggage transportation within the frame of the program. Western Adventures uses BMW motorcycles exclusively. You have a choice of the R65 (650cc), R80 (8oocc) or the RI00 (1000cc) . The bikes are insured and road ready and you get service and maintenance throughout the trip. You are accompanied by a support vehicle which is actually a converted schoolbus dubbed "El Gringo." It is a rolling workshop and carries enough spa~es to fix just about anything. If it can t be fixed , then they roll out one of ~hesparebik~. Yourlug$llgealsogoes mto the bus 10 the morrung and when you arrive at your motel it's waiting in your room. The only money you have to spend during the trip is for meals not covered, souvenirs. liquid refreshrnents, and such. There are also some occa~i~ns where you must pay for park admissions, etc. , Granted, the price may sound a bit high to some. However, you are paying for the peace of mind that comes from knowing you basically don't have to worry about a thing .. a first class tour. Once out on the road in many areas where the tour goes one quickly realizes that a mechanical problem, a flat tire or even running out of gas could quickly tum into a real bummer. To preserve the natural beauty of the land, some of the most spectacular places are literally out in the middle of nowhere. A vacation should be a vacation, not time spent worrying if your wheels are going to make it. c:r:I"T estern Adventures was - YY founded in 1978 to provide a new kind of spons touring. It was designed to allow tbe discovery of unique adventures combined with exhilarating riding experiences on