Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Kanab Trail Ride - which my group planned to participate Ln - actually listed a variety of rides that Lndudes one-, twoand three-day outings that cover as little as 30 miles and as many as 500. Highlights Lncluded rides to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and an overnight stay Ln Mesquite, Nevada, for a night of gambling. A phone call to Kanab TraLl Ride event organizer, Jim Sloat, uncovered another unique quality to this ride. "We typically don't get a lot of participants on our Fall rides, so our actual riding schedule can be hand-tailored to the ridLng skills of our participants. We're real flexible with our rides and we're always willing to give them what they want." Thus enticed, r informed Jim that 1 would be comLng to the ride with two other MLnnesotans, Tim Zierman and Dick Carpenter. We would be meetLng another friend of ours from California, Rich Knapp. Though not exactly ready for the rsDE, we.can all hold our own on a motorcycle, a fact that Jim said~would defLnitely Lncrease the ridLng possibilities. "It's been a little dry here recently, and unless it rains the ridLng conditions will be dusty with plenty of deep sand," he said. Minnesota isn't exactly known for its deep sandwashes, but we were willLng to give it a shot. My home state is known for two things: lots of lakes and a short riding season. Due to cold weather, we usually only get Ln about seven months of riding before the snow flies again, so we have to try and cram a whole years' worth of riding into about 30 weeks. We learn to ride Ln all types of weather conditions. Just the thought of being able to ride during the first week in November wasn't going to be spoiled by a little dust or sand. After all, by this time of the drive, even the scenery couldn't prevent us from feeling a bit fuzzy. Our conversations had begun to ramble poLntlessly as the 1400-mile trip started taking its toll. But here we were only an hour from our planned destination, and things were starting to look promising - literally. As we traveled along Highway 89, the trees were still displaying their fall colors against the backdrop of painted canyons and ravines. It appeared that the stage was set for what looked leke a week of spectacular riding. Unfortunately, that experience would be postponed slightly for me, as 1 missed the first part of day one's ride waiting for Rich to arrive from California. The rest of the group went out for the morning riqe, and when Rich arrived by noon, we quLckly prepared to meet up with the others at Mount Carmel Junction (17 miles north of Kanab) for the afternoon portion of the ride, which was scheduled to go 100 miles; After hooking up with the group, we spent most of our time on gravel road and two-track with an equal amount of state highway getting us to and from the Mount Carmel Junction area. As Jim had warned, the conditions were extremely dusty, but we soon learned to keep a good distance between riders so the dust could settle. Most of the area was made up of close, tight canyons with pine-treelined ravines. Around each corner awaited another scenic overlook. At the day's completion, Rainer asked uS what type of riding we were looking for. We explained we were in love with the scenery. but that we were interested Ln a little more challenging terra.Ln. He suggested the Wahweap Creek, Paradise Canyon and Smoky Mountain ride for day two. It would be (Top) Nice cones: On the ride's Incredible final day, the crew stopped to check out these white pinnacles - an interesting geological formation. (Left) For those who think dual sport is all pavement and dirt roads, a quick jaunt up rock-littered Wahweep Creek will quickly convince you otherwise. (Above) One thing you quickly learn in the canyon- and cliff-laced terrain of Utah, Is don't wander off-course. Rain canceled day five of the ride, but made for Ideal conditions on day six. year, our bikes were usually tucked away'for their annual hibernation. . As we made our last turn off 1-70 toward Kanab our senses were a little dulled. After a 24-hour cross-country 150-~~e th:~ ki~ed a ~ - :bout"a ia:nt was off by us hauling our bLkes about 40 . miles east of Kanab. ~. Gravel road and two-track made up the first 25 miles of the day's ride, bring- . ing us to Coyote PoLnt and Jacks Riggs Bench - two spectacular vantage points that overlooked literally hundreds of miles of open canyons and plateaus. We then proceeded to Wahweep Creek which was another 25 miles away. The Wahweep Creek was a 3D-mile sandwash that was riddled with rocks. The 100-yard-wide wash wound its way between sometimes equally tall white, yellow and orange cliffs. After a brief lunch and burnmLng a few extra gallons of fuel from some hunters. we proceeded 15 miles east to Paradise Canyon, which defLnitely lived up to its name. The gorge's orange and red walls rose 200 to

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