After the ride on the Potash and to the top of the "Island in the Sky" I finally figured out I was back in the saddle as far as Motorcycling....41 years after my first bike, this trip the day before was like something I had never done on two wheels...even in the handful of MotoX Races I had participated{poorly but I finished all but one} back in the Mid 1970s, when I was a young Hell raiser in my middle 20s....
The next day, just three of us, Borneo, Me, and Fred the real Hell Raising Old Fart{not as old as me however} from the Nevada/California border town of Verdi, would lead the way....out Kane Creek Canyon road high into the desert mountains above Canyonlands....a couple of "Issues" would see that we did not make it to the top{although those two and a handful of others would the next day}...
Riding into Kane Creek Canyon...
First off{damn me for not getting more photos}, after reaching what I thought was the "summit" of the ride...Fred yells, "Let's Go" and heads off down and around a rocky ledge...which turns out some portions, where vehicles, including trailers and pickup trucks, were traveling the other way...were 6 feet or less wide. For someone not thrilled about heights, this was a heart pounding BP rising trail, but what the Hell? I followed along...the most hairy part being a thin ledge where a young guy in a pickup, hauling a haul trailer, was coming the other way...Fred sped by him with no problem, I stopped, Borneo then followed Fred, just inches from the edge of the trailer and inches from the drop off on the right, which, let's say was a few hundred feet down the mountain...I finally said "F_ It" put the TW into gear, and it jumped towards the edge...I hit the front brake, then turned left and told the young man in the truck, "Don't Move that Thing"....and I rode by, not look at the trailer or edge of the earth....I made it and on we went....
The Overlook, I thought this was the end of the ride up....Wrong!
I had promised myself not to do anything like that, given my festering fear of heights...but once done, I was ready to roll onward and upwards....
The next issue was me, riding in the middle of the threesome{being the lest experience rider of the 3}...heading up a patch where I hit red sand, then flat rock, and quickly back to the sand....losing control of my front wheel the bike and rider{me} headed for the next cliff, not as far down{only 10 feet or so} but straight into some nasty looking jagged rocks, if I didn't do something...I did, and pulled the tire and handlebars to the left, the bike slid towards the edge and laid on top of my right knee...the back knobby fat tire and wheel hung over the edge....
Saved Again....
Borneo came up from behind, quickly dismounted and pulled the bike from the edge...as a weight lifter I was impressed with his quick response, and must a bit more than disappointed in my weak response and ability to lift the 300 pound bike...
"Damn Getting Old Sucks"
But Kane Creek Canyon is something else.....
Well Borneo saved my bacon, and while we stood there thinking about our next move, we could hear Fred and his "Betty Boop" coming back looking for us....They found us, but Fred and "Betty" had their own set of problems to deal with....
That part of the story next!
back later>>>>
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