We had a scheduled four wheeled off-road adventure for the 3rd week of September. Mark contacted me and threw out the idea, of going early so we could take the little 390’s out and have some dirt fun. It sounded like a great idea, so off we went!
Looking at the map, I noticed that it was a good 1100 miles to get to our destination. We decided to meet up outside Enid OK and then we would drive to Raton NM for the night. This would break up the trip into a manageable drive, without exhausting us completely.
We had a quick stay in Raton before heading to Moab. No stay in New Mexico would be complete without getting breakfast with some good green and red chile. We stopped at Michaels in Taos for that NM food fix.
After a long day of 500 miles we rolled into our campground in Moab. More on that later. We unloaded the bikes and got camp set up. We were really tired, so went to bed early. We knew the trails would be challenging, so we needed our rest.
We woke up to a beautiful morning with a little wind blowing from time to time. Today we would take on Hurrah pass. We spoke with a couple of guys who were riding from SC and they said that Hurrah was very rough and they would think twice about doing it again. This almost scared us off, but we decided to give it a try. I am glad we did.
The trail was rough and parts were difficult, but nothing that could not be done with caution and picking the correct line. We made it up without dropping a bike. The view was amazing and we were very happy that we did the trail.
After we made our back to the pavement we decided to head over and do the La Sal loop. This is a pavement ride with scenic views in every direction. This was a great afternoon of riding. We took our time and explored campgrounds and lookouts along the way. Hours went by before we headed back to camp. If you are ever in the area, take some time and explore this loop. it is well worth it.
We ate a quick dinner and stayed up chatting with a group of mountain bikers from South Carolina. One of them was driving the Winnebago Revel. I could see me driving one of them in the future. Just need to win the lottery. The weather was a little warm, so I did not sleep the best. Morning came upon us and the sunrise was true magic. I am sorry I did not take a picture of it.
We headed into Moab and had breakfast at the Moab Diner before riding out to do Gemini bridges. This trail was a lot harder than Hurrah. It was rocky and had some good climbs thrown in. Neither one of us dropped the bikes so that was a big win! I was proud of myself when we made it to safety. The views were well worth the hard ride. *Disclaimer: I meant this was hard for my current skill level. Some of you experienced DS riders would laugh.
We made it back to camp and hung out for the rest of the evening. We cooked in camp, enjoyed a few beverages and started to think about the working part of the trip that starts tomorrow. (Report for that part of the journey soon.) mini Bridges
In Closing….
As many of you know, I am pretty new to the off-road motorcycle thing. I have been riding motorcycles for over 40 years with 99.9% of that on pavement. I have been reluctant to jump into the dual-sport tool. To be honest, I have many friends who have started riding off-road and some of them have not ended well. Just a few weeks prior to this trip, we had a friend break a leg while riding in the dirt. I am not going to lie, I have been very apprehensive. A couple of months earlier I took part in my first DS trip, as we did a few sections of the New Mexico BDR. The ride was fun, but did make me aware of the type of DS riding I wanted to do in the future.
First of all I am all about the scenery. I want to ride along creeks, travel through mountain passes and do dirt roads that take me to pretty areas. Something like this.
I came to the realization, that I do not like sand, or rough rocky roads that last for miles. I have a jeep and would much rather do those harder sections in the comfort of my jeeps cabin. This does not mean that I don’t like a little challenge, but I also want the reward to be worth the risk. There were parts of the ride in Moab, where I did not see a thing, as I was focusing so hard on not killing myself, that I let some great scenery pass me by without even a look.
This may seem odd to some, but hey that is why we love this hobby. There is plenty of rides for all skill levels. I like DS riding. I have not fallen in love with it yet. I am going to keep doing it, so stay tuned. Don’t forget to watch the video from this adventure.
What kind of riding do you all like to do? Hardcore rock crawling, sandy areas or are you a scenery collector like myself. Let me know in the comments below.
I hope you enjoyed this ride report. Check out the picture gallery from this ride. Please subscribe to our newsletter and our YouTube channel for more updates. Take care and ride safe everyone!