It's All About the Bike » Places

Best Camping Spot Ever

Moto — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:00:59 +0000

I think the title says it all. This photo made me a little jealous when Darth Nater sent it from his solitary ride from Texas to Utah. This was somewhere in New Mexico, in the Gila Wilderness. Epic.

Photo by Nathan Rafferty, somewhere in the Gila Wilderness.

Motorbikes of Paris Roubaix

Moto — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:12:34 +0000

Paris-Roubaix, otherwise known as The Hell of the North, is one of professional cycling’s most legendary events. While the Tour de France contenders stay sheltered during Spring Classics season, working on their tans in some undisclosed Mediterranean haven, the hard men of cycling nut up to test the fates on the cobblestones of Roubaix. It’s old-school, trench warfare, and it places demands on the riders and equipment they won’t see again all season until the next edition of Paris Roubaix. The bikes have to be able to handle the bone-rattling and jarring of riding over Napoleonic Era cobblestones. There might be dust, or mud. There will be blood and carnage. The only way to follow a race like this for the television crews, the team support staff, and race officials, is of course aboard a dual sport motorbike. Our correspondent, Mark Johnson, fresh off the publication of his new book Argyle Armada, was once again in the heartland of cycling for this year’s Paris Roubaix, and took a few snaps of some of the bikes that were part of this year’s race. Do yourself a favor, and head over to Velopress and pick up a copy of Argyle Armada. It features tons of Mark’s candid photos of the Garmin team with a narrative that stretches throughout last year’s historic season for them, including Johan Vansummeren‘s win at Paris Roubaix. Thanks for the photos, Mark!

Kawasaki dual sport motorcycle at Paris Roubaix.

The classic yellow of Mavic neutral support.

More Kawasaki dual sport bikes at Paris Roubaix.

Morocco Photo of the Day: 2/22/2012

Moto — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:20:13 +0000

For today’s Morocco POD, I give you a double bonus. In a previous post, our fearless guide jogged my memory by describing a location that I was having a hard time remembering. My memory is often inexplicably tied to food, and all it took was for Tim to mention the last Tajine with the whole chickens we had out on the patio of a small auberge in the mountains:

“This is the road down from Ijoukak where we passed the old gold mine from the 1920′s and then had lunch in the auberge (the whole roast chicken tajine).The road is the Ourika valley road past the lake and down to Marrakech, about 90kms in total. Last part of the adventure!”

Bon appétit!

Delicious yard bird tajine and vegetables baked to perfection.

One of our last communal meals out on the trail.

Beer Forty-Five: Moto Video Diary

Moto — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:42:49 +0000

I was going through an old back-up hard drive of some video footage gathered over the course of the last two years, and put together this short diary of some of my favorite clips. Clips are from Dualsport motorcycle adventures with the usual suspects in places like Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, and Morocco, which is kind of like Utah, but not really. Thanks to the cast and crew: Darth, Dave, Mark, Ben, Steve, Chad, Jake, Keith, Matt, Matt, Scott, am I forgetting anyone? Daryl?

Mark Johnson Moto Photo from Anza-Borrego Desert

Moto — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:14:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to all the IAATB readers. You know who you are. All 9 or 10 of you. I regret to report I haven’t been doing much moto riding lately, but I am thankful for all the great times I had this year with my riding mates. I am going through some video clips from the past couple of years, working on a little piece made up entirely of my favorite 5 second clips. It requires discipline to chop clips down to 5 seconds, but it’s going to be worth it as an exercise.

The BMW F800 is currently proving to be a hell of thing to lean my cyclocross bikes against in the garage. Sad. The tension between the two. After a season of racing the UTCX series, it has come down to just 2 races left: the State Championship and the series finale which is a double points race. Fall moto aspirations were put away on the shelf. I’ll never lose the inspiration to ride the moto, especially when Darth or another member of our posse start talking about the “next” trip. Maybe it’s my turn to suggest a destination, after seeing this photo from Mark Johnson. I thought it was from some far away country. Two Canadians on a round the world adventure. But no. This is the Anza-Borrego desert, in California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, just a couple hours from San Diego. Let me tell you a little bit about Mark: Mark and I spent some time together in Boston back in the early 90′s at Boston University, while both pursuing graduate degrees in the English Department. Mark is a writer and photographer, living in the Sand Diego area with his wife Melinda, and their boys. Surfers, cyclists, writers, world travelers, they are. Kindred spirits. I appreciate it when out of the blue, Mark forwards on a moto-related article he saw somewhere, or better yet, a snap from his own camera. I’m just throwing it out there. But maybe if we get a moto trip together to the Anza-Borrego Desert, Mark will meet us out there with camera gear and document the adventure. Sounds fun to me. Check out Mark and Melinda’s work on their site, www.ironstring.com.

Photo of Dragon in Anza-Borrego Desert by Mark Johnson/Ironstring

A Post Mortem On the Moto Season That Was

Moto — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:17:20 +0000

It’s about that time of year, every year, when my brain starts to switch over to snow mode. I squeezed in a ride last weekend, because, you know, everyone was saying “this might be the last weekend to twist the throttle for awhile.” Next comes cold weather, snow, ski season, battery tender, and looking back on not enough trips taken, not enough things done on the bike that I wanted to do.

Another perspective is to stay positive and be thankful for the riding that was done, trips taken, accidents avoided, friends made, places seen. One of my goals for this post was to comb through all the photos of the season and try to narrow it down to the top-ten, and I may still do just that, but right now, I couldn’t even narrow it down to the top 100. So I leave you with this:

It's been real, boys. Hey, are you going to finish that?

High Uintas to Flaming Gorge Dualsport Ride Part 1

Moto — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:28:36 +0000

I have lots of topics to write about from a recent dualsport moto tour through the High Uintas area of Utah and on into Flaming Gorge. For a later post, I’ll talk about the new Cardo Scala Rider G4 Powerset communication system that Darth and I were testing out. It’s a pretty cool new toy that works well for two-way communication between riders, and connects via Bluetooth with my iPhone (or other Bluetooth devices). I’ve never been much of a fan of wearing headphones while riding, but it sure is nice when your mind starts to wander on long stretches of nowhere road to be able to roll some tunes from the “Moto Playlist.” This post is more simply about how amazing it is to live in a place like Utah and have so many options right out your backdoor to go from garage to middle of nowhere in a matter of hours. Places like Hoop Lake and Beaver Meadow Reservoir. John Jarvie Ranch and the Swinging Bridge.

The one limiting factor this season has been the record-setting snowpack, and how long it has stuck around. Keep in mind we’re hitting mid-July, and some of the passes we rode on this last trip were not possible just a weekend or two before. For example, Elizabeth Ridge, the 10,235 feet high summit of the North Slope road still had considerable snow on top, and they (not sure who they are, but it’s got to be someone) are just now grading the road from the decay that results from a brutal winter. Another thing to note: some of the stream crossings in the High Uintas that you might normally blast through are pretty deep and swift. It seems like the water is just starting to come down off the mountains. We crossed one stream that required a two-man push to get the bikes across. Water was up to mid-thigh, and while walking across without a bike to hold onto, you could really feel the force wanting to carry you with the current.

After getting one bike across said stream crossing, a rider on a new KLR appeared coming from the opposite direction. He watched us wade back across to get the 2nd bike and do our routine. We told him we’d gladly help him get his bike across since we were already wet, or video him, if he was game to try to ride it. But he thought better and turned around to follow us in the direction we were heading, to the North Slope Road. At that point, our new friend Steve said he better head back to SLC, and he had quite a ride ahead of him to get back before dark. We still didn’t know if we would make it all the way through to Mountain View, Wyoming, as the road was still posted as closed, and there were some rumors of a bridge being out. On the way down the North Slope Road, we stopped a Jeep coming up the other way. He told us it was pretty rough for the next 10 miles, but it ended up being more like 2, so we had no problems getting down to Mountain View for gas and a Red Bull stop.

While resting for a moment at the Maverick in Mountain View, we made a call to Mark Wilson, the owner of Red Canyon Lodge in Flaming Gorge, to see how late the lodge’s restaurant would be open. We had to decide whether to get something to eat in Mountain View, or if we had enough to take a scenic dirt route to Flaming Gorge. Mark said definitely take the scenic route, and if we happened to arrive after 9:30 pm, when the kitchen shuts down, he’d set aside a couple hot plates for us. Turns out that was the right choice, and we still made it before 9:00 pm, giving us plenty of time to get a table and sit down to an excellent and civilized dinner with Mark at his place.

It may not look that deep, but it was.

The problem with waterproof boots: they keep water in, too.

Snow at the top of Elizabeth Ridge in the Uinta mountains.

Golden light at Beaver Meadow Reservoir.

Darth Nater at Beaver Meadow Reservoir. Extra points for lens flare!

Beers of Morocco

Moto — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 03:32:56 +0000

If you were thinking this was going to be a lengthy post about all the different beers we sampled while touring Morocco on KTM enduro bikes, sorry to disappoint. Morocco is predominantly a Muslim country, and they just don’t drink a lot of alcohol. So if the kind of motorcycle touring you like to do is from pub to pub, I’d suggest another country. But we did have our beer. Had it not been for our fearless leader and local fixers, this posse of Americans would have had a rough time chilling after the daily dosage of 250 kilometers or so per day. We became quite fond of the Speciale Flag pilsner, mostly because that’s what was available, and even better if it was ice cold. We encountered another beer called Casablanca only once along the way. According to a Wikipedia article about beer in Morocco, there is also a light lager in Morocco called Stork, and Heineken is available, but all of them are brewed by Brasseries du Maroc. We started and finished the tour from a home base of an oasis outside of Marrakech called Jnane Allia. Our man Mohammed always made sure there was a platter of ice cold Speciales, all you had to do was wish for it, and it would happen. We were also quite amused to arrive in the Erg Chegaga dunes bivouac after a particularly arduous ride through hot temperatures and rocky terrain, to discover ice cold Speciales waiting for us in the main tent.

Cold ones waiting for us at Riad Dar Chamaa in Ouarzazate.

Nothing like a cold Speciale Flag pilsner.

Mohammed took good care of us at Jnane Allia. Cold Speciales.

Steve especially enjoyed his share of Speciales in Morocco.

One last salute to a great adventure, with what else? Speciales!

Moto Cuisine of Morocco

Moto — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:45:53 +0000

The most-often asked question I’ve heard since returning from a 10 day motorcycle tour around Morocco: How was the food? The food was amazing. Simple and traditional would be the best way to describe it.

Our guide Tim assured us that all of the places we would eat on this trip were “safe” as he and his staff only took clients to clean and reputable establishments, and the key was to avoid drinking the tap water. That would also apply to ice, or eating leafy salads washed in tap water. Pretty much the same ground rules as if you were going to Mexico. I guess our candy-ass western stomachs can’t handle the bugs in the water, which is why I brought an emergency prescription for Cipro, just in case.

Back to the food. Most days, we had a simple euro-style breakfast consisting of coffee and tea, fresh squeezed orange juice, bread with butter and jam. On some days we also were offered Moroccan pancakes which were thin and light, more like a crepe. Closer to the city of Marrakech, we had yogurt, but way out on the route, there was none to be had. Lunches were usually at cafes chosen by Tim along the route, and most often we ate Brochettes of lamb, chicken and beef, always accompanied by heaping plates of hot frites. Another common lunch item was Tajine (also spelled Tagine, or Tajin). Tajine refers to the meal, as well as the traditional earthenware dish it is cooked in. The dish is a shallow baking dish with a volcano-like cover, that seals in all the juices while the contents are being baked or cooked over an open fire. We had many varieties of Tajine along the route. The main ingredient is usually chicken or Kefta (meatballs made from seasoned ground lamb), usually with a couple eggs cracked over the topped.

Dinners consisted of traditional Cous Cous, usually with a meat and steamed vegetables, and accompanied by a broth to pour over your pile. Sometimes we had simply seasoned pasta, and one time we had an interesting salad made up of cooked rice and tuna, garnished with all sorts of vegetables. After awhile, we got used to the plates of green and black olives that would always be offered prior to the meal. I got used to Steve always asking for vinegar. Desserts were usually cold and fresh local melon slices, very refreshing. But by the end of the trip, I think I may have had one too many servings of Tajine, and I was looking forward to a big El Chubasco burrito in Park City. The Cipro stayed in my travel bag, as any disturbances in the force were minor.

One of the many beautiful Tajines we devoured.

A traditional Cous Cous dish with chicken and steamed vegetables.

Tuna and Rice salad with garnishes of Vegetables.

Time for more Brochettes and Frites at a roadside cafe.

Salad made of tomatoes, green peppers, onions.

This was the best Tajine we had, lots of roasted chicken and vegetables.

The Weaping Tiger at Comptoir Darna in Marrakech.

Tim looks ready for more Tajine.

Riding the Dunes & Tea on Lake Iriki

Moto — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:15:31 +0000

By far, one of the most surreal experiences of our Morocco trip was arriving at a Bivouac (Steve: B-I-V-O-U-A-C) in the middle of the dunes. It was at the end of one of our longest days, partly due to an extra long lunch break to wait for the sand storms to die down. After we arrived, we chilled (not really) with some cold Flag Especiale beers and Cokes in the main tent of the bivouac for an hour or so, then remounted the bikes for a little instruction by Tim Skilton and closely monitored playtime in the dunes. We waited until the sun started to recede and the temperature dropped, which supposedly allowed the sand to firm up. Tim described riding the dunes like piloting a boat. Hang way back and twist the throttle, and you would plane above the sand with a little luck. Relax the throttle hand, and the front end of the bike would dive deep into the sand. The next day, we left early to avoid the heat on a route that would skirt the dunes, but our newfound sand riding technique would come in quite handy, as there was plenty of it as we followed a ghost of a 4×4 route to the dry bed of Lake Iriki. It was here that Tim promised we would stop for tea in a most peculiar place.