Out of Colorado Into Utah

I am still running behind on these blogs and a lot has been happenning travel wise. Our one night in Crested Butte led to some itinerary cahnges for Bo and I, with the rest of the team heading for Lake Havasu in Arizona and Bo and I deciding to spend extra time in Utah. We rose early and set off on our own leaving the team to sober up at their leisure. Mike (Dino and Craig's younger brother) has been working over time capturing this trip on high quality video and film. He is involved in movie production and will be making a film of the event when he returns. Here is a link to Mike's website and more pictures which you may find interesting.http://gallery.me.com/msr_nz#100067 

Here are some shots taken from our landing at Crested Butte - as you can see it is a beautiful place.

 

It was strange at first to be riding on our own without the rest of the team but three days at Havasu wasn't in our plans. So we took to opportunity to ride to Moab in Utah, where we would spend the next two nights based in Moab so we could ride Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Canyon State Park (where they shot Thelma & and Louise and Mission Impossible) and The Arches National Park. As soon as we approached Utah, the climate went from a cool 15 degrees in the morning to around 40 degrees. Finally reaching Utah was a special moment.

The decision to base ourselves in Moab was good on a number of levels as we got to spend some quality time in this amazing piece of geography and more than one night in the same bed. Moab rocks - as soon as we checked in we found the receptionist also rode Harley's and she sent us to a nearby bar where the beer was cheap and the locals friendly. Just what we needed after a 250 mile ride. The next day it was straight to Canyonland Dead Horse and The Arches. We took so many pictures it is difficult to choose but here are a couple.

This day went way to quick, and we covered nearly 150 miles of National and State Parks, all within 30 miles of Moab. The scenery was stunning and words and pictures can't really do them justice. This is beautiful country on a monumental scale and worth making the time to visit. On top of that Moab is a real little party town and all the shops, selling everything from beautiful art and western antiques to rubbish' stay open late. Meanwhile the rest of the team had some real drama when "Laney" hit a corner too fast and had an off. Luckily he only sustained some bad grazes and the bike was rideable. They made it to Bryce Canyon without further incident. Meanwhile Bo and I had another great night in Moab and tomorrow we ride Monument Valley.