I acquired the LT in March of 2004 and had little time to ride it save for day trips due to my work schedule. I got laid off the previous October from a high pay, high stress, job with lots of vacation time and decided to sell motorcycles for a living. September came around and I NEEDED to ride somewhere so I took an unpaid week off from the dealership and set out on a ride Al and I had planned.
Initially, we thought to go to the Black Hills in SD and backtrack to Yellowstone, down to Zion National Park and home through Nevada and Oregon. Al caught the flu and bailed so I set out to do the ride solo on Sept 12 - my birthday.
It was raining cats and dogs as I headed up Rt 18 for North Bend and I-90. It was about 45 degrees when I bailed for coffee and a mental check at North Bend. I considered postponing the ride till the morning but also just wanted to ride. I needed to be mentally right with which option I chose.
It rained all the way to Spokane save for a dry spell near Vantage. The rain continued through Idaho and had intensified to raining pigs and chickens going into Missoula. I figured to try and ride through the rain but by Bozeman I was discouraged and called it a day. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
It wasn't and was no warmer at 40 degrees. I had some coffee and considered continuing to Rapid City but thought I'd be in cold and rain all the way. I decided to hell with that and back tracked to I-15 and headed South for Salt Lake City where it was reported to be about 75 degrees. It remained cold and wet till just into Idaho where the rain abated.
While having a coffee break at a fuel stop I met a bunch of British men riding a variety of cool motorcycles. They had shipped their bikes over and had intended a run to Alaska. The 2 feet of snow in Whitehorse ended that for them and they were headed home "where it is warm". Nice guys - I love to meet riders of that ilk - cheery, love the ride, and no airs about them.
It remained cold half way through Salt Lake City. Then it felt like bursting through a membrane. 50 degrees on moment, 85 degrees the very next. The warmth felt wonderful until the traffic jam and then I quickly wished I could get my cold weather gear off. The older I get the less tolerant I seem to be. Seems like the extremes are more intense - freeze your ass off one moment then sweat yer nuts off the next. I called it quits at Nephi and soaked in the pool. Wonderful! No thoughts about the job and finally just warm.
I aroze to 60 degrees and clear sky. Awesome. After a motel coffee and doughnut I took Rt. 28 South to Salina, I-70 to Sevier and then Rt. 89 to Zion National Park. I have never been riding in Utah before and am amazed at the scenery. Normally I would be hammering hard to get someplace but not here at this time. The scenery is incredible! So much is the case that I detour into Bryce Canyon to have a look see.
Satisfied with a small taste, I motored to Zion N.P. The pictures don't do the place justice. The unfortunate part is the road through the park is very narrow and has few turn-outs where one can pull over and gape or take a few photos. All it takes is a couple of large motorhomes to use up all the space which leaves no room for even me on my little bike. I guess I understand it and acknowledge the beauty of the place can make one forget about other people, but I had words with one fellow who objected to me squeezing my LT between his and another behemoth.
He wanted to leave and my parking prevented it. Had I known his intentions I'd have done something else but I didn't know, and so now he is yelling at me. When he was done I pointed out how his and his companion's vehicles prevented other folk from stopping. He will have to be inconvenienced while I get my share on film - so, piss off mate, and have another look till I'm done! We were both gone in 5 minutes but I really got little opportunity to stop and gawk because of this phenomenon.
I really enjoyed the tunnel and the downhill ride to the main visitor's center. Parking lot is full so ride in circles till a stall opens up. I have a leak, and then check out the European tourist women with the hairy pits and legs while I drink some water and make a call home. I don't get that - all that hair - must feel like sleeping with your uncle if you tangle with one of those chicks.
I get very restless and feel exposed in a crowd so I saddle up and head for Cedar City and a shot into Nevada. My goal is Ely, NV. The ride from Utah is more of the same cool scenery with wonderful motorcycle roads. Stuff changes to more high desert but there are mountain roads with trees that one rides through, offering a delightful mixed experience. I turn North on Rt. 93 and divert to Caselton - an old sivler mining town - for fuel. After that I enter the Great Basin. No crowds around here.
In short order I make Ely and set in for the night. Met a rider finishing a month long trip around the States on a sport bike. Lives in Portland - nice fellow. The proprietor of the motel appears to be a trans-gender person and she has her script memorized. Every customer endures the presentation in her not quite female voice. I heard it 4 times before it was my turn.
The experience made me wonder how Linda was doing. She was my boss and at one time a very handsom man that the female employees in our company lusted after. In any event she felt the need to become a woman after many years feeling trapped in a man's body, doing manly things. It was a tough time in the company for all of us who wanted her to succeed. And proably even tougher for Linda. She quit about a year later and we all lost touch with her. I remember screwing up once forgetting Linda was now a female and it embarrassed us both - I made sure I was correct with this gal here in Ely. Though I am an asshole, I did not want to be hurtful.
In the morning I head West on Rt. 50 known as the "Lonliest Highway". I don't know if that is true today, but it sure is lightly travelled. It is 28 degrees when I depart and the road is frosty. The bike feels as if it is slipping around a bit like it has soft tires but I know the tire pressures are right - so I go with care. The LT has heated seats - I'm a guy so have resisted the use of them but this morning I give them a try for the first time as nobody will know. Oh My! I thought heated grips were the be all and end all - not any more. I keep them on for 70 miles and only turn them off when I stop for breakfast in Eureka.
Seems like Eureka has a symphony orchestra and other cool features one would not expect to encounter in the middle of Nevada. I suppose if you lived on the Lonliest Road in America you would make up cool stuff to entertain yourself - but a symphony orchestra? In the casino/bar/restaurant I'm served my food by a waitress wearing a Tee shirt emblazoned with WRANGLERS down the left side as you looked at her, and accross in small letters so it read: Western, Ranchers, Against, No, Good, Leftist, Environmentalist, Radical, Shitheads. I got the message, and didn't feel at all bad about the rabbit I clobbered with the LT about 20 miles on down the road. I have wondered, off and on since then, if she wore that T-shirt to the symphony.
Nevada is, to me, a perfect place for a motorbike and people like me. The road surfaces I've been on are superb, and there are plenty of curvy bits to push the big LT into. I'm coming to terms with this big bike. Even though it is huge it handles extraordinarily well. I'd say it does twisty bits as well as my RT and with less stress on my part. It's heavy at walking speeds but even that isn't as frightening any more. I divert North on Rt. 305, an even more fun road, with very scenic vistas. I've seen 5 cars so far.
I need gas and venture East on I-80 for Elko, and after that turn North on Rt. 275. Again an astounding road and scenery that changes from desert like to wooded highland as I apporach Mountain City. I remember somebody in the LDR community suggesting caution is needed here. With that in mind I crawl along at the speed limit. Sure enough the radar detector fires up. In a mile or two I wick it up to a bit over the limit and spy a rider a mile or so ahead. Let's go see who it is.
I never caught up enough to say hello. This guy is on a big BMW GS and hauling ass. I could see him hunched down over the tank bag and then he'd sit up, chop the throttle, and blast into a corner and then hunch down as he'd roll on the throttle. Very sweet - we are hauling at over the ton and he's familiar with the road so I use him as a rolling benchmark. I quit the game as we approached Mountain Home, ID and let him escape. I don't want a ticket or a collission with a soccer mom in an SUV.
I hadn't eaten since breakfast so devoured a Whopper and a Coke at a handy Burger King then headed West on I-84. I was done when I got to Ontario, OR and got a motel for the night. I wasn't real hungry but walked around in the drizzle finding a coffee shop and ordering a double Latte. The place also made these fruit and Veggie juice drinks and I had a couple of those too. Then I waddled to my room - and in an hour had the screaming shits. I don't know if it was the Whopper or the veggie juice but whatever it was got me into my vowels for the rest of the night.
The run up to Washington through Pendleton and then to Yakima is a snore as I have done it many times. It begins to rain as I head home on Rt. 12 over White Pass and the temperature drops to what I left just a few days ago. I'm thinking of the trips I need to do in Utah, AZ, and NV in the coming year. It hasn't been much of a riding year either, but I have found a new line of work that is satisfying and fresh - at least for me, and I'm pretty happy. I'll plan my rides around my new work life.
I also really like this K1200LT. I have been a bit timid around it because of it's size but as long as I respect it and remember it is a touring bike it performs superbly and economically.