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This is the graphic on the National Park Service Website for Canyonlands National Park. \u00a0I figure they post this in June and take it down in September. \u00a0Today’s forecast (August 8) is for high tempratures in the mid 90’s \u00a0The forecast for July 18 was for a high of 105.<\/p>\n
One Hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n
Tuesday morning we got up early. \u00a0One of the guys (Bip not Gary) had a reputation as an early riser and considering we were packed in the AirBnB like sardines once he was stirring we all got up.<\/p>\n
This was all part of the plan. \u00a0The forecast was for a picture perfect day if riding in an oven is your idea of perfect. \u00a0We wanted to get an early start and we did. \u00a0We had a brief discussion of safety and what to bring and we decided that between the group we’d bring one tent and one sleeping bag “just in case.” \u00a0I also carry my bike cover at all times which can be used for emergency shelter and as a signal too as it’s red. \u00a0I had my 3 liter camelbak and my 10 liter MSR dromedary bag which I had filled and put in the freezer the night before. \u00a0My goal was to have more than enough water for me and plenty to share should anyone else run dry. \u00a0With almost 3.5 gallons of water on the bike I felt prepared.<\/p>\n
Off we went into the great unknown. \u00a0110 or so miles with no shade, no services and a very expensive rescue should one be necessary. \u00a0Oh and don’t ride off a cliff please.<\/p>\n
We ran the loop from the south meaning we went clockwise. \u00a0I was very excited. \u00a0I determined the day before that each rider was not only good on a bike but great to be around off the bike. \u00a0We were going to adventure together today, that was for sure and I was happy to be a part of it. \u00a0Very happy.<\/p>\n
We stopped for a bunch of photo ops. \u00a0In the White Rim trail there’s a photo op every 500 yards but Jim, Chad and Stephen have a real eye for this sort of thing so the stops were all at spectacular vistas and most thankfully more than 500 yards apart.<\/p>\n
Group selfie courtesy Chad Warner The trail itself is a great ride. \u00a0Huge views, big drops and scenery out of the movies, because they make movies here.<\/p>\n With 9 riders there was a little bit of the herding cats element to the ride. \u00a0Those of us out front made a “wrong” turn to go up to the closed visitors center; then we came back down only to turn around to go back up for a photo. No worries and good fun!<\/p>\n The temperature broke 100 at about 11:00. \u00a0In endurance riding such as the Iron Butt Rally I’ve learned that once the temperature is over 98.6 there’s no point in having mesh or open vents. \u00a0As the air is hotter than our ideal body temp allowing air flow at a higher temperature is the same as standing in a convection oven unless you have plenty of water to get your shirt wet. \u00a0The challenge here is with the low humidity one dries off very fast.<\/p>\n That’s all good if you’re just sitting there and twisting that and in that application it is very effective. \u00a0Things are a bit different when you’re riding a GS off pavement. \u00a0Obviously the speeds are much lower but you’re not just “sitting there and twisting that”, there is a bit of work involved riding off pavement on a big bike.<\/p>\n A few hours later it was 103 and I started to think, F-Me it’s effing hot. \u00a0Still a ton of fun but it’s hot. \u00a0We’d stop every now and again for a rest and what shade we could find.<\/p>\n Cools as cucumbers we are. \u00a0Dust added for manly effect. As we motored along I had my first “this sucks” feeling coupled with “how much effing hotter is it going to get?” \u00a0I admit I had allowed myself to get soft over the years and it had been a very long time since I was outside in such heat let alone doing something physical. \u00a0But I was on the bike in an amazing place with amazing riders who were surely just as hot as I so I hitched up my big boy pants, took a swig of now hot water and motored on. \u00a0I reset my odo on the way in so I knew we were only half way or so. \u00a0It is what it is so suck it up and keep moving. \u00a0It was an easy choice as it was the only option.<\/p>\n Every now and again we’d come across a restroom in the middle of nowhere. \u00a0The entire park is a 100% no trace environment meaning you bag your poo and carry it out or you find one of these pit toilets. \u00a0As we came around a turn at a great vista point I saw two pickup trucks with trailers, a bunch of bicycles and a large EZ up providing shade to the group about 100 yards uphill from the restroom. \u00a0Was it a mirage? \u00a0What the hell are they doing? \u00a0Bicycles? Here?<\/p>\n It was no mirage. \u00a0It was a Boy Scout troupe out for a three day ride on their bicycles while the adults led and followed in the trucks. \u00a0They were just finishing their lunch and invited us to sit for a spell. \u00a0We had a fantastic time chatting with the boys and their scout masters. \u00a0I don’t think they fully appreciated the achievement ahead but when doing difficult things the feeling of accomplishment is distant indeed. \u00a0Right now none of this mattered. \u00a0We were enjoying a moment with some wonderful kids some of whom could be future leaders of America when one of the scoutmasters said:<\/p>\n “Would you like some ice cream?”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I scream, you scream we all scream for ice cream! <\/p>\n Amazing things, dry ice and a Yeti cooler. \u00a0105 degrees and we’re having ice cream at least 50 miles from the closest freezer. \u00a0We finished up, thanked the scouts and then dealt with the fact that we still had at least two to three hours of riding left.<\/p>\n There’s not too much to say about the backside of this ride. \u00a0My highlight was a good hard drop on a hill. \u00a0I came around a tight turn, went to go up and over there to the left is Chad with a Giant Camera! \u00a0Did you know that half the time a photographer gets a great photo of a biff it’s because the mere presence of the photographer causes<\/strong> the biff? \u00a0He may as well have been pointing a surface to air missile at me. \u00a0I look up through the turn, see the rocky hill, see the camera and next thing I know I’m on my ass. \u00a0No pain, a busted piece of plastic that’s supposed to break to save a more expensive part and a bit of wounded pride but I came up laughing. \u00a0Damn you big cameras! \u00a0Considering we had some seriously good photographers with us I better get used to it. \u00a0I laugh thinking about it; the last time this happened was at the Pine Barrens 500. Same deal except at speed. \u00a0See the obstacle, see the camera and wham! \u00a0On my ass. \u00a0As they say on Social Media. LOL. Before I could figure out what happened I was joined by a few guys who were more than ready to check me over and make sure everything was good but it wasn’t that kind of crash. \u00a0I accepted some help righting the bike and carried on.<\/p>\n At one point we saw a rider coming the other way, also on a GS Adventure. \u00a0He had removed his jacket and strapped it to the back and his helmet was strapped to a holder on the right side. \u00a0I was impressed with his level of confidence, if I was sans jacket on my “photo shoot” I would be sporting a major bruise if not worse. \u00a0If my lid had been strapped to the side of the bike it would have been damaged. \u00a0I also thought it was a bit late in the day to see him where he was but for all I knew they were planning on camping in the park.<\/p>\n As we rode on\u00a0I watched the temp bounce between 104 and 107. \u00a0That’s hot and I was starting to struggle a bit telling myself that if I started to puke we were in trouble; then we found the sand. Deep sand. \u00a0We don’t have deep sand in New England except at the beach and if you ever want to find out what real trouble is try taking a motorized anything on a beach in Connecticut. \u00a0Gravel, rocks, snow, tar snakes, choppy pavement, steep loose hills; none of these things give me pause like deep sand. \u00a0I can ride it but it takes a few minutes to remember how and I didn’t have a few minutes. \u00a0In this heat I didn’t have the energy for a drop or two. \u00a0I gladly accepted help from Larry which at the time was a real good thing.<\/p>\n This would prove to be my last stop. \u00a0As we got going again I felt I was heading toward real problems. \u00a0I still had plenty of water but by now it was hot water. \u00a0It took care of dry mouth but did nothing for cooling. \u00a0I felt at this point the best course of action was no more stops, just keep a steady pace for the last 30 miles of trail and the transit back to town. \u00a0I think this was understood by the group because at one point Rick the navigator held up at a turn and when I arrived he just pointed and said go. \u00a0Bip not Gary was in the same boat and we both made good pace to pavement, then to a gas station where we walked in without a word and went straight to the ice and water. \u00a0The man in charge knew what he was looking at, took mercy upon us and didn’t charge us an arm and leg for abusing his ice maker.<\/p>\n When Bip not Gary and I felt ready we got on our bikes to head into town and the AirBnB. \u00a0We returned just as the rest of the guys were locking up and leaving to go the the bar which was the last place I wanted to be. \u00a0Thankfully we didn’t get locked out. \u00a0I got off the bike, enjoyed a few dry heaves from the heat and went inside for a cold shower and colder beverage. \u00a0I felt like hammered shit but I was happy. Bip not Gary’s bike was hammered; as we returned to the house he complained of a big pull to one side when braking. \u00a0It was determined that his fork tube was separating which is a known issue. \u00a0Known to the point of a recent service bulletin from BMW which was so recent that Bip not Gary’s bike had yet to be updated. \u00a0 We decided we’d figure out what to do about it tomorrow and went inside.<\/p>\n It’s been said that the strongest bonds are formed under duress and I believe this to be true. \u00a0I was so impressed with this group of men and so happy to be a part of it. \u00a0Is the White Rim Trail easy? \u00a0Is it Big Bike friendly? \u00a0That’s a hard question to answer because so much of this is subjective but I can say for certain that if you want to dramatically ramp up the challenge of any dual sport ride do it when it’s over 100 degrees with no relief available for 100 miles. \u00a0That’s the White Rim Trail in mid July.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/em>Chris Jones, Jim Bean and me taking a rest
\n<\/em>Rick Giroux photo<\/em>
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\nL-R \u00a0Bip not Gary, Chad, me and Chris
\nRick Giroux photo<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nyemoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ice-craeam2.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1\")
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