I havent been riding on the weekends this month like I normally do, just because of work and other commitments, as well as its been pretty cold lately. This weekend it was warm, and earlier in the week Pat talked about trailering his bikes down to do some riding and leaving them here to do some exploring of southern utah. Ive done that here ad naseum, as most of my friends think riding to zion is a day of hardcore riding, but Pat is different. He’s like me, where he likes to explore and see new things make him curious and ride new roads to explore, so friday morning when it was confirmed that he was coming, It made my day. He showed up with his kids and friday night we hooked up and made plans to show his wife zion the next day. Robyn was ready to go too, and with my kids wanting to earn babysitting money, as well as a desire to have my kids get to know their cousins, the plan seemed to fit perfectly. In the morning, we ride.
Mental note to self: Always remember the smile on Pats face as he pulled up to the convenience store that friday on the fat boy, and how much fun he said he had on that bike. Also remember he hole shotted me three times on highway 91, even if for a few feet. Our tires both busted loose.
Pat slept in and we started later than I expected, but the timing was still perfect and noone cared we were getting on the road at 11. I certainly didnt. I was just excited to to go with the wives and have a good time. I found a pair of leathers in my closet that quite frankly, I have no freaking clue where they came from, but I cut them to fit robyn and once we hit the harley shop got her the boots she wanted, so the day couldnt have started any better. We left the dealership by noon and headed out towards Zion National Park. The weather and the company was just right. Good rides are effortless if the the people you are with are right.
We headed up through zion, through the tunnel. Robyn took some video on the camera: Heres on the switchbacks, stopping to take it all in:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM43pymbOMs&hl=en&fs=1]
As we headed through the tunnel:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwH2cxaUWBE&hl=en&fs=1]
The mid part of the Zion tunnel:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_O-4Pe7Rkc&hl=en&fs=1]
Coming out of the Zion Tunnel:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzNxm-Mpi1g&hl=en&fs=1]
we then rode through kanab, stopped at the buckskin tavern in Kanab for a couple, then to Pipe springs and on home. Was a good riding day. I gotta say, Staci is a GREAT rider. She handles her bike better than any of my friends, keeps great formation and was a straight up pleasure to ride with. Robyn and I both had a great time. I want to do this a bunch more. It was great to take robyn, and adding staci to the mix was perfect. Their bikes are in my moms garage, so hopefully we can sneak a few more rides in over the next few fall and winter months.
Im feeling the pull to explore today pretty bad. If I didnt have a meeting on monday I’d be on the road already. I think next weekend I need to point my bike in a direction, pack my sleeping bag and sleep out under some familiar stars with a new skyline. Im running out of time. I need to feel that feeling of a new experience. I can feel it right now.