[dsn_klr650] nklr: insurance company recommendations and\o

[Ronald Wells]

Charles, Great trip report! You actually rode like I imagine riding but I usually pass up all of those great side roads because I "need" to make more mileage. Ron -- --- Ronald Wells Charles wrote;

> The bike and I made it back from a 10 day trip unscathed. It was long, > beautiful and hot and dry. > The first day I drove from Santa Cruz, CA to Carson City, NV. I got my > scariest moment over with right away that day, when, during a high-speed pass > of a big RV/trailer rig, the bike ran out of gas just when I was 2 bike > lengths ahead of it while in the oncoming traffics lane. There was a bumper > to bumper line of vehicles behind him, so my only choice was to > instantaneously swerve across his bow and into the emergency lane, where it > started right-up after switching to reserve. This was my fault, I > underestimated the lesser mileage one gets with a full load, headwinds and 70 > miles per hour. I never let my tank get too low after this! > Going-over 8573 ft. Carson Pass via the 88 was gorgeous, with very large snow > drifts piled-up on each side of the road. > Leaving Carson City in the morning, I headed-out on the 50E. This was > what I had been waiting for, huge open spaces, with mysterious looking > mountain ranges in the distance. This is Basin and Range country, the ranges > run North to South, and one passes through many of them moving across central > Nevada. All of them had lots of snow on them, the Toiyabe's were especially > impressive. I couldn't resist stopping at every BLM historic site, etc. and > exploring the myriad of dirt roads running everywhere. Immediately, the > schedule I had planned fell by the roadside. It took me all day to get to > Austin, approx. in the middle of NV. I went to Bob Scott campground in the > Humbolt/Toiyabe Nat'l forest, where I had camped in the past, but it was > closed! Good thing I was on a dualsport, I blasted-up a dirt road on public > land and pitched my tent. As far as I was concerned, I was the only person in > the world at that time. This was near the "Top Gun" range, and that night, > multiple formations of jet fighters screamed overhead at low altitude, even > including manuvers where they were dropping chaff or flares which lit-up the > ground like daylight. Very impressive, don't mess with America. > The next day was another long, dreamy trek across the endless desert, > where you feel like you are standing-still at 80 mph. I did plenty of > exploring, including some very well preserved petroglyphs at the Grimes site. > I made it to Ely, NV and called-it a day. > In the morning I made the relatively short trek to Great Basin Nat'l > Park, where I spent the day and camped in Lower Lehman Campground (the upper > at 10,000 ft was closed for snow). > The brought back great memories of living in Utah, where my Dad and I would > come here and do the cave tour and climb Wheeler Peak (second highest in NV). > The following day, I took-off down the 21 in West-Central Utah and headed > SE towards Milford. Boy, talk about remote, the BLM reports that the Wah-Wah > mountains have less than 150 visitors yearly, thats less then half a person > per day! I hardly saw any other vehicles on the road, off-road there was > nobody and the remoteness and lack of facilities were high in your mind as > you cruised around by yourself. I left the pavement and explored the > ghosttown of Frisco, claimed to be the best preserved one in Utah. This was a > silver boomtown in the late 1800's for 10 years, where 23 saloons labored day > and night to quench the thirst of the hardworking miners. Gunplay was a daily > occurance in this rowdy town. One day, between shift changes, the foreman > delayed sending the crews into the earth because he heard some strange > noises, shortly afterwards, the main shafts collapsed with such fury that it > broke windows 15 miles away in Milford. Nobody was killed because of the > foremans foresight. It was creepy arriving there, you see the cemetary first, > with headstones amazingly intact. Sadly, most of the graves were children. I > didn't read anything about this, but I believe typhoid, diptherea, etc > ravaged populations during this time period. How sad to watch your children > pass away in such a remote and desolate place. Scary incident #2 occurred > after this as I rounded a corner at 55 and a large, horned steer was standing > in the other lane and shyed away from me violently. Only 20 minutes for my > stomach to calm down here! > From there, I went to Beaver, where I stayed in the worlds cheapest and > sleazyest hotel. > Sometimes it can be cleaner to just sleep in the dirt. At least the shower > worked. > Now I'm nearing canyon country! While I have done some exploring of the > general Moab area parks, I had always whizzed right by the Bryce/Zion area. > Red Canyon and Bryce were beautiful, and I had caught-it just before the > hoards arrived. > After spending the day exploring Bryce, I went to Kodachrome Basin State > Park, where the campgrounds were incredibly clean with the most incredible > location. Huge rock formations, with a high density of the type that will > make a girl blush. There must be a vein of Viagra running beneath this park. > I had a double size site with 2 bbq's, parking for a 30 ft rig and double > picnic tables. I managed to fit the KLR and my tent into this space. There > are these really cool and large birds called Chukar's cruising around, they > were not afraid of people at all. > In the morning, I explored part of the road which runs from Kodachrome > between the 12 and the 89. It is a good, high-speed dirt road which leads to > Grosvenor Arch and continues approx. 55 miles south to the 89. I'd like to do > the whole length, next time. Then, I left my gear in the tent and drove > unloaded to the Escalante/Boulder area and did some off-road exploring in the > "Hole in the Wall" area. This area is fantastic and lesser knowen, endless > dirt riding is availible. This was my slowest day, and I still did 125 miles. > I spoke with an Escalante sheriff who gets to ride a DR350 on-duty, needless > to say, he loved his job! > At this point, it was time to turn around and start heading back (sniff). > I headed back through Bryce on the 12, went South on the 89 and picked-up the > 14 towards Ceder City. Now we are talking some snow. The summit is just about > 10,000 ft, and there are huge meadows up there completely piled-up with snow. > I felt like I was going on a ski trip by motorcycle. At the summit, there are > incredible views of the cliffs of Zion in the distance. Cedar Breaks Nat'l > Monument was closed. On the way out of Utah, I visited "Iron Town," a where > raw ore was turned into iron. Most of the structures are still standing, > including the beehive ovens where they burned local pinon and other wood into > the charcoal needed to fire the furnaces. > I headed for the Extraterrestial Highway and drove through Caliente, NV, > but time was running short and I saved some distance by going South on the 93 > where I stayed in Alamo, NV in a little hotel with a bunch of truckers and > construction workers, a rough but very friendly group. The next morning, it > was down through Vegas, where it was hot, dusty and very windy. As I > approached the town on the 15, an absolutely huge dust devil (more like small > tornado) appeared to my right and headed across the freeway at high speed. > This was going to put me right in the middle, and I'm telling you, this thing > was picking up pieces of wood, not just dust and paper. I had one choice, and > savagely rotated the throttle to full stop. As I hit 95, it crossed behind me > and I instantly lost 15-20 mph as it tryed to pull me back like a vacume, > then I was free and screaming down the freeway. I only stopped in Vegas for > gas, then headed for Death Valley. Here, on the 95, I encountered the worse > cross winds that I have ever driven on a cycle. Just brutal, extended driving > at a 45 degree angle. I saw Apache/Cobra helicopters performing manuvers off > to my right, lots of military test areas around here. > Death Valley was hot and beautiful. Afterwards, its tricky to get back > into my area because of all the passes closed by snow. So I headed to Lone > Pine (below Mammoth) which entailed a very twisty run through the mtns. > getting out of Death Valley. I was very tired and going west directly into a > setting-sun, at the time this part felt more like work then fun, but thats > all part of the game. > From there, I took the 395 So. to the 178 W to the 155 W via Lake > Isabella. Beautiful area, with lots of off-road riding availible, including > the BLM back-country byway "Chimney Peak." This area requires closer > scrutiney. Afterwards, it was just long, hot, high-speed cruising via the 99 > and I-5, I hate interstates, but time was running-out. I made it over Pacheco > Pass just before sunset and did Heckor Pass in the dark. Back in moist and > cool Santa Cruz, where it was raining lightly, a welcome change to my chapped > and peeling skin. > The KLR was steller, never once did it complain. It handled the extended > freeway cruising, and was like a tractor in the dirt. I just about wore-out > the stock rear tire (3700 total, 2300 from this trip) and was very happy with > it. I think I'll replace it again with the stock Dunlop, the front is still > in great shape. > A great trip. It was hot and dry, and this is only in early April. Moab > attendees, I would recommend using sunscreen _before_ you burn, a tinted > visor might be a good idea also. I waited until I was already burnt, and it > was very uncomfortable for the rest of the trip. > An awesome trip, my first long-one on the KLR. Time to go back to work > and save that Timebank for the next excursion. Happy Trails. > > Charles > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > GET WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE FREE! GET THE OFFICIAL COMPANION > TO TELEVISION'S HOTTEST GAME SHOW PHENOMENON PLUS 5 MORE BOOKS FOR > $2. Click for details. > http://click.egroups.com/1/3014/3/_/911801/_/955755033/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... > Let's keep this list SPAM free! > > Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > >

[bmgecko]

BTW I am 28, riding a Y2KLR, MSF (complied with). I pay less than 200 bucks a year, full coverage (uninsured motorist included). I will say I paid for my bike in cash, so it ain't on a lien. Progressive most assuedly kicks ass. FOR ME! Chris Astier