Touring Utah

When planning a long ride there are four key things I consider: The season, roads, destination, and company. While I am not adverse to riding in crappy weather conditions, I must admit that I am not particularly excited about spending an extended period of time in extreme weather in either direction, if you get my drift. I’m safety minded enough to not consciously decide to strike out in deep winter for a trip across states that include snowy mountain passes—or summer adventures with scorching desert temps.

As for destinations, I prefer to set my sights on places and events I’ve never experienced before and as to company, well, I rarely have any. I usually ride alone so I am excited when I get to share a lane with folks I know. All that said, it must be told that my trip through three states to tour Utah was a breath of fresh air. Literally.

German nationals Peter and Micky Fischer are proprietors of the EagleRider franchise in Flagstaff, Arizona, and have recently opened a second location about an hour southwest in nearby Sedona. In celebration of that opening, the couple invited a group of German journalists and photographers to tour the beautiful state of Utah as they shot an advertising campaign. I was one of the lucky riders who got to tag along and served as the token California Yank just as I did for a prior tour.

The EagleRider program rents bikes for folks to take self-guided rides. They also arrange guided tours if requested, and can set a rider up with hotel and routing information, in addition to the bike rental. It’s a great program for tourists/travelers and for this trip; all I had to do was ride along with the group of well-seasoned riding professionals as we cruised the scenic highways of the Beehive State. Tough job, huh?

Rolling in from the Central Valley area of California, I dropped the kickstand on my personal bike in the parking lot of the Flagstaff location. Mickey smiled and immediately pointed out the 2011 Heritage Classic that would be my beast of burden for the excursion. “I picked red to go with your horns,” she laughed. Everybody knows I wear a beanie helmet with little 3" chrome horns, so her choice of bikes fit well. Bright fire engine red, I was sure to stand out as we filmed the promotional DVD over the next week’s adventures.

While we chatted and got caught up with the happenings over the last year since we had seen each other, the rest of the crew was delivered from the airport. Flying in from Germany was Toni, the editor-in-chief of a German touring magazine. Joining Toni was Erwin, also an editor, Gerd and Sandra, the married film crew, Hans and Angie, partners in the EagleRider franchise and Horst, a photographer. Also part of the crew was Bernhard, an Austrian photographer/writer who works closely with Toni.

Our little cast of characters was to spend 10 days cruising over 1,400 miles through Utah as we toured five of their amazing parks. Everyone landed anxious to hit the road and soak up that great Southwestern scenery from the back of a Harley so we wasted no time in pointing the rubber north.

We started out with a putt up to the Grand Canyon’s south rim in icy cold conditions. Flagstaff is nestled at the base of Humphrey Peak, the highest mountain in Arizona, and is 6,910 feet in altitude. On this cloudy morning, the peaks were shrouded in fog and a mist fell on us as we rolled to the canyon and hopped on a helicopter to scope out the amazing sights.

Not everyone was as thrilled by the adventure as I since I love flying. Some of the crew was clutching barf bags while we dipped and dived across the ancient canyon. Later as we cruised along the canyon roads we could see the places we’d surveyed from the air with the watercolor scenes that took our breath away. The winds kicked up and eventually we got rain, which did nothing to dampen the adventure, but saturated the air with an herbal scent. The smell of damp sage was intoxicating and was an aroma we would experience many times during our 10-day safari through the rugged southwest, along with the tetchy weather that plagued us the entire trip.

Easy riding

Our entourage wound its way through the Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater before we cruised into the breathtakingly beautiful Monument Valley. Much of the route we had ridden up to this point was filmed for the 1969 movie Easy Rider and we all had fun remembering the scenes as we rode over the familiar turf and tested each other’s trivia prowess.

Monument Valley is just inside the state line of Utah and is best experienced as the passenger of a tour bus since the roads are not exactly conducive to motorcycle travel. Don, our Navajo guide, was informative and helpful in stopping for photographs of the beautiful Navajo Reservation and after touring the valley, the weather threatened to soak our little group. We managed to dodge all but the high winds before we stopped for the night in the small town of Bluff, which is nestled in the midst of Goosenecks State Park.

Day four found our band of bikers cruising the canyons and formations of Arches National Park near Moab. The graceful natural sandstone arches and impossibly balanced rocks are amazing and the geological features in Arches National Park are home to the world’s largest concentration of naturally formed arches in the world. The park’s most famous element is Delicate Arch, which is accessible by hiking a trail or by viewpoint.

Accommodations for the next two days were provided by Colin Fryer at the Red Cliff Lodge where the Colorado River flowed along the back lawn of the Western decor-appointed luxury rooms. Impeccable food was served alongside his private label wines as a blazing fire in the bar warded off the cold from the rainstorm that pelted the area over night. Up on the ridge above us snow was dusting Dead Horse State Park, our next intended destination.

Canyonlands National Park was the perfect place for an afternoon ride in a Hummer in spite of the cold and wind. Phenomenal vistas were around every corner and the ride in the squatty Hummer was fuel for laughter and jokes as everyone bounced around the vehicle.

Our sixth day was spent covering 176 miles into Coral Reef near Torrey. Designated a National Park in 1971, the scenery offers spires, monoliths, twisties and domes and had us all craning our necks to see everything. The film crew was having a blast capturing the scenery as we rode through the narrows. We each took our turn at being filmed as we rode and it turned into a personal challenge to see how long we could ride with our hands off the handlebars. It’s all about looking cool for the camera, isn’t it? By this time there was snow along the roadsides so we took the opportunity to toss a snowball or two.

Weather had been a serious consideration the entire ride due to the unusual weather patterns our continent has experienced this year. All the locals and park rangers we spoke to mentioned that the cold temps and storms we experienced were definitely not normal for this time of year and was probably responsible, at least in part, for the lack of crowds in the parks. For all of us, the wacky weather just served to add to the magic of the adventure. By the time we stopped at Bryce Canyon we were in awe at the beauty of the terrain and experienced another form of “magic.”

Thousands of delicately etched spires rise in brilliant colors from the depths of Bryce Canyon National Park. Millions of years of erosion due to wind, water and geologic activity have shaped and scarred the bright cliffs at Bryce. The spires, called hoodoos or goblins, consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements.

The first glance at Bryce Canyon is dramatic as sinewy pine trees alter the color and grandeur of the canyon. At the rim the brilliant hues come to life—especially with the rising and setting of the sun as the lighting seems to set the hoodoos on fire. You can take a 37-mile round-trip drive to Bryce Canyon’s most famous viewpoints including Sunrise, Sunset, Rainbow, Yovimpa, and Inspiration Points.

A mere 87 miles away is the oldest National Park in Utah. Designated in 1919, Zion and its monoliths and steep towers make for unforgettable scenery. Riding through the park gives one that feeling of insignificance and awe. The Virgin River has etched through the canyon here and there are several hiking trails that take one along the river and its tributaries. For those of us in Harley boots, however, the ride through the park on two wheels still afforded incredible scenery. It must be noted, however, that no vehicles are permitted in the main canyon of Zion.

After eight days on the road we arrived in Page, Arizona, in time to take a trip to the incredible Antelope Canyon with a tour group. Managed by the Navajo tribe, you cannot enter the canyon without a guide. The beauty of the corkscrew sandstone canyon is absolutely spiritual. The walls are etched by the floodwaters during monsoon season and the currents create an agitation comparable to a washing machine. What remains is a photographer’s paradise of colorful layers of sandstone that glisten and shine with the changing light of the day.

Back in Page, the incredible Horseshoe Bend lay waiting to be experienced. With 200-foot red sandstone walls lining the canyon, the Colorado River crawls along the canyon floor and affords a view that is truly guaranteed to take your breath away.

As our small tribe rolled back to Flagstaff we each took with us an experience that will serve to give us smiles and good memories the rest of our days. We’d all shared the road, rest and repast. We had worked together and partied together and in spite of a slight language barrier, managed to find a deeper way to communicate. The love of the road became our language, love of the land our bond, and love for each other our joy. Amazing things happen on the open road. Experience Utah’s magic with your friends. (www.stateparks.utah.gov, www.eaglerider.com/flagstaff.aspx)