June 9th, 2026
Woke up at 7am and got ready like any other morning.
Fed my cats and did a few little tasks I needed to complete
before the trip started that I was unable to complete the day before.
Took all the bags out to the bike which I had loaded and
trialed on the bike the day before. I
changed a few strap connection points and had to figure out a method to attach
the Yeti lunchbox I am using to store food stuff in. Small, durable, waterproof and will insulate
enough that I can buy foods and take them to camp to cook without
spoiling. Found a spot and two bungee
cords solved the anchoring issue.
Finished loading, had a few protein shakes for breakfast, took my medications and then got suited up in the gear and took the rest of the stuff out to the bike.
Attached the new camera (which I had buried in a spot I had
to dig for) and did a final check of all attached hardware and luggage and
verified straps were connected and tight.
Moved my relative’s car (was using the car port to setup
bike) and then backed the bike out and prepared to leave.
A mile down the road I had to stop and adjust my mirrors as
they were still not right. I had
installed new Doubletake mirrors a few days prior.
Reached I-17 and headed north. I got up to speed, staying around 65-70 mph
as going faster just eats up my fuel too fast.
I pulled off at the Camp Verde exit 30 minutes later to
check over all the straps and make sure things were still where I expected them
to be. I did tighten a few, but overall
things were good.
Got back onto I-17 and headed for Flagstaff.
Nice ride up, traffic was light and no major road
obstacles. Stopped at rest area later
and then continued into Flagstaff.
Once in town I pulled over for lunch at Jack in the Box,
just needed a decent meal since I did not eat much for breakfast.
After about 30 minutes eating and checking a few things
online, I got back onto the bike and headed through flagstaff on the old Route
66 road.
On the far side of town I stopped to fuel up since there are
not as many fuel stations along US89 heading north.
Back onto US89 and we headed out of Flagstaff and onto the
Navajo Reservation.
The temperatures became very warm here, going over 100 F for
most of the trip. Winds were also
blowing very hard (though they had been blowing since I left in the
morning). Was coming from my left side
and slightly behind, so constantly trying to blow me off the road.
Upon reaching Page in Arizona, I decided I needed to stop
and rest and try to cool off some. Not
too much there along the highway, but found a Burger King and since I have a
gift card for them, it made for a cheap option.
Parked bike where I could see it again, took in the things I
needed to sort yet, ordered a bit of food and large drink and then worked on
checking things online for awhile as I cooled off.
I did the math and with my leaving later than planned, and
the 1-hour loss going into Utah, I figured I would never make it near Salt Lake
City like I had hoped to do. I plotted a
course that would bring me to a town by roughly 9:00pm and then found a place
to stay in that town.
I booked the room online to make sure I could get one as the
place was small and only had a few rooms, but I am trying to avoid using the
larger corporate chains on the trip to have a more enjoyable experience, save
money in most cases and support local businesses.
I then got back on the bike and headed across the Glen
Canyon Dam bridge and made my way into Utah.
Winds were still going nuts there and my fuel range was
starting to look worrisome. I did not
stop in Page, thinking I could easily make it to Kanab, but the hills and winds
were chipping away rapidly. I got down
to where the range and distance left were only 15 miles apart.
I arrived in Kanab and stopped at the first good station I
found with very little left in the tank.
Filled it up and then back on the road.
Few miles north of Kanab I stopped again at a rest area,
nice little place, not busy and very scenic.
Once back on the highway I had to pull over a bit later as
my hydration pack hose has gotten caught on something and I was unable to use
it. Once fixed we got going and tried to
make good time while still keeping fuel range and consumption decent.
Very scenic ride north, glad I decided to stay on US89 all
the way instead of hopping over to I-15.
Not only was it far more scenic, it had way less traffic.
Later I noticed that the clouds were getting much heavier on
the other side of the mountain ridge where I-15 would be, so might have been
raining there too.
I eventually reached a point on US89 that was totally new to
me, having driven parts of the road in 1999 and 2003. The new sections were incredible, though lots
of small towns to slow down in.
Reached I-70 as the sunlight was starting to fade, was also
overcast and have even had a few very light sprinkles hit the helmet. I figured I had about 30 minutes left of
light before it would be dark, so we hit I-70 and kept up around 75 mph.
I noticed that the old 89 route and a few other small
highways were following same valley, wished I had more time as that would have
been a more enjoyable ride versus the interstate.
But traffic as very light, not many cars at all, and winds
were bit less annoying as they tended to be behind me more, but still a few
gusts hitting you at odd times.
I pulled off I-70 onto US89 north in Salina and found the
hotel I had booked.
The Ranch Motel.
Small little place, only has a few rooms in the main building and looks
like a small row of rooms in another farther back.
The owner was waiting outside, having just prepared the room
(though was a different room than I booked, she mentioned she moved me to this
one, so maybe issue with other room?)
She gave me quick tour of room, and we talked a bit about
local food options and my travels, then I unloaded the bike into the room,
thankfully was able to park just 10 feet outside the door on the ground level.
Once everything was inside, I secured and covered the bike,
and only then realized I would need the bike to go eat as all the stuff nearby
was already closed.
Decided I was not really that hungry, and had some jerky in
the room, so would just eat a few of those and drink the water in the room (not
sure if I will get charged, but nothing close to go shop for something, all
closed).
Sorted out the bags some, I had packed them without giving
thought to what I might need while riding, and found myself having to dig
things out from places that took much longer than needed.
Think I managed to get the stuff I might want quick access
to arranged, and will see how things go when I load up the bike in the morning.
Took a shower, snacked a bit and worked on typing up this
blog entry.
I am going to work on a few other things tonight as well,
need to develop my nightly processes so I can be more efficient with the blog,
video, and trip tracking I need to do, hopefully leaving more time to relax and
even explore locally.
I will be doing longer rides only till I reach Canada, then
will make my days shorter and have more time to explore.
Tomorrow I will do another late departure, so I can sleep
in, or perhaps go get breakfast somewhere.
Then we will try to ride only about 5-6 hours tomorrow, so we can have a
more relaxed night. Probably try to
finish up somewhere around Ogden Utah.
Today I spent 10 hours on the trip, and road roughly 460
miles!
Catch ya down the road!
Chris
Todays Route
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