KLR650 Rally - Moab - Page 5

As the afternoon gets later it is becoming obvious that we need to drink more water and take rest stops about every hour. I guess we are starting to "drag-ass" as we have been on the trail for about nine hours now and still have about two hours to go. The terrain is not difficult, just very rough and the speed is kept to about 10 miles per hour for comfort sake if not anything else!

We finally see the "end of the trail." Now the choice is to either go up the Shafer Trail switch back road to hard surface and a fast ride to Moab or continue on the Shafer Trail as we rode it yesterday. We decided for the switch back road and fast ride into Moab. After eleven hours on the trail we are all ready to try those Buffalo Wings and beer at the Micro Brewery! It was an easy climb back out of the rim country, up to the Visitor's Center and about 32 miles back to Moab. It was a great day! The White Rim Trail is all that it is supposed to be! Fantastic panoramic, some difficult parts, lots of long stretches on the white rock rim, and about ten hours of doing what we all like to do - RIDE!

The next day was planned to be an easy day with a short ride in the mid-morning and some rest. We had been on the road for over a week now and ridden everyday! Dick Antonius was going to arrive Moab this evening and we wanted to take him to the Shafer Trail for his first ride in Moab. Shafer is still a favorite of us all.

We met Dick at the Motel, told him all kinds of lies about our day on the Rim and made plans for the next day. It is easy to say, we slept well that night!

We had an easy day showing Dick the Shafer Trail and that evening Ken and Neal had to prepare for there trip home. Neal was headed to Mexico for a month and Ken had other engagements to attend. Little did they know that they were going to miss a ride that was far more challenging then White Rim! Robert and I planned a ride for the next day to ride east of Moab going up the Onion Creek Canyon Road, Thompson Trail, Polar Mesa Trail, and back into Moab via the La Sal Mountain Road.

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