DAY 9 - From Bryce to Escalante

You coudn't ask for a better travelling companion than Bob Hansford - he has a terrific knowledge of American Culture, History, Politics and life in general - and I suppose the fact that we share so many values and outlooks helps. (Bob studied Antropology, Philosophy, Religon and Science!!). and as you can see from the many videos he delivers his stories with great lucidity and humour.

We leave our slightly down market cabin in Bryce Canyon - another nice day

So along the road he is a fountain of knowledge about Mormons ( we are in Utah), Indians and Geology to mention just a few. We leave Bryse Canyon and head towards our next stop Escalante - we are now in Indian Country - mostly associated with the Navajo Tribe. (pronounced NA -VA -HO)

Everywhere we go there are different coloured sandstone formations.

Bob explains the Geology of the area.

Escalante is where Butch Cassidy and the "Hole in the Wall Gang" used to hang out.

Here are 2 unedited bike views of the ride to Escalante - you might want to skip them as they are both about 8 minutes long) - (have to wait for access to good broadband to edit videos on YouTube)

Escalante is small ranching town along the Escalante River.The town was named after Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary who was  the first European explorer in the region in 1776. In all directions it is wild,beautiful and uninhabited. The town  has only 850 residents but it is the largest town for 70 miles around. There are tidy rows of well kept homes and a sleepy main street with a few cafes, grocery stores, an activity outfitters and motels. 

Main Street Escalante 1950's


This is the cafe and Store where I did the blog

We stayed in the Prosector Inn Motel.



We had dinner in the Restaurant next door and the guy who ran the restaurant was very friendly. In fact everybody in restaurants, motels, gas stations, shops, national parks, fellow travellers have all been most friendly and generous. I spoke to the restaurant guy at breakfast the next day and he told me he had moved here from Las Vegas which is suffering from an economic slump - ever since the Indian Reservations won a legal battle enabling them to run Casinos in reservations -even in States which outlaw gambling.

THE BIKE
I have had a few queries about the bike which I am riding - which Bob located for me before my arrival.

The bike is a Honda VTX 1300cc. It is six years old, in pristine condition and only had 4000 miles on it - up to the beginning of this trip. It has two cylinders, is water cooled and weighs over 700 pounds when the tank is full! This helps in windy conditions as the bike is not easily blown off course. So it is important not to let it fall. It is very easy to handle - but you must not be careless which I was a few days ago. I just got my right leg down in time and forced it back upright. The effort was so much that my leg went into cramp. My left leg was now keeping the bike upright - so I couldn't use it to put the stand down. Bob had to help me. We're not sure if the two of us could lift it back up, if it fell.But it is easy to manouvre once you park it on a slope - pointing in the right direction.

It does 0 to 60mph. in 5.3 seconds! But of course I don't do that. But my speeds have inproved so that we can now go on Highways where the cruising speed is 70 mph - it has taken me 10 days of practice and over 1,000 miles to reach this stage. Otherwise these supersize trucks would run up your backside - not nice.

But it's a great bike, lots of power, smooth and low to the ground - especially important for me with my short legs - I can put both feet on the ground when stopping and starting. Easy to ride, good rear view mirrors, good brakes. You are supposed to use both brakes front and back together. The front is far mor effective but the back adds balance to the braking. Bob was noticing I was not using the back one and advised me that I would eventually get into trouble if I had to brake suddenly and only used the front brake. So I have been working in curing this bad habit.

Also Bob had a windscreen fitted before I arrived - absolutely essential doing over 50 mph on a long journey. It has 2 very sturdy and handsome side saddles which carry all my stuff. One for clothes- the other for everything else. So that's it 95 out of a hundred for meeting my needs as a smaller person and a beginner.

The previous owner fitted new exhaust pipes or "Cobra Pipes" as they are called and a fancy air cooler. These are just for effect and when tuned make the bike noisy - not my preference. However one person did say to me that being noisy improves your safety as other road users notice your presence. Safety has been the number one concern for me all along and indeed most emails I have received have ended with the caring suggestion of "Stay Safe". Bob has been a good coach and protector - today he came back to me to tell me it was dangerous to ride behind a pick-up truck as the wind might throw objects back in my face. We have taken many longer routes to avoid the busy highways - yet he has also encouraged me to go with the flow and develop - because as we move back West, we inevitably have to take some Interstates.

The biggest danger is in the towns and cities. On the open road the threat is from animals -particularly deer (and some cattle and wild horses) which roam freely across the open countryside. On the way to Jackson City we both experienced deer jumping out in front of us - luckily not too near.

The bike is a great comfort to ride - no sore muscles after a day in the saddle - which is great. I was really worried about my back which was in very bad shape for a few weeks before I got here. However with twice daily exercises and a very good corset - I have had no pain at all. Fingers Crossed!

By the way in Utah and Arizona there is no law compelling you to wear a helmet - so most evenings after a few hours in the saddle with all the gear on  - we wander out to a local eatery in the evening sun at 20 mph,  just as in the photo above.

But safety is still the number one priority and we have a long way to go yet - so complacency must not set in. The concentration levels in scanning the horizon and speed levels must be kept finely tuned.

Total Mileage to date 1,170 miles