We left off just inside of Utah, for you riders out there I highly recommend taking a ride through the mountainous region of Utah, I promise you will not regret it! Well also take the ride through Colorado just don't stop there, even though Utah is mostly open nothing there are still some nice sights to see! When your coming from Colorado heading west your coming down in elevation so you need to be prepared for the temperature change. I had stopped at a gas station to fill up at a gas station, as I pumped gas I was talking to one of the attendants about the ride through the mountains and how happy I was to finally be warm. He told me that I should enjoy the weather while I am in it because in the next maybe 100 miles I was going to drop 4000 feet in elevation and I was going to be missing that cold weather, I had ridden in hot weather before so I wasn't really worried, I had my CamelPak on so I could stay hydrated. There are long stretched is Utah where there are actually signs that warn you there are no more gas stops for the next 100 miles or so, That is a scary thing knowing you better fill up because your going to be alone for the next couple of hours, literally there are not too many people who are out there with you.
When your riding through the curvy roads your focused on riding hard and safe, you don't have another care in the world; it doest matter how long you have been riding of how long you have to go all that matters is the road and the turn in front of you. Once the curvy roads pass your back to straight open road, only instead of being surrounded by beautiful scenery its just open desert, almost like you are in a wasteland that time forgot. The guy at the gas station was right the temperature does go up as your riding but while your in Utah it really isn't as hot as the guy told me, it only got up to about 70 degrees which isn't so bad on the road. When your about to reach the intersection where the 15 meets the 70 that's where the heat is starting to set in and the boring ride begins for awhile. As soon as you get into Arizona you start to feel the heat, your only in Arizona for a few miles so after that the heat steps up even more in Nevada.
This is where the trip for me takes the worst turn, it was July so you know its going to be hot but most people in cars are using AC so the only time the feel the heat is for the brief moments when they get gas or whatever. When your on a motorcycle riding in that heat the AC gas stations are your heaven retreat, when your on the road the heat seems to cook your soul. As I started riding through Nevada the desert became more desolate and hotter, you can actually see the heat coming up from the road, I actually was afraid that the heat was going to blow my tires. I stopped several times in the shade at casinos and gas stations trying to get cool filling up my camel back with cold water each time, I did see some other riders doing the same however they were going the opposite direction. In Vegas the traffic was pretty heavy making the ride even hotter with all the vehicle exhaust, upon leaving Vegas I was back on two lane highway. The traffic wasn't too bad once I was outside of Vegas so when I would come up to a semi truck I would ride next to it in the shade until a vehicle was behind me. I remember feeling hazy and dreary like I was suffering from heat exhaustion, I could smell the sun burning my skin. I had stripped down to just shorts and the camel back, in hind sight it would have been better for me to wear pants and a shirt to keep cooler, without it the heat dries up the sweat too fast and my body cant keep itself cool.
As I started to get closer to Cali the heat was almost unbearable, I was so hot and fatigued I didn't know if I would make it any further, I also knew I didn't want to stay in Nevada at a hotel, I wanted to continue all the way to my destination. I started thinking about talking to a truck driver and see if I could give him some money to throw my bike in the back and drive me into Cali so I could get a break from the heat, I mean it was so bad that cold beverages seemed to make me feel worst. I ended up scrapping that idea and just pushed on through, I eventually made it and as I hoped the weather got a lot cool as I approached the coast!! The drive from the Nevada border to Oceanside was longer than I had remembered from the previous drives I had taken through that route, It wasn't until about 8PM that I made it to my friends house. By the time I had got there I had put about 2300 miles on the bike and worn the tires bald, my bike looked like I found it in the back of an old garage that it had been sitting in for years. I unpack my shit and finally ended my journey, but this wasn't the end of the California riding....
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