Sooner State Valkyrie Riders

By: Gary Milburn

Its daybreak, Tuesday April 19, everything’s packed and loaded and the weather is clear, running in the low 30’s.

I decided to take the back roads out of town to avoid any rush hour traffic in the big city. O.K. so there’s no heavy traffic at anytime but the back way is a little more scenic and does bypass the signals.

General plans:
Day 1 - take highway 160W with the plan of hitting Four Corners National Monument, Monument Valley, and ending up in Page, AZ for the night.
Day 2/3 - Hwy 89N to Kanab, UT with plans to stop for breakfast, move on to tour Zion National Park and then down I-15 to Las Vegas to visit my daughter for a couple of days.
Day 4 - head to Laughlin, make some rounds through the event and end up in Lake Havasu City in time for check-in and to meet some of the group; VRCC, Vermin, VOAI
Day 5 – maybe take another pass through Laughlin and begin the tour back home

Day 1 - Ahhh, I break into the Wolf Creek Pass area, very nice and a recommended trip (tried to convince Scott, Raymond & Rhonda to make this trip while they were out this way – but nope). Beautiful weather, clear skies, new JR jacket and gloves in place. I ended up throwing on the JR pants as well to block the cold when I hit South Fork. Stopped for a late breakfast in Cortez, CO and headed off to Four Corners. A slight disappointment, not much more than state flags and locals pushing their fine handcrafted wares. That and a $3.00 entrance fee.

I move on to see about a side trip thru Monument Valley. The wind gusts say otherwise. Average mpg in headwind – 22. Overhead skies were clear but the sand and wind in the 35-40 range put a damper on things. Low visibility making the sights less than favorable. I decided to put this one off for the return trip. Still some nice formations coming down 160W and 98W heading toward Page. I checked in to a local motel unloaded some gear and took a trip down and around hwy 89A which runs into the north side of the Grand Canyon. I made it into a shorter run as hunger was setting in as it was getting on 7:00 p.m. and hadn’t stopped to eat since breakfast. Some nice scenery through this area.

Day 2/3 – Since the forecast was calling for worse winds and rain, I decided to head NW toward Kanab, UT and see what things looked like in that area instead of doing the north rim . The trip out showed little signs of wind at this stage, semi cloudy skies and but some thick accumulation hovering over the general area of Zion! Deer warning signs were scattered all along the hwy accompanied by deer laying all along the hwy. I stopped in Kanab for breakfast and hung out for a bit to see if the weather might blow past. Not during my shift! It got thicker and blacker the longer I waited. With that, and the $20.00 park entrance fee, I decided to take a more southern route into Vegas. No Zion this trip but it is definitely on my list.

I headed south to Fredonia and looped around to hook up on I-15 just south of St. George. At a gas stop I don the new helmet, making things legal for Nevada and go on my way. To make it a little more interesting I dropped into Vegas via hwy 167/147 which runs out along Lake Mead. The lake water level was extremely low. I decided to move on to meet up with my kid and her significant other.

Day 4 – I bid my farewells to the kids and head south for Laughlin. Unfortunately, this was during rush hour a.m. traffic in North Las Vegas. Although it didn’t last that long, it did bring back the memories of the kill or be killed days of commuting on the freeways of L.A. I take hwy 95 down and drop into Laughlin via hwy 163E, about a 2 hour ride. 163E had some long sweeping curves which help add some zip to the drive in. The highways are filled with bikes coming and going. I must admit, I couldn’t wave at every passer-bye. All parking areas are chucked full of bikes with some areas charging for parking!!!

Laughlin – nothing like a couple a.m. $2.50 Bloody Marys served up in a plastic cup to help start your event trolling with the proper mindset. I make my way thru the masses, picking up a few t-shirts a neoprene face-wrap for the impending trip and grabbed some BBQ Beef. The music was banging out from almost every vendor and most food tents. After about 4 hours, I decided to head down to Lake Havasu to lose my gear and take a load off. Stopped for a brief visit to the London Bridge, quite the tourist trap! Plenty of food drink and gifts for all.

I roll in to Ground Zero, The Havasu Inn and meet up with Ratdog and some of the group gathered around the F6 Rider canopy. Several cold ones later, Lenny and his S/O pull up in a trailer to unload food fixin’s and the like. Some great BBQ, a great meal and just in time too.

Day 5 – the trip back. I headed out about 6:45 PST Saturday a.m. and made my way for Kingman for breakfast. Got to sit and listen to truckers talking about all the bikes on the road. With a full gut I was off for the Flagstaff cutoff, hwy 89A to head back to hopefully hit some better weather and make the run thru Monument Valley. As luck would have it, the weather was great and I began the journey. I can’t quite explain it but it is truly like touring through some ancient ruins. The rock formations are fantastic and as the clouds would permit the sun to break through the colors would light right up.

As the time passed, so did the daylight and my failing night vision began to set in. I arrived in Durango,
CO just after 7:00 p.m. and realized that I didn’t want to try to take on Wolf Creek Pass in the dark. Knowing worse weather was moving in, it wasn’t an easy decision.

Day 6 - The weather held up until early morning when a light rain began to kick off Day 6. Some batches of heavier rain kicked in, let up and back to a lighter rain as I got on the road. The trip into Pagosa Springs stayed wet with off and on snow showers. The thin, waterproof gloves I had put on weren’t much in the 40 deg temp. I switched to the heavier JR glove and added a liner which seemed to help. Also got to try out the Choko Boot covers which seemed to hold up well. Some wetness inside but I think that was strictly due to the wet boots going in. Boot tops were dry and so were the socks. I had also used the new neoprene face wrap I picked up in Laughlin which helped to deflect the rain and sleet. It’s amazing how it can still get through the tiny holes punched out for the mouth to still cause that stinging affect. By the way, neoprene is NOT waterproof but can easily be wrung out as needed. When asked about Wolf Creek Pass, the station attendant at Pagosa Springs first mentioned “it’s bad” and got 10 inches of snow overnight, snow plows, and slippery roads. Oh good! With that, I began my trek through The Pass.

My ride thru Wolf Creek Pass was an experience. All that beauty just can’t be appreciated when you are holding tight to maintain control during iced and slushed road conditions. Taking The Pass on at not much more than 30 mph just isn’t the same. Giving the windshield a constant gloved reach-around to clear it for brief periods was the routine. I come upon two hefty doe’s that graciously let me pass without making me apply the brakes, very considerate of them since traction was zip. This only lasted about 3 hours or so. When all was said and done, other than having to pee the entire Pass and not being able to pull over, it was a good run. Temps ran in the low 30’s for much of the ride, finally warming up at maybe 40 which changed the snowfall to rain and helped make the windshield a bit easier to see through. Coming out of the Pass on the eastside, I passed a biker couple riding a Beamer that was just beginning their journey. Wished them a safe but memorable trip and made the last leg of my trip home. Got in about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday with 1,708 miles added to the old girl. She is now filthy, but once again, she held up well.

That was my trip; I hope it helped to share my outing and maybe give you some ideas for your next run. Laughlin, would I do it again? Not so much for the event itself, the journey was what it was all about.

Ride safe.

Laughlin River Run Pictures