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Roulette 2006
Seven Days of great Motorcycle Dual Sport Adventure
Across Utah
Videos of each day are included below
Gotta Love Utah!
Welcome to the 2006 “Roulette” of rides.
The original ride plan is in Black Text and the ride results are in Red Text.
This turned out to be an awesome ride, all ride information is given so you might also enjoy it yourself. The slide shows and Videos and ride maps are given below so the all may enjoy this adventure. gpsKevin
This is a dual sport ride around central Utah. Each person is responsible for making their own transportation arrangements to and from the ride location. The ride begins in Hanksville Utah on Sunday morning 9/24. The plan will be to meet at the hotel in Hanksville on Saturday night by 7:00pm for a dinner meeting. We will complete the ride on Saturday 9/30 and conclude with a celebration dinner on Saturday evening. We will then plan to drive home on Sunday 10/1.
Enclosed you will find a complete description of the ride and plan for each day. Please read the plan ahead of time in order to prepare and equip yourself as needed. Some rides may require carrying extra fuel, lunches, clothes, or ….?
About the Roulette:
My dream is to be an explorer (an intelligent explorer using all technologies) and discover all the best rides and places. As an explorer, I strive to not repeat any rides from year to year. While it may be tempting to repeat some of the great rides, it is my goal to just discover new and better rides. I study all the areas intensively before developing the ride plan and the GPS tracks. I use all the different technologies available. I study maps, satellites, ride stories, and the internet. So, each year I try to create an entirely new set of rides. In doing so some of the ride that I create will be great and some may be not so good. Rides are always a gamble. This ride is about being an explorer and discovering new places. You may repeat any of the great rides on your own as you have the GPS tracks for all these rides. So join me for this Roulette adventure.
Kevin L. Glassett
gpskevin@gmail.com
Everytime we say no to a ride in life, that is one less chance for a great ride.
The Great 2006 Utah Adventure
“Roulette 72”
Seven Days, Seven Rides, 777+ miles
Just one victory lap around central Utah
Ride By: Kevin L. Glassett
Ride Plan Summary: This is a week’s motorcycle adventure around the state of Utah. Below you will find a table as an overall outline of the ride agenda. The table is followed by a complete detailed description of the plan for each day.
Overall Ride Schedule
Ride 1 Day 1 (Sunday 9/24/2006)
Ride name: Henry Mountains, Bullfrog Marina, and Burr Trail
Ride Description: The first half of the day will take us into the Henry Mountains on dirt roads and ATV trails. We will rise in elevation to 9200 feet passing through a saddle in the mountains with some forested scenery. We will descend toward Lake Powell and arrive for lunch at Bullfrog Marina. After lunch and gas we will continue up the Famous Burr Trail with spectacular canyon scenery on some dirt and paved roads. Then it is back into the mountains for another 10300 foot pass on ATV trails making a loop into Hanksville.
GPS Directions: Navigate Track Logs: 1-1 Henry2Bullfrog, 1-2 Henry2Bullfrog, 1-3 Bullfrog2Henry, 1-4 Bullfrog2Henry, 1-5 Bullfrog2Henry
Ride depart time: 7:30am, Helmets on and ready to ride
Ride distance: 192 miles total, Gas after first 81 miles at Bullfrog Marina.
Lunch Plan: Buy Lunch at Bullfrog Marina
Lodging Plan: Whispering Sands Motel, Hanksville
This day was going to be the scenic warm up day; the route took us through the Henry Mountains and up the Burr Trail for some fantastic views. As riding goes it was an easy day. The day started with some errors in the track logs, we spent the first hour on the side of Henry Mountain looking for the route. Then Tom had a flat tire and upon analyzing the failure it was determined that the Tire Iron he left inside the tire was the probable cause. The picture shows the imprint of the Tire Iron in the tube along with the hole. So we patched it and continued. Then just 10 miles further the patch failed and we fixed the Tire again. This time we put a new tube from a front tire into it. And we were finally really off. As we ascended into the Henry Mountains it became very cold, we ran across a group of wild Turkeys. They stayed on the road in front of us until we took out the Camera. Then we missed the picture. Next we ran across a herd of Buffalo. Check out the Video clip, they just stampeded down the road. At first Gas Kevin K got an egg sandwich from the Gas Station. And we all filled our bikes. We arrived late at Bullfrog Marina, so it was just gas and a quick snack. Next we headed up the Burr Trail. The Egg Sandwich did something bad to Kevin K as he became very sick. He started vomiting and continued this every 10 miles. Tom had a third flat tire as the front tube could not survive. So he patched the original heavy rear tube and we were off again. Only to find that 10 miles later it failed for time 4. So we found another front tube and, now we were in make it back mode. We cut the last section over the Henry Mountains due to the troubles of the day. We would do the last 60 miles on graded dirt and pavement. 30 miles later Toms tire failed for time 5. So the day ended with us going to get the truck to pick up both Tom and Kevin K. Kevin had become so sick that he could not ride anymore. We ended up taking Kevin to the Hospital for help and an IV. It would take two more days before Kevin could get out of bed and ride.
This was a good ride and if you ride it I would encourage you to take the last section over the mountains.
Photo Album from this Day (Slideshow)
Ride 2 Day 2 (Monday 9/25/2006)
Ride name: Poison Spring Wash, Canyonlands Maze, Hite Lake Powell
Ride Description: This ride take us into the most remote area in the lower 48 states, The Maze of the Canyonlands. The ride starts out by heading south on dirt roads along HY276. The route then joins the highway before cutting off onto Poison Spring Wash. Next the route takes us into the canyons and crosses the Dirty Devil River. This is a river crossing that we should be able to make during low water. The ride will then enter the Canyonlands and head over Sunset Pass and past Teapot Rock, Golden Stairs, Chimney Rock, and finally the Doll House. At this point we will turn around and backtrack towards Lake Powell. The route then follows the Colorado River to Hite Marina. We will plan Lunch and Gas at Lake Powell. After Lunch the route will follow along HY95 for about 20 miles then veer onto the dirt roads and ATV trails into the Henry Mountains. Then we will follow along the side of the mountains into Hanksville for the ride finish.
GPS Directions: Navigate Track Logs: 2-1 Hanksville2Poison, 2-2 Poison2Doll, 2-3 DollHouse2Hite, 2-4 Hite2Truck, 2-5 Truck2Hanksville
Ride depart time:7:30am, Helmets on and ready to ride
Ride distance: 189 miles total, Gas after first 127 miles
Lunch Plan: Buy Lunch at Lake Powell Hite Marina
Lodging Plan: Whispering Sands Motel, Hanksville
Note: We must pack the bikes into the trucks in the evening as the next day’s ride plan has us taking trucks to the San Rafael Staging area.
This day was planned to be a moderate scenic ride, but would turn out to be quite rocky and sandy as we ventured through Poison Canyon. This was tough on the Bigger BMW. The last section to the Dollhouse included about 5 miles of rock obstacles. The HP2 performed like a tractor and would not die.
The day started with Dyrck’s Bike overheating. It boiled over in the first 20 minutes and it was cold out. We put more water in it and checked the oil. He had overfilled the oil so we leaned the bike over and started dumping out the excess. There was a lot too much. When we had about a quart on the ground we tried the bike again. It then ran fine the rest of the day. Amazing how too much oil could cause it to overheat. We think that the added friction caused the excessive heat. We headed down Poison wash and it got rocky and sandy. I was wishing I had not taken the big BMW. But I continued and then it got rocky, sandy, and wet. But we pushed on. Then we had the river croosing of the dirty devil river. There was a drop-off bank on the far side in the fast part of the current. We pointed the bikes and went hard and they made it fine. Next the route merged onto the Flint trail and became an obstacle course. For the next 10 miles we put our bikes over, up, down, and around rocks. Fatigue began to set in, but we continued. We arrived at the Dollhouse and took a snack break. What a gorgeous place, and no one for miles. Check out the photos.Then it was back through all those boulders to Lake Powell and Hite marina for gas. From Lake Powell we headed back home on a mix of pavement and dirt side roads. It turned out to be a great day.
Photo Album from this Day (Slidshow)
Ride 3 Day 3 (Tuesday9/26/2006)
Ride name: San Rafael Swell, Behind the Reef, 5 Miles of Hell
Ride Description: We will depart in trucks at 7:00am to the San Rafael Staging area. The ride starts by cutting over the “reef” and then turns to single track. The route follows the famous “Orange” trail, “Green” trail, “Blue” trail and “Red” trail-all great single track. Next riders have the choice of taking the difficult “Five miles of Hell” (about 8.5 miles) or a bye pass. We will plan a lunch break at the end of the “Five miles of Hell” where the groups rejoin. After lunch the route cuts through Taylor Flat and McKay Flat passing several Buttes. As the ride nears the end of the San Rafael Swell it joins the “Behind the Reef” ATV trail. For the next 22 miles the route will cut up and down, and in and out of the canyons of the reef (also known as the swell). The ride ends back at the trucks. We will then pack up the trucks and head to our next motel.
GPS Directions: Navigate Track Logs: 3-1 Iron Divide, 3-2 Easy Bypass, 3-2 Hard 5MOH, 3-3 McKayFlat, 3-4 Behind Reef
Ride depart time: 8:00am, Helmets on and ready to ride
Ride distance: 85 miles
Lunch Plan: Pack your own lunch to bring on your bike
Lodging Plan: Gilly’s Inn, Ferron UT
Ok this day was going to be a hard core dirt bike ride, I was leaving the BMW HP2 behind and going for the more agile Honda CRF450X. The ride turned out to be much tougher then planned. I had thought because we were good riders that we could do the famous “5 Miles of Hell” and then the “Behind the Reef” trail. But I was wrong. The Day started with us breaking into two riding groups, 3 of us were going to ride the “5 Miles of Hell” trail and then “Behind the Reef” trail. The rest of the group was planning only the “Behind the Reef” trail. As we headed out the “Red Trail” (most difficult) we encountered many obstacles, and had to repair a crack in the KTM gas tank. So it took us about 2 hours just to get to the “5 Miles of Hell” trail. We hear the second group on the radio having trouble and we radioed back telling them to turn around as the “Red Trail” was more difficult then planned. So the second group circled back and rode the “Behind the Reef”. It was rated most difficult in the ATV rating system, but it turned out to be fine for the motorcycles. This turned out to be a great ride with spectacular views. Check out the pictures. However, Jim, Mike and I (gpsKevin) did continue with the “5 Miles of Hell” ride. This ride is the only ride in the state of Utah that is rated “Extreme”. Mike commented that he had expected it to be very tough and the ride exceeded his expectation. That means a lot coming from Mike. We encountered obstacles, every 100 feet for the next 5 or more miles. While we were able to ride most of the obstacles, we found that every ¼ mile we had to stop just to catch our breath. So for the next 5 hours we jumped, pushed, pulled, wheelied, crashed, flew, climbed, and everything else we could think of. Then we ran out of water and looked at each other. Finally I opened my mouth and said as we are out of water it would not be safe to continue, so with only about 1 mile left, we turned onto the last escape route. So there it was we had worked hard and we did not complete the route. Both Mike and Jim have this incredible never say quit attitude. So it was with great disappointment that we returned to the truck. By the way, it you’re a tough rider, I highly recommend this ride. It is great. I might bring a trials bike next time.
Photo Album from this Day (Slidshow)
Ride 4 Day 4 (Wednesday 9/27/2006)
Ride name: Devil Racetrack, North San Rafael Swell
Ride Description: The Devils Racetrack is an awesome ATV track in the San Rafael Swell. Overall, this trail is advanced technically and moderately strenuous. This trail features fun riding -- technical sandstone -- but also awesome views -- down into the Devils Racetrack, out over the San Rafael, and up at the giant stone monoliths. This trail is primarily an ATV and trials motorcycle trail. The trail is fun to ride, with technical sections composed of hundreds of rock ledges in Kayenta sandstone. The trail reminds you of Golden Spike in Moab. Just get through the first yucky mile, and you'll love it. We will attempt to have lunch at Swasey Cabin half way through our loop.
GPS Directions: Navigate Track Logs: 4-1 Devils Loop, 4-2 Devils Loop, 4-3 Devils Loop
Ride depart time: 7:30am, Helmets on and ready to ride
Ride distance: 99 miles
Lunch Plan: Pack your own lunch to bring on your bike
Lodging Plan: Gilly’s Inn, Ferron UT
This Day was planned to be a moderate ride around the San Rafael and through the Devils Racetrack. The day started with the tracks leading us to what seemed to be a 500 foot cliff. We had gotten tracks from some very old maps and after close inspection we found the remains of an old road or trail off the cliff. So we put the bike down the trail and continued across the valley. The trail completely disappeared in the valley and we pushed on across country for a few miles and finally connected with another old road. Then the route took us through some great canyons and large valleys leading to Eagle Canyon. This is the canyon that I-70 crosses. We got some great pictures going under the bridge. Then it was up to Swasey’s Cabin for a lunch break.
After lunch we headed up to the section called Devils Racetrack. This turned out to be a rocks obstacle course for about 10 miles. The area reminded me of the “Golden Crack” trail in Moab. Lots of fun and the traction on the boulders was great. The day ended early with us all finishing around 2:00pm
Good Ride
Photo Album from this Day (Slidshow)
Ride 5 Day 5 (Thursday 9/28/2006)
Ride name: Arapeen ATV System, Cove Mountain, Hole Trail
Ride Description: This ride will be mostly on ATV trails. You will climb almost 5,000 feet through high valleys and aspen forests that promise brilliant autumn color. After climbing up the Cove Mountain trail the route joins the famous “Skyline Drive” trail.
This affords great views of up to 100 miles away. The ride then drops down the Hole Trail passing superb views and great geology by Flagstaff Peak and Spinners Reservoir. Then the trail drops into the Muddy River and a crossing then back to the motel. This ride involves steep climbs and narrow dirt trails
GPS Directions: Navigate Track Logs: 5-1 CoveMountain, 5-2 Hole Trail
Ride depart time:7:30am, Helmets on and ready to ride
Ride distance: 91 miles
Lunch Plan: Pack your own lunch to bring on your bike
Lodging Plan: Gilly’s Inn, Ferron UT
This ride was going to be a gamble, as the main part of the ride was going to be in the Arapeen ATV system. This was a new ATV system that we knew little about. However the ride turned out to be great. It offered great mountain trails, aspen trees, snow and a little mud. The ride started on well groomed mountain forest roads, and then transitioned to two track AVT trails, the trails were in very good condition and caused us to go very fast. These trails from the Quads are very fun as the quad tires make a sort of banked style corner. The forest was in the middle of its color change and was spectacular. The route climbed to 10,000 feet and intersected with Skyline drive. Skyline drive had a bit of mud and snow from the storm last week. A couple of riders met the mud. I won’t mention names here. The route continued on forest roads down off the mountain. Then we intersected the Hole Trail and we descended for about 8 miles down this incredible steep quad trail. The trail was quite rocky and I saw an elk on the trail. Another great ride, with high recommendations.
Photo Album from this Day (Slidshow)
Ride 6 Day 6 (Friday 9/29/2006)
Ride name: Arapeen ATV System, Reader Canyon, Rock Canyon
Ride Description: This ride starts by following Ferron Creek past Millsite Reservoir. The route turns to ATV trails and follows Black Dragon Creek to Joes Valley Reservoir. From there we will go up Reader Canyon to Skyline Drive. Next we will head back down the mountain completing the reader canyon loop and passing Joes Valley Reservoir again. Finally we will drop down the steep Rock Canyon back to our motel. This ride involves some steep climbs on a good ATV trail.
GPS Directions: Navigate Track Logs: 6-1 ReaderCanyon, 6-2 RockCanyon
Ride depart time: 7:30am, Helmets on and ready to ride
Ride distance: 77 miles
Lunch Plan: Pack your own lunch to bring on your bike
Lodging Plan: Pheasant Run Outfitters
This day was back into the Arapeen ATV system. The Day started with me (gpsKevin) having a flat rear tire. We put a new tube in and we were off. The route climbed pasted Joes Reservoir and onto the Reader Canyon quad trail. There were several water crossings and we all did fine. As we climbed up the mountain we came across a downed tree blocking the trail. No problem we all just drug our bikes under the tree. The trails here are narrow and feel much like a single track mountain trail. While quads are wider then bikes, the trails are still narrow and you are constantly hitting brush. We again intersected a different area on Skyline Drive. A little more mud and it was back down the mountain. Half way down the mountain we came across a boy on a quad that had killed an elk. He had both an Elk tag and a deer tag and had gotten both. He was so proud and had to tell us the whole story. He had mounted the heads to the front of his quad as a sort of hood ornament. That is the custom here. Check out the picture of the proud boy. The last section of the ride took us through Rock Canyon. This proved to be a steep 5 mile rocky section. The trail had been torn up by what seemed to be hundreds of cows. As we got near the end of the trail, we came across all these cows blocking our way. It seemed they were happy to see us as they were guarding the exit gate and would not let us pass. So we took turns chasing them away from the gate and guarding the gate in order to get past them.
Another great day, high ride recommendation.
Photo Album from this Day (Slidshow)
Ride 7 Day 7 (Saturday 9/30/2006)
Ride name: Manti la Sal National Forest, Skyline Drive, Great Western Trail
Ride Description: This ride starts by crossing the valley and farmlands towards Manti. From here we head up the mountain towards Skyline Drive. For the next 25 miles we will travel the mountain peeks at around 10000 feet as we make our way along Skyline drive and the Great Western Trail. Next we have a choice of a longer ATV route off the mountain or a direct dirt road back to our lodge.
GPS Directions: Navigate Track Logs: 7-1 Manti NFS, 7-2 Great Western Trail, 7-3 Long Finish, 7-3 Short Finish
Ride depart time:7:30am, Helmets on and ready to ride
Ride distance: 91 miles
Lunch Plan: Pack your own lunch to bring on your bike
Lodging Plan: Pheasant Run Outfitters
On the last day it would be good to end the week with a great ride. As it turns out many agree that this was the best ride. I kind of liked “5 MOH” but I agree this was an awesome ride. The ride brought us 10 miles across the valley and onto the western side of the mountains. We started by climbing steeply and quickly to 10,000 feet. The trail was continuous up for 7 miles. It was amazing to climb and climb and climb. Near the top we came across hundreds of sheep. I was looking down at the trail and then all of the sudden hundreds of sheep jumped in front of me. Hard to believe you could be surprised by sheep. The herd was accompanied by a Great Pyrenees sheep dog. The dog came to visit me and loved being petted. This dog was incredibly well groomed. As I looked across the valley I could see a sheep herder on a horse watching me. At the top of the mountain we stopped at the highest point and could see both to the west and easy. Skyline drive at 10800 feet, it is an incredible place. We followed Skyline drive onto the Great Western Trail for about 15 miles across the top of the mountains. Next we descended off the mountain on ATV trails again. These trails were incredible. The leaves on the trees had all turned red and it was like driving through a tunnel. The sun filtering through the leaves gave this red light feeling like driving in a disco. The trails were very fast with great traction and prefect conditions. See the pictures in the slideshow
Very Fun Day!
Photo Album from this Day (Slidshow)
Lodging Reservations and Plans:
Whispering Sands Motel, Hanksville,UT (9/23-9/25)
http://hanksville.com/whisperingsands/motel.html
Gilly's Inn & Convenience Store (9/26-9/28) (435) 384-3333 15 N State -Ferron, UT
Made reservation for 9/26, 9/27, 9/28 with Gil (Owner)
Pheasant Run Outfitters: Fayette, UT (9/29-9/30) Phone:801-420-1867
Other: Lake Powell Bullfrog and Hite: 435-684-3000
Appendix:
GPS tracklogs can be found here: Roulette72.gdb
About the riders: 10 riders this year:
All riders have a history of “Big Rides”
Dan Guy- Tom Brown
Tom Taylor- Marty Mlakar
Mike Adams- Dirk McClellan
Jim-Smyth- Kevin Glassett
Ben Stark- Kevin Koeslag
About Ride Groups:
It is my goal to break up into 2 or 3 riding groups of not more then 5 riders per group each day. Each person is responsible for their own navigation. GPS is provided to all and if you are unable to navigate by GPS you must choose a partner and make arrangements with him. The ride is by GPS only. Detailed maps are not given.
Choose a ride partner:
You should buddy with someone that will help keep track of you in the event of an accident or trouble. Ride together with your buddy. As a riding partner you should be a riding asset not a liability. Ask yourself, am I more likely to need help from someone or am I more likely to offer help to someone. We should all work to help out each other. That will make this a great ride.
Money for the Ride:
Each person has contributed $400. This money will be used to cover the Motel bills and Snacks for the rides and for Drinks and Snacks after the ride each day.
Dinner Plans and Check:
Each evening we will go out to eat. As one large group table is hard, we should break up into 2 or 3 smaller table groups. Each group is responsible for the check at their own table. As not all order and eat the same amount, you should keep mental track of your own portion of the bill as the night progresses. At the end of the evening the check will be passed around the table and you should contribute your own portion of the bill and tip. After the check has been passed around, one member should count and verify that the payment and tip is correct. In the event of an overpayment (too much money) an attempt should be made to pass a few dollars back to those members that may have contributed too much. In the event of underpayment an announcement should be made that the pot is short so people can contribute a little more to generate the proper amount. This process should be used for drinks also. If you order drinks for the table, you should pay for that round. Otherwise let people order their own drinks.
GPS file from this ride: Roulette.gpx
Ride Creator:
Kevin L. Glassett
Go to: New gpsKevin Website
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