by Brian Curry
At the end of October 1996 I had a convention to attend in Salt Lake City. When I found this out, I started thinking maybe I could accomplish several goals at one time while attending it. For some time I wanted to travel the Intermountain region during the winter. While it was not yet winter, it was close. I decided to arrive at the convention by motorcycle.
A trip this time of year should not be taken lightly. So I did some initial thinking of what would make this a safe, as well as a fun, interesting trip. These are those initial thoughts.
First, for those that are unfamiliar with the region, the Intermountain region of the US is a very large basin that basically encompasses Nevada and Utah as well as parts of Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona. Any moisture that falls inside the basin does not "flow to the sea." It leaves only by evaporation. This is why the Great Salt Lake is salty. Water flows in carrying minerals and while the water leaves via evaporation, the minerals do not. The Bonneville Speedway Salt Flats are another remnant of this process, salts left from evaporation of large quantities of precipitation.
The western border is formed by the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Sierras form a barrier to most of the moisture coming off the Pacific. They strip most of the moisture from incoming storms providing water to the California farmers and making the Sierras lush and green. Nevada also has a series of north and south trending mountain ridges with large flat basins or playas between them. Some of the mountains are a result of earthquake faults, some are due to volcanic action. The basins tend to be dry with little vegetation, and as you go up the mountains it gets wetter and you find trees and green scrub. The mountains in Utah also tend to run north and south although you can find some seemingly isolated up thrusts. Also large areas were lifted up, forming large plateaus that were then cut by faults and eroded by the streams flowing through them. The typical altitude of the basins are around 4-5000 feet with the passes over the ridges rising to 6-7000 feet. This should provide some idea of the area I would be traveling through.
While I live on the east coast of the US, there was no advantage in traveling to the convention from the east. I've done it five times in the summer and figured it would be no better in the fall. Plus it would take longer. I decided to start and end the trip in the San Francisco Bay area.
During the summer, the sun may come up at 5:30 AM and it may not get dark until 8:30-9:00 PM. Lots of riding time! That is not the case in late October. The sun comes up at ~7:30 AM, and was going down at 4:30-5:30 PM. There is a lot less day to work with. When the sun first comes up it is cold and any water on the ground can be frozen, and then when it gets dark at the end of the day it gets COLD again! So safe riding time becomes somewhat limited.
I knew weather would be a factor. I was at Death Valley in the winter last year and before. It can get cold there, real cold. Also, while most of the moisture is dropped in the Sierras, big storms can quickly sweep in and make the roads impassable. In the summer going up into the mountains can be good: it gets much cooler. This time of year, you go up into the mountains and it does not get cold, it gets freezing. Rain can turn to snow. Plus, if there is water on the road, when it gets dark the water can turn from a liquid to a solid form. This can make the dark a double downside. :(:( Weather could effect this trip a lot.
One good thing about weather in the west compared to the east is that snow does not last quite like it does in the east. In the east, when it snows, it is there for some time. In the west on the roads it can disappear. The sun is brighter at the higher altitude. Plus, the atmospheric pressure is less so that vaporization is better. A little sun and a black or dark surface will melt and evaporate the snow real fast. We would have the opportunity to see this in action.
So, in planning the trip, I thought of what the alternate routes were that might or would work better if the weather turned ugly. I had traveled most of the routes I planned on so I had a good idea of what I would be facing. This provided real security. I should not hit roads that I did not know if I was forced to run in the dark. Additionally, I provided some float time. If I had to make real big changes, the trip might take longer, or I might have to hold up somewhere and wait the weather out. So I did not cut the time real close. This also affected lodging reservations. While I had goals, I did not know that I would achieve them. So other than Salt Lake City, and later Las Vegas I did not make any reservations. I stayed where I got to that night.
As you can see, weather had a large impact on this trip. This also affected clothing selection. I do not like being cold. It can be fatal. I have been hypothermic 3-4 times. I have been lucky. I have survived it each time. It was close, but I survived. I recognize the signs, and now take action to correct it before it takes me out.
Layering would be important. The Aerostich was the usual outer layer. But wind will blow through the 'stich. Electrics were a must. I took the electric vest. While the vest helps, you have to keep the wind from carrying the heat away. So, I also took a vapor barrier shirt. This provides about as much warmth retention as a down sweater with much less bulk and it works much better than down in the wind. It stops the wind completely. After the middle of the trip, I would have a passenger. Passengers imitating ice cubes are not good. I took a second electric vest and enough connectors that I could run both vests. Plus she had her own vapor barrier shirt. I also took the insulated mitts. Mitts are good. The fingers can do a group grope in there, huddling together to stay warm. Then I had several inner layers of clothing that I could add if needed. I thought I had enough. Time would tell.
While I would travel to Salt Lake City solo, I would pick up the Traveling Partner there, so packing space was a concern. I was lucky and fortunate to know Don Eilenberger. He allowed me to borrow his top box. I allocated one saddle bag and the tank bag to myself and the other bag and top box to the passenger. (I like sanitary installations and do not like things hanging on the top. Plus with the potential for bad weather, stuff on the outside could be affected badly.)
Biking clothes would not be appropriate for the convention, so I made arrangements to get some dress clothes there. I left convention clothes with my business partner. He hauled them out as luggage for me. I also included clothes for travel after the convention. This way I did not have to carry every bit of clothes that I would be wearing and I did not have to plan a wash day. (The alternate is to ship them to the motel where you are staying and then ship them home again. BTDT Fed-Ex is good.)
At the same time as I would be traveling in the Intermountain region, Hilde Stolze, from Norway, would be traveling in the southwest. We exchanged info and thought we might be able to linkup using the BMWMOA message board.
With this initial planning and consideration, I was ready to hit the road.
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