Destination: Keystone, Colorado
Sarah Schilke chronicles her experience motocycle riding to and attending the AMA Women & Motorcycling Conference. Her motorcycle journey takes her from Southern California through Nevada and Utah to the beautiful Keystone resort in Colorado. This is the 4th Women and Motorcycling Conference hosted by the AMA and Sarah participates as both a member of the Advisory Committee and a seminar speaker. Come along with Sarah on her daily updates and enjoy the motorcycle ride.
Day 1 – Riding Across the Desert, Peak Of Summer
Packing. It’s never fun and you never seem to have enough room, especially when trying to cram over a week’s worth of stuff in a small motorcycle-friendly duffle bag. This packing job proved even more challenging when I realized I would have to pack for both hot desert and cold mountain conditions. I reluctantly swapped that one extra pair of sandals for my waterproof gloves and an extra sweater.
My riding companion Alice showed up and off we rode for a relatively uneventful day touring across California and Nevada to finally reach the Utah border. My high expectations for cooler end-of-summer temperatures were suddenly shattered as the first pass felt like slamming into a wall of heat. Right. It’s summer and I’m in the Mohave desert. Sure glad I brought that electric vest.
As the temperatures climbed into the 100s, we opted out of photo opportunities (the worlds largest thermometer in Baker, the gateway to Death Valley sign, ect.) and backroads which would have prolonged the scorching ride. When we finally pulled into our hotel in Mesquite, we checked-in and immediately grabbed an ice cold beer at the casino bar where I happened to find $10. Could this be a good luck charm? Would the weather conditions improve on tomorrow’s ride?
Looking over the routes and maps we realized we could possibly hit rain and even snow going through Utah… in August. Ah, the joys of motorcycle touring, maybe I really will need the electric vest…
