Tag

camping

Browsing

Moab, even the name sounds as foreign as its landscapes are to a city slicker like me. You see, there comes a point where you can only pound so much payment on your daily two-wheeled commute before you have to get away from it all…and with San Francisco currently undergoing its Bridgepocalypse, the timing seems right for Asphalt & Rubber to get a little dirt on its riding boots.

The truth is that I have wanted to go the parks that flank the Moab, Utah region since my early Boy Scout days. Once I got a car, it went on the short-list for road trip destinations; when I got a 4×4 it became the target for a four-wheeling adventure; and of course when I got a motorcycle…well, you get the idea. I have never made the trip happen though, but all that is going to change next week.

Just as Scott and David get back from Silverstone, covering what should be a very entertaining British GP, I will be embarking on a eight-day, 2,000+ mile, Santa Barbara to Moab and back, motorcycle trip. Like most of my foolish travel adventures, my college roommate Tim, a long-time riding buddy and occasional A&R helper, will make the adventure with me on two trusty steeds: a BMW R1200GS and Yamaha Super Ténéré.

For those who don’t know, I’m an Eagle Scout. And with a lifetime of scouting, comes the duty to do some good in the world, a general inclination for thriftiness, honesty, & loyalty, as well as the occasional desire to start an imprudently large fire (rumors that I once started a campfire that the national weather service recorded as a forest fire might be true, and probably aren’t exaggerated). Hiking all over the higher altitudes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Grizzly Adams and I could compare notes on how to shit in the woods, as well as our constant five o’clock shadows.

When I turned 18, I bought a motorcycle against threats from my mother on disowning me, and was off to college. Becoming a complete petrolhead, I was relieved when some guys went the long way around, and essentially launched the adventure motorcycle segment. The happy merger between camping and motorcyles, virtually every OEM has some sort of offering that can be wedged into this ambiguous market, which means an option for every flavor of ADVrider. With an predisposition for “needing” stuff that rivals a woman’s desire for another pair of shoes (or purses for that matter), hiking/camping and motorcycles are certainly gear oriented pastimes. With that long-winded intro, A&R presents to you the purpose-built motorcycle tent for adventure motorcyclists by Redverz.