Friday, October 23, 2020
Hiking on Hold
If you’ve read any of my blog posts or watched my YouTube channel you’d know I’m a bit obsessed with hiking.
But for the last couple of months I’ve done pretty much no trail walking.
It’s been delayed. No trail walking. I’ve hung up my daypack.
Yet for good reason.
My RV is parked on the side of my mom’s house. I generally don’t want to be parked at anyone’s home for more than 1-2 nights but plans ALWAYS CHANGE, don’t they?
You see, back in July and August I started to explore with my new-to-me 2016 Minnie Winnie RV. Her and I explored what we could of Arizona and Colorado in a 3 week span.
It was glorious!
Yet I quickly realized that once parked at a campsite I had no transportation to get me to beautiful places to hike.
It was when I was sitting in my RV near Flagstaff dry camping, stuck with nowhere to go for miles that I realized I wanted a motorcycle.
Yup, at 48 years old and never ever ridden one, I decided to buy a two-wheeled trail monster.
With the help of my son, who rides regularly to work, and some internet research I ended up buying myself the YAMAHA XT250 DUAL SPORT MOTORCYCLE.
I don’t know how to ride.
I took a basic class that can get me up to 2nd gear and 15 miles an hour but now, on October 23, 2020, that’s my limit.
Ok, Allie, but what does having a motorcycle have to do with not being able to hike? I was getting to that.
Besides being stalled so I can take a motorcycle class I also had to wait for a hitch rack and some gear to come in the mail. I’m actually still waiting to buy boots and safer clothing.
I know, I can still hike. Actually, I can’t….
I’m injured…..
Motorcycle Mayhem, The Dual Sport Dilemma
I just got back from a RV drycamping trip to the Kaibab Forest in Arizona. (Where is that? Search Google maps for the Grand Canyon South Rim. Now look just slightly south of that. There it is.)
I went to the forest for the forest roads – to practice riding my new motorcycle.
The trip was a bust in terms of learning how to ride my new bike, well, if you consider me only riding 3 miles a bust. Yet not so much a bust since I learned how to be safer with a motorcycle and deciding to not rush things.
I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before – EVER. But I bought one.
Just a small one according to most people that ride. She’s big to me! Bigger than my bicycle at almost 300 pounds!
Speaking of 300 pounds, it doesn’t feel good when it crashes down on your leg creating the largest bruise ever seen on a thigh.
She fell on me.
Though not while I was riding, thankfully, but while I was attempting to get her up on the rack. I pushed her almost to the top then gravity took over and before I knew it she was on top of my right leg. I’m lucky, I was not in pain and I was able to slide out from underneath (after a few choice words not repeated here.)
This is why I only rode her 3 miles.
Earlier that day I practiced and planned to do more the following day but after the struggle I decided a nice, calm trip just a couple miles north to the Grand Canyon was more in order.
I packed up the RV and my dual sport (the next day I managed to get her up with less gravitational pull, aka I rested and had more strength) and headed slightly north to the amazingly, beautiful, biggest hole in the earth, billions of years old GRAND CANYON! (Video on Youtube coming soon.)
And here I am in my RV parked on the side of mom’s house — waiting.
I’m DYING to get back on my bike. The 3-4 miles I rode her on that forest road at 13 mph was fun!
I can’t wait to get her out to explore and get to more hiking trails.
Today I head up to Las Vegas to see if I can get some gear. I need boots, pants and maybe a jacket. (I have one yet it seems to be geared to street riding.)
That’s what’s going on. I’m working to get back on the trails – whether on bike or hiking shoes.
More to come….
Cool Adventure Finds & Reads
ADVPulse – This site comes up often when I search Dual Sport topics. It seems to be a good site for info.
85-Year-Old Thru-Hiker Dale Sanders Just Lapped The Grand Canyon – THIS man is an inspiration! “Since his eightieth birthday, Sanders has canoed the Mississippi River from source to sea, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, completed a 340-mile nonstop paddling race,”
Curious to what the AZT looks like or where to go? I’m hiking it mile by mile and have filmed each trek. Check out my list here: My Arizona Trail (AZT) Hiking Journey
7 Responsible Hiking Tips – Staying Eco-Friendly On The Trail – Leave no Trace, LNT, Leave No Trace. 🙂
America’s Veterans Deserve the Healing Power of Time Outdoors Time outside heals and our vets deserve it so much!
~Allie
