Thursday 7th May
Tyres all done but took longer than we had hoped, while there we got talking to a couple buying a pair of his and hers 12GS bikes complete with matching clothing and accessories. Once the bike was ready there was not much time left to do anything in the afternoon so I decided to change the front sprocket to a larger one to improve the gearing for them long straight roads that there are far to many of. Then in the evening we went for a Curry. Strange curry but still enjoyable and had way to much to eat. The menu gave You very little choice, no popadoms and chutneys, no veg dishes and just white rice which was not on the menu. The garlic naan bread was possibly one of the best though.

Friday 8th May
On the way to Moab it started out really warm so we took a ride around the Uinta National Forest. Where we found a suicidal snake in the middle of the road, either that or he was just posing for the camera.

We thought he was dead at first as he just lay there not moving.

On our exit of the forest there was no sign of the posing snake so he must of made it across the road safely.
From there it was a cold hard ride to Moab today gale force winds and rain. We stopped off about 50 miles from Moab to eat and warm up, there was a small group of very grumpy looking bikers that had just pulled in before us, who after warming up and eating became quite sociable. It turned out they were from Holland and had rented out a couple of Harley's to ride across the USA for 2 weeks but they had not really thought it through as they had only brought summer riding gear, they were heading in the opposite direction to us and had some high mountains to cross, rather them than us, we were cold enough and we were dressed for it. I think they were a little envious of us as we got dressed to leave. If it was us we would of gone to the nearest town and bought at the very least some cheap waterproofs.
The last 50 miles meant we had to get on the interstate which we were not happy about but we managed to find the old road that was no longer maintained and had one of their disclaimer signs stating that it was no longer maintained by the state. It was entertaining riding especially in the wind and rain as it was full of a mix of pot holes and gravel and eventually turned in to a full on unpaved road, sadly it ended at the interstate but at least we only had 5 miles left of the interstate.

They really seem to enjoy shooting signs out here.

Saturday 9th May
We spent the morning riding around the Arches National park Utah, the weather was sunny but cool up there and one of the roads was closed due to flooding, we were told that the unpaved roads would be un-rideable due to the heavy rain. But We took a chance anyway and had a great ride but it was very slippery at times, a set of knobbly tyres would of been good. This red stuff they call sand feels more like riding on clay when wet. On the turn off back to the main road we came across warning signs of deep sand (mud) ahead and it was already becoming a struggle to keep the bike upright so I decided to be sensible and turn around. The thought of getting stuck in this red gloop was not an appealing one. After stopping for food and petrol we headed off to Cortez this turned in to a hard cold ride, thankfully not to long.
All the locals we have spoken to are saying that this weather is very unusual for this time of year and the forecast is not good for tomorrow but better for Monday.

Can you see the Gohper watching us watching him.

He sat there long enough for me to get my gloves off and camera out before he eventually ducked back in to his hole.

Sunday 10th May
Half way. Can't believe we have been here 3 months.
This morning we headed off to Mesa Verde National Park but halfway up the mountain the temperature had dropped to freezing and it started snowing, there was a unanimous decision to abort Mesa Verde and head on to Pagosa Hot Springs find a motel and warm up. Thankfully it was only a 120 miles ride from the Park and it did warm up once we got off the mountain but only to about 5°C
Once checked in we set off for the springs, they have 18 different pools all at different temperatures the hottest was 111°F and they also had steps down in to the icy waters of the river. I managed to get up to my waste in the river but that was only for a nano second. We had a mix of rain and sun while relaxing in the hot springs, they are open all year round even when it's snowing.