Last Saturday, the weather being a bit warmer than usual, I decided to go for a ride on my V Strom. The only problem with this time of year in Utah is that if you gain too much elevation the weather will be totally different. I weighed my options and decided on Stansbury Island. I have been there many times. I purchase permits from the BLM to gather rocks for my landscaping. I also used to "four wheel" out there when I had a beater truck to... beat. Anyway, the location was not new, however the mode of transport was. I had never been out there on a bike, let alone in January.
The trip there was nice. It was a bit cold doing 80 mph when it was just above 40 degrees F. I don't know the wind chill... maybe a wind chill chart would be useful here, like the one above.
40 degrees at 80 mph is 23 degrees. COLD enough. Becase of the cold and the length of the journey, about 45 minutes, I never really warmed back up.
I exited the freeway, I-80 West, at the second Grantsville exit, it is right before the freeway passes the Stansbury Mountains. The island is part of the range even though there is quite a gap between said range and the island. After exiting the interstate, I followed the frontage road and the clearly marked signs to the Island. It hasn't really been an island since the eighties, when the Great Salt Lake was at record levels and was flooding all over the place. I continued on the frontage road due west until the road heads north and segments some salt evaporation ponds. The island approaches amazingly quickly, maybe because I was quite preoccupied by the gravel surface of the road. The road was quite nice the whole way in. It was a bit muddy in spots, but gets enough traffic to not be too squishy.
The road crosses some private property, and it is well posted. The road ends about 10 or so miles from the interstate. There are some information boards there that talk about the history of the lake and the surrounding area. There is also a trail head that looked promising for a future family excursion. About a mile past the big quarry there is another trail head that is said to be a fun mountain bike trail. Whether or not this trail and the one at the end of the road meet I do not know.
It was a bit warmer on the way home. I saw another Stromtrooper out and about. I made the obligatory stop in Magna to pay homage to Feg's nonexistent house, a salute to Biggus and a stroll down memory lane where impersonating an invalid is a crime.
All in all it was a fun time and it only took a few minutes to wash my bike. I love the lack of chrome.
The big ride is coming. I found some very cheap and even free camping. It is going to be fun.
JP
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