Cross Country Day 25: Las Vegas, NV – Manhattan Beach, CA

After reading all the input from the guys on MODERNVESPA.COM on best times to leave and routes to take from Las Vegas to LA, and after much deliberation, we decided to leave Las Vegas at 4 AM. The reasons were many – all of which you guys already mentioned. First and foremost, we figured most of the drunk drivers would be back at home sleeping, or at a minimum, not traveling on interstate 15! Second, we wanted to beat traffic – again, we were hoping that traffic would be lightest during the early morning. This was important because we did not know what to expect out of the PX – would she quit again or was that a one time thing due to the extreme heat? Needless to say, I checked the insurance for PX and re-read over the roadside assistance details. Third, we really wanted to beat the heat. Need I remind everyone, our approach to Las Vegas was absolute brutal. Think hair blower one inch from your face. We REALLY didn’t want to go through that again, and being aware that the Mojave and Death Valley regions are two of the hottest in North America, we decided to aggressively try and cross it was relatively cold.

In terms of route, we decided to take the first 50 or so miles on route 15. We assumed there would be few people on the road, and 15 south is by far the most direct route toward the LA area. Given our uneasiness with PX, we agreed to play it by ear – if PX starts shuttering, we’ll get off and find another way, or else we ride PX as long as possible on the highway to get through the desert before it really started heating things up.

We were out the door by 4:10 AM, and after a quick stop by the Las Vegas sign to snap pictures, we headed down route 15 south toward California. The temperature on our departure was around 95 – relatively cool compared to the heat we had faced the day before. Traffic wasn’t too bad in the first couple hours but by 7 and 8 AM, there were a steady stream of cars in my rearview mirror. Many of you mentioned that some cagers “haul ass” on 15 – and yes, this is very very true – a couple cars blew by us like we were standing still. But they came few and far between, most cars/trucks passed in a very orderly manner.

Before long, we found ourselves in the desert – the sun was not up yet but you could still make out the landscape – rolling hills of desert with small shrubs and cacti, surrounded by large, bare rock mountains in the backdrop. Pretty cool. The temperatures during this phase were noticeably cold – the temp dropped to 70 degrees at one point! The cold air was a nice change and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Couple things that really surprised us about this phase of the trip. First, the air quality west of Las Vegas is terrible (not sure if this area is in California or Nevada) – the worst air we encountered during our entire journey, bar none. It reminded me of Beijing. You could actually see the smog in the distance and the surrounding area, and could definitely smell it. I initially thought it might be smoke from a forest fire or the like, but it had a very industrial smell that made me gag. Was glad to pass through a mountain range and finally be rid of the smog.

We initially planned to only take route 15 down to Barstow, and if PX was running ok, perhaps take it a bit more down into the LA area. PX ran GREAT from the opening bell. I took it easy at first, but was surprised to find no remnants of the problems we encountered a few days before. I still took it easy, but was able to cruise about 50-55 without issues (and yes, I was on the right “slow” lane the entire time).

Approach to the Los Angeles area was pretty uneventful, unless you count crowded roads and aggressive drivers. We managed to hit many of the major highways on route to Manhattan Beach. 15 to 10 to 605 to 105 to 405. Got some weird looks - Vermont tags probably didn’t help, but we managed to stay up with traffic relatively well while sticking together and hogging the right lane. Didn’t really enjoy the highway that much, but it was quick and the most direct way for us to get to our destination. We will take more time in the coming months to explore the “real” roads in the LA area.

Arrived at our destination in the mid-afternoon, almost 12 hours after we had left (we took plenty of breaks along the way). What a great way to end our journey – sunny skies, 70-80 degree temps, and a nice breeze while gazing at the open ocean.

Thanks to everyone who has followed our journey – we hope you have enjoyed the trip as much as we have. We’re in the process of compiling a list of suggestions for anyone thinking of going on such a trip – will post it in a couple days.

Total Miles Day 25: 300 miles

Las Vegas at 4:30 AM


Destination at Last - Manhattan Beach, CA!

Cross Country Day 22: Kanab, Utah – Las Vegas

Today’s ride was absolutely BRUTAL. We decided to take Interstate 15 partly because it is the only way to get to Las Vegas from Southern Utah. First part of the ride was ok – temps were in the high 90s and we passed through really cool looking (and enormous) mountains. Suddenly, we came out of the mountains and it was desert – and the temperature spiked well over 100. GTS thermometer showed 122 at one point – insanely hot. I opened up all my vents and was surprised to find the heat searing my skin – it literally felt like someone was using a hair blower on my skin (didn’t hurt, but man, it was hot!). We made plenty of stops as we tried to keep hydrated and cool. First time during the trip that I had thoughts of “wow, an air conditioned cage would be nice right now”. Good news: I was really glad that my armored suit performed as advertised (it is a summer/hot weather suit) – I actually managed ok. Bad news: It was too darn hot too stop and take pictures – sorry guys.

I was initially worried about how the temperature would affect the PX, but was surprised to have her run as usual and maintain 60 mph on the highway. Everything was great until we were about 5 miles away from Las Vegas. I heard this really weird, feint sound (I barely heard it over the wind) – it sounded like there were a couple nuts (or metal of the like) loose somewhere in the body and they were rattling around due to the vibration. However it was coming from the engine (I think). I put up my visor and ducked behind my windshield to try and really hear the sound and isolate it – at that moment, my gf noticed a puff of smoke coming out my exhaust. I was about to pull over when she said it stopped – so I kept going. I rode very carefully from that point – my number one concern was a seize of the engine, so I had my hand on the clutch just in case. Zoomed for a couple more minutes without any issues (and no smoke) but still heard the noise (again, very faintly), then boom – my engine turns off and I have no power. I immediately grab the clutch and I coast to the emergency lane. I take a second to collect myself, and try to restart it – the PX fires right up and I carefully get back on the highway. This happened a total of 2 more times before the traffic slowed (construction) and we exited – from that point had no problems.

We made it to Las Vegas in the late evening – and swore to never ride in the afternoon in the desert again. WAY too hot. Tired and hot, we checked into the hotel, and got some much deserved R&R. We’re planning to stay here for at least a couple days to relax before completing the last leg of our journey to Los Angeles.

Couple questions for you guys:

1. Anybody know of a “nice” route to get to LA from Las Vegas? I’d prefer not to take the highway, but also would like to minimize the time we’re in the extremely hot weather. Given our experience today, we’re thinking of leaving in the very early morning and riding until late morning or until it gets too hot. But we’re not sure of the “best” scenic route we could take – any suggestions on routes and towns to stop at/stay over would be greatly appreciated.

2. Question for you 2stroke experts – do I have to worry about damage to the piston or engine? The engine died only when I was really hammering it – full bore in 4th gear. Is it possible the engine simply overheated – it was over 120 degrees out after all. It fired right up after I pulled over, and the third time it happened I coasted and jump started it into third. The PX ran fine around the streets of Vegas after we got off the highway. Is there anything I can check before we take off? Any thoughts on the sound?

Total Miles Day 22: 205 Extremely Hot Miles



After Coming Through These Mountains – OMG it was HOT, 122 degrees F!!

Cross Country Day 21: Kanab, Utah – Grand Canyon National Park – Kanab, Utah

Day 21 Kanab, Utah – Grand Canyon National Park – Kanab, Utah

Visiting Grand Canyon from the north is somewhat difficult for a couple reasons. First, there are only a couple towns to the north of the Grand Canyon. Second, these towns are very far away from the park, partly because the park is so big. Kanab, approximately 80 miles away from the North Rim, was the nearest town we could find decently priced lodging, so our morning commute to the North Rim took us a couple hours.

The ride to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon surprised me – again, I was shocked at how high we had to climb. Grand Canyon is about 8,500 feet above sea level, and Kanab is about 5,000 feet, so the ol’ PX had to climb 3,000+ feet (again)! Needless to say, the ride to the Grand Canyon was slower then expected, however it was comforting to know the ride back would be “faster”.

The Grand Canyon is stunning, as you all probably expected. It is an extension of Zion National park – it simply overpowers you with sheer size and magnitude. The canyons are enormous, and drop down thousands of feet. I walked the Angel’s Bright Trail, and at times, was clinging to the trail side rails as the edges dropped down a LOOOONG way (I didn’t even want to look – I don’t do well with heights). While the Grand Canyon is enormous, there actually isn’t much you can really do there in a day – there were only four view points, which we thoroughly enjoyed, but besides taking a mule ride into the canyon (I would never want to put a poor mule through that), you basically relax and enjoy the scenery. The lodge on the north side is very nice – we had lunch (decently priced – they could charge more) overlooking the canyon, and enjoyed a coffee while relaxing in lawn chairs on the deck.

The bluish/grey haze you see in the pictures is smog that blows into the canyon from Mexico and Los Angeles. . Sad to see smog so far east from Los Angeles. It made it difficult to take good pictures but we did the best we could

After visiting all the viewpoints, we headed back toward Kanab, Utah for the night. Unfortunately, there is no other roads from the North Rim that lead west, so we had to backtrack to prepare for our next journey – tomorrow we head for Las Vegas!

Cross Country Day 20: Hatch, Utah – Zion National Park – Kanab, Utah

Like Bryce, Zion National Park is spectacular but in a very different way. While Bryce was impressive with its seemingly artistic, sculpted rocks, Zion overwhelms you with its sheer size and grandness. On the ride into Zion, you’re surrounded by enormous, towering rock mountains, some with really unique rocky surfaces. I’ve never felt so small and insignificant in my life. The mountains were so enormous, it was difficult to take pictures and capture everything. I tired my best to capture the sheer magnitude of the mountains, but alas, I feel the pictures don’t do justice to what you experience in person. Couple cool things about Zion. First, there are a number of hikes that you can take that will take you to the top of these mountains. Not suggested for those afraid of heights as a couple have you walking on 3 foot paths with sheer rock ledges on either side while taking you to overlooks with ridiculously high ledge overlooks of the park (one of these hikes took you to “Angels Landing”, a rocky overlook 1500 feet above the canyon floor!). Because of time….we decided not to go on such hikes ;) Zion also utilizes a unique shuttle system, so we could not ride our scooters into the later half of the park. The shuttle system is pretty efficient – one comes every couple minutes to each viewpoint, and we found it very convenient. I wonder if the Yellowstone experience would benefit from such a system.

We left Zion after having visited every viewpoint, and rode 40 miles to Kanab, Utah – a small town on the border of Utah and Arizona. Tomorrow, we will explore our final park of the trip – Grand Canyon National Park!