After a month away I flew back into Salt Lake City to pick up where I left off. Getting back on the bike is getting easier every time. I’ve finally given in and picked up a separate set of camping gear to keep back East so I can just leave everything I need on the bike. No more trying to keep track of what I brought back with me so I can make sure to take it out on the next trip. It’s an expensive way to do things but half of the camping gear I have on the bike I had to pick up because I left something behind on a previous trip so I was halfway there already, I’m just saving myself from the impromptu trips to REI while I’m on the road. Of course no sooner do I say this than I realize I left my Spot beacon back East in my backpack from the Catskills trip. Guess I’ll have to get that shipped back out here.

The only thing standing between me and getting back on the road is a faulty anti-lock brake switch that failed just as I pulled into Salt Lake City. I brought a replacement switch with me and it’s a simple plug-in replacement. Unfortunately I soon figured out that the plug is buried deep in the bowels of the bike. After removing the body panels, battery, battery tray, oil tank, coolant tank, air box, snorkel, and electronics bay cover I was finally able to cut off a half dozen zip ties, free the old wire from the harness, and slide the new one in. I can now say with confidence that I know how to tear the entire top half of the bike apart and put it back together, something that I hope I will never have to do on the side of the road. I am also acutely aware of how lacking the tool kit that came with the bike is, there is no way I would have been able to get this deep into things with just the tools included in the kit. I’ll have to start adding a few odds and ends, just in case. At least it’s fixed and ready for departure in the morning.

The current plan is to head north. The desert is getting too hot this time of year and I haven’t spend much time up in the Northwest. I was reading Outside Magazine on the flight in and it was the Road Trip issue, with one route from Jackson Wyoming up through the Tetons and Yellowstone to Glacier National Park. Seems like as good a plan as any, hopefully I’ll get to see some wolves in Yellowstone and I’ve heard the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier is spectacular.

Tags: Red Roamer