Dual Sporting Utah's Smokey Mountain Road

[@dznnf7]

Another killer video. Proof that you can make something good out of any old footage! Love these.

[@RidefreakTV]

Thanks dznnf, the weather has been kind of sketchy so this is a good way to pass the downtime.

[@azdesertdog]

Wow! This looks awesome. I wish I kept my old raw video. This is going in the future ride file.

[@RidefreakTV]

Thanks ADD, this ride is a must, nothing like it in that whole area. As far as the old video goes I was surprised how much better this came out. It gives me something to do when it's too cold to ride.

[@gilvietor1918]

I rode that last year on my 701, just opposite direction, Big Water to Escalante. To date that was the road where I met the fewest people the entire ride, two entire vehicles the whole way.

[@algee8228]

Some desolate...but spectacular...sections there! Thanks for the tour!

[@RidefreakTV]

I'm drawn to the solitude of the remote areas in the west. It's so different then what I grew up in.

[@algee8228]

@@RidefreakTV I hear ya! Being a north-easterner (emphasizing the North part of that!) I have really loved getting into the desert the past few years. So cool to see so much in all directions and it is all so stunning...and amazing to see the evidence of the effect time has on the landscape everywhere. And of course trails everywhere!

[@WRW9751]

Thanks Cris great video with excellent tunes!

[@RidefreakTV]

Thanks WRW9751, I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

[@RJvidmoto]

Great timing for me that you are posting this now...We are planning a southern Utah ride for mid to late March. May need to try and hit some of the roads mentioned here and in the comments below. Very helpful! May base in St. George and head out from there each day with camping gear on board as a backup.

[@RidefreakTV]

I'm jealous, I tried to move to Cedar City but my wife wouldn't go along with it. StG is a nice place to base out of, good stuff in every direction.

[@AzMtnThumper]

Dude you're killing me...I was literally looking at a map of the Grand Staircase this morning before work. Re-worked video looks great!

[@RidefreakTV]

Thanks AMT, there's some great riding in the GSNM, it's well worth the trip.

[@AzMtnThumper]

@@RidefreakTV Yeah, rode Cottonwood Canyon Rd last September and it was cool. Got rained out during an earlier trip in May so your point about the weather is well taken. Looking forward to getting up there again.

[@swedishrick377]

Excellent adventure bike ride! My DR would be perfect for that ride. The Kelly Grade drop offs 😮

[@RidefreakTV]

Thanks Rick, It's kind of remote but worth the ride.

[@lanceg.8458]

Love your videos! I'm the lance that reached out to you on ADV Rider about KTM500's last year. G550Tech- So we have done Smokey 7 or 8 times in the last 10 years and you are correct... take this ride seriously as it is very remote. This last September we had a guy get antsy and decide to blow the carbon out and took off.... 3 miles later he cooked a corner, ended up in a wad and broke his femur- 35 miles south of Escalante. I backtracked a little and ended up getting cell service. Ambulance took 4 hours to get there and then called Lifeflight because the road is too rough to haul him out. If he would have had a compound fracture it would have gotten real, for real. Ruined the day for all of us regardless. You really need to have your head screwed on in the backcountry such as this. We like to take Left-Hand Collett canyon and take Croton Road to the bottom as well. Ahlstrom is great and so is Crosby Canyon which takes you to a remote beach of Lake Powell. We also love to take Cottonwood Canyon back up and take the cutoff at Grosvenor Arch through a VERY REMOTE area back to Alvey wash. Great country! Some of the best memories down there.

[@RidefreakTV]

That remote ride you mention is Death Hollow, we rode most of that that year the day before, I wanted to continue on to Grovsnor. I'll have to try that other route you mentioned, LHC to Croton. I know of more than one person who spent the night out there not paying attention to the weather. Thanks for the comments Lance, FH experience always puts things in perspective.

[@lanceg.8458]

@@RidefreakTV Also, one year we went out to Ahlstrom and got hit with a cloud burst that lasted 20 minutes. We had a flat tire fix in progress so we couldn't burn out of there... wouldn't have mattered, that grey clay was just like grease and we had flash flooding too. Couldn't even stand next to your bike and hold it up without falling. down. Luckily the Sun came out and dried things off enough to ride into Big Water in the dark... so miserable. As you say, we nearly spent the night out there, drenched! May the adventures continue-

[@RidefreakTV]

@@lanceg.8458 I'd really like to ride that area more, it's one of my favorite DS places. Have you ridden Skumptah road that turns off off Cottonwood canyon up north near the arch? It's a nice cruise through the canyons headed toward Kanab. Casto Canyon is another nice ride I want to do again.

[@lanceg.8458]

@@RidefreakTV Yes Skutumpah is great and gives another option to head west, rode it 5 years ago on our St. George to Bryce Canyon Day.. Casto was cool and pretty but we hit it on a Saturday and it was awash with low-speed quads... still enjoyed it. We want to explore more around Piute Pass and Red Canyon behind Hite which is as remote of experience as you can ask for. We also rode around Ticaboo last weekend on quads for the first time and was amazed at some of the canyons and washes we found... need to go back on bikes next time. Also hit Poison Spring, one of our favorites.

[@RidefreakTV]

@@lanceg.8458 Rode PS a couple years ago for the first time, it was also a great ride. Im partial to the desert.

[@RWWRENTAL]

no skydio? ha ha jk back in 2013. beautiful road man! I love these scenic dirt roads as well. I have to take note of this road and explore it

[@RidefreakTV]

That's Hero 3 footage :) 7 years old. Definitely ride this road Will if you want to see some really scenic areas.

[@mikeburnett6222]

RF, yeah, it's me again asking questions. How big a tank do you run on your 500? What kind of milage do you get? When you got to the lake, did you retune the way you cam or? I'd like to make this run this year but would probably need to return back to Escalante. My new 500 is don except for ECU and the fuel tank. All backordered.

[@RidefreakTV]

That ride was on my 525, it was running a 3.2gal. It got 50~55mpg dualsporting. The 500 has a 3 gallon and gets about 60~62mpg, our altitude helps alot with mileage on a FI bike. Ths ride is 75mi one way, the detour to Alstrom Point is a few more miles (10-15ish), There's fuel at ether end, Escalante or Big Water. You're bike is fine for this the way it sits. The only thing I'd to is if I was alone I'd make sure and have a 150mi range, that way if you get near the end and have to turn around you go enough to get back. a 1.5 gallon fuel bag would do it, pour the fuel in as soon as possible and store the bag on the bike. It's a cool ride. We left escalante, headed south, detoured out to Alstrom Point (lake) then rode back to SMR and continued the last 10 or 15 miles to big water.

[@klutzonwheels]

Great video! Planning to ride this next month on a Tiger 800 xcx. What month did you ride it in?

[@RidefreakTV]

It was around this time, one word of caution, check with the BLM to get the road conditions, if it's sketchy there won't be any 4 wheel vehicles and very little if any 2 wheeled traffic, its pretty remote but it's a beautiful ride, don't forget to stop at Alstrom Point.

[@twotiretirade4624]

Did they have Go Pro's back in 2013 (LOL)...

[@RidefreakTV]

They weren't very good ones :) I'm surprised how well I was able to improve the quality, I was still limited though.

[@danielowen7465]

I dont care what anybody says, Utah is the prettiest state.

[@RidefreakTV]

I agree Daniel

[@michealburnett7877]

Are you running DS tires or off-road tires on this trip?

[@RidefreakTV]

They were DS tires Michael, I think I had some Kenda Parker Desert, tires on it. If not then it's the tire I've used since in similar rides. Good traction, kinda cheap and they have a good 6ply desert carcass.