Utah Gecko
Self Guided Adventure
Southern Utah's Famous Color Loop
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This ride requires street licensed vehicles
Included as part of this week's long adventure loop:
Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway, Muley Point, Bears Ears National Monument, Natural Bridges, Abajo Mountains, Needles, Lockhart Basin, La Sal Mountains, Moab, Kokopelli's Trail, Old Spanish Trail, San Rafael Swell, The Wedge Overlook, Castle Valley, Capitol Reef NP, Dixie National Forest, Burr Trail, Henry Mountains, Canyonlands Maze. WOW and so much more!
About the Gecko
This spectacular red rock adventure is designed for side by sides, motorcycles and Jeeps. It does require street licensed vehicles. The route is mostly dirt roads forming a big loop around southeast Utah. There are several route choice options that offer up both hard routes and easy bail out routes which can be mostly paved.
These routes are often very remote and support is often non existent. Don't go alone and be prepared to take care of yourself. We do not recommend this adventure in the summer as it can be very hot; spring or fall is best.
Carry lots of water always!
Riders should have a range of 140 mile between gas stops.
In spring and fall be prepared for quick weather changes and carry extra gear in case you have to spend the night on the trail.
This ride is split into a 7 day plan with motel suggestions and gas stops.
This Gecko adventure is one of my favorite rides in all of Utah and frankly, in all of North America. Like the Grand Canyon, but with more powerful colors, it shows us of a world that few of us get to experience: somewhere between red rock beauty and harsh deserts. On top of that, there is just plain good riding--fast dirt roads, open sand washes, rocky obstacles, mountain passes, even a bit of forests. And for most of us there is wildlife that we never get to see. Geckos, yes. Snakes, yes. I have even seen buffalo on this route. Go prepared and have a ride of a lifetime.
Self Guided Trail
This ride is designed to be a self guided adventure. Riders install a custom GPS microSD card into their Garmin GPS unit. The routes are then displayed as the rider travels along. Navigation is made easy. Riders can choose to follow along at times or can choose among hard and easy options. Or riders can simply choose to ride off the routes and return to them later. For many, this allows them to just experience the trail without the burden of getting lost.
Do this ride yourself: Purchase Rider Packet and GPS microSD card for this ride
Note: A Full Rider Packet consists of printed ride descriptions and paper ride maps and a custom GPS microSD card for your Garmin or BMW GPS unit.
Gecko Choice (Scroll Down Menu)
Free Shipping to Lower 48 States
Notes: I suggest you plan and order early. Normally I ship within a week. But sometimes I run out and it can take me several weeks to get new cards and maps. And sometimes I am out riding and building new adventures so that can be hard too. I list the Option for 2 SD cards because many riders like to carry a backup card or a cheap backup gps in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
Ride Details
I know many of you also enjoy dreaming about the ride and making your plans, so here is the detail, enjoy!
View the ride on the Satellite Maps
OK since many of you like to study more detail about the ride, below are the ride maps.
I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!
Legend:
The Blue lines are MAIN UTBAT Routes
The Red lines are Hard Alternate Routes
The Green lines are Easy Alternate Routes
Black lines are Out and Backs to Gas and Towns
How does the ride navigation work?
This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own. You are responsible for your own riding. You will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together. You are not encouraged to ride alone. You are responsible for your own riding and yourself.
(see my ride Navigation Video)
Are you right for this ride?
When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? You should be in the more likely to offer help camp. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help. Additionally there is all the normal stuff, come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.
How do I make the GPS stuff so easy?
I develop very high quality ride maps custom for our ride. They come from much of what I and others have ridden. I take the best from all my rides and make new ones.
(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)
Note from me, gpsKevin
My goal for this ride is simple: great riding. So you can count on great routes and places to ride.
But in addition, the ride is about discovering new places, meeting new friends, seeing new parts of the world.
Thanks
gpsKevin
FAQ's
Q:What will the weather be like this time of year?
A: In September, the weather is most often nice, could be a little hot in the lower deserts and it can be cold in the morning and in the mountains. But sometimes there can be rain. Wet and muddy routes can force us to change our routes. Come prepared with extra gear for cold and wet.
Q: Would this be a good ride for new riders?
A: No, this ride is for intermediate and experienced riders only. The riding has easy route choices and tough route options. Each evening we will study the following day's choices. You will find lots of supportive people at the ride.
Q: What are motel room arrangements?
A: Rooms are double occupancy, meaning each rider shares a two queen bed room with another rider.
Q: What bikes are right for this ride?
A: Adventure bikes and Dual Sport bikes can all work well by choosing the easy or hard route options.
Q; What do I do if I don't have a Garmin GPS?
A: Buy one, you need it, we will show you how to use it. You can get a great one for under $200 bucks. ( See gpsKevin's gps recommendations)
Q: Is the riding really on my own?
A: Yes, but almost everyone hooks up and rides with a friend or a new friend.
Q: What gas mileage range should I have for this ride?
A: I recommend a range of 200 miles that is enough even when normal obstacles are encountered.
Motorcycle rentals for the Utah Gecko
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