Now my motorcycle is having problems in SAND... | S1E58

Oh, the heat. Temperature light's on. Whew. It's working hard. Yeah, the bike's just hot. Do you know if it gets less sandy in the canyon? My journey begins at North America's most northern drivable point. The plan is to ride through Canada and America before crossing over to Europe. From there, I'll make my way across Asia and down to Australia. New Zealand's southern most drivable point has bullmarked the end of my journey. I'm calling it The Big Spiral, and this is Act Three Across North America. Good morning from South Fork, Colorado. So today is, it's Colorado, it's gonna be another beautiful day of riding in Colorado. I'm kind of excited, and then I think there's gonna be also a little bit of art involved. So let's have a look at the map, and I'll show you what the plan is. All right, so here's our map of Colorado. And right now we're in South Fork. And I want to head over up here. And there's something called Medano Creek, and it looks like an absolutely beautiful road. And then, so we'll head up through the mountains here. And then we'll make our way somewhere like here, I think? And there's, I think it's quite famous. It's called Phantom Road. And it'll get us up to here somewhere. And then that's where we're gonna see a really cool piece of art. So I've actually seen art from this artist in Belgium, in Antwerp, and I just stumbled across it because it is the kind of thing you stumble across. But when I did stumble across it, it was just so fascinating and interesting. I was like, I had never really seen anything like it. But now that I know that he has a piece of art here in Colorado, I really want to go check it out. So it's gonna be about 340 kilometers, I think. But a lot of it's off-road. So, and obviously off-road's a lot slower, so I really need to get going because we're definitely getting a little limited in light this time of year now. So, all right, let's get going. All right, so I woke up this morning and looked at the weather, and it was just above freezing. So one Celsius, or what is it, 33 Fahrenheit, something like that. I was like, what the heck? So anyways, yeah, I'm all bundled up. It should get, it's gonna get warmer throughout the day. But, but I have a little bit of driving to do before I get to our first destination, our first bit of beauty. So this creek is kind of a special one, and it's, it's, I might be a little late for it. And the reason for that is because it's seasonal, and the creek only really appears with the snow melt. And it's actually near a big area next to sand dunes. Oh, oops, I have to pay first. So this creek is kind of special because it flows over sand dunes, creating kind of a beach, which is unusual for Colorado because it's a landlocked state. But when snow melts, it's usually in the spring. So I might be a little late for it, but we'll go and check it out and see what we can see. Oh, it's a water tower. We're starting to get to the flat states, aren't we? All right, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. So we're not gonna go into the national park. We're gonna go beside it. And that's where also this beach is, this inland beach. Yeah, it's a giant pile of sand there. Oh, I guess I'm going in. How much is it? 15, 25 bucks. Oh, there's a motorbike. Can you ride your motorbike in here? Oh, Ontario. They came a long way with their motorbike. Hello. Just for the day, I guess. All right. Yeah. It'll be $20 for the vehicle. Cool. And can you drive all the way through the mountains? Yes, you'd be able to do it. It is a primitive road. Okay, I'm all about primitive roads. And as long as it's Colorado highway legal, you'll be good. It's a Canadian plated bike, so it should be fine over there. Okay. I have to say a word. Thank you very much. All right. I think we're going to skip the visitor area and just go straight for the dunes. They're really big. They're honestly really big. All right. I have a feeling you can't take your motorcycle on the dunes, but. Oh, people have like little surfboards and stuff. Oh, that's cool. All right. Let's just go for a little walk on the dunes then. All right, let's see what these dunes are all about. So I just did a little research about how these sand dunes formed. And basically they started forming 440,000 years ago. So the reason it was 440,000 years ago is that they believe that a lake called Lake Alamosa started to dry up. And I guess at the bottom of this lake, there was a lot of sand. Well, this was now exposed to wind and everything. And it turns out this area is kind of like a bit of a wind funnel. Like you have the mountains over there and then you have wind coming from the east. And basically you'll get all that wind blowing the sand into this area. And it just starts piling up into these dunes. Now they're pretty big dunes and it took 440,000 years to kind of pile up to this big. But it is quite impressive actually. It is fairly hard work walking in this stuff. Like it's a, well, if you walked in the beach, you walked on a sand dune. It's funny because you can barely see the edge of the dune and then it all of a sudden disappears. I've been a long time fan of the Dakar Rally. And occasionally they'll have accidents where they're driving through the dunes and they're racing. So they're going as fast as they can possibly go. But then they have these incidents where they can't see the edge of the dune and they'll just fly right off of it. Cause it's just so kind of invisible. And it's, yeah, it's kind of scary. And I can, now that I'm walking here, I can totally understand that. Yeah, they're tearing through these dunes and then all of a sudden the ground disappears from under them and they're flying. All right, so that was cool, but let's head up that way. And that's where the creek is. I'm not sure if we're going to actually see the creek because I see zero snow in the mountains at the moment. So, but I think it's just going to be a cool road through there and it'll get us to the other side of the mountains here, so. Medano Pass Pervitive Road. That's what I'm looking for. Oh, it looks like there's some other people with the same idea. Thank you. Oh, I guess I'm getting a little sand riding here. Oh God. It's getting loose now. Definitely got a little difficult. Oh, the heat, temperature lights on. It's working hard. Yeah, the bike's just hot. Do you know if it gets less sandy in the canyon? It does, when you, it takes a while to get to the non-sandy part. Okay. It's probably. Okay. Yeah, okay, sweet, thanks. Okay, that's good to know. It's rideable, but the bike's just getting hot. And I don't want to be stopping all the time because the bike is too hot, so. Okay, the bike's cooled down now, though, so I may try to drop my tire pressure if I have to stop again. Okay. Let's see how we go. This is already better. Catching them already. Maybe I should wait. Turn the bike off for a second. Yeah, if it's really deep, I don't know, like this deep, then the bike just kind of sinks in. But here it's like a fairly hard pack. Only tricky bit is like, you have these jeeps going through and they make these two deep tracks. And you really have to like ride right down the middle of the track. Otherwise, if you get to the edge, the bike's trying to like climb up it. And that's a bad thing because the bike is just going to slide down the edge. So, and then when it slides down the edge, then you're like, ooh, a little balance and stuff, so. All right. Well, they're probably not very far ahead, but let's keep going. Whenever I see rocks, I'm like, oh, good. Because I know they're hard and grippy. This is kind of cool, though. It's like a big berm. Oh, God. It's definitely better to stand up, but sometimes when you feel a bike move under you and you feel like it's going to go down or something, you just want to sit down so you can put a foot out like right now. Oh, it looks like things are changing here. It's a creek crossing. Let's watch these guys do it. It doesn't look that deep. Maybe let's cool the engine a little. That was all right. It just went up to my boots, so not too bad. Wonder if they'll let me by. Kind of have to go faster to keep cool. Oh, they let me by. Thank you. Yeah, this is a cool road, actually. Now that we're getting in the trees, it's getting a lot firmer. Just by the dune and out in the open, it's just somewhat windswept, I think, so. Oh, very pretty in here with all the leaves. Oh, creek crossing. I think the right. Nice. That wasn't so bad. Yeah, I'm really enjoying this, actually. This is really cool. It's a fair bit different than what I have been riding in other spots, so. Oh, God. I was riding it in second and just really lugging it. And eventually it just quit. It has had enough of my abuse. I'm having so much fun. I love this kind of riding, to be honest. I'm not making much progress on the trip by riding this kind of stuff, but. Oh, man. Is it ever fun? Well, I think we're getting close to the top of the pass here. Now it's getting legit. Oh, there's a sign there. Oh, we just left the national park. Oh, the heat light's on now, but I think if I just coast downhill, it should be okay. Okay, maybe I have to. Oh, no, the light just went off. I was right about my theory. Yeah, as long as the engine's turning and you're not, like, it's fuel injected, so if you're not putting any throttle in, it won't put any fuel in. And no fuel means no heat. And then you also have the benefit of just the coolant still flowing through the engine because the water pump's still working. Anyway, this is all really nerdy stuff, but this is the things I think about, so. All right, so I guess we're officially going downhill now. Oh. Oh, look how good the road got. Oh, very comfy, relaxing ride on a motorcycle. Oh, God. Made me too comfy. Oh, bit of a hole there. I was, like, looking at this reservoir. This road is so smooth, I was, like, taking it for granted, to be honest. All right, back on the highway. Oh, there's a warning sign about Buffalo. Oh, that's cool. Oh, I'm not sure what that sign is. All right, so now to Phantom Canyon Road. All right, we're getting close to Phantom Canyon now. I think we're in Florence. Look at this convertible. I feel like nobody buys convertibles anymore. Barracuda. All right, I think we're heading on to Phantom Canyon Road. I'm not quite sure when it starts, but we're going into the mountains now. It should be gravel, though. Wow, this is already awesome. Okay, so Phantom Canyon Road was not originally a road. It was a railroad, and it was built in the late 1800s, connecting Florence, which we just rode through, and going up to Cripple Creek, which we'll end up in. Turns out it was not a very good railroad at all, and a couple of days after it opened, there was already an accident causing a death, and a few years later, in the early 1900s, they just took the tracks out and converted it into a road. But now it's just a really cool place to seek your motorbike, I guess. But yeah, the road is in very good condition. Like, you could drive a car on this for sure. It's also very, it's a rail grade. Like, it's very consistent in terms of elevation change, so. Oh yeah, look at that. So I guess it's one of the old rail tunnels. Oh, that's so cool. I gotta give it a little bit of gas in the tunnel. But yeah, you can see why this railroad is maybe not the best, because it's so windy. Oh wow, this bridge. Huh. I think it's getting better. This is really cool, wow. Wow, look at how they cut that. Oh, I think we're climbing out of the canyon now. Oh, it's deeply pretty up here. Oh, there's a town there. Wow, that's cool. I don't think that's Cripple Creek just yet. That's, I'm not sure what town that is. Looks like a really cute town though. Back to the pavement. Oh, it's called Victor. Looks like an old mining town. Okay, I should go into downtown and have a look. Very cute town. Okay, so we still have a piece of art to go look at. And I have to figure out where that is still. Okay, it's seven minutes away, apparently. All right, so I think we're coming up on it, I think. Although this doesn't seem right. Apparently it's right here. Okay, I went the wrong way. The sun. All right, so I think we're at the right spot, but we still need to go find her. She's not in the mining building. She's gotta be around here somewhere. Oh, I think I can see her. Oh, I think that's her. So this is Rita the rock planter and she was created by Danish artist, Thomas Dambo. And as it turns out, Thomas has been somewhat prolific in creating trolls around the world. Like I mentioned before, I've seen a bunch of his work in Belgium, but just from talking to people here, they're like, oh yeah, there's one in Brackenridge. The other people are like, yeah, there's some in Seattle. So as it turns out, there's quite a few. There's one in Australia, there's a bunch in Asia, lots in the States, and then yeah, a bunch in Europe as well. So yeah, I just find it really charming. These trolls are always seem to be placed in like a more natural environment. One thing that I noticed between here and the Belgian ones is the ones in Belgium were in an old mining area. And so is this. And it's kind of cool that, you know, you can take a place that was somewhat destroyed or, you know, kind of manipulated by men. And then you can just place like a beautiful piece of art that kind of naturally, but beautifully fits into the landscape, which I think is really cool. So, but anyways, I've had to wait a little bit to talk to the camera because Rita is so popular that I feel so awkward talking to the camera with so many people around, but yeah. Isn't she beautiful? And she's planting these rocks. Anyways, I haven't figured out where I'm staying tonight. So I'm going to figure that out now. The sun's already set and it's getting cold, so I better get moving. Okay, well, as it turns out, Rita is very popular. There's still more people coming after the sunset. I'm sure this artist is doing these works cut by commission, you know? And I'd say it's definitely a good investment by these towns to have him make some art for them because you can see, it's just crazy how popular she is. Like it was just car after car after car was coming to see her. So anyways, I booked a hotel in Victor. All right, back in Victor. And I'm thinking that building there is the Victor Hotel. So my room is actually kind of cool. I'm used to not so good rooms, but this one's actually pretty good. I'll show you quick. Yeah, so maybe the thing I like the best is the brick wall, but yeah, like even the heater is like the radiator, I guess you'd call it radiator, is old fashioned. And I don't know, I just kind of liked it. Kind of stylish chairs and kind of a cool bathroom. Okay, the tub is a little lacking, but I like the floor. But let's have a look at the map quick. All right, so I've got my Colorado map, making some progress. So this morning we started in South Fork and then I just drove like this all highway, highway, highway and then I got to the turnoff for the Great Sand Dunes National Park. So then I went up here, like something like that. And maybe up here, messed around in the sand a bit and then crossed this pass like this. And then after that, I drove up like that, like this, like this, like this. And then I got to Florence and then into Phantom Canyon, which is there and then got to Victor, which is where Rita is. And that Rita, she's still out there planting rocks. Ah, she's so popular, isn't she? Actually, maybe that was maybe my highlight of the day, but it's hard to say. Everything was really good today. I consider myself a bit of an artist as well. And yeah, I have a bit of a soft spot for art, so. But yeah, I had a nice day today. I have a love-hate relationship with sand. I think I'm starting to move more to the love now. At the start there, like when it gets really deep, like I'm pretty useless, but if it's like a little bit packed in, I'm not so bad. I've definitely got a little better at like moving the hips and like not trying to steer through it, but like using the body English to get the bike through. And it's satisfying when you improve, when you see improvement in yourself like that. It is satisfying, so. And then, yeah, once you kind of crossed that creek and climbed out of there, it was pretty cool. Sand dunes was cool. I've never seen the sand dune that big before in my life. But yeah, I think there's some pretty massive sand dunes in Chile, in Northern Chile, but I've never been to those, so maybe in the future. But yeah, in Phantom Canyon, I can't believe they tried to build a train track through that place. Like the walls are like vertical and like the canyon is like literally like this. Like it's just a really sharp V. I can't believe they tried to do it. And I totally get why that train failed after a couple of years because it's, you know, it probably like it burnt off the brakes and started getting out of control and then like hits a corner and then off the tracks. And anyways, but yeah, Colorado is beautiful. What are the best U.S. states? Well, it's gotta be between maybe Utah and Colorado. I don't know. Those two right next to each other. I know people in the comments getting angry right now, but Utah and Colorado, both really good. So, but yeah, I had fun today, but it was also really a long day because, you know, I did the 350 kilometers or whatever, but if I did that on the highway, it would go like in three and a half hours. But today it took, I don't know what, eight or nine hours. So, and then, yeah, you stop to film it and you do all the YouTube things and all that. But yeah, so anyways, if you liked the video or you want to see more like it, there is a subscribe button down below and yeah, maybe you'll hit it if you liked the video. Well, maybe, so awkward. But anyways, thank you so much for watching the video and I'll see you in the next one.