Always trouble! Find out what was wrong with my motorcycle, ride the scenic Dolores Triangle Safari Route from Utah to Colorado with me and enjoy a stay in Gateway Colorado - including a visit to the famous Gateway Auto Museum with a collection of american cars! Traveling is about accepting the challenges along the way. It’s the choice to keep moving, no matter how big or unexpected the obstacles are. We chose to move forwards, to leave Moab and travel to beautiful Gateway in Colorado, where we visited an amazing auto museum and explored the surroundings on the back of a horse. But even leaving Utah was more difficult than expected - because my Yamaha Tenere refused to start. Due to the unexpected foot injury, our plans changed several times - we were not able to stay in Moab any longer because everything was booked, so our new travel companion decided to first drive back the rental bike of my injured travel partner to the next rental place in Grand Junction Colorado - and we would all leave Moab on different ways and meet again in the small town Gateway to spend two more days together before our paths finally would separate. While the other rider of our group dropped the motorcycle at the rental place, I had to deal with some new issues. The broken switch of the sidestand of my Yamaha Tenere 700! It was Sunday morning, all shops were closed and I needed a solution for this problem. I watched several Youtube Videos - and decided that my motorcycle needs a little surgery. Afterwards I took off from Moab and I followed Highway 128, which went on a beautiful curvy road along Colorado river. And turned off on the beginning of La Sal Loop Road. To reach the town Gateway in Colorado you don’t follow the paved La Sal Loop though, but continue on the so called Doloroes Triangle Safari Route aka Gateway Road, that soon turns into a packed gravel road. Enjoy views on Fisher Mesa, Bull Canyon and John Brown Canyon. If you want to know why Gateway is so special and see some amazing american cars of the Gateway Auto Museum tune in - we will as well change perspective and exchange the 75 hoursepower of my Tenere to 1!
AI Generated·May contain errors
Video Summary
AI Generated
A traveler journeys from Moab, Utah, to Gateway, Colorado, overcoming mechanical failures and group separations. After repairing a motorcycle kickstand issue, the narrator navigates a scenic, challenging gravel route through canyons and mountain passes to reach a small town known for its luxury resort and an impressive American auto museum.
Traveling is about accepting the challenges along the way.
It's the choice to keep moving,
no matter how big or unexpected the obstacles are.
We chose to move forward,
to leave Moab and travel to beautiful Gateway in Colorado,
where we visited an amazing auto museum
and explored the surroundings on the back of a horse.
But even leaving Utah was more difficult than expected,
because my Yamaha Tenere refused to start.
So after the incident yesterday,
our group now will separate much more early
than we thought.
We thought we would ride to Colorado together
and go to Albuquerque in New Mexico.
And I will be alone from now on from Moab.
Head into Colorado today.
Due to the unexpected foot injury,
our plans changed several times.
We were not able to stay in Moab any longer
because everything was booked.
So our new travel companion decided
to first drive back the rental bike
of my injured travel partner
to the next rental place in Grand Junction, Colorado.
And we all would leave Moab on different ways
and meet again in the small town Gateway
to spend two more days together
before our path finally would separate.
But while the other rider of our group
dropped the motorcycle at the rental place,
I had to deal with some new issues.
Now we have a problem.
So now we only have one injured foot
and we have an injured bike
because it doesn't start anymore because of the kickstand.
And whenever the kickstand goes up in a gear,
it will die.
So we have to kind of like cut the wires open now
and find a way around it.
It was Sunday morning.
All shops were closed
and I needed a solution for this problem
as soon as possible.
So I did what I always do
when confronted with technical tasks.
I watched several YouTube videos
and decided that my motorcycle needs a little surgery.
I realized the first cut is always the deepest.
So, oh my God, I can't believe that I'm cutting a cable.
Oh God, I hope this is the right one.
Well, hopefully it was the right one.
I think so.
There's nothing else that's down there.
My best bet to fix the issue
was to cut the wires to my side stand and reconnect them.
And the super nice staff of our motel
helped me out with moral support
and a cable connector.
Oh my God, what a start into the day.
But now I'm on the road
and our group all together
will meet in a town gateway in Colorado.
But I will drive a different route
because I want to go over a mountain pass
and the driver of my injured travel partner
refused to go here.
And our other companion with his road tires as well
doesn't want to ride and travel.
So we will see.
From Moab, I first followed Highway 128,
which is a beautiful curvy road along Colorado River.
From Highway 128,
I turned off to the beginning of La Salle Loop Road.
Here you see where the two different landscapes
of two different states kind of crash.
On the left, you see the typical red rock formations
of Utah.
And over there, there are snowy mountains.
So I guess this is our first glimpse of Colorado.
To reach the town gateway in Colorado,
you don't follow the paved La Salle Loop,
but continue on the so-called
Dolores Triangle Safari Route,
aka Gateway Road,
that soon turns into a packed gravel dirt road.
Biggest difference here is that all of a sudden
I'm completely alone
and that the road gets a bit worse,
but I'm looking forward to this mountain pass.
I had to stop soon to enjoy the view
on Bull Canyon and Fisher Mesa.
Only much later, when I arrived in Gateway,
I found out though that I missed a big attraction here.
Very close to where I stopped,
you can see dinosaur tracks
that are dated to the Jurassic period,
about 200 million years ago.
I have actually no clue what this road brings,
but I like to ride so far.
And after White Rim Road,
this feels like a gravel highway.
Somehow my GPS refuses to navigate me on this route.
It always tells me to turn around.
Yeah, it's not happy with my choice, obviously.
After what felt like the top of the pass to me,
the road changed from gravel
to a more earthy and sandy surface.
It's completely sandy here, as you can see.
Ground is getting more sandy now here on the road
and I'm super happy that it's not wet
because this is the type of road
that can get you in serious slippery trouble
if it becomes mud instead of solid ground.
And yeah, the car driver of my travel partner
actually said that this road sometimes is impassable.
I'm getting closer to Gateway now
and the landscape changed from green to more red again.
And I can view here into a canyon.
I guess that's where I'm riding down now.
Without knowing, I was about to enter John Brown Canyon.
This scenic side canyon of the Unaweap Canyon
provides amazing views
and is definitely a road less traveled.
During my whole ride from the top of the La Salle Mountains,
I only met a few UTVs that were exploring the area.
Wow, this feels like a real canyon now.
I didn't expect that.
From my last visit to Colorado,
I only thought of Alpine mountains
and didn't expect a landscape like this.
Look at these super green trees.
Somehow a complete change here with these colors.
What a view!
Always feels like one view is more stunning than the other.
♪ The sun is always shining bright ♪
♪ People are smiling, making plans ♪
♪ Hiding behind their shades ♪
So that's it.
That must be Gateway.
And here is where I stay for the night.
Gateway has a population of 132 people,
a post office, petrol station, and a general store-in-one.
It's best explored by bicycle.
The town is most famous for its outdoors
and amazing canyons and its hotel, though.
Gateway is home to the Gateway Canyon Resort and Auto Museum.
It was built and is owned
by Discovery Channel founder John S. Hendricks.
In the last years, Hendricks was up for selling his property
including the resort and car collection
for a listing price of $279 million.
If you don't have millions,
you can just visit the car museum
or stay for a night in the hotel,
which is still expensive,
but maybe slightly more affordable.
It might be a bit weird, though,
that the hotel is bigger than the actual town,
but who can get upset about small details like this
when being able to listen to singing frogs
that are as big as your head.
There is not so super much going on in Gateway, Colorado,
but there is a very interesting car museum.
Seriously, don't miss out on this museum
if you drive by Gateway.
I normally rather choose to drive vehicles
than looking at them,
but the Auto Museum in Gateway
has the most impressive collection of American cars
I have ever seen.
The Auto Museum celebrates the history,
design, and social impact of American cars.
In its well-curated gallery setting,
you find plenty of information
and can experience the history
from the early beginnings of cars,
from vehicles that look more like a carriage
to some beautiful, restored old-timers from old decades.
The centerpiece of the museum
is a 1954 Oldsmobile F88 Dream Car,
which was purchased in January 2005
at the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale
for a record of $3.24 million.
So this car was bought for $3 million
and it's said to be worth $78 million these days.
First, I thought that I maybe have never stood
so close to an expensive object,
but then I found out that the painting of Mona Lisa
is worth $860 million.
Lisa always beats toy cars of millionaires.
I had enough of motorized vehicles
and decided to change the 75 horsepower of my Tenere
for one for this afternoon.
So today, Colorado horseback riding.
In Germany, we have the saying,
Das Glück der Erde liegt auf dem Rücken der Pferde,
which means the greatest happiness on earth
is sitting in the saddle of a horse.
Sometimes you need to change your perspective
to find a new way,
to see things you might have missed out on otherwise.
Life is about moving
and I was finally seeing the direction I wanted to head to.
I hope you enjoyed the ride to and around Gateway.
With the next episode,
I will leave all my travel companions behind
and continue the ride through Colorado
and to the East Coast solo.
Find out why I ended up in a workshop with my Tenere,
ride with me to the town's Ridgeway and Ore
and enjoy the Rocky Mountains.
Leave me a comment and a thumbs up
if you liked this episode
and let me know if you prefer motorcycles to golden cars.
