Ricky Carmichael
RC’s Summer Adventure 2023
Note From the Editor
In the rush and hustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to forget the transformative power of journeys shared with good friends. There is an ineffable magic in riding through untamed landscapes and open roads stretching as far as the eye can see. The outdoors isn’t just a place; it’s a vast playground for the soul, a proving ground for friendships and an indomitable spirit. Challenges turn into adventures, discomfort morphs into exhilarating tests of endurance, and every mile adds a new layer to the shared experience.
As you read through this remarkable journey led by motocross legend Ricky Carmichael, you’ll see these truths come alive in vivid hues and resonant stories. Carmichael, known for his audacious skill and fearless approach to life, isn’t just taking us on a bike trip; he’s offering a masterclass in living life to the fullest. The choice of the Triumph Tiger 1200 as the ride for this expedition underscores the importance of trusting not just your companions, but also the machine that carries you to these remote, awe-inspiring locations. So, prepare to be transported through deserts, over peaks, and into the very heart of adventure. Because sometimes, the journey teaches you more than the destination ever could.
Pablo Ferrero
Day 1:
Time: 5hr 33min
Distance: 192 miles / 308 km
Every summer, I look forward to our Adventure ride. There’s something about being on the open road, especially on a bike. The freedom, the camaraderie with the crew, and the new experiences that every turn offers – it’s truly something magical.
This year’s ride picked up from where we left off last year in Grand Junction. Last year, we ended our ride having to go around a massive mudslide coming back into Ouray from Silverton and had to make a run for it back over the pass before it got dark. Thus why it’s called adventure riding!
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Our first climb to the top of Grand Mesa was amazing
We picked up our bikes from All Terrain Moto in Grand Junction. It is an amazing dealership and one worth visiting if you are ever in the area. It is a massive store, and they also offer rentals, so if you ever want to check out some of the areas we rode, that would be a great place to start. A big thanks to James and Dan for helping get our bikes sorted, mounting our Dunlop Trail Max Mission tires, and having the bikes all ready for a quick departure when the crew arrived.
Simon, Pagg and JH arrived a day early to help get the bikes ready to roll with our Quad Lock mounts, Boxo Tool kits, and Mosko tank bags. Before we headed out, we paired all of our Cardo’s to make sure we were connected. This year, Cardo has rolled out a new voice record feature which was really fun for capturing some audio stories as well.
We got rolling on time, and it was great to have some of the guys from the dealership join us on the first day and also show us some of the local spots in the area. Our first climb to the top of Grand Mesa was amazing, and the dirt road back down to Delta before we headed to Ouray was even better. It gave us a chance to get reacquainted with the Tiger 1200’s.
Grand Mesa and Ouray, Colorado are both such scenic places, especially the latter, they call Ouray the Switzerland of America, and trust me, it doesn’t disappoint. I couldn’t wait to see the views from the Million Dollar Highway again, and this time without all the rain. We ended the day at the Twin Peaks Lodge, spent some time in the hot springs, then had an epic meal at a restaurant called The Outlaw. It’s always great when you have someone like Chad in the group who knows the best spots to hit.
DAY 2:
Time: 6hr 35min
Distance: 223 miles / 358 km
Second day of the ride started off great. I went for a really nice run from the hotel along a little stream on the backside of downtown Ouray; the setting was so mellow that the 35 minutes flew by.
After, I met up with the boys for a quick latte at a local spot. It didn’t take us long to get going that morning; we were on the road rolling by 8:30, and it was a cool 60 degrees. As we left, we immediately began capturing content up the Million Dollar Highway. The scenes are epic, so it’s not hard to get incredible images. We also got some good stuff, as you may have seen on my IG, with the 360 camera. We got a lot of positive feedback from our fans and partners about that!
After leaving Ouray and getting what we needed from the Million Dollar Highway, we made our trek towards Moab. We took the long way riding through several canyon roads, up to Gateway and then Castle Valley, which had some really cool views and twisty bends on the roads to ride on. We did break off in a couple areas on the route so Simon could get some images that he thought would look good (which they did).
After a few hours, we arrived to Moab. Once we arrived there, Simon had a particular spot he’d been to before, Hurrah Pass, that he wanted us to check out. Not far into the trail is where it got challenging in one spot. There was a low area with a massive mud hole. Well, I was the only one to manage to lay the bike over there while trying to get through; as I was approaching the end, I basically tipped over alongside an embankment. It was nothing major, no damage to the bike or myself, but made for some good fun for the crew to talk about!
When we finally got to the top of the pass, it was a stunning view, it was also HOT but just unreal, we stayed posted up there, for about an hour, getting what we needed from a content standpoint. It was almost 5 o’clock, and we were cooked. It was a long day, mostly because the heat made it feel harder than it was, but still a lot of fun! From there, we made our way down back into Moab where we had an AirBnB lined up; it was nice for all of us to be in one house. We unpacked, unwound, did some wash and cleaned up and went to dinner in town and that was the end of it.
DAY 3:
Time: 6hr 5min
Distance: 246 miles / 396 km
The next day started out the same. Had a quick run followed by a coffee stop at a local spot walking distance from our house. We got a chance to break out the Boxo tool kit to make some adjustments on the bikes. After a couple days riding a few of the guys wanted to make some personal fit adjustments. It was also a nice piece of mind to give everything a once over since the bikes were brand new, checking to make sure everything was tight.
We left and we went straight to Slickrock trail to shoot. Some of you may have been to that park to drive SXS’s. It’s world famous for its terrain and trails, ranging from all skill levels. Never the less, we took our Tigers there, and got some really good drone footage. This was on the punch list for the day, and Simon wanted to be sure that we were there in time where the morning light was all-time!
It was fun to test the bikes on something different than what we had been riding on to that point. After we left Slick Rock, we set out for Escalante, which would be our stopping point for the day. By the time we got outside of Moab, Ray recommended a cool burger joint called Ray’s Tavern in Green Valley, UT(no affiliation with our Ray! Lol). This was something we made a point to do on this ride. I wanted to take more time to enjoy the moments and not rush as much as we have in the past but truly enjoy the journey.
It was a nice break in the day and more time spent enjoying stories with friends. After lunch, we got off the highway as fast as we could and had a “must stop” location we remembered from our trip through that area in 2019. This spot was called Swing Arm City, and Simon has always wanted to shoot there. If you’ve never been and have the opportunity, I highly suggest you make this happen. Imagine the pictures you’ve seen of being on the moon, and what the soil looks like. Well, if I had to guess what it would be like, this would be it. This place was so insane. How the hills and cliffs were naturally formed, it was pretty surreal and made for some unreal riding and content!
It was crazy how one side of these cliff/dunes were sloped, and the other sides were straight down. While we were there, Paggio decided to roost me with the moondust, when I was filming with Simon trying to get a shot we thought would be cool. This move by Pagg would be a talking point for the rest of the trip, and him trying to tell us that he didn’t do it on purpose and that I was going to run into him while getting the shot. He says it wasn’t on purpose, I say it was. This lead to some all-time comedy being shared over the Cardo’s! We have video proof, everyone can draw their own conclusion if you are able to watch it. Haha!
After Swing Arm City, we headed toward Escalante via hwy 12. While on our way, we would head over a couple mountain passes, through Capital Reef and Grand Staircase National Parks. This would be another opportunity for us to pull out the 360 camera. The 360 works really well when there are narrow roads with steep ledges surrounding us. We arrived safely at the Slot Canyon Inn Bead and Breakfast, where we had stayed before on a previous trip back in 2019 on our way to Sturgis. We had a great night there with an awesome dinner at their brand-new restaurant, The North Creek Grill, right on the property. Wonderful hospitality, food, wine, and then an impromptu private acoustic gig by Chad and Ray! Fueled by red wine. What a great night!
Day 4:
Time: 6hr 13min
Distance: 262 miles / 421 km
Great thing about staying at this bed and breakfast is, the mornings. The morning air was cool, clean, crisp, and where you can enjoy a homemade breakfast to start the day, wonderful hospitality! The temperatures continued to get cooler each morning, which was great for riding.
The day started out with action quick. Pagg dropped it turning around, and then we immediately went to get some shot’s of me riding in a creek bed with a waterfall in the background. The pics and videos looked good, and it was fun. But the hardest thing, was turning around each time on the pebble rock.
Once we were done, we headed to Bryce Canyon. I had been there before, back in 2019, but it was just more or less a pass thru. This time, Simon, JH, Ray and I would ride into the park to an unreal spot overlooking part of the canyon while Chad and Pag met up with one of his buddies outside of the park.
Massive and beautiful best describes Bryce NP, and you can tell from Simon’s pictures. We got to test the Bivy Group tracking feature, which worked great helping us link back up with Chad and Paggio, finding ourselves on a cool dirt road just outside the park.
From here we would go somewhere that I had never been to before, if you could believe that. The Grand Canyon, the North Rim to be exact. We made our way to the Kaibab Lodge straight from Bryce, while making our way over several more peaks and valleys. I was ready to get to the north rim as quickly as possible, so we had plenty of sunlight and time left in the day to see and get everything accomplished that we needed to, with a buffer for extras in case we came across something unexpected, fun and worthwhile doing.
As we approached the Grand Canyon National Park, we made a slight detour, for good reason. Because we weren’t technically in the national park, this would allow us to shoot drone footage along our detour voyage. On this detour, we rode about 30 miles of jeep trail gravel roads, some parts being narrower than others, and lots of aspen trees. At the turnaround part, it ended at an unreal scene set of the upper northeast part of the Grand Canyon called Marble Viewpoint.
Such a spectacle, words really can’t describe it! You will love the drone footage from this. Also, along this 30 mile detour, we used the 360 cam again in one of the narrower parts of the trail, for about 5 miles. This was cool! The Grand Canyon is a fun to go to a place if you’ve never been, especially something as historical as this, worldwide!
Although we were limited to where we could go, and the images we were allowed to get, it was I really cool experience. I’ve heard and seen so much about the Grand Canyon, and to finally actually see it in the flesh, was special. To me, it’s one of those things where you can just look and stare. All these thoughts crossed my mind, like imagining how far down the bottom was and to think at one point there was no canyon, and how over time it became what it is today! A true wonder of the world. I’m glad I finally got to see it, and glad I checked it off my list.
We had a great dinner at the lodge that night and relaxed sharing stories from the previous day’s rides knowing tomorrow was our last day. When we left the lodge we were miles from any light pollution and in the middle of this huge prairie surrounded by a massive national forest, and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing the sky was that night. More stars than I have ever seen! It was an awesome display!
Back in the cabin, there was zero cell service and once we left the lodge no wifi. It was nice to have the Bivy’s to be able to still text via satellite and know we had a way to communicate if needed.
Day:5
Time: 4hr 29min
Distance: 259 miles / 416 km
The final day. Woke up way earlier than expected, 5:25am to be exact. Got up, rounded up the crew, and we were rolling by 6:30am. It was an absolute beautiful morning. It was the coldest temperature we would ride in the whole ride, 44 degrees when we rolled out. We got a chance to test out the warmth of the new Fox Legion gear. We zipped up all the vents, and I was surprised how well the gear kept us warm with only a base layer and jersey underneath.
The Tiger’s heated grips and seat were also a great option to have! This was going to be an old school ride, where we just catch content on the fly, no stopping, just logging the miles, telling stories, and eventually ending the day in Vegas.
That early morning leaving Kaibab Lodge was such a nice ride up over the summit of the Kaibab National Forest. We saw the most wildlife that we had seen all trip because of leaving so early, straight away we saw a whole bunch of Mule deer and other deer on our way out. Thanks to our Cardo’s for keeping all of us safe, allowing us the ability to call out the dangers on the road!
Once we were over the pass we would roll through Hurricane, Utah. From there we rode thru a few smaller towns and eventually getting in to St. George where we would then hop on the 15 freeway and head south. Shortly outside of town, was a really cool gorge that the freeway winded thru. At that point there were no more stunning views to take in and it was just a straight long HOT freeway ride in Sin City. We opened the vents on our jackets and pants and I was amazed how well it all vented and wasn’t uncomfortable while the temps climbed into the high 90s rolling into town.
We dropped our bikes off at Las Vegas Triumph/Eagle Rider, where Dave and the staff were very accommodating, with a warm welcome, and helping getting our paniers labeled and shipped back home. All of us grabbed a hotel on the strip and unwound, had a nice lunch, talked smack and relived the ride.
Last but, not least. We were able to have a proper send off at SW Steak House, not only to celebrate the successful ride, but JH’s 50th birthday as well.
Each and every year I always wonder if the ride will be better than previous years. After this year’s ride, I learned that each year will have its own great adventure. There will always be epic views and places to see, on incredible product, like the Triumph Tiger 1200’s that we were on this year.
The Tiger 1200’s once again performed flawlessly in all sorts of conditions, and once again we probably took them to some areas most people wouldn’t lol. With all that said, the thing I really log into my mental hard drive, is the stories and times spent with marvelous friends. We are lucky we get to create these memories, this type of way. Thank you to everyone who was involved from the ground up, to make this possible.
And to my fans, thanks for your support, although you weren’t in the saddle with us, I truly hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did via social media and I hope you are inspired to get out there and do one yourself! Don’t miss the opportunity, you won’t be disappointed!
Stats
1183 miles, 28hr 56min
4 States, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada
National Parks, Capital Reef, Grand Staircase, Bryce, Grand Canyon
National Forests, Grand Mesa, San Juan, Dixie, Kaibab,
Countless laughs and a lifetime of memories
Gear list
Bikes: Tiger 1200 Rally Pro and Rally Pro Explorers
Gear: Fox Legion Defend and Recon Gore-Tex
Coms: Cardo Systems Pack Talk Edge
Phone Mounts: Quad Lock Handlebar Mount Pro with vibration dampener and wireless charger
Tool kit: Boxo Adventure Tool kit
Satellite Coms: Bivy Stick
Emergency logistics: Global Rescue
Helmets: Arai XD-4 Adventure Helmet
Tank Bags and Seat bags: Mosko Moto
Visor Anti-Fog: Klotz Anti-fog K-Klear Gel
Oakley Motorsports
Tires: Dunlop TrailMax Mission Pro tires
The Crew
Ricky Carmichael – Tallahassee, FL
Anthony Paggio – Laguana Niguel, Ca
Ray Butts – Lexington, KY
Chad Warrix – Nashville, TN
JH Leale – Tallahassee, FL
Simon Cudby – Trabuco Canyon, CA (Photographer and Videographer)
Photos: Simon Cudby – Words: Pablo Ferrero
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