This year's COG National Rally, the Continental Drift 2000, was held in three parts; July 8-10 in Brian Head, Utah; July 13-16 in Mountain Home, Arkansas; and July 19-22 in Natural Bridge, Virginia. Eleven folks from Colorado went to the Utah rally (some also went to Arkansas) with four of us, Randy J, Rick, Peter, and I meeting in Idaho Springs and Avon so we could travel together. The first part of the trip included the cool temperatures and high altitudes through Eisenhower Tunnel, over Vail Pass, and through Glenwood Canyon. At Grand Junction we shed some safety gear to beat the heat, then bucked a hot headwind across the 100 miles to Green River, Utah. After a stop for gas, water, Gatorade, and Arby's sandwiches we hit the road for the "No Services Next 100 Miles" stretch. Actually that portion of the trip has some great scenery, steeply climbing up through the San Rafael Swell, crossing a high plateau, dropping into the "red valley", passing by the "elephant hide" hills, and riding the sweepers through Dixie National Forest. After another gas/water stop at Salina, we went south on US-89 through several interesting small towns on the way to Panguitch, which was surprisingly empty of tourists. We weren't sure what the next stretch of road would look like, but UT-143 from Panguitch to Cedar Breaks National Monument was 30 miles of winding road through a cool forest. Very nice! Just after we turned a corner toward Brian Head I caught a glimpse of a huge canyon through the trees. Even though we trying to make time, we swung into a scenic overlook to check what turned out to be the Cedar Breaks Amphitheater, over 2000 feet deep and 3 miles in diameter. It sure looked like a great photo opportunity so Randy J wheeled his new 2000 Concours over near the edge for a Kodak moment. From there it was a short three-mile ride on in to Brian Head and the COG Rally.

After rolling into the driveway at Cedar Breaks Lodge, we quickly started meeting new folks, many that had previously only been names on a mailing lists or a voice on the phone. Some were even from across town in the Denver area. Others were from Utah, some were from across the country. One couple was from Sweden and had shipped their Concours to the US for a coast-to-coast trip. Lots of nice people riding Concours! And then there was the Lodge with nice rooms, a good restaurant, parking garages, and a bike washing area. An excellent rally headquarters. Good choice, Jim.

There were several day rides laid out from Brian Head. One was a 350-mile loop which included UT-12, one of the best motorcycling roads in the US. It passes by Bryce Canyon National Park, goes through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, dips into cool shaded canyons, traverses a 4-mile ridge line with steep drop offs to each side, climbs to 9,200' through a pine and aspen forest, and has tremendous views off into Capitol Reef NP. Kim B and friends covered the loop on Saturday, and then Kim went back a second day just to take photos. Others of us just took a shorter ride to tour and hike into Bryce Canyon NP.

A second ride of about 175 miles was to Zion National Park. After traveling through Cedar Breaks, the loop went east on UT-14 though a forest that has grown up through lava flows. At Long Valley Junction the loop turned south to follow a fork of the Virgin River as it descended from pine forests to juniper to sage. At Mt. Carmel it was time to head west into Zion NP. (On Sunday a large group continued on south from Mt. Carmel to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.) Soon after entering the Park, the road curves around past spectacular rock formations, passes through a long tunnel, then drops down into the canyon. Great scenery!

After Zion, the loop went up I-25 to Cedar City, then east on UT-14. The road makes a quick climb out of the desert, up through a canyon, over Midway Pass (with views far south to Zion), then back through Cedar Breaks. Just south of Brian Head is a 3-mile gravel road to the top of Brian Head Peak. From its 11,307' summit was a great view down onto the town of Brian Head. Off in the distance could be seen the wide open spaces of southwestern Utah.

On Monday afternoon the 60-70 Rally-ers all got together to check out each others' bikes, to swap stories, to attend a very informative talk about motorcycle suspension systems (thanks, Progressive), to eat a good BBQ meal under a tent in the cool breeze, and to attend the awards ceremony. Hats off to Jim P for planning an outstanding event. To Phil T of Ft Collins for handling the registrations for all three parts of the national rally. To Rick H of Lyons for putting on a wrenching session. And to Randy J of Brighton for winning awards for lowest mileage Concours and for highest COG membership number. He also won an award from the State of Arizona. The next morning it was time to head back to Colorado. Us "4 Musketeers" were joined by John and Cindy H (no, their dog Sid Viscious was not along on this trip) for a simple, but fast route back via I-15 and I-70. (By the way, no one complained about the heat at Brian Head. At 9,600 feet, the temperature never climbed above 65 degrees!)

- Randy Bishop, Littleton Colorado