Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - 26 May 2026

Out and about on the Duc.
Flaming Gorge loop. Above: Manila, UT. 21 May 2026.
Out and about on the 'Wing.
Image: Left to right: Bishop (Ducati V4 Multistrada), Commodore (Sling Shot), Saluki (BMW R1150 GS) and The Actuary (Lexis sedan).
Old former Park City Motorcycle Club riders, regretting having skipped the 360-mile, counterclockwise, round trip Flaming Gorge Loop ride last year, reinstated the ride this year. We've done this May ride a dozen times over the last fifteen years.

Twenty-five years ago, when we riders were fifty/sixty somethings, there was quite a motorcycle community in Park City. Park City Motorcycle Club (PCMC) thrived with day and overnight motorcycle outings that included twenty-five or more riders. PCMC had speakers at dinner nights such as Greg Frazier, author and world motorcycle adventurer. PCMC members were heavily involved in setting up and hosting, in Park City, a sanctioned American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) event in 1999. In 2026, the PCMC has long since disbanded and us now old geezer former PCMC members are down to a miniscule rump group of three to five.
"Are you sure you want to go?" said TIMDT. "The forecast is for rain and wind." "I've looked at the Weather Channel forecast," I replied. "It shows partly sunny in eastern Utah, where we are headed."

Besides, are we men or are we mice? A little weather shouldn't inhibit what has become a traditional, annual motorcycle ride. what?
In fact, the ride turned out to be a facsimile of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." After picking up UT SR 44, leaving US 191, at 8000 feet of elevation. It started to sprinkle. Things only got worse. For fifteen minutes of riding, starting halfway between the start of UT SR 44 and Manila, we rode under conditions of low visibility, whipping winds, heavy rain and for a few minutes, snow. Ambient temperatures descended from fifty-five degrees to thirty-two degrees.

On the 55 MPH speed limit twisty segment through rough weather, the Duc was maxing out at 30 mph. Still, I wasn't terribly worried. I was riding carefully. The road was on a descent to 6200 feet elevation in Manila. I knew the sleet/snow would shortly turn to rain, and hopefully, the disconcerting squall disturbance would dissipate. And so, after fifteen minutes of rough weather, it did. I felt badly that we weren't able to stop at the Sheep Creek lookout over Flaming Gorge Reservoir as is our normal practice.

A true touring motorcyclist says, after riding through a severe a weather event, "big deal." But I have to admit that it was pretty risky riding weather.

Later, over a cheeseburger at Browning's, in Manila, we riders recalled other weather events on past rides of the Flaming Gorge Loop. One year, just as we reached Manila, we quickly jumped off our bikes, rushed into Browning's, barely missing a 'cats and dogs' downpour that lasted over thirty minutes. Timing is everything!

On the windy, but not rainy, ride back to Park City from Manila, I recalled other non PCMC rain events forever seared into my memory:

Riding down, east bound, the flank of Mt. Rainier direction Yakama. Very serious rainfall, though sans gusts, for thirty-five miles. BMW K1200 LT.

Riding from Atlanta, GA to Highland, NC. All day moderate rain. BMW R1200 GS.

Riding fast, NB, on the Tohoku Expressway towards Tokyo, at 10:00 PM through the tail end of a typhoon with up to 50 MPH gusts. 20 miles of riding under such conditions. The freeway was empty of vehicles but for us six or eight motorcycle riders. Suzuki naked, high HP muscle bike.

Riding off the Mogollan Rim from Flagstaff, AZ, 7K foot elevation, to Sedona, descent down Rock Creek Canyon. Snow at the top of the rim turning to light rain five miles on at 6K foot elevation. BMW K1200RS.

Riding EB from Arvaikhjeer, Mongolia to Ulan Bator Mongolia. 100 miles of light rain, protected only by a couple of sweatshirts and an outer plastic garbage bag. My motorcycle jacket had been stolen the previous night. BMW Funduro.

Riding in May, EB I-80 from Truckee in falling, but not accumulating, snow. After five miles, snow turned to medium rain fall through to Reno, where I stopped for the night. Ducati Multistrada.

Riding in May, ten miles on OR SR 150 EB at 6500 feet in heavy, accumulating, but wet, snow. By the time three inches of snow had accumulated on the road, OR SR 150 started a descent down the Doherty Rim to 4400 feet of elevation, where snow changed to a light, wind-free rain. BMW F800GS.

Riding from the Azerbaijani border, NB, along the Caspian Sea, to Derbent, Dagastan, Russia. The single worst downpour I have ever experienced hovered over Derbent as we rode into town. Derbent's hilly, cobblestoned streets had turned into spillways with six-inch-deep, rushing water. BMW R1200GS.

Because of the whipping winds, snow and low visibility, the 21 May 2026 Flaming Gorge ride prompting this write-up actually had worse riding conditions than any of the above cited rides. Happily, the most adverse conditions only lasted for fifteen minutes.

Us geezer remnants of the PCMC are looking forward to next year's ride in the iffy, iffy month of May.