I have lived in southern Utah for almost 20 years, of which the past eight have been in Cedar City. It’ s a great area for riding. Both Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks are within an hour and a half. Tack on one more hour and you can make it to Great Basin and Capitol Reef national parks.
Although I’ ve lived in Utah for decades, I’ ve only been on short sections of the southern part of U. S. Route 89, the only other major route besides Interstate 15 that travels the entire north-to-south span of the state. The stars aligned when I got the keys to a Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT and spent a few days on the road at the same time an old college buddy would be visiting Sundance just outside of Provo.
For this trip, I started in the familiar direction of my favorite ride, taking State Route 14 up Cedar Canyon. Even though I’ ve been up this road numerous times, I still love it. It’ s a relatively narrow canyon with some nice sweepers and tight turns. About 7 miles up, the canyon tightens farther, with granite cliffs rising up and boxing in the road as you wind higher. About 11 miles up, you get a sampling of the
red spires that Cedar Breaks is known for. Just after a tight S-curve, there’ s a pullout on the right side where you can get a better view. The road continues to climb, offering expansive views to the south, and on a clear day, you can see all the way to Zion National Park.
As the route ascended and the curves tightened, I experimented with letting the Gold Wing’ s Dual Clutch Transmission do the work and was pleasantly surprised. When I first threw my leg over the bike in Southern California, it took me some time to stop reaching for the clutch lever or flexing my left foot at stops to find the gear shifter, but by this point, I was used to it. Maybe too used to it. Although I was familiar with the road, I enjoyed not having to think about shifting and just being in the moment of each passing mile.
When I wanted a little more excitement, I put the bike into Sport mode and relished the increased responsiveness charging up the mountains to the plateau. The flat-Six in this bike is a beast. When you start it up, it sounds like a tractor, and it definitely pulls. When we put a 2018 GL1800 on the
Left and below: The Alpine Loop Scenic Byway has several pullouts to take in views of Uinta National Forest. Above left: The Heritage Courthouse in Junction was finished in 1903. Above right: Even straightaways offer scenic vistas in Utah.
RIDERMAGAZINE. COM / OCTOBER 2026 / 29