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Phil Tarman

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Dec 12, 2010
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81
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Greeley, CO
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2010 Silver NT700VA (ABS)
I'm in Colorado Springs at the Hotel Elegante for the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association's STAR rally. STAR is MSTA's big national get-together and this is the first one that has been close enough for me to get to at a time when I could make it.

I'd guess that there are 250-300 people here and it seems like a good group. Not as good as our group, but not too bad.

I rode 145 miles down to the Springs and that's the longest I've been on the bike without getting off since last August when i was on my way to Tombstone for the Three-Flags classic. I rode 525 miles that day and 345 of it was with my shattered hand. This was more fun -- even the 20 miles I rode south of Castle Rock in stop-and-go traffic because of wreck up ahead of me.

When I got here I was pooped, so I'm going to do 230 miles tomorrow and about that Tuesday. I may just rest on Wednesday. On Thursday, I ride back to Greeley and do a quick turnaround so I can get back to the south part of Denver for three days of our Annual Conference (United Methodists go to Annual Conference and belong to an Annual Conference. I'll go home from that on Saturday afternoon and them I'm preaching three times on Sunday at the church I go to in Greeley. Then I may sleep until I leave for Spearfish on July 4th. :)
 

DirtFlier

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Dec 13, 2010
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Troy, OH
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It was nice to finally be able to put a face to the name. It was great meeting you Phil and sorry I didn't have more time to chat! :)
 
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Phil Tarman

Phil Tarman

Site Supporter
Moderator
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
9,367
Age
81
Location
Greeley, CO
Bike
2010 Silver NT700VA (ABS)
sorry I didn't have more time to chat!
We'll get a chance before it's all over.

Like I said in my first post, I was pooped after I rode a whole 140 miles getting here yesterday. Tom Mulvaney, an old friend from the Concours Owners Group and I talked last night and both felt like riding the same ride, so we agreed to get gas after breakfast this morning and head out at 8:30. We rode south on CO-115 to Florence, the home of SuperMax, the highest security prison in the US and then went south on CO-96 to Wetmore and up Hardscrabble Canyon. Near the top of 96, we turned south onto CO-165 and rode to Rye, going through the San Isabel National Forest and by Bishop's Castle (Google it -- it's very strange). Then we turned around and rode back to 96 and turned back West to Westcliffe, a town which faces a long valley with the Sangre de Christo mountains on the valley's west side. We at a bowling alley and had a great lunch, then rode north on CO-69 to Texas Creek, where we got onto US-50 and followed it past the Royal Gorge and through Canon City and back to CO-115 at Penrose. There was a stop sign with lots of cross traffic on 115 and by then the wind was blowing hard from the south. It was the scariest time of the ride for me. I thought I might blow over while I was waiting for the traffic to get through the intersection, but I didn't. Whew!!

Last night after our meeting, I came in the room to go to bed and fell asleep quickly. But I woke up after only about 2 1/2 hours of sleep and couldn't go back to sleep. I think what was keeping me awake was fear of riding. I told Tom about it at breakfast and he pointed out that if we got on the road and I didn't feel good or wasn't enjoying myself, we could always turn around. As we rode, my confidence returned and I really enjoyed myself. The roads were smooth with a mix of turns, some as slow as 25-30, most sweepers at 50-60. The rocks and trees and fields were all very green and the sky was blue, and it was a great day to ride. I'm tired, but not as tired as I was yesterday.

I'm glad I rode and am glad I'm getting my mojo back! :)
 
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