2017 Three-Flags Classic

My "Heading Northwest" thread morphed into this one today. To put the finishing touches on "Heading Northwest," I learned that sometime, I passed within a mile of Daboo's house -- you'd think he would have run outside and waved even if he wouldn't invite me in. Oh, well....

The same Spotwalla link will let any who are interested see where I am, and where I have been. That link is:

https://spotwalla.com/publicTrips.php?un=PTarman If you switch to the satellite view and zoom in on my last Spot today, you can see the place on the sidewalk where the bike sat while I got out my 'Stitch before unloading it.

Yesterday, I was northbound from Eldon's house and thought I had left in plenty of time to make it to registration and the pre-ride banquet for the Three-Flags Classic. But then I hit Tacoma. And then I got off of I-405 and onto I-5 between Seattle and Marysville. I got to the banquet at 6:20 and people were eating dessert! I had been off an hour on when it started, but it wouldn't have made any difference. I couldn't have gotten there any sooner (and still have eaten a great late breakfast at GeeCee's north of Vancouver, WA).

A sweet little server went to the kitchen and fixed me a wonderful plate of really good food, but I couldn't eat more than about a fourth of it.

Then it was off to Registration and to track down the guy (and his wife) who I shared a room with in Abbotsford and will share a pretty deluxe suite with in Puerto Penasco. We talked a little and I made motel reservations for tonight and tomorrow night (both Motel 6s, tonight in Redmond, OR, and tomorrow night in Ely, NV). I owe my discovery of Motel 6s (they've all been clean, lower priced than anything else, have semi-decent WiFi, and meet my basic criteria for consistency, plus they "leave the light on for ya'!) to good ol' Rick (FalconAF on the Forum).

Then we turned off the lights and I pulled my usual pre-ride stunt. I laid there without sleeping until about 3:00AM. I laid there from 10:00 till 2:00 and may have slept a little before 3, but I know I slept from 3 till I woke up at 3:38, and rolled away from our motel at 4:20. We had to prove we had started after midnight and we did that by dropping a numbered poker chip into a jar on the registration desk at the Quality Inn (Rally Start HQ). It was a couple of miles from ours, and then we all lined up (well, not all of us, but many of us) at the Sumas border crossing. It took about a half hour for me to get through, just like it did last night when I was going into Canada.

Of course it was still dark as pitch and I wasn't feeling real whippy, so I took it very easy till I made it to I-5. And then I was amazed. I-5 moved well, I-405, moved even better, and I-90 wasn't bad at all and got better the further east we got.

As the sun began to brighten the world, I was freezing! I hadn't put on my heated jacket, I hadn't zipped all the zippers on the 'Stitch, and I hadn't put on my Gore-Tex winter/bad weather gloves. I promised that if the sun would simply warm the world, I wouldn't complain about being hot on the rest of the trip. And I didn't, even though it was 94F at Hood River at 1PM when I got there for the first checkpoint.

The ride over Snoqualimie Pass was impressive, but I was surprised at low the pass was. I think it was just over 4,000 feet ASL. That ain't no pass! Real passes are at least 10,000'!

And while I was coming down the east side of Snoqualamie, the Apple Maps truck merged into the lane beside me. If any of you use Apple Maps, let me know if you see me.

It was really smoky around Ellensburg, but cleared up by the time I got Yakima. From Yakima, I rode to Goldendale, and then went on south to Maryhill, I was high up on the north side of the Columbia River. The ride from there to the Hood River Bridge was incredible. Back 30 years ago, when I was working in the oilfield, I had customers around Eugene, in Aloha, and Pendleton. Before I got my pilot's license, I drove that it from Santa Rosa, CA, and it took the better part of a week. I've driven up the Columbia River Gorge (and down it) and I've flown Cessnas up and down the Gorge, but I never saw it as clearly and as beautifully magnificent as it was today.

After registering at the checkpoint at the Hood River Marina and having a snack and lots of water, I headed south on OR-35. It's a good road that has more stupendous views of Mt Hood as it climbs away from the south side of River, but the higher you get, the less of Mt Hood you see. It was fun with good twisties and little traffic, until I merged onto US-26 and all the traffic coming from Portland for Memorial Day and was facing all the traffic going to Portland for the Memorial Day Weekend.

I'd thought I'd walk up to the Subway on the highway for supper, but when I got there, the only folks there were rebuilding the kitchen. There's a Mexican food place across the street that's supposed to be good, but there's no way on earth I could get across that highway alive. So, Domino's is cooking my supper. Then I'm going to bed.

Tomorrow, there's a long empty stretch between Burns and Winnemucca, the 2nd checkpoint. Then I'm riding on to Ely, NV, through Austin and Eureka on US-50 that calls itself the "Loneliest Highway in America." Bullfeathers! The stretch of OR-78 between Burns and Burns Junction is waaayyy lonelier than 50. I took it once years ago and tomorrow I'll take OR-201/202 and see how it compares to US-50.

Oh, I was going to post some pictures, but my camera went belly-up this morning. I'll hit the WalMart in Winnemucca tomorrow and get a new one.

Just a few words about the Three-Flags Classic. The 2017 edition is the 42 running of the Rally. On even-numbered years it runs South-North (although it's only started in Mexico once. Usually southern start points have been somewhere in southern California or Arizona. Seems like it might have started in El Paso once. Odd-numbered years run from somewhere in Canada to a southern US city close to Mexico...until this year. This year, we're going 60 miles into Mexico on a road that is reported to be very-well patrolled and kept safe for Gringo tourists. Puerto Penasco is the Mexican vacation-place of choice for folks from Phoenix.

On the fifth year, instead of being a four-day rally of about 2,000 miles, it's a 5-day rally of about 2,500 miles. I'd estimate that there are close to 350 riders this year. Many are like me -- old. Some are even older. Some are even fatter. But I haven't notice any other semi-cripples. And there are quite a few first-timers this year and some of them may be in their 20s or 30s.

If you'd like to do a long ride, this is a good one.

You're right about the relative heights of the mountains. I figured that one out a long, long time ago. In Utah, north of Brigham City, between Tremonton and Logan is a relatively insignificant little range of mountains, the Wellsville Range, IIRC, that isn't very high, isn't very long, but is distinguished by having the greatest vertical relief in the smallest horizantal distance of any range in the world. They're something like 2500-3000 ft high, and they go up and come back down in only 4 or 5 miles.

Sorry you're feeling rejected. So am I. I guess we'll just have to either let it go or be miserable for the rest of our lives. I think I'll let it go.

phil, you could have blown daboo a 70 mph KISS when passing

Woodaddict said:

phil, you could have blown daboo a 70 mph KISS when passing

Click to expand...

Heck, I would've honked if I had only known. He should at least put a sign on the freeway if he wants company.

Has anybody else noticed that since he's got his Beemer he's been a bit standoffish?

I'm just sayin'



Mike

Getting ready to roll. 54F in Redmond now, 103F this afternoon. Cooler in Nevada and I'll be grateful for that.

Mt. height is sure relative. Here close we have Mt Nebo with a state park on top. The Arkansas river elevation is around 350 ft and the top of Nebo is 1350 or so. That ain't much to some but the road climbs up in a 3 mile stretch. The road up is limited to short trailers
(14-16 ft) for a good reason. The road has many visible cuts in it on the steep switchback curves from dragging trailer hitches and such.
I have ridden a bicycle on it and riding down it seems wise to keep the speed down so you don't melt the brake pads and miss one of those curves. Nice park, hang glider access if any of you are interested in jumping off a cliff with a wing strapped to your back.

Brad

Three-Flags Classic, Day 2:

It's nearly 10:30 and I'm in my room at the Motel 6 in Ely, NV. I didn't set any records getting out of Redmond this morning, clearing town at about 9:15. I did set a record by only having one cup of coffee. I rode to Riley's Archery Store before getting gas. I had filled up just before I got to Hood River and managed to ride 247 miles and still have 1/2 gallon in the tank when I got there. I'da been in big trouble if Riley's had gone out of business since the last time I was there...in 2001. Ate lunch in Burns, and took Oregon SR-202 to Fields, where gas was available. Gassed up there and rode onto Checkpoint 2 at the Fairgrounds in Winnemucca, where the fair was going on. Wouldn't have been my first choice for a bonus location, but my guess is that that was the only place they could get volunteers to man the checkpoint.

As I was backing into a parking place, I let the bike lean a little too much and down I went -- BUMMER!!! Somehow, I managed to bruise my right calf pretty good and scratched the chinguard of my new Schuberth helmet (glad I got that out of the way!

I decided to alter my route some for expediences' sake. Instead of riding to Austin, NV, I stayed on I-80 till Carlin, and then came south to Eureka. The sun went down about 30 miles east of Eureka, but it was light until the last 20 miles or so into Ely.

Ate a salad and McDonalds and came a couple of blocks to the Motel 6.

Tomorrow, Checkpoint 3 is in Kanab, UT, and I'll go on to Flagstaff, where I've booked a room in yet another Motel 6. Variety might be the spice of life, but consistency is its bread. (Any of you who want can use that little aphorism without any attribution. Ain't I a nice guy?)

Nighty-nite!

Three-Flags Classic, Day 3:

I slept well last night and was slow getting going this morning. I gassed up in Ely, ate at McDonalds and headed south on US-50. I had last ridden this road eastbound during the Team Lyle Rachel Insanity Days Rally (“All the Nevada You Can Ride in 24 Hours”).

The very first time I was on 50, was in ’79, when I was working in the oilfield. A co-worker and I delivered a drilling tool to a rig north of Milford, UT. It was a 750-mile trip, one-way, and it was during the gas shortages of ’79. It was a long, long, trip. A month later another one of my guys and I went to pick the tool up. The customer never used it, but we had a minimum charge that made it worth the effort.

50 goes basically south out of Ely, then east, past the junction with US-93, the Great Basin Highway, and then curls back north on the west side of Wheeler Peak. There are steep cliffs about 2-3 miles east of the highway and in one of them you can see a cave with what looks like a cliff-dwelling in it. After we picked up our tool near Milford, Gene and I decided to have a look at the “cliff-dwelling.” We were able to drive up to within a half-mile of it and were several hundred feet below it. We parked out truck and climbed up to the north side of the opening. When we got fairly close, we saw a weathered sign that said”: “American Guano Company – Trespassers Will Be Shot.” But we didn’t see anyone around, so we kept going. What had looked like a structure from the highway turned out to be a limestone plug that had fallen out of the ceiling of the cave. It was maybe 25’ around and 12-15’ high. Behind it was a round hole that was very deep. We found some old pulleys and square nails that the guano miners had left after they cleaned all the guano out of that hole.

As we were going back to the truck, we stumbled onto a man-made tunnel that went back into the mountain until it connected with the bottom of the hole in the back of the cave. There were little railroad tracks that they must have used to get the guano out of the hole. We also found ashes and about 40 very old tin cans, where somebody had camped in the tunnel, near where a natural cave intersected the tunnel. There was also an old pair of blue jeans that were in fairly decent shape. I don’t remember what we did with the jeans.

Today, I went through Baker, the last town in Nevada near 50, and the headquarters for the Great Basin National Park Wheeler Peak and Lehman Caves portion of the park. At Garrison, the first town in Utah, I met a Sheriff’s deputy and he was being followed by a wrecker that had what looked like a Goldwing 1800 on the back. I didn’t see an ambulance. Hope the rider was OK!

South toward Milford, you see huge, wide, long, sparsely populated by humans or cattle, laid out between towering mountain ranges. It’s a humbling place to ride, and the geology is mind-boggling. Read John McPhee’s book “Basin and Range” to get an introduction to what caused Western Utah and Nevada to look the way they do today.

I gassed up in Cedar City and kept my string of never riding through the town on a motorcycle without being rained on. But it wasn’t hard rain and it cooled things off for a bit. East of Cedar City, UT-14 climbs toward the turnoff for Cedar Breaks National Monument. I’m not sure it was more fun, but it was a heck of a lot easier to climb on a motorcycle than on a bicycle. I’ve done it both ways, and it’s definitely quicker on a motorcycle! There are places near the top where you get views of Zion NP 20 miles or so to the south.

14 runs into US-89 at Long Valley Junction. 89 has got to be one of the best highways in the whole country. All the way from the east side of Glacier National Park to where it runs out south of Prescott, AZ, it’s invariably interesting and filled with outstanding scenery. It oughta’ be on every motorcyclist’s bucket list.

Today, after Checkpoint # 3 in Kanab, I took 89 east to Lake Powell and Page. Lake Powell is nearly out of water but Page is booming. I would have thought the lake was what would have been its base, but it looks like the location works for some reason. Hotels, condos, restaurants are everywhere you look and none of it was there 20 years ago.
From Page, there’s an awesome descent down to where 89A, the road that connects to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon rejoins 89.

From there, it was about an hour to Flagstaff and my Motel 6. This one makes me take back all I said good about Motel 6. The rooms fine, but it’s got the loudest air conditioner fan I’ve ever heard, even on low. And the WiFi doesn’t work. I called their technical support people and they suggested I go stand at the front desk to connect. But that didn’t work either. The front desk guy suggested I walk over to McDonalds. But I’m not up for that. So this is being written in Word and will be posted from Puerto Penasco.

The couple I shared a room with in Abbotsford and am sharing a suite with in Puerto Penasco are already down there. They say the hotel is very nice, but the food service in the hotel restaurant is not so hot.

Oh, well. You can’t have everything.

Miles for the Trip: 3,214
Miles for the 3FC: 1,639
Miles for the Day: 487

3-Flags Classic, Day 4:

Well, we are here in lovely Puerto Penasco, after a ride that seemed longer than yesterdays, even though it wasn't. I got up, walked to McDonalds and fount out that their internet connection was just as bad as Motel 6's. I was out of Flagstaff by 9:30, joining the Labor Day crowd rushing down I-17 towards Phoenix. I only saw one wreck, but it was pretty bad, a nice Suburban probably totaled, and a beautiful Airstream trailer ripped to shreds. It looked like the family in the car was OK except for some cuts and bruises. I had to get off 17 for gas at Arcosanti, and getting back on was a chore followed by the accordian kind of slow down/speed up with everybody trying to find the lane that's moving fastest and changing without out warning signals. But I made it down the road to New River where I got off and bought a new camera and swimming suit at Walmart. From there the traffic eased and I took a new loop around Phoenix with very little traffic and joined I-10 west of Goodyear, and then went south to Gila Bend on AZ-85. On the west side of Gila Bend, it was on towards Ajo, where I gassed up (hopefully enough to get me back to Ajo on Wednesday morning) and bought Mexican travel insurance at the Shell station. $34 for 3 days of liability and coverage on my bike -- not too bad.

From Ajo, it was about 38 miles to Lukeville and the border crossing. Maybe I looked like a desperado, but for some reason the young border patrolman, pulled me over and had me open my trunk. The place I was parked sloped slightly to the right, so it was an "interesting" dismount and remount, but the patrolman helped stabilize the bike while I went through my gyrations. While he was looking in the trunk about 20 3-Flags riders rode through without even slowing down, except to get over the sharp-edged speed bumps. I rode through the city of Soynata and didn't stop where the big group of 3-Flags riders did. I decided I was brave enough to tackle Mayheeco without a band of gringos to protect me.

The next 60 miles/100km was long, long, long. There was a nearly unbroken line of Phoenecians (I guess that's what you'd call residents of Phoenix, don't you?) coming home from their Labor Day holiday in Rocky Point. I don't know if Puerto Penasco means Rocky Point or not, but that's what the travelers from Phoenix call it.

The speed limit was mostly 90kph (55mph), but would occasionally drop to 50kph or 60 or 70. I couldn't see the reason for these speed limit changes, but I'm sure someone could explain it to me.

Oh, did I mention that it was hot? I'm guessing it was around 100F, give or take a few degrees all the way from New River to Rocky Point. I drank about 4 liters of water and one of these days I'm sure I'm going to need to drain some of it. I'm getting ready to take a shower and go to dinner and see if the food is as bad as roommate Tim said it was when he texted me this morning.

Miles for the Trip: 3,566
Miles for the 3FC: 1,991
Miles for the Day: 352

I thought the three flags staff had the border fixed so their riders would not encounter any mex BS!@!! I would definatly pitcha ***** about that as well as the fair checkpoint nonsense////////////////////////////////11 Yep I am still a old grouch///////////////////////1111, butt after all your fun I surw]e would not be doing another one.
Eldon

It was no big deal, Eldon. Still way quicker than going through customs at Sumas last week. I was stopped less than five minutes. No hassle anywhere else getting down here.

Leaving in the morning to head north back into the heat until north of Phoenix a few miles.

I didn't get out of Puerto Penasco (or Rocky Point as the folks from Phoenix call it) until after 10:00 this morning. My bike was blocked by some others in the tiny parking area I had gotten into on Monday afternoon. By the time I was 30 miles north, the temperature was over 100F -- and it stayed above 100 till I was about 50-60 miles north of Phoenix.

At the border crossing, I moved up till I was the next vehicle in line and when the customs guy let the truck in front of me go, he indicated that I should stay where I was -- in the sun on hot concrete. Two other customs agents brought out 15-20 civilians (mostly young people in the 20s to early 30s, and the agent who was running the checkpoint began to talk to them about something. After about 15 minutes one of the agents who had brought the audience out came back and told me that they were doing an introduction for new employees and it wouldn't be too much longer before I got called up. I told him I thought maybe they were trying to demonstrate how long a motorcyclist in a helmet and full riding gear could stand in the sun on a +100F day before suffering a heat stroke. He thought that was funny and then he said something to the customs agent running the checkpoint and I got called up into the shade. After about another 5 minutes, the agent asked for my passport, asked where i had been in Mexico, and checked my license plate and rolled me through.

By the time I got to Ajo, AZ, where I had bought gas on the way down, it was time to buy gas again. After I bought gas I drank a liter and a half of Poweraide (?) and put 2 1/2 liters of water into my Camelback bladder in my tank bag. By the time I got to Camp Verde, I stopped and drank a lot of fluids, got rid of a very little amount of previously ingested fluids (and I'd drank most of what was in the water bladder), gassed up, and rode to Flagstaff. I'm not staying at the Motel 6, but at the Day's Hotel next door. Their air conditioner is quiet, their WiFi works, and they have a decent restaurant attached. Oh, it did cost $2.00 more than the Motel 6.

Miles for the Trip: 3,916
Miles for the Day: 350

Phil that sounds like $2 that was well spent.

Thanks for the reports, good to be travelling along with you again.

Seagrass

The 2nd Day of the Ride Home:

I slept very well last night, ate a sumptuous breakfast in the Day's Hotel's restaurant, and finally rolled out of Flagstaff at about 10:45. I ride to Kayenta, AZ, stopped for gas and a cold drink, and then went north on US-163. You may never have been there, but you've seen where I rode for the next 20 miles. Monument Valley was the setting for many Western movies; John Ford shot several of his classics there. I got some decent pictures, even though it was pretty hazy. I'm guessing that was smoke from the fires in southern California. It cleared up as I got further north in Utah. I rode through Bluff, Blanding, and Monticello, and then into Moab. The first time I went to Moab must have been in the 90s -- it's changed a lot since then. I'd guess the population has doubled or more. North of Moab, I rode past Arches NP and then hit very strong wind from the west. The last time I rode through Moab, I was doing an Iron Butt Association Saddle Sore 1K during the '14 Iron Butt International Meeting in Denver and the same thing happened. The wind was strong enough that I was leaning 10-15 degrees into it, just like every bike I met. When I met a semi-, it was a blast that really rattled me. I rode to Thompson Springs for gas at Shell station there.

I got off the bike and moved my tank bag out of the way, reached for the pocket on the right side of my 'Stitch to get my wallet out, and it was both unzipped and empty! Guess what I said? And don't assume that because I'm a (retired) minister, that I didn't use a "few choice 'lay' words," as one of my preacher friends said when I was in high school and a woman ran a red light and nearly t-boned us. I did use those few words, and then I nearly soiled my britches. It was 206 miles back to Kayenta, and it seemed unlikely that my billfold would still be there. I went into the store and told the lady at the cash register that I had very serious problem. She said, "Oh? What's that?" and I told her. She made a face and asked if I knew where I'd used it last. I told her that it had been in Kayenta and she made another face. I had enough gas to go about 40 miles, but that wouldn't have gotten me back to Moab or very close to Grand Junction.

While I was talking, I was taking off my 'Stich, and that's when I felt my wallet in my hip pocket. What a relief!!

The strong winds that had blasted me getting to Thompson Spring became an asset as I headed east to Grand Junction. I got here at about 7:20 and my daughter called as I was checking in. She and her husband had loaded their inventory into a brand-new 24' trailer and were ready to head out of their home at Palm Bay, FL. They have two houses there, a little one that they lived in while they hunted for a permanent place to live and that new house that they bought maybe 6 months ago and furnished with all-new furniture. My son-in-law says that both houses are insured, their travel trailer is insured and their fishing boat is insured. What wasn't insured was $1,000,000+ in firearms. Rich and Kelly are gun dealers and work three weekends a month at gun shows in south Florida. They'll get that out, and just pray that they still have their two houses after Irma works her way north.

I've got 377 miles tomorrow. I'll go north through Craig and Steamboat Springs, and then through Kremmling, Granby, and Rocky Mountain National Park. It would be substantially shorter to just stay on I-70 to Denver, but then I'd have to ride through Denver in bumper-to-bumper traffic. RMNP sounds like a better deal, don't you think?

Miles for the Trip: 4,355
Miles for the Day: 439

I'm really enjoying reading your travel journal Phil, keep up the good work. Thoughts and prayers for all already affected by the hurricanes and hopes that Mother Nature is merciful for everyone in their path. Worrying times.

Congratulations on completing that challenging ride Phil. You have been winding up for that one for quite a while and now you have it behind you. Thanks for sharing the stories with us on the forum. We appreciate it.

And as far as leaving your wallet in your pants instead of your "stich" - um- I have never done that since yesterday. Before riding away from anywhere I try to do a "pat downn" - phone in right breast pocket, wallet in right breast pocket. But then my 74-year old brain gets distracted sometimes. And that doesn't take much.

My very rusty Spanish translates that to Port Boulder Phil...

The 3rd Day of the Ride Home:

It was nice when I (finally) left Grand Junction. I had decided to come home via Rocky Mountain National Park so I wouldn't have to contend with Denver's afternoon traffic. The ride from Grand Junction to Rifle to Meeker to Craig to Steamboat Springs and on east to Muddy Pass was one I've done on a bicycle, parts of it twice, parts of it three times. You don't get as much time to study the scenery on a motorcycle, and I didn't get as much useful exercise as I did on a bicycle, but, I'd still be 250 miles from home if I had been riding a bicycle. All things being equal, I'm glad I was on a motorcycle today.

I doubt if the temperature ever got over 90F today and it may have cooled down gradually all the way from Grand Junction -- it was 86F when I left there and it's only 72F here at home. I zipped up my sleeves and front zipper on my 'Stitch and turned on my heated grips when I got above about 9,000' in the Park. Aspen leaves were starting to turn on the western side of the Continental Divide so fall must be on its way.

Four or five years ago, the Park Service lowered the speed limit through the Park from 45mph to 35mph (except for about 10 miles after the west entrance north of Grand Lake). I like it better. With the 45mph limit, you got a full-fledged accordion effect everytime any one slowed down. It doesn't seem like that happens with the 35mph limit. You still get people stopping in the middle of the road when they see an elk, and some of the looky-loos just sit there blocking traffic both ways trying to point out their sight so everyone can appreciate it. The ride on Trail Ridge Road, the highest through highway in the US, is only about 45 miles from the Park Entrance to its exit, but plan on taking an hour and a half to do it. It's well worth it. You can get a unique picture of just how big mountains really are, because you can see down into valleys and canyons that would swallow most hills and smaller mountains several times over. There are still some glaciers, but they're getting much smaller since the first time I went through the Park in about '85. But I'm sure global warming is a hoax. :rolleyes1:

OK. I missed Denver's traffic...but all it got me was getting caught in an elk jam in Estes Park. There was a big bull trying to get his harem across the highway and the younger cows and calves weren't sure they wanted to do it. So he kept going back and forth trying to get them all across. We just sat there waiting for him to finish his job, and the traffic was backed up for as far as I could see (close to 1/2 mile, I'd guess). Finally, a woman came walking her Golden Retriever along the path on the right side of the road. She got closer to the elk than I probably would have done, and at that point her dog started barking and that opened the elk jam up for us to proceed. The next 20-some miles down toward Loveland are always "interesting."

The road (US-34) follows the Big Thompson River from Estes down through Big Thompson Canyon, where a flood in '76 wiped out miles of road, several bridges, and killed 144 people. There was another big flood in '13, but I don't think it killed anyone. It did wipe out a lot of highway, destroyed some homes, and took out a small dam. It's losing elevation and following the river. People who drive it every day, drive it at a "brisk" pace and no doubt get frustrated when they're stuck behind a couple or three flat-landers who are driving at speeds that probably terrify them, but feel slow to the folks from the mountains. Right after you come out of the canyon, there's a climbing lane about a mile long. Today, I happened to be behind two of the flatlanders. I'd been OK with their pace down the canyon, but when they got to that climbing lane, the second one pulled out and pulled even with the "leader" and went up the hill at about 49mph. Now, as you all know, I'm a patient and tolerant person, but I'm here to tell you that THAT irritated me more than just a little.

But, since there was nothing I could do about it, I let it go and was rewarded for my "nice-ness" by being able to ride all the way through Loveland, the shopping area on the east side of I-25, and on to the house without having to stop except for a single light on the west side of Loveland. That's (if I counted right) 18 stop lights in a row that I hit green.

It's good to be home and I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. All things being equal, I'm glad I don't "get" to ride tomorrow.

Miles for the Trip: 4,735
Miles for the Day: 380

(BTW, according to Shirley, my GPS, my trip mileage was 4,718.9. 16 miles difference equals .3% error. Pretty well calibrated odometer on the NT.