Yesterday, I rode from Greeley down to Colorado Springs to visit my son and daughter-in-law in their new home! 139 miles on I-25 and E-470 (the loop around Denver that runs just west of Denver International Airport). About 20 miles of 25 is under construction with two narrow lanes and no shoulders. It's called "the Gap," and has been the scene of a high number of accidents, including at least two State Troopers who have been killed by drivers while investigating accidents. I got through it, but it was hardly and enjoyable ride.
I had a good visit with my kids and ate an incredible take-out Mexican dinner -- the first I've had in several months.
Today, I was up at 7AM, ate a bowl of oatmeal, had a couple of cups of coffee, and left at 8:30, to get gas and ride down to Apex Sports, one of the best motorcycle dealerships in Colorado. It had been 27F at 6, was up to 34F when I left the kids' and then was at 36F when I got to Apex. There were four of when I got there, and we waited until a little after 9:30 for our ride leader and another rider from Loveland to show up. Doug, the ride leader, said that six riders had planned to come from Loveland, but four backed out because of the cold -- it had been 26F when they were scheduled to ride.
Our route had us taking CO-115 south to Penrose and Florence, the site of SuperMax, the most secure federal prison facility in the country, then through Wetmore, up through Hardscrabble Canyon and then south to Bishop's Castle. We toured the Castle and then rode back north and west to Westcliffe, where we ate in a pavilion. After we ate, we headed in our various directions. When I've ridden to Westcliffe before, I've gone north and connected with US-50 at Texas Creek, a few miles west of the Royal Gorge. But today our GPS's told us to go back down Hardscrabble Canyon, Wetmore and Florence. We stopped for gas in Penrose and then kinda' got separated -- one of us was looking for picture opportunities so he could grab some "tags" for a contest. I headed north by myself, but just as I got into about 5 miles of stop-and-go traffic in Colorado Springs, the ride leader caught up with me. I had him in site all the way through the Springs, The Gap, and Castle Rock, but then he disappeared. When I topped the highest part of I-25 between Castle Rock, I was greeted by a huge cloud of smoke that looked like it was engulfing the western Denver Metro area. It was a scary sight! By the time I was half way around E-470, going over I-70 east of Denver, I was in the smoke. Visibility around the airport was maybe 2-3 miles and every one had their headlights on. By the time I got home at 6PM, it was smoky here, too. It turns out that the state's largest-ever wildfire, the Cameron Peak fire is still growing and is the source of our smoke here. The smoke in Denver and at DIA is coming from a new fire, the aptly-named Troublesome Fire, near Kremmling.
The temperature during our ride down to Bishop's Castle steadily rose and was up to 60. By the time we ate in Westcliffe, it was 70. It was an incredibly beautiful day -- skies were clear, clear, clear deep blue. There was hardly any wind, and the mountains and trees were gorgeous. The color was a little past its peak, but still gorgeous. Since we were riding on a Friday, we had less traffic in the mountains than we would have if we had waited till tomorrow to ride. I think that by the time we got to Bishop's Castle, our riding group was up to 12.
I'll post pictures and more commentary later. It's been a good week -- 858 miles of interesting and different riding.
I'm posting my Spotwalla track as well. [Or at least I would if I could remember how to do it. I did after Wednesday's ride, but I cannot remember where I got that link. If any of you geeks can remind me of what I need to do, I'd greatly appreciate it!
I had a good visit with my kids and ate an incredible take-out Mexican dinner -- the first I've had in several months.
Today, I was up at 7AM, ate a bowl of oatmeal, had a couple of cups of coffee, and left at 8:30, to get gas and ride down to Apex Sports, one of the best motorcycle dealerships in Colorado. It had been 27F at 6, was up to 34F when I left the kids' and then was at 36F when I got to Apex. There were four of when I got there, and we waited until a little after 9:30 for our ride leader and another rider from Loveland to show up. Doug, the ride leader, said that six riders had planned to come from Loveland, but four backed out because of the cold -- it had been 26F when they were scheduled to ride.
Our route had us taking CO-115 south to Penrose and Florence, the site of SuperMax, the most secure federal prison facility in the country, then through Wetmore, up through Hardscrabble Canyon and then south to Bishop's Castle. We toured the Castle and then rode back north and west to Westcliffe, where we ate in a pavilion. After we ate, we headed in our various directions. When I've ridden to Westcliffe before, I've gone north and connected with US-50 at Texas Creek, a few miles west of the Royal Gorge. But today our GPS's told us to go back down Hardscrabble Canyon, Wetmore and Florence. We stopped for gas in Penrose and then kinda' got separated -- one of us was looking for picture opportunities so he could grab some "tags" for a contest. I headed north by myself, but just as I got into about 5 miles of stop-and-go traffic in Colorado Springs, the ride leader caught up with me. I had him in site all the way through the Springs, The Gap, and Castle Rock, but then he disappeared. When I topped the highest part of I-25 between Castle Rock, I was greeted by a huge cloud of smoke that looked like it was engulfing the western Denver Metro area. It was a scary sight! By the time I was half way around E-470, going over I-70 east of Denver, I was in the smoke. Visibility around the airport was maybe 2-3 miles and every one had their headlights on. By the time I got home at 6PM, it was smoky here, too. It turns out that the state's largest-ever wildfire, the Cameron Peak fire is still growing and is the source of our smoke here. The smoke in Denver and at DIA is coming from a new fire, the aptly-named Troublesome Fire, near Kremmling.
The temperature during our ride down to Bishop's Castle steadily rose and was up to 60. By the time we ate in Westcliffe, it was 70. It was an incredibly beautiful day -- skies were clear, clear, clear deep blue. There was hardly any wind, and the mountains and trees were gorgeous. The color was a little past its peak, but still gorgeous. Since we were riding on a Friday, we had less traffic in the mountains than we would have if we had waited till tomorrow to ride. I think that by the time we got to Bishop's Castle, our riding group was up to 12.
I'll post pictures and more commentary later. It's been a good week -- 858 miles of interesting and different riding.
I'm posting my Spotwalla track as well. [Or at least I would if I could remember how to do it. I did after Wednesday's ride, but I cannot remember where I got that link. If any of you geeks can remind me of what I need to do, I'd greatly appreciate it!
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. That can be a few miles of cruising 10-15 mph slower than you were before the "pass" began. Repeat ad nauseam throughout the day. That's one reason I really like doing such riding at 2 am. Most of them have turned in for the evening, no more rolling roadblocks.