Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. Lots of pictures

[lobo10s]

June 10th, 2011
Day #1 – Vacation is finally here.

It always feels like Christmas morning the day I wake up before a big ride. Jamie and I were headed out later this afternoon to start our 9 day journey to Colorado. I had originally set up a trip for the Lone Star BMW Riders that would take them to parts on NM, AZ, UT and CO before heading back to North Texas. That ride was still on; however Jamie and I had to make some changes. These were due to some miss communication on my part and I wanted to see my son Alec. So looking at the time table we decided to get in a visit with Alec as well as spend some one on one time with my beautiful wife.

I opened the BOB (Big Orange Box – Home Depot) at 5AM and could not stand still. I had made plans to leave the BOB at 12 noon and hit the road no later than 1PM. It worked out great. I left as scheduled and headed home. Jamie had taken Bella our family dog to the vet and she was ready to go. The bike was packed and ready to go. We loaded up and hit the road as the clock struck 1:09PM. We were only slabbing to Amarillo to spend the evening before a long day on Day two. It was an uneventful ride; with the only big issue being the heat. We rode thru Wichita Falls and the temps read 104! It was hot! We got to the hotel around 8PM and just grabbed a quick dinner and hit the bed. I want to thank my best friend Pete for hooking us up with the hotel room. He travels a lot and used some of his points for us to stay in a Hampton Inn on both our starting day and the last day of our road trip. We love you and thank you for hooking us up. We appreciate it!

You will see a couple of posts per days as I did post a couple of times from my phone. Hope I did not cause to much confusion.

 

[TWTourist]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

Waiting on the ride report.

 

[lobo10s]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

June 11, 2011
Day #2 – Colorado baby! Bring on the cool temps !

We had a great nights rest and were ready to head to Colorado. The temps were not bad on this day of riding as we were heading north the entire day. We went up on I-40 for a few miles before jumping off in San Jon and heading up thru Mosquero and Roy New Mexico. Both are small places but it was nice being in New Mexico. There are a few miles with some curves and a small canyon, so it breaks up some of the flatness.

We stopped in the large city of Roy NM for a Green Chili Cheeseburger and to take a break. We got to the cafe and it was not busy at all. We got to chat with the owner. She was stunned that we were riding by ourselves and that we were riding so far. It was a pleasant conversation and the burger tasted fantastic! The pink van was kinda creepy.

After our lunch stop we knew we were only a few hours from reaching Colorado. We jumped across to I-25. We slabbed up thru Raton Pass in NM. I love that canyon. A couple of days after we passed through there, they closed down the highway due to a large forest fire.

Started to see a bunch of bikes as we entered Colorado. Our C-14 recorded mile 20,000 as we entered Colorado. It was perfect timing. We stopped in Trinidad for an ice cream. We made sure to stop every 60-70 miles. It made for a nice ride and we did not get too exhausted. It worked out well for us. We were not on a schedule and it was awesome just riding and stopping and enjoying each others company. Good times.

What a nice day. We made it to Pete and Vibeke's house around 5:00PM. We did get a few rain drops heading thru Castle Rock CO. It was a nice change and cooled things down nicely. The ride was uneventful and the traffic was not an issue . We did stop outside Denver for a break and noticed that they drink weird stuff up there. LOL!

We had also committed to attending a Habitat for Humanity fund raiser that evening in Evergreen. Our host Vibeke is a committee member and hooked us up with tickets. The event was called High heels and hard Hats. It was a great evening and raised a bunch of money to build a house for a struggling mother of three in the Evergreen area. Jamie and I bid on one of the sinks. It was not much but we felt great about helping out. The house for the event was AMAZING! Had to be 5+ million dollar spread. It was like nothing I had ever seen. It was beautiful! That Evergreen area is a place I could retire.. the only bad part is I am not in the correct tax bracket haha!

We had shipped our clothes to Evergreen and they arrived a few hours prior to us arriving. $14 bucks to get our dress clothes there .. not a bad deal.

Jamie did great this evening as she rode almost 600 miles and looked fantastic for the event. I love my girl! Thanks again to Pete and Vibeke for getting us tickets and for opening up their home to us.

Jamie did great this evening as she rode almost 600 miles and looked fantastic for the event. I love my girl! Thanks again to Pete and Vibeke for getting us tickets and for opening up their home to us. See all Day #2 pictures here.

 

[lobo10s]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

June 12, 2011
Day #3 – Hanging out with my son Alec!

Jamie and I got a good night’s sleep. It was nice having that fresh air to wake up to. The temps were in the 40’s and our morning coffee tasted great in the mountain air. We were also excited as we were heading to Morrison Co to get Alec. Morrison is a little mountain town that is very quaint. We met Alec’s mom and her family for an early brunch. It was nice catching up.
We headed off for red Rocks after we ate. We wanted to get in some hiking this afternoon. Red rock is amazing.

There are some great trails up in Evergreen. We took advantage of this and enjoyed the afternoon on the trails. I know one thing.. my *** is getting to old and fat to do these things. That 9000+ air was thin. Haha!

Alec, Jamie and I enjoyed the day it was awesome. We finished up in Idaho Springs for some pizza at Beaujos. I love that place.

We finished the night up in Evergreen playing board games and enjoying our time with good friends and family. Not a bad way to spend a day.

 

[lobo10s]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

Day #4
June 13, 2011
Chillin at the zoo and visiting the Springs!
See all of the pictures here.

We decided to do some sightseeing in Colorado Springs on this fine day. Alec had heard of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, so we decided to try it out. We are glad we did as that place was amazing! We spent 4 hours walking around and it was a blast! I am only going to include a few pictures here. But you can see all of them here.

After the zoo we went over and hung out at the Air Force Academy. I had not been there in years. It is a beautiful place. I think Alec enjoyed himself as well.

 

[Snoopster]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

We had shipped our clothes to Evergreen and they arrived a few hours prior to us arriving. $14 bucks to get our dress clothes there .. not a bad deal.

I was wondering about that ..... usually on a bike trip nice clothes consisted of a pair of jeans and something that isn't a t-shirt if I'm lucky.

Looks like a great time was had. I hope the deer strikes didn't involve you guys. Thanks for taking the time to do a trip report. Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[RacerJohn]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

Jamie,

Loved the ride rpt so far, and loved the pics!!

Looking forward to more, too!

 

[lobo10s]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

Day #5
June 14, 2011
Enjoying our last day in Evergreen

See all of the pictures here.

We decided that today we would just sleep in and hang out in the little village of Evergreen Colorado. I would love to live in a place like this. So beautiful and small but close enough to Denver to make it fun and besides the motorcycle roads are AWESOME in Colorado!

We walked around and just enjoyed the cool air. We hung out at Cactus Jacks in Evergreen for lunch. You can sit on the patio and listen to the creek rush by. It is a cool place to just chill and enjoy a beverage. That evening our hostess Vibeke took us for a great meal at the Tuscany Tavern. It was wonderful food, with great company and an awe inspiring view. Thanks Vibeke for dinner it was AWESOME!

My time with Alec was coming to an end. I always feel sad when we have to part, but we had a great trip and it was so nice to spend some quality time with my boy. I love you Alec.

Our time had come to an end in Evergreen, but the trip was only half over. Tomorrow we will load up the bike and continue the moto part of our adventure.. until then..

 

[one Wolf]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

Nice!

 

[RxZ]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

I have relatives in Evergreen, and it is a beautiful part of Colorado. You are exactly right about it's location, its up in the mountains, but close enough to Denver that you can go into "town" to get whatever supplies you might need.

For the record, my relatives bought their house for about 250K 13ish years ago. Now it is appraised at over 800K!

 

[lobo10s]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

Day #6
June 15, 2011

Back in the saddle – Front Range, Leadville, Vail and the Springs

Jamie and I awoke and were ready to get back on the road. We said our goodbye’s to our very gracious host and headed down the road. We went down 74 through Kittredge into Morrison for breakfast. We enjoyed a great breakfast. We talked about our day’s journey and just enjoyed being back on the bike. CO 74 is a nice little twisty section of road.

We jumped on 285 and rode down the front range, going through the towns of Bailey, Connifer and Jefferson on the way to Fairplay. I had never been on this stretch of road. It is very scenic with the snow capped mountains on the horizon. We rode along the valleys. It was a nice ride. Plenty of room to pass cars and the road was in great shape. We saw a bunch of bikes out on this stretch of road.

Leadville was our destination of choice. It is such a cool place and any town that resides at 10,000+ feet has to be cool. We took CO 24 up to Leadville. The roads were nice and scenic and we enjoyed a hour sightseeing and enjoying a beverage. Leadville is a beautiful little town. We enjoyed a beverage at the Golden Burro Café.

After leaving Leadville the scenery became breath taking, we made our way up to Fremont Pass where the lakes still had some ice on them. It was chilly and beautiful. We enjoyed the cool air.

On the way down the hill I noticed that the range on our C-14 had gone up a great deal. It was nice knowing that we could go another 630+ miles on our tank of fuel. Haha!

Our next stop was Vail Colorado. Jamie had never been there so we decided to do some walking around and pick up a t-shirt or two. I love Vail village. Vail is such a great place to walk around and unwind. The only bad thing about the area is the price of goods. Everything is so **** expensive. We did some window wishing and then decided it was time to head for our final destination for the day.

I usually hate the slabbing thing, but one of my favorite rides is I-70 from Vail to Glenwood Springs. The highway carves its way through the mountains and finishes up in box canyon right before you head into the springs. I could live in Glewnwood Spring, to me it is a good size and close to some great riding. Below are some pictures from the most scenic highway on the planet.

We found our hotel, took a quick shower and then decided it was time for an adult beverage and some dinner. We had a great meal at the Glenwood Canyon Brewery.

As we were walking to dinner this guy rides up on this.. I think it was a motorcycle but sounded really bad. He was riding from New York and was having some issues. Call me a wimp but touring on this bike does not seem like it would be a fun adventure.

This was a great day of riding with my wonderful wife. It was just under 300 miles but we really enjoyed the day. Tomorrow we would head to Ouray via Gunnison and some of the best roads Colorado has to offer. Until then Cheers!

 

[lobo10s]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

Day #7
June 16, 2011

More Colorado dreaming - Ouray & Gunnison

We enoyed a great evening in Glenwood Springs, but we were excited to hit the road for Day #7. I love 82-133 outside the Springs. Great sweeping corners with beautiful postcard views. One of my favorite rides ever. i enjoy it more every time we do it.

Just when we thought it could not get better we jumped on 92 and made our way through the Black Canyon of Gunnison. We enjoyed the ride, taking in all of the cool air and beautiful mountain views. There was a little stretch of construction in the canyon, but nothing that could dampen our spirits for the day. We had lunch in Gunnison at Firebrand. Gunnison is one of my favorite places. We will be back soon.

Our last stretch was to head down 550 and get to Ouray at a decent time. Our camera broke sometime after lunch so the rest of the pictures in the report are from my cell phone. Sorry for the loss of quality, but at least we still have pictures to share. We hit some construction outside Montrose, but other than that the ride into Ouray was a good one. We walked around the village and had a few adult beverages in a number of establishments.. Not a bad way to spend and afternoon.

We stayed at the Rivers Edge in Ouray and it was AMAZING! Great rooms, low price and the owners loved having motorcycles around. If your in the area, you should stay here, I would recommend it big time!

We loved our day in Ouray, we loved our day of riding.. I think I have found what I would like to do the rest of my life! Cheers!

 

[andyc740]

Re: Colorado Dreaming, Sinks, Cool Weather and Deer Strikes. What a great trip!

I think it was a motorcycle but sounded really bad. He was riding from New York and was having some issues. Call me a wimp but touring on this bike does not seem like it would be a fun adventure.

But it's paid for!

Nice pictures. I especially like the tunnel shot. Thanks for the ride report. Oh, but you're not home yet.

 

[RacerJohn]

Great Ride Rpt! Love the Pix! Amazing scenery!

Thanks, Jerry!!

Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[lobo10s]

June 17, 2011
Cruising the Million Dollar Highway, Pagosa Springs and Wolf Creek Canyon.

Jamie and I had thought about back tracking, heading back up to Gunnison, then dropping down Co 149 into lake City and Crede on our way to Pagosa Springs. The construction from yesterday changed our minds so we decided to do some sight seeing on the Million Dollar Highway. We have done this a number of times, however it never gets old. It is a beautiful drive, somewhat slow in places as it gets very tight and some of those RV people think this is a good way to get up into Colorado. I enjoy it every time I am on it. You do have to be careful as a mistake up here could be bad. No guard rails and some pretty steep drops.

We left the hotel around 9AM letting it warm up a little, we also had to clean the bike up as the sprinklers made the bike a muddy mess. It was not too bad for us, but the 2 Harleys that were blinged out were not as fortunate. It would take days to detail those bikes back to bar hopping status. (sorry I had to say it) The owners were very nice and we crossed paths with them all day down 550.

Leaving Ouray we took a shot of why they call this village the Switzerland of the west. (again sorry for the pictures. the cell phone is all we had.)

We enjoyed the cool ride and made a few stops to add more layers and to take some pictures. 10,000 ft makes for a cold morning even in the month of June.

We rolled into Silverton looking to get do some walking around and get warmed up. It is a cool little town, with many shops and friendly people. We had some coco and coffee and just enjoyed a lazy morning. We ran into 2 couples on bikes with trailers from Kansas City. They were puzzled that we could ride two up for 9 days and carry everything on the bike. They said that they needed the added room of the trailers but hated pulling them in the mountains. I guess the extra space would be nice, but losing the ability to enjoy those roads would be something I would not want to miss.

We left Silverton and headed over to Durango. It was a nice ride and we just took in the scenery. We did stop for a quick fill up and a drink in Durango. We got out of there pretty quickly as the traffic was bad and it was starting to warm up. We did find this little diner that was pretty cool Just a long bar with stools. It was a true greasy spoon.

We were heading to Pagosa Springs to spend the evening and hook up with the Lone Star BMW club riders that were getting to do the ride that I planned a few months prior. They had been to Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and now Colorado on their way back to Big D.

Jamie and I would join them for dinner later that evening and then ride back with them to get home. We made the short journey To Pagosa in good time and decided to get lunch before planning the afternoon activities. We enjoyed yet another Green chili Cheeseburger. We always load up on the green chili when we get a chance.

While eating lunch we decided that it was to early to end the day. it was only 2:00PM. We decided to check into our hotel and then we would shoot up through wolf creek pass and get some desert in Crede after a short ride up beautiful 149. We were glad we made this choice the ride was awesome, the scenery was great (yeah I know we say that alot) and we always enjoy our stop at Kips in Crede.

We got back to the room just in time to catch up with all of the other riders coming in from Utah. We took a quick shower and headed down to JJ's Riverwalk for dinner.

The entire group was going and it was awesome swapping ride stories. I was really into hearing about their trip as it was my creation. I did the leg work for the hotel and dinning establishments. I also laid out the general routes. It seems as everyone enjoyed themselves. They loved the routes and no one said anything negative so it was a good evening.

I do have to say a special thanks to my friend Herman. He was thrust into the ride leader role due to my change of plans. He is a great rider and friend and I so appreciate that he took the reins and ran with this ride. I owe him a big big beer! (that is Herman in the middle. Not from this trip but wanted to put a face with a name) Thanks again Herman.

This was a great night, but it was also sad as well. It reminded us that our journey was almost over and we all would be headed back home tomorrow. But for the evening.. tales were told and many laughs were had. It was a great way to end the day. Till next time.

 

[achesley]

Yeap! You're right. Get cold up there in June. I've been snowed in before in June. LOL. Thanks for sharing the ride. Bringing back all sorts of memories of my many rides up there and hoping to be back there at the end of this month.

 

[lobo10s]

June 18, 2011
Last day of cool breezes, goodbye Colorado and NM ..Hello HOT Texas!

This was a sad morning. Our trip was on it's last legs and today we would end the day with projected temps near triple digits. This to go along with our final destination of Amarillo. We were going to miss Nm and Colorado.

We ate breakfast at the hotel with all of the gang. We tagged along with the gang as we headed out. Our first stop would be Chama NM. We knew it was going to be warm this afternoon, so last night Jamie made sure our cool vests were loaded up and ready to go. They really do work.

That is Jamie and I ready to roll. Thanks Mark for the picture.

Jamie and I broke off from the gang and stopped for a quick break in Chama. We were also going to do the longer loop into Red River NM later into the trip. The rest of the group was heading to Taos to eat an early lunch. Jamie was a trooper the entire trip. i love my riding partner. She is cute to boot.. I am a lucky man.

We enjoyed the ride over the Rio Grande gorge, up the hill to Red River and through Cimarron National forest. We caught up with Mark and Randy a couple of times during the day. It is fun seeing some friends on the road from time to time.

I love this part of New Mexico. It reminds me of riding with my father and enjoying these great roads on weekends after I first got out of the military back in the 80's. He got sick a few years later, then passed, but I sure enjoyed riding with him. I am glad his passion for riding was passed down to me and my brother. We miss you dad!

Jamie and I go to Red River each year for her family's reunion and it has a special place in our hearts. We enjoyed a breakfast burrito and chatted about how nice it will be to return in July for the reunion. It is a blast up there and a nice way to get out of the brutal summer heat in Texas.

This was a long day of riding. The closer we got to Texas the hotter it got! We rolled into Amarillo and the bank temp was a nice 103... YIKES We took a long shower and walked over to a wing stop for a quick dinner. It was awful hot. We would be home tomorrow. We were planning on leaving early to beat the heat. Our daughter was playing in a softball tournament that day as well so we wanted to get back to see her team play.

We saw this car and trailer at the hotel. i thought it was pretty cool.

 

[lobo10s]

June 19, 2011
Headed home until a deer had other plans.. **** it is HOT!

Jamie and I were up and moving along at 5:30am. We knew that this last day would be hot and we wanted to make Megan's game at 2PM. We were right on schedule.

The morning was a nice one. The cool vests were working and it was a nice way to start the morning. We were making good time.. THEN BAM!

I see a blur on my left hand side, It looks brown. The next thing I know we feel a jolt and the bike pulls hard to the left. I keep the bike up and start to slow down. I look in the mirror to see the culprit stand up and jump the fence. It scampers off.

I get on the radio and tell Jamie that "I think we hit a deer". I pull the bike over. My heart is racing! I asked to see if Jamie was alright. I think we were both stunned. We crawled off the bike to assess the damage and to collect our thoughts.

We looked over the bike and saw that the right side middle and lower fairing was damaged. Jamie then noticed that her bag was not longer attached to the bike. Looking down the road a 1/4 mile or so we saw it laying in the highway.

We started our way down there to get the bag when Leonard and Liz from the club rode by, they circled back to make sure we were ok. We explained what happened and they were nice enough to help us pic up what was left of Jamie's wallet. All of her clothes were still in the bag liners, but she had placed her wallet on top of the bag. Yeeha Stephan and Miss Vicky rode up around this time as well. They jumped off and helped us locate as much of Jamie's information as possible. We found her Drivers License and bank cards so life was good.

We actually had a spare bag that we had placed on top of the top case that carried our rain gear in it. This was a life saver as we could get Jamie's clothes in there. The bag would not mount to the bike as the brackets were ripped off.

Nothing was leaking from the bike and it started right up. So we jumped on and decided to follow Yeeha for a few miles to make sure everything was okay. The bike ran great. my mind would not shut off. This could have ended much differently and much worse for the two of us. I was going 70 mph when I struck the deer. It could have gotten ugly if I had T-boned it. The good thing it was a glancing blow, only doing cosmetic damage. We were so lucky! At breakfast I took another pic of the damage.

The rest of the ride home was a good one.. well It was good that we could ride home and that we were both un harmed. The actual ride SUCKED! 250 miles of triple digit heat and winds blowing anywhere from 30-40 MPH. The winds were non stop. It was a hard ride home.

We pulled in the drive way and with 2700+ miles on the bike. We were home safe and sound. It was a grand trip and one we will not forget anytime soon.

We made it to Megan's Championship game. the Tigers lost but they fought hard. Megan was named team MVP.

After the events from earlier in the day all we could do was count our blessings. Life is good!

 

[Downs]

**** forest rats.

 

[achesley]

The rest of the ride home was a good one.. well It was good that we could ride home and that we were both un harmed. The actual ride SUCKED! 250 miles of triple digit heat and winds blowing anywhere from 30-40 MPH. The winds were non stop. It was a hard ride home.

I put up with that stuff for 2 days in North Ok and Kansas a couple weeks ago. Hit a front at the CO border and the temps and winds went the other way. I abandon CO and went with the wind to OKC. Just getting too old to fight that.
Glad the deer strike went your way. I used to NOT travel at night after a minor hit in '97 then bearly missed one last year at high noon in Texas. I so HATE them things.

 

[RedPill]

I'm so glad that you suffered only cosmetic bike damage, rather than real people damage, in the deer strike. One of the hazards of riding, and unfortunately not one you can really plan for.

 

[Tourmeister]

Having gone down with my wife on the bike, her getting hurt, and dealing with all the feelings that came with it, I am glad you were spared that.

The ride report was great. I too love that stretch of I-70 between Vail and Glennwood Springs, except the speed limit is to low The pictures really make me want to get back up there for another trip!

 

[lobo10s]

Having gone down with my wife on the bike, her getting hurt, and dealing with all the feelings that came with it, I am glad you were spared that.

Actually Jamie and I had a little mishap in Arkansas in 06 and your right. it was the worst feeling watching her get loaded into the ambulance.. I never want to put her through that again.

http://www.motoadrenaline.net/2006/09/eureka-springs-ouch.html

 

[TwoLane]

Awesome trip pics, and the matching car and trailer certainly was cool. Close call on the deer hit. Some turn out bad and some are amazingly less severe. One of my co-workers was two-up in Colorado, when they clipped a muley!!

 

[rickmillertx]

I really enjoyed your report. Sorry about the deer. Dangerous guys.

I'm riding up to Ouray in August.