Trippin' Connies 3: Voluptuous Colorado

[klb1122]

Wow, what a trip. You've hit just about every favorite spot of mine in the state of Colorado. We're all green with envy.

That was the plan, hit as many good'ens as we possibly could.

 

[klb1122]

Glad you enjoyed it, tell your dad I'm sorry, there was absolutely NONE of that gravel last August. I did notice a bunch of trucks so they must come through every year or so and dump gravel to keep the road up and it sounds like you came through as they were doing it. My only issues with the road were where it was wet from the rain under the trees where it wasn't getting any sun to dry it up. It was a little slippery but nothing too bad...if you don't come hauling into the corner way faster than you should have. Took me several days to get that pucker mark out of the seat.

This is what the entire road looked like last year.

Sheesh, are you men or little girls?

Real men stand on the edge!

Yea, 92 and the Black Canyon of Gunnison is a must on that trip. However, ride careful because there's no guardrails and the penalty for failure is high!

It's all good. I think he just gets tired after being on a motorcylce for 12 hours a day sometimes. He still won't let me forget a gravel, or should I say rock, road I took him down 4 years ago in Arkansas.

We're obviously not real men. There was a stout breeze that day. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[tshelfer]

Sheesh, are you men or little girls? -- Nah, the little girls would be at the roadside, standing next to me.

 

[achesley]

Great pictures bringing back many many fond memories of my travels about that country.
Was wondering what kind of fuel mileage the Connie 14 averaged up there. Tooling about on my Bandit 1250S a couple years ago got me a high of 56.2 for a tankfull in the Independence area. Best fuel mileage I've ever had on a street bike up there. Course, the speeds I was running helped loads. LOL!

 

[klb1122]

Great pictures bringing back many many fond memories of my travels about that country.
Was wondering what kind of fuel mileage the Connie 14 averaged up there. Tooling about on my Bandit 1250S a couple years ago got me a high of 56.2 for a tankfull in the Independence area. Best fuel mileage I've ever had on a street bike up there. Course, the speeds I was running helped loads. LOL!

My bike was averaging 46-48 mpg at elevation. The other three probably averaged over 50 mpg, even with dad being on the same bike. If dad's in 5th gear, i'm most likely in 3rd or 4th, and my mileage suffers because of it.

 

[gixxerjasen]

The other three probably averaged over 50 mpg

I'd be very surprised to see a Gen II FZ1 average over 50.

 

[klb1122]

Day 5 – July 28, 2011

Leadville, CO to Evergreen, CO – 347 miles - MAP

Ah, good morning Colorado!

It was getting tougher and tougher to wake up at 5:30 am every day, but we somehow managed. The pics above were taken out of our hotel window. It was a great, crisp morning. We had some breakfast at the hotel, loaded up and got on the road at about 7:15 am.

We had a good stay at the Columbine Inn & Suites, I highly recommend it if you are staying in Leadville. This one definitely looked the best. It has nice lounge and breakfast areas, and the price is right.

We stayed north on US 24 out of Leadville. It wasn’t even 10 miles yet and we were already at Tennessee Pass.

Just three turns later we stopped to view the bridge. As I was pulling into the overlook I could see there was a trench where the rain had dug out the dirt and gravel. I went slow through it, trying not to drag anything under the bike. I made it through and put my kickstand down. Brett made it through as well, but he almost dropped the ST while trying to park. Next thing we see is dad in front of us, headed to the ground on the Connie. I got off my bike and ran over to help him pick it back up. Apparently he didn’t like where he was parked, so he tried to move, but he was uphill in second gear and popped the clutch. When that happened, she started going over to the right and dad didn’t have the footing nor strength to prevent it. No harm was done to dad, and somehow only very little cosmetic damage to the bike. I think what made him more upset was the tank bag picked up some tiny little rocks off the ground, so when he put it back on, it scratched up his tank.

We continued north on US 24 to I-70 where we headed east. It was a very scenic ride down the interstate, over Vail Pass and through Vail, with mountains on either side of the road. We were slowed down by some construction on the west side of Vail pass.

We exited US 6 at the town of Dillon and made a stop at Dillon Reservoir. A local policeman pulled in the parking lot to chat with us for a bit.

Next up was Loveland Pass on US 6. Loveland and Independence were my two favorite passes of the trip. Both had absolutely beautiful 360 degree views. Loveland was a bit more crowded due to its proximity to interstate.

We hopped back on I-70 and headed east again for a bit. We exited on US 40 and headed back west, but it eventually ran north. It took us over Berthoud Pass where we stopped for a break.

I forgot to mention that dad saved part of his French Dip from last night to have as leftovers today. Randy wasn’t able to finish his either, but he gave it to Brett to have today as well. Anyone who owns a ST1300 knows how ridiculously hot the glove box gets. So naturally, at this stop they popped the leftovers into the oven to enjoy later.

Next up was a gas stop in Fraser.

We turned onto US 34, passed Lake Granby, and headed into Rocky Mountain National Park. I believe the entry fee was $10 per motorcycle.

As soon as we entered the park it started sprinkling. The clouds ahead looked somewhat threatening, so I pulled over so we could suit up.

Right after leaving here I saw my first moose in the wild. It was out in a field, a good distance from the road. We continued on and started climbing higher and higher. Traffic wasn't too terrible getting to the highest section. We took a break here; it would be the only place we stopped for the rest of the park.

A mile down the road we saw two elk just sitting on the side of the mountain.

From this point through the rest of the park we were in slow motion. There were people everywhere. Every single scenic pull off was overflowing with vehicles. It was definitely worth the ride through. I’d like to go back again someday in a car and spend more time in the park. Sitting in traffic or going 5 mph isn't my idea of fun on a bike. To make matters worse there were several construction zones.

Almost out of the park a coyote ran across the road. Dad got a picture of it. It’s somewhere in there.

We cruised through Estes Park and turned south on 7. Still in town there was a huge elk sitting in a field on the side of the road. Several cars were parked there with people standing by them, just watching the elk. It was as if it was in a zoo. Leaving Estes Park it started raining on us. This time it rained for quite a while. The trip down 7 to 72 (aka Peak to Peak Hwy) and onward was mostly a blur. I tried to make one quick stop while the rain was light.

I wasn’t a fan of 7 or 72. The road surfaces were not that great, and the slow drivers and weather didn’t help. Once we turned on 119, things got better. I enjoyed this road much more than the last two. It was interesting to ride through Black Hawk, a little gambling oasis in the mountains. We turned back west on US 6 and west again on I-70. In need of gas, we stopped in Idaho Springs.

Of course the one time you actually want the glove box to be hot, it isn’t. We were running at elevation and cool temperatures all day. Brett had checked a time or two before and the leftovers weren’t ready. At this gas stop, they finally were. Dad even let me have a piece. It was just as good as the previous night.

From the gas station we hopped on 103 and headed south. The rain started again, so when we pulled into the park entrance for Mount Evans, I pulled over to see if everyone wanted to continue on. I think the consensus was, we’re already here, let’s do it. The guy at the entrance station said it was $3 per bike. I asked him if that was the, it’s raining and foggy you aren’t going to be able to see a thing on a motorcycle discount. He laughed and said yes. I tried to get him to pay us for going to the top, but it didn’t work. He warned us that between the 7 and 8 mile marker the road was in pretty bad shape from the cold, he compared it to ski moguls. We got our receipts and tags and headed on. It’s right at 15 miles to the summit. The ride up to Summit Lake wasn’t too bad. It was a divided road with nothing too crazy. The moguls start right around Summit Lake. Moguls or whoops is definitely a good description. They last less than half a mile though. Just a quick glance over at Summit Lake while riding by is all we did because it was raining on us. With 4 miles left, things got intense. It was getting cold and our hands were not function as well. Between the cold and rain, it was extremely hard to see anything. My visor would fog up, and when I would crack it open I was getting hit by rain. The road got narrow and the center dividing line went away. There was no room for error. Guardrails, who needs those. Take all of these conditions and add to it over 10 switchback turns to get to the top and you have an intense ride. I know I was holding the others up getting to the summit. I was going so slow I probably should have been putting a foot down around the corners. I didn’t care though, with the road being so slick I was scared of dropping the bike or worse.

Watching the look on the faces of people heading back down made the ride even more worthwhile. Their expressions mostly said, “these guys must be nuts!” One guy even gave us a shocked laugh. We made it though.

Here’s the summit.

See for miles!?!?!? I don’t think so. But, on a clear day I guess you can see Rocky Mountain National Park and Denver metro.

Funny, as soon as we parked there was a huge clap of thunder. It’s probably not the best idea to stick around too long up here.

Brett said he would lead on the way back down. No offense taken, I know I was crawling. So we got to do it all over again, now downhill instead of up. Heading back down Brett saw 37 degrees on the ST ambient temperature thermostat. It was chilly and still raining. Several miles in we got stuck behind 5 or 6 cars. The lead Tahoe was literally going 10 mph on a straight section. No one was making a move and then all of the sudden dad, who was in the back, went around everyone and flew right by all the cars. We followed suit and dad set a blistering pace all the way back to the park entrance. When we finally reached the stop sign, I asked dad if he wanted to keep leading, but he said, “no, I just wanted to get the %#$& off that mountain.”

Back on 103 we headed east to our hotel. The road was rough and there was gravel and sand in most of the corners. The rain was making it hard to see. This part of the ride seemed to take forever. We found out once we got to the hotel that Randy’s back tightened up on him with just a few miles left in the day. He was in pretty bad shape trying to get off the bike. Thankfully the riding was over for the day though.

We stayed at the Quality Suites north of Evergreen.

We walked next door to the El Rancho Colorado and watched the X Games while eating. I had a chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries, cooked to perfection.

Back at the hotel we jumped in the hot tub to relax and then went to bed. It was the perfect night to have a big room because we had gear scattered everywhere in hopes it would be dry by the morning.

 

[achesley]

What a ride up Evans. Thanks for sharing. My thing for Nat'l Parks is to be at the gate at opening time. Beats a heck of a lot of traffic and many times, you have the park to yourself for an hour or so. Then, comes, the, pack. LOL!!
Course on a rainy or foggy day, ;-(.
LOL! I probably ride a lot like your dad. Brings good fuel mileage and tire wear.

 

[tshelfer]

Wow, the pictures just keep getting better and better. What a great adventure. I see they already have the marker sticks up along Trail Ridge Road.

In our experience at Rocky Mountain National Park, the line is always way shorter if you enter from the east end of Estes Park, near the Stanley Hotel. Turn north next to the grocery store, drive about 10 miles, and you come through a much less crowded gate, right next to the Aspen Glen campground.

 

[klb1122]

Day 6 – July 29, 2011


Evergreen, Co to Amarillo, TX – 533 miles - MAP

It was another beautiful Colorado morning, but today was bittersweet in that we would be leaving this beloved state. We got up at the usual time, ate some breakfast and packed up. The night before I realized just how tough today’s mileage was going to be. In addition, we were going to be losing an hour crossing time zones.

There were some top secret cars in the parking lot. We had seen them riding around on our way to the hotel yesterday. When I saw them on the road I was wondering what they were.

Someone’s representing in Colorado.

The morning was slow going at first with lights through towns and quite a few people on the road. Keeping time in mind, we didn’t stop too many times between gas breaks. The roads in the morning weren’t great, but they were better than running interstate. I believe this first stop to stretch was somewhere along 67.

We rode into the western side of Colorado Springs and filled our tanks.

The next break to get off the bikes and walk around was somewhere along 96.

Dad saw some rocks that looked like flint and tried to make a spark.

Dad and Brett told us what we had missed back on 115 leaving Colorado Springs. As we were leaving one of the construction zones, a truck hauling some of the newly excavated concrete pulled out in front of the group of cars ahead of us. At a passing lane, Randy and I were able to get around everyone, but Brett and Dad got stuck behind the truck. While they were following the truck, smoke started billowing out. They had to slow down because they could barely see. Then sparks started flying out from under the truck. Next, one of the double wheels/tires on the truck broke loose with a piece of axle still attached. It then rolled up the incline on the side of the road, hit some trees and bounced off, rolled back across the road and off the drop off on the other side. All of this happened right in front of their eyes.

Just 15 miles later we arrived at a planned stop on 165, Bishop Castle. It’s definitely worth the stop if you’re in the area. Just knowing Mr. Bishop built this castle with his own two hands is quite the eye-opener.

I guess you have to be a bit wacky to build a castle. To say Mr. Bishop is a bit wacky is a huge understatement. The whole time we were there he was working… and ranting.

There’s intricate detail everywhere, but there’s also unfinished work everywhere.

We all climbed to the highest point of the castle. There is quite the view from the top. As I was holding on for dear life on the top step, Randy was kind enough to shake the upper section. The thing really moves around and that’s not a good feeling when you’re that high and on something a crazy guy built.

The road leading up to and after the castle, 165, was really nice. It had good curves and a nice surface.

165 Took us back to I-25, and we headed south for another short stint. Exiting on US 160 we went west and then jumped on 12, the Highway of Legends. We stopped for a fill-up in La Veta. A deer walked right by the station while we were there. The weather ahead was looking pretty bad.

Brett was the only one to put any rain gear on. We continued on the Highway of Legends, right for the mountains, and right for the storm. As we got closer, I could see just how active the lightning was. I was looking for a spot to pull over real quick and ask the guys how they wanted to proceed. I found one and whipped over. Randy and Brett followed suit but I don’t think dad was expecting it. He ended up stopping ahead of me. At this point I figure we’ll just make a little stop here. I look up and dad and his Connie are laying on the guardrail in front of me. I got off my bike and went over to him, grabbed the passenger rail and helped pull him up straight again. Apparently he put his foot down and it slipped on the small gravel. Once again, dad was fine, and somehow so was Connie, well, maybe except for a couple new scratches on the mirror.

I was the only one to not put any rain gear on, don’t ask me why. I made sure everyone wanted to continue on instead of backtracking to I-25 and slabbing it. Everyone said they were ok, so we continued. We road right through the storm, but it wasn’t all too bad, for a while at least. Then we came into a little town with a low speed limit and I got stuck behind a truck crawling along. Right at this time it started pouring. I had streams running all down my body and the truck was pissing me off, so I bolted around it and took off. As long as I was moving at a decent speed, the rain wasn’t effecting me too much, but going slow was killer. There were several pucker moments when I would spot a river running across the road at the last minute. Oh, I failed to mention that the rain brought some cool temps. It was in the 50s and I was soaking wet. I felt legendarily stupid. 12 may or may not have been a nice ride under normal conditions, I’m not sure because I couldn’t see or feel much.

The Highway of Legends dropped us back off at I-25 in Trinidad. The weather had cleared up, but there still remained one cloud over Trinidad. You have to jump through hoops to get on I-25 from 12, but we finally arrived, with some rain coming down. It was a funky ending to our time in Colorado. We rode into New Mexico and headed east on 72 out of Raton.

72 Was an interesting road. Through the first part there was quite a bit of wildlife. I saw several deer, wild turkeys, antelope, and birds were flying everywhere. The road was rough. We climbed up and got onto the high plains and everything changed immediately. There were no trees in sight, just grass with a lot of cows and a few antelope. It was desolate and it felt like we were a thousand miles away from civilization.

I was starting to worry if we were going to find a gas station any time soon. We rode through Folsom and there was no gas in sight. We took 325 down to Des Moines. Thankfully there was a new station there that wasn’t showing up on the GPS.

While at this stop Brett mentioned how he had an unusually bumpy ride along 72. It was a bumpy road, but his butt actually got air off the seat several times. Hmmm, that’s weird since he should have the smoothest ride out of all of us.

We were now on US 87 heading for Texas and starting the boring ride back home. While still in New Mexico it was quite windy, and a storm was threatening to the south of us for a long time. We never got into rain though.

Entering Texas we continued on US 87 to US 385, east on 354 and finally south on US 287 into Amarillo. Pushing the limits of the FZ1’s tank, we went the last 180 miles to the hotel without a stop. We pulled into the hotel at 8:21 pm. It had been a long day on the road that included a hike to the top of a castle. We were exhausted and opted to just walk over and eat at Taco Bell, which was within the La Quinta parking lot. We discussed getting up earlier to get home at a decent time and crashed out.

 

[humanrace]

We went to the same castle, but for some reason your pictures turned out nicer than mine. Must be your camera. Nice report. Nice pictures.

 

[klb1122]

Day 7 – July 30, 2011


Amarillo, TX to Houston, TX – 593 miles - MAP

We woke up at 5 am to try and get on the road a bit earlier. Instead of waiting around to eat breakfast at the hotel, we decided to just snack at gas stations on the way home. We had to get gas in the morning because none of us wanted to mess with it the previous night. We were checked out and on the road before the sun was up.

By the end of the previous day it was apparent to Brett that the ST had a blown rear shock. Big bumps at speed, and any bumps while going slow, and he was getting bucked out of the saddle. He led all the way home so he could set a pace that he was comfortable with. I know I shouldn’t have been laughing, but he kept me entertained most of the way home.

The plan was to stop every 150 miles or so, making it 3 stops to home. The first stop was in Quanah. There wasn’t much to take pictures of on the way home, so I was getting desperate.

I’m starting to think these guys have the right idea. This was my fourth time riding in between Houston and Amarillo in miserable heat.

You don’t see this anymore.

The next stop was in Alvord.

Dad’s 2 year old HyperPro shock left oil all over the rear of the ST.

It was slow going through Fort Worth and we had to split up here and there due to traffic. Between Waxahachie and I-45 there is a long rough section of road. It looked like Brett was riding a bucking bronco through there. Our final gas stop of the day was in Fairfield.

“My bum hurts and my back is killing me.”

Brett was jockeying the ST home.

I was riding on the wings of Red Bull and Aleve.

I’m almost home sweetness.

There’s not much to write about the rest of the way home. We split off from each other at the I-45 and the 610 loop interchange. I pulled into my driveway right around 5:00 pm and tucked Connie into the garage with her sisters.

Here are the ending stats from my GPS and bike computer. I’m an old dad now, didn’t even break 100 mph the whole trip!

Another trip in the books: 7 days, 3300 miles, a bunch of mountain passes, one and a half bike drops, Million Dollar Highway, Colorado National Monument, the Grand Mesa, Rocky Mountain National Park, Mount Evans, Bishop Castle, some crazy heat, some cool fresh mountain air, and a huge desire to go back to Colorado.

 

[klb1122]

We went to the same castle, but for some reason your pictures turned out nicer than mine. Must be your camera. Nice report. Nice pictures.

Thanks!

I read your report, you did a great job. There's nothing wrong with your castle pictures.

 

[Eltee]

Many thanks Kory for your trip report with lots of good road pics. This report will likely have some folks here checking the maps and dreaming of tasting the good atmosphere of Colorado.

Neal

 

[NomadicFireman]

Great report. Pics were awesome. Thanks

 

[klb1122]

Whoopsie, didn't realize my pics were disabled on Photobucket. It should be squared away now.

Many thanks Kory for your trip report with lots of good road pics. This report will likely have some folks here checking the maps and dreaming of tasting the good atmosphere of Colorado.

Neal

Great report. Pics were awesome. Thanks

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Marc B]

It's so hard coming back home to the flat land and heat, Great trip, Thanks for sharing.