To that I can only say, “I just watched.”
My stuff was ready to go, had been for quite some time. In all fairness I should point out that the trip was a bit last minute for Jason and he is rather new, and he did take his bike to the BMW Dealer to have it checked out. And I guess Carlton kind of has an excuse in that he spent the last 6 months leading up to the trip helping put his oldest daughter’s wedding together. But still, he should know better than to make major changes (adding driving lights) just before a big trip.
So I made coffee and then stood around and drank it while Jason installed his brand new battery and spark plugs and Carlton replaced his driving light and I tried to not tap my foot. I did help a little I guess. I trimmed the melted plastic off of Jason’s side panel so it would mount.
Jason replacing battery 
Carlton's driving lightsFinally it’s time to go.
We had originally planned to blast up to Glacier on the interstate and after playing there to wiggle our way back home through the mountains slow and easy. We changed our plans when we learned that although Jason would be able to join us, he could only be able to stay for a day or so as he had to get back home for a job interview. So we just turned our trip around and headed out west and through the mountains. Otherwise Jason would only get about 4 highway days and no fun stuff. We figured if we headed out the fun way, he could take a couple of days to get back to Lubbock and will have had 2 highway days and 2 mountain days, much better.
First stop: Breakfast.
One of the best local motorcycle roads is Hwy 24 up the Ute pass to Hwy 67 north to Deckers. While Deckers leaves a little to be desired as a breakfast spot, it is a beautiful spot to stop and catch your breath, and the coffee is pretty good too.
From there we took 126 through Pine up to 285. I’m cruising up 126 and I get to straight spot and check my mirror…nothing. My heart skips a beat as I slow to a crawl and my mirror remains empty of motorcycles.
See, on last year’s trip we started out accompanied by my little brother who decided to test the guard rail in the Arkansas River Canyon. It was the exact same thing, I was cruising along Hwy 50, got to straight stretch, checked my mirror… nothing. I had gone back to find his Roadstar totaled and him lying in the dirt awaiting an ambulance. But he’s fine and that’s another story.
I pull a u-turn and roll on the throttle to get back to who knows what? I don’t get very far when I find the two of them parked on the side of the road taking pictures. That thought had not crossed my mind at that point because I am basically in my back yard still. This is scenery I see all the time and I guess I take it for granted. It helps to see it through someone else’s eyes to realize it’s pretty special.
We continued up Hwy126 to Hwy 285 and took that north to Hwy 73 which we took to Evergreen. After cruising through Bear Creek Canyon (Hwy 74) we picked up 93 in Morrison and headed north to I70 and headed west.
Some where in here we were supposed to go over Mount Evans, the highest paved road in the world, but I missed the turn and by the time we got back to the interstate I decided we would just press on. We were scheduled to do that road two years ago and missed it then too (tire issue on Carlton’s Goldwing). One day though, I’m going to do it.
We pressed on to Hwy 40 and headed north through Empire to Winterpark where we took a bathroom break.
From there it was on to Granby and Lunch.
Now, because food is a big part of travel of any kind in that you step out of your routine and experience new things, we try to make it a point to avoid national chains of any kind while we travel. That being said, I had the Green Chili at Mad Munchies in Granby and I gotta tell you, it was pretty awesome. It was served steaming hot with a four tortilla on the side along with piles of chopped onions, tomatoes, and grated cheese. You could mix a little of each with each bite of chili or mix it up, or stir it in, or, or, or…
From there we took 125 north to Walden where we stopped at the some little gas station we stopped at two years ago after Poudre Canyon and had and ice cream cone. You’re probably thinking, “Ice cream cone at a gas station? Big deal.” Well, this is not just any ice cream and I don’t know what brand it is but its good stuff.
After Ice Cream we hit some pretty challenging road.
We pulled off in the dirt (Carlton’s favorite thing) and made a few pictures:
125 turned into 230 as we crossed the state line:
We, of course, had to stop for the obligatory state line photos.
Then it was more of this:
Until we rolled into Riverside which, strangely enough, doesn’t appear to be anywhere near a river.
We reached Rawlins a short time later and after losing Jason briefly:
(We found him hanging out with the local wildlife and seeing the sights)
We found the biggest hotel room I’ve ever seen.
I slept good that night after cleaning the bugs of my windscreen. It was great to be on the road again.
The joy of riding a motorcycle on a trip like this is hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it. Being able to share it with people you love yet being alone at the same time is a truly unique occurrence. While you are riding you are isolated from your companions except visually. You are alone with your thoughts and there are few distractions, yet you are all together experiencing the same path in the same way. At stops you can interact and discuss that leg of the journey, or anything at all really, but once you remount you are alone together again. I know its kind of a contradiction to cherish your solitude so much that you want to share it but that’s kind of what riding a motorcycle in a small group is like.
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People should read this.
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