Colorado Trip – 9-10-99 to 9-19-99

Friday, 9-10-99

Tom Heyl, who planned the trip and had a condo rented for the week in Frisco, CO, arrived last night about 10:00, and stayed over at my house. He’s from Cincinnati, and is riding a black Harley Electra Glide Standard, a beautiful bike he’s had less than a year. I’m up early, but Tom sleeps in until about 7:00. It’s a nice day, about 50 degrees, when we leave about 7:30. My bike reads 30,522 on the odometer. We take highway 50 into Illinois, gas up in Olney, then have breakfast at McDonalds. It’s a pleasant ride on highway 50, then we take SR 4 north for 11 miles to get on I-70 just east of St. Louis. I-70 is of course, very busy. The temperature rises as the hours pass. We have lunch in a truck stop with expensive prices. I opt for grilled cheese and a salad. The song Kansas City is running through my mind. We have supper at a Cracker Barrel somewhere before Kansas City. We ride until around 8:30, as the temperature is nice and cool, and the riding easy. We stop at a Motel 8 near Topeka, and spend the night. Rode 492 miles today.

Saturday, 9-11-99

We rise at 6:30, and have breakfast at the restaurant across the street. It’s sunny, but there are possible thunderstorms in the forecast. It quickly clouds up and gets cooler, so we stop and put on rain gear. We encounter light rain, but nothing serious. Now Abilene is running through my mind. We’re making great time. Kansas is not as flat as advertised – it’s actually rolling hills. We gas at Salina, and I notice lots of evergreen trees, something of a surprise. We lunch at Wakeeney, at the Real Country Café. After eating, Tom takes a short nap in the grass, and I take his picture. My bike is getting terrible mileage, as we’re riding pretty hard. After entering Colorado, we stop at the first rest stop, and get free maps. We talk to a group of four bikers, who passed us a few miles back, and to a trucker who used to be a biker. He tells us about the accident that killed his girlfriend, and that he hasn’t been on a bike since. Sobering. We ride on to Limon. It’s only 6:30, but since we can’t take possession of the condo until 5:00 tomorrow, we decide to stop. We have supper at a Pizza Hut, the only decent looking restaurant in town. We’re just finishing up as a school bus load of kids come in. We check into the Preferred Motor Inn, make our phone calls, and go to bed. Rode 459 miles today.

Sunday, 9-12-99

Up again about 6:30. It’s 43 degrees. We have a big breakfast at a nice restaurant. We decide to take highway 24 to Colorado Springs, since we’re in no hurry, and we’re tired of the Interstate. I try my new heated jacket out, and it seems to work, although it isn’t a dramatic effect. We’re not yet in the mountains, but the flatness has turned to rolling foothills. There are lots of mobile homes all over, and it’s rather poor looking around here. Lots of cattle and horses. We see a buffalo, and a real cowboy working a herd of cattle. The sun comes out, and the scenery gets prettier and prettier. After leaving Colorado Springs, we’re now in the mountains. We head up highway 9, which will take us to Frisco. The mountain scenery is breathtaking. We go through a small town called Alma, the same name as the tiny town in Illinois I was raised in, and I have Tom take my picture in front of the city limit sign. We then go through Hoosier Pass, which was built by a group of Indiana men. Then to Breckinbridge, a ski town just 9 miles south of Frisco. We stop at a big tent sale, where 4 or 5 ski stores are having a huge sale. I by some snowmobile gloves, and Tom buys a polartec shirt. I already have two pairs of winter biking gloves, neither of which works very well. These have a felt liner, but are warmer than mine even without the liner. They will prove to be very useful during the upcoming week. We have food at a local restaurant/bar, then arrive in Frisco about 5:30. We don’t expect the others to be there yet, but they are, and have been since about 1:00. I meet John, Tom’s brother-in-law, his cousin Joe, and Ed, John’s son, who I already know from a trip in 1996. John, Joe, Tom, and I are all about the same age, and Ed will turn 30 on Friday. They have trailered their bikes out from Cincinnati. To our surprise, we have a locking garage, and there is enough room for all five bikes, if we’re careful. John has a Goldwing 1200, I believe an 86 model. Ed has a beautiful Honda Shadow, with lots of chrome. Joe doesn’t currently own a bike, but has Tom’s second bike, a Kawasaki KLR650. After getting unloaded, and checking out the condo, which is really nice, with a postcard view of Dillon Lake, we all get on our bikes and head for a supermarket. We buy $125 worth food, which I don’t see how we’ll ever eat, and haul it back in saddlebags. Thank goodness John has a Goldwing. We get back, have some beer and chips, and watch High Plains Drifter on TV. Rode 211 miles today.

Monday, 9-13-99

As usual, I’m up at 6:30. I’m the first one up, and will be every day. I make coffee, and turn on the TV to see the weather forecast. One by one, every one else gets up. It’s a beautiful day, about 48 degrees, and I take some pictures from the deck. The routine of today will follow each day – loafing around, drinking coffee, and evolving a route to take that day, leaving around 10:00. Today we decide to go north, and ride through Rocky Mountain National Park. Our plan is to take I-70 east to highway 119, and head north through some beautiful territory. When we get to road 119, a bridge is out, and we have to stay on I-70 to Denver, then get on I-25 north, which is even busier than 70. Not what we were looking forward to. We finally get to Boulder, and basically get lost. We’re riding around the University of Colorado campus. We stop at a small pizza shop, intending to have lunch and use their bathroom, but they have no tables or bathrooms. On to Taco Bell, where we all have a big lunch and empty our bladders. Finally, on highway 36, through Estes Park, and riding through Rocky Mountain National Park, we’re riding through the beautiful mountain scenery we anticipated. We’re over 12,000 feet high, and the road is winding around the mountaintops, with very little shoulder between rider and a steep descent. It’s quite windy, and I’m riding very carefully. After leaving the park, we take 40 west to Kremmling, then highway 9 south back to Frisco. Somewhere along the way, we stop at a coffeehouse, and there’s an old bearded guy inside, one of those people who just looks interesting. We get to talking to him, and he’s come from Washington to work. Someone asks why he doesn’t just retire, and he says he retired the first half of his life, and now has to work the second half. I thought that was a pretty good answer. We’re running later than planned, and it’s dark well before we arrive back. We stop at the Country Kitchen that’s near the condo, five minutes before closing time, and have hearty suppers. Back to the condo, for a little TV, and right to bed. Rode 297 miles today.

Tuesday, 9-14-99

Same routine this morning. Tom is leaving for Grand Junction, on the far West side of the state, to visit an old friend. He will stay all night, and be back tomorrow evening. The rest of us decide to go south, to Canon City, and see Royal Gorge, which is supposed to have the largest suspension bridge in the country. We ride down highway 9, which I’ve been over once before. It’s another nice day, with more great scenery. Joe and I switch bikes for awhile. The KLR is completely different from any of the rest of our bikes, a hybrid off road/ road bike. It sits very high, and both Joe and I have trouble reaching the ground when we stop. Tom, who is 6’ 4", has no such trouble. The seat feels like a 4 x 4 with a little foam nailed on top, and your face is hanging right out in the breeze. It does however, handle highway speeds with ease. After a while we switch back, and I tell Joe he has my respect for riding as many miles as he does on it. We gas up in Canon City, get film at Wal-Mart, and discuss where to have lunch. Ed wants to try a buffalo burger, and saw a place about ten miles back at the entrance road to Royal Gorge. We ride back there, and the restaurant is closed. The only other choice is across the road, the Thunderbird Mini-Mall, which is basically a gas station-convenience store-tourist trap-fast food place. Ed has his buffalo burger (too dry). I can’t believe they have Garden burgers on the menu, but are out, so I have something else. We ride back to the Royal Gorge bridge, but are very disappointed. There are walls erected everywhere, and you have to pay $12.50 to get into the amusement park to cross or even see the bridge and get a decent view of the gorge. We leave. It’s cold as we ride back on highway 24, through Leadville, then take 91 to Frisco. We’re tired when we get back, and decide to order pizza, which arrives quickly and is delicious. Rode 279 miles today.

Wednesday, 9-15-99

I’m up first as usual. It looks like a nice day. I ride over to Wal-Mart, and buy a replacement bulb for the auxiliary light that went out Monday, and replace it when I return. It’s about 10:30 by the time we leave. We have decided to head back south, as Ed wants to take some pictures in Leadville, where we were yesterday. Before we get there, it starts to rain. When we get to the intersection of 24 and 285, we stop, and it looks very dark and rainy to the South, where we’re headed. Joe and I decide to head back, where the weather looks better. John and Ed decide to go on as planned. Joe and I stop in Fairplay at a small coffeehouse/bookstore called the Mental Smorgasbord, or something to that effect. The lady in the shop tells us it’s snowing and sleeting up on Hoosier Pass, where we’re headed. Instant fear. I have a tiny espresso that tastes horrible, and look at some of the books. There isn’t much selection, and I wonder if the lady has just cleaned out her house of all her books. We leave, and when we approach the pass, sure enough, there’s some light snow and sleet, but the road seems OK. We’re dressed for cold and wet, but my hands are still cold. We descend, and the weather warms. We arrive back in Frisco, and go downtown to check it out. We walk all the way down Main Street, then back up the other side. I buy a cold weather ski mask, like the one Tom has that seems to work so well, and also get a shirt for my grand daughter, Abby. Before riding back to the condo, we stop at another shop, which turns out to be the best one in town. After spending quite while there, we go back to the condo. John and Ed have returned, and have wondered where we were. They have ridden through heavy rain and cold, and are drying their gloves in front of the fireplace. Tom is also back, and we go to a nearby Italian restaurant for supper. Rode only 120 miles today.

Thursday, 9-16-99

Unlike yesterday, it appears to be a beautiful day. While everyone else is finishing up breakfast, I take a walk down the road in front of the condo, and take few pictures. When we leave, I ride into town and mail some postcards. Today we go north again, up highway 9 to Kremmling, then take 40 to Steamboat Springs. It is kind of an isolated, interesting town. We stop at a Western clothing store that has had signs every few miles on the way here. Today is the best weather yet, and I actually ride without the overpants for awhile. We stop several times to take pictures, and it’s 7:30 by the time we return home. We do some quick shopping, and I buy Carla a souvenir shirt. Supper is at a nice restaurant/tavern in downtown Frisco. I have the salad bar, but am feeling wiped out. I go straight to be when we get back. Rode 225 miles today.

Friday, 9-17-99

Since Ed and John didn’t get any pictures Wednesday, due to the rain, we head back to Leadville. Once there, we have lunch at Wild Bill’s, a small but excellent café. They have Gardenburgers, which I try, and several of the others try their famous chili. Ed and John stay, and the rest of us head for Mosquito Pass, on highway 82, going through Twin Lakes, and afterwards, Aspen. It looks dark and rainy up on the pass, and Tom stops a couple of times to ask if we want to continue. We decide to. We luck out, and hit no rain or bad weather. The road narrows, and a sign says, "Road Narrows – Give Right of Way to Trucks". We stop at the overlook at the top of Mosquito Pass, and take pictures, and marvel at the incredible views. After coming down out of the mountains, it gets much warmer, and we stop to shed clothing. Once we’re on I-70, we’re cruising along, thinking we have it made, when a black cloud suddenly appears overhead, and it starts hailing. Real, BB sized hail that I can feel through my jacket, and is really pinging the helmet and face shield. After a couple of miles, we stop and gas up, and wait a little while. We have seen lightening and heard thunder, and I’m for waiting, but Tom feels it won’t get better, so we head out. Fortunately, it lets up, but is cold the rest of the way home. We were also told it was snowing on Vail Pass, where we’re headed, but we see no snow there. My hands are once again cold, but I’m fine otherwise, as we get back to the condo about 7:30. Today is Ed’s 30^th birthday, so we go to Dillon, the nearest town, to a bar that sells Dillon Dam Beer, and have all kinds of souvenirs using the Dillon Dam Beer name. It’s loud, but the food is good. John gets a huge salad that he can’t finish. I think we’re all tired and kind of looking forward to heading back home tomorrow. Rode 259 miles today.

Saturday, 9-18-99

Everyone gets up surprisingly early. Tom and I help the others load their bikes on the trailer, then we go gas up, and it’s close to 10:30 by the time we hit the road. It’s a beautiful day. I lead, since I have to get gas the most often. It’s steady, constant cruising. Tom lets me ride his bike twice, to give me a break. His bike has a wide fairing, and is more powerful than mine, so it’s much easier riding. Late afternoon we stop in Russell, Kansas, home of Bob Dole, to take a break. We go to Meridy’s, a restaurant, intending to get pie and coffee, but the food bar looks so good we decide to have supper. It turns out to be the best meal of the whole trip. All the customers look like they might have been in Dole’s Master Card commercial. We ride until about 8:30, making it to Junction City. We stayed at a Motel 6, which looked pretty nice, but when Tom pulled his bedspread down, there was a small cockroach on his pillow. I found another on the shower curtain. We managed to sleep well in spite of the bugs. Rode 554 miles today.

Sunday, 9-19-99

Tom is up before me, around 5:30. We have the breakfast bar at County Kitchen at the next exit. Rain is shown on the weather channel for most of Kansas and Missouri, and within an hour, it is raining. It continues to rain most of the day, at times quite hard. When it’s not raining, I try to make as good a time as possible, then slow up some when it does rain. We stop for pie and coffee about 11:00. As we approach St. Louis, it appears to be getting brighter, but still there is some light rain. A mile before the I-270 exit we stop for gas and have lunch. I think it’s about 2. This will be our last stop together, as Tom will stay on I-70, and I will drop down to highway 50 to go on home. Shortly, he rides on as I turn off. The weather continues to improve, and I stop in Carlisle, and remove raingear. I gas up in Salem, and when I start the bike up, I get a little hesitation before it starts, like the battery may be low. I turn off the auxiliary lights, and put the headlight on dim. When I slow up, I notice the engine is missing some. Now I just want to make it home. I do, and it is great to ride into the carport, and see Carla come out to meet me. It’s about 6 PM. Rode 555 miles today. Total mileage for the trip, 3451 miles.

(The next day the bike will not start due to a dead battery and I learn later in the week it has a bad stator, which will have to be replaced.)