Changes - Around every corner

Why would I want to leave the Big Apple for the scorching desert?

For those that ask why, there just aren’t enough words to explain how it feels to yearn something different. I used to work for Bear Stearns. Some of you may know (if you haven’t been living under a rock) that they were acquired by JPMorgan Chase. Well, during the merger I was asked if I wanted to relocate to Phoenix.

I eagerly said yes.

Of course there were issues to be dealt with. I have yet to figure out exactly how I’ll do the big move. By the big move I mean selling my NYC apartment and bringing the girlfriend and son over to Phoenix. But all that will be done somehow. The main thing is that as I write these words, I have a great sense of accomplishment. I have completed the first part of this journey into a new life. Change. Big time change. And if this new life is anywhere close to the trip that I’m about to describe then all of these changes and complications with money, moving and distance from the family will be well worth it.

Friends are something that are very hard to come by. Steve (vfr870) is one of those guys that wont let you in to his life but once you’re in there, he’ll give his left, um, arm for ya. This voyage would not have taken part if it were not for him. Not only with the actual physical move but with another whole slue of things that I will not mention. I just want to say thanks bud. Thanks for everything.

When I was told at work that I’d be relocating to Phoenix I asked my bud if he’d be willing to ride one of my bikes (I have 3) down there with me. Before I had finished my sentence he had agreed.

Commence the trip planning and preparations for the journey.

Arduous weeks went by and the juggling of trip preparation versus family time became conflictual. We had agreed that we needed to get in shape for the trip but with all of life’s duties and vices this never materialized. Countdown to the trip, and we had neither exercised nor ridden any to build up endurance. The first two days alone we were to embark on consecutive 800 mile days! We weren’t ready for any of it but here are the bikes packed and ready to go.





Could our bodies really endure a 3,500+ mile ride in 7 days? We’d shortly be finding out.
6 am and our journey begins in the Bronx, NY.




Leaving New York after a 10 year tenure was like a blur.



You learn to love and hate the city. It was an exciting time in my life for me. I survived it. Now it’s time to move on to new experiences.
Crossing the GW Bridge. So long New York!





Pennsylvania border…..later!



Indiana, yeah,….later!



If you see a recurring pattern that’s because there was. Big trucks buffeting on straight boring interstates. At least there weren’t any cornfields. The most entertainment we ran into was at tollbooths where the locals would flash their creativity.



Notice I didn't even take a shot of the New Jersey sign. Well, we NYers don't consider NJ to be much of a state anyway.

Hiya Walter and all my buds in the Garden State.

800 plus miles on day one and we were still going strong. That’s when we finally arrived at our scheduled first stop. Dan’s (Hot Damn) house at Hammond Indiana. Dan is a one of a kind guy. He opened his home to us without even knowing who the hell these two Bronxites were.

This is one of the things that make this community so special. ADV is an awesome place.

Dan making me feel at home.



Punchy was a running joke with me and the NYFF’s. I’m not a heavy drinker at ADV gatherings y NY bruthas would bring me Hawaiian Punch.

Dillholes.

Punchy became the trip mascot and here, he was saying "step aside rookie because tonight we’re gonna party ADV style!"



The stay at Dan's was awesome. It was a great way to wrap up day one of the trip. We hit the sack and in prep for day 2. My body is not aching perhaps because of the adrenaline. Perhaps because of the hospitality provided by a perfect stranger. I don't know but all was good with the universe.

Day 2 here we come.
From Steve:

I'm going to try & give a second perspective on this RR since I was fortunate enough to tag along.

The first day was pretty uneventful, boring in fact. Not much to see, good thing we were able to communicate nicely through our Autocoms and pipe in some music. That helped with the boredom.

Roy (rthuey) was up as early as we were picking up my trailer to convoy up to a Rhode Island (thrill & chill) dualsport event, so he snapped some pics of us right before we left.

Goodbye, NYC....see ya in a couple of weeks.





Somewhere in NJ a pack of Hells Angels roared past us at about 90mph. They didnt wave back




The first few "on the fly" pics were blurry until we got the hang of it. I mounted the ADV tested and approved Olympus on a ram mount. Worked great.

We stopped for a quick bite to east somewhere in PA....




And I couldnt help but think of my buddy Ginzer when we saw this sign (the left one) ...




As we passed some PA mountains, I commented to Julio to take a last look, he wasnt going to see this kind of beautiful scenery for a while. At least 3 days






Hey, it's our two wheeled brethen again!




Here we are fueling up somewhere in Indiana as a freight train roared past in the background. We gave Dan a heads up phone call from here to let him know we were a few hours away.





A few hours later we arrived at Dan's house..... he had the garage door open and the camera in hand as we arrived. What a perfect way to end an 800 mile day A huge thanks to Dan for rolling out what turned out to be the best accomodations of our journey. Dan.....you the man!




We BS'ed a bit, got cleaned up and went to dinner.



That's all I got for day one. I try & follow Julio's coverage and throw in what I got here and there.


Day 2 - Hammond to North Platte

With day one in the books and a bit of a hangover (yeah I only drank beers, so bite me) I was really looking forward to getting rolling.

But before I go into that I’d like to mention some things that stick in my mind of that morning. In ride reports I like when people give the minor details that stick in their heads rather than glorifying clichés. For some reason I remember how nice the bed was in Dan’s bonus room. I remember getting up and hearing silence. Silence is a sense that us New Yorkers are really not accustomed to. I remember the openness of Dan’s living room. He was standing outside as if soaking in the fresh morning air. He didn’t notice I was up until I stepped outside to greet him. What a great smile he carries. It’s good to feel at home in someone else’s place.

It was time for us to head out but not before a great breakfast. Can someone say BACON!



Dan decided to ride out with us for a stretch then heading his own way. We suited up and took off.
Hey look! Budda!



We stopped for the mandatory state line sign shot.



Then rode for about an hour and stopped for gas before Dan peeled off. But of course, what would be an adventure gathering without a KTM breaking down?



Luckily, we were well equipped with jumper cables. And a couple minutes later we were heading our separate ways. Again, Thanks for everything Dan. Hope to see you out west in the near future.

Today I-80 was our route. Nothing more than a long stretch of cornfield covered vastness to accompany us. Cornfields to the right and left. Never knew there was so much corn harvest in this country. Steve and I talked about what arduous work it must be to be a farmer. We buy these cans in our supermarkets and don’t really pay much mind to what it involves to place that can on the counter. These are the things that you think about while you have nothing but blacktop in front of you and did I mention, cornfield to your left, cornfields to your right.



At least the crop dusters were cool. Those guys know how to fly!



 Carpe Diem...

Having so much time to dwell into your inner most thoughts you really start to analyze things. I have 2 kids and a pretty normal life. Well, maybe not so normal. Well,....wow, I’m like really screwed up! Man, life isn’t normal at all.

Yeah you have some people that have what are seemingly normal lives but I bet that inside every single one of those people there is an adventurer inside. It’s just ready to be released. The ones with the courage to actually go out and listen to that drive within themselves are able to experience dig into how fucked up life really is and how it just isn’t normal at all. It’s not sane. But it’s so extremely fulfilling when you put a Carpe Diem bumper sticker on it.



 Arrrghhh!!!

So I say pull out your pirate swords and thrust them onward into the “SHIT!”

“What?”

“I think I got a flat.”

Yeah. Life is good. This is what it’s all about. One moment you’re riding high, then the next you’re stranded in the middle of the interstate with a flat.



It’s a good thing we spent 2 months preparing for just this type of mishap. But one thing we don’t have is a jack. Well, we do now.



Works like a charm.



Utilizing the VFR’s kickstand to break the bead.




months of planning have paid off well. Now where’s the tire irons?
Um, Tire irons?

Oh, you mean the ones I ordered but never received? Yeah, those tire irons. So improvisation was needed. Here’s a perfect example of how you can use a pair of dykes, an adjustable wrench, and electrical wire strippers to change out a tire.



and he even had a finger left over to salute! That, ladies and gentlemen, is pure mechanical prowess.

Pulling out not one but two stinkin’ little nails.



and of course we had rigged a cigarette lighter to both bikes and had our handy dandy compressor for the filling.



While filling up the tire a state trooper stopped to say hello. He stopped behind the VFR for a while then parked in between them. The officer got out and saw the contraptions that we had rigged to the bike and said in a joking manner “you boys look like you know what you’re doing. I guess I’ll leave you be since I don’t know much about these things.”

And then ran our plates and left. Steve can tell you what he though about that. I just thought he was being friendly and probably went off to bring us some donuts but we were off before he got back.



 The tire bead never popped so we had to skimp over to the nearest gas station (thank you Zumo for your assistance). By the time we arrived though, the bead popped but we were way behind schedule. We had had a great morning and didn’t want to rush leaving Dan’s house but that placed us at around noon with lots of miles still ahead of us. Somewhere along the road we stumbled onto Nebraska.



yeah, we took a lot of pics with fingers in the lens. I think that one above was particularly smooth grabbing the sign right between the semi and my salute finger.



and more long, boring and tiresome riding….



about two hundred miles from our scheduled destination of North Platte we stopped at a small truckers joint. The place seemed like out of a horror story.






Then we were ghost.



Arriving at our destination very late in total darkness would be the norm for the next couple of days.



Yes the route was ambitious but we were living it the way we wanted to. Not worrying about schedules or listening very much to our aching bodies. Oh yes, they were aching by day 2. too much slab and we were really sensory deprived. I was glad to finally arrive at the hotel that night and don’t remember much detail about it other than….

Steve's perspective of the stop:
Lots of people get killed traveling our interstates for various reasons. Before attempting any roadside repairs on the bike, I moved the VFR, then I got a few construction cones from the other side of the road (one of which you saw we used as a temporary jack) and placed them on the shoulder to hopefully make drivers aware there was a potential hazard ahead so they can merge to their left.
I then faced the direction of the bike against oncoming traffic so I wouldn't have my back to the oncoming vehicles and maybe I'd have a split second of a chance to get out of harms way if I saw it coming.
Now we can start to fix the flat. After a bit of cursing & grunting, we managed to replace the tube and spoon the tire back on with the handles of a pair of cutting pliers, adjustable wrench etc... While the tire is filling up is when super trooper comes along. I was glad to see him thinking he'd strategically place his vehicle in the rear of the VFR with his lights on to better avoid a collision. Nope. As Julio said, he pulls up behind the VFR, then between the bikes and gets out to asses the situation. He seemed impressed we were prepared (we werent that prepared) for a roadside repair but it seems he might have been easily impressed. He saw we had the situation under control and told us to dial 911 if we needed any help. He then left.
Not that he did anything wrong but it's my opinion (from a safety standpoint) that he should have at least stayed until we were back on the road. Many of the states we traveled through had signs informing travelers that it was a state law to either slow down or move to your left when approaching an emergency vehicle. That law is obviously in place to prevent/minimize injury/death due to rear end collisions. So yeah, I was a bit pissed when he casually walked over to the VFR and called in the plate but didnt stick around with our safety in mind. We're from NY. On bikes. Maybe on the run from the law! Well, anything is possible but he should stuck around. Those cornfields he's been guarding werent going anywhere.
OK, I feel better now. No, wait..... trooper cornfield, Now I feel better


From Steve:

Ah yes, day 2. We hit it off well with Dan, so we were in no rush to leave. Especially after that kickass breakfast he made us. But eventually we had to load up and hit the road. It was a perfect morning for a ride although I wasnt exactly looking forward to another 800 mile day.










Dan's hard work paid off, he has a beautiful place, lots of which he did himself. At least he's not A Redsox fan




Dan's spotless Super Enduro.





Dan led the way for 100+ miles..... he was going to play in some dirt when we split off.





Got the salute but I guess I moved the camera too much.





After stopping before Dan split off, we said our goodbyes and back to the slab. There was pretty much nothing to see.... the most exciting thing we saw was the cropdusters doing their thing. Oh, and the worlds largest truckstop




Most of the 1700 or so pictures we took were like this.....on the fly. We figured if a handful of them came out good, we'd be happy. It turns out lots of them came out pretty good at speed. Good thing a lanyard was attached.









It was another long day with a flat tire thrown in for good measure. We arrived in North Platte, Nebraska well into the night. We spotted a large bike shop just off our exit for the night and figured we'd check it out after breakfast to get an extra tube and some tire irons....


Good thing I got a silicone skin for the Olympus before the trip.




Day 2 over. 

Day 3 - NP to Leadville, CO

As tired as we were we knew that this was really the day that we’d been waiting for. The two long days of simple slab were over. Now is when the fun would really begin. Today we head into colorful Colorado and are scheduled to pass through Rocky Mountain national park within a few hundred miles from here. The anticipation of this day had been mounting for the last couple of months. This day was our gateway to the west. So of course in this morning... we slept in.

We’d been beaten pretty hard by 1,600 miles east of us so when it was time to load the bikes up we came up with a clever idea. Let’s just park the bikes right outside of the window and launch our luggage out of it.





all set and ready to roll. But not before we grab some good breakfast at this fantastic joint down the street.

 

 Today was to be a very special day because of reasons that we could have not been able to predict.



Sometimes things just pass by us rather rapidly and we aren’t able to appreciate their beauty. We must stop, relax, take things in and suddenly the splendor of nature will show us just what we’ve been missing.



and soon you all will find out why I say this.

As stated before, we got up late, we had a nice big breakfast and to top it off instead of heading out on the road we decided to go searching for some tire irons in case we got another flat. There was a gigantic shop which we saw from the road when we pulled into the hotel so we headed over there.



This place was huge. There’s nothing like this back in NYC and we were quite impressed.



Steve likes this ride for the vertically challenged.



as you can see we were in no rush to go anywhere. This place would certainly have some tire irons. Wrong! The lady at the parts department didn’t even know what a tire iron was! So we headed over to another place that was in the middle of an industrial park and that took us another good half hour to find. We were way behind schedule.

So at around noon we were finally off to find Colorado. A couple of hours later we entered that beautiful state. To this:







Traffic and overcast skies. Steve loves it.



we got a little wet but we mostly stayed ahead of the rain. On the horizon we could clearly see the heavy downpour but it seemed as if it was just dancing a harmonious waltz with us. Everywhere we turned it was just to our right. It was striking. Just the way to get our nature senses acutely motivated to what we were going to be seeing next.

After a brief stop at Loveland we could see the Rockies looming. Here we entered the first of many beautifully carved out canyons.



They are very impressive to see from a scenic overlook from up top but these canyons are 10 times more amazing when you ride through them.





We were finally here. Where the fun begins. Entering Estes Park.



Here we go.

We were like kids in a playground. The twisties and scenery were magnificent.



Wow, you’ve got to get a shot of the GPS, look at those hairpins!



Up through the windy roads of Estes we rose. Majestically through the snow capped mountains. What an awesome place. Previously, the highest elevation that we’d ridden through was the Blue Ridge Parkway that’s comparatively a mere 6,000 feet above sea level. Today we would top out over 12,000 feet. Here, we stopped to take a quick breather and pic at 10.



When I got off the bike I felt dizzy. I told Steve about it and he laughed. Then it was his turn to get off the bike and feel the effects. We were here. We were really here.



What can be said about this place? Words cannot accurately describe. Neither can a panoramic shot of this grandiose setting.
(you can click on the image to see it in it's original full screen version)

 In the dark...

The sun was starting to set and we were still 200+ miles away from our destination of Leadville Colorado. Just a bit of info about our destination, it’s the highest incorporated city in the US at over 10,000 feet. It was cold here. It’s always cold up at this elevation but as the sun set it got very cold. Even in the middle of summer it gets into the 30’s here. Today we were dealing with temperatures in the 40’s with 200 miles of pitch dark treacherous mountains ahead of us.



We knew that we’d be caught in the darkness but Estes was so magical that we stopped at almost every overlook to take pictures.



Though this trip we compiled over 1,600 pictures in the 7 days. How could we not? Around every corner there was something more splendid than at the previous one.



And it just never ceased. We were soaking it all in. it was magnificent. And now we would have to deal with the magnificent darkness that was about to set in on us.



 There are more pics of this day. There are pics of how close we got to a herd of deer. And how at the exit of the park we had to come to a stop to let an entire herd of elk pass right in front of us. But those aren’t as important as the two things that I’m about describe which happened to us that night. Things that pictures cannot depict and words fumble to attempt and explain.

After exiting Estes we stopped at a small town called Granby. The gas station seemed to be the only game in town and the attendant was just about to close. Lucky for us that we arrived 5 minutes before it did since we were low on gas and it seemed that there was nothing else in sight. The guy even let us have the 2 cups of coffee free since he was closing shop.

As we walked to the bikes a man that was selling Indian arts and crafts walked over to us and said “you two are drinking that coffee like if you’re going somewhere.”
This was a sign.

We stated our intention to rest out heads that night someplace in Leadville and he asked what roads we were planning on taking. When we told him you could see the horror in his face. He strongly suggested we take an alternate route. As he pleaded with us another local came over and asked the same question. He started to laugh as I was scrambling for the GPS to show him. He said, “Oh, you boys have one of them gadgets” and continued laughing.

This was not good.

I pretty much memorized the routes in my head from so much research that I did to plan them out. I remember that this upcoming stretch of road from Granby to Leadville I got off a book on moto-touring which described it as a steep and windy roller coaster ride of a road with sheer drops on one side and towering mountain on the other. Indeed a superb ride during the day but not so tantalizing at 10pm that night.

We heeded the advice of the locals and took the less death provoking one of the two.

While we rode our way through the absolute darkness of these roads I could only think about what we were missing. I so wanted to ride through what would’ve been some of the most spectacular riding of my life. These places that I probably would not have the opportunity to re visit. I was a bit upset but I needed to concentrate on the road. Yet the more I did the more these thoughts got the better of me. We should’ve gotten up earlier, we shouldn’t have looked for those irons, we should’ve gotten the hell out of Nebraska sooner, we should’ve this and that. Then I remembered the butterfly in the water and what I felt when I saw it. I remembered that this is a trip of a lifetime and that I had do cease it whichever way it panned out. And at that moment I opened up my eyes for real and looked up at the sky.

And what I saw was even more spectacular than Estes. Wide open sky. Something that you don’t get to see in NYC ever. There just isn’t a sky like this over there. There isn’t the unyielding darkness that there is out here in the middle of nowhere for you to see what is really up there in the sky. Millions of shinning stars.

I told Steve to look up and he was just as mesmerized as I was until I finally told him to stop. We pulled over and completely turned off the bikes and all the electronics. We disappeared into the emptiness of the night and watched the stars manifest themselves and put on a grandiose show. In complete silence. Goose bumps ran up and down my spine.

Even in the glooming night, around every turn, there was change. In Estes we captured this with sight, here in nowhere we captured it with feel. Something inside you changes when you feel moments like that.

We rolled on but something was different. We were committed to this trip in a different way. There was nothing that could really go wrong after this. Leadville, here we come.

How could we possibly top the previous day off? We figured that the remaining stretch of the trip would be nice but certainly it could not be topped off by what we had just experienced.

We arrived safely in Leadville although I needed every watt of my Gerbing to stay warm. It was freezing up there in Leadville.

We stayed at a quaint historical hotel called the Delaware. The attendant was missing a couple brain cells but was extremely friendly and shared several stories with us about how the place came to be and other things as we downed a nice cup of hot cocoa at the hotel lounge. She even embellished over an account that had happened to her just that day in which another woman had come on to her in front of her boyfriend. We laughed for a bit and then she went on her way.

This place was spooky. Like a scene from the Shinning.





That morning we got up early but were in no rush to leave town. Leadville is a cool little place and we spoke about the possibility of taking a stroll down main street and checking things out.

We headed downstairs to grab a bite and across the room was a couple with gear on. Steve struck up a conversation with them and the chat turned into an exchange of road stories. This couple had been on the road for 50 days and were just coming back from Alaska, heading home to Louisiana. What a marvelous couple. Since Alaska is definitely on our radar of places to go they had a lot of good information to share with us. I
We could’ve stayed there for hours talking with them. As a matter of fact, we did just that and of course that put us behind our schedule once again.

Late and with sights to see we hurried outside to pack up the remaining effects on the bikes. As we’re doing so there’s a man sitting in front of us having a smoke and minding his own business. He takes a look at the DR and again strikes up a conversation with Steve. He tells him that he also has a dualsport and that he loves coming out here to ride it. Especially through Moab. We look at each other and have the same simultaneous thought. We were going to bypass Moab because we believed another route was better suited for a full out street bike (the VFR). If we were both on dualsport then we wouldn’t think twice but Moab will have to wait another day. The man tried to persuade us to go but we had already made up our minds. We chatted some more and out of nowhere he mentions that he is a corn farmer! We had been talking about how hard things must be for farmers and that we wanted to dig up some information about them and here he was right in front of us and a rider at that!

These things just cannot be planned. These things happen when you go out there and meet the world.

Another half an hour to an hour went by as we both soaked in this guy’s wisdom. We didn’t really care that we were late. Things had changed now. We both knew that. And after saying our goodbyes to our friend we were like Jack Kerouac, back on the road.





time for some hot doggin...

Getting around the insane number of RV’s (mainly Cruise America ones).


I wonder what a cop would say if he saw us taking pictures as we’re making a pass.




We entered Curecanti National recreation area. The lake created by the Blue mesa reservoir had an impressive blue glow to it. Dramatic contrast against the canyons and the road was smooth and windy. A road that back home we would be ripping through to get our rocks off. Not today. We are smooth sailing.



A gorgeous place.
(click on image for full size)



Then came Black Canyon!



Route 92 through Black Canyon was a shrilling road with relentless navigational changes and jaw dropping scenery. Not many pics were taken here because quite frankly we were having too much fun riding the road. Steve said that at the beginning he tried to snap some shots but I was gone in an instant. Then he put his camera away and gave chase. With nobody in front of us we ripped though the bends as if it were our personal track.
(yes that’s me disappearing in the middle of the pic)



Of course with every good track there are hard working corner workers. Here I am directing traffic.


After Black Canyon things sort of flattened out and became dull. We were aware of it since our farmer friend had already told us about this stretch.



but all is good because we were heading into another of the slated highlights of the trip.

The Million Dollar Highway!



The scenery began to change. Great big over towering trees decorated the mountainside.



A chilly breeze was in the air and it was just the right temperature. The road began to wind then we began to navigate through it.



Out of nowhere we were in the middle of something special. The mountains had a different feel to them than the ones in Estes and Black Canyon. These seemed to have a sort of nurturing effect like if they wanted to hug you as you rode through them.



Then we rode into what I consider to be the most beautiful town I’ve ever been to.

Ouray, Colorado.



This mystifying little town is nestled in between mountains and the sun seems to just crystallize the streets with love. Yeah I may sound like a turd right about now but a turd is what I felt like all gooey and mushy inside by being in this wonderful place.


Ouray, I bow own to your splendid beauty!



road work ahead...

We were giggling in our helmets (or at least I know I was) due to the incredible sights. Then, as abruptly as the tire flat came in the middle of the freeway, there was construction work.





sigh.

We got held up for about 10 minutes. We were the last of a pack of about 15 cars when they finally let us pass. We decided to wait a while until someone would come behind us and to also allow the pack of cars ahead to get a running start so we could have some empty blacktop.



We waited, and waited, and waited but there was nobody coming behind us. So after about 15 minutes we were off.



I still don’t know why they call it the Million Dollar Highway but to me this stretch between Ouray and Silverton is worth every damn penny of it!



Around every corner…



…there was change.



until the change through these mountains was no longer about scenery.

It was about changing lives.



Freedom....

We were free spirits ready to take on the world and we had the ability to go and do whatever we wanted. There was nobody around but us in this natural wonderland.



As I was taking this picture Steve tells me that he had shut off his engine and that he was coasting down the hill.



So I raced down the hill and did the same. There we were. Coasting down the Million Dollar highway feeling every single bit of air running through our souls in tranquility.



We rode 15 MILES down the hill before hitting the ignition switch. We have ridden many roads and seen many things but this had to be the best riding we have ever encountered. It wasn’t about the twisties, although it could’ve been. It wasn’t about the scenery, although it definitely could’ve been. It wasn’t that I was riding with my brother, although I definitely was. It was about a growth process. If you’ve been through something similar you will know what I’m talking about. If not then I implore you to take advantage of life and make an adventure of anything that’s in front of you. Go out and make a change in your life for whatever reason that pertains to you.

It most certainly is the best gift you can give to yourself.






Mancos, Colorado.



more to come tomorrow…



…g’nite.



From Steve:
Day 3 was the beginning of a trip within a trip. We still had some more slab to contend with but the payoff would be more than worthwhile.

We grabbed our trusty mascot & hit the road.





But first we tried to get a few things at a nearby motorcycle superstore. Surely they have a 21" front tube and a couple of tire irons, right?






Nope, no tube, no tools. But they did have all the bling you could think of for your Hog. And a few cool machines to boot.





After finding a much smaller bike shop who had a tube and sold us the shop mechanic's tire iron, we were finally able to hit the road again.

We were finally in Colorado.... not much to look at initially but that would soon change. Dramatically.








There was a serious storm just to the north of us. I thought for sure we'd head straight into it but we managed to avoid most of it.





Just a few drops of rain...I can deal with that.





WTF? A streamlined bicycle equipped with tail lights. Cool.






Just before a fuel stop and early dinner in Loveland, CO.




The excitement started buliding soon after leaving Loveland. You could see the Rockies off in the not too far distance. Sorry about the crappy pic.





But this....this right here is where we entered a whole new realm. A bit of sensory overload as we rode on...





A happy camper.





After a few days of practice, we began to get the hang of the whole point & shoot while riding. Even backwards.





Motorcycles half price? I like it





Words simply couldnt cut it anymore. Every stop was more breathtaking than the last.

















Wow.




The scenery just kept getting better and better.









Lots of wildlife to see in the park.





There's not much I can add to Julio's description of the rest of the night, but I'll say this.... I know we probably missed what promised to be the most awsome set of twisties by taking a detour that night into Leadville, but I wouldnt trade the experience we had for anything. We arrived in Leadville late than night. Changed forever.


A parting shot of some of the gadgets that made our communication possible....




Day 5 - Mancos to Escalante

The only reason we stayed at Mancos was because we couldn’t find anything available or cheap in Durango, which was our scheduled stop. But I was glad that we stayed here. This quaint little town was just what we needed after such a great day of riding. Much better than what we saw at Durango which seemed to be a tourist trap. We did have a nice diner there though at Serious Texas BBQ.



Delicious pulled pork sammich.



and tasty local root beer.



The following morning we got up in good spirits. I had been told about a nice little breakfast joint just down the street of the Enchanted Mesa Hotel so we gassed up and rode over there.

Nice Bergman right in front.



and just beside it was this truck who apparently had an encounter all too familiar to bikers.



ouch! 


We were really not impressed with our breakfast. The place seemed like one of these yuppie shops that have popped up all over the Lower East Side of Manhattan. A place where the locals probably wouldn’t visit because of the high prices and less than vernacular appeal. Thumbs down to it though the waitress was very friendly. She told us that it had been bought out a couple of years ago (figures). Real shame. It seems like this is what is going on all over the country. Mom and Pops shops are no longer able to compete with these stylized establishments and it seems like the large majority of the population would rather patronize these places rather than the smaller ones. I left with a bitter taste in my mouth and it wasn’t even due to the bad coffee.

But the road beckoned and this always cheers me up. Escalante Utah was on our schedule today and we had no clue that it would be the grandest day of the whole trip. Today we would be riding through the Trail of the Ancients. Fittingly, as it seemed like the gods or “ancients” were the only ones watching our every move. Every sensation and every bend in the road that would change our perceptions. Coming from the great Big Apple one would think that this part of the country would seem less than eventful. Well, as we would ride, on the theme that Steve kept voicing to me was: From sensory deprivation to sensory overload!

And the day of riding would start out great. We were only several miles away from Mesa Verde National Park where there are cliff dwellings. Being an architect and a lover of history, this was one place that I didn’t want to miss.





The dwelling were cool and the road there was pretty awesome.



On the way back out we wicked it up a bit and were feeling pretty good about what we had ahead of us.



the initial plan was for us to go up north through Moab but since we’d scratched that, our new route had us riding temptingly close to four corners. After everything that we’d been through and our “we don’t give a crap what happens” attitude shift throughout our ride we decided to go for it and hit four corners.

Here we are at the intersection where we made our decision to go for it.



so onward we rolled... four the corner.





An alien has landed.



Did I mention that it was hot here? If there’s ever an image that speaks louder than words…



As we were exiting I noticed these flags on one of the booths run by the Native Americans.



There’s something terribly wrong with that picture me thinks. I’ll just leave it at that to not get into anything political.

On our ride through this Indian Reservation we noticed a lot of oil drilling machines.



When I stopped at a gas station I asked the attendant if she knew who owned them? She said nobody. I told her that there had to be someone that owned them. Someone was profiting off these machines. But she looked at me like I had two heads and said, If they’re on Indian land then nobody owns them.

I felt a bit ignorant at that moment. I’ve never really been exposed to anything pertinent to Native American laws and affairs so I just shut up, paid for my snickers bar and left. It made me realize that I’m moving to totally uncharted territory. I need to do a lot of learning in my new life and am very excited about it.

Onward with our journey we went. And with all these thoughts going through my mind the road and scenery was playing the part very well.



It was as if the surroundings knew what we were dealing with internally and it was changing to accommodate or facilitate thought process.



Just thoughts. Thoughts that were like sketchy black notes on a music sheet. And we were creating a harmonious waltz.



We reached this point and we couldn’t believe what was penetrating our corneas.



360 degrees around there was visual melody.
(click on image for full size)



That’s about as stoked (sensory dumbfounded) as you’ll ever see us in one place.



There’s a magical place on route 261 where you are riding in the vastness of south east Utah that and you start to come upon the sheer cliff of a canyon.



Every time that we’ve come upon something like this the road has always skewered to the side of the mountain and wrapped around it.



Well, not this time.



There’s a saying that says it’s not the same to call the devil than to have him there. (or something like that)

Well, this mammoth of a canyon was not backing down and like Don Quixote we would have to fight this windmill with all our might.



Dulcinea, where are you?



Conquering the soaring heights.



All I kept thinking was “It’s going to be a bitch to pick up that fully loaded VFR once it hits the ground.



But Steve did good and we rode through it without incident.

The next couple of hours pretty much defined the trip for us. We were truly sensory stricken and around every corner there was something more electric than the the previous one. Our jaws would drop every time the sunlight would peer its head through the colorful rocks. Striking prisms reflected on these ancient formations that the earth had created with such love. Carvings like that of a master woodworker whose sweat had not been dripped in vein but whose labor had provided us with this spectacular visual symphony.

And it was just that. A symphony of color and feelings wrapped tightly with asphalt ribbon

Glen Canyon had become our cathedral. And church was in session. Truly magical.

To ride these roads one needs a good set of Bawls.



Steve showing that he has what it takes.



And there it was. The mighty Colorado. Where this all began so many millions of years ago. It felt as if we were in a time machine living history. And we were.









This picture would prove to be the catalyst of one of the funniest moments of the trip. You’ll see what I’m talking about shortly.



To think that we would’ve missed this wonderful piece of terrain is unfathomable to us right now. I’m sure that Moab is a special place but we were traversing places that left us both speechless.

The stretch of road on 95 from Fry Canyon to Hanksville Utah is one of the most beautifully stunning places on Earth. At Hanksville we stopped to try and regroup and exhale. At every magnificent place we would see we were compelled to take pictures. We knew that we’d be running into the night and that we’d be missing a good part of the tail end of the route that day but we didn’t mind it much. We were savoring it all.



So due to this nonchalant attitude we missed Capitol Reef National Park and the entire National Forest road 154. When we arrived at Escalante the locals did let us know that we’d missed some spectacular scenery through it. All we saw was the white stripes on the pavement gesturing us navigate through the darkness of the Canyons. And the animals watching us as we carved the road like two madmen. Steve used to be a hunter so he’s got a very keen eye for spotting animals on the side of the road. I on the other hand was oblivious to any and all of these spectating critters. And I believe that’s not such a bad thing in this type of situation. After about the third animal spotted by him he stopped telling me that they were there. After seeing that truck in the morning, I really didn’t even want to know.

We arrived at Escalante safely but very exhausted. I don’t remember much of how we unpacked the bikes that night but somehow managed to wrestle everything in.

Here’s some pics of the place we stayed the morning after. We were too beat to take pics that night.






You’ve got to love these small town stays.




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