September 21, 2008
Fort Collins, CO
We started a mini-vacation otherwise known as a Colorado Weekend (4 days) last week. We had a blast riding to and from and in and around Colorado Springs for four days.
Thursday, 09/18/2008 We left a chilly Fort Collins about 7:45 am. Our plan was to get to the Springs without going through Denver (I-25). So, we rode Hwy 287 south to Longmont and Hwy 52 east to Fort Lupton, stopping for a quick cup of coffee and a brownie snack at a gas station before getting on E-470 (the toll road) which would allow us to bypass the Denver metro area. The $6.75 it cost was well worth it. We stopped at a Village Inn in Parker for coffee after the toll road. From there it was smooth riding into the Springs via Hwy 83.
The ride was great, the morning bright, the weather cool but comfortable since we were in our full leathers. Hwy 83 is a gentle ride through predominately rural areas. Pikes Peak was visible from a long way out.
Once in the city, we had a quick jaunt on I-25 to Hwy 24 and arrived about noon just in time for lunch at The Mason Jar in Old Colorado City. We were hungry! I had a chicken salad croissant sandwich and Tim had a French dip sandwich. Delicious! After lunch, we rode through Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs, looking at prospective motels. We settled on The Silver Saddle Motel in Manitou Springs sitting basically between the two cities. Josh, the host, went through a list of discounts we might qualify for -- when we couldn't come up with anything (AARP, Senior Citizen, Military, Police, Firemen and half a dozen others) - Tim said how about a Harley discount - Bingo! That worked. Yep - we got a Harley discount -- too funny. Josh handed us the key so we could check the room out before booking three nights. It was clean, cozy and did not smell of smoke. You could see Pikes Peak from our west-facing room and the Kissing Camel Rock in the Garden of the Gods from the parking lot. Perfect!
After checking into the motel, unpacking the bike and settling in, I called the folks to let them know we made the trip just fine. We got back on the bike and rode back into Old Colorado City for some window shopping and a stroll to stretch our legs. This was my first ride without a helmet, just sun shades and the studded H-D do-rag the Folks sent me a while back.
Tim dropped me off at the motel and went on a beer run. There was a tiny fridge in the room that needed beer, of course! Ha! We relaxed with a beer in the lawn chairs in front of our room, watched the sun set on Pikes Peak and several more bikers check in. One group of four Firemen bikers stayed in a single room across the way. They were noisily in and out of the parking lot more times than we could count. We found out later that the Traveling Firemen Memorial was in town with a whole weekend of memorial services, a fire truck parade and other related festivities going on. There were lots of Firemen in town from all over the country. I guess about half a dozen other bikers checked in and out over the weekend.
After relaxing a bit, we took a stroll at dusk to Savelli's Italian Deli about a block west. It was chilly and pizza sounded good. It is a small mom and pop hole in the wall restaurant, quaint and not too pretentious -- just like we like it. The parking lot was filled with locals (always a good sign). The pizza was excellent.
We were back in the room by 8:30. By 8:45, Tim was snoozing.
What a great day!
Day One mileage = approximately 166 miles
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