Fort Collins, CO
With temps nearing the 60 degree mark, it's hard to resist getting out on the Harley. What started out as a typical before-Tim-goes-to-work ride became a sort of mini-adventure and a test of our newbie rider skills.
The day was so pleasant we decided to ride up and over the Dam (yeah, there are quicker ways to ride north, but they are not as much fun), made a left-hand turn west out of the tiny town of Bellevue and entered Rist Canyon. I said Rist Canyon. The twisting, turning, undulating hills and sharp curves of this canyon ride is a well-kept secret like many of the great roads in northern Colorado. Well-kept except among northern Colorado bikers, that is. It is a favorite ride and gorgeous in spring and summer when the foliage turns a lush green and the wildflowers are in full bloom. It is spectacular in the Fall when the rabbit brush lines the roadside in a golden haze. You can spend a day winding in and out of connecting roads and canyons and all of it is just a few miles west of Fort Collins.
We discovered this morning that despite our warm temperatures and below average snowfall along the front range, the same doesn't happen to be true of Rist Canyon which rises in elevation to around 8000 I think. We knew the roadsides would have drifts of snow. That's normal for this area, even in the city, until late May, sometimes early June. First, the pea gravel on the road became a nuisance, then a hazard, and a few crusty/slushy almost icy spots in the turns didn't improve the ride. Coming out of the canyon, turning south at Stove Prairie School and riding the 14 miles into Masonville was not quite as bad although some spots in the road had just as much gravel. We picked up a stout westerly cross wind about 7 miles out of Masonville and were glad when the road turned east so it would be on our backs.
All-in-all it was still a great ride and Tim did a great job maneuvering the bike through it all. It took about 1.5 hours to ride 48 miles. I caught the first part of the canyon ride on video (posted below). Keep in mind what you are seeing is far from the best part. I ran out of memory before we got there. I didn't pick up the extra memory because Rist Canyon was the farthest thing from my mind when we headed out. That's just where the road took us this morning.
OH !!%^!!#!!^#!! Canyon Ride
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