Sunday Out and About Ride

March 15, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Long about noon Sunday, we rolled out The Ride with the idea we would spend the afternoon out and away from our mundane existence. It's peculiar how easily the stress and concerns of life can be cast off once we are rolling.

The road north, took us over the dam of course. Again, it's just more fun than riding the city streets that run in the same direction. We thought we would check out The Forks in Livermore, just in case it has come under new ownership. Last time we were there, the place was closed and up for sale. Still is.

Livermore is at the cut-off for the Red Feathers (series of small lakes) area, a favorite spot with campers and fisherman. The Forks was named for its location at a major split in the Overland Trail. The original owners (from Chicago) built the tavern in 1874. Local workers carted timber from the mountains, made shingles by hand and insulated the walls with sheep's wool. After a massive 1904 flood swallowed The Forks, the structure was never rebuilt to its original form, but the modern reincarnation of the Forks sits on the original site and was a favorite stop with tourists and fisherman on the way to Red Feathers or Wyoming. We have camped a few times up at Red Feathers but there's only one way in and out of the area that is paved highway. Red Feathers sits at over 8000 in elevation so we know it is still cold and there is likely snow on the ground up there. The other roads in the Red Feathers area are for off-road vehicles only. Hwy 287 past Livermore leads to Laramie Wyoming. We decided against the Laramie ride, because the further north we went, the colder it was and the winds were kicking up. We lived in Wyoming for a couple of years. It could be said for certain that if you don't ride in the wind, you don't ride in Wyoming. What few people realize is how vicious the winds can be in that neck of the woods.

Side Note: The Forks asking price is $475,000 for just over 4700 sqft, three levels, includes all furnishings and equipment. Hmmm... now with a little stimulus money... you know the free, no strings attached kind like AIG has in their pocket... there's no telling what real Americans could do with an opportunity and some cold, hard, cash... :) Being mature, white, responsible, tax-paying types though - we'd likely have better luck pursuing the LOTTO route. Still, with a little bit of work and lots of imagination, this place would make one helluva biker stop.

So, we rode the 21 miles back to Fort Collins, stopped by the house for a few minutes, to warm up and had a quick cup of coffee. The next leg of our ride today took us east on Carpenter Road out of Fort Collins, across I-25 to the small bedroom community of Windsor. Windsor wasn't always a bedroom community. We can remember when it was a really small town, home to ranchers and farmers. The huge Kodak plant is at Windsor. We rode past the complex on Eastman Blvd that once employed about 800-1000 people. Now it employs about 100. Most of the windows in the complex are blocked out or covered because no sunlight is allowed to penetrate. Just beyond Kodak is a wind turbine company, that looked busy as it was the only place we noticed working a crew on a Sunday. Working there has one other benefit - the view west is miraculous.

Ultimately, the road took us to Greeley where we followed the signs to Centennial Village, a Victorian museum of some sort. We found it, but it doesn't open until mid-April. We stopped for a cup of coffee in a nice park next to the rodeo grounds. Soon we were cruising around Greeley and eventually rode Hwy 34 west into Loveland. Finally highway speed says Tim. Sixth gear! Highway speed and then some says I. Ha!

On the way home, we stopped in a park across from the lake in Loveland. There's a war memorial there I've always wanted to see up close. We had a picnic, and watched with some amusement a group of guys playing Conan, for lack of a better description. They were dressed in a variety of odd costumes (from Scottish kilts to makeshift jerkins to sumo wrestler) and whacking each other with rubber swords and clubs.

We spent some time paying our respects at the war memorial, before heading out once again. Photos coming up in the next post. The big question at that time was long way or short way home... it should come as no surprise -- long way we decided. We spent about five or so hours, ambling through about 140 miles of the countryside, having a great time being out and about on a Sunday in March.