Flag Day Ride

June 14, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Once again, we had to wait nearly a week for a ride as we had more tornasty type weather in northern Colorado. One shouldn't complain about rain in this area ya know as we live in dry country... but well... we are feeling a little testy with hail, high winds and a tornasty in the sky every time we turn around.

The wait paid off. We had one really nice Flag Day Sunday ride. It may be hard to believe we can cram so much amazing scenery into 140 miles and make a six hour day out of it -- but that's Colorado.

We rolled out of the drive under mostly clear skies about 8:30 am, with no particular destination in mind. The moon was still high in the sky. We were happy to be riding. Where to ride never really came up over coffee this morning. Tim pointed the bike west through the notch over the south end of the Dam, through Masonville, then south, then westward to Lyons. Lyons is one of our favorite stops (actually it is a favorite for many) in the road but we didn't tarry long as lots of folks were gathering for what appeared to be a kayak gathering of some sort. Tim asked - where to? I said - UP. That got a grin.

Up from Lyons can mean many things... today it meant Estes Park. The trip up found us riding in quite a bit of traffic but it was mostly uneventful. We did ride up on the scene of an accident involving a motorcycle that was already on a wrecker. The windshield was busted so we're thinking an encounter with a deer, elk or some other critter that crossed the path of a biker or maybe a rock came tumbling down the hillside. What appeared to be the rider was loading up in another vehicle so maybe the damage was all to the bike.

We found breakfast (after a long wait) at the Mountaineer Restaurant on the way in to Estes Park. We were not in a hurry. Estes Park is a busy town on weekends as there is always something going on. Today, there was some sort of fun run (two leg variety) - thus, the wait. The breakfast and the coffee was very good. Tim had the two egg breakfast with bacon, hash browns and homemade raisin toast. I had pancakes the size of dinner plates.

After breakfast, we both agreed we were not interested in shopping. Main Street shopping and dining is why most people come to Estes Park. Others are headed through to the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. Both excellent options. We took a couple of turns around the edge of town, ran onto a herd of elk and snapped a few pics. Elk can almost always be seen somewhere in Estes Park. They graze the golf course, cross the busy streets downtown and highways on a whim and roam through people's yards and business establishments. We rode past the historic Stanley Hotel (you know the Stanley Steamer) where part of Stephen King's The Shining was filmed in 1977 and made the turn onto the Devil's Gulch road. This is one of those fun twisting, turning, undulating side trips that area bikers favor over the highway that goes straight up or down from Loveland. We have driven it a few times, but this is the first time we have ridden it. I put together a little movie with still shots and a mini-video clip. It's about 3 minutes long. Enjoy!

We rode down Hwy 34 into Loveland. We had a cup of thermos coffee and stretched our legs for a few minutes at the Sculpture Park where we posed for a couple of pics under the crow sculpture. We were not ready to go home. On our way out, I snapped a few pics of an older gent in a 1937 Ford coupe, giving a young boy a lesson, maybe a grandson, in how to cruise - s-l-o-w-l-y. Much to my surprise, when I edited the photos I found The Ride captured in the reflection of his vehicle. Kool! We thought we might ride around Carter Lake before heading home, but when we got out where we could see the horizon, we realized the late day thunderstorms that were forecasted were on their way in. We took the long way home, back over the dam. Bikers and Cyclists were coming down out of the high country fast. With the clouds coming in hard, you should have seen the boats on Horsetooth Reservoir scooting toward the boat ramps in a hurry...

We rounded out our day with beer and burgers... feeling fairly pleased with ourselves and the ride today. This ride put the bike over 9000 miles.

Like I said, the weather has played a big part in how we've ridden lately, but Friday - come rain or shine - we are headed to the Colorado State HOG Rally in Montrose, Colorado. We are looking forward to the ride.

I took 265 pictures today and a short video clip. I edited the pics down to just over 100 for your viewing pleasure. My point? Just think how many pics I can take between here and Montrose, the Rally and beyond with all of the Rocky Mountains laid out before us. Fair warning... Stay tuned... Ha!