Mother's Day Ride 2010

May 9, 2010
Fort Collins, CO

When Tim asked a few days ago what I might like for Mother's Day, my answer was a nice, long ride. The daughter sent chocolates from Vermont. Mom sent a really nice card and shared a poem with me. I received emails and FB posts from friends and family. But the best gift was the view out my front door! After speaking with Mom and wishing her a Happy Mother's Day in Texas, we rolled out of the drive under bright blue skies. Better yet, it was warm! Well, warm enough for a May morning in northern Colorado. Yay! I whispered a heartfelt thanks to good ol' Mother Nature and all of her glorious benevolence. The whole day was ahead of us and we intended to appreciate every minute of it.

Johnson's Corner for breakfast was first on the agenda. We knew it was a long shot of an idea since this particular truck stop is busy every Sunday morning but this morning it was packed with a good long wait in store for those mothers who insisted on eating in. This mother did not. We parked The Ride for a few minutes, strolled in, purchased two cinnamon rolls to go and strolled back out in search of a park, some fresh air and peace and quiet. We found all of the above at the small city park in Berthoud, CO a few miles away.




We wanted to ride the high country. We always want to ride the high country. We decided not to waste a warm day along the front range for a cold day in the mountains. We rode leisurely south, by-passing busy Boulder and Golden on country lanes toward Denver's western suburbs. Littleton and Lakewood are our old stomping grounds. Our next stop was McDonald's in Littleton for coffee and a stretch.
This is why I am working on 39 years with Tim - you send the man in for coffee and you get ice cream!

Riding in a southerly direction along Hwy 85 toward Sedalia and Castle Rock, we decided to take the road to Larkspur. We had not been down that road before. The Colorado Renaissance Festival is held at Larkspur in the summer months of June and July. In the off months you're not going to see much but a cafe and a gas station. We rode on down a very windy stretch of road to the tiny community of Palmer Lake, another place we had not been before and discovered another biker destination. O'Malley's Steak Pub was doing a booming biker business. Actually, every biker stop (Sedalia, Palmer Lake, Franktown and so on) was doing a booming business and bikers were a dominant presence on every road we traveled today. Every single one passed with a nod, a smile and a wave.

From Monument we rode toward the Springs (Colorado Springs) in search of a gas station. A storm was brewing over Pike's Peak and the winds were howling. We did not tarry in that neighborhood but we were not ready to call it a day so we rode east and south on Hwy 83 back to Denver. By that time, we were ready for another coffee break. Traffic was heavy in Parker and other suburbs of Denver. We headed west and then north again, traveling around Green Mountain, across the northern end of Dinosaur Ridge, through Golden and once again took the country lanes north that by-passed Boulder and gently wound our way home.

This is a view of our skies about ten miles from home which is why we rode on home, parked The Ride and hopped in the Tahoe for a no fuss, no wait visit to Serious Texas BBQ. YUM!

At 3:30 in the afternoon we passed the 1000 mile mark on The Ride. By 6:22 and just before we arrived home we had passed the 1100 mile mark. Our ride was just over 300 miles today. A perfect Mother's Day ride.

I guess you can say the honeymoon is over. Tomorrow we get the first maintenance. For now, the rides are about ice cream stops and coffee and pie and getting acquainted with BB (aka Black Beauty - we're trying that name on for size) on some old roads and new roads in northern Colorado. Soon, Summer will come to our neck of the woods and we'll be searching for longer rides, new vistas and as much fun as we can have along the way. The last part of that statement is superfluous - we have a Harley, we love riding it, fun is included in that package.

A few more pics: