Saturday Supper Ride

March 14, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Tim rode in from work shortly after 3 pm this Saturday afternoon. I was suited up and ready to ride somewhere, anywhere. The day was fine, but we knew we'd only get a couple of hours riding in before losing the heat of the day.

The general idea was head toward Loveland of course, because the roads in and around Loveland are fun to ride and we more-or-less had a new BBQ place in mind for supper. We took as long and circuitous route as possible to Serious Texas BBQ, located between Loveland and Fort Collins on Hwy 287.

Normally, we avoid Texas-theme restaurants up here because they usually fall well short of the mark. When we first moved to Colorado in 1998, we went to a popular with the locals restaurant called the Lone Star Steakhouse. Oh me! The waitresses, dressed in fringe and chaps, line-danced in the aisles between the tables to cheesy C&W tunes like achy-breaky heart. In all our years in Texas, being born and bred Texans, we never had that happen. It was embarrassing. The over-priced, hardly Texas-size steaks left something to be desired, too. Lesson learned. Since then, we have visited few other steak or BBQ places here. Truthfully, we prefer to cook our steak and smoke a brisket or prepare pulled pork at home.

Serious Texas BBQ looked like our kind of place though so we decided to give it a shot. The outside of the place is plain and unassuming. The first thing you notice as you walk up is the size of the windows. They are huge. Once inside, you have a better idea of the windows which are rigged like garage doors with glass panes. It has the feel of an open air pavilion. Kool! The decor is roadhouse-industrial. Picnic tables and smaller versions of heavy cafe tables with folding chairs make the dining picnic casual. We loved it.

We ordered pulled pork sandwiches with cherry chipotle salsa, cheesy potatoes and soft drinks (we don't drink and ride). The sandwiches are huge and downright tasty. The pork was cooked to perfection and the salsa was tangy. Serious Texas BBQ is not a misnomer. We left the place pleasantly plump with the notion we have found a new favorite dining spot.

We took the long way home...

Serious Texas BBQ

Brrrr...

March 13, 2009
Fort Collins, Co

Tim rode to work today, unable to resist riding on a sunny, almost warm day. It is in the 40's here, lots of sun and no wind. Come midnight, the ride home will be chilly, in the 20s but it is only a couple of miles so he'll be fine.

I thought about the Friday the 13th ride in Port Dover, Ontario today... I mentioned it in the last Friday 13th post which was in February. So, I checked the weather in that neck of the woods. Yikes! I don't think so. Zero degrees, 43% humidity. Brrr... I don't mind cold weather. In fact, one of the reasons we love Colorado so much is -- the weather. Still, there's something to be said for warmer climes more conducive to riding more often. Then again, given our tendency to say - let's ride - at the drop of a hat - I can purt near guarantee that we would never get anything done if we lived where we could ride almost every day. Because we would ride every day. Ha!

With that said, when the job goes away we'll be relocating to wherever we find a job. I'm thinking the next place we live should be a garage with a bedroom and shower attached. No grass to mow, no house to clean, no gardens to tend... hmmmm... sounds pretty good to me. I could give a whole new meaning to the term down-size.

Patriot Guard Mission

March 8, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Wichita Falls, TX -- Dad (Ted) rode to Breckenridge, TX with the Patriot Guard today in honor of Ivan Campbell, Private First Class, United States Army; Korean War Era Veteran.

It was a long day, but the weather was fine for a ride. Says Mom in a late afternoon phone call, your Dad finally came dragging his butt in. That's not a comment concerning the Patriot Guard run. Whatever is required in the way of a ride to honor veterans is a no-excuses, must-do thing with Dad. Rather Mom's comment is more about how many miles (500 or so) Dad put on his Harley over the weekend which included a rather extensive ride with Kenny through north Texas and southern Oklahoma Saturday.

Sunday in March Ride

March 8, 2009
Fort Collins, Co

The snow storm that rolled in yesterday, didn't last long. The minor accumulation melted quickly when the sun came out. It was cold overnight and we had a heavy frost but long about noon the day began to warm up nicely. At least about as nice as it is going to be for several days. About 2 pm... we had enough of domesticity and headed out for what turned out to be about three hour ride. Up and over the dam of course and up one rural road and then another. We rode by the Budweiser plant, a smelly sheep lot, around Terry Lake and past the Stonehenge rock garden. We stopped for coffee and hot fudge sundaes at the McDonald's across from Thunder Mountain's Custom Cycle shop. It was a nice day. We picked up a stout wind about the time we turned The Ride toward home.

I say again... Too cold to ride?

March 7, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

This time I'd have to say - yes, it was too damn cold to ride but we rode for about an hour anyway, just to show how tough we are. The clear blue skies we enjoy in Colorado most days can be deceiving. Such was the case, today. Tim kept going to the door, sniffing the air, feeling a little warmth on his face and wondering aloud if it was warm enough to ride. Says Tim, I think it is warm enough. Me and the thermometer know better. I suit up anyway and a couple of miles out, when he asks is it too cold - for obvious reasons - I say hell no - let's ride. LOL!

Ever wonder what I'm talking about when I say a snow storm is rolling in over the mountains? Well, take a look!

Lunch at Vern's

March 4, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Our before-Tim-goes-to-work ride today took us to Vern's for lunch. We inadvertently chose Vern's, not because that's where we were headed but because it is the farthest place from the house to grab lunch and still make it back in time for Tim to get to work on time.

With the exception of the red flag warning (very high winds), the day is sunny and warm. This is the first time we've ridden without our leather jackets. We still wore our chaps, but we ride with chaps most of the time. Tim rode in his denim jacket. I rode in my Harley hoody. It was a great day to be out as long as we stayed out of the wide open spaces where the wind was fearsome. We saw a good many other people out enjoying the day on their bikes. Yep - we thought about playing hooky - but with a job on the line, that's not a good idea. Check that. The idea is good, the timing is not.

Tim had the special (meatball sub) today. I had a cheeseburger. Vern's is comfort food dining. They serve breakfast all day. I mentioned in an earlier post that Vern's has been in business since 1946. It sits on the site of an old stagecoach stop in the tiny town of LaPorte. On the same corner is Vern's liquor store and a Shell station and Vern's trailer park. We just discovered today that premium does not contain ethanol at this Shell station... just one more reason for the ride over.

The decor is mostly DEAD. The following are a few shots of that decor.

DAD Logs Over 10,000

March 3, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Wichita Falls, TX -- DAD (Ted) had the Harley in today for the 10,000 mile maintenance workup. The work done at Red River Harley Davidson (a top ten dealership) has Dad's ride running like new and the detail job has it shining and ready for the road. Dad has logged 10,040 miles on his red Dyna since he got back in the saddle in May 2007.

Of course, Dad is the reason for the Harley fever in our family. Tim noticed the odometer on the Heritage as he was pulling out of the drive today . He (We) have logged 5656 miles since June 2008 and have enjoyed every minute, every mile of it.

Blue Sky Monday Ride

March 2, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Yes, the sky was blue and the temperature great as we took a short before-Tim-goes-to-work ride. We were sorry to turn The Ride toward home.

Shadow Riders Strike Again

March 1, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

As the shadows grew long on our way home, I caught the Shadow Riders in this short but fun video clip. No, that's not me zooming the riders in and out -- it's the tilt of the sun and the lay of the land.

Shadow Riders

March is Here!

March 1, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Any day in the 60s, when the sun is trying to peak through and the winds are nearly calm and the roads are clear is a day to ride in Colorado. If your bike was in the garage today -- we have just one question - WHY?

We behaved ourselves for as long as we could and managed to finish the chores that needed to get done today. The fence that blew down in our last good wind storm is standing again.

We rolled out of the neighborhood about noon. Granted, it was chilly on and off throughout the day because the sun had trouble burning through the low cloud cover, but for the most part the riding weather was fine and we were eager to be out a bit farther than we've ventured most of the winter.

Our ride today took us west and south, mostly south. We rode the back roads to one of our favorite destinations (even before we had the Harley) and the favorite destination of most bikers who live in this area. Lyons, Colorado. Lyons is a tiny town at the base of two roads leading into the mountains, either to the peak-to-peak highway or Estes Park. It is the home of Oskar Blues Grill & Brew. Lyons is the host of many musical events throughout the year including a huge bluegrass festival in July. We like the park across from Oskar's and stop there often.

The second part of our ride took us further south to the roads in and around Boulder and Longmont where most of the world was outside, on motorcycles, bicycles, in convertibles, walking, jogging, fishing, wind-surfing - you name it.

Eventually, as the shadows grew long, we knew it was time to head back. The question was - take the quick route or amble back sort of the way we came? Of course, we chose the latter, daring the sun to dip behind the mountains before we were ready to call it a day. The road home took us through Lyons again where we stopped at the park and munched on the picnic lunch I packed in a hurry before we left out. We dined on b'loney sandwiches, chips, brownies and bananas.

We rolled into Fort Collins about a half hour before the sun set and just as the temperature was dipping below what was comfortable. What a great day!



Tim feeling a little frisky as we're heading out...


OK - maybe I'm feeling a little frisky, myself...