Tejon Street Bike Fest w/Friends Ride

June 27, 2010
Colorado, USA

Fort Collins, CO -- Today we rode to the Tejon Street Bike Fest in Colorado Springs, Colorado. About 6:30 am (mileage 4856) we rolled out of the drive to meet up with friends at Johnson's Corner for breakfast. Five of us on three bikes would ride together today. (Tim and myself, David, Raul who works with Tim and his wife, Vicky.) It's rare to meet another Vickie. After a great get-to-know-each-other breakfast we rode south through Denver without encountering heavy traffic or any other problems. It was chilly riding across the Palmer Divide and over Monument Hill Pass (elev 7350). Tim and I were fine riding in our long sleeve denim shirts, but the others were riding in lighter clothing or short sleeves. Sorry for the goose bumps guys! We should have mentioned it might get chilly on the Divide and probably through Monument Valley.

We stopped once for fuel. Raul's bike doesn't have the fuel capacity of the Ultras. It was good timing as I think we all needed a stretch of the legs and a quick bathroom break. We arrived in Colorado Springs, found our way to Bijou Street and the rally site with no problems. We expected a traffic jam and were relieved when it didn't materialize. Lots of riders were already on site. We were directed to park in a near perfect location on the east side of the intersection of Tejon and Kiowa, just about dead center for the event. Looking west down Tejon Street, Pikes Peak dominates the view. I noted clouds were building as I snapped a pic, but was hoping they would hold off for a little while.

According to the web site the stats on the 2009 event: ...the final count was 50,000 people, 20,000 bikes, 50 kegs of beer, 10 city blocks, 3 bands, 1 day and not 1 single PD or fire issue of any note.

Raul and Vicky disappeared quickly to hook up with their son somewhere in the growing crowd. That left me, Tim and David to roam the streets, checking out the vendors, the motorcycles both parked and riding by, the bike show and a bevy of half clad beauties. We were walking by the stage just as the opening ceremonies commenced. Veteran Marines on stage and veterans and active duty members in the crowd saluted as the flag was presented by the NORAD joint service Color Guard. The National Anthem was sung and the crowd was asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. An announcement was made that the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Marine Corp League was collecting donations to erect a Marine monument in Colorado Springs Memorial Park. It seems like a glaring omission - one that sucked ten bucks out of Tim's pocket for the cause.

Radio London took the stage shortly after. I enjoyed listening to their bluesy-rock offerings as we strolled the streets. The beer garden and bars close by were already doing a booming business. Food vendors were cooking up grilled items like assorted sausages and turkey legs, BBQ and hamburgers could be found and an assortment of other foods and beverages.

The three of us wandered through the small, but interesting ride-in bike show. We admired the beautiful bikes and some of us admired some other beauties decorating the bikes.

There were a good many small vendors set up. We had hoped some of the larger leather and bike apparel vendors might be present. We did not find the couple of items we were looking for although a couple of vest pins came home with us. Still, we enjoyed roaming through the booths and chatting with some of the vendors.

About the time the bike games and other afternoon activities were scheduled to begin, that pesky cloud that had been brewing all morning decided to roll over Pikes Peak. We gathered on a street corner and talked about the cloud and what to do for lunch.


None of us really wanted festival food, so we thought about riding to The Mason Jar, but that choice would have put us directly under that cloud which grew more ominous by the minute. We finally came to a consensus, the choice being ride back to Denver and eat somewhere. Tim led the group along scenic Hwy 83 which runs parallel to I-25 with lots less traffic. The skies darkened behind us. Soon Pikes Peak was totally obscured by blue-gray clouds. I have not heard whether it rained or hailed on the rally. I hope not. I know there were several bike accidents reported in the area late in the afternoon and evening. I hope all those riders are fairing well.

Just as we rode out of the Springs the odometer on the Ride clicked over to 5000 miles. Tomorrow The Ride will be two months old. We made a fuel stop on the way and further food deliberations resulted in a decision to ride for Jose O'Shea's for a late lunch. Jose O'Shea's is one of our favorite restaurants in the Denver area. All of us were hungry. All of us left satisfied.

Heading home under cotton ball skies, along roads Tim and I travel often, we eventually rode out from under the threatening hail clouds. I heard later on the news that a community just west of Denver had five inches of hail out of those clouds. Yikes!


We had fun today, riding with friends. We don't normally ride with other people (except in Texas) so it was a refreshing change. Thanks guys for enduring our company. We certainly enjoyed yours. What part of the rally we saw was fun. That's another thing we rarely do - purposely put ourselves in a big crowd. This too, was a great experience. There are at least a couple of other rallies we will likely attend this summer including the Texas HOG Rally in our hometown Labor Day weekend. I'm sorry we missed the bike games today... and the other concerts... but, just looking at hundreds of bikes and people watching was well worth the ride. Tim reports our round trip was 312 miles.

Here are a few pics (just over 90) in a slide show...