Winter Weekend Rides

February 20, 2011
Colorado, USA

Saturday -- What luck - it was warm enough (well almost) in northern Colorado to ride in February! Temps rose to 49 degrees before noon in our neck of the woods. So, yeah, we rolled out of the drive about 1 pm under mostly sunny skies. The cold front due in was still a smudge on the northern horizon and the storms raging over the Rockies would stay over the Rockies. Winds were moderate.

We rode around the southern end of Horsetooth Reservoir, still covered with treacherous ice, despite the warm temps and sun of the last few days.




We decided to check out the almost new leather store in the area. What a pleasant surprise! Beavers Den Leathers is located just outside of Loveland, CO on Hwy 34 (that's the road to Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park). Larimer County is apparently a stick in the mud where signage is concerned so here are your landmarks... heading west from Loveland, CO, just past the road to Carter Lake left/south is a carved Indian Chief sitting in the middle of a field on your right/north, start looking because Beavers Den Leathers is coming up around a little bend on the same side (right/north) of the road. You'll know it by a large yellow sign and scantily clad mannequins out by the roadside waving a stiff hello. Parking in front of the Den is paved and Todd works hard to keep it clean and free of gravel (no small chore after snow plows run).



Tim goofing around in front of the store... Tim - You didn't get that did you? Me - Uh, yeah... Tim ...!!(&%*(%*^$!! Ha!




Here's the best part. Beavers Den is well stocked (leather jackets, chaps, belts and more), clean, comfy and roomy. They were having a decent winter sale. The front porch looks like the perfect spot to sit a spell after a long, mountain ride. We'll let you know... The owner we spoke with, LeeAnn, is friendly and helpful. This is a biker owned outfit. LeeAnn tells me she owned a leather store in Kansas before moving to Colorado and setting up shop in this location last summer. The owners are ardent supporters of our armed services (offers military/veteran discounts). And, heads up Colorado bikers! The Den will be patch headquarters in northern Colorado. As you know, patches are hard to come by up this way except at rallies. The Den has a room dedicated to patches. We walked in and immediately found a couple that needed to come home with us. At present, the Den is operating under winter hours, but LeeAnn said she'll do her best to accomodate customers. It might be best to give them a call to verify hours. This place will be a great stop for a poker/toy/benefit run. I'm betting if the roads are clear and the sun is shining, you'll find the doors open. See: Beavers Den Leathers. You can also find them on FaceBook. Events (there was a hint about a Biker BBQ before long) will be posted to Thunder Roads. Good luck Beavers Den - we'll see you again soon.

After doing our part to support the local economy, we rode a few more miles. We made our way over to Lyons, CO and stopped in the park for a little while. We saw a good many bikers on the road today... all of us trying to get a few miles in before the next round of weather comes in. We lost the sun while we were at Lyons, so we rambled back home, finishing the day off with pizza, wings and beer.

Sunday: After rain last night, today wasn't nearly as warm as yesterday. We got out for a short while anyway. The blasted winds were howling. We rode north of town in harsh north winds, so we thought, let's ride south of town. By the time we got across to the southern end of town, the winds had changed direction at least half a dozen times. That's Colorado for you.

We purt near froze our butts off riding on the east side of this small, frozen lake near Loveland, CO. Frigid winds out of the west were howling at this point of the ride. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr....

No - we're not complaining about the cold or the winds. We'll ride when we can - except next time - one of us needs to clean the mirrors before we roll out. Ha!