Father's Day Ride - Day 2

June 19, 2011
Colorado, USA

Mini road trip #1, day 2 -- Happy Father's Day Tim! Let's ride. We passed a tolerable night at the Silver Spur Motel in Lake City, CO. Now, it was time to work our way home. It was tempting to head further south, but we traveled north on Hwy 149 (back the way we came just yesterday).

Hwy 149 near Lake City, CO

First stop was for breakfast in Gunnison. An old-timer we met on the road a good while back recommended The W Cafe in downtown Gunnison. The sign hanging from the awning near the entry states simply Where the Locals Eat. Again, our timing was pretty good as we were immediately seated in a booth. People waited in line after that. The W Cafe is really small but cozy and pleasant. Very clean. One cannot help but notice the framed certificates lining the wall behind the desk at the entry. I believe the W has been voted Best Breakfast in Town since 2001. Our coffee cups were sitting on the table filled with rich fresh coffee as soon as we got the word out. Our waitress was friendly and efficient. We both ordered a two egg breakfast with hash browns and bacon and a biscuit. The biscuit was about twice the size of a normal biscuit. It was all good. We will return and check out the rest of the menu soon.

After breakfast we made a quick stop at Walmart for camera batteries. I put a new set in that lasted about ten shots. There's nothing like getting over-priced duds.

We headed east on Hwy 50 and rode up Monarch Pass (elevation 11,312). For the second time this weekend we cross the Continental Divide. This is one of our favorite rides in Colorado. We never ride up that we don't browse the Monarch Crest store and snap pictures from the parking lot. The parking lot was filled with lots of other bikers, many of them on longer road trips than we were this weekend.

The Ride - Monarch Pass, CO - Elevation 11,312 - Continental Divide

Soon, we were off the pass and rolling on through Poncha Springs and Salida again. We continued on Hwy 50 toward Canon City where we stopped for gas. We immediately came out of the leather jackets. I put a Father's Day call in to Dad. A short while later I heard a rumble and looked up to see a whole pack of Cobras rolling into town. Kool!

Hwy 50 - Arkansas River - near Canon City

After buttering up with sun screen, we continued east on Hwy 50 rolling toward Pueblo. We had forgotten just how scenic is the canyon ride east of Gunnison with the Arkansas River rushing along beside the road. The Arkansas was filled with people out enjoying the white water. Our intent was not to ride all the way to Pueblo. We usually take Hwy 115 into the southern end of Colorado Springs near Fort Carson. Highway 115 was closed today. Rats! That meant we would ride all the way to Pueblo and then north on I-25. By the time we rolled into hot and dry, windy and dusty Pueblo, the ambient temp on the Harley was sitting near 100 degrees. We got sand blasted by a dust devil that crossed the road just ahead of us and once again while sitting at a stop light. The skies of Pueblo were also filled with the haze of smoke from the wildfires raging in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

The odometer clicked over 20,000 miles while we were riding through Pueblo. We were happy to turn north on I-25 to get the blasted winds on our backs. By the time we rolled the 37 miles into Colorado Springs, clouds had filled the skies and the temp had dropped 40 degrees. That's a temperature drop of 40 degrees in less than 100 miles. Traffic on I-25 stacked up and stalled before we could get through the city. We got off on Hwy 83, stopped to pull on our denim jackets and headed north to Denver. As we approached C470 which hugs the foothills, storms had built and the way home was looking a bit ominous. We rode away from the clouds on the foothills, catching I-70 to I-76 and home via Hwy 287.

We played catch us if you can with one nasty little cloud near Boulder. We played chicken with another cloud as we neared Fort Collins. About five miles out we ran into light rain and arrived safely home, if a bit damp after 415 miles today. We parked The Ride in the garage and hopped in the pickup, polishing off the the Father's Day Ride for Tim aka Mini Road Trip #1 with a couple of margaritas and mexican food.

Total mileage for this mini two day road trip = 826 miles. The Ride rolled over 20,000 miles near Pueblo. We have earned the mileage necessary to qualify for the HOG 40,000 mile patch. That's 40,000 miles since late Summer 2008 on two rides. The Ultra will be 14 months old the 28th of this month.

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