Peak to Peak Fall Color Ride

September 20, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Motorcycles ruled the high country roads today... all of us eager to get a good ride in before a cold front brings who knows how much snow to the Rockies. It's time. In northern Colorado, we normally get a couple of inches of the white stuff in the month of September. The mountains usually see enough snow around Labor Day to close the highest roads and temps drop low enough for the ski resorts to start making snow.

We rolled out of the drive about mid morning. It was warm enough to start out in hoodies. There wasn't much discussion about where we were headed... west and up being the general idea. Tim pointed the ride south to Loveland and west toward Estes Park. At Drake, we veered off the busier, more direct route and travelled the roundabout way up via Devil's Gulch.

As we rode along, we could see the clouds building. By the time we reached the Visitor Center on the east side of Estes Park and swallowed a cup of coffee, clouds had darkened considerably and began to roll over the Rockies. I can't remember how many times we've been chased out of Estes Park this year by clouds. We ran in and out of cloud cover for the rest of the day.

Motorcycles, bicycles and four wheel vehicles lined the shoulder of Hwy 7 where the pine trees open up to what is an astounding view of gold winding up and around the sides of mountains like yellow gold garland on a Christmas tree. People were armed with cameras in all shapes and sizes, trying to capture Mother Nature's short-lived gift. The gold, of course is aspen and once the weather cools, aspen turns quickly at high altitudes. We call ourselves lucky on this Fall color ride, because the aspen were just beginning to turn.

As usual on this trip, we stopped in Nederland for a rest and the nourishment a cup of thermos coffee and a brownie-snack can provide. Tim disappeared for a few minutes when he went to dispose of our wrappers. He came back with this odd grin on his face. When I asked him what was up, he said some Eurasian tourists had stopped him to take a photo. He thought they wanted him to take a picture of them. Actually, they wanted him to pose for a picture. They wanted a photo of a real American biker for their scrapbook. We got a good laugh out of that...

We continued on our ride past Wondervu (yes, it really is a wondrous view) to the gambling towns of Black Hawk/Central City. As we went down the canyon past Black Hawk (after 11 years, we are still saying we'll stop and gamble some day), Tim wondered again where the Central City Parkway tied in. We had heard about the parkway that connects Idaho Springs (on I-70) to Central City, but we had never ridden it. I suggested we ride the few miles to Idaho Springs and ride the parkway back. We did that very thing and have found a new, favorite high road. Great views of the I-70 corridor and old mine architecture dot the way. It didn't take long to make that little side trip, but it was long enough for the clouds to nearly catch up. We decided to skedaddle out of the canyon which is lined with signs that warn - in case of flash flood climb to safety. Ha!

Before long we found ourselves on the outskirts of the Denver metropolitan area and hungry. There wasn't much discussion about where to eat. The Ride knows the way to Jose O'Shea's. All of our vehicles know the way to Jose's. We could find our way to Jose's in a blackout. We enjoyed cream cheese chicken enchiladas and all the trimmin's. No margaritas - even though we were sorely tempted.

The ride home was uneventful although the clouds were making a nuisance of themselves. We remarked on pumpkins and the nodding heads of sunflowers in the fields and the number of geese that have returned. We have geese all year round in Colorado but migrant geese invade the area every fall and winter. The cold front was knockin' on the door and the skies were spittin' as we traveled the last few miles toward home.

This ride was about 210 miles of great scenery and pure fun.

Peak-to-Peak - Part 4

September 13, 2008
Fort Collins, CO

The weather in the high country can change quickly. As we were leaving Nederland, we noticed clouds gathering in what had been a clear blue, sunny skies. There are two or three routes down from the high country along Hwy 7. We had thought to drive back closer to Estes Park before heading down, but decided against that and went down and down and down from Nederland to Lyons, CO. We didn't remember that route having quite as much of a downhill grade or having quite that many twisties. Ha! Yes, it was fun. We shared the road with about ten other bikers (riding as a group) and one idiot on a crotch rocket on the way down. By the time we hit the lowlands at Lyons, we felt like we had been on one grand adventure.

We stopped and stretched our legs (a polite way of saying rest our butts) at the little city park in Lyons. We've been there many times before. We shared a cup of coffee and reluctantly pointed The Ride toward home. Looking over our shoulder we saw where we had been that day... the mountains that had been so starkly white against the horizon this morning, now dark with deep shadows... what a great day!

Wish you had been with us Dad - you would have loved this ride and we would have loved riding it with you!



Total Mileage this trip - about 145 miles. Woo-Hoo!

Peak-to-Peak - Part 3

September 13, 2008
Fort Collins, CO

Nederland is a tiny but bustling mountain town, a mecca for wannabe, non-bathing hippies up from the college at Boulder. It is still the home of many old and very real hippies. Because of its pristine mountain location with a lake, it is also a favorite spot with bikers, cyclers, hikers, and tourists. Nederland probably has more bars per capita than many of its larger neighboring towns. It used to have a great antique store called Off Her Rocker. The name of the store is the same except they added Mercantile but sadly, the contents are not. It is now home to an artsy-fartsy collection of weird furniture, abstract gallery art and sculptures (not for regular folk) and Tiffany-like light fixtures. Did I say weird?

Never mind all that, it is still fun to walk the length of Main Street (about 2 blocks before it turns residential) and that's exactly what we did. You can see the lake from Main street. We watched bike after bike pull in to assorted bars. We watched low-landers huff and puff up the stairs of the boardwalk. Nederland sits at an elevation of just over 8000. You have to take it easy, if you aren't acclimated. We watched the locals, a diverse population, some of them from a time gone by.

Before heading out again, we stopped at the New Moon Bakery for coffee, a scone and a cherry turnover. Not pie, Dad - just pastry - but it was tasty. We sat on the patio and watched part of the day and a couple of dozen bikes go by.

Time to ride again. See part 4

Peak-to-Peak - Part 2

September 13, 2008
Fort Collins, CO

The ride south out of Estes Park to Nederland and beyond is known as the Peak-to-Peak Highway. A favorite tourist stop along the way is Lily Lake, a lovely mountain lake, nestled in a picturesque valley. It is always cool at Lily Lake. There's a picnic area, and a walking path around the lake. There's also a nice visitor center across the highway. We didn't stop this time but we did pull over at the The Old Rock Church. I've written about the Church before. This was one of the rare days when a wedding was not in progress.

Here's a bit of the story: It is actually called: The Chapel on the Rock. Monsignor Joseph Bosetti, had for years entertained an idea that one day he would build a chapel on this site. In 1916 he and two friends observed a falling meteor during the night and in his search for the remnants the next morning, he came across a large rock. The beauty of the land inspired the priest and he remembered Jesus’ words to Peter: “Upon this rock, I will build my Church.” (Matt 16:18). Msgr. Bosetti prayed for nearly 20 years to acquire the funds. During that time, he found himself in a constant battle with the Colorado Highway department which had plans to dynamite the enormous piece of granite to both widen and straighten the curve in the road. Eventually, Msgr. Bosetti won the battle and the chapel was built in 1935. Native stone was hauled in by mule carts from the surrounding area to use as building material. In 1999, Boulder County designated the chapel as a historic site.

We're glad the Monsignor was so persistent, it is a lovely place.

Time to ride again - next stop - Nederland. See part 3

Peak to Peak - Part 1

September 13, 2008
Fort Collins, CO

Always a fun trip, Estes Park as a destination on a motorcycle is even better!

We pulled out of the drive at 8:45 am. The day before was rather chilly, so we lingered a little longer over our coffee before heading out and dressed warmly. Much to our surprise and delight, the view of the mountains from the grasslands between Loveland and Fort Collins revealed snow-capped peaks.

The drive was perfect. Big, blue sky, sun in the canyon, the Thompson was running clear and it was not too cold. The Chief was standing tall in his meadow. The view as you enter Estes Park on Hwy 34 is always breath-taking, no matter what time of year or what time of day. Our favorite parking and rest stop is on the far west side of town. We were pleased to see an Art Fair in the park. So, we had a cup of coffee, secured The Ride and ambled down the street in our leathers. We shopped for a few minutes in the park before Tim spied a big sign touting breakfast. There wasn't much conversation about it, we immediately turned in that direction, deciding without actually saying it, we could shop better after consuming eggs. The breakfast at Claire's on the Park, was good (eggs were cooked as ordered and the coffee was hot) and reasonably priced for a mountain town. Afterwards, we strolled through the cluster of art tents, enjoyed it all, found several things to our liking, but didn't bring any of it home with us.

I always shop Granny Gingham's, a moderately priced gift shop and I usually find something. This time I brought home a couple of small Hallowe'en decorations. We stopped in Simply Christmas, one of three or four Christmas shops in Estes Park, but passed on packing breakables since we were on the motorcycle and the whole day was before us. We window shopped our way back down the street. Neither of us was really interested in shopping... The Ride was waiting, after all.

Since the last time we were in Estes Park, the Danish Cone has added Blue Bell Ice Cream to the menu. As far as we're concerned, that adds a gold star next to one of our favorite destinations. Alas! We had just eaten breakfast, there was no room (even Tim said so) for ice cream this time.

Time to ride - see part 2