Wednesday

Nothing interesting to report today. Cleaned up the bikes and packed them for tomorrow's trip to Wisconsin and brother Kevin's Loc STOC event. Should have a few pictures to post tomorrow evening.

Garage work day

I changed oil and the front tire on my bike today. I should say Steve changed my front tire while showing off his new tire changing machine. I think my rear tire will go the distance to and from Wisconsin later in the week so I'll put the new rear on when I get back here to Kansas City before I head back to Arizona.

Made it to Kansas City

No pictures today. I rode for 528 miles across eastern Colorado and all of Kansas with hellashus cross winds and nothing of interest to take pictures of. I arrived at Steve and Lisa's a little after 4:00pm. I'll be spending a few days of down time here until we ride to Loc STOC later in the week. I will be doing an oil change while here. I had ordered a new set of tires and had them sent here so I'll be checking out my old ones and either change them this week or when I stop back in a couple weeks before heading home. All for now.

Rocky Mountain High

I pulled out of Rifle, CO this morning under clear skies and cool temperatures. It was a nice ride on I-70  through tunnels and along the river with lots of green mountains. I stopped at one of the rest stops and made myself a morning cup of coffee. The joys of no schedule. I continued on and got off the interstate at Frisco and rode through there and Breckenridge finally stopping in Fairplay at the Colorado Mountain Hat company. The owner is a vendor at Winter Range whom I've known for years. We chatted for awhile and then I had a great burger and cold beer next door. I then turned East on highway 285 and stopped at the family cabin in Grant just for a quick look see. I continued on and got off the main road and took some nice twisty black tops into Colorado Springs. From there I continued to Limon, CO where I had a room reserved and met up with a fellow BMW K1600 rider who was going the other way. We had a nice chat at supper and now it's time to wrap up the day.

You don't want to get lost around here and have to call for help and explain where you are.

I'm taking my coffee break, shown below, at this location.

"The cabin" in Grant

So here I am rolling down the highway and my phone rings. It's not a voice call or a text message it's a Face time call from Blake. So we are chatting to each other with live video and audio. Blake took this snap shot that shows each of us while we were talking. High tech at its best ( or worse depending on your thoughts about this kind of thing) I was on an open stretch of road and could see the road clearly.

Done for the day. One bike from Arizona and the other from Connecticut.

On the road again

I decided to break up the next leg of my trip into 3 instead of 2 days so I packed up and left camp this morning. I changed from a direct route (I-70) to more of a scenic back country one that took me through a couple of National parks in Utah. I did end up on I-70 just outside of Colorado and headed East on it. As I passed Rifle, CO it started to sprinkle and looked like rain ahead so I turned around and grabbed a motel in Rifle. I had put 360 miles behind me which was enough for a day of leisurely riding. It was 4:00 pm and I had been on the move since 8:00 am. Here are some pictures from today's ride.

Bryce Canyon day

Today I road to and within Bryce Canyon Nat. park. There were several scenic overlooks where I stopped and took these pictures.

Made it to Tent STOC

I got on the road this morning at 6:00 am which isn't easy for a retired guy. I stopped for breakfast in Flagstaff and then headed up highway 89 to my final destination which is a campground just outside Bryce Canyon National Park. I arrived about 2:30 pm.  The weather was great with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the 80s.

Here is home for the weekend. There will be a couple dozen other motorcyclists here soon. I'll go into the park tomorrow.

Ride from Tent STOC in Utah to Loc STOC in Wisconsin

I'll be leaving in the morning on a ride to my brother Kevin's motorcycle gathering called Loc Stoc in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The map shows my intended route which will first take me to another gathering near Bryce Canyon, Utah called Tent Stoc this weekend. From there I will travel on I-70 to Kansas City where my other brother Steve lives. After spending a few days there the 2 of us will ride up to Spring Green. After that event is over I plan on visiting an Aunt and Uncle in Cedar Grove, WI and from there go to Cedar Falls, Iowa to visit my parents and see old friends. Eventually I will go back to Kansas City and then at the end of June ride back home via I-40.

Friday and Saturday

Friday Steve left us to head home but not before having a flat tire in Cripple Creek. We got him back on the road and he made it back to Kansas City on Saturday. Frank, Bruce and I rode to the top of Pikes Peak. The traffic was terrible going up the mountain with the flat landers moving at about 10 mph. I had to stop a couple times to let my engine cool down and at one of the stops I tipped over when the road was cambered so much on a corner that I couldn't get up enough speed to get going. I broke a foot peg and scuffed up some trim but all and all the bike faired pretty well. After that excursion we headed to Durango and hit a lot of rain going over Wolf Creek Pass and again between Pagosa Springs and Durango. We arrived at the KOA around 10:00 pm.
Saturday we took a leisurely ride up to Silverton and back to Durango where we wandered around town checking out the saloons. We will head out in the morning back to our respective homes and loved ones.

For me it has been great spending time on the road with Steve in Oregon and all the other guys in Colorado.

Steve fixing his flat tire

Top of Pikes Peak