May 23rd, Boulder, CO

The ride in from Trinidad was cool with light rain.  I have kind of gotten used to the rain.  The weather forecast is for steady warming over the next week.  The trip has been a constant learning about riding, packing, about people and about places.  Yes, the rain has been a downer but a regular old rain is not a problem since on only one day did the rain get through to me!  That day we should have stayed in bed but there was safety in numbers so we booked 275 miles through OK when if I were alone I would have taken a day off.  The bikes, with all the running lights on, probably looked like a comet.  The ride up from Trinidad was cold so I plugged in the electrics and was cozy all the way into Boulder.  

 The visual stimulus has been constant.  The TN mountains were beautiful and we were on dirt trails.  Eastern TN became very flat into MS and at rest stops people would come up to us asking what we were doing and many times apologized for the bad weather.  At one stop a man came over, he was around 80, telling us that he wished he had done this as a young man.  Another man came over to warn us about the roads and produced a map to show us a better route.  

The BMW dealer in Tulsa wanted pictures and bent over backwards to arrange for tires a our future stops and to find me repair parts.  He liked my duck tape windshield repair!  

I am in Boulder now visiting Ryan and Alex and it is great to see them again!  It has helped having a day off the bike yesterday.  The swelling has gone down in my ankle and I can almost walk without a limp.  Would I do this trip again....you betcha!  The only changes I would make are time of year and bringing the big bike for all of the roads.  The thumper has run like a dream and has been very comfortable except in the gusting 20 mph winds.  The light weight of the bike lets it get blown around quite a bit.  I am enjoying Boulder and will check in from time to time then I will be in the road again on Thursday heading home.  I am working on a return route that is warmer and dryer!