Steamboat, CO

 After the splash of showers and a bit of snow the ride to Steamboat up Rt 40 was stunning.  Long sweepers and beautiful scenery, much different than what we see in the east.  We checked into the Ptarmigan Inn and wandered the area for tacos for lunch then on to the Jacuzzi and pool.  A nice way to end a short ride.  We went into town for a sushi dinner, site seeing and then back to the hotel.

It is a beautiful town with great memories.  My roommate in the army joined me for a ski week here in 1979 and we loved the mountain and the nightlife in the town.  At that time it was just a Sheraton on the mountain with a couple of other small lodges.  The area is about 3 miles from the town.  Back then it was still a real western town.  I think the mountain looks better with a coat of snow.  The town and the mountain have grown together and is well developed.

My son also egged me on to do the mountain slider which was a blast.  I have to admit that I was probably the slowest person on the mountain, oh and the oldest.

We were rested the next morning with plans of going to a small mining town called Craig but a staff member told us the Steamboat Lake was a prettier ride so that is what we did.  The road was a very winding 2 lane with cattle farms all around climbing to a crystal clear lake surrounded by the mountains.

It was only a 60 mile round trip on the paved roads but Ryan wanted to test out his Tiger on the dirt and gravel roads.  It was a clay and gravel road, well packed down easy on the road bike until a bit of rain made the rear slip a bit on the corners but the surface was fine for me.  He had no problems.

We stopped to visit some of the local residents.

No fence and Ryan then warned me that the bull was not to happy with me stopping to photograph his ladies.  We stopped at the local general store, Clark’s, and had lunch.  I had the chili made the western way with chunks of steak.  Excellent! Then back to town.  Dinner was at a steakhouse where the diners were expected to cook their own steak.  I am not so sure I like this idea since I go out to eat so I don’t have to cook.

The steak was excellent, probably because of the chef!

We had a light evening and Ryan had his cigar on the back deck enjoying the crisp clear evening.  We also had time for another dip in the pool.

It was time to leave the next day heading back to Broomfield.  We were taking a route back to Kremmling then down to I-70.  The views were amazing.

 We didn’t know that Saturday I-70 had been closed due to multiple mud slides but it turns out that where we got to I-70 it was clear for us all the way back into Denver.  The slides were just west of us.  So we were very lucky.  We arrived in time for the after 4th of July cookout at Ryan’s best friends house.  Chris and Sarah were great hosts and a crowd of other friends were there.  A fun afternoon.

I now have a day off to rest before the long ride home.  I will be leaving in the early morning on Tuesday heading for Kansas.  I am afraid the weather looks hot so the early morning hours is best.  Happy 4th to everyone!

Arrived in Broomfield and checked out Ryan’s bike.

 We spent a day of prepping the bike for his first road trip.  Found the chain on the Triumph Tiger too tight so we put some slack in it and added to his tools.  Packing went smoothly but the weather forecast was not looking good.  We planned to leave on July 1.  Ryan didn’t have rain pants so we needed to make a stop on the way out of town at Cycle Gear for Frogg Toggs.

We were all dressed up with no place to go on Thursday morning and made the decision to give it a try even with the severe storm warning with flooding.  If it was bad we would turn around and call it a day.  We got the Frogg Toggs then headed out on I-70 which we were going to avoid by going through Rocky Mountain National Park but again it is required to have a reservation and a time slot.  I hate this!  So I-70 it is and we were going to get off just past Lawson and head up Rt. 40 to Winter Park.  Well, the second we left Denver the clouds were gathering and we could see lightning over the Flat Irons.  We were south of that but still nervous.  Then it started dumping on us for 20 miles with pooling water and cars splashing sheets of water in our direction.  We were relieved to reach the exit and get off that road.  The rains moderated and we could pay more attention to the scenery.

Stunning road to Winter Park, winding with switch-backs and a significant elevation change.  It got colder as we climbed but the view was beautiful.  We arrived in Winter Park for lunch and ate at the SmokeHouse BBQ.  The Brisket was to die for and we lingered.  We then stopped to gas up and noticed a cloud bank approaching.

It was ugly and cars were pulling over in the gas station and sitting there.  We sought shelter under the awning and had a cup of coffee.  It lasted maybe 30 minutes and was impressive.  When we returned to the road leaving town the road was lined with snow not a mile from where we sheltered.  The sky was clearing now and it was warming up.  Ryan was very glad we stopped at Cycle Gear!

We were heading to Kremmling for the night, not knowing what was there.  The Super 8 reached a new low but was clean.  We were tired and wandered out for dinner, a short walk.  The town had a population of 1800 and they had this really neat Distillery, Brewery, restaurant.  Quite an investment for such a small town.

I think the meal helped us sleep well that night.  So no complaints.

Ryan slept well!  We got up and wandered  the town to find coffee and take some pictures.  A very neat little town.

We did our 60 mile trip to Steamboat on this beautiful road with big sweepers and incredible vistas.  What a beautiful day.

Casper, WY to Broomfield, CO

 This was a relaxing ride in the river valleys with sweeping curves and a beautiful 2 lane road with traffic holding a constant 68 mph.  The scenery was not really noteworthy or worth a picture but it was beautiful. The interesting part was the transition when I crossed into Colorado.  It was a whole new structure to the geography with large mounds of soft edged rocks and it was obvious that I had arrived in CO.

Animal life was sparse with the occasional huge black cattle that I assume to be Black Angus.  Once into CO there was more animal life.  I stopped in Laramie to get gas and was approached by a woman with a camera.  Her request was a picture with Oswald.  No one wants a picture of me!  Oswald had meaning to her, she and her husband were married at the Flamingo in Las Vegas.  She then counseled me on being careful since her father also rides motorcycles.  I asked her what the small deer were with short spike horns.  Turns out they are called Pronghorns and many think they are antelope.  There speed of movement far exceeded that of other animals so she said if you see one start to move be careful.  So far I only saw them lying in the grasses and not moving around.  It was obvious that they get on the road because there were many carcasses on the roadway.

After a quick break there at the gas station I was off to Broomfield.  Nice day and had a beer with son Ryan to top it off.  We will be prepping for our trip up in the Rockies tomorrow then of to Rocky Mountain National Park.  He will be riding his Triumph Tiger and is very excited about his first road trip.

Back later.

I didn’t expect this kind of day!

 Left Billings for the 320 mile trip down to Casper, WY.  It was low 60’s to start rising to low 70’s for the rest of the day.  It was a beautiful day and the trip went very smoothly.  I was under the impression that the lower section of WY was rolling hills and not very interesting.  So I was expecting to be bored.  The first 100 miles paralleled the high mountains with snow clearly visible.  Average speeds were around 70 and it was all 2 lane.  Some construction zones but flowed easily with a little slow down.  The only problem was the herds of RV’s and 5th wheel RV’s.  They tend to cluster and they don’t do hills very well.  The winds were also picking up in some places so getting around these guys was a challenge.   It is not often that I get to cruise at 100 mph but that is what needed to happen when looking down the long straight highways it was all clear.  The RV’s don’t leave a lot of room to pass them one at a time with good visibility down the road on the straight a ways I had to pass all of them, sometimes there were 5.  

The bike ran smoothly and actually in the 90’s it ran the best.  I don’t like to linger in the blind spot of trucks so off I went.  I made good time all the way to Thermopolis.  Small town but the gem was a brewery/pub that had excellent food!

I was very interested in the food selection and had the hamburger with sweet potato fries.  It was excellent but no beer!  I never drink when on the bike.

Then the surprise was traveling down Wind River Canyon.  It was stunning.  I paralleled the river with fly fishermen enjoying a wonderful day to be out.  The Canyon had shear walls and sweeping turns by the river.

It was an exciting way to spend the last 100 miles before reaching the boring part.  I even got rained on (more like spritzed on) 3 times for 30 seconds and it was a nice refresher.

I arrived in Casper around 4 and had time for some afternoon rest.  Tomorrow I get to Broomfield!

Next stop Broomfield, CO

 But first I have to get through WY.  It should be a beautiful ride down through Cody to Casper, WY.  Today’s ride was very relaxing with temps in the low 80’s.  The next few days it will be in the high 70’s so it gets better.  Today 215 miles and tomorrow 325.  That will leave me with a short ride into Broomfield.

When I left Billings last Wednesday I had to climb the cliffs on a series of switchbacks.  Very steep and totally unexpected.  Today I came back down a different way along the edge of the plateau.  I did a panoramic for facebook but it doesn’t really show the depth of field.  Here is what the photo shots looked like.

Quite the view.  The sky is also amazing out here.  It is 9:20 pm and it is still very light outside.  I will be surprising Ryan, my son, by arriving 2 days early.