Catching up on 2 days of activity

July 19 - Saturday

Aaron’s first full day in Colorado. We got a reasonably early start and headed into Silverthorne for coffee and bagels at Panera. I left him there to study while I handled some logistics—transporting a cardboard box that Panera gave me to ship gear the motorcycle couldn’t carry. Frog Tog rainpants and other bulky items had to go.

At Target, I grabbed packing tape for $3.50 and bubble wrap, then drove to the Post Office. At the base of the American flag, I set up shop with my Swiss Army knife and stuffed a 24" x 8" x 17" box. Ten minutes later when they opened, I paid $28 to ship it to Nana’s house. As we’d discover the next day while packing, there was no way we could have carried any of that on the bike.

With housekeeping done, I retrieved Aaron and we took off down CO-91 for Leadville—a scenic mountain ride. On arrival, Aaron and I exhibited shared neuroses by navigating straight to the local library. We quickly decided we needed food more than books, so we backtracked to the IGA for fried chicken and potato salad. Leadville as a town doesn’t compete with the road scenery for beauty. We resumed riding up CO-24 toward Vail, turned off on a gravel road, and had lunch.

We are making a big circle, but heat and sleep deprivation forced multiple stops: as example, Walgreens for caffeine, chocolate, and shade in their parking lot. We headed north and crossed US-70 when something magical happened. All the commercial tourist sensations dropped away, replaced by old-time West country. Working farms, open rangeland, hand-painted signage. The towns of Bond, McCoy, and Toponas, then east on 134 toward Kremmling—untrafficked and undeveloped.

This ranks among the most scenic parts of Colorado I’ve ever ridden. Perfect sweepers with elevation changes throughout. Reflecting on the whole trip, this stands out as a highlight. Aaron in good spirits, great company, outstanding roads and scenery.

We stopped at Kremmling (due north of our campsite) and grabbed a picnic table in the town center. Aaron read while I made calls and planned tomorrow’s route to Yellowstone. After an hour, we returned to camp via the long way around Green Mountain Reservoir—a bouncy, bumpy road that was probably unwise after six hours already in the saddle.

Back at the campground, we ate everything we could and did triage on what had to get packed versus what would get abandoned. The bike has two side panniers, a top-case, and a tank-bag, but limited volume everywhere. Tomorrow we head for Yellowstone on a route we’d mapped using the excellent OsmAnd (“Open Street Map Android”) application. https://osmand.net/

As the day wound down, I crawled into the tent exhausted but happy. Then I realized I’d just spilled half a liter of water from my Nalgene inside the tent. Mad scramble to contain the damage (no sleeping bags affected, thankfully), but still stressful right before sleep. Then the thoughts: I’ve been on the road eight days, I have a great traveling companion, and I’ll soon be reunited with my wife and twin daughters in Yellowstone.

Life is good.

July 20, Sunday

Aaron slept poorly last night, partly due to my tossing and turning and noise from nearby campers. Around midnight, we both heard sounds from the steel bear storage pantries on each site. “Did you lock the bear case?” we both thought. Were animals getting into our stash? Neither of us could remember, so I scrambled out to discover a neighbor loading their bear box.

A few hours later, Aaron gave up on sleep and admired the stars, but was irritable come morning. Containing our gear was a puzzle involving compressed panniers and tying ground-cloth and jackets for Aaron to sit on.

Less than ideal setup, though he’s not complaining. We started rolling around 8 AM with temps in the low 50s and an ever-present threat of rain. Fingers crossed—I’ve yet to see actual rain. We’ve been blessed with good weather all week.

Our map review the night before revealed amusing place names: Never Summer Range (13k feet), Royal Mountain (11.5k feet), and Granny’s Nipple (presumably at lower elevation).

We returned to Kremmling this morning, about which I reflected aloud—tough place to live long-term. Aaron’s retort: “So long as it has a good library, it might be okay.” We headed for Steamboat Springs, my original launching spot consideration. We’d have a nice “bougie” breakfast in a city neither of us needed to see again. I can’t believe I considered using it as a base—it’s isolated from the rest of Colorado and over-the-top touristy.

We made good time watching the landscape turn desolate. US-40 west to Craig, then 13/789 through Baggs, WY to the I-80 intersection at Creston. Northwestern Colorado and southwestern Wyoming: vast scrubland and open rangeland. Beautiful in its own way, but supporting little life that I can see. After a couple hours, you’re ready for something different. Our 370-mile day included at least 250 miles over barren, wind-swept plains.

In Rawlins, Aaron treated me to Subway and enjoyed the interactions. “What will you have, Boss?” from the person behind the counter amused him greatly. Then came 2.5-3 hours of wind buffeting—25-30 mph gusts on the slog from Rawlins to Lander. Odd how those winds never seem to push you from behind. This variety tossed us left to right constantly.

We made multiple stops to regain composure, both experiencing strong déjà vu at a rest area near Kotey Place on 789. We’d stopped here with the family on a pop-up Yellowstone trip years before, observing today what must be a second or third generation of the resident ground squirrels.

The lovely elevation drop following this stop featured extended, predictable sweepers—perfect riding for this bike, even loaded and two-up. I’ve become deliberate about keeping RPMs up and using lower gears. I think I lugged the engine in earlier miles.

We rolled into Lander, Wyoming and found our spot at the Rodeway Inn Pronghorn Lodge—a surprisingly nice, clean place. Aaron’s on his tablet prepping for tomorrow’s meeting with his team and advisor. I made a quick Safeway run for Caesar salad, asparagus pasta, and watermelon, then we had a nice dinner in the hotel room.

I’ve done a full bike check. Tire pressure and surfaces look good, all fluids are fine, and she hasn’t burned a drop of oil. I’m starting to wonder if the rear tire will make the full journey back to Georgia—potentially 10,000 miles. Riding two-up with all this gear is eating the tread quickly.

Stats

• Highlight: Old time Colorado riding
• Miles: ~600 for 2 days
• Hours: Many…
• Cost: $270??

Map