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Riding In November - In Colorado?


HispanicSlammer

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Pikes Peak

It is not very common in November to find so many warm days to go riding, matter of fact you take what you can get! Usually its sunny but the temperatures range in the 40-50 range with snow and ice on the sides of the roads and gravel in all the corners. Yes it has already snowed in Colorado - once here in Colorado Springs. However we are having an Indian Summer and the temperatures have been an unbelievable 70 degrees out. So what do you do? You go riding of course.

Sunday I decided to do a tour of Colorados famous Gold Belt tour, a three road loop of all the old Gold camp roads to the Cripple Creek Victor area. I asked my Boss he was free for a ride and he agreed to come along. Me on my XR650 and him on his DR350. The man stands a full foot above me at 6'8" and hes the most jolly happy man I know. Seems nothing fazes the guy, he recently was promoted at work and is moving to the other night shift so I wont be seeing him at work any time soon. So off we went up Gold Camp road to Victor, down Phantom Canyon - he wanted to see where I spent the night looking for Bigfoot, ha ha It wasnt so spooky, matter of fact he looks more like Bigfoot than anything I saw that day. Then we had some Mexican food for lunch in Canon City and then headed up Shelf road - Nate said he had never been on Shelf road so we went up it.

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Me and my XR650 south face of Pikes Peak in the back ground

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Riding with my boss This is Nate

After we ate lunch we were climbing the 20% grade on Shelf road when my headlights all of a sudden stopped working, I pulled off as the sun was going down to fix it but I couldnt get them to work. So when we got back on pavement Nate lead so I could see what was going on in the dark. We stopped at a gas station and bungied some cheap flashlights to the fenders as makeshift headlights and tailights. Going down UTE pass we passed a couple of cops and I thought for sure I was toast but I made it all the way home with no insidents. Nate is more of a comuter on his bike than a weekend explorer like me, he said he really had a great time and he was glad for the dirt riding practice. He went from really going slow to keeping excellent pace with me - I am no dirt demon at all so it not a stretch to keep pace with me. He followed me home and we laughed about all the cops we passed - I guess they just couldnt see me with no lights on. It was dark and the temperature had dropped to 45 but who cares I was all pumped up on adrenelin from the thrill of the adventure.

Gold Belt Tour Map

[map=AARTsJrQVOhsknZuKjJBw8cWX8vrPlSGcg]http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=7467263987749735846,38.765810,-104.813840%3B277796909954106813,38.724770,-105.021520%3B5534676680459063252,38.560716,-105.223531%3B6347464844011596467,38.447680,-105.205290%3B14943544766476927283,38.613150,-105.134450&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=Unknown+road+%4038.765810,+-104.813840&daddr=Gold+Camp+Rd+%4038.724770,+-105.021520+to:CR-9+%4038.560716,+-105.223531+to:Royal+Gorge+Blvd+%4038.447680,+-105.205290+to:CR-67%2FPhantom+Canyon+Rd+%4038.613150,+-105.134450+to:divide+co+to:Colorado+Springs,+El+Paso,+Colorado,+United+States&mra=pi&mrcr=2&via=1,2,4&sll=38.819381,-104.939346&sspn=0.239137,0.63858&ie=UTF8&cd=7&om=1&ll=38.733732,-105.010071&spn=1.206186,2.993774&t=p&z=9[/map]

TWO DAYS LATER

I couldnt beleive my luck yet another day of 70 degrees, where to this time - I wanted to ride the VFR this time, I hadent been on the viffer in over a month, lots of riding the XR but not the Viffer. Partly because my rear PPower was spanked all the way past the tread indicators. I had a slightly used rear in the shed, a take off from my trip to California this summer. It was just starting to show wear near the indicators and so I took it off before my trip to New Mexico and the Gila Monster, it was good enough to keep for just this sort of occassion. It was all worked over to the edge but it slipped on the wheel like a well worn glove.

I pointed it south and twisted the throttle, let the wind take me where ever! I had my New Zumo mounted on it shake down test. I am impressed with this thing. I actually took it on the XR ride too but it shut down when the lights went off, I used battery power when it got really dark to see where the road was going.

The zumo said I was doing a good 90 somthing somthing on the sweeper of the Green Horn Highway, I had somehow managed to make it to the Wet Mountains after slabbing it down hwy 115 - I decided to do a loop to Bishops Castle, over to Rye, back to Mckenzi Junciton and head over to Westcliff then wind my way to Texas Creek and up into Cripple Creek from High Park Road, then head home the same route I did with Nate. It is amazing how much more ground I cover on the VFR 250 miles compared to 130 with Nate in the same amount of time.

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Bishops Castle my vfr parked on the road

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Bishops Castle

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At the top of the lowest spire

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The Atrium weddings, raves, parties, you name it - its has happend here

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I climbed to that top spire lots of wobbly steps made of wrought iron

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A typical Jim Bishop creation not strong enough - slap another bar of iron on it.

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The Dragon from above

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Everybody says this is a moat but Mr Bishop says its a Dungeon

I actually passed a Harley Davidson rider near Wetmore and made it to Bishops - climbed all over it and was heading back out when the HD rider pulled into Bishops. Behind him a guy on an Aprillia stopped too, it looked like a Falco at first but when I got closer it was clear to me it was a Mille. I was filthy with no lower fairings and about 6 months of bugs on it. The rider looked like he was just as filthy. Now my bike has been this filthy too, no passing judgement here, so I went up and introduced myself. He said his name was Larry and he was heading the same way to Rye for some lunch. He asked if I was interested in joining him - sure why not?

He then said somthing I thought was funny "I will meet you at the turn off in Rye.. I know this road really well" - Rye is some 15 miles down the road! OK "why not ride together I thought"? Then I realized this guy meant he was gonna go so fast that I wasnt gonna be able to keep up! I thought OK? He did after all refer to my VFR as a sport tourer! So I got on the trusty viffer and Larry pulled out on the Mille.

He took off like a bat out of hell doing 120mph! I reved it up and stayed in contact, he did after all have a liter bike. He was hauling, then some easy sweepers came up and I started to reel him in, and a few more staits but I was still in contact. Then the harder sweepers came up and all of a sudden I was right on him. He wasnt shaking me at all! I seemed to have surprised the guy cause he was checking me out in his mirrors. Yep I was right behind him - I KNOW THE ROAD TOO! 15 miles to Rye wasnt too long of a ride. We had some lunch and he told me about his 10 bikes he owns and how he never came across anybody who could keep up with him on the Green Horn Highway Like I did? I thought he must ride alone then? I know plenty of guys who ride that fast.

He is one of them loners I guess who always pins the damn thing, all the time, pinned. All his bikes are for sale, all ten, he said he even has an 86 viffer for sale - salvage title 2 grand with some mis matched body work? OK lots of old bikes too.

We headed back to Mckenzi Junction together for the 40 miles of the Green Horn Hwy on past Bishops Castle, a great road full of long sweepers and nice S shaped turns. I started out ahead of him but he passed me on the stait, and got a good 1/4 mile ahead of me. I reved it up to 117 or so to catch him and got a bit closer, but that Mille has more power. I wanted to stay close till I could catch him in the turns, sure enough the turns came up and I was on him like glue. He was unpredictable in the turns so I passed him on an easy turn and got way ahead for the next set of turns. I guess he wasnt used to sombody riding turns like that? He passed me again on the next strait and so I stayed close for the next set of turns and then he started to blowing turns, he blew one really hard - over the double yellow and the next one too going all the way into the oncoming lane - which got me rather alarmed. I realized I was riding too close so I rolled off and let him go on ahead for a good 10 bike lengths - he was a bit shaken I could tell - and I didnt want to see him go down. I was having a blast myself, and feeling really comfy - what a Day. I stopped and said goodby, and we parted ways I had another 100 miles of twistys to do! He was all tuckered out on his Mille - not me the Viffer was just getting warmed up!

Back to the same spot for a picture - as I took with Nate two days before.

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Same place two days later southern face of Pikes Peak

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Pikes Peak

Map of the Bishops Castle Loop

[map=AARTsJpQxq7sU9PIvfNWKP8SNhXT-nhwYQ]http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=7092982224853031565,38.789280,-104.822010%3B8627210910271840572,38.613330,-104.893570%3B17582621160096791106,38.164850,-105.189980%3B11175003633667319254,37.923200,-104.927270%3B10271801768667968077,38.135870,-105.459080%3B5119389560107096371,38.673200,-105.344980%3B10469175807363240318,38.764570,-105.203930%3B11197392464292667535,38.711030,-105.137110%3B2551081133983032187,38.725050,-105.122580&saddr=CO-115+N+%4038.789280,+-104.822010&daddr=CO-115+%4038.613330,+-104.893570+to:CO-96+%4038.164850,+-105.189980+to:CO-165+%4037.923200,+-104.927270+to:Main+St+%4038.135870,+-105.459080+to:CR-11+%4038.673200,+-105.344980+to:Cripple+Creek-Florissant+Rd+%4038.764570,+-105.203930+to:CO-67%2FDiamond+Ave+%4038.711030,+-105.137110+to:CR-81+%4038.725050,+-105.122580+to:Woodland+park+to:38.794768,-104.823303&mra=dme&mrcr=2&mrsp=10&sz=10&via=1,2,4,5,6,7,8&sll=38.629745,-104.971619&sspn=0.603987,1.496887&ie=UTF8&ll=38.582526,-105.227051&spn=2.417421,5.987549&t=p&z=8[/map]

I love Colorado - days like these are what I live for.

3 Comments


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  • Member Contributer

I love Colorado as well. My Aunt lives in the Springs and try and get there once a year if I can. Ive always said i'd love to spend a week or so there and go riding, problem being the ride from here to there is so horribly flat! Maybe in spring....

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  • Member Contributer

Stich....check

Givi Trunk....check

Touring Windscreen....check

Must be a tourist he thought. :lol: Sounds like "Mr. Mille" didn't know who he was messin with. Saw some pictures of that castle a few months ago in a ride report. I'm definitely gonna try to make it north next summer.

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