Two New Videos

I had a Monday free to ride but it was overcast and drizzling rain all over - I spent the day looking into buying a used car. I hate buying cars its stressful and I don't like dealing with salesmen. So when I heard Tuesday was going to be more of the same I vowed to ride no matter what - but where? I thought Rocky Mountain National Park - sure why not, every time I try to go there it rains like hell. Thats what rain gear is for. I woke up at 5am and fooled around a bit on the computer fixing vfrd stuff and then the sun came up with what looked like a slight over cast but the sun was peaking through so I took off for Breckenridge. I intend to ride Hoosier Pass, Loveland Pass, Berthod Pass, and head into Granby to ride RMNP.

Bright and early I took off up Ute Pass hwy 24 all the way to Wilkerson Pass, by 8:30 I was at the top. The sun was shining and it was cool, even warm in places with no sign of rain.

Balloons Over Buffalo Peaks

Collegiate Peaks Of The Continental Divide

Wilkerson Pass Balloons in the Hartsel Valley

The Road To Fairplay Mt Democrat looms over all

I was soon riding through Alma riding behind a number of slow rv's at the posted 25mph speed limit. Alma notoriously has a town marshal that hands out tickets like candy for speeding in thie little town, they come off the pass and he hits them with radar as soon as they hit the city limits. This place likes to call itself the highest town in Colorado, at 10,333' I believe it. Alma is the gateway to Hoosier pass the Continental divide that takes you to Breckenridge from the south side of the divide. Its a nice view at the top and there are some challenging turns on the other side. It is usually raining or cold, or there is gravel in all the turns. The gravel was there but it was nice and warm.

Alma Below from Hoosier Pass

Hoosier Pass

Quandary Peak

Hoosier Pass

Red Peak and Red Mountain

I stopped in Silverthorn and put my camera together to ride up Loveland pass to shoot some video, it was a nice ride to the top but I was alarmed by how many Big rigs were on the pass, it was jammed up with them. They where all over the place going up the pass from the other side of I-70. I can only speculate that they drive up Loveland pass to avoid delays on the Eisenhower Tunnel? I was thinking if I rode a bit too fast and drifted into the other lane I would get plastered!

Loveland Pass

A hiker stopped and offered to take my picture. He was pretty cool and I so hung out and talked a bit, there were a lot of people up there hiking the paths. I was thinking you could probably get one good line of skiing at A-Basin if you mapped it out, there was still some snow in the shady side. Then I rode down the nothern side, and headed down I-70 to Empire, where I intended to turn off at Empire, intended to but I missed the turn cause of another big rig obscured my view of the road sign. I thought about turning around but the other side had a long traffic jam bakced up for at least a mile and down to one lane, forget that! So I decided to head over to the Central City Parkway and onto the Peak to Peak Highway. I enjoyed the road to Central City a good deal taking it at a fast pace but then comming into Central City I got caught behind a dump truck, and rode down behind some big RV, the guy pulled off to let us all go by but only after we had already come to the bottom at Blackhawk.

I headed north on the Peak to Peak and was enjoying the switchbacks near Rollins when I got stopped by the sheriff for speeding - he wasn't letting me off, warning me to stand off the bike keep my hands out of my pockets and not walk around? I guess he was a bit jittery, I can blame him but he could have figured that I did not give him any trouble and I pulled over before he had to go catch me. I did get a ticket 40 in a 35, he cut me a break cause I was going faster than that. I just took it with dignity and did not give him any reason to go hard on me, but I did not give him a strait answer when he asked me why I was going so fast, dodging that one like a politician!! He asked me for my social security number which I thought was uncalled for - what do the police need with that?? Some kind of Homeland Security abuse? Then he asked where I worked, the address and phone number? Why - What for to harrass me at work?? I am going to write a letter to my congressman about this and to the Govenor, I was appalled but I did not make a scene I just complied, you wait this won't go away it only gonna get worse, what do they need with all that information??

That took 20 minutes out of my day and some woman I passed "legally" on a dotted line stopped honked her horn and wagged her finger at me?? Whatever lady!! Some people think if you pass them your automatically a maniac! I like how Danica Patrick put it - "GET OUT OF THE WAY" now there is one woman I wouldn't mind letting drive she would probably scare the crap out of me! The cop said "what was she honking for - you probably passed her on a double yellow"? What? Now I am guilty by default for passing on a double yellow without so much as a witness? A car honking on the way by doesnt qualify sorry!! I again did not answer that question either, this cop was starting to test my resolve a bit too much, what was next a DNA sample??

So after that nonsense I was looking for ways to get off the Peak to Peak and its "police" presence, so I decided to head down the Saint Vrain Canyon into Lyons. I wasnt going to let that crap get to me. I think I handled it with poise and did not let him rattle me, I complied with his requests when he asked and asked and asked again for things that where none of his buinsess.

I was soon riding behind a couple of riders on sport bikes a slow guy and a fast guy. Slow guy waved me by after about 30 seconds and Fast guy took off and I followed, it was getting fun at this point and my jitters after getting my ticket was put away post haste. Fast guy was a pretty good rider, so I followed him, I took a corner hot and scrapped my right boot/foot peg in the turn. This sort of freaked me a bit and I bobbled for a moment but gathered it up and put my feet up higher on the pegs for more clearance and then I put my head down and soon I was right behind Fast guy again. You can see the video shake a bit where I scrapped my boot. The Fast guy - he was hanging off and I could tell he was enjoying it, soon we where stuck behind a Harley Davidson and a Car which slowed things down - so he waved me by to wait for his friend. I waited a bit for a place to go around the Harley and the Car safe, but the Harley passed the car right when I was going to so I had to wait longer. I passed the car and then the Harley waved me by too. I looked in the Mirror and there was fast guy was also around them too. So I resumed the pace but fast guy was not able to hang - or he decided to wait for slow guy I don't know but I was alone after a few more turns. I pulled off in Lyons at some Bar micro brewery Blues club for lunch. I was off the bike and taking off my gear with the two guys rode by waving with thumbs up, I waved back, that was a lot of fun. I decided RMNP was going to be too slow after that rush so I decided to ride up Rist Canyon in Fort Collins, never been there before. It took about an Hour to get there riding along a series of lakes in the foothills.

Horsetooth Reservoir Above Fort Collins

vfr on the lake

Rist Canyon starts at a nice little village called Bellview a nice place - I should have stopped for a picture but I didn't, Rist Canyon was cool, it was getting swept by the DOT. The grass was overgrown and there where a lot of cars in the way. I took my time and passed them one at a time, and headed to the top of the hill, where I saw some bicyclist hoofing it up a steep pass. One guy was stopped at the top waiting for his buddies and I talked with him for a bit, he was too exhausted to say anything more than one word at a time.

The view from the top of Rist Canyon

THE VIDEOS

:media: Saint Vrain Canyon Video - riding down the canyon with a couple of local guys, riding as fast and they wanted to go, music by the Smashing Pumpkins

:media: Loveland Pass Video - High resolution video more Smashing Pumpkins

You Tube Versions

Google Map Link of the route - the map is too large to embed - attached is the gps data