http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/videos/491/1236161198_stove08.wmv.flv

One of the great things about having a video camera is reliving the rides you did over the summer, and watching them again when winter time rolls around. This video I took after riding some 4000 miles up to Canada to attend the Kootenay Hootenanny. I had just rolled through Laramie Wyoming and stopped for lunch at some small chinese joint - sat down and looked at the map for somthing that could perk me up after having ridden much too much slab in Wyoming. I headed to Ted's Place, turned right and made my way up the Cache La Poudre till I found the turn off for Stove Prairie Road. I have only been on this road 3 times since its some 200 miles to the north of where I live and getting to it involves crossing the Denver Metro area or going WAY around on the Peak to Peak Highway, suffice it to say its not easy to get there from home.

I gotta say I was not too thrilled about the dark clouds gathered in front of me as I set up my video camera but as usual Colorado weather is rather fickle in the summer and it only lasted a few miles before clear skies opened up again. I really enjoyed the road this time around, with all my touring gear strapped on for a long ride, and already spending 14 days in the saddle it was a welcome sight to see a nice clean twisty road after so much slab during the rest of the day. I did get a good scare, a long strait on the top of the Prairie invited me to open up the motor a bit only to find a whole heard of Cattle in the middle of the road not 200 feet from a blind rise. I crested it at some 70mph and hauled it down to 15mph just in time to weave my way past the Black Angus that where grazing on the weeds along the side of the road. You would think that Cows dont make good road signs , and that perhaps in order to save your investment it might be prudent to let them graze somewhere out of sight of the road? Thats the realitity of riding in the west, you have to watch for animals in the road!




Full Size