Radar Comes To Colorado
Radar with his brand new VTEC Sun Honda in Thornton Colorado
Radar flew into Denver Monday Morning to pick up a Brand new wine colored VTEC he bought from Sun Honda in the Denver Area, he said coming here and buying his new bike saved him 3 Grand Canadian Dollars. He did the math and it was cheaper, much cheaper to guy in the USA. I PM'ed him and told him that I would make the trip up there to Denver to meet up with him and ride a bit the rest of the day. I rolled into the Dealership about 11am and Darren was already done with the paperwork and almost ready to go, they installed a ram mount for him, and they installed the rack for his pack on the back, added a powerlet for his Zumo, put in a brand new Sargent Seat and he was ready to go. I went to high school only a mile down the road so I knew exactly where the place was, back then Sun was just a little place now its huge and operating out of 3 buildings. The only thing I could think of that was wrong was they left on those god awful Metzler M4 tires. The worse OEM tire ever inflicted on a VFR. So we talked a bit and Radar hands me this tube - "here ya go". Thinking it was something related to the Summit meet coming up in the next few months I just took a wild guess and said "The Flaf"? No dummy - he gave me a set of his famous sliders for my bike. Well wow thats a surprise for sure and a I wasn't expecting that! Thanks man - thanks very much!
Radar says "I hope you have some lunch in mind soon cause I have been up since 4:30 am and I have not eaten yet" I tell him maybe a half an hour up to the Wondervu Café! Then off we went, Zig Zagging the main roads in Arvada till we finally we came up on Coal Creek Canyon and without missing a beat it starts raining, just as soon as the canyon walls closed in and the road started to curve and a cold rain at that. I figure well - New Bike, Crappy tires, we should probably take it easy. So I do that and hes all over me like Olivier Jacque riding his brand new bike in the rain. Hes on my 6 all the up the mountain on the way to Wondervu and then we find out that the Diner is closed on Mondays! OK well then lets Try Nederland, so off we went winding down the hairpin turns at a snails pace cause I hate going down that mountain - always wet or there is gravel in all the turns, but alas I was just a bit too cautious for the conditions cause Radar was all over me again. Then we crossed the railroad tracks at Pinecliff and the road eases up a bit and its much faster here. So I roll it on some. The place I had in mind for lunch in Nederland was also closed, WTF!! It wasn't even a restaurant anymore, it was some kind of art galley now? OH hell - Radar by now is getting desperate and was eyeing the leather on his gloves a bit too much. So we just rode into the town square and hoped something was there. It was - a nice bar and grill at the end of the strip. A pretty European girl came out and waited on us, and we were finally fed for the day. We got out and were putting on our gear when a couple of neo-hippies were talking to everybody, a man and a woman who seemed a bit tore. She was telling jokes. "Why don't blind men jump out of airplanes"? - "cause it scares the shit out of the dog" and "Why was the strawberry crying?" - "Cause its mom was in a jam". The guy being a guy was asking all kinds of questions about the bike, and lots of them, till finally the roar of the V4 mysteriously drowned him out and off we went. Bye bye Hippy dude! Nederland - should be called Nutterland in all honesty!
At the Grill Radar says "you know you can speed it up a bit". OK well then than more speed it is Captain! So we rolled on out of Nederland down the Peak to Peak hwy and into some tasty sweepers where I am more at home and soon we were leaning it over much more than we were in Coal Creek Canyon - ever mindful of the police I slowed down in the straits. Then the road came to a stop and I pulled off and asked Radar "this way is scenic, that way is twisty, what do you want to do"? He says "twisty" and down the hill we went into The Stain Vrain Canyon - the scene of one of my videos, this time not screaming down it so hard as that but still at a good clip. The pace was allot more challenging now, but not so bad that it was out of hand.
Gassing up and waiting out a rain storm Lyons Colorado
From here we headed into the farm country on the way to Stove Prairie road - I took him up to Carter Lake along the foothills and we stayed out of the metro area east of there, then looking north I could tell the place was getting pounded with rain. We made the turn off to Masonville where the road begins and sure enough the road was all wet again, and so it was back to riding like Olivier Jacque in a rain race. Then we encountered a small car in the tight stuff, I signaled to Radar to let the car go on ahead for a bit, but he mistook it for "take the lead" and whoops all of a sudden I was following him now. He was riding it pretty well, the car had found a spot to pull out and let us pass. Stove Prairie is a fun road but a bit contentious with all the wet spots and leaves that had been washed down from the trees and onto the road. Gravel washed onto the corners some and of course those darned cattle grates - in the turns! It was still enjoyable and soon we were at the Rist Canyon turnoff
Stove Prairie Road
Rist Canyon Taking a water break - just off Stove Prairie Road
Top of Rist Canyon
Radar all decked out for winter let nary a drop of H2O land on this man without being ready for the worse
I lead the way down Rist Canyon and it was worse than Stove Prairie, that at least was somewhat dry but Rist was all wet and it had mulch all over the place from a recent mowing. Damn so much for Rist Canyon. Then we were in Fort Collins on the outskirts where some crazy old biker on a ratted out 60's era Harley Sportster with missing spokes and a rusted up Shovel head came rolling up behind us. We stopped at a light and he yells out "I am from New York"! I take a look and hes wearing cut off jeans, and flip flops and hes got a beard like Moses himself, wearing these funny goggles he looked ridiculous but he rode that rat bike out here all the way from New York? OK then it seemed like it was ready to fall apart as soon as he used the brake once more. Then he saw his opening and blasted past the both of us. I could just imagine what it was he was saying as he blew on by ....."those pussies"!
So its 5pm and Radar pulls into the La Quinta, and I am thinking well the sun is going down and I hate riding into Denver in the dark so I thought we should just split a room - get some dinner and then head out in the morning. Radar says sure why not, he gets a room and its all the freaking way on the very back of the hotel - like a mile down the corridor, well its nice so we forgive the hike. We drop off the stuff and head to a steak house down the road, the hostess takes one look at us and then all over again we are trekking past the bar, past the this section, past that section, all the way to the back of the house again? What gives with Fort Collins? - she must of thought "oh no not bikers - I will just stick them in the back"! Either that or the New York guy stopped in and said "if you see two pussies riding red rice burners stick em in da back"!
OK so I ordered a steak cause Radar was paying - heh sorry man - I got lunch and well he got the sort stick on this one! So he hands me a set of sliders, says mail this for me please. DA OK will do.
Darren and I stay out in the sun after dinner and watch the sun go down then head in for some sack time, he knowingly hands me a set of earplugs cause apparently he knows I am going to need them? YUP he snores, YUP and I work nights so guess how my night went! I was wide awake till 3am when I finally fell asleep, to wake up at 7am with Radar already eaten - showered, shaved and packed up ready to go! I slept through all that? Well it was good seeing you and have a good ride into South Dakota! Enjoy yourself and be safe. Just like that he was gone, I take a shower and start organizing my stuff when he knocks on the door, forgot his jacket! YES you might need that. I am surprised he didn't have a spare packed away cause he was packed for a nuclear winter it looked like to me, food, gear, thing's! Well dude see ya - again.
Then it was my turn to head out and I made my way to Loveland on some back roads, boy northern Colorado just sort of melds together, Fort Collins, Loveland, Berthod, Longmont it all melds in together. I decided to do the scenic stuff we missed out on yesterday. So I rolled up the Big Thompson, never been on that road and it was fun, lots of good turns and an interesting canyon, little villages all along the way to Estes Park - but boy does Estes Park top everything!
Estes Park This place just blows me away every time
Estes Park from further out and zoomed in
A Stanley Steamer At the Stanley Hotel
Stanley Hotel Estes Park redrum redrum
I thought for a moment to head into Rocky Mountain National park but the slow drivers were already getting on my nerves in the Big Thompson, lucky they have lots of passing zones on that road I would have gotten a bit irritated - 20 mph irritated! So I just rolled south on the Peak to Peak hwy all the way to Central City
The Chapel on the Rock Mt Meeker
Work Horses Impressive animals
Peaceful Valley Sawtooth Mountain off the Peak To Peak Hwy
I wont describe my lunch at the McDonald's cause its indescribable how awful that place was, never seen a McDonald's that filthy before! Too bad I had already paid! Then after eating I played who can corner faster( a motorcycle or a bicycle) going down Kerr Gulch road in the hairpin turns with 2 riders on the way down, guess who was faster! YUP (yea it was me - don't even). Then up the hill at Kittridge over Parmalee Gulch road where I got stuck behind a dump truck, no way I could pass with a car coming every 5 seconds I just endured it. Then I saw a post office in Indian Hills and remembered Radars Package he wanted mailed, pulled out from behind the dump truck and pulled the package out of my tail bag. I talked with the postman for about a half an hour about motorcycles. 75 miles a day he puts on his Harley riding to and from work. 210 miles per tank 40 mpg - about what I get almost, a bit less. However I am sure it would take me much less time! He looked like a biker too, tattoos mostly military tats but he was at least agreeable for a biker, and even talked to a rice cake like me. Then I headed down Deer Creek road and again played with the bicyclist in the tight stuff. One guy was holding me off for about 3 turns - just because it did not seem safe to pass with the guard rail so close and he was sort of protecting the lane. I waited till there was a strait short just long enough to pass. By the look of it I got the impression he was trying to take me on in those turns pedaling his ass off? HEH OK as soon as I got by .....gone, just gone, gone gone gone.
Day 1
Day 2
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