Camping in Colorado....VFR Style

[vanion2]

Just over a year ago I attended this little get together in Dillon, Co...some of you may have heard of it referred to as the Summer Summit (I know...hardly worth mentioning it was so small but I would throw it out there just in case). :wink: While there I was simply astounded at the mountainous vistas, the drastic changes in elevations, the wall hugging curves that constantly had you wondering if you made a mistake would it be your last. In short, I had a blast and knew without a doubt that I would be coming back. All this summer I kept plotting my return with plan after plan falling through because of weather, work, other plans that couldn't be moved around, and so on. You know....real life. But this dream was not going quietly into the night. Not for this stubborn bastage. I would get my ride in if I had to sneak away in to the night to do it. It finally happened. The constant rains took most of the weekend off, there were no other plans in the way, and I knew in my gut that if I was going to go this was the time so I spent that Thursday afternoon packing gear, checking the VFR over performing any last minute maintenance, and then relaxing into the rest of the evening knowing that the next day when I got out of work I was finally going to accomplish my dream. When looking over the calendar I realized it was exactly a year and a day ago that I left on my last Colorado ride...go figure. The unfortunate side effect of my plans was that I would be riding solo. The wife was greatly concerned about this as any woman worth having would be but in the end I was able to over come her reluctance with the promise to be wary and leave her constant updates. And with that, I was cleared for take off. Friday morning I trolled through work soon realizing that there was no way I was going to make it to the end of the shift so burn an hour of vacation combined with having arrived early and I was out the door and on the road at 1:30pm in the afternoon. Albuquerque said goodbye with 95 F heat that made my perforated leather jacket feel like sun burnt flesh. It was a chore shooting north on I-25 to break past Santa Fe and then struggle through the Friday afternoon traffic on my way through Espanola but once free I found the air cooler, the traffic lighter, and my sense of adventure kick into 6th. For some reason I have yet to find a reason for everyone was doing ten miles an hour under the posted speed limit. And that made me grin...evilly. It was time to show all these slow moving cagers why motorcycles rule. I was passing them in pairs as I carefully leap frogged my way through the passing zones. Even fully geared up the VFR had no problem screaming past them(at least not when you shift down two gears and hit VTEC). :goofy: It was only a matter of minutes before I finally broke free of the herd and was cruising at a comfortable speed into the scenic country side of northern New Mexico. There were police everywhere trying to fill budget deficits off those who were willing to offer them the opportunity but I am a greedy bastage and didn't feel like sharing my hard earned money with anyone much less poorly managed government so I cruised along at a relaxed pace and just enjoyed the air that was now a perfect temperature for riding. The smell of the river combined with the spice of the desert that followed the road, the sights of clear blue sky mixed with large open pastures with grazing cattle, the fields of hay being mowed, the small towns that centered around a gas station or an inn and of course the flow of the curves, the changes in elevation, and the texture of the pavement. I was all ready lost in another world you can only find riding two wheels. As I approached the Abiquiu Reservoir from the south I decided it was time for my first photo op of the trip.

Just before Red Mountain

Why I love New Mexico

I could have stopped a dozen times through this area as the rock formations and coloration are a spectacle to behold but I have posted pictures of this area before and was too eager to see more scenery and I knew the road ahead was only going to get more interesting. And it was everything I had knew it would be. This small area of New Mexico reminds me of the time I spent in Utah near Canyonlands and Arches National Park. As I headed north the Red Mountains fell behind as I climbed my way up some nice sweepers into the more mountainous parts of New Mexico. This area is dominated by Carson National Forest to the east of the road and plenty of grazing pastures in the fore ground with mountains rising in the back. It seemed I was at Chama in the blink of an eye for my first fuel stop and a quick update to the wife.

Chama, NM

From this point on I was riding in unfamiliar territory. A new frontier for my soul to feast upon. Yes, I was still wearing my grin. Helmet went on and I was off. Captain Kirk be damned (I don't know where that came from but I'm just gonna roll with it). While the road itself was fairly straight there is no way I would call this just slabbing it. The scenery made up for the lack of places to lean. And while I was looking forward to that as well I knew that I would get plenty of opportunities for that in the near future so I just let myself soak up the views and enjoyed the ride. Looking down at my trusty Zumo 450 I noticed I was approaching the border and decided to do a comparison of New Mexico versus Colorado. Let's see here...

New Mexico

Colorado

So as you can see...not much difference from one side of the border to the other when looking north. At least not yet...:491: How I carried on burdened with such views I will never know but soldier on I did. :491: The road decided I had taken enough of a break and decided to warm me up with some sweepers as I passed near the "town" of Chromo. It must have been hidden behind some trees or something because all I saw were a couple of houses to mark its existence as I drove through it. I let a couple of cagers pass so they could win their performance awards first and I let them get about a half mile ahead before I picked up the pace to enjoy the sweepers a bit more. I call this rolling out the Bear bait. A tactic which has served me well over the years. One thing I can say nice about Colorado drivers is they always seem to be in a hurry. After that I can't really think of anything else nice that comes to mind as they seem to have no concept of center lines...or lines at all for that matter when it comes to driving, and the concept of yielding to oncoming traffic regardless of how fast you are coming up on them before they pull out in front of you. Fortunately I was well aware of this from my last visit and enjoyed a safe trip by taking appropriate lane positions and in some cases aggressive passing maneuvers to repay the courtesy in kind. But I digress... With my Bear bait in place I had a fine time of sampling some tamer cornering in the afternoon feeding that silly grin as I delved into shallow valleys over grown with trees to emerge over a steep rise to see the sun shining brightly on the mountains that seemed to get larger and larger before descending into grazing plains with herds of cattle. I wouldn't call this road technical by any means but it was definitely a step in the right direction and I made good time to Pagosa Springs. I have to admit I wasn't looking forward to Pagosa Springs. I don't really see the attraction to a town that has a natural hot spring that smells of rotting eggs (yes, I know it's sulfur) but I can get that in the Jemez of New Mexico and the town isn't even appealing as small towns go. But hey, I guess they had to put hotels some where for those who want to go to Wolf Creek. Fortunately I was taking a right onto 160 and got to forgo the pleasure of driving through the town this time through. Now I have been to Pagosa Springs and Wolf Creek before but it was only once and it was some years ago during the ski season so what awaited me as I headed north up 160 was nothing I had expected. One huge valley of open grass lands, fenced in with herds of horses, cattle, and even mules. It was so serene, so majestic the way the mountains sheltered it, the sun still over the reach of the mountains made the valley seem to glow. The only reason I didn't stop and take a gazillion pictures was the pull of Wolf Creek pass I could see winding up ahead. And then there I was, deep leaning my way through several switchbacks and teasingly led by curvy bends before emerging to an overlook looking back on the valley.

The Valley

Colorado has water everywhere

Soon to be my new wallpaper

As I pulled into this overlook one of Colorado's finest was sitting right across the lane facing the other way waiting to collect the "toll" from drivers coming sown the pass. I guess my VFR was too distracting because he flipped a U-turn and headed up the pass. I snapped a few shots, stretched a little bit and then continued up the pass. No sooner do I get on the road when the trooper comes flying down the pass all lit up pulling over a VW with a couple of bicycles mounted to the back. Well, one less worry for me I guess. I followed a nice looking blue and white Mustang GT convertible up the pass and then over to the other side enjoying the sunshine and the memories of Wolf Creek all those years ago. Then down into the narrow valley I went not to see the sun again until I emerged near South Fork. The road followed the path of the small river through the valley so it was a fun series of slow speed sweepers due to traffic and I kept seeing turn off after turn off for places to camp that I will be investigating in the near future when I have 4 wheels due to the rougher looking unpaved roads that lead off to them. Being from New Mexico seeing so many streams and rivers were a treat. Of course I did get tired of looking through a visor smeared with dead insects that no amount of cleaning would last more than a minute once driving again but hey, I kill bugs good. :cool: Then the road got straighter and started ascending and next thing I know I was in South Fork. If given a choice of places to stay to visit Wolf Creek I would definitely go with South Fork. Plenty of places to stay but nicer to look at, cleaner, and definitely less crowded traffic to deal with gave me that small town feel that hadn't been raped by over commercialization. But hey, that's just my opinion. Without the need to stop for anything I was through South Fork in less than a minute on my way up 149 following an even bigger river that had a set of train tracks running parallel to it. I have often wondered about the places a train engineer sees that roads don't even exist through. If I ever decide to retire to a different life style I think I will investigate the train industry. I always hear they need EE's. :goofy: The valley through 149 was wide enough to let the sun shine down allowing me to see all the lush green grass, the tall water fed trees and pines that lined either side of the road and the river steadily flowing next to me the whole way.

Here I was able to pick up the pace a bit as there was almost no traffic and nothing but nice gentle sweepers to roll through. It seemed in no time I was pulling up to Creed where I decided to stop and grab a bite to eat at a place called Cascada. While I was hoping for a nice steak joint I ended up with some over priced mexican food that was surprisingly good and run by a group of Russian accented servers who were pretty friendly. So while I didn't get a steak I still ended up with a great meal before hitting the road to Marshall campgrounds just south of Creed. As I pulled into the campgrounds the first thing I noticed was a couple standing next to a 6th Gen VFR waiting for the camp host so I rolled up and said "Nice bike!" Turns out they were from Oklahoma and out visiting their daughter who works at a nearby ranch resort. They were going to reserve a spot for the next morning as they brought a truck and camper and were using the VFR to tour the Colorado country side. They had all ready planned on following the route I was doing up to the Blue Mesa Reservoir the next day so I was thinking I would end up with a riding partner after all if even for just a couple of hours. The camp host showed up after a round of horse shoes with some of the other campers and I simply volunteered to camp in the spot the couple wanted to reserve so it would be available when they got there in the morning. I told them I planned on leaving around 8:30-9am so it seemed like we had a plan going and they took off. Then I chatted with the camp host a bit and it turned out he had been laid off from work after 20 years in Ohio and his wife tried to get health benefits from her job because he lost his and then she ended up getting fired as well. They ended up getting offered to work as a camp host there in Colorado until the end of Labor Day weekend and then end up moving to a camping area near San Diego for the off season doing the same thing. He was very friendly and I was just amazed at how a turn of events can lead to something great. I am sure they weren't rolling in money but they sure seemed happy and that makes sense in my book. :fing02: The sun had dropped behind the mountains so I quickly went about setting up camp and then got a small fire going. It was getting a bit chilly so I pulled on a long sleeve shirt and relaxed next to the fire reading a book. It was pretty cloudy that night but the 3/4 full moon was still shining brightly through the clouds illuminating the valley and combined with the serenade of the river running near my camp site I quickly found myself just sitting there and letting Mother Nature do her thing in peaceful contentment. When the fire had burned down I dowsed the ashes and called it a night. I woke up early the next morning and boy was it cold! I quickly put on all my gear to help keep warm and then stepped out to see everything was dripping wet. Had it rained? I walked over to the VFR and noticed the pavement was dry. Ok...so now I get it when someone says Mountain Dew. It took me a while to break down the tent as I was hoping it would dry but if I waited for the sun I would lose too much time so I packed it away wet. Then I pulled out a spare t-shirt and dried off the VFR while I let her warm up after starting her. Around 8:40am I had everything ready to go but no couple from Oklahoma had shown up yet. I shrugged my shoulders and figured they would at least have their camp ground waiting for them and then headed out. I decided to break out the helmet cam for this leg of the trip because the scenery and road was so nice as I swung through the rest of the valley.

Needless to say I will be posting the footage soon as shortly after this picture the road lead into a mountain pass and the twisties turned on for full effect. It was the perfect way to start the day. As I was moving through the pass I quickly came across several chipmunks trying the Geicho squirrel trick but I was having none of that with the Stebel Nautilus helping clear the way. The chipmunks gave up and called in their bigger cousin which was about a 30 lb beaver sunning in the road. Ok...if it's not a beaver then it sure as heck looks like one in case someone from Colorado decides to correct me. In Louisiana we would call them Nutrirats. Again...three blasts with the Nautilus cleared the way. On through the twisties I forged while grinning away and keeping a wary eye out for animals and debris. I made it safely up over the top and then descended into a 7% downgrade with decreasing radius turns that switched back and forth and I was having a blast. Then the road went from hard turns to sweepers and I was cruising up out of the pass when I saw my first deer of the morning. Fortunately she was all ready across the road and carefully working her way up the steep incline. Then I came out to an over look and had to stop.

Overlooking Lake San Cristobal

The road to Lake City

As I descended towards Lake City the road went back to another series of fun twisties that pretty much ended in the town itself. I had just reached up and switched of the helmet cam when two deer come running up to the guard rail next to me. Deer #1 jumped the rail in front of me by about 20 feet. I was instantly in emergency brake mode. Fortunately the deer cleared my lane while deer # 2 held position on the other side of the guard rail. First I was like "holy crap!" and then I was like "Dude! I had the camera off!" and then I was like "I am so stopping for gas and a change of shorts." So I turned the camera on again as I cruised through Lake City and not even a minute later there was another deer just strolling along the edge of the road. I was wondering if they were town pets or something because I made it all the way through Colorado to this point without one problem until I get INTO the a town! :blink: I found the local gas station and topped off the tank and took a moment to reflect on how badly things could have gone if deer # 2 had decided to cross instead of wait. Then I realized that I wasn't all that shaken up and pretty eager to get back into the twisties ahead. Through this leg of the journey I didn't stop to take any pictures as I had the helmet cam rolling but my deer dodging adventures were not done yet for the day. Before I go there I need to say this. If you have never driven through the Lake City area then put that on your list of places to visit. North of Lake city was a series of sweepers riding on a ridge over a river that were both fun to ride and beautiful to behold. Traffic was almost non-existent even at 11am in the morning on a Saturday and there were plenty of passing lanes to get you around the RV's and on your way with little interruption. I will definitely get the video up as soon as possible because words just don't do this road justice. While enjoying my run up 149 I was to face one last obstacle. A full blown buck decided to make his crossing as I came up the road and I have to say he was a handsome animal at that. He moved with such grace and power that he easily cleared the road before I was in any danger and carried on the way. I hope that I captured that footage because it was a sight to behold! Shortly after I was at the Blue Mesa Reservoir where ZiaVFR and I had stopped last year for some photos. I was now back in familiar territory. Or at least as familiar as a road can be that you have only done once. I was also back in major traffic. Were it not for that the road would have been a fun ride. Being stuck behind 5 cars and a slow moving truck pulling a camper with very limited passing lanes and a lot of opposing traffic as well makes for a long dull ride. I simply bided my time until a passing lane came along and then ripped my way past the heard. I followed this pattern as I made my way right past Black Canyon pass. Intentionally. I dropped it from my route for two reasons. One, I was riding solo and two it would at a minimum of two hours to an all day ride. As I approached it I pondered the possibility until I saw all the traffic pulling onto the pass and decided it wouldn't be worth the hassle. So next time. Hear that Zia....We still have a mission to complete. :goofy: There was an exciting bit just past the reservoir where you cut through a back canyon south and then end up heading west on 50 and let me tell you that is a narrow canyon with some nice hair pin turns. Of course you still have all the traffic which for me screwed up what would have been some good leans. Ah well, as you cut through the canyon you can at least appreciate the beauty of the place as you watch the stream cutting along the bottom of the drop. Once out of the canyon there were a series of passing lanes that allowed me to escape the worst of the heard. Sadly enough I ended up stuck behind a pair of Honda Goldwings with trailers who were doing 10 under the speed limit. They turned south just before Montrose where I decided to stop for brunch at the local Denny's (yeah, I know....but I wanted pancakes and didn't feel like hunting around an unfamiliar town) and topped off the tank so I could make a straight run down 550 with nothing to worry about except the road. Feeling much refreshed and excited for the next leg of the trip I strapped on my helmet, pointed the VFR south and ...got stuck in traffic. From Montrose to Ouray it was one pack of vehicles after another. Nothing says Colorado like RV or boat pulling trucks...mmmmmm. :beer: The scenery was a nice distraction though so it was a fairly relaxed ride and it let me digest my food in peace before clearing Ouray.

South of Ouray before the first tunnel

I love this stretch of 550. One serious gorge to your right on a set of roads made for motorcycles nestled between some of the most scenic mountains I have seen. It never fails to amaze me and while I could spend hours describing how it looks I would just rather show you a few glimpses...

The view from up there

Complete with water fall

I know...it's hard to see the water fall...I have a telephoto lens on my wish list so if anyone wants to donate $600 I will gladly go back and take better shots for you. :goofy: That was my last stop before Durango. I didn't pull out the helmet cam because the gnat force was in full effect and if you have never ridden 550 between Durango and Ouray I do not want to be the one to spoil it for you (though you can look at my recent video post a couple of weeks ago and get some teasers). :wink: Let me just say you better have good tires, a willingness to lean hard, an appreciation for severe elevation changes and great views. Yes, there is traffic but to date I have never had it ruin the run for me and that is saying a lot (or maybe I just ride too slow...either way I am happy and that's what counts). I did want to stop at a water fall to get some recent pics as the last time I was there I screwed up the shots with my bike in it (Zia's all came out great though) but there were two minivans parked there and the last thing I want is a minivan ruining the scenery (much less two). When I arrived at Durango I was feeling the heat and a little frazzled so I pulled over at my usual stop, the city park by the river, caught some shade, shed some layers and relaxed as I rehydrated with some nice cold water. I was fairly concerned about the next leg of my trip which would take me from Durango to Pagosa Springs. I was expecting traffic galore but once I cleared the town of Bayfield I was surprised with almost no traffic what so ever and I even had some Bear bait to follow behind at a brisk pace. Without having to deal with traffic that left me to enjoy the scenery. Pasture lands in the low plains disappearing as the road climbed in elevation into a mountain pass. Once again I was surprised by what I remembered and what was. I had expected a rather dull drive but it was anything but. If you have to drive from Durango to Pagosa Springs at least once in your life I don't think you will find the time wasted. The road was far from technical but the brisk paced sweepers were fun enough to keep the ride flowing and interesting. All that ended when I got to Pagosa Springs though. I made a quick stop there for some Gatoraid and fuel before trudging the rest of the way through the town. Like I said before...not my taste but then I prefer lest touristy trappish kind of places. I caught 84 and headed south to follow the path that lead me to Colorado in the first place. Apparently 84 has great views and is fun to ride no matter which direction you go because it seemed to end all too soon as I found myself back in Chama, NM. It was dinner time and I was looking for a good place to eat. A sure sign that I had picked the right place was that the parking lot was full. Now that could have been because of the saloon but my fears were quickly laid to rest when I saw the restaurant was pretty full as well. High Country Restaurant, it was called. Styled after an old west saloon with down to earth, friendly servers located right at the cross roads in Chama. Pricey? Yes. I paid $21 for my meal including tip but let me tell you I would do it again. Fresh fried catfish, fried zucchini, mash potatoes and cream gravy and a hole heaping plate full. I finished the meal off with a slice of fresh baked apple pie a la mode that I would go out of my way to make a stop for the next time I am in the area. The service was excellent and I never wanted for anything. I must have been hungry because when I got on the VFR I didn't feel like I had over eaten and in fact felt down right spectacular. I turned the bike south and drove the 30 minutes to Lake Heron where I would be camping that evening. I got there in short order and the place was packed. I guess it was a last hurray for all the kids before school started because even though I found a nice cozy spot down by the lake front the ruckus didn't die down until way into the night...which was disappointing with all the rangers driving around regularly. Even still I didn't find it too terribly distracting as I pulled out my still wet tent and set it up so it could dry out. The beautiful thing about New Mexico is even next to a lake that tent fully dried in 30 minutes and aside from a mosquito or two that gave up when I lit the camp fire there were no insects to plague my visor for the final stretch home (ok...a few gnats but nothing compared to juicy Colorado). :goofy:

The VFR camping by the lake

Sunset at Lake Heron

I woke feeling fresh on Sunday morning looking at a 3 hour ride home. I planned it that way so I would have plenty of time to relax when I got home and finished unpacking. Once again I was looking at clear skies and a cool gentle breeze. While the air was a touch brisk I found that I needed nothing more than a t-shirt under the jacket and normal riding gear to be comfortable. My tent was still dry and I quickly broke down camp. I wanted to get on the road before all the kids woke up and plugged the road heading home. It felt great to be on the move again and I can't remember the last time I felt so refreshed. I settled into my pace enjoying the sweepers, the scenery, and the cool north country air. As I was heading into Red Mountain again I had to make one more stop at Echo Amphitheater.

Echo Amphitheater

Beginning of Red Mountain

From there it was a quick fuel stop in Espanola and then the high speed trudge from Santa Fe back to Albuquerque. I beat the heat and the torrential down pour that followed my arrival a couple of hours later. I found it funny that while on the VFR I didn't get one drop of water fall on me from above and then got soaked running from the car to the restaurant my wife and I decided to have dinner at. So here I am writing this on Wednesday and I can still taste the air, feel the excitement of leaning into a hard switch back, and the anticipation of doing it again. Life's too short for all the places I want to take my VFR too. :biggrin:

Routes:

Friday

Full Size

Saturday

Full Size

Videos:

[VFRSuperfreak]

Now THAT's a great report & pics. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

HB

[Rice]

Excellent adventure!

I can almost imagine myself in your place. Almost.

Can't wait for the vids.

[2thdr]

What a great read and beautiful pics to boot. My folks used to have a time share just west of Pagosa and we skied Wolf Creek every year. I love that four corners area! Albuquerque and Santa Fe are beautiful too in their own way. Deer in Colo seem to be such a menace. We used to drive from Pagosa to Durango (Purgatory Mtn back then) and would see LOTS of road kill every day.

[vanion2]

Hey thanks for the compliments everyone. I just finished it up so don't miss the 2nd half of it. I will work on getting the videos up this weekend as they take a while to edit and upload. :comp13:

[ZiaVFR]

:comp13: Wonderful ride report and photos.

I would have loved to join you but had to drive a Mitsubishi Evo RS (turbo all wheel drive) in the SCCA Solo II event at Farmington NM. Saturday and Sunday.

I was 4th in STU class and grinning like a goof ball all weekend.

I seem to have this need for speed thing going on. :blink:

Even if we do not work out a time to ride the Black Canyon route this fall I WILL drag you there next summer! :blush:

Get those videos up loaded dude!

[YellowFuzz]

Great trip report!

Myself and five friends are taking a 4-day trip from Tucson to Durango to Salida to Durango and back home this weekend leaving Friday. All of us are so hyped about going it seems like the days prior are just dragging.

Glad to hear the temps are cooler. We're camping and looking forward to the chilly mornings.

Will post report with pics next week.

Yellowfuzz

[didit]

Exellent adventure. Brings back memories of travelling around CO & UT after that little meet.

Keep your maps handy, cause there is less than 2 years until the Summer Summit x2 in 2012!

[vanion2]

Exellent adventure. Brings back memories of travelling around CO & UT after that little meet.

Keep your maps handy, cause there is less than 2 years until the Summer Summit x2 in 2012!

No worries there. In fact...that reminds me...I need to add them to the trip report! :laughing6-hehe:

@Zia....you just give me 2 weeks notice and it's on! :biggrin:

[ECHO]

Reading your trip log was almost as good as riding along with you :laughing6-hehe: Great report and even better pictures. I'm really bummed I didn't get to take this trip with you but you did pick a great weekend to miss the monsoon rains.

I look forward to seeing the video's and for our planned ride to the Gila next month!

[vanion2]

Now I am glad I went last weekend. This weekend was 40% across the board and it rained a good portion of Saturday afternoon on us in norther NM where it was only forecasting 20%. :unsure:

Let's hope Sept 18th is weather friendly. The good news is we'll be heading south where at least it will be a bit warmer. :biggrin:

[MisterBill]

Fantastic write up and pictures. I could visualize myself being there. I NEED to get out there in person. It is on my To-Do list. Thanks again for the write-up and pictures.

[V4 Rosso]

Wow!

Excellent trip report, very well written, that sure was a joy to read. Thanks :fing02:

Beautifull pics too, can't wait to see some video footage.

[vanion2]

Beautifull pics too, can't wait to see some video footage.

Damn! I knew I was forgetting something. :blush:

[vanion2]

Ok....first video is up at the bottom of the ride report. More to come....

[Guest]

Great report, great pics, beautiful country! :fing02:

[dr.toto]

Nice report. I like your commentary. Those of us that live close enough to have done this ride, know that it is great. But, almost every extended ride I have done has been great.

[VFR4Lee]

Nice write up and pics. :fing02:

I'm probably the only 1 that wished for shorter paragraphs.

Just hit enter here and there when it seems right to break up those 25 0r 30 line things. :goofy:

[V4 Rosso]

Ok....first video is up at the bottom of the ride report. More to come....

Nice. Thanks for the virtual ride :biggrin:

[vanion2]

Nice write up and pics. :fing02:

I'm probably the only 1 that wished for shorter paragraphs.

Just hit enter here and there when it seems right to break up those 25 0r 30 line things. :goofy:

I did. I was constantly re-editing misspelled words and such and during one re-edit the server must have burped or something because all my end-of-line markers in the text were wiped out and I just haven't had the time to go back and correct it yet. I am 100% there with you in the usage of paragraphs and hopefully I will get some time this weekend (though the outlook isn't promising) to get it back to what it was. I need to learn to write everything in Word and then just copy/paste for such write ups. :rolleyes:

I also need to finish up the video editing but again, at 2 hours worth of work per video I just haven't had the time. Work, school, and my poor wife (who got rear ended on her bike last week...she's ok but her back is hurting pretty bad) are burning all the day light hours right now.

[wrestler]

Well done, Vanion. Makes me want to take off for NM tomorrow morning.

Your bike coloration is super sweet as well.

Those tail bags fall just in the right spot to take up the base

black from the front of the bike. Nice job there too.