August 25, 2008

Salida, CO -to- Chama, NM

285 on and off-road miles

 

Like the night before, we started our day with a great meal at the Country Kitchen restaurant that was next to our hotel. Listed as a buffet, their breakfast special really was made-to-order as the cook prepared omelets or eggs anyway you wanted. We were all geared up, ready to go, except for Larry C. who had drawn support truck duty. Plus, it was the second day we’d be without Bob who had flown home with his broken foot (so Larry L would head the group with the tracking GPS).

 

With full tummies we rode out of Salida on pavement that soon got twisty and started up in altitude near Mears Junction. Salida is at about 7,000 feet, so we knew that most of our day would be spent at altitudes closer to 10,000 feet.

 

 

The weather again gave us brisk temperatures, but clear skies.

 

 

As we got into dirt, the stillness of the morning air and the brightness of the rising sun made the views spectacular.

 

 

We encountered more livestock, saw lots of deer and other small animals – most of them seemed unimpressed that we were there (many animals have no fear of motorcyclists as compared to a walking human who could be a hunter).

 

Suddenly we were at another continental divide point – this one was Marshall Pass at 10, 842 feet.

 

 

Just a few miles after we went through Marshall Pass we came to Cochetopa Pass at 10,032 feet which was first surveyed as a possible railroad route in 1853, and became a toll road years later.

 

 

We rode down out of the mountains into a plains area and gassed up at a small trading post in Long Branch.

 

 

After another few miles of pavement we connected with another dirt road that moved us into an area with neat rock formations and mesas on either side of the road, which ran along side a small river.

 

 

That road came out into a high plains area that was quite sandy. Avery and Jim commented how much it reminded them of Baja, and it got even more so as the route ran us through some two track with whoops and a sand wash.

 

 

 

Thankfully after nearly ten miles of technical riding we came to the town of Del Norte for our gas and lunch stop. We enjoyed a great meal at Boogie’s Restaurant. At first the name of the place kind of scared us, but we followed Sue Langley’s rule of “if there’s a lot of cars in the parking lot it must be good!” It was and we soon got moving towards the mountain range that separated Colorado from New Mexico.

 

Some dark clouds were beginning to form in the sky and the temperature was dropping as we rode up into the mountains via the Pinos Road that would take us over the range through the Iron and Park Creek areas.

 

 

As we were getting higher in altitude, over 11,000 feet, we were running into patches of snow and it was getting colder and darker.

 

 

Starting first with small drops the rain began to come down. Then pea-sized hail began to pelt us, sounding like rocks hitting our helmets.

 

 

At the same time when the weather turned, we came to the end of the road – literally. The road was closed. A massive repair and construction project prevented any chance of continuing on the route – we had to turn around, get some rain gear on, and find another way to New Mexico.

 

 

Now we were up in the mountains, in the rain, in the cold and our GPS’s and maps were giving us conflicting information on how to get over the range and onto the road that would lead to Chama.

 

After some twists and turns we were on a rocky road that was climbing in elevation – and we noticed the trees were getting thin as we were getting waaaay up there. The trail came out at small open area, a genuine high-altitude mountain pass.

 

 

At the pass were two guys on some large ATV’s. We spoke to them and found they were up from Oklahoma visiting their hunting cabin and we were at Blowout Pass – a pass at 12,492 feet next to Bennett Peak (13, 203 feet). The hunters told us that the trail went down the mountain into Jasper, CO.

 

The catch was the rocky trail we just rode up got rougher on the way DOWN into Jasper. We had little choice, we started down the trail.

 

 

About three quarters of the way down, Avery had to stop because he got the rear brakes on his KTM 950 so hot that the fluid boiled and he lost pedal pressure. He was able to nurse the bike down in first gear using just the front brake. Once at the bottom he released the air from the bleeder and the brake came back.

 

 

We got into Jasper which was next to a dirt road that had just been freshly bull-dozed so we set the GPS’s destination to Chama, stripped off our rain gear, and headed down the road. To our left was a gorgeous river and to our right was the spectacular Red Mountains.

 

 

Avery and Jim got out in front and decided to turn up the pace as we were getting tired, hungry and cold. Worse yet, the sun was setting so we got Avery’s big KTM Super Enduro out front with its 55/100 watt headlamp.

 

But our challenge was not over, after 30 fast dirt-road miles we got to the pavement, still over 30 miles from our hotel in Chama. On the pavement we had to climb another pass, navigate S-turns, and dodge even more cattle as the sun was now below the horizon.

 

The weather was not done with us – it began to rain. It was a cold stinging rain that hurt your face, your lips and just made us miserable. But none of us thought to stop and put our rain gear back on – we were just minutes from the hotel and we pressed on.

 

The neon sign of the Branding Iron Lodge was a welcome sight. Shivering and tired we got our room keys so we could peel off our wet gear and get into hot showers. We had ridden over 280 miles of really rugged roads and trails, overcame a huge detour, pressed on against terrible weather and survived. No one crashed and nothing broke, a real accomplishment considering the day’s challenges.

 

As we turned in after a steak and seafood dinner, we listened as the rain pelted the hotel’s roof. The next day in New Mexico would certainly be interesting – come back and read about it!

August 24, 2008

Steamboat Springs, CO -to- Salida, CO

258 on and off-road miles

 

We were still sad that Bob could not be with us on the rest of the ride – not only would we have to divvy up the trail boss duties, but we really had based this ride around having him with us. Larry L would run both of the track-reading GPS units on his bike, while Avery, still riding sweep, would have back-up waypoints on his bike’s GPS. Jim would be in the support truck as he had to take Bob to the airport early in the morning for his flight back to California.

 

After another Continental Breakfast, courtesy of the Rabbit Ears Motel, Eric, Avery and both Larry’s got to the gas station to fuel up and began the ride out of town on some twisty paved roads.

 

 

As we got out of town it actually began to cool down. We had been worried it might be a hot day, but the temperatures were pleasant. In fact, we had been blessed again with great weather. By this point in the ride we had only encountered scattered rain here and there and some gusty winds in Montana and Idaho.

 

 

We headed towards the Williams Fork Reservoir, passing a huge triathlon that was underway – it seemed like four-hundred bicycles were staged for the event. Once past the reservoir we hit dirt roads again and began to climb up in elevation.

 

On the way up in altitude we also encountered our first significant water crossing. We hit other small streams in the week before, but this was a wide creek, almost a river, that has a deep hole in the bed right at the center crossing line.

 

 

Since the water was deep, we all got some water in our boot. Avery and Larry C got it pretty good as they did not have their top boot latches cinched as tight as they should have been (Larry L cheated, sitting down and holding his feet, spread eagle above the water).

 

 

 

Continuing up twisty, but fast dirt roads into the forests we could see the large percentage of brown dead trees that are prevalent in Colorado and other western states. A beetle infestation has killed many of these majestic pine trees. The trees, which are more susceptible to damage from the beetles due to the recent year’s dry conditions, die because the beetle bores into the bark and damages the thin layer below that transports the tree’s fluids and nutrients up from the root system.

 

 

What is very troublesome is the fact that in some areas more than half of the trees are dead and very dry. Due to misguided pressure from conservation groups the forestry service has not cleared these dead trees out. This creates an immense fire hazard that could burn the state quickly. Since more forest fires are caused by lightning, even controlling arson or other man-made causes won’t protect the trees. These forests need to be cleaned of the dead trees as soon as possible before a massive tragedy occurs.

 

After enjoying over 125 miles of mountain roads we got into Silverthorne, CO for fuel and then proceeded to nearby Dillion to have lunch at the Dillion Dam Brewery. Again we had a non-alcoholic lunch at a micro0brewery, but the food was awesome with Eric and Larry C having some Mexican fare, while Larry L and Avery enjoyed some vegetable soup and some very lean buffalo cheeseburgers.

 

 

Remounting after lunch we rode over the dam that secures the Dillion Reservoir. This reservoir is so large that 12-meter sailboats can be used on it.

 

 

The route continued up via the un-paved CR-15 road which was converted from a old railroad right-of-way the offered great vistas of rivers below and mountains on the horizon.

 

 

Eventually the route went down to the high altitude plains roads (again unpaved) that went through Whithome and Turret. The roads were pretty straight and smooth so we were able to make good time – which was pretty important as we had already accumulated over 200 miles and still had over 50 miles to go.

 

 

Climbing up, through and down another mountain range we came down a rocky road into Salida. During the entire ride we had seen thousands of range cattle (mysteriously attracted to Eric for some unknown, possibly alien-influenced reason), hundreds of ground squirrels and gophers, dozens of deer, and countless birds. However on this day Avery saw a mountain lion cross the trail in front of him, just eight miles from town. The big cat slinked into the trees before Avery could stop, let alone pull out his camera.

 

 

Once into town, and at our hotel, we changed the rear tire on Avery’s KTM 950 and went next door to the Country Kitchen restaurant. This place was a true, special find as everything there was homemade and very good. As we were off to bed we all agreed to meet the next morning at the restaurant, passing up the free breakfast at the hotel.

 

Little did we know, the next day would take every calorie of breakfast we’d enjoy in the morning. Come back to find out what happened!

August 23, 2008

Rawlins, MT -to- Steamboat Springs, Co

147 on and off-road miles

  

This would be a short day but we were all excited about heading into Colorado. Since this was the half-way point of the ride, we had planned tires and service once we arrived at the hotel in Steamboat Springs, CO. We got an early start from the Super 8 in Rawlins after sampling their miniscule Continental Breakfast.

 

 

After replacing the bad cam chain the prior afternoon, Big Red (XR650L) was back on the trail!  It’s always good to have a genuine motorcycle technician along (thanks Avery!).  And thanks to Marty back at Mid-Cities Honda in Paramount, Ca for getting the parts and emergency shipping them to us. 

 

 

 

Jim volunteered for support truck duty so Larry L, Larry C, Eric, Bob and Avery hit the wide dirt road leading south out of Rawlins.  The many, many miles of wide dirt road were enjoyable due to the mixture of speed and turns. 

 

Finally the road turned to back into pavement then back to gravel as we ticked off the miles towards Colorado.  Long gravel up-hills which seemed endless and then we passed a truck towing a boat.  We wondered what someone was doing wayyyyy out here and then we came to a sign for a reservoir.  We figured the guy had the lake all to himself.

 

Cruising through some more open range and bovine country where many of the cows were grazing right next to the road making us all very alert after Eric’s encounter with one the two days prior.  We all took a wide berth and slowed way down. 

 

 

After a couple of hours the terrain changed and finally we were up in the trees.  Nice change and very scenic.  The land was getting rockier, varied and mountains were growing larger on the horizon. Once again we were surprised how quickly the topography changes when you move from one state to another, or even just go down the road a dozen miles.

 

 

As we were getting within 50 miles of Steamboat Springs, the smooth road began to change into a “two track” jeep road with a challenging, rocky surface.  We all made it up one particularly tough hill and were getting ready to address a second when Bob encountered a hidden rock lurking behind some tall grass. 

 

 

Rock 1, Bob’s left foot 0.  Bob knew he was hurt – a sprained foot at least, but he had his wits and we bent back the minor tip-over damage so he could ride the bike. Bob rode on into Steamboat Springs where we meet Jim and the support truck at the Rabbit Ear Motel (funny sounding name but a nice place).

 

 

After pulling off his boot, the foot did not look happy and we soaked it in a bucket of ice as Jim got the directions to the local hospital. While Jim carted Bob off for X-rays at the local trauma center, the rest of the team grabbed a Mexican lunch, followed by a ice cream cone dessert while walking back on Steamboat’s main drag.

 

 

Back at the Rabbit Ears we got in just two hours of relaxation before we got out to the support trailer to perform some needed bike maintenance.  Some worn tires will be exchanged for fresh rubber as well as oil changes and air filter service. 

 

 

Bob and Jim came back from the local hospital where the verdict was a slight fracture and now Bob’s left foot is in a strap-on soft cast and he’s on crutches.  We set Bob up in a lawn chair were he got to supervise our work.

 

 

Unfortunately this foot injury means the end of the CDR for Bob. Jim arranged for Bob to fly back home to California the next day and we would transport his BMW back home. 

 

Bob, we’re going to miss you pal!  He’s a good friend and a great leader. 

 

 

We finally finished the service as night fell, eating pizza with grease stained fingers, but we were ready for the next day’s ride to Salida, CO.  We hear the next day’s will be fun and challenging. 

 

August 22, 2008

Pinedale, WY –to- Rawlins, WY

230 on and off-road miles

 

As what was beginning to be a pattern, the riders awoke to a cool, but clear morning to start the day’s ride. Today’s active riders would only be Bob, Eric and Jim as Avery joined the “Larry’s” in the support truck.

 

 

The support truck would refuel the riders over a hundred miles out where there was no community or service station. Without the fuel, or the coordination of the rendezvous, the riders would have either a long wait or a long walk. After the refueling, the truck would move forward to Rawlins where parts were being air-shipped in so Avery could repair the cam chain on Larry L’s XR650L.

 

Much of the day’s route was hard packed dirt roads which allowed the riders to move at a very fast pace.  Some of the roads were part of the “Oregon Trail”, the famous route that settlers in covered wagons used as they went out to settle the western United States.

 

 

While fast and fun, the ride for Bob, Eric and Jim was uneventful. They actually arrived at the refueling point twenty minutes before the support truck. As we were filling the bikes Jim commented how it seemed that there was a jack rabbit carcass every mile on the road. The unfortunate rabbits were “…like mile markers.”

 

 

As the riders went back to the route, skirting nice scenery like the Red Rock Canyon, the support truck sped on to Rawlins to set up for bike repair in the parking lot of that night’s hotel. During the drive we determined to fix the big Honda we needed only one extra socket in addition to the tools we already had, so we collected the needed socket at the local hardware store.

 

 

We were dismayed to find out that the parts had NOT arrived at the hotel as be had requested and paid for. After some phone calls we found out that the delivery was made to a different address and Larry found the package at another hotel over a mile away.

 

Avery got to work on the bike, removing the engine valve cover, right hand engine cover and other parts to facilitate putting a new cam chain without removing the complete engine. Needless to say we attracted some attention servicing a partly dismantled bike, and the attention grew as the other riders showed up shortly after 2 PM, as they had made excellent time on the good roads.

 

 

After a few hours the Honda was back together and running quiet again. We performed maintenance on the other bikes, bent back Eric’s damaged saddlebag rack (from the prior day’s cow impact) and we all got washed up. A Google search recommended the Aspen Grill in Rawlins as the area’s premier fine dining establishment, with steak being a specialty. Google was right as we toasted the repairs and a great meal with a quality merlot and some brut champagne.

 

 

After dinner we all got to bed early for some rest as the next day we would ride into Colorado.

 

 

August 21, 2008

Island Park, ID –to- Pinedale, WY

252 on and off-road miles

 

The windy weather from the prior day was gone when we awoke to start the fourth day of our CDR adventure. Some of the team was running slow from their late night excursion to the local watering hole for their eight-ball pool tourney.

 

Still, everyone got up and going – The excitement overcame the lack of sleep as this day’s ride that would take us to the edge of Yellowstone National Park and offer vistas of the stark, rocky Grand Teton Mountains.

 

 

Heading out from our lodge we rode in the brisk Idaho chill and found the first two service stations closed. The third was a charm as the Hungry Bear Market had gas (pumped through incredibly slow pumps) and offered homemade breakfast. “Anything you want!” the clerk said, adding that she would pull anything off the market’s shelves or coolers to build our morning meal to order. She did not disappoint, making us great food, with large portions at a reasonable price.

 

 

Leaving the Happy Bear we turned off the main highway by the Island Park Lodge, the site of the prior night’s festivities. After just a dozen miles we had left the pavement behind and started on a fine trail that was once a railroad right-of-way. This trail, part of Idaho’s excellent OHV recreation network started out a little rocky, and then changed to pea gravel and deep sand.

 

 

But this dark sand did not end after just a few yards; it went on for over twenty miles. You had to keep your speed up to get the bike’s tires to plan above the sand, but the whoops, ruts and tree branches reaching out to the trail keep interfering with our progress. Again, we soldiered on – we had to keep going and we knew eventually the sand would subside.

 

At a stop Jim and Avery wondered aloud why we were on such a difficult trail when they could see another road at times that seemed to be doing in the same direction and it was nicely groomed and smooth. We soon had an answer as the former right-of-way looked was the only route you could take to look down onto the spectacular Warm River and gorge.

 

 

This route led us past a timber railroad tunnel (around it as there are concerns about it’s strength following rock slides – four years ago Bob was able to ride THROUGH the same tunnel) and along the mountain side following the route of the 19^th century railroad that ran to west Yellowstone .

 

 

At the end of this trail was a well maintained and groomed state-provided campsite. After a chat with the campsite’s caretakers we were off again on some tight twisty paved road that would take us to the main dirt road that would run us on the south edge of Yellowstone National Park, past Glacier Lake and into the Grand Teton National Park for our next gas stop.

 

 

This wide and smooth dirt road would take us into Wyoming. The road’s great condition permitted us to make good time as we wanted to have lunch at the same time we got fuel. As we rode further on the road it changed, getting more rugged, narrow and rocky at times. It also ran us through some areas that were burned during the fire storms that hit Yellowstone back in 1998. Finally we cam to the paved highway leading to the park’s gas station and restaurant – only to be slowed by some road construction crews. We were as hungry as our bikes by the time we finally turned off for fuel and food (which included some lean, buffalo meat cheese burgers).

 

 

The Grand Teton Mountains were a majestic site as we again turned south after our lunch. These mountains looked to be the most rugged and picturesque of the mountains we had seen on the trip so far. With little to no vegetation and snow-capped year-round, these mountains were an imposing site.

 

 

As Larry steered the support truck and trailer down the highway to Pinedale, WY for that night’s stop, the riders we enjoying more great scenery and fun dirt roads until Eric had a encounter with one of the thousands of livestock we have seen and rode by on this trip. While we’re always trying to give these animals a wide berth, they sometime can react in strange and unexpected ways.

 

As Eric was approaching a small thicket of trees a large cow (or possibly a steer) darted out of the woods directly in his path. Eric was riding standing up, as many of us do on long distance dirt rides, and since he had nearly no time to react his bike hit the side of the cow, forcing Eric forward where he impacted against the cow’s shoulder with his left side.

 

Amazingly, the cow just walked away and appeared to be unhurt. Eric missed serous injury, but still had a large bruise on his arm and was sore all over. As each day passed, the bruise on his arm would darken and become more ominous in appearance, even though the initial swelling subsided and the pain went away as well.

 

 

The riders made it to Pinedale Lodge with no other incidents and EVERYONE got to sleep early as the next day would include some high-speed dirt roads across Wyoming ad some important motorcycle repairs. Check back to learn about that day’s happenings!

August 20, 2008

Butte, MT –to- Island Park, ID

336 on and off-road miles

 

We started out with a early breakfast again (this one at the hotel we were at) and stepped outside to a brisk, 39-degree morning. That meant an extra layer; some balaclavas and we all had our electric hand grip heaters on as we left the gas station after filling the fuel tanks.

 

After a straight shot out of town we soon were riding a twisty paved road that went into the mountain south of town. Even as the sun arose we did not get much warmer as the increasing elevation negated the warming air.

 

 

The pavement ended and we dipped down out of the mountains into a more high-plains type of terrain on which there were ranches with abundant livestock. At one point Larry C. and Bob came around a corner only to find a bear cub, probably two-years old or less, in the middle of the road. Startled, the cub begin to run down the trail in the same direction as the bikes were pointed and got into some trees before the guys could pull out a camera.

 

The open area got even vaster as we reached and crossed over an interstate, leading us up to another mountain range via some fast dirt roads. Soon we were back up in altitude and the day was warming up, albeit slightly.

 

 

Once into the area the route took us through the trees, up even more in elevation and out onto open areas with great views of the valleys below.

 

 

But during this morning the tracks data and the GPS units seemed confusing and we were often stopping and trying alternate routes to see if we could find the proper path out of the area we were in.

 

 

After riding for over 100 miles, but really not getting more than 15 miles from Butte, we knew something was certainly wrong. It was conflicting to not be making any headway in our quest, but to enjoy trails that were in good condition and with some technical sections that made for a fun morning of riding.

 

 

During one of our breaks we found an area were nature's circle of life was evident. Bones and a ear tag from some lost cow were on the ground.

 

 

Most of the livestock we would encounter on thsi trip was ear tags as the branding of cattle by hot iron is a thing of the past.

 

 

We then realized that the day’s first gas stop was also improperly labeled in the GPS’s; we readjusted our route to head down a paved highway to Wise River.