2004 Colorado Bike Trip
Dr. Rocketman - Michael Morelli
B.O.B (Bitch on Back) - Lea Morelli (she picked the name, not me)!
Well, it is finally cold enough to begin the hibernation, so now I finally
have some time to sit down and write about our 2004 Colorado motorcycle
trip. To begin with, I noticed an advertisement for Motorcycle Transport
Delivery Services of the Federal Companies www.funtransport.com a company
that ships motorcycles in Cycle World Magazine. Just for the heck of
it, I went online to investigate this idea. I ultimately called the
1-800-747-4100 number and learned that the cost to ship my 1999 Honda
Valkryie to Denver, Colorado was about $600 including a number of discounts
they were offering. As you may appreciate, a motorcycle ride from Michigan
to Colorado is just a bit too flat and boring, plus I only had about
10 days of vacation including the 4th of July Holiday. B.O.B (my wife
Lea) and I discussed our options and decided, what the hay, let's go
for it, we are not getting any younger and why leave the money to the
kids! So I booked the shipping and received all of the discounts they
offered. They even threw in a couple of extra discounts.
Motorcycle Transport Delivery Services is the booking agent and they
work through Allied Van Lines. I was told that they ship so many bikes
that they only transport motorcycles on the truck and they receive special
handling. They picked up my bike from my company's shipping dock and
drove it to Englewood, a suburb of Denver and delivered it to Bailey's
Moving and Storage.
I called Bailey's where my bike was to be delivered and inquired about
how all of this worked, how they would handle my bike, how I was to
pick it up, etc., (after all, it's my baby!). I also inquired about
a hotel reasonably close in the area, and was given a number of options;
however, they all involved another cab ride. While attempting to determine
which was the best hotel option, Beverly, the receptionist said for
us to simply choose whatever hotel we wanted to stay at and she would
pick us up and drive us to the Bailey's storage facility where she worked.
Ultimately, B.O.B. and I flew to Denver and took a cab to Englewood
and spent the night at a Hampton Inn. Sure enough, the next morning,
Beverly came by and picked us up (big hugs and kisses like we knew each
other for years) and drove us to her company. What a gal.
After picking up my bike, Lea and I went out and bought her a bouquet
of flowers as a thank you gift and took them back to Beverly. More hugs
and kisses, and at my age, I take all I can get. I might add that all
of this took place in front of B.O. B….so I'm not in trouble. I
would recommend the Motorcycle Transport Delivery Services of the Federal
Companies and especially Bailey Moving and Storage should you consider
shipping your bike to Colorado.
We went back to our hotel and I installed my new Auto Com communicator
system including a new I Pod so we could talk and listen to music during
our trip. We then drove into Denver to a bike shop and picked up a new
Tank Bag, and then we finally took off at about 11:00AM for Mt. Evans
(14, 264 feet of elevation) pictures attached. It was a beautiful day
in the 80's, the scenery was incredible, and however, it was pretty
cold up at that elevation.
When planning our trip, I simply used AAA maps, and charted a course
following their recommended scenic route. These scenic routes are indicated
on the map with "circle dotted lines". For anyone considering
this ride, I will record the routes we used and strongly recommend.
We departed the Denver area-taking Route I-25 North to Route 6 West.
We picked up Route 103 South at Bergen Park. Route 103 takes you right
up to the Mt. Evans peak.
While riding to Mt. Evans one certainly enjoys a great view of the mountain
range, a truly majestic site. After enjoying this fantastic ride, we
retraced our path since this is a one-way ride up Mt. Evans and headed
back to Route 6 East to 470 South, then to 285 South.
We took 285 South to 126 South a real…country road through the
hills and mountains. A real special ride, and ended up in Woodland Park
for the evening.
The next morning at 8:00AM, we headed to Pikes Peak taking Route 24
South to Route 67 South. Now, for those who have not had the opportunity
to ride up Pikes Peak, I can tell you it is a truly exciting and at
times challenging ride. B.O.B.'s voice went up a couple of octaves,
and was a little nervous, but hey, real women riders don't need guard
rails.
The first 7 or 8 miles up is paved, and then you hit the gravel road.
That simply helps to make it an interesting ride, everyone hang on!
At the summit, we called our friends who were also on
vacation. When I asked where they were, my friend Dale proudly stated
he and Ruth were at the top of Bunker Hill in Boston. My response was...
"Yeah, well we're on top of Pikes Peak buddy, now beat that!"
J J.
The ride down is as interesting as going up, and you do not take your
eyes off the road, or you could be history.
After coming down Pikes Peak, we headed south on 67 to Florence, Colorado
through the National Forest and then picked up 96 west. We took 96 West
to 69 North again through the National Forest to Texas Creek and picked
up 50 west and rode on to Salida and arrived at about 5:00 PM. We needed
to make a decision whether or not to stay in Salida or ride on to Gunnison
and even possibly Montrose. Well, being the bikers we are, we pushed
on to Montrose and spent the evening there.
We were really excited about our next day's adventure, which included
riding 550 South to Ouray, Silverton and Durango. It was the 4th of
July, and the route has got to be one of the very best in the entire
world. We enjoyed the absolutely spectacular scenery through mountain
passes, riding the ridges, and back into the canyons.
Words simply cannot describe the countryside and pictures cannot capture
the grandeur. This again is all National Forest and worth all of our
tax dollars that, preserve this wonderful resource. Once in Durango,
we picked up 160 West and rode to Cortez where we picked up 145 North
and began our ride back north to Montrose.
We had a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant, stayed at a nice motel,
and made a trip to the $.25 car wash to clean up my bike. While wiping
down my bike, whom do I meet, but the Mayor of Montrose! He came in
to wash his car, came over to admire my bike, had a great conversation
and he told me where the best area was to view the fireworks for that
evening. He said they were going to be really something, and I thought,
"right". We have the International Freedom Fireworks in Detroit,
and Lea and I always ride down to the river on our bike and enjoy the
show. How could Montrose possibly compare, after all, this is a relatively
small town. We could not believe the fireworks show. It seemed to go
on forever, and the quality of fireworks was truly incredible. What
a super 4th of July!
The next morning we headed back East on 50 to 92 North through Black
Canyon. The mountain range is spectacular and Black Canyon is equally
spectacular with deep crevices and drop-offs. We have attached pictures
of Black Canyon; however, they simply do not capture this incredible
work of God.
We continued up 92 North to Hotchkiss where we picked
up 133 North and rode it to Carbondale where we picked up 82 South.
If you're looking at a map, you will see we were crisscrossing the state
to take advantage of every scenic route that AAA listed. We rode through
Aspen and one can see why it is such a great winter ski area. We continued
to Twin Lakes to route 82 and over the mountain pass. We had to pass
though a ranger check point, and the ranger said, you're doing this
right and you will miss the rain today. I responded "is it going
to rain on the mountain today?" The ranger laughed and said, "It
rains or snows on this mountain almost every day." Well, we figured
we are doing this right today. This route offers some of the best mountain
views, twists and turns that have to rival Switzerland's best. The road
rose to 14,421 feet, we saw all kinds of mountain rams, a herd of elk
about 100 yards from the road, and it was so cold we put on as many
clothes as we could.
We dilly-dallied all afternoon enjoying the environment and wildlife.
As a result of us taking our sweet time, we hit some relatively light
snow flurries and decided it was time to get off this mountain. This
is July mind you!
Well, on the way down, we need to make a pit stop at a recreational
picnic site with the most basic of lavatory facilities. When I came
out, Lea said "turn around, you will not believe it". I did
not understand what she meant until I turned around and saw the darkest
sky and storm clouds that I have seen in some time. Needless to say,
we took off and I rode as fast as reasonably possible, and my reasoning
is not always what it should be, so we were cooking! As we descended
the mountain, the temperature rose, so at least it was a little warmer.
We made it about 25 miles and the storm was upon us. There was nothing
in this stretch of road, so we just kept riding. All of a sudden, we
saw a motel complex, and turned in for shelter. As it turned out, it
was vacant and bankruptcy signs all over. We hid under an overhang structure,
waited until there was a break in the rain and then got back on the
road and headed for the town of Leadville. The high elevation was still
12,000 to 14,000 feet. We just made it to Leadville and the skies opened
up once again and the temperature dropped dramatically.
We spent the night there, but I had trouble sleeping because I could
not get enough oxygen. I gasped all night and got very little sleep.
When we woke up the next morning, there was snow everywhere, which made
the mountain even more beautiful. Riding was even more interesting that
morning. We took Route 91 North, picked up Route 6 East to Georgetown.
This was a nice ride, and we picked up 40 North and headed to Rocky
Mountain National Park and Estes Park. I have used all of the adjectives
already, so attempting to describe this area would only be redundant.
It is something I hope other bikers we know will have the opportunity
to experience. We ended up in Ft. Collins for the evening and once again,
great accommodations and restaurants.
The next day we took US 25 North to Cheyenne, Wyoming where my mother
grew up. Just north of Cheyenne, we took 85 North toward Sundance, Wyoming,
which turned out to be an ambitious ride. It was hot and the cross wind
had to be at least 40 to 50 miles an hour making this a tough ride.
Outside of the wind, for the most part the ride was about as boring
as a ride could be. I ride with and open face helmet and B.O.B. (Lea)
uses the same but with a face shield. We ended up buying hanker-chiefs
and wearing them just like the cowboys did to protect our faces. We
got to Sundance at route 90 at about 5:00 PM and booked a room at the
local motel. That evening, I received a call that my mother had taken
ill, was in the hospital, and not doing very well. It was time to head
home and pick up the pace.
The next morning we took 90 East to Spearfish and picked up 14A south
and on to Deadwood, South Dakota. We had lunch in Deadwood, and then
headed on to Mt. Rushmore taking 385 South. As always, Mt. Rushmore
is always a bit crowded, but still very much worth the visit. After
taking in all of the Mt. Rushmore sights, we continued south to Route
20 East. We were hit by a major storm with high winds, lightning and
hard, rain. B.O. B. questioned if we should pull over, but there was
no shelter anywhere since we were on the open plain. I felt with all
of the lightning, a moving target was harder to hit, so I just kept
going. We finally got to Valentine, Iowa, and the gas station operator
said, "tell me you did not just ride through that storm?"
I answered, YES! What are your options when you are caught out on the
plain? It began to clear up and we were on our way again.
We rode hard and made it to Des Moines, Iowa for the night. The next
day, we rode home, stopping only for gas, lunch and dinner. B.O.B was
really complaining once we hit the Michigan border, but I was determined
to get home that night, and we did!
We saw mom in the hospital the next day. Things were touch and go for
a while, but I am happy to say that mom is completely recovered and
back to her very active schedule of senior citizens meetings, two bowling
leagues, and out to dinner almost every night.
I would recommend the Colorado trip to anyone who has the time and interest.
I hope you enjoy the pictures and this travel log.
Dr. Rocketman - Michael Morelli
B.O.B - Lea Morelli
