What a hell of an interesting ride..

Christy (Triumph Bonneville T-100, 900cc), Renee (Suzuki Boulevard 1800cc) and I, (Harley Dyna Superglide, 1600cc)
had committed to this trip over a month ago based on Christy's suggestions and knowledge of the areas we'd be
traveling through.

We would leave Albuquerque to make a season-ending run through the Colorado mountains before the real cold and bad
weather arrived hitting several passes over 10,000 as well as Gunnison, Durango, Lake City, Crested Butte and Ouray.

I needed to take my bike back to the Santa Fe dealer for initial servicing so we planned to come back much the way
we rode out so that I could drop it off at the end of the trip Sunday afternoon and ride home with Debbie who'd meet
me there.

The total mileage was anticipated to be about 800 with about half of it being a 7-8 hour run on Friday to Gunnison where
we'd overnight with some of Christy's friends. We planned on running into some rain, but when we decided to do this, the
weather was not anticipated to have really turned as yet.

Hah!!! There are reasons why we aren't anchors on the Weather Channel..

We left on time at 8am and proceeded north on I-25 to Santa Fe, then up 84 to Chama where we had lunch and fueled.
So far, so good..

From Chama we headed West on 84 to Pagosa Springs, then north on 160 to Wolf Creek Pass and across the Continental
Divide on our way to Gunnison, Colorado.

That's when it all started to get somewhat interesting

Somewhere on the way to Wolf Creek Pass..




Wolf Creek Pass is a fantastic ride; a smooth, well laid-out road climbing to 10,800 with some really good views that
unfortunately we did not have the time to take advantage of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Creek_Pass

We crested the pass in good time and good order and had descended almost all the way to the valley below when traffic
(what little there was) came to a complete halt. After a half hour of standing around checking rumors, etc, it was
determined that

A) a semi had gone off the road in a construction area blocking the way
B) a road scrapper had gone off the road in a construction area blocking the way
C)a semi carrying a road scrapper gone off the road in a construction area blocking the way

in any case, the highway was completely blocked and it would be

A) 3 hours
B) 5 hours
C) many hours
D) sometime in the next century

before a crane arrived from Durango to clear the road.

Oh ****.. Murphy wins again.....best laid plans and all that

Well, there was nothing to do but turn around and run back across the Continental Divide to Pagosa Springs where
we could refuel and discuss our options which basically were to divert to Durango blowing off Gunnison and Crested
Butte or retrace the mileage we had already ridden back to Chama, then take an alternate and somewhat longer route
to Gunnison from the East.

It was now 4pm and the only other route would have been no shorter, but despite having the advantage of no backtracking,
we blew it off because it was deemed to be too dangerous for night riding. No one liked the idea of Durango so we
decided to backtrack and divert to the alternate route; at least a 5 hour, possibly longer, run that would put us into
Gunnison well after dark.

Of course, it was longer much. much longer than anticipated...

What I'm leaving out in this is the on and off again rain that followed us from Chama to Pagosa to Wolf Creek and back
to Chama again as well as the numerous fuel stops we were making. This is not densely populated territory and gas
stations can easily be 60-90 miles apart in some areas so at the end of every significant leg, wed stop for fuel to ensure
that we had more than enough to go well beyond the next leg if stations were closed.

This was absolutely necessary, but 8 or 9 fuel stops in a day really does add a lot of time to our ride, probably at least
an extra 90 minutes in itself. Combined with my insistence on maintaining a reduced speed on wet roads (I have very little
wet riding experience), that significantly extended our day.

So while we were riding through some very pretty and dry countryside just outside of Chama the Trip Gods decided to make
life just a bit more interesting and we almost T-boned the Cumbres and Toltec steam locomotive as it came out from behind
some trees..

This was just an engine and tender, not the normal passenger train and the SOB engineer did NOT give the whistle signals that
he was supposed to until the brakeman spotted us as they began to cross the road. Thanks a friggin' heap, bud.

We didn't QUITE have to lock them up, but it sure was a hard stop and 5 or 6 seconds difference could have
been disastrous. He wasn't going overly slow, either... *****....

Back in Chama yet again, (do not pass GO, do not collect 200 dollars..) we headed north and then East on 17 in a huge loop
through Antonito (6:00 pm) and Bountiful to Alamosa where we picked up the other end of 160, the highway that goes through
Wolf Creek Pass, and started West again.

This part of Colorado is about as flat as Kansas and just about as interesting. I'd swear that we weren't moving at all
but we must have been as we rolled into Monte Vista as dark approached and just in time to catch the justifiably famous
Potato Festival in full swing with an overflow crowd of maybe 50 or so..

We then headed due north on 285 to the town of Saguache (Sa-wash) now better known as Sasquatch. We reached
Sasquatch around 8:30 pm, well after full dark and we still had 80 or more miles to go. Here we headed west again
picking up 114 heading toward the canyon (I never caught the name), a section that had Christy very worried as it is
remote, unlighted and has lots of deer to collide with. The relatively poor visibility afforded by our motorcycle lights
was a very real concern to all of us.

Fortunately, when we stopped for fuel, Christy turned on the charm and convinced a fellow in a pick-up heading the same
way to run interference for us and we followed him for over an hour through some pretty spooky territory. We could see
bits of vegetation just on the edge of the lights and occasionally the vague impression of large rock walls looming in the
darkness, but there was absolutely zero sense of what was out there or what we were riding into.

Did we miss a turn and wind up in Moria? Were the Orcs waiting for us around the next bend? Did I see Rod Serling
standing next to that ditch?

This was not fun. no, definitely not fun at all..

Finally, we exited the canyon and picked up 50 just outside of Gunnison.. it was now after 10pm; 6 hours after we
ran into the road closure and 14 hours after we had started out.

Christy led us to an intersection near her friends' house, then called her friend to come and lead us in the last mile or so.

A very interesting thing occurred while we were waiting along the side of this country road in almost total blackness

Every car that went by (and there weren't many) stopped to make sure we were OK, that we didn't need assistance.
Several of them were full of teens out on Friday night dates and to me, from the DC 'burbs, that was remarkable.

Don't let the media convince you that basic decency and concern for others is totally dead, it's alive and well in the
heartlands where there is no Triple A and winter weather conditions can be rapidly fatal to stranded motorists. These kids
KNOW that and act appropriately. It's bred in and, when you stop to really consider it, quite moving.

Anyway, at 10:30pm we finally managed to reach the destination that we had originally planned to reach around 6pm.
Wet, ragged, cold and somewhat stressed, but finally there.

Our hosts were great and we had a much delayed steak dinner around a fire pit in front of what, even in the dark, was
obviously a fabulous home. I was pretty close to being done in so I gratefully crawled into bed and went out like a light.

This unintended odyssey put the lid on whatever questions I had as to the wisdom of trading in the Sportster. I was
definitely tired and mentally starting to fade, but I was not as beat up as I would have been on the Sportster. The bike
handled very well in the rain and on the high mountain passes with no fuss. The sheer engine racket alone of the Sportster
would have been a very significant fatigue source while the far more muted engine sound of the Dyna was not a real factor.

Under the circumstances, I didnt really take highly accurate fuel usage data, but I think I was getting a bit over 40 mpg
which for mountain riding was pretty darn good. Since the Dyna has a very slightly larger tank than the Sportster
(which got close to 50mpg), it probably has about the same practical range which would be about 140 miles with a 40-50 mile
safety cushion. As noted earlier, this is not good country to push your range to the max. "Sorry, feller, but the truck ain't
arrived and all we's got is diesel.." is not what you want to hear...

The Rube Goldberg looking arrangement of saddlebags, rack bag and backpack worked well. Only a couple straps are used
with carabineers (clip rings) being used to secure the backpack to the sissybar and luggage rack. The 'beeners take the
load while the straps take up slack and keep it from shifting. I need to find some better straps, but the system works.

I woke up around 6 Saturday morning, showered, changed into dry clothes and started getting organized and reloading the
backpack onto the bike.

That was the first time I could actually see where we'd wound up..My God, were we in a beautiful location

Gunnison is in a very large valley surrounded on the far horizons with the Rockies and Christy's friends were in the
middle of horse country where lots in some subdivisions were a minimum of 40 acres, 30 of which were to be kept in
common pasture.

Welcome to the West






Unfortunately, Murphy struck again as Renee had fallen ill and instead of getting an early start, we couldn't get moving
until after 11 at which time she still looked like Hell but insisted that she was well enough to try riding and see how
it went.

We rode up to Crested Butte (one road in and out) which is a ski / resort town at 9,000 feet. Christy and others have
called it the perfect Western Town but frankly, I wasn't impressed at all with the town itself. The crested butte itself
was interesting, but I just couldn't get excited about it as I've seen many prettier or far more spectacular and unusual
areas even on the ride up. I'm glad I went, but I won't be going back.



About 1pm we were back in Gunnison where we had lunch and reviewed our options (again). Renee was still not feeling well,
but definitely improving so we decided to drop the Ouray leg (too late in the day) and press on to Durango once again going
through (we hoped!!) Wolf Creek Pass.

We headed West a few miles through a spectacular lake and canyon area, and then turned south on 149 toward Lake City, a very
scenic little town that is also home to the infamous cannibal Parker Massacre http://www.hauntedcolorado.net/AlferdPacker.html
(ain't the West fun?) ..

"The site where the bodies were found is now known as Cannibal Plateau. Lake City remembers Packer by hosting an annual
Alfred Packer Jeep Tour and Barbecue, and the cafeteria in the student union at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is
called the Alfred Packer Memorial Grill. "

From Lake City, we started up the climb to Slumgullion Pass at 11,530 feet (this reference has a slightly lower height)
http://www.sangres.com/features/slumgullion.htm toward Creede on the other side. The weather was deteriorating
and once again we donned our rain gear.

Creede was where it got REALLY interesting. I could see what looked like a very small, isolated snow
shower about 15 miles off in the distance, but while cold, all we had was light rain until we rounded a slow hairpin turn into
town and ran into an inch or so of slushy snow with only a couple seconds warning before we were in it...

Not good definitely not good snow and motorcycles is not exactly what you would call an ideal combination. We stopped in
the town gas station, talked to some bikers that had come in from the way we were headed and decided that we could make
it as the actual snow area was very spotty and cars had left tracks through it that we could ride in. Besides, what options did
we have at this point??

The area we were in was very scenic and I definitely want to return in Summer

We eventually reached 160 and again turned toward Wolf Creek Pass, this time from the East. We assumed (correctly) that
by now the blockage had been cleared and aside from rain, we should be OK.

Well, kinda..

The blockage was now cleared (it had been only slightly ahead of where we were stopped and less than two miles from the end
of the pass..) so we started up the pass in light rain and almost no traffic. However, about a mile from the top, the rain
got very hard.. and I mean HARD as in friggin' pea-sized hail Do you have any idea of how much noise hail makes on a
fiberglass helmet? I didn't but I do now

We got through that so we once again wound up in beautiful downtown Pagosa Springs for the 3rd time in two days where
we gathered our wits and then headed toward Durango where we'd spend the night. By the time we reached Durango at dusk,
the weather was nice and we rapidly took advantage of the opportunity to change into dry clothes before grabbing a quick
meal and hitting the rack.

About 3am, the sound of a heavy rain woke me and I had a really hard time getting back to sleep as I damn well didn't
want to repeat what we'd just gone through. Fortunately, Sunday dawned clear, we had breakfast and, once again, headed for
Pagosa and back through Chama toward Santa Fe.

Fortunately, the weather had turned for the better and while cold in a few spots, we had no further problems and at I-25,
Renee and Christy headed toward Albuquerque while I diverted slightly north to the Santa Fe Harley dealer where the absolutely
filthy condition of the bike and the piles of gear drew some attention, especially from a couple guys who were considering a
ride toward Creede and Lake City on Monday..

I think they decided to wait until Spring.

An estimated 800 miles over 3 days had turned into 1100.

Note the cruddy condition of the front cylinder head and crash bar compared to the more protected rear..




One of the more interesting weekends I've had in a while

 

Glad you made it safely! Next trip.....Alaska

 

LOL - Nice stroy dude. Yep, mountains are always an adventure every month of the year. Great pics.

 

That's a road trip that would scare the poop out of me. Especially the "midnight" ride on 114. Lucky you had a pickup truck to run interference for you. Hitting a deer could be deadly to you (and the deer).

When I rode north out of Chama, NM, there was a dually pickup on the side of the road with big cattle guard on the front bumper, and all the good stuff that ranchers have. There was nobody around and there was a large pool of liquid under the engine. There was a dead cow in the ditch on the other side of the road. I slowed down and took a closer look and the front of the pickup truck, cattle guard and all, had been pushed back to the engine. Needless to say, the busted radiator was the source of the pool of water under the truck.

I continued my ride paying extra attention to watch out for wayward cows.

Glad you made it back safely and thanks for posting your adventure. It made for interesting reading and good memories of my ride through the Rockies. Lucky for me I only had frost on my Harley in the mornings, and never encountered any snow.

 

Very nice read, thanks for sharing!

 

Great read....thanks for sharing in such detail.

 

Sounds like a trip to remember. In 20 years you'll look back on it and have a good laugh. Thats what motorcycling is all about - you, the road and the elements.

 

Thanks for the story, Mike. Really well written!

Having ridden many of the same roads last June and running into pretty extreme conditions as well, some snow but more so excessive winds, I can relate a bit to your ride.

Glad it all worked out well for you and your group.