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Published: December 27th 2011
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From Capitol Reef it was gorgeous scenery, great roads, and great wx. I had seen signs for the last couple days that warned drivers that it was Open Range country. I hadn’t really thought about what this meant until I came around one curve, and found a herd of cattle in both lanes. I was able to slow down enough and they seemed no more interested in blocking my way, than I did in bothering them. Never really paid attention to how large the cattle are until your next to them, and they are larger than you on your bike. The older ones meandered off, but the young calves danced and kicked around. These were the ones that had me concerned. From here I went to Arches, Canyonlands, and Moab for the night. Arches and Canyonlands were impressive, but not quite to the standards of Bryce Canyon. Moab was everything I had heard, tourist trap, liberal bastion, but fun place to spend the evening. The next morning I was off to a must stop spot for pictures when in the area. The Four Corners Monument. There is really not a lot of advertisements in the area which surprised me. As
my GPS told me I was getting real close, I saw the entrance, and a couple of cars parked with people standing around. I have seen pictures of the monument, and was quite sure that it was not this close to the road. I was correct. Seems that the Navajo Tribe owns the land where the four states meet, and they had decided this was a good time to do some renovation of their facilities, and therefore locked everybody out of the monument. Disappointed, I left and headed to Durango, CO to start my ride up the Million Dollar Highway the next morning. The Million Dollar Hwy is Hwy 550, and has a lot of drastic changes in elevation, and the twisty roads to make those changes. There are several old mining towns along the way, all of which looked like a fun place to spend some time. In the morning there was a light rain, and some fog. I hoped this would burn off before I started moving but it didn’t The ride was much slower than I had anticipated due to the road conditions. (Thinking back, that might have actually been a good thing.) Even in a constant
drizzle, the scenery and the road were fantastic. I was very fortunate that I avoided most of the truck traffic, as they have a rough time going up, and let it all loose on the down slopes. At the north end of the 550, I headed east on Route 50 to 285N, enroute to my little sisters in the Boulder area. As has been the case for the whole trip, the scenery is just fantastic. For those that live there, they may forget, but coming from the straight roads and cornfields of IL, it was truly breath taking. The only incident I had on this section was running into a hail storm. I was in the middle of nowhere. I hadn’t past a building in better than 20 miles, and the GPS didn’t show any signs that there might be something 20 miles in front of me. I could stop and get beaten by pea size hail, or I could keep moving and get beaten. I opted to keep moving, and rode out of the storm in about 15 miles. That was a first, and I hope last for that. ( I spent the night in Limon, CO a
few nights later, and at least 50% of the windows in town were boarded up due to a severe hail storm that had happen the same day I hit mine. If it was the same storm, the hail stones had grown, cause the hotel clerk said they were golf and softball size.) I spent a couple of relaxing days at my sisters, had some maintenance done on the bike, and then made a sprint home from Limon, CO, leaving at 0636CST and arriving home at 1932CST (778.2 miles).
From beginning to end, it was a fantastic ride. The scenery was awesome, the wx cooperated for the most part, the people I meet were all great. Speaking of which, I need to mention the folks at High Country HD, Frederick, CO. Without a doubt, the best service and assistance I have ever received!
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Mike S
non-member comment
Did you say "minor bike maintenance in CO?" :)
I would hate to see what you call major.