From 2 wheels to 4 this weekend

Saturday morning, I took my last ride in Colorado for a while. Josh, Ian and I left the house a little after 8:00 am and headed south. We rode down Santa Fe (it has a highway number, but I never remember what it is!) until we hit Sedalia. We turned right and headed west and south, eventually into the Pike National Forest. I've done this ride a couple of times, and its a great twisty little road, which eventually ends in a fork made up of two dirt roads. I don't think I've written about it before because the last time I rode this was the day I hit the deer, and that seemed to be a little more at the forefront of my mind--go figure!

The V-Strom is so big it makes Nalla look like a normal-sized dog!

At the fork, we went left. Both roads are really easy dirt roads; the road to the right is about three miles with a steep grade about halfway through, and the road to the left is ten miles with a bunch of switchbacks. Ian was leading, and a couple of miles in he pulled up and pointed right, shouting at me that the trail over there was the "Noodle" the single track that they took the 1150GS and the 650 V-Strom on and bashed up their bikes. They asked if I wanted to do it. I declined.

At the end of the dirt road, we turned left on 67 and rode a few more miles to Decker's Corners. Without stopping, we turned right at 126 and started heading north again. We rode up through the area where Ian and I spent a couple weeks last summer, and turned into the Jefferson County Open Space where Baehrden Lodge is located.

We stopped to use the facilities and gaze up at the lodge and our beautiful log railing we built. There were loads of cyclists getting there at the same time as us, getting out their bikes and getting ready for rides on a beautiful sunny spring day.

Ian and Josh. This was my last ride with Ian as a single man--he's getting married in June!

 

The building in the foreground is a maintenance building for the open space. The one in the background with the peaked roof is Baehrden Lodge, an historic log home we worked on with Historicorps.

From the open space, we turned and headed about a mile back the way we came and turned left on a road that took us past The Bucksnort tavern, and back up to highway 285. I was glad that was the choice. The last time I rode from the Jeffco Open Space, I attempted wildlife population control with my motorbike. When we got back to the Conifer area, we got off the highway and headed out to Evergreen. It was obviously a weekend, and traffic got heavier the closer we got to Evergreen. I had been leading once we left the open space, and was quite dismayed to find that as we turned into Evergreen and rode through heading towards Morrison, I was behind two big flat bed trucks FILLED with porta-potties.

Aargh!!! Following trucks of crap down the road was not what I wanted to be doing!! We got to Idledale and I told the boys I would be turning onto Grapevine Road if the trucks didn't get out of our way. They didn't, so I did, and we rode the twisty little single lane road which was part of the first ride I ever rode with the guys, back when I rode The Red Devil. The sun was out and once we got past the heavy residential section, we clipped along at a good pace, standing around the gravelly curves and having a great time. The road spit us out onto I-70, and we cruised home.

The three of us then loaded the bike into the back of the truck. Not the place I like to have my bike, but I am headed to The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego for three months of work. I couldn't bear to be parted from my motorbike for that period of time, so she's going with me. I hadn't originally planned to go back to San Diego, but I needed to work, so I said yes. As the time has grown near and I've had to get ready to leave, I find myself pretty unhappy to be going. I didn't really want to leave Colorado, my friends, home, and family. And now I am really sad to be leaving my new love, Miss Nalla.

But, on the plus side I get to spend time with my family while I'm in California, and I've already been given maps of places to ride near San Diego. My next few blog entries should be all about the great times I'm having riding in the national forests east and north of the area. I'm going in search of dirt, and have all my camping gear to spend weekends far from the city. Know of any areas I shouldn't miss? Leave me a comment and I'll head out there.

Do you think anyone would mind if I taught Nalla how to drive the truck and I rode back here?

This morning, I got the truck loaded with clothes, motorbike and camping gear, work tools and books, and an unbelievable number of shoes. I gassed up before getting on the freeway, and headed out of town. Passing motorbikes going in the opposite direction on this trip, I know what they are thinking. "Sad and pathetic! Who puts a motorcycle in the back of a truck?? Just ride the damn thing!" No, really, that's what they're thinking. I mean, that's what I have always thought when I've seen it.

After nine hours of driving, I'm sitting here in a hotel room in Cedar City, UT. Apparently all Mexican restaurants are closed on Sunday nights, the one place I figure I can always find a beer here! So, after a crappy dinner with no beer, I'm watching an Ashton Kutcher/Kathryn Heigel movie with one redeeming feature--Tom Selleck!

 

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