Four Day Weekend!

Putting Christmas shows onstage typically means I have to work the day after Thanksgiving. This year, in order to bring you all Irving Berlin's White Christmas, I didn't get the four day weekend most of the production shops did. But to make up for it, I got one this weekend. As I have absolutely no desire to participate in the Black Friday madness that occurs each year, I am more than happy to wait for another time when I can get out and about while most other people are working. Most years at this time, I could head up to the mountains for the weekend to snowboard or ski. This year has seen temps in the mid 60s for most of November, and now into December also. So, rather than buying a new deck and paying for a lift ticket, I hopped on The Ice Queen and headed to the mountains via asphalt. At 67 mpg, this is a relatively inexpensive way to spend the day in the mountains!

THURSDAY

I took off through Golden, but immediately turned onto 119 and headed through Blackhawk. On the weekends, this road is clogged with car- and busloads of people heading out to the small gaming town. But on a Thursday morning, it's a nice swift, twisty ride. I rode out to Nederland, where I stopped at my usual haunt, the Blue Moon Cafe. It has been around for a number of years, but was purchased about three years ago by a German man who ran out to chat with me about my bike. He used to have an 1150GS, and it's pretty clear he misses riding.

Stopped for a few minutes right off the Peak to Peak Highway.

Waving as I pulled out of the parking lot, I continued on the Peak to Peak. This time, when I got to Hwy. 7, I turned left towards Estes Park. It has been more than a year since I was last there. July 4th weekend, last year, I rode Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park from Grand Lake to Estes Park. The road was stupid crowded, and they had to cut through feet of snow to get the road open that weekend. This year, the nearby Fern Lake fire is evidence of the still dry conditions.

 

At The Stanley Hotel. Hell no I didn't go in. If you don't know, Stephen King stayed here and it inspired The Shining--the sole reason identical twin girls creep me out!

I made a quick stop at The Stanley Hotel and rode through town, deciding to keep heading on. I had gotten a later start than originally planned, so I needed to move it if I wanted to do the rest of the ride I had planned, and make it home before dark and before deer came out after me. There are several routes into and out of Estes Park, and I took Big Thompson Road (Hwy 34) which follows the Big Thompson River east to Loveland. It's a nice road through some beautiful scenery, but beware! If you wind up behind a jerk in a white pickup towing an empty trailer who refuses to use the slow vehicle turnouts, it is several miles before there is an opportunity to pass! Once I got around said jerk, the ride was great--twisty road through a tall rock canyon.

At the east end of the canyon is a sign saying Carter Lake to the right. I took that and headed south. I wasn't really sure where I would get to, but how lost could I get if I kept the mountains off my right shoulder and kept going. Eventually I would hit something I knew, and that was 75th St which goes through the west side of Longmont, jogs to 73rd, and spits you out onto Diagonal Highway at Niwot. I rode through Boulder and picked up 93, successfully making it home before dark and avoiding wildlife.

FRIDAY

Friday was maintenance day. I decided it was time I learned to change my own oil. How difficult can it be? I have the repair manual on the iPad, and I know how to read AND follow directions. I wouldn't even write about this, but for those of you who do your own oil changes, I feel like you should understand what a pain in the ass it is to change the oil and filter on a F650GS. It takes twenty minutes to assemble all the crap you need just to do it--which includes time to root through the garbage and find an empty toilet paper tube. What's that? You don't need and empty toilet paper tube to change your oil?? Well, I do--you clearly don't ride a bike like mine. To be honest, dealers actually have an optional part you can buy, but why spend the money when a toilet paper tube will do.

Changing oil requires 3 different Torx, 2 Phillips head screwdrivers, a hex set, and the removal of so much hardware, you think your bike will fall apart. Did I mention the toilet paper tube...?

 

First step, take bike almost completely apart. I'm. Not. Kidding.

 

The front sprocket cover on the other side and the bash plate have to come off also.

Unlike most bikes, my gas tank isn't in front of the seat, it's underneath. The "hump" as I like to call it, (as in my Wolfman "tank bag" is actually a "hump bag") contains the battery, airbox, and oil tank. Yup, way up there. The F650GS has a sump pump in the design, which I'm pretty sure they put in just to make our lives difficult. It means changing the oil and filter requires draining oil from three places, and checking oil levels can only be done after riding about 10 miles.

Draining oil from the tank happens first, then the drain plug, then from the spot where the filter lives.

So, I drained the oil from the upper tank, pulled the drain plug and drained it from beneath the bike, then carefully fitted the toilet paper tube under the filter cover in order to direct the oil away from the bike, rather than over the whole right side of it.

A black cat is useful to have around when changing oil. If any is spilled, you can wipe it off the driveway with the cat, and you never see it (if I had used the big dumb orange cat, it would have stained...)

Once I was done and had the new filter in and the appropriate amount of clean new oil, rather than putting her back together, I decided to install the new USB power port I got. Before leaving for Alaska, I bought a 2.1 Amp TAPP USB power outlet from 3BR Powersports. About halfway through the trip, it failed. When I got back, they were more than happy to replace it immediately, but changed the installation instructions. It was recommended that the TAPP no longer be wired always hot. This defeats the purpose of me having this outlet to charge my phone, iPod, or Sena headset at night when I'm camping. Originally I bought the 2.1 Amp version because it would charge my iPad as well, but now I had to make a choice. Charge all my devices only while riding, or charge all devices except one whether my engine is running or not. The iPad holds a charge long enough to make it to a hotel, so I chose the TAPP Lite. It has a 1 Amp max output which is enough for just about everything, and I wired it right to my battery, using the original mounting bracket I had for the old one.

I got a super fancy thermometer for my birthday last weekend and I would have installed that also, but I'm waiting for one more mounting piece. So, now I could put my bike back together. And wash my hands. I don't mind getting a little dirty, but I'm happy to hit the Gojo at the end of the festivities.

SATURDAY

Motogear Outlet in Arvada has a couple of sales a year. The last one I went to was in April, and I ordered my Olympia AST 2 jacket at that time. I wore that jacket to Alaska, and the rest of the summer anytime I rode out of the city. It's a great jacket, but it is a little heavy and bulky to really be a comfortable summer jacket. At the end of summer I tried on the Olympia Airglide 3 jacket. It's a three season jacket that is perfect for our summers here. It was still a little too pricey at the time to justify buying it at the end of the season, so I held off. Saturday it was on sale and a great deal. I bought it in red!

I am a short girl, but I've got long legs and long arms. Olympia seems to be the only company that makes jackets with sleeves long enough for me. I love their gear!

Leaving Motogear Outlet, we headed northeast to Hudson. A few miles off I-76 is The Wild Animal Sanctuary. I hadn't been there before and was pretty amazed by their facility. It is a 400 acre piece of land housing close to 300 large, carnivores. Lions and tigers and bears, no shit! Also wolves, leopards, servals and a number of smaller animals like the little red fox and the silver fox. (Technically I think he was a tree fox, but his silvery-white coat and little black ears made me think of him as The Silver Fox) This is a privately funded sanctuary which has acquired it's animals from closing circuses, zoos, and a large number of individuals who thought these animals would make great pets. Many of them have suffered a lot of abuse in the past, but in their habitats, which range in size, from 1 acre to upwards of 15 acres, you can see they are living much happier, closer to normal, lives.

Be aware-- if you are on a motorbike, there are 3 Irish Wolfhounds that live just inside the sanctuary who are bigger than my bike and WILL charge you. It was slightly terrifying.

 

This tiger wasn't rolling around on his back, he was sleeping like this--belly to the sky, paws in the air.

This was the vantage point for the sanctuary--about 15 feet above the habitats. Most of the animals paid no attention to the two-leggeds above them, but this guy checked me out and we had a little chat. He says life is good.

 

After spending a couple hours walking around, we got back on the bikes to head home. Not being in a hurry, we took a bunch of country roads, a few miles of some easy dirt and gravel (I'm totally addicted to dirt roads and trails now!) and skirted the edges of cities and towns to get back home. I have only ridden east of Denver once before, and now I remember why. The roads are straight. Straight, straight, straight grid roads. And flat. Not that it isn't worth doing, it just isn't worth doing a lot, unless you don't like to turn.

Somewhere north of Brighton. I loved that Hotel 85 sign--totally classy! I think they might be cash only....

SUNDAY

Not gonna lie, the bike didn't even make it out of the garage. I had shit to do, and a Broncos game to watch. Still, it was a great weekend!




*UPDATE* The mounting part for my new thermometer came in, so I installed it tonight when I got home from work. Now I just need a compass and an altimeter, and I'll be all set. I have found that on long trips I become obsessed with knowing the temp, altitude, and direction in which I am heading. I also want to know the population of all the towns and cities I pass through, but as far as I know, they haven't made an instrument which can tell me that.

 

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I got my girl back!

Of course, now my horn isn't working, so she'll be going back on Tuesday. (Insert scream here!) But, I took her out for a spin this weekend. I hadn't realized how crappy my steering had been. What a difference now. I was given my old steering parts, and they were heavily notched where they should have been smooth, and really worn down. Apparently the bushings in my forks had all of the Teflon worn off as well. All the new work felt great, and I was so happy to head out for a nice long ride.

SATURDAY

It was a gorgeous, amazing, sunny autumn day here on the front range. I set off from home, heading to Golden, and then north on 93. As I drove past the Spyderco Knives Factory, I noticed cars parked everywhere and a sign saying they were having a sale. So...I stopped for an hour and a half to stand in line with about 100 other people. It was well worth the wait, and I picked up a couple of new knives.

Non-reflective blade with Spyderco's serrated edge. Made in Golden, Colorado, USA, Earth. Small, lightweight and perfect for my hand.

I also talked to a number of people about motorbikes and riding. As I got back to my bike, a man came over to talk about BMWs, and give me advice on riding that basically amounted to: Stay upright, try not to hit anything, women always ride 650s, and always think people in cars are out to kill you. Thanks, dude.

I continued up to Boulder, then on to Longmont. As I got to the south side of Longmont, I kept to the west--mountains off my left shoulder, houses and people off my right. I stuck to small, two lane roads, and just let myself get lost in the autumn countryside. It smelled so good--like dried leaves and horses, with a distinct lack of exhaust and city smells.

I hit highway 14 and rode through Poudre Canyon behind a fancy new 1200GS with a couple riding two up. She was wearing the same Olympia AST2 jacket as me and I realized how much more visible I am when I wear my hi-viz. Looking around as I rode, lots of fire damage from this past spring was evident in the hills, but the scenery was still beautiful. Riding east, I stayed ahead of the rain that was coming through the canyon.

I stopped for a bit in a nice little area next to the Cache la Poudre River, and met another motorbiker. Sledge was out on his KLR650, leaving his Triumph Tiger 1200 Adventure at home. He had some great stories to tell about riding in Peru, and he will be leaving on a hard-earned trip around the world sometime in May. He'll be getting a website together for the trip, and once he does, I'll post it here. I guess if I can't go along, I can follow along.

My new friend Sledge, who will be taking four years and riding RTW.

Sledge and I chatted for about an hour, and I realized I needed to get back on the road. It would be getting dark in about an hour, and I really wanted to get close to home before it was completely dark. I drove through Ft Collins and hopped on I-25 to cruise home. The sunset tonight was gorgeous! If I hadn't been hell-bent on flying home, I would have taken pictures of it.

SUNDAY

Getting ready to head out for the day. Look at that beautiful blue sky!

I started the morning out having brunch with my friend Diana. The plan had been to run errands and do laundry, clean the house a bit afterward. But as we sat outside with tea and Eggs Benedict, I decided there was no way I was going to waste my day--it was way too beautiful! Who knows how many more clear days we will get around here on weekends that would allow for a nice long ride. And after not having the bike for four weeks, getting another show put up at work, and laughing hysterically (no really, I needed someone to slap me) at a $30,000 hospital bill the night before, one day of riding hadn't been enough.

I had no plan that morning, but quickly decided I would head through Golden and take Golden Gate Canyon Road out to 119. It's a quick little twisty road that is sort of my go to ride after work when I want a quickie. However, I was paying too much attention to Midge (BMW SUV in front of me on Hwy 93 with a license plate which said MIDGE) and I missed the turn off. So...I kept going. I really hate turning around and backtracking. Instead, I turned west on Hwy 72. This was the road I drove last weekend in the truck, and I figured that after a week of decent temps and no moisture, it should be relatively ice free. I passed a large number of motorbikes coming the opposite direction, so that helped confirm a clear road.

Highway 72 also meets up with 119, and when I got to it I turned right and headed towards Nederland. I stopped there for a few minutes, and I think it may be the windiest town I have ever been in. I don't think I have ever stopped there when the wind wasn't blowing insanely. Frozen Dead Guy Days two years ago was the windiest day I had ever experienced.

Nederland

Out of Nederland I continued on towards Estes Park on the Peak to Peak. It got colder and colder as I gained elevation. When the peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park came into view, I had my heated grips AND my electric gloves on. It was cold but beautiful! I have to send a big thank you to Jim Lautenbach in Wisconsin for sending the heat controller for my Gerbings to me. It makes all the difference in the world compared to the simple on/off switch I used to use with them.

Hello Rocky Mountain National Park! It looks cold there. It was in the low thirties where I was standing to take that picture.

Hey look, no wear bars on my tires!

When I got to the junction with Hwy 7, I turned right going towards Lyons. I rode this route once last spring and loved it. I think that must be my favorite road in CO. My bike was never vertical. The entire road is long sweeping curves running along the St. Vrain River. The canyon was steep and snow and ice filled at the top, but as I lost elevation going into Lyons, the temps warmed considerably, the snow disappeared, and I pulled into the Oscar Blues Brewery in time to watch the first half of the Broncos/Chargers game.

I continued on Hwy 36 to Boulder, turned south on Broadway (which turns back into 93 on the south side of Boulder) and headed home. The wind was gusting pretty strongly, and I had enough time to get home before it got dark, so I slowed down a bit, tucked into my bike and just cruised. This was a good decision as the road was heavily patrolled--speeding home may have meant a ticket that night.

It was a great weekend of riding. Sometimes it might have been nice to have a friend or two to ride with, but it worked out well anyway. I met some nice people and had a good time chatting with new friends. We may not get many more clear riding days this winter, but this weekend's 400+ miles will get me by for a little while.

In case you're wondering, the playlist for the weekend--Corb Lund, The Lumineers, April Smith and the Great Picture Show, Paul Oakenfold, Fun., Flogging Molly, Feist, P!nk, The Avett Brothers, Meat Loaf, Scorpions. It was a good playlist of music to sing along with at the top of my voice inside my helmet!

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I do it cuz I love it!

A couple of weekends ago, I took an ambulance ride to the hospital and spent the night in the ER, radiology, and finally the ICU. This had nothing to do with motorbiking. In fact, my bike was in the shop and I had just been relaxing and kicking back on a Friday evening. It took me a little more than a week to recover the incredible amount of strength I seemed to have lost in one night, but I'm doing really well now.

The reason I am bringing any of this up is due to the conversation I had, before being released from the hospital, with the ICU doctor (who, I feel I need to state, appeared to be all of 24 years old). When talking about things to avoid for a while, I asked if I should avoid riding my motorbike once I got my strength back, if I needed to wait a bit.

The doctor turned to look at me and inform me that I should avoid riding my motorcycle, not for any reasons concerning what brought me to the hospital that weekend, but because he would hate to see me end up in their trauma ward. He said I should see the motorcycle accidents that come in.

The young man then proceeded to lecture me on the dangers of riding a motorcycle, and how if I was going to do it I should always wear a helmet, blah, blah, blah. I write that last bit because I pretty well stopped listening to him. Although I understand that he meant well, I was completely put off by his attitude and his need to tell me how to participate in a sport that he clearly had no experience in.

For the record, I always wear a helmet, and I don't ride with anyone who won't. I pretty typically wear riding specific boots, jackets, and pants that are armored. I try to avoid riding like an asshole, and I ride very defensively. All that said, it is still a dangerous sport, but something that I love, love, love. Unless one has done it, it is almost impossible to understand: I know I didn't until I started seriously riding.

I had a low speed get-off about halfway up that road you see behind me. With all my gear on, all I had to show for it was one bruise on my left hip.

I also like skydiving, but I chose not to bring that up with the doc. After listening to the first lecture, I wasn't interested in anymore. What am I supposed to do? Sit around, kicking back and relaxing, and wait for my blood pressure and heart rate to tank again? Is that safer? Maybe. Will I be happy doing that? Not even remotely.

If you ride, you know how I feel. If you don't, please try to understand. When you meet a new rider, don't tell them about the motorcycle wreck you heard about, or how you think it is crazy or dangerous. In my extremely short time riding, I seem to have heard all of this numerous times. It doesn't make me a better rider, it just makes me cranky. We as riders know there are risks involved. I hope that as someone who knows and loves me, or someone who knows and loves other riders, you will remember that this is what makes us happy and what we consider living.

See that smile! (Waiting about 20 mins for a ferry in the Yukon. My helmet is sitting on my instrument panel in front of me!)

 

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No motorbike for 3 1/2 weeks!

Three weeks ago I pulled my bike out of the garage to go for a ride, and noticed fork oil all over my forks and front wheel. Under advisement from Mike at Supertune (my bike mechanic) I decided to trailer it over rather than riding. This was the third time in 18 months that my fork seals blew, and we knew there was probably more of an issue than the seals alone.

A week before this happened, I sold my little truck. Crap! How am I going to get it to the shop? My awesome neighbor Tim! He parked his truck and trailer in front of my house one night, and the next morning, we loaded her up for the trip to the shop.

No, of course I'm not using my phone to take a picture of my bike while driving...that would be illegal!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Tim Burton for helping me!

So what do I do while I don't have my bike. Well, I solved the issue of not having a pick-up anymore, and purchased something far more suitable to the Colorado experience. It is only three years newer than its predecessor, but it uses all four wheels when I want it to! He's been dubbed The Cos', because he does look just like he is the cousin to Ian McLeod's truck. Of course.

I took the new truck out to try the 4WD in the snowy mountains. I didn't have to go far, and found myself in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It was lovely up there, and I think I'll be heading out for some camping trips in that area.

 

Good lookin' truck...

...and a happy girl!

It is also hunting season here in Colorado, and the boys have been out, and are going out again. Not that they even got a shot off during first season, but it was decided that some range practice was needed. I decided to accompany the boys, and borrowed a .270 from a friend. It's been ages since I fired a rifle at a range, but after a couple of shots, it all seemed to come right back and I had a blast.

 

My dad will be so proud!

So, although I have been pining for my sweet bike, I've been having a good time here and there without her. She is supposed to be ready on Tuesday...I know I'm ready to get her back, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. My first ride out on her will feel so good!

 

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My girls!

I thought it might be time for a quick word on motorcycles for short girls. At slightly under 5'3 1/2" (yes, I claim that 1/2"), I had a hard time finding an adventure/dual sport bike to fit me. I sat on every possible bike and attempted to pick them up. The sales guy at Fay Myers just shook his head, and then put me on a KTM 990 for shits and grins. That was embarrassing. Most bikes were too tall for me to get anything but my tip toes on the ground, and most bikes had geometry that just didn't work either. Although you can lower many bikes, shave down seats, raise and swivel handlebars, nothing was working.

The Red Devil before I put some body and upholstery work into her. I bondo-ed the huge dent in the tank and painted it and the side covers, and hand painted and stitched a new leather seat. She's totally sweet now!

I had started off on my little 1980 Honda CM200T. I couldn't flat foot her either, but at barely over 300 lbs., it wasn't a problem. The bigger bikes, though, weigh a whole lot more and the weight is higher. The KLRs and KTMs are relatively nice and light, but have seat heights over 33". Motorcycles are made for men, not short women.

Then I discovered the BMW F650GS. One can buy the bike factory lowered and with a lower seat; I can flat foot bikes like that easily. Buying a used bike, however, I didn't have the best of luck finding one. So I bought a standard bike that actually had a taller than stock seat. I LOVE that seat, and didn't want to lose it for a shorter one, so I opted for lowering the bike with 1" Kouba Lowering Links. I also added 3/4" handlebar risers, and though I can just get the balls of my feet on the ground, I have stopped dumping it regularly. Well, if I'm not out on trails I don't dump it anymore....

My Girls--Thumper the Ice Queen and The Red Devil

 

I'm shopping dirt/trail bikes now. I've been reading a thread on ADV Rider about short women and their bikes, and I've put together a short list of bikes to look at. This summer I sat on a woman's Honda CRF230 and really liked it. (she sat on my GS and loved it too. I don't think her husband was too happy about that...) The CRF and a couple others are at the top of my list. When I get around to narrowing it down and buying a new bike, I'll let you know what I chose.

If you're a short girl looking for a bike, or a guy looking for a bike for your short girl, check out the ADV Rider thread. It's called "The Shortypants Thread: We are short women and this is what we ride." It has great bike info for shorty girls, and inspiring pictures of woman riders of all ages.

Southeastern Alaska and the AMHS--part 3

Leaving Sitka on the ferry at 4 gave us part of the day to roam downtown galleries, and some time to prep for the next three days on board the ship. Once we loaded the bikes on the ferry, they would not leave the ship until Bellingham, WA. Once we got on board, with the exception of stopping for 7 hours or so in Ketchikan, we wouldn't leave the ferry until WA also. We received a phone call from Jay (From Estes Park on a KLR--we met him in Tok at the motorcycle campground and he got on the ferry a couple days later to get home) giving us the low down on the ferry food and drink situation.

Waiting to load bikes on the ferry. Typically we were last on first off, which was silly as far as I was concerned. We had to tie down or untie, which takes considerably longer than just getting in your car and starting it. Duh!

 

My bike loaded up with food and drink for the next three days. My tank bag holds two boxes of Bota Box wine!

 

The ferries that do the longer runs have a cafeteria, dining room, and a bar. The dining room is a formal ship dining room serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The cafeteria is open with a selection of pre-made foods and a special or two each day. It is reasonably priced, and if you need to charge electronics, there are a number of outlets at tables, so you can kill two birds with one stone. The bar is 21 and over, and has a selection of chips to accompany your drink order.

 

The cafeteria has microwaves available to passengers. Popcorn was a must for the movie theater, and hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps made for a cozy drink out on the breezy decks. Not that we took alcohol on board--that's not allowed...

Once we got aboard, we found lounge chairs in the solarium where we set up Thermarests and sleeping bags and stashed our gear. We decided to do that under the heat lamps rather than pitch a tent on the deck below. A word of warning **a -5 degree sleeping bag is NOT NEEDED while sleeping on the deck** I think sleeping in a Snuggie would make one sweat under those lamps!

The view from my "bed"

As we wandered the ship, checking where everything was (bathrooms, eating areas, movie theater and arcade, showers and laundry) and committing each deck to memory, the captain announced porpoises off the port side. We headed outside to the aft deck to check them out, and a woman came running out past us and took a couple of great pictures of them flying through the air. She was soon joined by three men, and we discovered they were the owners of four other GSs we saw when we loaded our bikes on. Brian, Chris, Blair and Mike were all from Aspen/El Jebel where they volunteer with the Aspen fire department together. They offered us drinks and we all stood around chatting and drinking boxed wine, which we had all managed to bring on board.

And was I happy or what?? Finally, another female motorbiker!!! Chris and I talked gear, underwear, and what it's like to do a trip like this with only guys. She rides a beautiful 1200GS and did her very best to talk me into upgrading. Over the next couple of days, we spent time with this group of people and one other rider, Ross on a V-Strom, from Utah.

We had one port of call in Ketchikan. We all disembarked and headed for the bus stop. The ferry terminal was two miles from downtown and we rode in, walked around the downtown area for about half an hour, and walked the two miles back to the boat. Ketchikan was my least favorite of all the towns/cities we visited. It is geared primarily to tourists, and though there are probably great things to do if you can stay a few days and leave the city, a few hours around town doesn't get you much.

Back on the boat, we made our first visit to the bar. Totally reasonably priced, well-stocked, and tended by Tony. Tony was AWESOME! He had obviously been tending bar for the ferry system for MANY years and was quite good at it. Remembered my name immediately and what I drank, so when I walked into the bar on the following days, he had my drink to me in no time without my even asking.

 

In the bar--they roll on kegs of Alaskan Amber beer. Sweet!




I found three days on the boat to be a bit tedious. I read a lot, ate a lot, drank a lot (cuz really, I wasn't gonna have to drive anywhere...) and tried to run around a lot to get rid of some energy. I also indulged in daily showers. That was nice. For everyone.

We would be leaving the ferry for good at 8am, so the night before I packed all my crap back up before going to sleep. That was when I discovered my motorcycle key was missing. I went through everything I had. Three times. I had a spare, but my real one was on my new mushing dog key chain from Denali, and I really wanted it. Finally it dawned on me that I had probably left it in the bike, as I usually do. But Josh said that no, I hadn't done that. The car decks are closed except for 2-3 times a day, when they are open for 15 minutes. I had just missed one, and it wouldn't be open again until midnight. So I set my alarm, met the people going down to walk their dogs, and sleepily went down to find it in my bike. Duh! It's not like the bike was going anywhere, so I left it and went back to bed.

In Bellingham, WA with Brian, Chris and Mike. Not sure where Blaire is....

 

In the morning, we met up with the Aspen crew after we all had our bikes and were off the boat. We exchanged contact info, said goodbye, and headed off towards Seattle, where we would spend the next couple of days with family.

 

World Animal Day

Thursday, October 4 was World Animal Day. Most of you reading this, if you know me even a little, know I love animals. One of the best parts of motorbiking to and from Alaska was the wildlife viewing from the bike as I rode through the beautiful landscapes. I have learned something crucial about wildlife in the great white north vs wildlife here at home. Every animal I saw alongside the road this summer in Canada and Alaska either stayed put as I approached or, and this was more likely, ran like hell away from the road. Once I returned to Colorado, however, I frequently came across herds of deer I had to slow down or even stop for.

Once I got back to Colorado, I started working with a group called Historicorps, restoring parts of an historic lodge in Jefferson County. Some nights I spent near the worksite and some nights I returned to Denver. Regardless of where I was coming from in the mornings, I became quite alert to deer in the area, as I often saw them near or on the road, and they inevitably would turn TOWARDS me. Colorado deer=not so smart!

Yesterday, after a great day of riding down near the Springs, I headed back home via that same highway I took every morning of that project. A couple of miles from Pine Junction, where the highway meets 285, a deer charged onto the road and hit me. I had been looking in to the right side of the road, up the hill for animals and saw him way too late to do anything about the situation. It was a buck and out of the corner of my eye as I saw it come at me, and then watching it in my rear view mirror, it looked small. But he had, what I was told later, a nice rack. Heh, heh. His head was down and he hit me on the left side in the hand with his antlers, and my leg with his body. I screamed in my helmet, no lie. I saw him kind of roll around the back of the bike and scramble up the hill to my right, so I hope he was okay. I really hope he was okay.

I managed to keep the bike upright and on the road My hand was swollen by the time I got home and my hand guard is bent and the metal bracket is torn. Relatively lucky outcome I would say. I checked out the ADV Rider forum threads regarding people who had hit animals while riding, and surprisingly this happens fairly often with bucks. Other animals are often hit broadside because they happened to be crossing the road at the wrong time. It seems, however, that bucks hit to the side--not all of them fairing quite as well as my guy did.

When I got home, I flipped the chicken calendar to October, as it hadn't been done yet. That was when I noticed it was World Animal Day. I feel like maybe that buck didn't think I was doing enough to show my appreciation that day, and decided to teach me a lesson.