Day 5 – July 28, 2011
Leadville, CO to Evergreen, CO – 347 miles - MAP
Ah, good morning Colorado!
It was getting tougher and tougher to wake up at 5:30 am every day, but we somehow managed. The pics above were taken out of our hotel window. It was a great, crisp morning. We had some breakfast at the hotel, loaded up and got on the road at about 7:15 am.
We had a good stay at the Columbine Inn & Suites, I highly recommend it if you are staying in Leadville. This one definitely looked the best. It has nice lounge and breakfast areas, and the price is right.
We stayed north on US 24 out of Leadville. It wasn’t even 10 miles yet and we were already at Tennessee Pass.
Just three turns later we stopped to view the bridge. As I was pulling into the overlook I could see there was a trench where the rain had dug out the dirt and gravel. I went slow through it, trying not to drag anything under the bike. I made it through and put my kickstand down. Brett made it through as well, but he almost dropped the ST while trying to park. Next thing we see is dad in front of us, headed to the ground on the Connie. I got off my bike and ran over to help him pick it back up. Apparently he didn’t like where he was parked, so he tried to move, but he was uphill in second gear and popped the clutch. When that happened, she started going over to the right and dad didn’t have the footing nor strength to prevent it. No harm was done to dad, and somehow only very little cosmetic damage to the bike. I think what made him more upset was the tank bag picked up some tiny little rocks off the ground, so when he put it back on, it scratched up his tank.
We continued north on US 24 to I-70 where we headed east. It was a very scenic ride down the interstate, over Vail Pass and through Vail, with mountains on either side of the road. We were slowed down by some construction on the west side of Vail pass.
We exited US 6 at the town of Dillon and made a stop at Dillon Reservoir. A local policeman pulled in the parking lot to chat with us for a bit.
Next up was Loveland Pass on US 6. Loveland and Independence were my two favorite passes of the trip. Both had absolutely beautiful 360 degree views. Loveland was a bit more crowded due to its proximity to interstate.
We hopped back on I-70 and headed east again for a bit. We exited on US 40 and headed back west, but it eventually ran north. It took us over Berthoud Pass where we stopped for a break.
I forgot to mention that dad saved part of his French Dip from last night to have as leftovers today. Randy wasn’t able to finish his either, but he gave it to Brett to have today as well. Anyone who owns a ST1300 knows how ridiculously hot the glove box gets. So naturally, at this stop they popped the leftovers into the oven to enjoy later.
Next up was a gas stop in Fraser.
We turned onto US 34, passed Lake Granby, and headed into Rocky Mountain National Park. I believe the entry fee was $10 per motorcycle.
As soon as we entered the park it started sprinkling. The clouds ahead looked somewhat threatening, so I pulled over so we could suit up.
Right after leaving here I saw my first moose in the wild. It was out in a field, a good distance from the road. We continued on and started climbing higher and higher. Traffic wasn't too terrible getting to the highest section. We took a break here; it would be the only place we stopped for the rest of the park.
A mile down the road we saw two elk just sitting on the side of the mountain.
From this point through the rest of the park we were in slow motion. There were people everywhere. Every single scenic pull off was overflowing with vehicles. It was definitely worth the ride through. I’d like to go back again someday in a car and spend more time in the park. Sitting in traffic or going 5 mph isn't my idea of fun on a bike. To make matters worse there were several construction zones.
Almost out of the park a coyote ran across the road. Dad got a picture of it. It’s somewhere in there.
We cruised through Estes Park and turned south on 7. Still in town there was a huge elk sitting in a field on the side of the road. Several cars were parked there with people standing by them, just watching the elk. It was as if it was in a zoo. Leaving Estes Park it started raining on us. This time it rained for quite a while. The trip down 7 to 72 (aka Peak to Peak Hwy) and onward was mostly a blur. I tried to make one quick stop while the rain was light.
I wasn’t a fan of 7 or 72. The road surfaces were not that great, and the slow drivers and weather didn’t help. Once we turned on 119, things got better. I enjoyed this road much more than the last two. It was interesting to ride through Black Hawk, a little gambling oasis in the mountains. We turned back west on US 6 and west again on I-70. In need of gas, we stopped in Idaho Springs.
Of course the one time you actually want the glove box to be hot, it isn’t. We were running at elevation and cool temperatures all day. Brett had checked a time or two before and the leftovers weren’t ready. At this gas stop, they finally were. Dad even let me have a piece. It was just as good as the previous night.
From the gas station we hopped on 103 and headed south. The rain started again, so when we pulled into the park entrance for Mount Evans, I pulled over to see if everyone wanted to continue on. I think the consensus was, we’re already here, let’s do it. The guy at the entrance station said it was $3 per bike. I asked him if that was the, it’s raining and foggy you aren’t going to be able to see a thing on a motorcycle discount. He laughed and said yes. I tried to get him to pay us for going to the top, but it didn’t work. He warned us that between the 7 and 8 mile marker the road was in pretty bad shape from the cold, he compared it to ski moguls. We got our receipts and tags and headed on. It’s right at 15 miles to the summit. The ride up to Summit Lake wasn’t too bad. It was a divided road with nothing too crazy. The moguls start right around Summit Lake. Moguls or whoops is definitely a good description. They last less than half a mile though. Just a quick glance over at Summit Lake while riding by is all we did because it was raining on us. With 4 miles left, things got intense. It was getting cold and our hands were not function as well. Between the cold and rain, it was extremely hard to see anything. My visor would fog up, and when I would crack it open I was getting hit by rain. The road got narrow and the center dividing line went away. There was no room for error. Guardrails, who needs those. Take all of these conditions and add to it over 10 switchback turns to get to the top and you have an intense ride. I know I was holding the others up getting to the summit. I was going so slow I probably should have been putting a foot down around the corners. I didn’t care though, with the road being so slick I was scared of dropping the bike or worse.
Watching the look on the faces of people heading back down made the ride even more worthwhile. Their expressions mostly said, “these guys must be nuts!” One guy even gave us a shocked laugh. We made it though.
Here’s the summit.
See for miles!?!?!? I don’t think so. But, on a clear day I guess you can see Rocky Mountain National Park and Denver metro.
Funny, as soon as we parked there was a huge clap of thunder. It’s probably not the best idea to stick around too long up here.
Brett said he would lead on the way back down. No offense taken, I know I was crawling. So we got to do it all over again, now downhill instead of up. Heading back down Brett saw 37 degrees on the ST ambient temperature thermostat. It was chilly and still raining. Several miles in we got stuck behind 5 or 6 cars. The lead Tahoe was literally going 10 mph on a straight section. No one was making a move and then all of the sudden dad, who was in the back, went around everyone and flew right by all the cars. We followed suit and dad set a blistering pace all the way back to the park entrance. When we finally reached the stop sign, I asked dad if he wanted to keep leading, but he said, “no, I just wanted to get the %#$& off that mountain.”
Back on 103 we headed east to our hotel. The road was rough and there was gravel and sand in most of the corners. The rain was making it hard to see. This part of the ride seemed to take forever. We found out once we got to the hotel that Randy’s back tightened up on him with just a few miles left in the day. He was in pretty bad shape trying to get off the bike. Thankfully the riding was over for the day though.
We stayed at the Quality Suites north of Evergreen.
We walked next door to the El Rancho Colorado and watched the X Games while eating. I had a chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries, cooked to perfection.
Back at the hotel we jumped in the hot tub to relax and then went to bed. It was the perfect night to have a big room because we had gear scattered everywhere in hopes it would be dry by the morning.