Rockies Gold 2007 - Day 2

The second day of our trip found us anxious to continue west. Partly in anticipation of finally getting into the mountains, and partly to put some distance between us and last night's accommodations.

We were on the road at 5:40. After a brief stop for gas we headed toward Denver on I-76. Unfortunately it would be a while before the scenery would become interesting. Miles and miles of low rolling hills with sparse patches of brush were all we could see. Once in a while we would spot something on the road that resembled a small brown fur coverd tortilla. Close examination revealed tire-flattened, sun-dried, remains of the little rodents that seemed to be forever on the wrong side of the highway. Gotta be a tough life between the traffic and the hawks.

As we approached Denver traffic began to increase until we finally came to stop somewhere on the north side of town. The delay was temporary and soon we were on I-70 climbing quickly into the Rocky Mountains. It was literally an figurativey like a breath of fresh air. We were suddenly surrounded by nature's grandeur and man's executive mansions perched on every available ledge.

I-70 winds through some of the most engaging scenery in the west. With light to medium traffic, it was challenging to keep focused on the road with beautiful landscapes around every corner. The sky was bright blue, the mountains were dark tan with pine trees poking out here and there. Between the earth and sky white fluffy clouds lined the peaks like whipped cream on top of chocolate ice cream. Which reminded me - no breakfast this morning.

We pulled in at Silverthorne for lunch at Wendy's. Even the fast food places have a good view. We made our phone calls and started out again. It wasn't long until we had to stop for another photo opportunity.

Dillon Reservoir provided an opportunity to stretch our legs and take a break before pushing for the finish line at Montrose. We had decided to do an IBA Bun-Burner since we only had another 300 or 400 miles to qualify.

The roads were so much fun on a motorcycle, we didn't stop often. After going through an especially long tunnel I noticed my GPS had locked and would not reset. We stopped just short of Glenwood Canyon for some adjustments. My riding buddy Frank, always the technophile, finally took a time out from fiddling with his own GPS and consulted the paper map.

Glenwood Canyon was spectacular. Again we were torn between trying to capture the scenes on film and enjoying the curvy roads that seemed to be designed for riders. The riding won and we made our way through the narrow canyons and along the upper Colorado River to the high desert of Garfield County. Once out inthe open we fell in behind a BMW sedan and a late model Corvette who led us toward Grand Junction.

We turned south at Route 141 and intercepted US 50 for the rid down to Montrose and the Rockies Gold 2007 gathering. One last stop for gas in Delta and we were there. Over 1623 Honda miles in under 36 hours. We found William Bunt of Divide, CO who agreed to sign us in at the Black Canyon Motel, officially completing the ride.

We had already checked in at the Comfort Inn up the street so after meeting and greeting for a while we retired for some overdue rest until the next day's rides and dinner. More to follow...