Best Food on the Trip

This is pretty easy to compose (not in order of being the best,  just the memories):

• Prime Rib in Yellowstone - either Buckaroo or BearTooth restaurant, cant remember the actual name. But bartenderess has life figured out. Five months in West Yellowstone,  rest of the year in Key West. 

• Salmon Burger in Port (Mark, Renne) Renfrew, Vancouver Island, B.C.  - totally unreasonable wait for food. But if you are located at the end of the world, you can dictate the waiting time. Wanted to stay at Handsome's Dan's cottages but they were booked. 

• Fillet Minion (wrapped in Bacon with football sized potato) - Cody, WY - this place has terrible reviews, because of the wait and slow service. I didn't experience these difficulties because I told the bartender that I was with Bert, not a Harley

• Sonic - North Platte, NE - the bomb, chillies in the burger, flies circling Bert and 1, 700 degrees in the shade. They do not take cash, only credit cards

• Coeur d'Alene - Doritos and a Sprite after a long ride, late at night, no hotels and time to sleep

Ft. Collins to Lincoln / Omaha, NE area

Time to start the journey home. Lots of places I still want to visit, but it is time to point Bert towards the big lake. My original plan (per conversations with Road Hog and others) was to return via the northern route (either hwy 2 or 200) but that would require a significant drive north before turning right and heading home. As much as I try to avoid interstate highways, the best route was 34 out of Loveland / Greeley to 76 to 80 east. 

No pictures on this post - this was a ride through nothing. The main sensory function used was not my eyes, but my nose. This is cattle country. Huge cattle ranches and "processing facilities".  Miles of veal-farms (small enclosures where the cute little cattle can hardly move so that their meat remains tender). And the stink - flashback to reading Upton Sinclair novels. Herding pens, large manure mountains, and did I mention the stink??  

Then corn country starts. I think Michigan has lots of corn, but in the real mid-west there are hundreds of miles of either grazing land or corn. And did I mention hotness? Flashback to the summer of 1974 when my friend Pat C. and I drove my van from A2 to Denver. When we were in Nebraska, it was so hot that my battery exploded and the acid coated most of the front of the van. This was MF hot, you-can-die-in-this-hot type of environment. Then I started thinking about how our trip ended - going to see Eric Clapton (and surprise guest George Harrison) play at some cow palace in Denver. When the concert was over, we went back to my van. Everything stolen / stripped from the van. I had no money except for a Standard Oil credit card. We had to drive back to Michigan and only stop at Standard gas stations to get gas and food (back then, there was NO "full service" gas stations, best we could hope for was a soda and a slim jim).

Ok, back to the trip. Did I tell you about the stink?? Sorry. When you ride with full gear on, and you are melting down in the 95-degree heat your head gets funny.

Once I crossed the state line into Iowa, the topography changed. Many people dis Iowa, but to me the terrain is somewhat similar to Michigan except that there is no UP, the Great Lakes, and the people have much more realistic expectations about their sports teams (RIP Johnny Orr). 

Ended up somewhere between Lincoln and Omaha, almost out of gas. Out of energy, just wanting to sleep.  One of my last hotel stays and certainly the worst of all. Motel 6 - "we leave the light on, the blaring TV in the next room on, and whatever critters have gathered in your room - no charge". And as a bonus, we have hired a dysfunctional (toothless) crack addict to greet you upon arrival. Welcome! 

Another Road Hog Story

When I was ascending / descending the various passes in the Rocky Mountains, I recalled a story that Road Hog told me about going over the BearTooth outside of Yellowstone. He and his wife were ascending the pass when it began to snow. He said they were going barely 5-10 MPH, in second gear, up the road. The sleet had covered his face and he asked his wife to wipe the sleet off. She said "F-no, this was your stupid idea, my hands are too cold and they are staying in my pockets".

Once they made it to the top, it was warm on the other side and the ride continued without further conflict.

Winter Park to Idaho Springs to Estes Park to Granby to Ft. Collins

A very long day, but over-the-top views. Rode through the heart of Rocky Mountains National Park. Ride included a 12, 000 foot ascent / decent / ascent / decent via the highest continuous paved road in the US. I rode up, over and down, then turned abound and did the route in reverse. Only negative of the day was stopping in Estes Park. Nothing against the town, but it was an overload of people, cars, tourist shops, etc. Like Mackinaw Island on steroids. Probably a great place to spend a few days with a family, but just "too much" for me.

On the way to Estes Park, I went through a town called Central City / Black Hawk (population around 600 people). Clearly this was a mining town in the past and there are still many visible mining buildings in the area. Part of the 1860's gold rush, the Gregory Lode in Gregory Gulch (cool names) was the main gold bearing vein. What is interesting is that these two small towns are out in the middle of nowhere, but host a least 30 casinos in an area the size of Dexter, MI. Very strange.

Similar to my other rides over high mountain passes, the photo opts were numerous:

The route out of Estes Park towards Loveland / Ft. Collins is hwy 34. It follows the Big Thompson Canyon / River. Beautiful potential pictures, but no place to stop. As I rode down the canyon, it was clear that there had been significant flooding recently (demolished houses, bad erosion). Also, I passed through a town which name sounded familiar. Turns out that in 1976 there was a terrible flash flood which killed 144 people and then another flood last September. The picture below is an example of the devastation which occurred. The road in the picture is the route I road on today :().

Ft. Collins to Winter Park via Roosevelt and Arapahoe National Parks

A very pretty, twisting ride today. Took 14 west out of Ft. Collins to 125 South through Granby and stopped in Winter Park for the night. Didn't take a lot of pictures, but not because of bad scenery, just a great day to ride along twisty roads. I love roads where they have a gate and flashing lights and a sign which says "if the lights are flashing turn around and go home". Learned that there are no Grizzly Bears in Colorado so decided to stop along the way and took a nap next to a stream.  A few picts to illustrate the ride:

Checking into the hotel I asked the lady where she was from. She said Holland. She and her husband came out to Winter Park for a vacation and never left. She said "we get along fine, he is a downhill skier and I like cross country skiing. I do the front desk work and he does the maintenance, we never see each other :)".

Winter Park is a big ski area. However, I cant imagine driving up from Denver, during a snow storm, on a Friday night, via the twisty roads.

Things to take, not take next time

Things I would not take next time:

• Half my clothes. I way over packed on clothing. I did not need 3 pairs of shorts, 5 nice short sleeved shirts, 3 pairs of jeans, etc.
• Half my toiletries. There are places called stores where you can buy anything you need, no reason to fill up your luggage with this stuff
• My camera case. My camera spent the entire trip in my tank bag. My camera case just took up space in one of my luggage bags. Only used it to keep a bottle of Gatorade cool during the day
• Wax and chrome polish - total waste of space
• Duplicate tools. I'm riding a BMW, not a Harley so nothing is going to break anyway. I don't need 2 sets of identical hex tools, 5 screwdrivers, my oil change kit, etc.
• Spare raincoat. My rain gear is better and more functional than my north face rain jacket
• Battery charger - I'm riding 4-8 hours per day, if that doesn't charge the battery, I have a battery issue not a charger issue

Things I would take next time:

• Duct Tape
• Extension cord - hotel outlets (especially in budget hotels) are not always located in a practical place
• Music back up. The loss of the first mini was felt every time I wanted to listen to music during a long ride
• Running stuff. It was on the packing list but didn't make the cut due to me thinking I needed a bunch of extra clothes I ended up never wearing. I think my running shoes would have added an extra dimension to the trip and helped me ride less per day
• GoPro Camera!
• Very compact sleeping bag and micro tent. There were hundreds of places in B.C., Washington, Colorado where I could have pulled over and camped. Beautiful places on the beach, next to rivers, etc.
• Michelin - type maps for selected areas. Sometimes google maps didn't work in remote places. Also, needed more detail on rural roads 
• Neosporin and anti-itch cream (saddle sores)

Sheridan to Casper to Cheyenne, WY to Ft. Collins, CO

Nice ride through a lot of space. Everything here is big: the clouds, the contrasts, the vistas, the colors.  Good cruising day, mostly highway, steady 80MPH. Very hot, mid-90s again. Goal was to get to Ft. Collins, CO which is the gateway to Estes Park, Rocky Mountains National Park, etc.

While the ride was long, the scenery was beautiful. I could see the ridge of the Continental Divide mountains to my right. They blocked most of the moisture, so the ride was through very dry landscape. However, it was clear that at some point in time there was lots of water in this area.

Ended up at a hotel near the first legal recreational marijuana dispensary in Colorado. The traffic going in and out if the office complex where the dispensary is located is amazing. Stopped at the gas station near the entrance to fill up on gas. Saw an ATM in the store.  Said to the attendant "this is probably a very popular ATM". He smiled and said "oh yes, sometimes they have to fill it three times in a single day".