Redfish Climbs Colorado!

[Redfish Hunter]

This has been a busy year for me. It began to look as though there would be no Redfish and family bike trip this year. Work was consuming all my time, 6 to 7 day weeks, minimum of 11 hours per day, things were looking bad. The strain was growing, the tension was building... My bosses and my HR manager decided that it was best for all concerned if I took at least a week off. Dear Old Dad will be 69 years old this August. He is not getting any younger. So...

Two years ago on the annual trip one of my cousins almost lost his life when he totaled his Harley pulling a trailer. Last year for several reasons he was unable to ride with us.

But this year he rolled into Dad's yard on a shiny CVO Street Glide with the 110 inch Screaming Eagle motor. The choices we make...



At least there is no trailer involved this time.

Friday, July 4th:

Why is it that a breakfast cooked by Mom just naturally smells and tastes better than anything you can buy? The memory of that bacon and egg biscuit stayed with me for many miles that morning.

We met up with my other cousin and his GoldWing at 6:50am. The ride through Louisiana all on back roads was pleasant and surprisingly cool(below 80 degrees) until we ate lunch in Shreveport Louisiana. We did not reach 90 degrees until the last hour of our ride.

Now July is not the best month to be riding a motorcycle from South Louisiana through Texas. It gets hot. Pop and I wear decent gear but it is difficult to educate some folks.

We stopped for a water break in a church parking lot somewhere in Northeast Texas.



Where are the riders? Well, Dear Old Dad was explaining to his nephews the benefits of good gear. They seemed a bit worn out, perhaps they were too tired to listen?



For simplification we will just call them Cousin HD and Cousin GW.

To everyone's astonishment the Harley with the 110 inch Screaming Eagle Motor was doing almost as well on fuel as my Honda. It was actually doing better than Pop's FJR. Better on fuel anyway.

We spent the night in Sherman Texas.

Saturday July 5th:

After a decent IHOP breakfast, we headed West on Hwy 82. Along the way we discovered that the GoldWing had a broken front fender and a leaking fork seal. That fender is broken and repaired often. But we cannot remove the plastic chrome fender extender that causes the problem because it looks good and keeps the bike clean.

This will repeat itself often:



Hwy 82 was pleasant, temps started in the 70s and reached low 80s before we turned onto Hwy 287. The temps climbed and The Wind began. My two cousins claimed they were not having any issues. They were each trying to prove they owned the superior bike.

We had to stop and get some windmill pics:





I can say that my ST1300 was the most leaned over of the lot. Pop's FJR benefited greatly from the taller Cee Bailey flip screen, he was much better protected than last year. Of course his fuel mileage suffered slightly but he was willing to trade.

Tempers were a bit strained when we finally arrived in Amarillo. Of course we went straight to The Big Texan.



And this is what a 72 ounce ribeye looks like!



And this is what my 21 ounce Sirloin looked like before I devoured it:



Meanwhile I was watching with great interest the cooking of the steaks:



We paused on I-40 for some water. I took a couple shots there:





The accursed GrassHoppers!



Finally we reached our destination for the night, The Blue Swallow Motel. I have written about this place before but I cannot say enough good things about the place and the owners. They are steadily upgrading and refining the place while keeping it faithful to its origins.

That day before we arrived Harley Davidson had done a photo shoot there for the intro of their new electric bike. The owner had pics of it and his son had actually sat on it. Judging by that pic, the bike is very small. Smaller than an SV-650 small.



Cousin HD was thrilled with the whole RT 66 thing and felt that his Harley fit right in.



They even had this old Ford mostly restored there. It ran too. The owners son and his wife took it for a spin. We waited for our turn to drive it... We are still waiting.



I want to make some sort of mean comment to HotRodZilla about a Ford that actually runs but I honestly have too much respect for these old vehicles. I loved the thing.

Meanwhile, Cousin GW was playing the same old game. I have been asking for the three years he has owned this bike why we cannot just remove the damned chromed plastic fender extender. I keep asking...



As night fell and the neon glowed our hearts were filled with happiness and excitement for The Best Trip Ever.



To be continued...

 

[Dunk43]

Great RR.....waiting for more.

 

[Fontanaman]

Great ride report looking forward to more......

 

[Denver_FJR]

Looking forward to more!

The Big Texan... Been by it many times, but never stopped. I still laugh when I see their billboard and the 72 oz steak. At 165 lb, there's no way I would attempt eating 72 oz of anything (solid). I could probably live on that for about 3 months.

 

[majicmaker]

72oz's? Nope! I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun trying but, I'm also sure I'll be taking a big doggie bag home with me.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Great report and wonderful photos Redfish!!

We waiting for more!!

 

[VMaxChuck]

Great ride report! Keep it coming!!

 

[Redfish Hunter]

With regards to The Big Texan and their 72 ounce steak challenge, we watched a guy fail miserably while we were there. Cousin GW looked it over and wanted to try it. I really believe that if he had not been on his motorcycle and had to ride another couple hours he would have made the attempt.

You have to eat the 72 ounce steak, baked potato, shrimp cocktail and a dinner roll. You have to do it in under 60 minutes.

The current record was set by a woman named Molly Schuyler. She weighs 125 pounds (sometimes) and she is a competitive eater. She ate the whole thing in 4:58. She then relaxed and enjoyed her second one in 9:59.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

We sat sipping beers and repairing a fender in the yard at The Blue Swallow and all was well. Until...

"Are we going to Utah?" "Are we going to The Grand Canyon?" "Why not?" "Are we gonna see Monument Valley?" "Are we gonna see Goosenecks?" "Why not?" "Why NOT?!"

Well damn. I spend hours and hours plotting routes and planning strategy. I have already evaluated every possible alternative and I know who is capable of riding what and for how long. I make up a list of alternative routes in case something changes.

What I cannot do is create more time. There is only a limited amount of time and we were definitely limited. To do everything my two cousins suddenly wanted would have taken at least 2 and 1/2 weeks which we did not have.

Or maybe I was just being whiny because I did not like changing MY plans.

Pop was already irritated that we had waited in the heat while a WalMart trip for GoldWing repair components was made. Pop was getting irritated that it seemed to take forever for my two cousins to get their sunscreen applied and their radios adjusted and their spit bottles emptied...

So there was perhaps a bit of tension when we all turned in for the night.

Which brings us to Day 3!

Sunday July 6th:

We ate an excellent breakfast at Kix on 66. Pop felt we took too long. Then we had to take more pics of Cousin HD in front of RT66 murals. Pop felt we took too long. Then we had to fuel up and get ice and water. Pop felt we took too long. Then shopping in the motel lobby for souvenirs had to be done. Pop felt they took to long. Then I realized I had not returned my room key. That really did take too long.

So it was after 8:00 am that we actually set off on Hwy 104 toward Las Vegas NM. The sun was already high and Pop was not pleased. But the views were still nice and the road still called so it was not all bad.



We made the mandatory stop at Conchas Dam State Park but it was a weekend and there were lots of people and no animals to be seen. My cousins went off mule deer hunting and Pop felt that took too long.

Pop was grouchy as hell over the constant delays and was making my life miserable as well.

Does Pop look happy?



So, I got my flock rounded up and we set off again. We began to enjoy 104 and when we stopped at an overlook I took a pic of this guy:



I don't know who he is but he is FAST!

We fueled up in Las Vegas NM and headed up hwy 518 to Mora NM. The scenery was good, the road was good but since it was late in the day there was traffic.





We turned North out of Mora on Hwy 434 which I really enjoyed last year. The pavement is not good but the scenery is wonderful. I was sightseeing and let a series of very tight corners sneak up on me. The pavement was uneven with cracks and breaks and I swung wide to miss the worst of it. Pop took a different line and I was watching him in my mirrors. I knew he drug his foot peg but he came through all right and was laughing in my headset so I assumed all was good.

When we stopped for a break, Pop was not happy. He found that he had drug a bit harder than we thought and he had been closer to his limit than we wanted. Of course it was my fault for playing.



At least the scenery was good.



Pop said he was not enjoying 434. Well damn. I cannot win.

We had lunch in Angel Fire and it was surprisingly good and quick. We ate at the Café Espresso. We took Hwy 64 West toward Taos and it was very nice. We were stuck behind some slow vehicles but that gave us time to look around and enjoy the scenery. The smell of the trees in that area is wonderful.

Then we had to pass through Taos. At least it was fairly quick this time. And Taos is a pretty little town, it really is. I just cannot understand the slowness of the traffic.

Then the obligatory stop at the Rio Grande Gorge:





Of course there was a thunderstorm in the desert West of Taos and that stretched up into the mountains. Our bikes were filthy by this time. Pop was impatient that my cousins would wander around aimlessly at each stop and that they seemed to require more stops than necessary. He was really making me miserable as well.

By the time we arrived in Bloomfield NM we were all a bit tired. The dry heat and the terrible pavement on hwy 64 had sapped some of the fun out of the day. We ate supper at Serious TX BBQ and it was pretty good. We stayed at the Best Western in Bloomfield and I amused myself watching the prairie dogs and the rabbits in the lot behind the hotel.

Nobody was really happy at this point. Pop was impatient with my cousins. My cousins felt like they were being pushed into a structured, rigidly planned vacation. I felt that if we could just get into the more relaxed days I had planned all would be well again. I had to get control of the situation and make everything good again. I had not planned on things going sour this early in the game.

It was a troubled sleep that finally came to me that night in Bloomfield.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Keep it coming Redfish....... glad you could take some downtime to make this trip.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Monday 7/7/14

Pop was ready to ride. He had no patience for anything else. Cousin GW wanted breakfast. The hotel breakfast was not sufficient for him. He and Pop were at odds here.

Cousin HD was just glad to be alive and able to ride his Harley. Almost dying in a motorcycle crash will have that effect on you.

I had to reunite my crew... I recruited Cousin HD to deal with Pop and I walked next door with David to the RoadSide Café. While Pop and Cousin HD ate the hotel breakfast Cousin GW and I had a marvelous Breakfast Steak with Eggs. The waitress was very attractive and helpful and all was right with my world.

Until... I return to the hotel room to find Pop looking over my maps. He was so mad he was shaking.

(Edited) "I am looking for the way home. I want to Ride My Bike! Ride it, do you understand? I came here to ride my motorcycle not eat like a starving walrus. You guys want to sit around and scratch your ***** while the day goes by, fine. I am going to ride my motorcycle some damn where!"

Oh boy. Apparently my cousin had not calmed down Dear Old Dad. I had to explain that we were all on vacation. All of us. I had to explain about downtime, nutrition requirements and the beauty of my plan if he would just be patient.

So, we got our stuff loaded on the bike and headed toward:



In the town of ShipRock, we had to work on the front fender of the GoldWing again. Pop was not saying anything. Cousin GW got off the ground and handed me the Chromed Plastic Fender Extender.

"I think this is my whole problem. What do you think?"

When I opened my mouth and no words would come out, he wrapped me in a crushing bear hug. "Yeah you were right. You been right all along. Now throw that away and let's go ride our motorcycles!"

Even Pop was grinning when we rolled North.

Of course, we had to stop for:





Meanwhile, Ole Blue had his nose pointed North...



Soon enough, we were fueled up in Cortez Colorado and started up Hwy 145. As the world turned green and I was able to explain to Pop that the hard structured days were over and we were officially in Flower Sniffing mode I could feel the happiness seeping into my group. This was what we had come out here for anyway, to relax, unwind and enjoy our motorcycles.









Then, we reached Lizard Head Pass. I am not sure how they decided this rock looked like a lizard head but there it is.





There was some discussion about the "fog" between us and the mountain. I insisted it was rain, Pop said fog.



Turns out I was right. And to my horror we found Road Damage. We sat laughing in the cold mountain rain at over 10,000 feet waiting on forward movement. At least we were laughing.



We parked our bikes at the summit in the rain and laughed, joked and completely enjoyed ourselves. All was good with the crew again. Just like it should be.



Of course, as we went further north, things began to warm up and get dry...



Next, Hwy 141

 

[hppants]

Welcome back, my friend. I was enjoying the ride report teasers you sent me from time to time while you were gone

There's no getting around the fact that if we Gulf Coasterners want to see the Rockies, we've got two incredibly HARD friggin riding days to get there. Or 3 damm hard days. Or 4 reasonable days. Of course, whichever method one choses, he/she must double that to get home.

I'm starting to kick around a fall ride to Co. I'm thinking no less than 10 days, and hopefully 12. Take 2 weeks off - 1 day to pack, 1 day to unpack, and 12 days of adventure.

Looking so forward to the rest of the story....

 

[Redfish Hunter]

We had a decent lunch at the Happy Belly Deli in Norwood CO.



Our waitress was cute and had shapely legs so that always makes my food taste better. While we ate I sat fighting with the GoPro. I was almost successful.

As we went North onto 141 the terrain changed. I passed a '14 FJR A parked in a little town, I hope it was a forum member.

We had to stop at the Hanging Flume. While Cousin HD studied that I took the time to take some pics:









We got into the red rocks and Cousin HD was in awe. We were all completely enjoying ourselves. I mounted the GoPro on the front of the 'Wing and we tried a few still shots.





Now, I want to share something with you all. I found this last year on Hwy 141 but decided not to share it. However, knowing how hot that are gets this might be important to one of you. Besides it is interesting to me, and hopefully to you as well.

There is a water source coming from the rock on Hwy 141. It is north of the Hanging Flume overlook by a few miles on the West side of the road. It is hidden behind a gnarled old tree and has been helped by some man made improvements. I am not sure what the purpose of this was but the water is cold, clear and tasty. Even if you don't need it you may want to stop by and look.

In the pic that follows note the tree on the left side and the cliff face:



See that darkness between the tree and the cliff? There is room to walk in there.





This is what is back there:



As we rolled North, I noticed a dark spot in the bushes way off to the right side. I had to stop dead in the road, I thought a pic or two might be necessary:



Shall we zoom in?





Of course the clouds were beginning to gather in our path as we watched the bear:



To be continued.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

We continued North on 141 and the scenery changed and was always great. Hwy 141 is very high on my list of great roads. Very little traffic, an abundance of sweeping curves, and fantastic scenery make this one of the best roads I ever rode.

It was getting pretty hot when the rain finally began to fall on us. The temps instantly dropped and so did our speed. We paused for a water break and I walked down to the stream.

I felt compelled to test the waterproof integrity of my Tourmaster riding boots.



The stream was quite lovely and quite cold.



We continued up to Hwy 50 where The Wind suddenly became THE GAWDAMMED WIND!!! Holy Hell, it was bad. I really thought I was going to drag my foot peg while running in a straight line. When we stopped for gas we made sure we were pointed at the wind so we could not be blown over sideways.

We spent the night in Delta CO at a Days Inn. It started off so good, I knew it was too good to be true.
The rooms were cheap. There was a restaurant on site. They served a real supper and a real breakfast! Oh my! We would not have to go anywhere, all we had to do was park our bikes and go eat. Wow, what a perfect end to a perfect day.

The food was awful. It looked and tasted like they had some left over TV dinners from 1977 that they dumped onto a real plate and heated in the microwave. The only thing missing was that sour tart thing that used to come in the TV dinners.

As soon as we got back to our room Pop started throwing up. I was wishing I could throw mine up. The AC was not blowing very cold. My cousins went to check at the desk and were told that "We don't use refrigerant in our ACs down in the valley." What? Seriously? How do they work then? I am sure the clerk was confused but the AC units in both rooms did not blow very cold.

I discovered that I did not have the charging cord for the GoPro. Nevermind how that happened, I did not have it. So, I went shopping. Pop just lay on his bed and asked if I could bring back some water.

I went into a WalMart and found that they sold GoPro cameras. Oh boy! They had all sorts of accessories. They had all sorts of mounts. They had extra batteries. They did not have chargers. After searching through all the cell phone chargers they had I gave up and started walking out. I passed a charger on the clearance rack and BINGO!

In the parking lot I was fascinated by a young woman riding a bright pink scooter and with matching shirt and socks. No helmet, but quite cute. Next I was surprised by a woman in a bright pink wig wearing a night gown walking in circles around my motorcycle. Not cute. She was talking on the phone with someone and seemed to be very stoned.

I escaped WalMart and set off to find some bottled water. I found a Wendy's attached to a gas station/convenience store and decided that perhaps Pop and Cousin GW might benefit from a hamburger. There were two young... ladies? waiting outside the door with a cardboard sign. They were trying to get donations so they could go buy some weed. They did not look old enough to have graduated high school. The skinny one had bright pink hair (is this normal for Delta?) while the chubby one had on a very tight set of Daisy Dukes. I somehow could not find it in me to donate to their cause.

Neither Pop nor my cousin was able to stomach anything else that night. They sipped on the water I brought and threw the burgers away.

My cousin made it very clear that we were NOT eating breakfast in the hotel restaurant the next day. And we didn't.

To be continued.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

It is amazing how a day of great riding puts everyone on the same page. To our happy surprise my two cousins were already up and moving when we went to load our luggage on the bikes. We were all cheerful and happy and we laughed about the breakfast we were not going to eat at the hotel.

We took off to the nearest (and only) McDonald's for what seemed like the most delicious breakfast in the world.

Parked at McDonald's was this pristine International Scout. It was set up as a truck and was in perfect shape down to the tonneau cover on the bed.



As we rode out of town on Hwy 92 we passed by a real, working Drive-In Theatre. I did not know that there were any left in the world.

Hwy 133 going north to Carbondale was beautiful in every detail. The only thing wrong with 133 is that it ended at Carbondale. I wish I were still riding it. We saw several mule deer, two turkeys and what I believe was a ptarmigan. At one point we came upon a mule deer doe standing in the road. I had enough time to stop and get my camera out before she trotted off the road.



Pop and I were in delighted wonder at the beauty of this area. I think the beauty of that morning combined with an early start to make that ride almost magical. The early parts of that ride were the coldest of the trip with temps in the upper 40s. Good stuff.



There was construction in Carbondale but we were not delayed and we turned SouthEast on Hwy 82 toward Aspen.

Ah, Aspen. Before we reached town we were in Stop and Almost Never Go Traffic. No issues other than wasted time. Pop and I laughed and bitched in stages but we eventually got into the town. The private jets waiting at the airport were enough to clue us into what sort of folks have homes in that area. I will say that it is a beautiful little town and I would love to visit there in a vehicle but it was no fun on the bike. And to quote Cousin HD, "Did you see all the beautiful Snow Bunnies?" Yes, yes I did.

Pop and I noticed the Harley seemed to be dropping back and we assumed he was watching the people and getting distracted. It was not until we started the climb up Independence Pass that we started to worry. We stopped at a pull-off and waited.

The 2011 Harley Davidson CVO Street Glide with the 110 inch Screaming Eagle motor in all its $34,000 glory was overheating. Overheating? It had only been 75 degrees in town, we were in the low 60s where we sat, how could it be overheating?

To combine what we think with what we know: The system that allows the rear cylinder of the 110 inch Screaming Eagle motor to shut off in traffic was not enabled. The computer was leaning out the fuel mixture to account for low oxygen. A lean mixture generates more heat. The oil pressure (yes it was synthetic) dropped and then the hydraulic clutch lost all pressure and the clutch lever flopped loosely on the handlebars.

How he had ridden it in that traffic with no way to disengage the clutch... I was pissed at the Harley but impressed with my cousin. He was very depressed and trying not to show it. Cousin GW did not make fun of the Harley at all, not when something serious had gone wrong. We elected to wait and let the motor cool down for a while.

This is what we looked like:




I amused myself by taking pics of this guy:





Finally, we were able to move on. My poor HD cousin was trying to theorize all sorts of reasons why his expensive Harley was not working. He had irritated Dad early on in the trip by wanting to stop by a Harley shop and get his oil changed at least once while on the trip and now he was searching for HD dealers on his phone. Pop had no patience for going to a Harley dealer.

At last we reached the summit of Independence Pass. This was truly a "High Point" in my trip, a place I had dreamed of seeing. I desperately wanted a picture. Not just any picture mind you, a very special picture.

And here it is!



I had a bit of a wait for it though because the young woman ahead of me was apparently quite "high" and finally had to be assisted on her way by her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, the clutch lever on the HD still had no pressure and the oil pressure was down very low. Cousin HD had shut it off and let it coast to a stop. I quickly moved Ole Blue out of the way and trotted back to get the pic of the Harley. As I arrived a small group of folks had noticed the Louisiana license plate and had stopped to chat. The daughter was wearing the all too familiar Purple of LSU. There was even the LSU logo in gold on the right arm!

So, Cousin HD had his pic taken in front of the sign also.



Then, in a surprise move our lovely new friend asked if SHE could please sit on the Harley and get her pic taken as well. She just loved Harleys...



So, Cousin Harley actually had the last laugh. The lovely young lady was a member of the LSU rowing team and she was impressed with a Harley Davidson that could not even move itself. But at least it looked good. I never got her name but she was pushing 6 feet tall and she was quite beautiful. That is probably the best that damned Harley will ever look.

So, we waited around for the Harley Davidson CVO Street Glide with the 110 inch Screaming Eagle Motor to cool down. The temp was in the low 50s and there was plenty of wind. I spent my time walking the paths and taking pics.







Meanwhile a husband and wife on BMW GSs pulled up, he on the 1200, her on the 800. The man was impressed with the FJR and was close to Pop in age so they had a nice chat. My cousin noticed the Big GS was air cooled and asked the gentleman if he were having any problems overheating.

"You are not serious are you?" He asked in astonishment. He seemed to notice the big Harley for the first time. He laughed and said, "Let me guess, you are riding the Harley? Having issues are you? No, son this bike can go anywhere. Absolutely anywhere."

And that was that.

We had a nice ride down the south eastern side of the pass and made our way to Buena Vista where we had a late lunch. We had lost about 90 minutes to the Harley overheating so I was mentally changing our itinerary. We stopped at the first place we came to and our food was EXCELLENT! Simple burgers that they were, man they were good.

When the check came to the table, Cousin GW glanced at it and laughed.
"That is incredible," he said. "That is exactly the same price down to the penny as that garbage we ate at the hotel last night!"



Of course as we were leaving the rain was chasing us again.



We headed toward Colorado Springs on Hwy 24. Along the way we encountered a building storm and stopped to put on rain gear. With the first real gust of wind, instead of just rain drops, we were hit with hail. Hail! On a motorcycle! What to do?

Cousin GW turned and shouted to Cousin HD, "Open your ice chest! I got you some ice!" We laughed so hard about the entire thing that I was crying in my helmet and Pop was struggling to ride in a straight line. Of course a straight line was impossible with the wind gusting and knocking us about. The hail stones stayed mercifully small, usually no larger than 00 buckshot.

Things dried out and we rode along happily until we approached Woodland Park. We could see over the next ridge the TOP of a cloud. The top? Well, if you ride in the mountains you eventually ride into a cloud, we have all done it. It is just fog anyway... Yet somehow I knew this would be different. And it was.

How things work in nature I sometimes cannot understand. We were INSIDE the cloud yet hail stones and rain was hitting us with hurricane force. The rain and hail came from every direction and hit with violence. Visibility was almost nonexistent and Pop and I were encouraging one another through the Scala Rider. Pop wanted to know how the new PR4 GTs were doing in the rain, his brand new PR3s were doing splendidly he said. He made me laugh when he pointed out that the Harley should be running pretty cool by now...

We found a Days Inn at Manitou Springs and spent a decent night. I talked to some Harley folks and none of them were having the same issues as my cousin. But no, none of them had ever ridden that high before.

Finally after listening to my cousin on the phone with any number of experts, I lost patience. I explained to him about the separation of engine and transmission oil on his Harley. I explained to him how a hydraulic clutch actually works. I had to tell him that the info he was getting from his friends was B.S. I told him what I thought was wrong with his clutch fluid. I took him out to his bike and pulled the cover off the clutch reservoir. (Yes, my Honda has a tool kit!) And we found what I thought we would find. The DOT4 fluid was milky. It seemed to have water in the fluid. As it was still raining and we were not excited about taking off in it, we decided to wait until later for repairs.

I have lost track of how many times on this trip that we checked the engine oil and the transmission oil and we smelled the oil and we felt the oil and we talked him out of going to the closest dealer to get it all changed. I think that proper maintenance goes a long way. I think that all Harleys don't have these issues. I know that this one cost us time and happiness.

The worst of it? If the Harley Davidson CVO Street Glide with the 110 inch Screaming Eagle Motor had issues climbing to 12,000 feet, what would it do if we attempted the 14,110 foot Pike's Peak?

And that folks is what we had scheduled first thing the next morning...

 

[MNFJR Pilot]

Awesome ride reports, keep them coming!!!

 

[hppants]

 

[Jer]

I spent a week each of the last two summers riding the roads of Colorado and after reading your report feel that I missed some great roads. I may be able to hit them next year on my way to or back from South Dakota. Great report and pictures.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I've been over Independence pass tons of times. Twice with Harleys, one of those times with like 15 Harleys. None of them ever had an issue.

Nice report but holy ****, the whining and hurt feelings would irritate the **** out of me. Like my brother says, "I'm on VACATION. I'll do whatever the **** I want."

BTW, I was on the road between Mora and Angelfire a couple weeks ago. I know exactly which corner your dad hit. It was that sharp right that heads up hill and decreases. LOTS of bikes have overrun that turn. You should have let me know when you were going. Patch and I would have met you and run you up through Eagles Nest and Red River instead of just straight to Taos.

Oh well, next time; looking forward to the rest.