Thurs 7-10-14
Pop and I were both up early. I headed to the lobby to do a coffee acquisition/breakfast reconnaissance run and was pleased with the outcome of both. Pop and I sipped our coffee in the early morning quiet and soaked up the smell of Spruce. Cousin GW looked doubtful when I told him we were going to eat at the hotel for breakfast. By the time my cousins made it to the lobby Pop and I were almost done with breakfast.
The early start allowed us to ride in the cool stillness when the wildlife was still moving. That may not have been the smartest thing... It worked out all right though.
Hwy 149 was a jewel. The scenery and the sweeping curves made for an idyllic ride. We had to dodge suicidal chipmunks constantly but 149 was everything I had hoped.
We took a break at Windy Ridge Overlook at Slumgullion Pass.
I attached the GoPro to my ST and tried to get some decent still shots of my two cousins. Letting them lead insured a slow pace but I was okay with that.
We removed the GoPro and I resumed the lead after the summit of Slumgullion. All was wonderful until...
We had to hit Road Construction eventually. It is the Colorado State Sport you know.
Pop took the opportunity to look around.
We pondered the reasoning of the occupants of the vehicle in front of us. The temp was in the mid 60s, there was a very nice breeze, the smell of the air was heavenly... But those folks sat with their motor idling and their windows rolled up. Motorcycle people and car people are so different I guess.
We wound up following a pilot car (truck) for about 6 miles, then riding on Very Fresh Chip Seal with Extra Oil for another 12 miles or so.
We took a short break so Cousin HD and I could get some pics of North Clear Creek Falls.
The rest of the ride was just wonderful and we had a very pleasant lunch in Creede CO. The service and the food were quite good at:
We turned South on Hwy 160 and crossed Wolf Creek Pass. There was a cold rain falling and we did not stay long. We took no pics there. I know that if that had been the first pass we had crossed in Colorado there would have been numerous pics taken. We were all in sensory overload.
We fueled up in Pagosa Springs and I realized that we were making much better time than I had planned. I decided to push a bit in the hopes of getting set up for a decent run home. We hit rain again in Chama and it stayed with us on and off on Hwy 64 in New Mexico for most of the afternoon. Hopewell Pass was crossed in a light cold rain and there was no playing with wet curves on sketchy pavement.
Cousin GW wanted to stop in the desert West of Taos to look at the small community of... folks that live underground. If you have not seen or heard of this, there is a group of homes partially underground out there. The parts that are above ground are... interesting? Different? Just plain weird?
Anyway, my cousin said, "I want to stop and visit with them. I want to talk to them. I want to go underground with them. I want to eat organic tomatoes and **** with them. I think we all need to stop there."
I knew he was joking. Or at least I hoped he was joking.
We stopped long enough for me to get a couple of pictures.
Turns out he did not really want to stop.
Taos traffic was Horrible. Really really bad.
But, the newly enabled cylinder cut off system on the Harley (We had found the cylinder killing/cooling system was not enabled on the HD and that had contributed greatly to our woes) worked to perfection. Not only did the big Harley not run hot, it did not cook the rider as it had previously.
We took Hwy 518 from Taos all the way back to Las Vegas NM.
We stayed at the Comfort Inn at Las Vegas and had supper at Pino's restaurant right up the road. I really enjoyed mine, the others not so much.
My Harley riding cousin finally could not stand it any longer and HAD to change his transmission oil. Since this meant buying everything and doing it in the parking lot, I insisted we flush the clutch fluid as well. The clutch definitely operated better after that.
Pop sat on the curb and watched all this with disgust. "A Harley is a hobby, not a motorcycle," he told me. "If he wants to pay for something that needs to be worked on every trip, you ought to let him work on it."
I knew he was just being grouchy and he would have been irritated with me if I had not done the work. I had the feeling that whatever was eating Pop was going to start overshadowing my good trip again.
A well earned shower, a decent night's sleep...
Almost Done folks.