Sagebrush is out west..... Made it! (Will be picture heavy)

[Sagebrush]

Well I made it through all the flat lands between Alabama and New Mexico. After two long days I made it to Red River, NM. The temps were pretty bad across I-40, I came up through 278 in AL and the heat was 100 degrees by Memphis so I ran slab to make time. OK was HOT, 104 to 106 till 5 pm the heat sucked it out of me so, I pulled in at I-40 exit 308 for the first night.

I started out this trip at Two Brothers in GA, I just did a full BRP and Skyway trip so, I needed some tires for the western journey;

These guys are the motorcycle tire masters of the Atlanta area, they had the PR2's in stock and got me back on the road quickly on a Monday morning. Here is the fresh rubber pic;

From Two Brothers I went over to Johns Creek, GA and stayed at my parents second home and then headed out a couple days later to Jacksonville, AL via Rome to get the camping gear and service the bike. It was very nice to see Alpharetta again, I grew up in the area and my favorite resturant needed visiting.

At home I finally installed a G2 and boy it sure smoothed things out. The herky jerky starts are gone and the clutch is not needed in slow first gear hair pin curves. I should have done the G2 a year ago. Added fresh grip puppies too. Changed the oil and repacked the bike with too much gear. I ended up getting a Seal Line 70L back pack from Bass Pro for my camping gear. I was ready for the road again on Friday, waited till Saturday for less traffic in the interstates. This is the first time I've had this much weight on the FJR.....

Packed and road ready with very full luggage; camping gear, cooking stuff, two days worh of food, rain gear, cold weather gear, bike cover, extra insulated rain liner for the mesh pants in case I hit any thing close to snow...... I even put in my heated jacket liner and gloves, probably will never leave the saddle bag.

If you see this sign in OK while slabbing you have found a decent hotel with large rooms for $55 per night.

I-40 ain't much to look at or take pictures of, my first stop for pics was in Texas on Sunday (day two) where it was a much cooler 97 degrees, here is the area on I-40 just entering TX;

The picture doesn't really show the vast grass lands and rock ledges, Texas was a nice boring run with views the went on forever. Here is the West bound welcome center;

The ride into Amarillo was fine with good speeds and the town was crowded. The Big Texan was packed. Wanting to get up to higher elevations I headed on to;

The NM rest area was nice, free coffee and lots of nice cold AC. The staff recommended routes too....

I chose to get off I-40 and head up NM 104 to Las Vegas, got fuel at a Loves truck stop. The welcome center warned about running low on fuel, I took the advice, glad I did..... no fuel on my next 145 miles through hot desert. I'm getting 36 to 38 mpg running the interstates and bucking lots of wind, fuel light has been blinking by 180 miles... :blink: I did 5 fuel stops on Sunday... :blink:

Here on NM 104 it started getting more green, from red rocky dry river beds to this;

NM 104 was a great ride up and down through some rough country, it climbed in elevation to some grass lands and then the mountains started North of Las Vegas NM on 518 N;

And back to cooler elevations...... about 8500 feet;

After this it was getting dark fast so, I ran up to Taos which was full with a bike rally, too crowded for me. Got gas and got on 64 going the wrong way.... SOUTH EAST ...... I was tired. Well 64 was way too good for a U-Turn, ended up being a nice ride to Angel Fire. Didn't feel like stopping here so I hit the GPS and figured I could make it to Red River before it was really dark and thats where I'm at right now. Great town 8,750 feet up and it was in the 50's last night. I'm headed out to explore the town a little before I hit the road.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Great pictures. Enjoying the ride, along with you. Where to next?

 

[dcarver]

Excellent start!

PopCorn, PopCorn!

 

[BwanaDik]

Great report, keep 'em coming!

What's with the ghey Spandex sidebag tights?

 

[Sagebrush]

Great pictures. Enjoying the ride, along with you. Where to next?

North to Colorado and then to Utah and maybe the Grand Canyon if I have time.

 

[BwanaDik]

Great pictures. Enjoying the ride, along with you. Where to next?

North to Colorado and then to Utah and maybe the Grand Canyon if I have time.

We just got back from around there Clicky. Try not to miss 550 thru Ouray, 6 and 128 down to Moab, and 24/12 down thru Escalante if you have the time. Grand Staircase Escalante is stunning.

 

[Old Michael]

Where to next?

North to Colorado and then to Utah and maybe the Grand Canyon if I have time.

Try not to miss 550 thru Ouray, 6 and 128 down to Moab, and 24/12 down thru Escalante if you have the time. Grand Staircase Escalante is stunning.

What B-dik said.

...and yeah. Are those some kind of panties on your sidecases? :blink:

You're a hardy soul riding some of those places in July. But I love reading about them.

And be sure to get some food shots.

 

[Sagebrush]

Yeah, I guess I could get some food shots. :lazy: I have been reading all the ride reports, its the reason I ended up going west.

The only thing I've had so far worth a food pic was the combo #1 in Chama at the High Country. I forgot the pic taking even outside, probably due to the rain shower as I was leaving. I ran through the rest of NM via 64 and the Colorado side was a very nice ride, the long sweepers were great and its nice to see trees again.

I got a late start and only made it to Durango after looking at Taos again. I'm headed up 550 in the morning. I have to figure out my route once again, I found out my Uncle is in Milford, UT and has his bike with him. So, I will need to plan a Thursday or Friday meet up for a weekend ride. The great thing about my Uncle working Utah is the fact that a guest bed room is involved. So, I was thinking of Milford, UT being a base of Utah riding operations. At least for the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Hwy 12, Moab etc... These room charges are high out here and I do want to camp but, the parks are very busy and its so hot, its 93 right now at 5pm.

I was riding in the 70's two weeks ago at lower elevations up the BRP, hope it gets cooler going up. NM was 63 this morning, so nice to ride till I hit Taos at 90 plus.

 

[Sagebrush]

Great report, keep 'em coming!
What's with the ghey Spandex sidebag tights?

Those are special and very rare Sargent saddle bag thingies thank you very much.

 

[weekend rider]

those bag covers

No they look nice

Great report and great pics. Oh it is dry heat out hear in the West. So when it is a 100F it really feels like mid 80's :yahoo:

 

[Sagebrush]

I recommend Red River, NM for a stopping place. Great town in a Ski area with some good shopping and a good selection of places to get fatter at.

The Hotel, a BW;

Lots of lodging choices here, this BW was a bit above BW average;

The rooms are nice, WiFi was very fast and the TV was a nice touch;

It was so sunny this morning I didn't get any good photos of Red River but, the town is very clean and well kept. Lots of things to do and see here if your not riding through;

I got coffee in Taos and walked around, pretty busy for a Monday. With temps in the 90's I moved on north;

I went on and had a late lunch in Chama at the High Country... No pics of that though. The steam powerd train looked interesting if you like that stuff. I headed north into Colorado... Great fast sweepers;

Made it to Durango, pretty hot here. Looking forward to heading north on 550 tomorrow. :yahoo:

I'm going to do the, 550, 50, 92, 133 and get up to Estes park some how and do a summit to summit run to the south around Colorado Springs and back across maybe to 160??? back through Durango to Cortez and make my way through to Milford, Utah to see my Uncle Friday night... I better get moving.

 

[BwanaDik]

Outstanding! Keep us posted :clapping:

 

[Sagebrush]

I'm getting onto better and better roads, after reading so much about the Black Canyon rim road, I couldn't resist heading directly north from Durango. My mpg average is going up every tank, 47 mpg and climbing, the altitude must be the reason. I'm not running easy plus, I'm pretty heavy with gear. I normally get 42 mpg running the BRP loaded so 47 mpg is above my touring average. Today I left from the Best Western in Durango and made my way up 550, the temps were in the mid 50's this morning. Traffic was fairly light, I like the decent speed limits up to Silverton.

Got a good refreshing and brisk run up to my first stop;

The views are getting better and Better and well.... how about this kinda nice view...

Silverton came up quickly and I parked in front of City Hall;

I walked around and took my time looking at the stores, the breakfast place I've read about was closed, I think its called Brown Bear Cafe? I didn't get to try it, wasn't hungry anyway.

Some Silverton pics;

I had a perfect ride down to;

Another view of 550;

The town of Ouray from above;

Ouray was busy and after spending an hour in Silverton I made my visit brief and shot a little video from the bike and pressed on to Montrose for lunch at the Red Barn which I have been told is a good stop.

So, in Montrose I finally find the Red Barn on the way out of town on 50.... And here is the photo;

The food shot;

Food, service and cold A/C was first rate, I will come again if in the area. Good place to eat at.

Ok, on to the Black Canyon via 50 and 92. The run out of town goes from flat to some good hills and then finally your back in the mountains and some lakes. The real good stuff starts on 92 when you see the Dam and then the depth of the canyon is seen.... Very nice run, very nice views, I couldn't stop very often along the road but, it had some views that went on and on. It's a must ride road and its on my favorites list now.

Great riding, the rest of the run north was on 133 and it was nice, hot though. The area around Marble is senic along the river;

 

[Sagebrush]

Here are some pics of 550 and 133 going north....

Getting off the flat lands and leaving the Montrose area;

Nice fast curves on the way to 92;

On the way through Redstone....

I stopped in Carbondale at the Days Inn Suites....

The view out of the room's window;

My next move is to do a quick loop north to Estes park and south on 7 then over to Mt. Evans then west on I-70 to Utah :construction: :bye:

 

[Hit the Road Jack]

Great report, keep 'em coming!
What's with the ghey Spandex sidebag tights?

Those are special and very rare Sargent saddle bag thingies thank you very much.

To keep your bags 'way up firm and high'!

 

[High Desert Rider]

This looks like an awesome ride!! Thanks for the pics!

Gotta agree on the saddle bag cover thingies... If you have to call them "thingies"...

Ride safe!

 

[BwanaDik]

Keep 'em coming!

We stayed at the Days In next to the Red Barn. Not a bad eatery but a bit $$$

Looks like we did similar routes, I've got the same shot of the Ouray sign. I always have to look twice though, it looks like it says "Ouray-----Cold" across the top. Like, no duh!

 

[Sagebrush]

Well, I guess an update is due.

Picking up where I left off in Carbondale I pulled out early on a cool 56 to 59 degree morning and headed north to I-70 for a more direct route to the Rocky Mountain National Park. I-70 was a nice ride through the canyons on up over some major hills. The bike did well over 11,000 feet and I was just able to maintain 75 mph in 5th all the way to my exit for 34 which took me to this:

What a nice ride, you know things are good when the major roads have nice views like this:

After the pass I ran back down in the valleys right smack into road construction as I entered Rocky Mountain NP. It took about 14 miles of rough unpaved single lane traffic roads to get back onto partial pavement. It got interesting after an hour of stop and go traffic with gravel covered hard pack road surfaces with lots of wash board. After about 20 miles of dusty gravel coverd roads the construction ended and the climb up started briskly on narrow two lane with lots of slow switch backs. Two hours into the park it all started getting really good. Temps dropped to a crisp 54 degrees as I climbed and it felt mighty cool after coming from 87 degress down below.

Up at the top of RMNP just past the visitor center I stopped at an overlook. The visitor center was packed with no parking left at all. It was 54 and the wind was blowing at a steady 35 mph gusting to 45 plus. The wind was blowing enough to lean into it.

This is the highest country I've ever been in as an adult:

Well I stayed about an hour taking a energy bar and water break. The trip down was slow and very senic. Traffic wasn't bad, it was 24 to 30 mph and with the heavy wind and no guard rails or road shoulders with lots of people walking around it was a good pace.

The road up high:

The road going north back below the tree line:

The road led me into Estes Park for lunch and a break before hitting 7 to go back south. :yahoo:

 

[Sagebrush]

From Estes Park I headed south to Idaho Springs, the ride was hot and dry with some good curves. Nothing major to take pictures of. It was a long haul down to Idaho Springs and I ended up heading over to Littleton via Red Rocks where I lived as a child. The Holiday Inn Express was comfy and located near Home Depot.... You see, the Littleton shopping resources became important when I saw the condition of my saddle bag locks and wind shield fastners. The rough roads had shaken some fastners loose!

I checked into a room and headed out for lock tite, screws, washers and some FOOD... After about 10pm I had everything back and tightly fastned once again with blue stained fingers. I tried a Mexican place near the hotel, nothing special.

The hotel:

I left early the next morning on my way to Leadville.... Yep, Leadville due to the Mt Evans road to the summit being closed for construction. The Mt Evans schedule didn't work for me since I had a visit in Utah planned for Friday. Breakfast was at the hotel and I got on the road around 9am with no traffic.

Another nice sunny cool July morning to head north via Idependence Pass to I-70 West to Moab, UT!