Rider on the Storm
Remember Grand Junction, Colorado and the thunderstorm at the end of the second dat of my road trip to Sturgis, South Dakota in my previous blog post? My friends Steve and Glena Schmit and Ric Lynch, a kindred soul who also rides motorcycles and flies airplane, were also there. They were smart enough to drive their cars and Ric generously treated us to dinner at one of the nicer places in Grand Junction, thanks again Ric!’
Getting the bike washed in Grand Junction
Later that evening I was able to dry out at Steve and Glena’s place.
The next morning the rain was gone. After a nice breakfast and hugs all around, I was off for more adventures. Plodding up Interstate 70 as far as Rifle I turned north on Highway 13. On the west slope of the Rocky Mountains, I enjoyed the beauty of the landscape and frequently turned on my GoPro camera trying to take it all in, but it was impossible to do it justice. You can check out the videos on my YouTube channel.
The weather was warm, the roads were smooth, and the bike ran great. It’s easy to see why Colorado is such a popular place to live, or visit.
Stopping for a photo op at the Yampa river, just south of Craig, Colorado
If I stopped to take pictures every time I saw more awesome country, I’d still be out there. Which is perhaps not a bad idea.
Riding through the small towns, as always, I wondered what it would be like to live there. I didn’t stop for lunch preferring to make a reasonable number of miles for the day, even though I am not one of these ‘Iron Butt’ guys trying to ride a thousand miles a day. If I’m not enjoying the ride, then why am I doing it?
Crossing the border into Wyoming, the highway number changed to 789 and the land flattened out. I marveled at how you could travel for what seemed to be an hour and not even see a house, and passing only a dozen cars during that time.
Green pastures, sometimes with cattle or horses, seemed to go on as far as you could see. Towns and gas stations could be few and far between, I was glad to be riding this 2013 Dyna Super Glide with the big five-gallon tank. My stress level was a lot lower, and the ride was a lot smoother than my Ultima Chopper.
They call Montana, ‘The Big Sky State,’ But it’s got nothing on Wyoming
I was almost disappointed when Highway 789 dead ended into Interstate 80. The wide-open spaces were still there, but I no longer had the road to myself.
It was amusing to be riding at 80 miles per hour on Interstate 80, and I was doing the speed limit! The big semi’s were going much slower and I found myself flying past them. But even at 80 many cars were flying past me. This bike might be happy cruising at 100, but I’m not. Without a windshield or fairing, it is very tiring to do that very long.
Rolling into Rawlins, Wyoming I found a bar and grill for dinner and limited myself to one beer. But it was a big beer, a full quart!
Having skipped lunch, I thought the cheeseburger that came with it was the best in my entire life. Or it seemed that way at the time.
Just one, please!
Then I was off to find a cheap hotel for the night, although I don’t think there is any such thing nowadays. In my book Hangmen I talked about getting a room in the San Juaquin Valley off Highway 99 late one night in 1972, I think the room cost $6.00. Those days are gone forever.
I checked the endangered species list on the internet, and yup… Cheap hotels were on there.
Only the cheapest motels for me
Life on the road doesn’t get any better
Stay tuned next month for Day 4 of my trip from Clarkdale, AZ, to Sturgis, South Dakota.