Rockies (it was hairy)

Henry Mountains. Rocky Mountain Range. Utah.








I have to digress here and go back to day 4 Tue, the day I got the speeding ticket in Kansas. I have to talk about what happened next because I think it is important to riders (esp. mountain riders).

MC TIP: This is a warning. If you're gonna ride into the Rockies or any mountains above 10,000ft elevation, you better know what you're doing and what you're getting yourself into.

After Kansas, I entered Colorado, passed Denver which is at elevation 1 mile (5,280 ft. aprox.) and then started ascending. Everything was good, sun was blazing up there, strong winds though. Kept going up and up and up and was loving it; been waiting for this for a long time. After about 11,000 ft. was going throught the first mountain pass when the sun disappeared and low clouds came in fast, strong wind gusts to boot. Then it started to rain. And it got cold fast. Then the rain started to turn to snow and slush. Then it got heavy. Then my breathing got heavy.

The slush was so heavy that it covered my windshield so I couldn' t see though it, it covered my helmet visor so I couldn't see through it. I pulled the visor up to see and froze my face and still couldn't see but about 50 ft in front of me. Cars and trucks around me. I could not pull over because there was no place to do it. It's a goddam huge mountain. No joke. I was not enjoying this one bit. The only thought on my mind was that I was going down. Every muscle was tense, my stomach tight as a drum.

There's this tunnel that cuts through one of the mountains and when I emerged on the other side there was a steep downgrade. At this point what else could go wrong, right? Well, remember that little concern I had back when I started writing this blog? That little thing about carburation and high altitudes? Yup. I let it go. Didn't do the homework. The motorcycle started sputtering and spattering and giving off, what I know now was my bike but thought then must have been a truck or something, a god awful smell. I lost acceleration but I was now coasting down into an exit.

I was able to make it to a Seven Eleven at a place called Silverthorne up there. The bike died and didn't want to start. The engine would turn over but it would just die. I spoke to Alex and Dave on the phone and they helped calm me down a bit. Luckily I had the foresight to get the HOG towing/roadside. Within an hour this guy Greg from Rudy's Towing in Beckenridge was there. Road America would only tow it to the nearest Harley Dealer which was back east in Denver. I was going West and no way no how was I going back. I will kill you!

So this guy Greg was a nice guy. We put my bike on his flatbed and headed west. The guy came out there from Cali and got married and has a kid. Uses words like 'bitchin' (made me smile, the guy is in his 40's, blonde, married a 25 year old). Rides a bike also. Everyone rides motorcycles out this way. Almost all women I talk to either rode at one time or still ride. It's a big thing out here. Anyway, I would have to pay extra money for more mileage to a dealer going west. But then I thought the service was gonna pay for 65 miles tow to Denver. Why not just go 65 miles west, in the direction where I wanted to go, and have Greg just drop me off. That would essentially have taken me over the next high pass over Vail at about 12,000 ft or so and then start descending the other end.

So that's what we did. It worked like a champ. She started faithfully and I was on my merry (not so merry) way (although tired, wet, a bit razzled, hungry, had to ride out to the hotel alone in the dark). It was not good.

Lesson. Don't do this. Either know that you're particular bike can make this kind of pass or don't do it. I saw only one other biker going over the pass. None other. Period. Also, be prepared for constant and quick weather changes. It can snow up there in June! This is serious business. It worked out for me but it could easily have been worse. Greg told me that he sees so many accidents and not just bikes but cars. They enter one side of the tunnel and it's clear and exit the other end at 60mph and it's ice.

Mountains are an awsome power. Respect.