After finishing my writing last night I spent some time by the fire. I’m at a very nice KOA. I’ve only got two complaints – 1. The tent sights are setup in a communal kind of way so you can’t park at your camp sight, not even a bike. 2. The fire pit is really tall so you don’t get a lot of heat from your fire. It’s in the fifties now but what heat I do get off the fire keeps me warm enough. There’s more rain forecasted for tonight so by bedtime everything is either in my tent or loaded back up on Laurelin.
When setting up camp I had decided not to setup my cot. It’s going to be chilly and my tent pad is sand. My sleeping bag will keep me warm enough but I want to use the ground for extra warmth. At bedtime I change my mind. The sand is hard and lumpy which will be murder on my back, something I should have thought about before. I have to setup my cot inside the tent as the rain has started, a small chore. With that I lay down, fully clothed and completely zipped up. The pitter-patter of rain on my tent lulls me to sleep.
In the morning I get my coffee brewed and begin tearing down camp. I don’t get to make breakfast as none of my eggs have survived. The plastic container I bought is not meant for bumpy motorcycle travel so all of my leftover eggs cracked and drained into my cooler a couple of days ago. My cousin reminded me of an old camping trick, cracking your eggs into a plastic bottle, shaking to scramble and then pouring what you need into you pan. Travels better than a carton or what I’ve got. I’ll remember that next time.
The temperature is right at 50 degrees. Not bad for getting everything broken down and loaded up but the jacket is definitely getting put on today. I’m also expecting to hit rain at some point so the bag gets covered too. It’s an overcast morning but so far nothing looks like rain. We’re on interstate for most of the day and have just one stop to make in Rye, Colorado. Traffic is busy all the way into Denver but it moves well and we get there in just about an hour. It slows and backs up in typical big city fashion but doesn’t last long. The interstate winds through the city and takes us right past Mile High Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos. It’s always fun for me to ride past and see a stadium. I eventually run up to a motorcycle cop and get to ride with him for a short while. I keep my distance since he’s probably on duty. But he’s in short sleeves. It’s fifty degrees out and we’re doing 70mph, that’s a wind chill of 38 degrees. He’s probably used to it but I’m still amazed.
Once the madness that is Denver starts to lessen I make a pit stop. I’m getting cold and need a break already. We’re about an hour from Colorado Springs. Traffic has lightened up as we get back on the road but it’s still pretty busy. At Colorado Springs I pull off again. I need to find a Best Buy because the memory card on my camera is full and I haven’t gotten any video footage the last couple of days. It’s nice to get inside for a few minutes and out of the chill. Outside I check the weather, I’m definitely going to hit rain soon as there’s a large belt of rain right in my path. But it’s all green on the radar, dark green but no yellow or red severe weather.
Back on the interstate I link up with two other riders. I keep my distance, but it’s a close distance. The rain soon starts. It’s a decently heavy rain that lasts for several miles but the road drains well and the riders in front of me never slow so I stay with them. It’s a good 30 miles before the rain finally abates. I dry out rather quickly but riding with wet clothing in the cold doesn’t help keep me warm.
I finally reach my exit to get to my only stop for the day. The three of us have been in the left lane together for the last hour so I move to the right, signal that I am exiting and wave them goodbye. I decide to stop at the gas station at the exit for a pit stop and to check the weather again. Our one stop is Bishop Castle which is about 22 miles away, up in the mountains. I give it some considerable thought and I can’t make that run up there. I cold and visibly shaking. It’s raining up there and currently 41 degrees. All that plus mountain roads? Yeah it’d be a great story to tell but it’s also a great recipe for disaster. I really want to get all five of these stops but I’d really like to get home intact, so I opt to skip it, I only need to hit four.
Since I’m skipping the stop I decide to get lunch. Just the other side of the interstate is a little place called Three Sisters Tavern. It’s a small place and not much of a menu, mostly burgers. It’s a little pricey but the staff is super nice. As I leave out of the restaurant I have a great view of the mountains I am supposed to be heading into, they do no look inviting at all. The tops are shrouded in clouds. Although disappointed, I feel good about my decision to forego the stop.
Cancelling the stop in Rye makes today a travel day only. Our final destination for the day is the KOA in Las Vegas, New Mexico which is about 200 miles away. We catch a little bit of rain coming back onto the interstate but it’s just sprinkles, nothing that gets the road wet. We get about ten miles out from the New Mexico border when the road begins to climb into the mountains. I see caution signs for elk and even one for bear. I’d love to see both but not on this road, not completely exposed. I hit some construction which is always a pain but even more so in the mountains. By the time we reach the border we’re at just under 8,000 feet in elevation. We’ve now hit all the extremes for this trip. The farthest south, east, north, west and height.
There’s nothing but yellow prairies on this stretch of highway. Still some mountains in the distance but aside from the highway and railroad, there’s nothing here. Rarely even a line of telephone poles. The road is incredibly straight, only curving after several miles. As we near our final destination the rain starts to come again, just light sprinkles for short runs. But then it increases. The roads become wet and the rain is falling in stinging drops and heavy. I decide to skip camping as a fire will do me no good if it’s raining and it’s still cold so I’ll never get rid of the shakes I’ve had all day.
It’s supposed to rain all night so dinner is delivery from Pizza Hut. I’m not going out in this weather. I’m sore from shivering all day so tonight I’ll just hang out in the room, relax and get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow we’ll be back in Texas.
The Motorcycle Diaries of an Easy Rider 