My Travel Adventures, Cars , and Motorcycles: Saturday and The 202 Tour becomes the 131 Tour.....The

Dear Family & Friends,

Today The 202 Tour became The 131 Tour. Our riding partner Duane decided to head home.. His Buell has developed a slight miss and he could not find a HD dealer that would touch it so he decided to get on the freeway and blast home. Sorry to see it happen. Both Duane and Brian are experienced and excellent riders and a lot of fun to ride with…

So Brian and I decided to get out of Colorado Springs first thing in the morning and rode about 30 minutes to a small village of Green Mountain. There we found a car show and an excellent breakfast buffet out doors by a creek with a live folk singer… So we ate a hardy breakfast so we wouldn't have to eat again until dinner. We also spent a few minutes checking out the car show.

From there we headed about 10 miles west down Hwy 24 and decided to take a small mountain pass north. It was a great move! The pass was a quiet two lane road with no traffic and wandered through lush green valleys and rolling hills. It was a real treat. The weather was good too.. It is so nice to ride for an hour and not pass a single car!

After about an hour and a half the small road we were riding on met up with a larger highway. We decided to take that east and catch another small mountain pass north. We rode for a while but I missed the turn off and went to far. Never a problem though. As we had been riding we passed a beautiful old building that was an eclectic Tea Room. So we figured since we had to go back we will stop off and have a tea and scone… A great move. The place was something out of a fairy tale. Half antique store, half tea room, and very cozy. It was run by two young women who treated us like royalty. I think we were their only customers that afternoon.

After our tea break we found the pass we missed last time and turned on to it. As we were told the first twenty miles or so was all dirt. We both ride BMW GS motorcycles which are totally amazing machines. They are equally comfortable cruising at 80mph on the freeway as they are picking a path through the dirt. They can go anywhere and do it all. The Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles.. The more I ride mine the more I love the bike! The dirt road wound through a lush valley with trees and a running creek then slowly started to climb to the summit of the next mountain. By the time we reached the top the temperature had dropped from mid 80s to mid 50s with occasional drizzles and lightening.. Welcome to Colorado. When going on a motorcycle trip it really helps to have a good attitude and accept and enjoy whatever comes along. In fact the other day I was riding with my face shield open and a bug flew up my nose… I’m still enjoying that one.

At the summit we stopped and took some photos. The altitude was 11,000+ feet and I certainly felt it.. I walked 30 ft to relieve myself and when I returned I was winded!

From there we rode down the other side of the mountain. That side was completely paved. The views were again spectacular but far more traffic and not as fun as the dirt road.

When we got to the bottom of the mountain we came to the old mining town of George Town. A classic 1800s town beautifully restored with lots of shops so we walked around for 45 minutes. The towns people there certainly have a sense of humor with funny signs everywhere. To see them go to my blog.

From there we headed east for a few miles and checked into a modest motor lodge and relaxed. Tomorrow we head north and west along route 40 which is supposed to be a great motorcycle road including a very twisty mountain pass.

One thing I do have to mention again is what a good motorcycle rider Brian is. He can keep a good pace and is as smooth as can be. He does have one weakness though.. Remember the second day he lost his keys down his pants leg? Well today he lost his cell phone one time, and his glasses the next. The plus side is this time it didn’t take an hour and half to find them but I have never met someone who is so “Zipper Challenged” before!

Well it is time to call it a night.

Jason