Getting High in Colorado

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Tyler

Miss Demeanor
FJR Supporter
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
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Location
Mountain View, CA
A few months ago, I heard about a rally being held in Colorado called “How the West Was Won” (aka HW3). I knew many of the folks on the staff as well as participants in the rally so I thought I’d mosey out there and check it all out. I was also fortunate to find a gent, George, in the Denver area who rents Spyders so could also have the pleasure of riding around the area which has been high on my list for a while now.

I arrived early on Friday morning, George picked me up at the airport, took me to the bike, I repacked all my stuff, and met up with Aussie friend, Brian/festar, who is visiting the states and riding around for eight weeks. We had met in Sparks a couple of weeks prior and I had extended an invite to him to come join in the fun in Colorado.

So off we went into the wild blue yonder headed for Georgetown… the long way! About a half hour into it, we got dumped on so had to stop and put on the rain gear… I’ve been told that if you don’t get rained on in Colorado, you aren’t riding enough! And as quickly as it started, it was over…

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Our first stop was at Echo Lake for a coffee break…

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The skies vacillated between blue skies and threatening thunder clouds…

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And then it was time for our first “getting high” adventure… the ascent to the top of Mt. Evans, the highest paved road in the US (beats out Pikes Peak by about 100 feet)…

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The road goes up quickly and reminds of some of the passes in Europe as the terrain changes and the road twists and turns…

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View of Echo Lake from on high…

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Came across these critters climbing around on the rocks on the side of the road…

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These strange looking flowers lined the outside of the road…

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More views on the way up…

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I think the Aussie was having a good time…

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We arrived at the top and definitely felt the rush of being over 14K feet up in the sky…

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Made it and didn’t pass out!

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On the way down, it looked like we would get doused again but then the road would turn a different direction and there’d be blue skies again…

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And it turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon…

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With that we headed for Georgetown where the rally would start and end.

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I had offered my photo services for the rally and was taken up on my offer quite quickly. Most of the riders had already arrived and were preparing for their adventures and getting ready for the banquet that evening.

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Rally Master Justin was giddy with excitement for the first HW3…

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Riders were given last minute instructions such as don’t trust your GPS if it shows you a “shortcut”… evidently many of those will end up unpaved and can, and did, result in quite the adventure for some…

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Some had their pre-rally rituals to attend to as well…

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Did I mention that the rally started Saturday morning? At 4:30am for odo checks, etc.? Did I mention I offered to take photos? It’s really dark at that time of day… or night… or whatever... some of the photos looked like a scene out of Tron…

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But spirits were high, adrenaline was pumping, and these folks were ready to rock & roll…

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Impressive lighting would help in the dark hours…

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And they’re off!

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After all the riders were out of the gate, most of us headed back to bed to catch a few more hours of shut eye… later that morning, Brian and I decided to head for Rocky Mountain National Park as suggested by Justin (thanks for those awesome routes!)… started out on I40 which was a lovely way to start the day…

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We stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch in Winter Park… saw this place and of course had to go there… :wub:

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The restroom signage showed the owners had a good sense of humor…

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Condos nearby… yeah, I could deal with that…

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And then we headed into the park…

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I wasn’t even paying attention to my speed so when I saw a park ranger flash his lights at me as he came the other direction, I realized I was about 10 over the speed limit and slowed it down… thanks, Mr. Ranger Sir! We were in no hurry so just relaxed and made our way through the park, stopping for photos or to chat with other visitors…

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Lots and lots of twisty road…

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Hmmmmm… wonder what those will turn into!

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I thought for sure we’d get dumped on this time but Lady Luck was still with us and we only got a smattering of drops…

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Back down in the lowlands and through Denver…

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Roadwork on Hwy 70 brought traffic to a standstill so we got a little creative for a while using the right side of the road to get past some of it and give Brian’s clutch hand a rest.

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We had dinner with the rally staff and watched the colors change in the sky to end a brilliant day…

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Sunday we hung around the hotel as the riders were expected to begin arriving around 9am… the Rally Master’s view for 32 hours - keeping an eye on the kids…

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While waiting, Brian offered one of the riders’ son, Skyeler, some tips of the fine art of yo-yo-ing…

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And then the riders started rolling in while the staff met them to get odo checks before the riders headed for the scoring table…

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And evidence of massive bug carnage was prevalent…

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Poster boy for LD Comfort…

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Award for best helmet hair…

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Someone’s Stich needs a good washing…

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The scoring got hot and heavy…

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And the riders could finally just kick back and relax… everyone made it back safe and sound... well, the sound part might be debatable... ;)

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Some more than others…

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The final banquet was held and the standings shared…

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First place went to Rod Schween…

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After dinner some folks headed for home and the rest would be gone by early Monday morning. Brian headed north for South Dakota and I headed off to tackle the famed Pikes Peak… took 126 for starters which was a gorgeous blend of sweepers, tight twisties, and lovely scenery… it was a blissful morning…

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Arriving at the beginning of Pikes Peak, I was a bit nervous that perhaps the weather would not cooperate but thought, hell, I’m here so I’m gonna do it!!

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About a mile or two in, I came across the North Pole… really!!

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I was disappointed to not have a sighting…

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And then began the real ascent… while Mt. Evans is slightly higher in elevation, the road to the top of Pikes Peak is much, much longer and seems to keep going and going and going… with spectacular views and fantastic twists and turns… and of course the slow traffic upon occasion and there were lots of spots with dirt, etc. in the turns so one had to pay attention at all times…

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The road rose so high that when you looked off the side of the road, there was a sea of clouds stretching out in front of you… no worries about those clouds I had seen because now I was above it all…

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Made it!!

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And then snaked my way back down…

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Looks like someone didn’t snake down so well around this turn…

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And then it was time to head back toward Denver to drop the bike off and make my way to the airport for home… many thanks to Justin for letting me play with the “Big Dogs” and thoroughly enjoyed seeing existing friends and making some new ones to boot… I will definitely be back to explore Colorado more… if it’s on your bucket list, go do it!!

FIN

 
Great report, wonderful pictures. The one's of Pike's Peak Highway are spectacular.

 
Excellent write up, and thanks so much for joining me for some great rides. Thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Hope to do it again next year. Great pics too. Well done Tyler.

 
It's Colorado, where's the smoke shops?
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Awesome report Ms T. sure looks like you had a great time and riding with festar is a pleasure. I was snowed out in September last time I tried to ride RMP. Going to have to get back there in the summer.

Thanks for the pictures!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice. So now you put that pic of me in my comforts in two places on the web.....

Lol.

 
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