Higher and higher we climbed, riding over Milner Pass, then Iceberg Pass at 11,827 feet along which we still found elk. I have no idea what they were doing that high, but there were several there. Passing Sundance and Deer Mountains on our way to Estes Park, Dave and I talked over the intercom at how pretty this area is. Dave had spent half a year in Estes Park at RavenCrest, a Capenwray school located in the hills outside of town up US36.
We visited there so Dave could see what had changed, take a walk around and see everything, then pick up some souvenirs for his family. Then it was time to move again. We took US34 on into Loveland, which is a great road all by itself. Evidence of past floods were present all along the road and Dave told me that it often floods due to the narrow rock canyon that the road winds through. When heavy snows melt, that water's got to go somewhere.
In no time at all we were suddenly in flatland, heading north on US287 toward Fort Collins.
The contrast was startling to me, after spending so much time at high altitudes where there no such thing as the long straight road that we were currently traveling on. But though we only ended up riding 366 miles that day, the McLean home was a welcome sight as we pulled our bikes into their garage. Met with steak, sausage, vegetables, beer, wine, and water, we were extremely thankful for their hospitality.
I know the next day we would bid adieu to Colorado, but I must say it was everything I was hoping it would be. I wanted to get there last year, but circumstances prevented that from happening. This year was better because the five of us were really matched well both in riding abilities and temperament. We were blessed with great weather the entire time we were there - not something we expected.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
This morning we'd be leaving the mountains of Colorado for plains of Wyoming, but before we got there, we'd be heading through more twisty roads. The problem was we got more than we planned for. Here's how it happened. We headed northwest on US287 and turned off on SR14 through Poudre Canyon like we planned. The road was nice, but fairly busy with traffic which for us twisty-lovers is a bit frustrating. Bill was in the lead and he got about a third of the way in when suddenly he took a left on County Road 27 toward Stove Prairie. This is what happens when you follow the GPS, or in this case think you're following it (I've done this too, by the way). Bill later told us it was a mistake, but it turned out to be a fun mistake, but we ended up taking the Cloudy Pass road which led us back to SR14.
We were originally hoping we could still loop back to SR14 without going over the same road twice, but it was not to be. So we retraced our steps again, except we kept on the road. What fun detour though. The final bits of Poudre Canyon are really nice as the gorge tightens up and the river cuts a pretty path through the canyon reminding us a bit of US34 out of Estes Park. We followed 14 on into Walden where we stopped for gas and lunch.
Tom Clark
I'm a Senior Software Engineer at Intellitect, living in Spokane, Washington. I also do a little development work on the side. And I love riding motorcycles all over the country with my friends.
