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Re: [ST] Ride and Gear Report Part 2
- Subject: Re: [ST] Ride and Gear Report Part 2
- From: "Dan Wetherington" <DEW@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 16:20:07 -0500
Sounds great, but I didn't get Part 1! Is it just my e-mail, or are
others missing this as well?
Dan
>>> srmouser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 7/8/2004 12:59:24 PM >>>
Part 2
===================================================
- -Day 3
The next morning my buddies and I (six total) headed out to go across
Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. The morning fog on
the way to RMNP was terrible and we could hardly see the road. I was
leading and I pulled in behind a slowish moving SUV and just stayed
behind its tail lights until we drove out of the fog (several miles).
We had breakfast at "The Egg and I" in Estes Park, CO. A great little
breakfast place. Then we headed out across Trail Ridge Road. The park
website says the following about Trail Ridge Rd.
"Trail Ridge Road provides spectacular views of the majestic scenery of
Rocky Mountain National Park. It is the highest continuous motorway in
the United States, with more than eight miles lying above 11,000' and a
maximum elevation of 12,183'. The name "Trail Ridge Road" derives from
it's proximity to historic pathways used by native peoples to cross
the Rocky Mountains."
I'll just say it's spectacular. There was a large group of bicyclists
pedaling the road that day and so traffic was extremely slow. But the
road is one of the most spectacular in the US. At the visitor's center
at the halfway point it started to snow so we moved on - heading down
through the town of Granby (recently made famous by a certain resident
who used a bulldozer to do a few architectural improvements) and on to
our destination of Golden, CO.
- -Day 4
In the morning we headed out to ride up the Mt Evans Scenic Byway. The
byway is the highest paved automobile road in North America. The summit
is 14,265 ft and the road stops just short of the top. You have to hike
a little way to get to the very top. We chose not to do that but
instead to explore around the visitor's center. The center was
surrounded by mountain goats which were wild but quite docile. The road
is one of those mountain roads with steep cliffs just inches from the
edge of the road and no guard rails. If you're scared of heights just
focus on staying between the lines. Again, another beautiful road with
stunning views, snow packs, and marmots all along the way. It was 38 F
at the top.
We continued to our final stay-over of Crested Butte, CO where we spent
three nights. We travelled out I-70 through the Eisenhower tunnel, down
scenic Hwy 24 to Leadville, CO which at over 10,000ft is the hightest
incorporated town in the US. We stopped here for lunch. Continuing on,
we passed the Collegiate Range (Mts Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc) all
over 14,000 high and on to Crested Butte. It rained hard most of the
way and it was cold because most of the trip was at high elevation. The
gear continued to hold up great even as my body ached. The bike seemed
to be a little more sluggish at higher elevation but the effect was
minimal. A couple of the guys who had older (1500cc carbureted)
GoldWings found it difficult to get over 55mph at wide open throttle on
some of the higher, steeper grades. The thinner air has a more
deleterious effect on carbureted bikes.
There is only one paved road in and out of Crested Butte, CO and it is
currently not all paved (construction). The Sprint certainly is not a
dual sport! However, I was able to maneuver the 8 mile section of
gravelly muddy road several times to get in and out of town. To be
honest, we all did... the Sprint was no exception. Slipping around in
the mud is not a pleasant experience on an ST but it's all part of
motorcycle touring.
______________________
Shawn
Los Angeles
'02 BRG ST
'92 HD XL 1200
- ---------------------------------------
www.packereng.com
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