This little trip must have Fab really snowed with work now that he's home again. You play, you pay! Looking forward to the next installment, with pics. I will share that we hammered the bikes over six passes in about 4.5 hours, including a long break at Animas Forks and getting chased down, I thought, by the local park ranger on a hot rod ATV. No, he couldn't keep up with the Terra, but he was really flying. Just as I passed him he started to get out of his rig andd I almost ran over his foot. I thought he was pulling over to allow a pass but he never heard me coming. No rear view mirrors! The same thing can happen with dirt bikes, eh Fab!
Should have just gone on to CO and got the free tour and free beers. They're so fresh, just like dad used to make. Yes, getting some Coors back in the 50's and 60's was a special thing.
Ya, super busy here. Plus we got in the swing arm for the crashed Terra and I spent 4 hours yesterday on that bike. 8 months waiting for the part and we finally got it back on the road. I am extremely surprised the Ranger didn't give you a ticket and it is pretty bizzar that the only real accident we had was not with a car or ATV, but with a fellow dirt biker. At least I got to to do some real life testing on my crash bars. So here is Ken apologizing to the Ranger for almost removing his leg. This is the very next day that we left from Woods Lake. This pic is classic! I have 140 pics of this day alone! So, to recap, on Saturday the 13th we packed up camp at Woods Lake. Before we could leave, Tony and his wife came over to see us off. We met them the night before when they strolled into our camp after we pulled in from the days ride. Tony is a beginner adventure rider. He has bought the bike (KLR) and all the gear, but is trying to find the final elements to do a trip like ours...a little bit of courage and a friend to do it with. The beauty of the BDR's is they give alternate easy routs for technical sections that end at the same destination at the end of the day. We assured Tony that he would be fine because of these alternate routs and I think he is on board. Who knows, maybe he will be in Utah with us next year. I regret not taking any pics of him and his lovely wife. I say lovely because she is worried about her husband taking such a trip, but she is still behind him 100%. I will see if he can send us something I can post later. Breakfast and fuel were first on the agenda for the day. We decided we would rather take a beating than go back into Telluride. When we got to Hwy 145 we took a left and headed to Placerville and found the Antlers Inn. This was the best breakfast we had on the entire trip...and they served lattes! So we fueled up our bodies and our bikes and headed for the hills...big ones too! The organizers of the COBDR do not recommend any part of this section (section 2) if you are not an experienced rider and you should take the easy route. The easy route is nice and we took some of it heading out on the second day, but they you would miss all of this: Looking down on the town of Ophir while climbing Ophir pass.
Telluride seemed fine to me back in 1983, could you give us a hint why it is now so undesirable? People? Buildings? General atmosphere?
There is a jeep down there! These things are the new craze. We saw them everywhere. Heading down the other side.
Yes, yes it was! My friend PM'd the same question and I will try the best I can to answer it and you helped with this a little Coffee. People were very concerned about what we were wearing do to fashion. Buildings are all modernized accept for a few. General atmosphere....not even close to what it was in 1983. Not even close to what it was 13 years ago. Ken and I kept saying the same thing, "this isn't at all what it use to be". The classic mountain town is gone. Roundabouts, arrogance, carelessness, and greed have all taken over....gawbamn shame. The baristas at the hip downtown coffee shop threw the worst cups of coffee at us that we have ever had. No one looks you in the eye and no one cares. We did not experience anything like it anywhere else...only here in Telluride. I am quite sure I will never be back. I have nothing in common with most of those people and proud to say I never will. I am sure there are plenty of good people there but we only met one. The lady at the coffee caravan at the end of town got us a proper cup of coffee after we threw the others away.
I remember growing up that there were only two types of beer drinkers, a Coors man (or woman) or Bud man (or woman). I wonder how many classifications there are now?
Soooo, Telluride contains people that think they are upscale and snooty (even though they cannot make a decent cup of coffee)? As opposed to nice, friendly, and laid back when I was there in 1983? (the stories about Napa I could tell!)
Exactly! Back to the good stuff! Over Red Mountain Pass and down to the Idarado mine. Here is a pic of where we will be going in a moment. And here we are! The bridge or the water crossing? The water crossing wins every time!
You are costing me a lot of money. I HAVE to do this ride next year and am already scheming / planning how.
Thanks babe! Mission accomplished. You will NOT regret it Kelly and I truly hope you can make it happen. Let me know if I can help in any way. Ok, but the trip is going to seriously cut into your new Husky fund. Lol
Two passes down for the day and four more to go. Cork Screw, Hurricane, California, and Cinnamon. First pic is a reminder of what the rangers are running now days. This is the highest point of the trip. There are lots of options to go higher off the designated route and plans are already being made with friends to do just that. My favorite part of the whole trip is only about a 5 hour ride from the house! I am holding the bike up here because it will not stay on the stand. A random guy showed up and saw my situation and took the pic for me. Ken was parking his bike to come help me from rolling my bike a very long ways down, but I managed to get it down from here without incident. I was determined to get a picture here! It is a precarious spot, but its hard to tell in the photo. Cinnamon Pass Jeeps working a tough section. Gives you some perspective.
