+ Week Those Were the Days My friend.

[klaviator]

There were a couple of very interesting and picturesque towns on 550, Silverton and Ouray. I only briefly stopped in them.

Silverton:

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Red Mountain Pass was between Silverton and Ouray.

I remember a really great view looking down at Ouray riding in from the South but I didn't bother to stop and take a pic. I really regretted that afterwards. I only took one pic in Ouray.

One thing I remember was what a great ride the it was from Durango to Ouray. Great scenery combined with a lot of curves made it one of the best rides of the trip.

 

[klaviator]

I rode south from Ouray towards Montrose. I don't remember anything from that part of the ride. I think this next pic was taken between Ouray and Montrose.

In Montrose I took a right and ride past the Black Canyon of the Gunnison which was a National Monument not a National park back then.

I took a left and went north on 92 which I remember as being a great ride

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So what made this such a great ride? I remember really liking the intense green of the Aspen trees, the great curves, the scenic views and the lack of traffic compared to earlier roads.

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I took a right on 133 in Hotchkiss. I didn't get too far when the weather was starting to look bad ahead and it was getting late. I came across a place with cabins for rent so I stopped and checked it out. I got a nice little cabin for around 20 bucks

I spent the night at this peacefull place alongside a river in the middle of nowhere.

 

[FLrider]

Ouray is a great place to stay in for a few nights as there are a lot of hiking trails around and the Chief Joseph mine above the town is a favorite hike for me. Also camping and hiking in both Zion and Bryce is a must do IMHO… YMMV however .. 😄
Thanks for the RR !

 

[klaviator]

Ouray is a great place to stay in for a few nights as there are a lot of hiking trails around and the Chief Joseph mine above the town is a favorite hike for me. Also camping and hiking in both Zion and Bryce is a must do IMHO… YMMV however .. 😄
Thanks for the RR !

Well thanks for contributing to this RR. As for your suggestions, just stay tuned.....

 

[klaviator]

I had now experienced 3 days of simply stunning scenery. Not only that, this was all new territory for me. All of this scenery was part of a great adventure, that of riding into the unknown. At least it was unknown to me. It would be hard to duplicate today. Sure, I expect to ride to places I have not been to before but most likely I will have seen pictures and read about it on ADV or some other source on the internet. As much as I love the ride reports, they do take some of the adventure out of riding.
Of course, reading ride reports does encourage me to go to places I would otherwise not go.

Back to 1989, there was no ADV or internet and I was heading out on a fourth consecutive day of what was probably the most adventurous and scenic ride of my life up to this point. Would this day measure up to the previous three?

I headed towards Aspen. There was more great scenic riding but nothing stands out in my mind. I stopped and had lunch in Aspen then continued towards the Independence pass. This part of the ride I remember well. 82 east of Aspen is simply stunning. There is a section with a sheer drop off to the right which I did not get any pics of. Then there is eventually a point where I could see these Ginormous mountains ahead. The scale of these mountains was simply larger than anything I had seen before. The realization that the road would take me way up into these mountains was somewhat mind boggling. Making everything even more scenic and more of an adventure was the fact that these mountains where all white. There was still a tremendous amount of snow at higher elevations. Unfortunately I did not do a good job of capturing what I just described on film. Here are some pics I did take.

I thought these old cabins were cool.

Looking ahead.

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At higher elevations there was more snow than in these last two pics.

I followed 82 to the end and then went left on 24 and through Leadville. I am not sure of my route after that but ended up on I-70 for a while before getting off to go over the Loveless pass. I had driven this pass years earlier in my car while headed from Florida to California but of course it was much better doing it on a bike

I'm pretty sure I took this from a scenic viewpoint off of I-70.

The Loveland pass is a fun ride but also has a lot of 18 wheelers on it because those with hazardous cargo can't go through the tunnel on I-70.

I got back on I-70 and got off on 40 which I took North.

Not sure exactly where I took this pic but pretty sure it was on this day:

I stopped and spent the night in Granby. Rocky Mountain National Park would be the start of my next day's ride

 

[klaviator]

The next morning I headed up over Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National park. It is the highest paved through road in the U. S. Between it being morning and the high elevation it was a cold ride. I can only find a couple of pics from this part of the ride.

I think this is heading out of Granby.

Somewhere on Trail Ridge Road?

I really didn't get any great pics of this road but I did enjoy the ride and the views. I headed into Estes Park. I figured this place would be a very expensive tourist trap town being right outside this National Park. I found a nice motel room for only 40 bucks. So far I had found less expensive rooms but I also had stayed at small mom & pop places. This was a nice motel with an indoor pool and jacuzzi's in the room. The price would normally have been much higher but the lady at the desk said the tourist season was off to a slow start so they were still using off season rates. This would end up being the nicest place I stayed during this trip.

Since it was still early I rode back to the park. I found this very scenic spot:

I rode back up trail Ridge Road a ways and took this pic:

It was on this ride that I encountered a rain shower and put on my rain suit for the first and only time of the entire trip.
Then I headed back to Estes Park. That night I was undecided about where to ride the next day. My original plan was to head up through Yellowstone. However, the last few days in Colorado had been fantastic. I even sent Debbi a post card (remember, no texting or Emails back then) saying that if the scenery got any better I might never come back.

Looking at a Colorado map I saw all kinds of interesting roads and passes. I was really tempted to try to ride as many of them as I could. On the other hand, I had never been to Wyoming or Yellowstone. Yellowstone was the most visited of the national Parks and there must be a reason for that. The saying "So many roads, so little time" applied here.

What to do

I procrastinated. I would decide the next morning.

 

[klaviator]

The next day I got up and still couldn't make up my mind so I punted the decision to later in the day. I would ride east to Ft Collins then take a left into Wyoming where I would eat lunch and then decide whether to head for Yellowstone or turn around. I had never been to Wyoming and this would at least allow me to add it to my list of states visited and ridden.
The ride to Ft Collins was a pretty nice ride as it ran along an river and had some nice curves. Then I took 287 to Laramie. I don't remember it being a very exciting ride but it was one of those picture perfect days and I just enjoyed being on the bike and riding

After lunch I decided to continue on to Yellowstone. I got on I-80 and then rode 287 to the town of Dubois. No real spectacular so no pics. The only thing I remember about the ride was a long stretch of road construction and having to ride on dirt on 287.
In Dubois I found a motel room. I'm pretty sure this next pic was taken in front of the motel.

 

[klaviator]

The next morning I headed west out of Dubois. It was a nice scenic but chilly ride.

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I rode into Grand Teton National Park.

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[klaviator]

I crossed into Yellowstone National Park. I rode the loop around the park in a counter clockwise direction. Of course I took some pics. Most likely these aren't in order.

Being on a bike I didn't want to get too close to this guy:

Yellowstone Lake.

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As you can see, Yellowstone is very scenic and there is a reason so many people visit it. However, I was not that impressed. After Utah and Colorado I was spoiled and Yellowstone seemed a little anti-climatic. On top of that there was a lot of traffic in the park so I didn't enjoy riding there as much as Utah and Colorado. If I had visited Yellowstone before Utah and Colorado I probably would have been much more impressed.

I guess that the big difference was that Utah and Colorado felt like a real adventure while in Yellowstone I felt like a tourist who happened to be on a motorcycle. Still, I am glad I went there. I would have kicked myself if I hadn't.

 

[kickstandsup]

I agree with you about Yellowstone...the low speed limit, high enforcement, traffic, wildlife and large distances make for a less than compelling ride, IMO. Glad I did it, but won't rush back on the bike.

I'd really like to see it in wintertime...

 

[klaviator]

I entered Yellowstone from the South, rode counterclockwise most of the way around the park and exited to the West.....or so I thought. I was riding along and saw a Welcome to Montana Sign.

What?? Did I actually exit to the North? I stopped and pulled out a map. What I hadn't noticed before was that the exit to the west did go through a little bit of Montana. No problem, check off one more state from my list

I went through West Yellowstone where I got one pic. Note the price of gas.

I don't remember any of Idaho. Much of it was interstate. I spent the night in Southern Idaho or Northern Utah.

The next day I rode I-15 through the Salt Lake City area. I took a short excursion into the mountains east of I-15. Nothing very memorable from that ride. I did get a pic of the Great Salt lake.

Then I headed west on I-80. One thing I do remember is seeing a large area of white. Snow??

No, it was the Bonneville Salt Flats. Sorry, I didn't take the Venture out on the salt for a top speed run.

I continued on until reaching Elko Nevada. I figured I would be able to find a cheap motel room there. I figured wrong. The less expensive places like the Motel 6 where all full. What, this place was out in the middle of Nowhere. What's up? The only attraction I could see were the casinos but I guess that was enough. I ended up staying in a dive that was also the most expensive room of my trip. I was glad to get back on the road the next morning.

When I got into the Sierras near Lake Tahoe I considered getting off and riding around in the mountains a bit but I was getting burned out and tired so I just continued on to Sacramento where I visited Debbi's Brother and his wife.

The next day I rode to Monterey where I visited an old friend and his wife.

Bob and Sue:

The next day I rode home. I know I rode Highway One to start but I have no other recollection of that last day.
That was the end of my trip.

I rode 4300 miles total on the trip. The trip was roughly 2 weeks so I averaged 300+ miles a day. It was the longest motorcycle trip I had done at that time.



Time to look for a replacement for my FJ1100!!!

 

[klaviator]

I agree with you about Yellowstone...the low speed limit, high enforcement, traffic, wildlife and large distances make for a less than compelling ride, IMO. Glad I did it, but won't rush back on the bike.

I'd really like to see it in wintertime...

From what I have heard the crowds in Yellowstone have gotten really bad. I doubt that I will ever go back but I do have Beartooth Pass just North of there on my bucket list. I am really glad now that decided to go to Yellowstone back then when I had the chance and when the crowds were not as bad.

 

[klaviator]

After I got back from my trip it was time to look for a replacement for my FJ. My FJ1100 had been my dream bike. The last year or so that I had owned it I had started thinking that a smaller lighter bike might be better. Riding Tomi's Ninja 750 and Phil's VFR 750 made me realize how much easier those bike were to ride. Of the two I preferred the Ninja. It was super smooth, had light and neutral steering, was nearly as quick as my FJ and had a slightly higher top speed. Despite the check from the insurance company a new bike was probably not in my budget. I started looking in the classified ads. I also started looking around at dealers.

As much as I wanted a 750, the small bike bug was also making it's appearance. One of the bike I found at a dealer was a leftover Yamaha SRX6 which was marked down considerably. I took it for a test ride. It really was a fun bike but I didn't think it would be fast enough to keep up with my friends on sport rides and also I wanted a bike I could go touring on and I didn't think the SRX6 would work. However it was a really cool bike and I still really like it. I stole this pic off the internet:

I also considered the Ninja 250 but like the SRX6, I thought it would be a fun ride but too slow.

One day I stopped by a Yamaha dealer in Escondido. They had a nearly new 89 Kawasaki EX500 sitting on the showroom floor. Some guy had bought it without telling his wife and she made him get rid of it. It had 800 miles on it and looked brand new.

I took it on a test ride

I was hooked. This bike was a blast to ride.

I figured that this bike would scratch that small bike itch I had and then in a couple of years I would go out and buy that 750 I really wanted.

I was a little concerned that I would miss the power of the FJ1100. I started riding the EX on my favorite roads with my riding friends.

Lack of power?

It didn't have the kick of the FJ but I did see 130 on the speedo. I'm sure the speedo read a little high but still not bad for a 500cc twin. A magazine test put the top speed at 124. More importantly, this thing was much easier to ride in the curves.

It was also much faster

I no longer had to work to keep up with other riders. One day I was following a guy on an FZR1000 up the East Grade of Palomar. This guy was a fast rider and had NO chicken strips on his rear tire. After following him for a while I decided he wasn't going fast enough so when we came to a curve with a good view ahead I pulled into the other lane, passed him and then left him behind

I now was leaving behind those riders I used to have trouble keeping up with. And I was doing it with little effort. No I did not miss the power of the FJ.

I was running the curves so hard I wore out the original front tire before the rear.

 

[klaviator]

The EX500 was not just a good sportbike, it made a surprisingly good sport touring bike. I did a couple of overnight/weekend trips to one of my favorite roads in SoCal, the Angeles Crest Highway.

The Angeles Crest Highway, for those not familiar, is a 66 mile long road that starts in the LA suburb of La Canada and ends in the small town of Wrightwood. It is pretty much non stop curves with spectacular views and elevations up to 7900 feet. At that time there were no buildings on that road except for Newcomb's ranch and a ski area. It was, and I'm sure still is, a very popular road for motorcycle riders. The connecting roads like the Angeles Forest Highway and Upper Big Tujunga Rd were also awesome roads.

The first ride there on the EX was with Debbi and our friends Tomi and Phil. We spent Friday night in San Bernadino, rode the Crest and surrounding roads on Saturday and spent Saturday night in Palmdale. Some Pics:

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Newcomb's Ranch was a restaurant and a very popular place for riders to hang out.

 

[klaviator]

My second trip to the Crest was an overnighter with a friend. On Saturday we made the 125+ mile ride up and then rode the Crest and a few other roads before spending the night in Palmdale. On Sunday we rode the area some more before riding home.

Will was riding a Moto Guzzi 1000 LeMans.

Once a month the there was a big Italian Bike ride on the Crest that started at Pro Italia which was near the base of the Highway. Sunday was one of those rides. We hung out at a pullout on the side of the ride. It wasn't long before we could hear the boom of Twin Cylinder Italian bikes with loud exhausts coming up the mountain. It was pretty cool. I got a couple of pics.

A Ducati Paso:

A Moto Guzzi followed by another old Ducati. Back then these were not old bikes.

Another pic of us:

A couple of action pics. You can see what a great road this was.

The EX500 was a blast on this road. It handled the curves with no effort. It would have been nice to have a little more power but I don't remember anyone passing me.

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Newcomb's Ranch was packed:

Both of these trips were a blast. I just wished that I lived closer so I could ride this area more often.

 

[klaviator]

Most of my rides were in the local area but unlike today I normally didn't take any pics. I don't think I even took my camera with me most of the time. There was one ride I remember pretty well and I wish I had taken some pics but I didn't so you will have to suffer through reading about it with no visual excitement.
I went for a ride by myself one day and of course I ended up at Mother's Kitchen at the top of Palomar Mountain. There were not very many people there, I'm not sure why. A guy rode up on a BMW K100RS with ABS. I think that at that time only BMW offered ABS. I had met and maybe even ridden with him but didn't know him very well. We talked for a bit and he told me how much he liked the ABS on the BMW. Then along came two guys on modern sportbikes. One was on a Honda CBR1000. I'm going to call the rider DJ because he had the Don Johnson look down pretty well. For those of you who remember Miami Vice, you know what I'm talking about. He also had a cell phone mounted on the side of the tank of his bike. At that time cell phones were still pretty rare and expensive. They were also pretty big, about like a modern cordless house phones. He had this huge phone mounted out where everyone could see it. We asked him about the reception out here in the mountains and he admitted it was just there for looks, it didn't actually work.

So we talked a bit more and the conversation (surprise, surprise) eventually got on the topic of motorcycles. DJ told us why he picked the CBR1000. He said he looked at BMWs but they were just too slow.

I could see the glint in the eyes of the BMW guy when he said that. We refrained from laughing and just carried on. Then DJ and his friend who was on another large Japanese sportbike took off. BMW rider and me just looked at each other and laughed. You might be able to guess what happened next. When those guys took off down the mountain, we waited a bit and took off after them. Then we caught and blew by them

It was a good thing DJ hadn't bought one of them "slow" BMWs

 

[klaviator]

California had year round riding weather, fantastic roads and lots of friends to ride with. It was close to other western states that also had spectacular scenery and great riding. Basically I was living in motorcycle heaven and I took full advantage of it and rode as much as I could.

Those were the days!

I mentioned this song in the first post in this thread. Here it is for those of you who want to listen.



Those were the days my friend, We thought they'd never end.....


But they did

After three and a half years it was time to leave paradise and move on to the chapter of my life.

I will never forget those days. Putting together this ride report helped me remember and relive those days.

 

[SandRdr]

I've really enjoyed your report. It's a great start to an awesome bio, if not for publication, at least for your family. I'll never forget the day I found a bible amongst my mother's memorables from my great grandmother circa 1860s. She had used the margins of the bible as a personal journal and man was it an eye opener.

Thanks for your efforts!

 

[FLrider]

This was a great read and quite a trip down memory lane for you. Thanks for taking the time and letting us ride along as well..

 

[West Isles]

Thanks so much for sharing with us. I've really enjoyed the ride!