Mounting Mountaina - Three some...

[GatorTiger]

Since I posted the other two Montana reports on Triumph-Tiger.com and they got moved to this one I don't want to hold back the third installment.

Here we go...

[GatorTiger]

Prologue and planning...[/i]

After the two previous trips to Montana I wanted to do one more before my project work is done up there. Bonus: get my wife up there as well. Bonus bonus: attend the Tiger Ride-In in Kamiah, ID. Hmmmmmm....

So I spoke to the project manager up there and arranged to do that trip in the last two weeks in July. Perfect!!! Still vacation time for the kids and a chance to 'park' them with the grandparents in Florida for the time my wife will be in Montana. So I could plan the whole thing as a surprise for her!

It was on that given Thursday that I was sitting in my hotel room in Indianapolis being happy about the positive note from my project manager when this email came in from my wife. The husband of her roommate from naval training was throwing a surprise BD-party for his wife on the very same weekend the Ride-In was taking place! Hellllo Murphy!! There goes the surprise!!!

"Looks like I'm taking another road trip this summer!" she wrote! "No you're not! You got somewhere else to be that weekend!" Of course that started the nagging machine! I didn't have my peace until she knew what I had planed. Oh well...

After the two previous trips to Montana my most favorite riding buddy Keith had mentioned that he might just come with me the next time around. And this was the next time around!! And he came with me!! He would combine the trip with a family vacation in North Dakota where his father lives. His wife and kids would fly up there and he would ride with me to and fro! So the plan came to be!

He said that I should plan the route and surprise him. Aaaaalrighty then!! So I made up the route going over the plains to Denver, then up north through the Rockies via Rocky Mountain NP and Beartooth Pass (this time it HAD to work out!!). Time line:

Friday / Saturday: Atlanta via plains to Denver
Sunday / Monday: playtime!!!

Doing the routes is 'almost' as much fun as riding them!!

[GatorTiger]

Now the only instances that I had my bike on a trailer was when the fuel connectors snapped and I didn't have spares with me. Other than that as far as I'm concerned: bikes are for riding, not pulling!!!!! No discussion!!! Keith knows that, so he was somewhat 'cautious' when he proposed to put the bikes on the back of his F150 and go to Denver that way. He has a cousin living there and we could leave the car with him. So let's see... that would bring the time line to this:

Thursday night to Friday night: drive to Denver, switching drivers along the way
Saturday / Sunday / Monday: playtime!!!!!!!!

So we would gain a day of quality riding! No-brainer!!!

The flat bed of the F150 is a wee bit small for two monstrous Tigers. And it just so happened that I had a trailer from a co-worker sitting in my garage. I had had it for a week, he was gone on business and would come back after I leave for Montana. So it would be sitting in my garage that whole time. Quick phone call: trailer to Denver it is!!!!!!!!! I love it when a plan comes together nicely like that!!

Keith almost had a heart attack when I told him that I had a trailer for us!

Keith arrived Thursday afternoon (7-19) and we got going getting the bike on the trailer:



We are a bit marque-conscious:



But just a bit!!!!   :lol:

[GatorTiger]

My daughter Madeleine had fun seeing us sweat:


(photo by Keith)[/i]




(photo by Keith)[/i]

My wife Susan made some dinner that vanished rather quickly! Moving Tigers makes for a mean appetite!!



Quick shower afterwards ñ no photos here; don't want to make anybody jealous! - and off we go 'in style':



It was 8 pm and we had more than 1400 miles to go:



It promised to be a long night!

[GatorTiger]

A long night...[/i]

Traffic during Atlanta rush hour is always a nuisance. Tonight it was a bit less intense. I don't like to take the perimeter (I-285) any time. Traffic sucks there with all the trucks and no HOV lane and what not. I usually take the back roads to work. Not today! I-285 it is with the trailer!

Aww, crap! Now it's starting to rain on top of that! :( Fortunately that was over and done after only a short while. It actually took us very little time get out of Metro Atlanta and hit the open, empty, and peaceful road. We are racking down the miles now!!

The F150 is not the best choice if you're looking for good gas mileage. Keith mentioned he would get about 17-20 mpg highway with that thing. I thought: two tigers at 40 mpg, that's the same as one F150 with 20 mpg! So there is no loss! Yet the needle was sinking a bit faster than Keith was used to and we had to hit the next gas station:



10mpg!!! Cr@P!!!! :( I guess doing 80 mph didn't help on that end... But: we are gaining a riding day, we are gaining a riding day, we are gaining... 8)

The drive itself went without incident. Little traffic and switching drivers helped us make very good progress. One person would be driving for 2 hours while the other one (just coming off his 'shift' would keep a conversation up for an hour or so and then snooze for another hour before taking over the driving again. And since Keith's F150 has enough leg room that even he (~7') was able to stretch completely it made for a decent rest:



Next morning the upcoming sun saw both Tigers still following us: :lol:



First of many Missouri crossings:



Wx wasn't the finest, but there was nothing to see really, anyway!

[GatorTiger]

After a while the sun had burned the haze away and with improving visibility we saw a helicopter station next to the interstate:



Temps outside are rising... Nice to sit in an air conditioned "cage" with drinks and music:



Don't get any ideas, though! As much as I'm enjoying the drive, I still prefer to get to where I wanna go on TWO wheels!!!!!!!!!

Kansas..........As far as the eye can see:



The first word means the same in German that it would mean in English if the 'i' is replaced with 'u'! Quite the tourist attraction. Is that stuff already history in the US?????? :lol:

[GatorTiger]

Keith, bogey, 10 o'clock!!!!



Here the pilot was already climbing! Unreal at what altitudes these guys go over the ground!



Beats looking for snorkels in 100' at 180 knots!!!!!!

We're sorry! We now return to your regular Kansas sights after this rude interruption:



Then ñ finally ñ after 20 hours the Rockies came into sight for the first time:



We still had to go for another couple of hours before we made to Keith's cousin's house. They are kind of in a blur :P ) with evening rush hour and all, but we made it!!!


photo by Keith[/i]

May I introduce: Stephen and Keith! There is no family resemblance at all! Can't even think that these guys are cousins...



Stephen's wife Terry and Liz (one of two daughters):



Everybody was in a good mood, Keith's cousin and family were just a hoot!!!! It all promised to be a great evening!

[GatorTiger]

After some beer'n'pizza just in time for more beer Keith's cousin Jim and his wife Beth came by as well:



BTW: I'm the 6'4" midget in the picture: :D



Family ties...

After a good night's rest in a real bed it came time to load the bikes in the crisp morning air and sun. Stephen's driveway made for a perfect staging area



A quickie at the gas station



and off we go due south towards Colo Springs:



Initially paralleling the Rockies



for about 45 mins and then taking the exit to the Air Force Academy North Gate:

[GatorTiger]

L-O-T-S or room for PT!!!! L-O-T-S!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice setting, though to get it 'served' from the drill instructor:




photo by Keith[/i]

I've bee to quite a few basis in my time, but this is by far the one with the best scenic setting!!! The core is nicely laid out:



Just begs for PT, doesn't it?????  :twisted:



Cadet Chapel is quite an interesting architectural feat:



and definitely more famous than its visitors today:



But now it's time to say hello to the gods!!!

[GatorTiger]

Just South of Colo Springs right besides the interstate is the smallish park named "The Garden of the Gods".



Quite a contrast in scenery! Those red rocks really look out of place a bit and somewhat surreal:



just like all the half-cars......
There is practically just one small ring road through the park with some nice vistas



and, of course, the balancing rock:



Coming around the corner it's like diving into an ant-hill! People everywhere! Keith is really disturbed by the masses:



But that didn't stop him from taking a few ack-sean shots of me:


photo by Keith with HG's camera[/i]

Honeycakehorse..............


photo by Keith[/i]

No, the tiger is not broken! My bike was actually the prototype of the default European lights setup... Yeah, that's it!!!!

With all those tourists streaming in we got the hell outta Dodge and pointed our bikes towards Pikes Peak by ways of US-24. I'm just a sucker for hot curves with a view!!



A few bad lights in a touristically saturated town



and we made it to the base of where we wanted to go:



And then: Deschavue!!!!!

[GatorTiger]

Remember my second Montana Trip last year?



Pikes Peak today: :(



The ranger told us that they had some sort of a climbing competition and that park would be open again tomorrow. Rrrrrrright... As if we will be here tomorrow...

But in order not to have this stop be a complete waste of things you absolutely need to see we said a quick 'Hi!' and an even quicker "Good buy" to Santa:



And as far as Pikes Peak is concerned:



F@#$ it!! One day "we'll be bahk"!!!

[GatorTiger]

So we started making our way towards Rocky Mountain National Park. But St. Peter had something planned for us:



With seeing the AF Academy and trying to get to Pikes Peak time kinda ran away from us. On top of that the wx didn't look promising at all towards where we were planning on going. We stopped on Wilkerson Pass and met a local biker that just came from the area where we wanted to go to. "Rain!! And loads of it!" he stated! Cr@p!! The system was north-west of us and was moving towards the north-east. Were we to go to RMNP we would be in that system the entire time! No way!!! Hence: change of plan... The biker mentioned that Independence Pass would be quite nice and the roads all the way to Aspen would be worth while. With the weather looking like this:





It was a done deal!! Initially the road through the valley was somewhat boring:



But that should change soon!

[GatorTiger]

Sun was coming out more and more and Keith wanted to get out of his very own private secret sauna. So we pulled over at a nice spot for him to strip:





Shortly thereafter the next plateau came up. By now the sun was dominating the sky again. Time to pull over again for some real pictures:


photo by Keith[/i]

The result:



When we got back to the bikes two FJRs had parked right next to us. One of the riders came towards us. He was about 5' and 250 lbs, grinning from ear to ear. "Pals, I used to have a Tiger, too! Rode with it all over the US and never saw another one. Now that I sold mine I see two at once!"
That's one more 'thang' that I love so much about our cats: by now means mainstream!!!

Onward... We passed through some towns that were not only very little, but also very little photogenic. Then came the left turn onto SR 82 and left we went... Passed by this sign:



The layout is not the greatest, but the views make up for it:



The valley in the lower left corner is the entrance to Independence Pass. You can see how the road was destined to get better on the far right corner on the sign. This better:



Or this better:


photo by Keith[/i]

[GatorTiger]

All you Dragon raid attendees know about "Keith's revenge". So we pulled into a driveway for him to relieve himself on a tree. Some driveway it was! Off the road and over the bridge and into this view:




photo by Keith[/i]

Nice::



Nicely drained we rode on. A few curves into the ride after the break i found myself falling into the groove: Curve,  gas, slow down, repeat. Shweeht! All of a sudden i realized that Keith was no longer behind me. I don't know how long it had been since I saw him last. So I stopped and waited for a couple of minutes. I was just about to turn around when he pulled around a corner. Evidently he had seen a whole group of mountain goats and tried to get my attention without honking his guts out and the goats away and I was to much drifted off to notice. I had passed the group by about 15 ft... Bummer! Keith had pulled over and tried to get some pics, but I guess the white goats got spooked by the green tiger and ran off... Disappointing...

But let's put it behind us and move on. Or rather move up! The road, while still nicely sweeping was gradually gaining height. You can see it clinging to the mountain in the back:



Sweepy:



Is it time to re-jet yet?



Looking back:



And we have mastered the summit!!!!



12095 ft !!! Highest I have ever been up with my cat. Was purring the entire time with power to spare!!!

Some bicycle rider were up there as well! Respect! (Can see them behind the sign)



Next up: money, rats on leashes, and freefall ice...

[GatorTiger]

Aspen!! :P The Beverly Hills of the Rockies... Where the Creme de la Creme walks their little cute dogs and letting everybody else know that they are quiet the affluent kind... Puke! We actually saw a man (a quite beautiful one IMHO) with his dog walking, crossing paths with an equally looking woman walking her rat on a leash, getting into a conversational social interaction with lots of smiles an fake on-the-cheek-kisses for about 10 minutes... What a show!!!!!!

The city is somewhat decent, though:



There are street musicians


photo by Keith[/i]

and single HP city tours:


photo by Keith[/i]

Among all that colorful folk our cats STILL stand out considerably:


photo by Keith[/i]

We even got our very own LEO to guard... He even told us: "If you don't want to pay money for parking, just park at that spot over there!" Cool!!! Good man!! Parking is darn expensive here. Then again: they ARE all affluent, right!?