Salida trip log

Heading to Salida, Colorado on Saturday for a BMW rally. Four days of riding Colorad twisties.

411 miles, 104degrees. You have to pay your dues. Sweetwater Tx 

487 miles, 8 hours in the saddle. Fabulous little twisty road from Folsom to Raton. And now, Colrado! — with Kenneth Webb in Trinidad, CO.

Made it to the un-rally motel. Fabulous ride this morning on the Green Horn highway. View track athttp://tinyurl.com/spotgla — at Salida Gateway Inn and Suites.

Tuesday: curves, Arkansas river canyon, curves, historic mining towns (Cripple Creek, Victor), curves, buffalo, and curves.

Wednesday: group ride. Up the Arkansas river valley toward Leadville, over Independence Pass through Aspen, down the Crystal River canyon, lunch at Redstone, over the pass through Paonia, onto CO 92 and the north side of the Black Canyon, then through Gunnison and back to Salida. 330 miles, 7 hours in the saddle, 10 total.

Thursday: another superlatves-fail-me ride on CO192 south of Gunnison. Stopped at mining towns Lake City and Creede. 7 hours on bike, 357 miles. I'm almost getting enough riding. 

Friday: the BMW rally is over and bike riders depart to their several ways. Ken & I rode west to Montrose, over "The Million Dollar Highway" to Durango then Cortez. No photos, just tried to keep the bike from going off the cliff. Tomorrow we plan to snake down the eastern side of Arizona.

Saturday: 500 miles, 10 hours on bike. wonderful ride, a few photos, vicious thunderstorms,the devil of a highway (500 curves in 30 miles). But details will have to wait getting up 5am tomorrow with intent to ride 900 miles back to Houston in 1 day. — at Lordsburg, NM.

Left Cortez and headed south to some roads (Indian Service Routes 12 & 13) running through the reservations. (We skipped Four Corners: didn't want to pay to see a cartographic concept. The Indians are still scalping the white man. I understand it's in the wrong place anyway, according to GPS.) Passed Ship Rock (doesn't look much like a ship from that angle but impressive as it thrusts above the plain). Crossed a marvelous range of red sandstone (Navaho Sandstone?) hills, winding curves and switchbacks, forests, free range cattle. Then down paralleling cliffs eroded in strange shapes, echoes of Bryce Canyon. No photos of any of this, too much fun riding.

Eventually connected with US 191 and the "Coronado Trail". Used to be called US 666 and the "Devil's Highway", until someone who takes the book of Revelations fare too literally decided the number had to go. Ascended to a lodge at Hannagan Meadow, lovely spot for lunch, or for staying a few days.

Then down the devilish part of the devil's highway. I've read various estimates of the curves on this road, but let's just agree there are multiple hundreds in about 50 miles or so, ranging in posted speeds down to 10 mph. Motorcyclists: imagine the curviest part of any road you have ridden; now imagine that part going on and on and on, with almost no straight sections. Ahhhhhh........

At the end (thankfully) we started hitting some serious rain and thunderstorms. Eventually made it in to Lordsburg NM and crashed (the bed kind) exhausted. over 500 miles of some of the most beautiful and challenging roads.

Sunday, not much to tell except the head defeated our 900 mile 1-day return ambition. Stopped overnight in Junction TX then home today (Monday)