Harley Davidson chose my day of birth to give birth to the 2014 models. Magic was leaking some oil, so we checked in at Avalanche in Denver. We witnessed the bikes being expelled from a tractor trailer and it was almost like witnessing labor, each one coming off wrapped in protection, ready to enter the world. Many new upgrades, my favorite being the touch screen media center with blue tooth, had the biker crowd standing around oohing and ahhing. It was a bittersweet moment because both Magic and we know that her days are numbered.
After a prolonged wait for service, we took off into the hills. And the hills were alive with . . . rain. A brief shower ran us into a great pit stop called The Crossroads. There I had my Birthday Bloody followed by my Birthday Burger, to be concluded with me Birthday Belly ( no photo attached!) Every summer I wait for the perfect moment to have my one burger per year, and it happened today, complete with jerk sauce and jalapeños! Happy birthday to me!!!!!
The rain stopped and we turned out again on route 285 to Fairplay where we took route 9 north after a brief foray with a dirt road that afforded us a beautiful spot to take a break. Mountains surrounding, we rode toward Breckenridge. Small and a little sleepy right now, one can only imagine what this town is like in the winter when the thousands of condos clinging to the mountain fill with skiers.
Break time
Breckenridge
Copper Mt.
Through Frisco, another charming little tourist stop, we picked up 70 to 91, aptly named The Top Of The Rockies Byway. With elevations rarely below 9000 feet, this breathtaking ( literally and figuratively) ride took us along the edge and over the top of some of the highest peaks in the range. Fremont Pass, at 11,300 was our pinnacle for the day. This byway, a beautifully paved road let us swoop and swerve to our heart's content. The only drawback was the weather.
As we rode toward gaps In the mountain peaks, pockets of dark clouds spewing rain popped up. But in wide sky country, there are always patches of blue. So, one of my tricks, as we ride into a storm, is to turn my face away and focus on the fair skies. This positive energy keeps me in a happy place. One could learn a lesson in life from my bike technique, except we sometimes get rained on, big time. Today it was just a little.
The exertion of suiting up in emergency mode at 10,000 ft. left us gasping as the rain began to fall in earnest. Back on the bike, we ran through a few showers but nothing as drastic as the thunder storms we saw in the distance, piercing the mountains with lightening. On to route 24, the byway continued through Leadville that boasts it is the city with the highest elevation in Colorado. Now the stately Collegiate Peaks drifted by, Mt. Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Oxford, all over 14,000 ft. The storm clouds surrounding them created an even more dramatic view.
Mt. Princeton
Down, down in elevation, we drove through Buena Vista to Salina, a mere 6900'. Here we are staying tonight with this proud range of mountains standing over us. A superior ride on a superior bike with my best friend and tour guide presented me with a birthday gift wrapped in love and adventure. Thank you Magic and Jules.
Our view for the night
No comments:
Post a Comment