11 - Blog Viewing tips

Viewing the blog in order:-

These things always appear upside down unless you write in reverse order that is and I didn't because I am stupid. However, I did number the posts as you can see on the list on the right so you can simply select one day at a time or click the view older entries tab to see the earlier posts first.

Viewing pictures bigger:-

Simply click on them and you should get a larger version in a new window.

Playing the movie clips:-

Click the play tab once to activate the control and again to play the movie. the clips are not long and buffering speed will depend on your connection type.

Here endeth the lesson, god bless. Amen.

10 - A few trip photos

9 - Conclusions

Having completed my first motorcycle trip to the US I am convinced that aboard a bike is the only way to tour America. You see more, you even smell more (Dead Skunks that are roadkill are the worst smell imaginable) and you feel part of the landscape you are travelling through. I don't know why but you also seem to get a warmer welcome, especially in the small towns.
One thing is for sure you must, if you are in a group that is, all have the same desires and abilities. I was a little disappointed not to have made it to Yellowstone but was more than happy with what we did achieve in just 6 days riding and as for Yellowstone.... well there is always another year.

8 - Friday - 6th Days Ride - Boulder to Denver

The weather gods remained with us for this final ride of the trip and heading north to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park it was the start of another fine day.
We chose to start in Estes Park, ride the Trail Ridge Road and leave the park at Grand Lake before heading down to Granby and joining up with the 40.
Those that know the park will also know that parts of the trail ridge road are over 12,000ft and this of course makes for some spectacular scenery. In places you can see snow banks and the visitor center spends quite a big chunk of the year snowed in. Personally I love high country like this, I live in a mountainous part of the world myself but this is so different, its wilder somehow. Again, being almost beyond the end of the bike season in Colorado we did not see too many other bikes with the exception of a couple of guys on Touring BMWs at the Trail Ridge Road visitor centre who warned us about bad weather heading down this way from the north but by then we would be back across the Atlantic.

The final hours of our road trip were quite spectacular also. The drop down from the summit of the Trail Ridge Road was just as picturesque and twisty as the climb up, and, after refreshments at the roadside cafe near Grand Lake it was off on the last leg back to Denver. The route via Granby was to take us back up to 11,307ft via the Berthoud Pass which offers superb views of the Rockies and at this time of year, with the autumn colours, made it a fitting tribute to the end of our ride. Dropping back down into Denver to a lowly 5300ft gave me time to reflect on a great bike trip and one of the best holidays I have ever had in the US.

7 - Thursday - 5th Days Ride - Laramie to Boulder

As the group was still split and we did not want to hang around until they caught up we agreed to meet them later in Boulder at a hotel we all knew from a previous trip.
It was another glorious day, the sun was shining and the run down to Boulder via Fort Collins was very pleasant. A few years back we had happened by chance on a custom bike shop called Bikers Dream who are agents for Big Dog. It was nice to be able to call in there again and look over the stock. The manager of the store a guy called Matt generously sent us on our way with Bikers dream T shirts and a recommendation for a pretty ride via The Devils Backbone. Its bad form really but we could not resist riding the rest of the road down to Boulder without helmets and now that we were at a lower elevation we could take off a lot of surplus gear which is just as well as it was very hot that day.

For those that don't know Boulder its an attractive university town with plenty going on and some great places to eat, the group came together again in Boulder but not for long as enticing us for the last day was Rocky Mountain National Park and the Trail Ridge Road. Uncle Bloatus and Brian again declined the invitation to join us on what would prove to be a fitting end to our bike tour.

6 - Wednesday - 4th Days Ride - Cody to Laramie

I was woken up by Nige and Mike who were both keen to get going on what would turn out to be 560 miles of epic riding. The 3 of us were on the road not long after sun up and heading north out of Cody for Belfry, Red Lodge, The Beartooth Highway, The Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, back to Cody. Then to Rawlins via Meeteetse, Thermopolis, Shoshoni and Riverton. Then, after dinner and a fruitless hunt for hotel rooms, on to Laramie.

The first leg of the journey to Belfry was a little on the rough side as about 15 miles of it was torn up for reconstruction. I was just thankful it wasn't wet as it would have been impassable. Thankfully the road from Belfry to Red Lodge was OK and a very nice ride through some stunning open country and gentle rolling hills with more than enough twists and turns to make it interesting. After a quick coffee break it was then time to turn our attention to the Beartooth.

I had spent a lot of time on Google Earth looking at this road and watched a lot of clips taken by other bikers on YouTube but nothing prepared me for this awe inspiring ride. As if the twists, turns and uncountable hairpins are not enough the scenery is breathtaking, so incidentally is the elevation! West summit is almost 11,000 ft above sea level.

The ride down the other side of the Beartooth is just as good as the run up and the views just as spectacular. We saw just 2 other bikes on the Beartooth but considering the time of year and the temperature this was not really a surprise.

Had we been going to Yellowstone we would have entered the park via the north entrance but as I said, time was short so we were going back to Cody. This basically means a left turn onto another very famous road. The chief Joseph Scenic byway is another classic ride and if we needed compensation for missing Yellowstone this was it. Yet more beautiful vistas and the kind of roads that motorcycles were invented for. Plenty of straights to give the bikes the beans and plenty of twisties to test the cornering skills and give the gearbox a work out. And once again, all in wonderful sunshine and with the lovely colours of autumn for a backdrop.

We could not resist the temptation to call in again at Meeteetse and the Cowboy bar and Cafe. Im glad we did because I had the best burger I have ever had in my life. Freshly ground beef and freshly cooked. We made a vow there and then to return to that place sometime just to have another. The weather was holding well and after another glorious ride through the Wind River Canyon we rolled once more into Shoshoni turning right this time to Riverton.

For anyone that has taken the road from Riverton to Rawlins they will know that the 135 Sand Draw Road offers wide open spaces and the kind of opportunity that bikers like for high speed cruising. Although averaging 90 to 100 miles an hour most of the way this was quite safe as there were no other vehicles (Except for lone pedal cyclists for some strange reason) and these roads were all as straight as an arrow. When you can do that then you get a feeling of what for me America is all about.... The Freedom of the open road.

The 135 joins the 287 and about halfway along that is a very famous town called Jeffrey City it famous for being a boom town that went bust very quickly. As you drive through it looks like a bomb hit it, nothing there but a solitary bar for the cowboys and oil workers. Look it up on Wikipedia.

We rolled into Rawlins at sundown feeling pretty smug about the days trip, however it wasn't over yet. Rawlins was full! Not a hotel bed anywhere. Our friends managed to get one but we were forced after dinner to press on in the dark to Laramie another 100 miles making the days mileage 560. Its not a pleasant feeling along the I80 at night being ever mindful of the possibility of animals running onto the road or that one of those big rigs that blast past are going to throw a tire. We made it though.

5 - Tuesday - 3rd Days Ride - Shoshoni to Cody

The target for todays ride was Cody and meant that we were now a full day behind our original plan.

We woke up today to clear blue skies. It was cold and indeed there was quite a freeze during the night as the film of ice on the bikes testified to but spirits were lifted into the stratosphere by the appearance of the sun.

I had read about the Wind River Canyon and had looked at it from above via Google Earth but nothing quite prepared me for the beauty of it. Cliffs a thousand feet high in places had been carved by the Wind River. The ride through it to Thermopolis was spectacular and everyone in our group agreed that the last two days of bad weather were a cheap price to pay just to ride through this canyon in the sunshine.

Thermopolis looked an interesting town as we rode through, packed as it is with thermal pools and interesting looking bars but time did not permit us to stop. Instead we pressed on to another 2 horse place called Meeteetse and found another fantastic Bar/Cafe called the 'Cowboy Bar and Cafe' with a name like that you would expect something pseudo but none of it. It was a real country place with food of the best quality and tiny prices. We all had coffee and a good ole slice of pie.

The road to this place and the road on to Cody is bordered by wide open plains and scenery that makes it hard to watch the road. As we were having such good conditions compared to the previous two days we were all in very high spirits.

Cody is a large town and is known as the Gateway to Yellowstone National Park and the famous Beartooth Highway. These two icons were what we had come to see but it now looked as if Yellowstone at least was beyond our reach because of time and with reports of snow and ice up on the Beartooth this too was doubtful. After some discussion it was decided that the group would split. Three of us were at least willing to see how far we could get whilst the other two did not want to risk it. Fair play to them, they knew what their limitations were and I respect their decision but for me I didn't spend a shitload of money and come this far to turn back now. Luckily this point of view rubbed off on Nigel and Mike otherwise I would have made the epic ride on my own with no one to share what was a spectacular day.