| Author | Message | ||
     Jlnance |
I'm in Gillette, WY, waiting for my laundry to dry. We saw a lot today. First thing was Mount Rushmore, which was of course impressive. From there we drove through the Black Hills, which was fantastic until it started to rain. We had lunch in Spearfish while we waited for our body temperature to come back up to normal. Then we headed off in search of Devils Tower, WY. The rain cleared as we entered Wyoming, and I remembered why I like riding in this state. There is nothing here but long rolling hills. You can see for miles, you can go as fast as you want. Just don't run out of gas, cause there isn't a lot of cell service. Devils Tower was cool, you can see it in that picture above. It was featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind" if you're old enough to remember that. I didn't realize that until I saw it. After that we headed into Gillette. This hotel has only been open for a week, so they are still working out the kinks. It is really cool though. Very nice, and they bumped us up into a suite because there aren't many people staying here. Tomorrow we are off for Laramie, WY. | ||
| Court |
Jim: I'm loving the pics . . you guys are having ENTIRELY too much fun. There have been some developments in BUELL RACING. Check in with me when you get back and I'll bring you up to speed. Keep the story going and the pics coming! Court | ||
| F_skinner |
Jim, I have Friday off so give me a call when you get into the Springs. Lynn and I would like to have dinner with you two.... Frank | ||
| Jlnance |
Frank, that sounds great. I'm sure I have your phone number somewhere, but I'm going to PM you mine. Will you text me back so I can be sure I have it? Thanks, Jim | ||
| F_skinner |
You kids and your fancy phones  I cannot send text messages so I replied with my phone number. Lynn and I talked about riding up Pikes Peak on Friday if that is in your plans. Frank | ||
| Jlnance |
 Stayed with motornoggin yesterday | ||
| Sportymark |
You and your Awesome rides Jim | ||
| Jlnance |
 Rory and Becky | ||
| Jlnance |
 Colorado Springs | ||
| Rubberdown |
Trish was born in Colorado Springs. Ride On! | ||
| Jlnance |
 130 coming into laramie | ||
| Jlnance |
 Someone has a uly in rapid city. | ||
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| F_skinner |
I think today was a good Buell Day. It was great to get to hang out with you two. Some pics At the Hotel    Garden of the Gods       Pikes Peak         GET SOME ALTITUDE  No trip to Colorado is complete without doing some work on a Buell in Frank's garage.  | ||
| Jlnance |
Frank & Lynn - Thanks for the awesome day. | ||
| Gowindward |
Jim, When Frank's not looking see if you can slip an S2 into one of the saddle bags. He has so many he will never miss just one! | ||
| Jlnance |
 There is a Shriner convention at our hotel. Clowns are creepy... Especially by the hundreds. | ||
| Lynn |
It was a great day!!!, ... had so much fun with you guys... could'nt ask for better weather in september... .take care, Lynn | ||
| Lynn |
Clowns are terribly creepy!!  | ||
| Dbird29 |
Purple mountain's majesty above the fruited Plains. | ||
| Jlnance |
Internet access has been lacking on this trip so I haven't had much opportunity to tell stories. I'll start with Wyoming. We stayed at a great place in Gillette. The motel had just opened a week earlier, and they only had 3 guests staying there. Since they had an abundance of room, the upgraded us to a suite. The staff was excellent, it was a good place to crash. In the morning we got up and headed out on highway 59, which runs through the grasslands down to Douglass. Wyoming is made up of a lot of large, long rolling hills. The altitude is high, so corn isn't grown here, it's pretty baren actually. This means that when you're on the top of a hill, there is nothing blocking your view, you can see for miles. After 100 miles of grasslands, we reentered civilization in Douglass, gassed up the bike, and headed toward Casper on the interstate. Casper was only 40 miles away, so I didn't stop there, I just got off the interstate and started heading south toward Medicine Bow. The scenery south of Casper is awe inspiring. There are rock hills and a river following the road. It is beautiful, and as desolate as the grasslands. After about 30 miles of this desolate beauty, I came to a fork in the road and stopped to check my map. 75 miles to Medicine bow, and I already had 72 miles on that tank of gas. I had not passed one filling station since leaving Casper, and there were no towns before Medicine Bow. That should be ok. The bike should not have any problems making 147 miles on a tank, though I had been riding rather vigoursly since leaving casper. I slowed down and followed an SUV the rest of the way, so I would have some help if I didn't make it all the way. We did make it to Medicine Bow before the light was even on. I have to saw I was expecting Medicine Bow to be a town. It's not terriably large. There was one place selling gas, and it had the concrete torn up beside the pump. Fortunately, the pump still worked, but the only gas they had was 85 octane (isn't that about like kerosene?) I put 2 gallons in, we had lunch, and then continued 30 miles down to the interstate where there was a station selling 85, 87, and 89 octane gas. I filled the tank with the 89. I found out later that all of Wyoming is at a fairly high altitude. Engines do not need as high an octane to run up there, which is why they sell stuff like 85 octane gas. My bike did not ping running on 85 octane gas, so that theory must work. After the fill up, we crossed the interstate and continued on Wyoming 130, which is a scenic highway that goes over a couple of passes. I think at one point we were at 12000 feet. There was snow on the mountain sides, and the trees didn't grow well up there. 130 took us into Laramie, where we were staying with Motornoggin and Wyobecky. I called 'noggin when we got there and he told me "the house is unlocked, the downstairs is all yours." We go there, went downstairs and wow, it was fantastic. A gameroom with a couple of bedrooms. We crashed for a couple of hours, until the 'noggin and Becky got home. They took us out for dinner and showed us around town. The next morning Becky made us breakfast. They are good people. | ||
| Jlnance |
We left Wyoming, and headed down into Colorado. Colorado is much more densly populated than Wyoming and also lower in altitude. We picked up a car for Amanda at the Denver airport, and continued on to Colorado Springs. We crashed once we got here and didn't do anything else that day. The next day we met up with Frank and Lynn. What cool people. They took us to Garden of the Gods, and then up Pikes Peak. Garden of the Gods is a collection of huge rock formations right outside of town. It was a fun place to walk around. Pikes Peak is a huge mountain. It was a great ride up, twisty mountain road, no guard rail, and sheer drop offs. At the top, there is no air. You start to feel dizzy after a while. It plays havoc with the Buell fuel injection system too. We had lunch at the top, then headed back down. Down is harder than up. It's not all paved, and it's a steep road of 19 miles. I think I have some brake pads left, but I'll have to check. After that, we hung out at Franks place for a while, then he took us out for dinner at a place by the hotel. It was really a great day. | ||
| Jlnance |
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