2009 April 13th: I’ll start off with the things that happened after I posted yesterday’s blog. After I posted my blog entry, I assisted my son in building a new computer for him. During this process I stopped to run the bike up and get gas, so it would be ready for the trip and so I wouldn’t have to stop first thing. I had a little trouble getting the bike to run. I figured that it just hadn’t been run in a couple of weeks, No big deal right. I drove up to the gas station that is about a mile away. I filled up the tank and when I went to start the bike “Click”. Well I knew this was trouble. The bike is small so I just bump started it and drove home. I put the trickle charger on it and went back to check after about 2 hours. “Click”. The trickle charger said that it was fully charged. This means a new battery time. I got on the internet and found a place in town that carried the battery, but they didn't open until 8:30am.
2009 April 14th: I set my alarm to get up in time to go get the battery from this company and I arrived just after they opened and sure enough they had what we needed. I drove home, installed the battery and loaded up the bike and by 10am I was on my way.
Since I live on the opposite side of the Denver area from the mountains, it took about 45 minutes until I was clear of the city traffic. Once I got to the foothills it was clear sailing. The only trouble was that the further I went the colder it got. I pulled over in Bailey, CO and put on my suit liners and warmed up a bit before heading out.
While I was there, I met another individual that was riding and had stopped for a short break. We ended up talking for awhile and I found out that his name was also Mark. He said that he would ride with me as far as Poncha Springs, CO. I knew that would be a good spot for me to fill up so I agreed and off we went. Mark was riding a much more capable Yamaha FZ1. His bike was fully setup with luggage and he was using heated clothing. I wish I was. My hand got a little cold by the time we reached Fairplay, CO, but I kept on going. I knew that by the time we got to Buena Vista, CO, the elevation would have dropped enough the temperature would have warmed up. I stopped real quickly and took a picture in Buena Vista, CO and then we stopped again in Poncha Springs, CO. We exchanged information and said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Mark seemed like a real nice guy and a well seasoned rider and I hope that we will get to do more riding together.
I stopped again when I was in Del Norte, CO and grabbed something to munch on at the store. The local Sheriff was inside and I asked him if he knew how the Wolf Creek Pass was. He said that he didn’t know, but he would find out for me. He made a quick call and then told me that the pass was clear and dry. Then he told me that I should hurry as they were expecting 12 inches of snow tonight. I didn’t need any more encouragement than that.
I packed myself back on the bike and took off for the pass, which was only about 30 miles away. When I got there, the sky was clear and sunny, the only sun I had seen today. It was really cold but thankfully didn’t last very long and I was on the other side. The bike ran out of gas at 120 miles on odometer, so I switched over to reserve and stopped on the other side of Pagosa Springs, CO. I filled up the bike and headed out still thinking that I could make it to Phoenix by 11:30pm if I kept going.
I made my turn just before I got to Durango, CO onto highway 550 to the south and I stopped in Aztec, NM at a McDonalds for something to eat. Just do yourself a favor, if you are ever in Aztec, NM, Don’t stop at McDonalds. It was the most expensive fish sandwich I’ve ever bought and the guy behind the counter was flippant about it and called it “Highway Robbery”. I ate and then left.
I drove about 20 more miles and started to look for a place to stay in the town of Farmington, NM. I found a cheap motel and checked in. The very nice woman put me on the third floor. I thought that would be great until I had to hump up the stairs about 6 times to get everything off of the bike. I’m very tired and it has been a good day. I’m now beyond the weather issue and can take my time tomorrow instead of being rushed.