Don't Flush The Cinder Blocks, Colorado has Old Pipes!

[Fencejumper09]

The road to Colorado is long and lonely but editing pictures and videos from 6 days of dual sporting the most amazing place I have ridden in my life takes a lot longer!

I felt like I needed to start this even if it is just with a catchy theme video or funny picture, instead I end up with this;

Stay tuned for more gloriousness and shenanigans from myself, @Brian A @Mulley @Nice Goat @kdtrull @KevinB @odell2115 @SpeedyR

[Fencejumper09]

It is Tuesday January 2nd and I am sitting at my desk still chugging coffee to ease the hangover from New Years. I am personally in a funk, contemplating if I really need my KTM 690 since I am only riding technical singletrack or the sumo. I have these thoughts anytime I go a couple of weeks without riding my beloved hooligan machine. My phone is on my desk and erupts with a violent vibration and lights up with a notification: New Message from @Mulley As I unlock my phone (with my eyes since it is a Samsung and they have been doing that ish for years!) and start reading the message, i realize that this is one of those moments that can define me. It is an invitation to a dual sport ride consisting of 6 days in Colorful Colorado slaying some of the best mountain passes and technical singletrack.

Now to set the stage to explain my current emotions you must know that at the time my beautiful daughter was 9 months old and still quite the handful. We were also dealing with some sewer line issues at our house!

I am torn, do I even waste my breathe asking my wife to go on this trip or save face and simply keep up the local weekend trips. After a long internal struggle which ended up only lasting 30 minutes (thanks to the 3 cups of coffee) I decide to try my salesmanship acumen and try my best to trade up future weekends of riding for one epic, 10 total day, bucket list crushing trip! After an up and down roller coaster of emotional conversation and knee bending I received a very timid affirmation to my request. She pretty much said that if I decline changing one stinky diaper I could kiss the trip goodbye!!

Fast-forward several months and the bike prep is going smoothly and things are really looking great with everything aligning as needed. I have the vacation days lined up, pto hours aplenty, cash in the bank and a happy wife! It was the middle of June when a buddy tells me he is swamped at work and his company may have a position perfect for me. Well what could it hurt to go to a fancy dinner with sushi, wine and dessert on someone else's tab, I fell in love with the idea of the new job and soon had a start date of July 2nd! This definitely added a good bit of stress to the situation as I had just completed 2 weeks of training when I up and leave for 10 days! My new boss was cool with loaning me some future PTO hours and the trip was kosher!

July 19th I meet @Brian A at Mully's house to load up the bikes for an early departure on Friday. The loading was uneventful with just some minor waterproofing required on the trailer. Somehow I went home and got a decent sleep and was back at Mully's in the morning with a Jack's biscuit in my belly and a mediocre coffee in my hand! As a new dad it was great to see how a seasoned vet like Mully handled the family before we left! He is a great father and has an amazing family!







In case anyone wants to know, Yes it does have a Hemi!



The back seat had plenty of leg room!



The snack flavor options were endless!

[Mulley]

Man. You're making me blush.

This was a good trip and the story is going to get a lot better. I had a lot of fun and laughed until I was about to puke many times.

[Fencejumper09]

The first day was a long day on the road! Passed a truck with a sign stating "Fire Putter Outer Inside". We got to see the mighty Mississippi



And the mightiest mirrored Egyptian tomb known to man!



It was quite toasty in Arkansas!



Made it to Oklahoma by 5pm!



It was still pretty hot when I took over! We probably all over packed leading to a little less MPGs than we were hoping for!



Welcome to Texas!



We stopped at a great little Texas truck stop where the clientele inspired a nice little nugget of BA wisdom "That girl was so ugly, she would make a freight train take a dirt road!" This was quite the memorable statement for me! I hope I remember it for when the time is right!

We made it to Amarillo and got the last room from the Days Inn, we may have stolen it from Jeff and Steve but they found a nearby place! The view from our parking lot!



I don't know why but these convenience stores and their name amused me!

[Fencejumper09]

With another day of driving we head off from Amarillo making our way towards Trinidad, New Mexico. The sights along the road are turning into what you would expect to see as you head west! My mind starts to flood with what it must have been like for explorers seeing this area for the first time!







Mesas!



Saw this sweet suburban towing a truck bed trailer with a camper top! Pretty smart if you ask me!



At out gas stop in Trinidad we discuss food options and find some promising ideas on Yelp but they aren't close to the interstate. We are all craving something local and something out of a truck! We decide to turn around and grab something quick to get back on the road. As we pull into a gravel lot large enough for our rig an unassuming truck grabs our eyes as we discover a delicious little gem in the parking lot of a closed down bar!

Behold Candelarios Food Truck! Let the decision making begin!



Not a bad view from the truck!



These goons ruin the view but luckily the treats provided make up for it!



Carne Asada was delicious! I didn't get a picture of the green chili cheese fries because they disappeared quite fast!



Back on the road in search of this gem!

[Brian A]

Mulley and David were good guys to travel with.  We covered a bunch of miles and had a lot of laughs and fun times along the way.

I enjoy traveling - long trips - by car/truck/motorcycle. Especially when you have a couple of friends along for the trip.

Most all my long travels are by airplane. Being on the road... I just enjoy it. Seeing the scenery and small towns and people. It's a good kind of travel in my book.

The Taco Truck was the bomb! Great food! 

[kylepeterson]

freight train take a dirt road.

damn.

wooooohhhh weeeeee that's pretty bad.

next?

[Guidedawg]

That was actually a line we used in a skit my drama group performed in college, but ours was "His bad breath (talking about a music minister) could make a freight train take a dirt road"

I like the Texan's use of it better, though.

This looks like a very promising, if not epic, trip report

[Fencejumper09]

That was a Brian A quote!!

Hold on to your hats people, we may actually ride a motorcycle in the next update!

[springer]

That was a Brian A quote!!

Hold on to your hats people, we may actually ride a motorcycle in the next update!

Shock a rip Reuben!

[Fencejumper09]

We continued our trek to Pueblo Colorado with some amazing sights. It is crazy how far off into the distance you can see. Watching the rain storm in the distance was therapeutic for me but that's because I was not driving!





Slight rain on the windshield while the area behind us was getting pounded. It was an uneventful drive to the Hampton Inn in Canon City!



We headed straight to Walmart for supplies! I needed to get some FrogToggs as my inner waterproof layers would leave me with wet pants and jackets after a rain. We snagged some random essentials and the locals were quite unique. Brian thought that the Wal-Marts in Colorado were more redneck than Alabama! We checked into the hotel and enjoyed a few adult beverages while we waited for Mully to get some work done. The rain was enjoyable!



A worker at the hotel offered us a premium parking spot for added security!



We headed off for some dinner with a looney lyft driver! We ended up at Turmeric Indian Restaurant in
Florence, CO. The food was awesome and I didn't get any pictures but we had a little bit of everything; lentil soup, naan, veggie pakora, lamb vindaloo, tikka masala chicken, and tandori chicken! It was all delicious but my favorite was the Tikka Masala Chicken!

We had a pretty tasty local brew that just so happened to be brewed right around the corner. Mully and I headed to the brewery while Brian explored the town. Ended up getting a flight and they were delicious for the most part! The brewery had a cool vibe and I would liked to have stayed to try everything they had but we had a ride planned for the morning. So, we called for a Lyft and wouldn't you know it, it was the same driver from earlier. This time she was ready to chat, we learned that she wanted to start a bed and breakfast trailer park! She also thought it would be a good idea for her 70 year old mom to drive for Lyft with her! We luckily made it home in one piece

The next morning I got up early and hiked up to the top of the hill next to the hotel to catch the sunrise. For some reason I decided not to get out my DSLR and just used my point and shoot that I just got, I was not real familiar with the settings so these did not turn out great.

Found some water!




The in camera panorama is not perfect!





After a nice continental breakfast the Pueblo crew arrived with Kevin and Ken coming in guns blazing! We started gearing up and were ready to hit the Gold Loop!!

[Mulley]

Man you've got me laughing again.

Quote from Michelle the only Lyft / Uber driver in town, "I told momma that if she would start driving for Uber we could own this town." I shit you not, she said that.

She also said she rides a little Ninja (she didn't know the size) and likes to show those guys on big cruisers how to run through the canyon.

[Fencejumper09]

The loop started off with some pavement to the start of the real fun!

@Mulley was still messing with his bike, even after we got rolling!



The gravel started and was pretty fantastic. It was just a slight bit dusty and Mully's tire loed to scoop up and throw rocks in every direction!



Stopped for a quick break with a nice view of a bridge!







Before we left, Mully and Brian explained as well as one can with words how it is to ride in Colorado. They told me that around every turn was another beautiful scenic view, so be ready to take a lot of pictures! My camera was on a lanyard (I think I stole this idea from @klaviator ) so I was always ready to shoot!









The ride into Victor was pretty cool, the old mining towns were really interesting to see. They were so far away from civilization but these towns flourished and are still working today!



Ken and I found a hole in a rock!



One of the old guys needed a potty break! It was at this that we learned, if you cut something in half 7 times, it is statistically gone!
This lead to a couple unique replies from the guys;
@KevinB "like crabs"
@Brian A  "That's what happened to my D*&$!



Some long distance shots to try to give a little perspective. Everywhere we turned was another sight to see!











It was a great day of riding! Shout out to @Nice Goat for setting this route up!

[Fencejumper09]

Gold Loop video!

[klaviator]

Outstanding writing, pictures and video so far!  Looking forward to the rest.