Colorado Calling Day 4 in Colorado Continued!

Well, just a few miles ahead, I come to a grinding halt. The reason ???

Couple of small lakes.... Like mirrors.... Reflecting the sorroundings... Looks surreal.
A small town... I cannot imagine them doing anything other than fishing.








I cross the town in no time. The name is powderhorn. The road gets serious. It slowly starts to wind upwards. Elevation gain is palpable. And it becomes serious. Once again, I stop in the middle of the road, and take a picture.
Soon after I decend into Rio Grande valley. Another beautiful sight of the Rio Grande peak, and the puddles of waters below. They must be big lakes or reservoirs as I could sense the enormity of the waters in the distant.



After about an hours I reach the end of 149 in a town called South Fork. Its about 11:00 AM. I pull into a restaurant craving for a cup of coffee. The waitress says they are not open but obliges a cup of coffee. I sit all alone, reviewing the pictures on the camera. Very beautiful indeed. She arrives with a cup of coffee, and takes a peek at the pictures.

She says, 'Wow, very nice pictures! Where did you take them?'
I say, 'Right above this road 149. Very nice road.'
She says, 'Oh really? I have never been on this road yet'
I say, 'May be you should some day!'


I jump onto 160.... My destination Durango! This is a major road, and I can see a lot of traffic. But many a places it has two lanes. The ST breezes past the traffic effortlessly among the ups and downs of the road. I also go through a couple of passes on this road.

Around 1:30 I near Durango. The temprature must be in the high nineties, and inside my aerostich certainly more than 100. The stop and go traffic begins. There is a lot of construction and dust. I pull down the visor to avoid the dust. And eventually pull into a gas station, and fill up gas. The plan is to eat some of the left over chinese food prior to braving the 'Million Dollar Freeway'.

I turn on the ignition and suddenly there is no juice. I try a few times, and I am completely psyched. I immediately call a few shops around to see if some one can help. Something in the corner of my mind tells me this is a minor issue. But as I am mechanically challenged, I dont even know where to start. I was extremely disappointed at the response I get from people around!

'Oh, we work only on Harley Davidsons! And we cannot look at Hondas!'
'Our technicians specialize in BMWs, and they would not know anything about Hondas'
'Yes, we are just about a mile away, and if you manage to tow your bike over, we can look, but cannot promise anything. I cannot leave the shop!'

A delivery truck pulls in to stock some drinks in the convenient shop. He stops by and I ask him if there are any motorcycle mechanics around. He does not ride, and hence does not know. He says if he had a trailer, he would help me to tow the bike. I thank him anyways! He said he has to go now, but will come back and check on me if I am still around!

I am amused at the mixture of responses... Most of them very annoyed, and refuse to help. This man he wants to help but dont know how!!! However, I am extremely moved by his gesture. Just knowing that there are nice people in the world, I feel happy!

Then I call Richard. There is comfort in knowing that he is going to help me! Just hearing a known voice itself is soothing. He tells me it could be a fuse issue, and asks me if I have spare fuses. I say, 'Nope'. He says, 'Open the plastic, and atleast identify if there is anything amiss, and I will call you back if I come to know of anything'.

I remove the luggage, seat and the plastics, and to my comfort I discover the lead connecting to the positive terminal is loose. I tighten the nut and turn the ignition, and the ST roars back into life.

I quickly pack up, and ready to move. Now I know where the problem is. I feel a little more confident. I have lost a couple of hours. Its almost 3:30. I am supposed to get to Fort Collins... I dont know if I will make it. I push off and tell myself, 'Think one mile at a time'. Because of this little mishap, I am drained, and am tired. I already have 230 miles behind me for the day mostly on twisties!

I take it easy and roll on. 550 starts pretty straight with occasional long sweepers. The peaks on the way are beautiful. Even though I have lost a few hours, I dont think I should rush! I stop for another photo session.

This road is supposed to cross three passes! And I can see that this is going to be one of the best roads ever. I get energized with the scenery around!

Colorado Calling Day 4 in Colorado

Today is going to be one of the most awesome! I am going to be doing couple of roads that have been called unforgettable by folks on the net...

I am going to find it for myself...

The morning starts bright and early for me..! I make myself a cup of coffee provided in the room... Look at the maps with a cigarette with anticipation. Another 4-500 miles in front of me through CO - 149, 160, and 550. I take a quick shave, shower, get ready and hit the road on foot to a near by MacDonolds. The morning air is crisp, bordering even cold. I walk with my camera, and capture a couple of scenes for me to remember in years to come how that morning looked.




CO - 149 From Gunnison to South Fork

Leaving Gunnison was fast. Things look so different in the morning compared to the previous evening. The golden hue of the morning sun engulfs the surrounding, and everything looks fresh. The town is still sleepy with a few trucks on the road.

The run of town is fast. In a few minutes I leave the town boundaries, and am on the 50 West. Another observation - things do appear new when you travel in the reverse direction. The road winds along a lake. After 10 miles are so, I see the turn off for CO - 149. A small bridge takes me across the lake to the other bank. I have to immediately pull over, and start on foot with the camera hanging around my neck. The scene promises a beautiful day ahead.

The blue skies of the heavens reflecting on the lake with the sun rays playing magic. I am probably not going to be able to describe the ambiance. The air is getting warmed by the sun, and the air feels fresh. While I can see there is some traffic west bound on CO -50, the entrance to 149 looks desolate with just me standing looking forward to finding whats around that corner.





With reluctance I get close to the steed and start to get ready. I get the IPod ready. Just then a jeep pulls in on the opposite side of the road. And a man and a woman walk out of the car. The woman stands out and breaths deep the fresh air and stretches. The man is busy walking with a camera. We greet each other, and he seems like a local.

He tells me, 'If you are spending so much time admiring here, you are in for a treat! Enjoy the ride...'. I say thanks, and get started with anticipation.

Soon enough, just like the man said, I stop again.



And stop again just in another few minutes.... There is a river flowing by the road side, I pull over, and again remove my helmet and gloves, and don my camera. The waters so blue, the trees so green, the air so crisp - I walk around with a deep sense of relaxation. It seems like I am the only soul around, and I feel one with the surrounding. I cannot help but thank the creator for having made such a beautiful art, and chose me as a witness for the past several days.

The road meanders along side of the river. The silence is filled with the gurgling voices of the million little waves on the river. A few birds unseen fill the gap with their chatters. I stop the music on my IPod, and listen to the nature instead.


Just when I am ready to roll a SUV pulls along my side with lights flashing! There is a man and a woman in the car. The lady greets me with a fresh smile, and so does the guy! They are rangers, and the lady asks me, 'Good Morning! Just checking if everything is OK with you.'. I return the smile and say, 'Just enjoying the place... Took some pictures... And I am perfectly fine. Thanks for stopping!'. The man says 'Sure thing! You take care now!'

I stand there amused.... Most of my experiences with flashing lights have been otherwise. I start to wonder if I dropped into a rabbit hole, and am in a different world now!

Day 3 - Continued in Colorado

Four Corners
This is the only place apparently where four states meet at a single point - Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah! Just stepping into this circle, I can add two more states to my trip :)



This place is a tourist magnet! Lots of little shops and many people taking pictures. I had to wait a long time for my turn. There is a Italian family whom I give way to. The Italian gentleman, hardly speaking English, offers to take my picture, which I gladly accept. And he does a good job at it.

Just entering a couple of shops to get a feel for what they are selling - native american trinkets, t-shirts mostly. I buy two t-shirts one for me and another for Mo, and hop on the steed.


Up north on 160, the ride is on a straight road, not much to talk about. There are distant signs of extension of Monument valley kind of terrain. In other hour or so, I reach Cortez, Colorado. Navigating through the traffic signals and whole bunch of cars, I get to a gas station and ask for directions to Hwy 145.

Hwy 145
Its already 4:30, and I have just about a couple of more hours of sunshine. Understanding the urgency, I scoot down on 145. Slowly, but steadily the traffic thins down, and the elevation gains. I dance around on the curves, but could feel the fatigue catching up. I take a break not too far from where I started. I can hear another creek on the side of road, and so, I walk over to the place, and sit down by the stream for a few minutes. Soon realizing more I delay, its going to take as long to reach the destination. The urge to lay down on a bed is overpowering.


Again, I start my journey! The lofty mountains yonder give me company and the much needed enthusiasm.




This road is beautiful. Within a few miles of leaving Utah there is such a contrasting terrain. The hills are green, and the tempratures much easier to manage.

At Placerville, a ski town, the traffic is heavy. I have no idea how I got this much patience (not that I had any choice), I roll behind a caravan of cars for more than an hour just to cross a few miles on the twisties. A while later I do come to the intersection of Hwy 62. Here I bear east. Nothing special about this road, but sure seems like a very nice road. The steed behaves as if the road was built just so that one fine day it will cruise along at high speeds on those long curvy roads. About an hour or so later, I do reach Hwy 550. I turn south on 550.

I eagerly look forward to riding the Million Dollar freeway. But its not to be. The Motel 8 at Gunnison would not cancel my reservation for the night. So, I am forced to turn back from Ouray to go back to Gunnison!

I promise to come back the next day! Up until Montrose, the road gets boring. It gets aggravated because of my fatigue and traffic. Finally I join Hwy 50. Gunnison is just over an hour from here. My energy gets a boost imagining some good food and a bed.

Hwy 50
So, off I go. Up on the twisties there is competition. This is from a young girl driving a honda civic or accord. She is good! She gives the steed run for its life! Man, she was so good that I could rarely see her touch her breaks on the curvy mountainous roads. She did not even slow down when she passed all the slow moving cars, and did so effortlessly and safely. And here is a car which I follow passionately. Enjoying her lead the way, I follow like a mindless lover! She certainly is a local, I say to myself! But I cannot do what she is doing - zipping through the beautiful country.

This Hwy 50 from Montrose to Gunnison is a beautiful road. Enough twisties, and good scenary makes it certainly one of the roads to remember. Soon, I give up on following and pull to the side of the road. The sun is certainly fading, painting the far skies with orange and purple.



Another lake nearby quietly reflects the mountains around on its placid waters.





By the time I roll into Gunnison, I note that the roads are quite wet. When I checked into Motel8, the girl behind the counter tells me that it poured through the noon, and the rains just stopped.

I quickly remove my bags and move into my room. Take a quick shower, and off to get some chinese food.

Being in Bay Area, we are clearly spoilt. Cannot just eat the same kind of food over and over. Need varieties. I order some KungPao chicken and a beer. I eat the food slowly. There is a man and a woman next table. Other than the three of us the restaurant is empty. They make no effort in having a quite conversation. It appears that she is a single mom, and heard her talk loads of praises about her kids. And the man, quite eager to please was playing along, and took every chance to woo her. Very interesting conversation, kept me company.

I am supposed to meet Mo and Dmitriy in Denver tomorrow. I make a quick call, and call it a day!

Day 3 - Utah to Colorado

The morning is bright... The are still clouds, the wind cold and crispy...
I walk out in the morning around 6:00 AM. And walk around to see the hints of the sun restless to come out.


I quickly take shower, get ready and pack the saddles.

And walk over for a quick breakfast.
And I see many riders who reached later than me to call the place home for the night!

After an omlette and a cup of coffee I start. But before that I have a message to take with me! How true, I say, and take a picture of the statement on the wall...


I will be riding through Capitol Reef, Glen Canyon, Four Corners and eventually into Colorado. I leave Hwy 12 and turn east on Hwy 24.

Not even a couple of miles, I can see the grandeur of the Capitol Reef. Clearly not many people visit here, and this being a week day, adds to the desolate nature of the place. Man, at this rate I will never reach Colorado, I kid myself!





Nonetheless, the place looked stunning in the early morning sun! Just when I was saddling up and roll out of the pull over point, I see two girls doing their morning run, and stop by to look at the hieroglyphics on the rocks. They are sweaty and beautiful! I cannot help thinking these two beautiful creatures are as beautiful as the background! God is certainly a great artist, I say to myself, and just as he has created beautiful places, he has created beautiful creatures. I say thanks for the lovely sights, and move on....
Its still just about 9 to 10 AM, and I can see the place getting heated up. So, I pull over someplace to peel off some layers and continue.



Again this is another beautiful road I tell myself. Just when I was saddling up, I see a bunch of Gold Wingers fly by and I wave cheerfully at them, and they return waves from the fast moving bikes.

Glen Canyon
I get off of Hwy 24 onto south on 95. A few miles down the road, I come upon Glen Canyon...




Glen Canyon has the dramatic orange cliffs around with deep green waters with green foliage. Very unearthly, and quite. I meet with a bunch of folks from England in an RV. They offer to take my picture.



Just after they scurry into the inviting RV. I can hear the air-conditioning working its best to keep the vehicle inviting. They wait for me to leave (very nice of them I thought), but because of me taking a long time, they wave good-bye and move on.

Down below the valley, I see few cars parked - probably those folks are cruising on those cool green waters... Me, I jump on the bike and move on.

Road meanders on and come across a place where they had to cut a mountain to make the road. It was dramatic, and felt like thats the way it always was...






After taking the picture I scurry to my steed, and roll on. I make constant progress on Hwy 95 all the way to Hwy 191. Turn south my ride continues to a town the small town of Bluff. Here I gas up and chew on a protein bar, and wash it down with some more water. Light up a cigarette under the shade of the gas station.

An old car pulls by, and the lady goes into the shop. Its one of those good old cadillac kind of cars, dusty beige in color, lost the charm over a period of years. There is an native american old man sitting on the front with a kid and an old woman in the back. He starts a conversation....
Him: 'I live around the corner...'
Me: 'Yeah, thats good. This a beautiful part of the country.'
Him: 'Where are you going?'
Me: 'Denver'
Him: 'Where are you coming from?'
Me: 'San Francisco'
Him: 'Never been to San Francisco'
Me: 'That place is also nice... Just not as hot' and laugh.
Him (suddenly out of context): 'I hope you found what you are looking for'
Me (taken aback from the unexpected question): 'I dont know. I am still looking I guess'
Him (smiles, and gives and enigmatic nod).

I say good bye to him, and get on Hwy 162 east still thinking about the question the old man asked. Have I found what I am looking for? What am I looking for?

Pretty interesting question for me from a old man, for the rest of my trip I thought. I give it some serious thought as a couple of dusty towns pass by. The road is named 'The Trail of Ancients', and I hope the ancients will show me what I am looking for.

Just after another hour or so, I find myself racing with a while Toyota. I patiently follow the old car. There is just the two of us on the road. Just looking at the back of the car, I settle into a leisurely run.

Suddenly the Hwy number changes to 41, and I know I have entered Colorado. I turn south on Hwy 160. Just a few miles down I am looking forward to the 'Four Corners' national monument.