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!
