Bilco`s US Tour 2008. Part 2, New Mexico to Yellowstone.
The decision was made to leave the trail so on the bike and head south from Trinidad on I25 down to Raton. Hung a right because I really don’t like Interstates. Anyway, I was feeling almost human again after the struggles of the last 2 weeks and wanted some good roads. Onto the R64 and hit a 40 mile straight road to Cimarron! It’s a real challenge on these long roads. This pic was on the 1st report but well worth another look at that straight.
Arrived in Cimarron and had a great breakfast Burrito with plenty of Chilli in it. Talk about a wake up in the morning!!!
Rode out of town and saw lots of old trucks parked up. My business at home is trucks and I love the old American ones so this was like Disneyland. I mooched around and this old guy called “Pop” appeared out of a shed. He was in his eighties and restored old trucks for shows. He took me into his workshop and showed me his two favourites:
1955 bonneted Peterbilt with a 550 Caterpillar motor. Stunning:
1953 Cab over Kenworth with a 500 Caterpillar motor and very rare.
Rest of the trucks were parked outside waiting for a buyer or restoration.
This was a Sunday morning and he was more than happy to show me round. Can’t see that happening over here.....!!! You know, strange guy from another country wandering round your yard would illicit at least an “Oi, feck off” in Britain! After a great hour or so I got back on the road and road the R64 to Taos. The road was full of bends and great views and was so happy to be back on the road that I forgot to take many pics but you can take my word that this road is superb!
Rode through some light rain and saw the most unbelievable black sky as I approached Espanol. Pulled in to get to fuel and couldn’t go anywhere for an hour! I’ve never seen rain like this and within minutes, the road was flooded. At least it cleaned the mud off the bike!
Free bike wash
Put some wets on a headed to ABQ in a mixture of rain and sun. Jumped on the I25 again and the storms came big time. You would hit a storm for about 2 miles and then come out of it into sunshine and dry roads. What the feck is this all about?? At one time, I had to stop on the Interstate, pull as far off the road as possible, and just wait because you could not see to ride. Cars and trucks would be stopping as well and it was dangerous to say the least! Eventually got to Pat and Terri’s place in ABQ and was so good to see people I knew and be in a normal house. Quick shower and off for a Mexican!
Woke up to a fantastic day and ABQ has around 330 clear days a year. Pat (Beemer Pat on ADV Rider) rides a 2001 1150GS with around 90,000 miles on the clock and Terri rides a Serow but she’d had it nicked a couple of weeks earlier. We saddled up and had a ride round the area and up to Sandia Crest which is 10,600ft. Unbelievable views across ABQ and New Mexico!
High elevation......
http://boxerbiker.smugmug.com/photos/389053044_omn6g-L.jpg[/IMG
Great ride then across to Madrid, NM where they filmed Wild Hogs! It’s a Mecca for Travolta wannabee`s and there are too many guys in chaps wandering about for my liking!! Anyway, the town was very run down before the movie but is now booming. Great bar, great company and there was a chilli festival going on for good measure. Life in New Mexico wouldn’t be worth living without Chili’s!
[IMG] http://boxerbiker.smugmug.com/photos/389053077_GjWQd-L.jpg
Roasting Chili’s
Good ride back to ABQ
Pat and Terri on his GS1150
Pat does a lot of work up in Denver so we decided to ride up there together the next day. Sorted some issues with the bike like tightening everything up again and set off at around lunchtime. Great to ride with someone else and enjoyed just tagging along and enjoying the ride. My TKC`s were getting pretty bad so some of the fast bits were interesting!! Our route took us back up to Taos which is pure tourism and then up the R285. Crossed the Rio Grande on here but didn’t realise until I was half way across the bridge and couldn’t stop for a pic but grabbed one going past!
This road is just desolate and keeps going dead straight for around 90 miles. Little turn at a 1 horse town called Alamosa and then straight again on the 17 to Salida for another 80 odd miles which really tests your concentration. The scenery is really desolate and there is nothing for miles around but BIG mountains.
View from the middle of nowhere
Good pose in the middle of freakin nowhere
Pat went onto Denver and I crashed out in a Motel in Salida. We’d done around 420 miles and Pat had another 180 to go. No problem for him as he rides it regularly and boy, some of these guys have no issues in riding 6/700 miles a day!
Pat, my companion for the day. 700 miles? No problem!
I wanted to stay in Salida because it was where I was going to end the trail. Had a few beers with a couple from ADV rider called Duke and Tammy and they reckoned I’d made the right call in pulling off the trail in Trinidad. The section is tough to Salida and they reckoned doing it on your own was bordering on the stupid!! As always, all the folk I meet are so genuinely friendly and helpful that it makes you feel very lucky. Travelling on a bike is really romantic to a lot of Americans so they will all help if the can in my experience.
Up nice and early and head to Denver. Quickly climbed into the Rockies and ski areas!
Had breakfast in the Gunsmoke which was fantastic. No need to ever stop at McShite when you have these places. $10 buys the biggest breakfast you can imagine as well as great company. This café probably had one of the best views whilst drinking coffee!!
Onto the 285 to Denver and rapidly rose to 9000ft. This road goes for nearly 100miles at elevations between 8 and 10,000ft so gets a bit chilly with temp just above freezing. Scenery is stunning though and dropped into Denver to find the BMW dealer.
As always, US dealers are a cut above ours. No waiting of fecking about and they got the bike in, 2 new Tourances, oil change and general once over and I was away in a couple of hours. One or two of the guys in there are dual sport riders and they thought I was a fecking lunatic doing the TAT on my own on a GS. Apparently, a lot of guys ride low weight KLR`s, KTM`s etc and carry minimum luggage. They send all there gear on by road to keep it off the bikes and ride in pairs. Now they tell me!! Bought some bits and pieces and some Olympia cold weather gloves and happy in the knowledge I was now a gnarly TAT veteran and a hero/lunatic (delete where necessary) to some people, I headed north on what seemed like a new bike!
Jumped on the I25 to Fort Collins and then hit the R14 West, otherwise known as Poudre Canyon. This has to be one of the finest roads in Colorado and scrubbed the new Tourances in nicely. A lot of the scenery is similar to Scotland and half expected to see the likes of HRH and Garfield mooching around the hills. Well, Oonyack would be broken down again.......
Scotland anyone??
Local wildlife which likes to stand there threatening to jump!
Great climb to the top and another 10,000ft pass. Getting low on oxygen here!!
Headed across the high plains to a small town called Walden where I was confidently told there would be plenty of motel rooms. Disaster.....not a room in town. One of the motel owners advised me to head to Laramie as there were plenty of rooms there. She was worried though because it was getting late and the Elk etc come out at this time. Nothing more to do than head to Laramie in the fading light. Choice here: do I take it steady and avoid the Elk as they stampede out onto the road or do I gun the old girl and get there quickly? I went for the latter and thought if I was really moving and I hit an Elk, I wouldn’t know too much about it. Vern’s present of a Moose whistle seemed to work and the 67 miles of twisty forested roads were done in an hour or so and I got to town tired and not a little relieved!!! Relief and nervous energy took me into town and a few beers at a great Cowboy Inn with Peanuts all over the floor, big juicy steaks and very friendly bar staff. Wasn’t allowed to take pics but those dreams of Cowgirls in just boots, hats and precious little else was there in front of me!!!!!
Cowboy bar the following morning!
Laramie
Woke up early and no, last night wasn’t a dream and the trials and tribulations of the TAT seemed a lifetime away as I headed toward out toward Casper, Wyoming! This is the start of Big Country and they aren’t joking. Straight line riding for miles and miles
Occasionally coming across small towns that seem to survive, but god knows how, like Medicine Bow.
Also, hit some roadwork’s and believe me, there wasn’t a town for 50 miles and this was the middle of nowhere!
Weather was really sunny but it was getting cold. I was putting more and more clothes on and just couldn’t seem to get really warm although the new Olympia gloves were keeping my fingers toasty! Nice time to find out that the heated grips were U/S and was it a good idea to bin the original hand guards for the TT ones which have no wind protection?
Roads in this area just have stunning vista’s no matter where you look. Took the R26 out of Casper which again is 90 miles of fast straight roads with the odd truck flying up there at 100mph.......yeah really. This was a fuel truck!!
They are really fast and apparently, the cattle trucks can be running at 110mph + .......!!
At Shoshoni, turned north into Wind River Canyon which is a fantastic sweeping road. I’ve ridden up here before and it was still superb right up to Thermopolis.
Good lunch and then the last 120 miles to Cody in heavy and very cold rain. It was really grim and I was freezing despite 5 layers. Pulled into Cody and got into a motel with a hot tub pretty damned quick. Cody is a real cowboy town and pretty busy with tourists. Had a beer in a great little bar and ended up sitting next to a couple from Dudley who had been on a Cowboy ranch for a week..... Small world eh?
The next morning dawned sunny but cold so out of Cody on the 120 toward Yellowstone.
Took the R296 over Dead Indian pass at over 8000ft. Just like the Alps and great riding with no traffic.
This road followed the trail of the Nez Perce Indians who were hounded by the US army. Could have been Custer but I can`t remember. Beautiful country now but you can only imagine how bad it must have been for them.
Came across a piece of road which was a pure Alpine pass. Lovely bends and perfect GS country!!
Good ride coming up......
Heading on toward Yellowstone I took a right and on up to the Beartooth Pass which is one of the highest passes in the Rockies and un missable.
As I climbed, it got absolutely freezing and about 10,000ft, the snow was everywhere and the roads were pretty treacherous. Got to the top at 10,947ft and was greeted by some perfect views and snow. Quite a few a bikes up there and I was advised not to go on toward Red Lodge as it was very icy and dangerous and a couple of guys had binned it on the ice.
Not being a hero, I came back down and had a warming coffee and the Beartooth Lodge with some HD riding guys from Nevada. They had been to the 105th Anniversary at Milwaukee and were doing a big road trip. I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of these guys because they do huge mileages and love their HD`s. I just wish they wouldn’t wear chaps and have pony tails.....!!
Suitably warmed I headed toward the North West entrance to Yellowstone. Had a great lunch in a typical mountain town Cooke City. Was served by a lovely Czech girl so felt right at home!!!
Onwards to Yellowstone National Park to meet cousin James and the rest of the motley crew from various parts of NW USA!
Part 3 Yellowstone to Canada will be along soon
The decision was made to leave the trail so on the bike and head south from Trinidad on I25 down to Raton. Hung a right because I really don’t like Interstates. Anyway, I was feeling almost human again after the struggles of the last 2 weeks and wanted some good roads. Onto the R64 and hit a 40 mile straight road to Cimarron! It’s a real challenge on these long roads. This pic was on the 1st report but well worth another look at that straight.
Arrived in Cimarron and had a great breakfast Burrito with plenty of Chilli in it. Talk about a wake up in the morning!!!
Rode out of town and saw lots of old trucks parked up. My business at home is trucks and I love the old American ones so this was like Disneyland. I mooched around and this old guy called “Pop” appeared out of a shed. He was in his eighties and restored old trucks for shows. He took me into his workshop and showed me his two favourites:
1955 bonneted Peterbilt with a 550 Caterpillar motor. Stunning:
1953 Cab over Kenworth with a 500 Caterpillar motor and very rare.
Rest of the trucks were parked outside waiting for a buyer or restoration.
This was a Sunday morning and he was more than happy to show me round. Can’t see that happening over here.....!!! You know, strange guy from another country wandering round your yard would illicit at least an “Oi, feck off” in Britain! After a great hour or so I got back on the road and road the R64 to Taos. The road was full of bends and great views and was so happy to be back on the road that I forgot to take many pics but you can take my word that this road is superb!
Rode through some light rain and saw the most unbelievable black sky as I approached Espanol. Pulled in to get to fuel and couldn’t go anywhere for an hour! I’ve never seen rain like this and within minutes, the road was flooded. At least it cleaned the mud off the bike!
Free bike wash
Put some wets on a headed to ABQ in a mixture of rain and sun. Jumped on the I25 again and the storms came big time. You would hit a storm for about 2 miles and then come out of it into sunshine and dry roads. What the feck is this all about?? At one time, I had to stop on the Interstate, pull as far off the road as possible, and just wait because you could not see to ride. Cars and trucks would be stopping as well and it was dangerous to say the least! Eventually got to Pat and Terri’s place in ABQ and was so good to see people I knew and be in a normal house. Quick shower and off for a Mexican!
Woke up to a fantastic day and ABQ has around 330 clear days a year. Pat (Beemer Pat on ADV Rider) rides a 2001 1150GS with around 90,000 miles on the clock and Terri rides a Serow but she’d had it nicked a couple of weeks earlier. We saddled up and had a ride round the area and up to Sandia Crest which is 10,600ft. Unbelievable views across ABQ and New Mexico!
High elevation......
http://boxerbiker.smugmug.com/photos/389053044_omn6g-L.jpg[/IMG
Great ride then across to Madrid, NM where they filmed Wild Hogs! It’s a Mecca for Travolta wannabee`s and there are too many guys in chaps wandering about for my liking!! Anyway, the town was very run down before the movie but is now booming. Great bar, great company and there was a chilli festival going on for good measure. Life in New Mexico wouldn’t be worth living without Chili’s!
[IMG] http://boxerbiker.smugmug.com/photos/389053077_GjWQd-L.jpg
Roasting Chili’s
Good ride back to ABQ
Pat and Terri on his GS1150
Pat does a lot of work up in Denver so we decided to ride up there together the next day. Sorted some issues with the bike like tightening everything up again and set off at around lunchtime. Great to ride with someone else and enjoyed just tagging along and enjoying the ride. My TKC`s were getting pretty bad so some of the fast bits were interesting!! Our route took us back up to Taos which is pure tourism and then up the R285. Crossed the Rio Grande on here but didn’t realise until I was half way across the bridge and couldn’t stop for a pic but grabbed one going past!
This road is just desolate and keeps going dead straight for around 90 miles. Little turn at a 1 horse town called Alamosa and then straight again on the 17 to Salida for another 80 odd miles which really tests your concentration. The scenery is really desolate and there is nothing for miles around but BIG mountains.
View from the middle of nowhere
Good pose in the middle of freakin nowhere
Pat went onto Denver and I crashed out in a Motel in Salida. We’d done around 420 miles and Pat had another 180 to go. No problem for him as he rides it regularly and boy, some of these guys have no issues in riding 6/700 miles a day!
Pat, my companion for the day. 700 miles? No problem!
I wanted to stay in Salida because it was where I was going to end the trail. Had a few beers with a couple from ADV rider called Duke and Tammy and they reckoned I’d made the right call in pulling off the trail in Trinidad. The section is tough to Salida and they reckoned doing it on your own was bordering on the stupid!! As always, all the folk I meet are so genuinely friendly and helpful that it makes you feel very lucky. Travelling on a bike is really romantic to a lot of Americans so they will all help if the can in my experience.
Up nice and early and head to Denver. Quickly climbed into the Rockies and ski areas!
Had breakfast in the Gunsmoke which was fantastic. No need to ever stop at McShite when you have these places. $10 buys the biggest breakfast you can imagine as well as great company. This café probably had one of the best views whilst drinking coffee!!
Onto the 285 to Denver and rapidly rose to 9000ft. This road goes for nearly 100miles at elevations between 8 and 10,000ft so gets a bit chilly with temp just above freezing. Scenery is stunning though and dropped into Denver to find the BMW dealer.
As always, US dealers are a cut above ours. No waiting of fecking about and they got the bike in, 2 new Tourances, oil change and general once over and I was away in a couple of hours. One or two of the guys in there are dual sport riders and they thought I was a fecking lunatic doing the TAT on my own on a GS. Apparently, a lot of guys ride low weight KLR`s, KTM`s etc and carry minimum luggage. They send all there gear on by road to keep it off the bikes and ride in pairs. Now they tell me!! Bought some bits and pieces and some Olympia cold weather gloves and happy in the knowledge I was now a gnarly TAT veteran and a hero/lunatic (delete where necessary) to some people, I headed north on what seemed like a new bike!
Jumped on the I25 to Fort Collins and then hit the R14 West, otherwise known as Poudre Canyon. This has to be one of the finest roads in Colorado and scrubbed the new Tourances in nicely. A lot of the scenery is similar to Scotland and half expected to see the likes of HRH and Garfield mooching around the hills. Well, Oonyack would be broken down again.......
Scotland anyone??
Local wildlife which likes to stand there threatening to jump!
Great climb to the top and another 10,000ft pass. Getting low on oxygen here!!
Headed across the high plains to a small town called Walden where I was confidently told there would be plenty of motel rooms. Disaster.....not a room in town. One of the motel owners advised me to head to Laramie as there were plenty of rooms there. She was worried though because it was getting late and the Elk etc come out at this time. Nothing more to do than head to Laramie in the fading light. Choice here: do I take it steady and avoid the Elk as they stampede out onto the road or do I gun the old girl and get there quickly? I went for the latter and thought if I was really moving and I hit an Elk, I wouldn’t know too much about it. Vern’s present of a Moose whistle seemed to work and the 67 miles of twisty forested roads were done in an hour or so and I got to town tired and not a little relieved!!! Relief and nervous energy took me into town and a few beers at a great Cowboy Inn with Peanuts all over the floor, big juicy steaks and very friendly bar staff. Wasn’t allowed to take pics but those dreams of Cowgirls in just boots, hats and precious little else was there in front of me!!!!!
Cowboy bar the following morning!
Laramie
Woke up early and no, last night wasn’t a dream and the trials and tribulations of the TAT seemed a lifetime away as I headed toward out toward Casper, Wyoming! This is the start of Big Country and they aren’t joking. Straight line riding for miles and miles
Occasionally coming across small towns that seem to survive, but god knows how, like Medicine Bow.
Also, hit some roadwork’s and believe me, there wasn’t a town for 50 miles and this was the middle of nowhere!
Weather was really sunny but it was getting cold. I was putting more and more clothes on and just couldn’t seem to get really warm although the new Olympia gloves were keeping my fingers toasty! Nice time to find out that the heated grips were U/S and was it a good idea to bin the original hand guards for the TT ones which have no wind protection?
Roads in this area just have stunning vista’s no matter where you look. Took the R26 out of Casper which again is 90 miles of fast straight roads with the odd truck flying up there at 100mph.......yeah really. This was a fuel truck!!
They are really fast and apparently, the cattle trucks can be running at 110mph + .......!!
At Shoshoni, turned north into Wind River Canyon which is a fantastic sweeping road. I’ve ridden up here before and it was still superb right up to Thermopolis.
Good lunch and then the last 120 miles to Cody in heavy and very cold rain. It was really grim and I was freezing despite 5 layers. Pulled into Cody and got into a motel with a hot tub pretty damned quick. Cody is a real cowboy town and pretty busy with tourists. Had a beer in a great little bar and ended up sitting next to a couple from Dudley who had been on a Cowboy ranch for a week..... Small world eh?
The next morning dawned sunny but cold so out of Cody on the 120 toward Yellowstone.
Took the R296 over Dead Indian pass at over 8000ft. Just like the Alps and great riding with no traffic.
This road followed the trail of the Nez Perce Indians who were hounded by the US army. Could have been Custer but I can`t remember. Beautiful country now but you can only imagine how bad it must have been for them.
Came across a piece of road which was a pure Alpine pass. Lovely bends and perfect GS country!!
Good ride coming up......
Heading on toward Yellowstone I took a right and on up to the Beartooth Pass which is one of the highest passes in the Rockies and un missable.
As I climbed, it got absolutely freezing and about 10,000ft, the snow was everywhere and the roads were pretty treacherous. Got to the top at 10,947ft and was greeted by some perfect views and snow. Quite a few a bikes up there and I was advised not to go on toward Red Lodge as it was very icy and dangerous and a couple of guys had binned it on the ice.
Not being a hero, I came back down and had a warming coffee and the Beartooth Lodge with some HD riding guys from Nevada. They had been to the 105th Anniversary at Milwaukee and were doing a big road trip. I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of these guys because they do huge mileages and love their HD`s. I just wish they wouldn’t wear chaps and have pony tails.....!!
Suitably warmed I headed toward the North West entrance to Yellowstone. Had a great lunch in a typical mountain town Cooke City. Was served by a lovely Czech girl so felt right at home!!!
Onwards to Yellowstone National Park to meet cousin James and the rest of the motley crew from various parts of NW USA!
Part 3 Yellowstone to Canada will be along soon
.... this is fab. 
