Rocky Mountain National Park

Started by h2olawyer, June 22, 2008, 07:50:29 PM

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h2olawyer

Well, today was the annual Timberline (church) to Timberline (RMNP) ride.  We started with 65 bikes at 10 this morning.  Headed west through Ft. Collins and took some backroads to US 34.  One of the backroads was new "sort of" to me.  I've never ridden it because I remembered it as gravel.  Turns out they paved it a couple years ago.  Boy is it narrow & twisty!   ;D  Interesting herding all them big ol' Harleys through there.

We stopped in Drake, CO (about 1/2 way to Estes Park.  Got offf the bikes and got to know a few people.  I met a guy riding a red 1982 Yamaha Seca 750 with the full factory fairing.  It was in almost as nice condition as my V.   8)  We left Drake and headed up the Devil's Gulch Road through Glen Haven to Estes Park.  A few of the crowd left at Drake, but we were still around 60 bikes.  It felt good to be behind another skinny tired bike!  He sure had to shift a lot more than I did, though.   :D

After the mass invasion of the RMNP entrance station where lots of $$ went to the feds, we waited around a little bit to relax some before hitting the high road (over 12,000 ft.) to the Alpine Visitor's Center.  As we started out, the rain started to fall.  Really heavy for about 30 seconds.  Otherwise, just a light sprinkle for the next mile or two.  I had debated putting on my rain jacket at the entrance station, but decided to chance it.  I got a bit damp under the leathers, but was wearing some most excellent silkweight long underwear.  A few minutes riding in dry air & I was dry.  Would have been too warm in the rain jacket.

Saw lots of elk, but no big horn sheep this trip.  I'm sure they were visible someplace along the road, but I couldn't spot them.  Got to the Alpine Visitor's Center and had a couple pints (of water).  Did the group photo thing & talked to more people.  discussed the return trip and decided to come back down to Estes Park.  I wanted to eat @ Smokin' Dave's BBQ, but the leaders rode right past it.  Ended up at some Italian place.  Good, but I was hungry for some smoked cow flesh.  After lunch, we all went out separate ways.

The V ran fantastic!  Made it all the way up there & back without filling the tank.  When I finally stopped for fuel about 1/2 mile from home, I had travelled exactly 143 miles.  I wanted to do another backroad loop on the way home, but would have been another 60 miles to fuel.  That would have meant about 180 miles on one tank.  Didn't feel confident I could make it that far & as it turns out, it would have been close.  Filled the tank with 3.064 gallons for a round trip mileage of 46.67 MPG.  Not much opportunity for any sporty riding, but the rubber band effect in a large group means there's very little  steady throttle, either.  I'll keep tabs on fuel consumption to see how these carbs perform.  So far, they're smoother, more powerful on the low end & have just returned the best fuel economy since I bought the bike way back in 1984!   ;D

Hope everyone else had as much fun today as I did.   ;)

H2O
If you have an accident on a motorcycle, it's always your fault. Tough call, but it has to be that way. You're in the right, and dead -on a bike. The principle is not to have any accident. If you're involved in an an accident, it's because you did not anticipate. Then, by default, you failed.