SDAMC Articles

Rocky Mountain Ride
© Alan Greer , 2002

The old John Denver song kept going through my mind on the flight from San Diego to Denver. Maybe it helped keep me from being nervous about buying a motorcycle sight unseen. But when I finally got to Ft. Collins and saw the bike for the first time it erased all my apprehensions. It looked just like what a seven year old motorcycle with 1942 miles on it should look like.  

The seller suggested a route to avoid Denver for the ride back from Ft. Collins, so the first night was spent in Estes Park. The ride there was filled with the type of scenery that Colorado is famous for, twisties following the routes of meandering streams with mountains on both sides covered in green trees, very nice!

Day two started out a bit cooler, with the temperature at 42 degrees as I left the hotel. The original plan was to ride through Rocky Mountain National Park, but a snow overnight caused a change in route. Colorado is a beautiful state, but the weather there must make for a short riding season, snow in May? The alternate route had a few sections at over 9000 feet and brought me out on I-70 near the Eisenhower Tunnel. It's over 9000 feet in elevation. It was very cold and windy, with blowing snow mixed in to keep it interesting. The heated grips on the bike were a greatly appreciated option. After the tunnel I stopped in Dillon to thaw out and drink a gallon of coffee.

I crossed into Utah on 70 and headed toward the Moab cutoff. The road along state route 128 toward Moab follows the Red River Canyon, and its like riding at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It's not to be missed if the opportunity ever presents itself.

Day three started with plans of visiting several National Parks. The first stop was Arches National Park and what I thought would be a short visit ended up lasting several hours, with unreal vistas presenting themselves at every mile in the park. I wanted to get to Nevada that night so the late afternoon and early evening was spent on a bun numbing run to Mesquite Nevada and a night at the Virgin River Casino.

Day four was going to be a short day, with the goal for that night being Beatty, Nevada. A quick ride to Las Vegas, then north on Hwy 95 and I was in Beatty by early afternoon. Plenty of time for a quick ride to the ghost town of Rhyolite, a mandatory stop whenever I'm in the neighborhood. Then back to Beatty to my room at the Exchange Club.

There are several interesting small bars in the area. One is the hangout for the drivers who desert test cars before they're put into production. The walls are covered with items donated by the different test teams and it's fun to check the stuff out while enjoying a beer at the end of the day.

Day five started early with a short ride into California and zigzagging down the hill into Death Valley. The ride is fun with little traffic and views at every bend. On the Valley flood the first stop is Furnace Creek, with a quick visit to the museum to see what's new, check the weather, and pay the park entrance fee. My next stop was Dante's View, a twisty road that winds to the top of a mountain range that offers a spectacular view of Death Valley. Directly below is Badwater, which at 287 feet below sea level is the lowest spot in the United States.

While up at Dante's View two other BMW riders rode in. Their bikes were only a few years old and they both had over 40000 miles on them. They wondered why there were only 3000 miles on my seven year old bike. I asked for a break since I only had the bike four days! Back down into the Valley and a ride to Badwater, followed by a ride across Artists Palette, my favorite road in Death Valley. It's a one way road, only about seven miles long, but the swoops up and down and the narrow passes make this a real fun slow speed road. Afternoon was passing, so it was time to leave the Valley and head for Ridgecrest for the night.

  Day five started with mixed emotions, glad to be heading home, but sorry to have the ride ending. The 220 miles back to San Diego passed quickly, and I introduced the new bike to the R90 sitting in the garage. The trip home covered over 1400 miles in five days, which wasn't much shy of what the original owner put on the bike in seven years.