Susie's memories of the trip

Every day of our trip was a Joy to me. The ride on day one was beautiful. I always love riding Monitor Pass and 395 we turned off right after Lee Vining and headed off across the desert and over to Tonopah every aspect of the ride was perfect and we found an extra gas station so the Sportys made it all the way on their little tanks.
On day two I was so happy to find that the little portable SLIME brand air pump plugged into my battery proved to be very useful and it was really amazing that the Sportsters went 170 miles on one tank and 1 extra gallon of gas because when we reached the gas station at Ash Springs it was about 110 degrees and there was nothing in between there and Tonopah on the Extraterrestial Highway which made me wonder where it got it’s name since it is nowhere near Roswell. When the Sporsters were adding that gallon out on the E.T. Hwy I was waiting for Scotty to beam us up, but we didn’t lose any time so guess we didn’t get that bonus trip. When we reached Cedar Breaks it was like a smaller Bryce Canyon and so beautiful, the road from there to Panaca had the best scenery on the trip and the town of Panaca was quiet, peaceful and clean. Rubys Inn turned out to be a great place to stay when visiting Bryce and it had everything we needed . After the 12 hour ride today I was wondering if there was another part of my body that I could put on the seat because I was bruising. I might need to look into a softer seat.
Friday was a relief from so much riding, we took a tour bus around Bryce Canyon and hiked a trail around the edge. Then in the afternoon we rode about 100 miles toured Capital Reef and then found our 3 bedroom apt. at Austin’s Chuckwagon in Torrey Utah. I had my own Queen Size bedroom and finally had a full night of glorious sleep.
Day 4 was another full day of beautiful desert scenery. We made our own picnic lunch in a city park and really enjoyed a break from restaurants. We finally arrived at 4 corners and did a little light shopping and then rode on into Cortez Colorado where I cooled off in the pool. I think it was in Cortez where we ate at a cute Italian Restaurant one night and a cowboy bar and restaurant the next both were good and fun.
Sunday we rode over to Mesa Verde and enjoyed the many Indian Ruins in the area. It was amazing that they lived there for so many centuries and then disappeared and nobody knows why and it was long before the evil white man drove them out.
The following day we were back in the saddle again big time. My ace was killing me by the time we reached Aspen. I almost pulled Linda off her bike and stole her sheepskin seat cover. The ride on hwy 92 was extremely enjoyable and I was one with my FJR. When we started out early in the morning and came across almost freezing temps., I must say I was enjoying every minute of it and the scenery was fantastic and Telluride was a cute little town with beautiful mountains and waterfalls all around it. We arrived there the day after the bluegrass festival. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison was very impressive.
After that day we cut quite a few miles off our original itenerary because we were all getting pretty worn out and just headed over to Ouray, past the continental divide and much beautiful scenery where we relaxed and swam in a hot springs pool and had time to get millions of bugs off our bikes.
Then it was Wednesday and we headed straight over to Moab, got there around noon for an early check in and decided to get some more rest and ride out to Arches National Monument in the evening which turned out to be a perfect plan because it was very hot there and the setting sun proved to be excellent for showing off the color and dimension. If we had been full of energy we might have gone to Canyonlands Natl. park which was another 30 miles down the road but we will be sure and make that stop next time.
After that we were pretty much just headed home so on day 9 we went about 550 miles, we were all feeling pretty good, got an early start, arrived in Ely very early and knew we could do at least another 150 miles to make our last day much easier so that’s what we did, we also gained an hour due to the time change.
The last day we just flew home from Austin, after taking our picture at Boomtown we flew down 80.
I think this trip was a great time for all of us, we all got along great, we traded who got to sleep alone, spaced our showers apart, each found a corner for all of our saddlebag contents, nobody snored too loud and best of all I only gained 3 pounds.
This is the position I wanted to ride in after so many hours in the saddle.

Reflections on the Colorado trip by Jeanie

I am still reveling in the visual memories of the National Parks; the immensely beautiful color palette of reds, gold’s, peaches, beige and silvers in rock and sandstone…..all created by water; at least that is what the National Park Rangers said. Water surpassed even John Wayne as the star in all the park movies. Water created the awesome sculptures, natural arches, and gaping deep canyons. The first view of these parks always took my breath away, they were so amazing. I loved the quote by Ebenezer Bryce who said of Bryce Canyon, “it’s a hell of a place to loose a cow”.

Being on the bike for hours every day was my sanctuary. Even fully loaded, I was comfortable in the saddle and continually delighted with the responsiveness of the BMW engine. Just by slightly rolling my wrist, the bike would leap forward which was just so darn fun! Early on I gave up listening to music, choosing instead to tune into the sound of the engine, trying to identify the many different smells, and appreciating the constantly changing scenery. Colorado's State Highway 92, just past Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park was a twisty rider’s dream, hundreds of curves, few guardrails to obstruct the magnificent views, great pavement and blessedly little traffic! Overall motorcyclists across all four states were friendly, interested in where you had been, or were headed and were happy to share road conditions and weather.

Group riding with these women was a joy. Each of us took a turn at leading, and it was enlightening to ride behind each of the different riders. Group riding over 10 days requires you to have and maintain patience, (yes, I am still working on that); appreciation for your fellow riders and how they view the road; the need to know at all times where you are and where you are going (it’s darn hard to catch the Texas boys on HDs if you aren’t on the same highway!); and the importance of being able to anticipate what the woman in front of you is going to do! Splitting meals means you have extra money for desserts, and also surprisingly I was never hungry! A group of five also means sometimes someone will be left out. Five women sharing rooms and bathrooms for 10 days reminded me of college dorm life and eventually gave meaning to the bumper sticker I saw that read: “The more you know, the less you need”. Well, alrighty, then. And....a special thanks to Pat E. who offered to be our "contact point" in case we got separated for keeping her cell phone on for 10 days!

3000 trip miles divided by 120 miles per stop equates to about 25 gas stations. That’s a lot of card swipes through gasoline pumps and a lot of interactions with convenience store clerks. We were blessed with remarkably good weather (no rain, little wind, tolerable heat), and mostly good internet connections which was essential to do a blog. Realistically one person should do it but what fun is that when you have five digital cameras! Because these women were good riders, and exemplary human beings, this trip was a remarkable and wonderful vacation. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

Karey's Trip Overview

The 10 day trip to Colorado was a wonderful opportunity to ride, visit 7 National parks, experience group touring and grow my riding skills. The most important lesson learned was the value of the right equipment for the weather. My clothing in general was pretty good, but my helmet was not sufficient. It should have been full face. The wind takes a toll after beating on you for 10 hours, especially the dry heat. I packed light, but even at that, I found myself in a ‘favorite’ pair of pants most days, and 2 tops were hand washed and re-worn. I was pleasantly surprised to find good food from local family restaurants. Best Western’s internet capabilities were a pleasure. I was really anxious the first day as we started out across the Nevada forbidden land. My nervousness added no value, only kept me in a state of anxiousness, and because of it, I can’t really remember the first two days. I think on the next trip I’ll be able to leave that uncertainty at home.

The most beautiful part of the trip for me was the early morning riding, with the cool air and light traffic. Independence pass was breathtaking, and Mesa Verde was like a photograph.

I really appreciate the other chic’s allowing me to grow and learn on my first big road trip!!!!

Karey

10 Top Phrases

1. Where is my ....
2. Have you seen my .....
3. I need air
4. I need gas
5. Is that my .....
6. Who has my room key?
7. I need air, NO!!
8. Ride faster
9. WOW! That was a great road!
10 Another U-Turn

Day 10 Austin, Nevada to Sacramento, California

Austin to Sacramento. Last leg of the 5 hip chic's ride:

many bittersweet memories as we ride along in the cool morning air today. In the Lincoln hotel parking lot we met the president of the Sacramento River Rats motorcycle group demonstrating again how small the motorcycle world can be! 291 miles to home. We stopped at the infamous “shoe tree” and took pics, and had a good breakfast in Fallon at Jerry’s café. In Boomtown we stopped for our last picture. HW 50 may be the loneliest road in America but I-80 has to be the bumpiest road. Lots of traffic and construction but we were spared the Tahoe fire smoke. Also no sight of the dreaded Mormon Crickets- Yeah! We are all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!

Day 9 Moab, Utah to Austin, Nevada

How far can you ride? How early can you wake up to ride? 4:00 AM on vacation? Right. We wanted to beat the heat, when we left Moab at 5 am it was 70 degrees. One chic’s odometer read 559 miles; slightly higher than the average of 541 miles, attributed to the retrieval of another chic’s jacket which blew off in high winds across the desert. That resulted in meeting a Nevada state trooper but with good results!

We had coffee and pastries at Chevron in Salina, UT, a picnic breakfast at the park in Delta UT, and an excellent lunch in Eureka, NV. One chic spotted the “Pony Expresso Deli” 101 Bullion Rd. but when we walked up to it we noticed that it closed at 2 pm it was 1:50 pm so we started to leave but the owner came out and insisted we come in and he would stay open till we were finished eating, and it was worth it, especially the pie and ice cream, yummy. Eureka claims to be the friendliest town on the loneliest highway and judging from the people in the deli we will agree with that, and in between rode up and down mountain passes in the desert.

People in Austin were very friendly, the gas station called the Lincoln hotel (only three to choose from) when one chic left a card there because everyone in town already knew that 5 hip chics were in town. At the International Bar they let three chics buy a bottle of wine! We had an enjoyable dinner at Toyabe Café (again one of three choices) and fell into bed exhausted. Even having our hotel rooms about 30 feet away from HW 50 failed to keep any of us awake. In the morning the Café at the International gave one chic a pot of coffee and a tray with cream & sugar to take back to the rooms to help get a jump start on the trip.

Day 8 Ouray to Moab

The clerk at the motel told us it would take about 4 hrs by freeway to get to Moab, we said we’re taking the scenic route, he replied oh it’s going to take you about 6 hrs at 25 mph, we all looked at each and said not us, we were there in 4 hrs, which included 1 gas stop, chasing down 2 chics that missed a turn and road construction. “That Silly Boy”.

Moab was HOT-103, but Arches National Park was drop dead gorgeous. We had a fabulous lunch at the Moab Diner of Indian Tacos, green Chile, and shredded chicken on Indian fry bread. After an early check in, (thanks BW Greenville Inn) some chics napped, walked around town or downloaded pics on the laptop. Hint: Don’t miss Walker’s Drug and Hardware store in Moab! We left for Arches in the cool of the late afternoon (104 degrees).

We saw the requisite movie in the Visitor Center, and took a riding tour of the entire park, about 40 miles round trip. Several times we got off the bikes and hiked up into the canyons to get a closer look. Coming back through the park with the late afternoon sunset casting intense shadows on the rocks combined with the rising almost full moon was one of those great visual experiences one gets on motorcycles. Dinner at Pasta Jays was good, and we had a fun shopping excursion into a t-shirt store. Coming attractions include chics in rhinestone adorned t’s.