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.
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.
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