Part 1 - MSR Motorcycle Ride.

Note: I have overcome the gigabyte gnomes and now have uploaded the pics I need for this post (yeaaa!!!). Some of you know that I couldn't get these photo's loaded a couple of days ago. So here we go....

My husband & I got up early Sunday, May 7th, to attend the Mountain Shadow Riders group motorcycle ride. It was a beautiful morning, but a little on the chilly side. I have on many layers. Thermal shirt, REI windless jacket, the winter liner in my motorcycle jacket, a neck gaiter and a hankerchief on my head under my helmet. It really helps keep my head warm and helps to hold in my earphones on my small MP3 player. I have to say small, as it only holds 2 1/2 albums (lol).

Everyone was to rondevous at a 7-11 Store in Colorado Springs at 9am. It was on the far end of town from us, but the roads really weren't busy that morning. Karla introduced everyone to everyone. Bill & I met quite a few very nice people we didn't know and it's great seeing the people we did know again. We are still pretty new in the group.

Here's the whole group. It was a group of about 14 motorcycles and 16 people. We left at about 9:15am, with Karla in the lead. It was a wonderful ride. We got on Highway 24 heading west towards Lake George, CO. After leaving Colorado Springs, we go up a twisty, mountainous pass. The high mountains on both sides makes a person feel dwarfed in comparison. There are mostly pine trees surrounding us.
Karla has us stop at a gas station in Divide. Some top of their tanks and she checks to make sure everyone is doing well. She's checking that everyone is comfortable with the pace she has been doing. We have a few riders who are really new to group riding. I've done a few group rides, but I'm pretty new at it myself. Everyone assures her she's doing a great job.

We then get back on Hwy 24 heading west. Just past Lake George we turn onto County Road 77 heading north toward Jefferson. Not long after being on this road we entered the Lost Creek National Forest. This road starts out deceptively nice. About 10 miles in the road gets pretty interesting. There are lots of pot holes and loose gravel to dodge. Parts of the edge of the road would desintegrate due to erosion. One of the riders described the person in front of them as spazing out, as the person was so busy trying to point out the hazards they were going by. You'd shot out a right leg at this, left leg at that, right arm...left arm... (and do the hokey pokey, lol) the hazards were everywhere!!!

Everyone did a great dodging it all. Karla had warned us about this and that we would want to make the spacing between us wider to allow for maneuvering. We didn't get much traffic on this road. We did see lots of farms and horses.

After all that we took a break to warm up and relax. We were about half way through CR 77. We all had a great time discussing the condition of CR 77. It is a challenge, but everyone seemed to enjoy the variety it gave. When I say people were chilly, that's putting it lightly. We had climbed up in elevation and the sun at this point was flurting with us. At one point I thought we would hit rain. I did get a few drops of rain on my shield, but nothing to be concerned with.
Here is a view just to the left of where we had parked. The rustic beauty was all around us. I can't say enough about the views we were seeing. You could even hear the birds singing.

Here we are again at our stop. It's a nice pull-off from the road.

Here I am enjoying the views on my motorcycle. Just look at the views behind me. The mountains just keep on going....

Part II - MSR Motorcycle Ride

Here we are. A picture of all of us just before we hit the road. Just look at the view behind us. We were just drinking it in. Wow!! Awesome.

Once we had rested a bit and got a little warmer (some donned more layers or adjusted what they had on) we got back on the road. Just a short way down we made a stop for our MSR scavanger hunt.

Scavanger Pic - Motorcycle with a Water Fall. Karla was kind enough to share this hidden secret with us. You don't really see it as you're coming down the road. A person would definitely notice it once you're past.

We take just a few minutes just looking around and enjoying it.

Just before we leave CR 77 we notice it's getting considerably colder and what looks like rain or snow coming up. We stop to don our rain gear and prepare for possible bad weather. If you look close at the far mountains you will see the newly fallen snow. You can also see something falling just to our left. After some discussion, it is decided to continue on and just face what we get. At this point we are only miles from Kenosha Pass and an elevation of 10,001 ft. And, most importantly, we are very close to our lunch stop!!! After we get on our rain gear, we turn right onto Hwy 285 heading east toward Pine Junction.
While everyone is thoroughly enjoying all the scenery and driving the mild twisties, we are all very glad to take a lunch break. We stop at The Rio Mexican restaurant. It is nice and the food is very yummy. Everyone agreed that it was a great place to stop for lunch.

Here is a shot of the river we have been following on Hwy 285. This is just beside the restuarant. After lunch we get back on our bikes. Not far down the road and on our right we come across a herd of Rocky Mountain Big Horn sheep. We see off in the distance rain or snow, but it never gets to us. We actually get sun on our backs.

A little down the road we stop and everyone gases up. Then we are off and about 1/2 hour down the road (and down is right, as we start to decend in elevation) we turn south/east onto CR 126 and we are now headed for Deckers. This is the most challenging part for some of us newer motorcyclists. The twisties get tighter and we start to spread out some. The road is a skinny, two lane highway. Travis, who is next behind me and to my left, gives me a lot more room as I'm not as good at driving this section of road. I take a little more room getting around the corners. Karla is keeping a good pace and we get through it. While on CR 126 you can smell the pine in the air. Hwy 285 and CR 126 are marked on the map as scenic routes. I'd say every road we have driven today is scenic.

At the end of CR 126 we get onto CR 67 heading south/east. By now my legs are starting to get real uncomfortable. They want off to stretch!!! No adjustments on my part relieve this uncomfortable feeling that is starting to drive me crazy. CR 67 takes us straight into Woodland Park. Just after we enter the town, we stop at a gas station and take a breather. I was never so relieved. My legs were screaming/aching to stretch. When I got off my bike I was jogging in place and doing deep knee bends.

We are very close to Colorado Springs now and at this point some are going to start to leave the group to go home. We all live in different areas and get off at different points. A couple of miles down we get onto Hwy 24 heading east. The majority of the group stays together down the mountain pass till we get close to Colorado Springs. Slowly, one by one, people turn off towards their homes. By the time we are halfway down Platte Ave, there's only 4 of us left, then 3, then just Bill & I.

It was a great ride. I logged 200 miles on this trip. We got a little cold, but it never rained or snowed on us. It was a great day of adventure with friends new and old. We got to know people more and enjoy a shared journey that was fun. After all, isn't that's what lifes about? Knowing your fellow man and sharing common bonds? I think so. After we got home our eldest son told us it had thundered and rained in town. We never saw any of it. I'd like to think that God was looking down on us and protecting us from the elements and anything else that could happen. It was a great Sunday drive in the mountains. We got home about 4:30pm and I felt weary, but content.

Thank you to all who rode and shared in the comaraderie. It was a life journey that I was previledged to share with each and everyone of you. I look forward to more shared rides. Karla, thank you very much for leading us on this ride. You did great!!!

Safe Journeys In Your Part of the World,

Betty :)

200 Mile Motorcycle Ride posting soon.

Hi Everyone, I am frustrated beyond belief and the fact that it is now almost 1am probably doesn't help matters at all (UGhhhhh..!). I have been trying for the last hour to get pictures loaded from my trip last Sunday. We took a 200 miles motorcycle ride up into the mountains, through Lost Creek Wilderness Area and over Kenosha Pass. It was spectacular and I have some really cool pictures. As I understand it, there were 14 motorcycles and 16 people. Sorry, I forgot to count, but that is what another rider told me. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Firday is unbelievably busy and so is Saturday. As soon as I can squeeze an hour in, I will give this another try.

Sometimes technology isn't so great :(

Safe Journey's in Your Part of the World,

Betty :)

Lights, Visibility and the Hovering Helicopter Husband

I've had my Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom just over a year now. Not long after buying it, I took it out in the pitch dark of night and was horrified at how little my light lights up the road in front of me. Even my husband's bike lights up a bit better than mine. I declared I wanted a light bar added to my bike. My husband did the research, gave me that look, and said "It ain't gonna happen soon," as it's pretty expensive.

So over the year I haven't taken it out much at night, except on the main roads that are well lit at night. My loving husband never gave up the idea and came up with a cheaper solution for now. He discovered in the Chaparral Motorsports catalog the Ion bulbs. They provide the equivalent to 90 watt low beam & 100 watt high beam power. They draw the same amperage as a stock 55/60w bulb. For the price, he figured it was worth a try. He bought one for him and one for me. When they arrived, much to his manly dismay, I declared I would change my own bulb!! I worked 4 years as a aircraft hydraulic specialist in the Air Force, I think I can change a V-Star light bulb.

He resigned to the ineviable, and I pulled out my owners manual to see how it's done. He was my technical assistant (a-hem!!). When I pulled out the screw driver to take out the two screws, you'd think I'd pulled out the scalpel and was doing brain surgery (lol). My husband was the typical hovering helicopter "mom" he's always accused me of as our two sons are growing up. The second I'd do something he was hovering all over the place with advice on "do it this way, watch out!, no not like that!!. I finally had to tell him to back off and give me a little room. I know how a screwdriver works!!

See... I managed to get the light housing off and working on unplugging it. Next step, cut the nerve... I mean remove the bulb and put in the new one.
Okay, just kidding honey, I really do remember which bulb I just pulled out (lol)!!!
So I get the new bulb in (without a hitch, thank you very much!) and get it all back together. So, a few beers later, my husband is back to normal and 25 years of marriage is still intack (lol).

It was a couple of nights before we were able to test the results. We are so happy with how those bulbs are working. It's like night and day. We highly recommend this as an alternative, if you are like us and can't presently afford the light bar. We may never get lights bars now.

Note: The Ion bulb puts out a blue light and really lights things up. Because of the blue hue, we feel we stand out a little better to the oncoming traffic. We feel the difference has added a safety element we didn't expect and are glad to have.

Safe Journey in Your Part of the World,

Betty :)

Monday was a Great Day for Motorcycle Riding.

My husband had Monday off and after I worked an hour in the morning, we were able to hit the road for a few hours on our motorcycles. We couldn't ask for nicer weather. We got on Powers Blvd, in Colorado Springs, and headed north. When Powers ends, we got on Hwy 83 north. This is a very popular route by the local bikers here in town. Many prefer it over I25. It will take you straight up to Denver. It's in great condition and a motorcyclist can feel pretty safe driving this route. When we first got on it, we were in forest area. As you drive down the road, you can smell the pine trees. It's very relaxing. You have some gentle twisties to play with for quite a few miles and then you come out onto the sprawling country side. Houses are set far apart and there are many ranches.

Here's Bill and a view of a section of the road. Going north this is mostly what you see. It's just wide open space.

Here I am with a south view of the road. You have the view of Pikes Peak and the foot hills of the Rockies. It is hard to put into words how I feel every time I look at the mountains and to be able to see them every day. It's a true blessing.

While we were out we were able to get some of the ever popular "MSR Scavanger Pictures." YaHooo!!! I needed to find a tree farm and here one was.

Here is another MSR Scavanger Hunt Pic - Me and a ranch sign

Here is the gorgeous view we had all the way back home. We went about 40 miles out of town and, of course, 40 miles back again (sigh). We had one annoying note. After taking this last picture my camera battery died! I was perturbed with myself for not watching the battery more closely. But oh darn, we have to go out that way again. There are still a few scavanger hunt pics to get out that way that we couldn't get due to the dead camera. Hmmmm...

We didn't meet much traffic on this day. It was like a stroll in a park. At one of the stops we made there were chickens by the side of the road. They were set back enough that we didn't need to worry about them, but they were free to go where their hearts desired. I wanted so much to get a pic of them with my motorcycle, but alas, the camera was dead by this time (uggg!!). No, chickens are not on the scavanger list. I just love chickens. I just know any MSR members reading this is getting a kick out of my misery (lol). I've driven this route twice before and never noticed as much as I did today. It was a lot of fun. If the weather goes as predicted, we have a 200 mile trip on Sunday that is planned by the Mountain Shadow Riders. It's suppose to be nice that day, please send up prayers that it will be and that we have safe travels.

Safe Journeys in Your Part of the World,

Betty :)

Up-To-Date Motorcycle Blogging News

One of our popular, and well liked, motorcycle blogger’s has just been published in the Clutch and Chrome. WOOOHOOO!!! Congratulations to Christine, of Christine’s Corner, for such an honor. She is a wonderful lady, friend, and biker. I have read the article and once again, she has done an outstanding job. Christine, way to go girl!!!

So, head on over to the Clutch and Chrome and read her article, www.clutchandchrome.com/Blogs/Blog_Christine.htm You can also check out her blog which is listed in my links. I also have many other great motorcycle links, so check them out also. My husband & I took a short trip on our motorcycles this last Monday and I will be posting it, with pictures soon, so come on back.

Have a Great Day & Safe Travels in Your Part of the World,

Betty :)

"Biker Friendly"

One of the ladies in my riding group has informed us about a person who is giving away free bumper stickers that you put on your car to let motorcyclist know that you, also, drive and/or are aware of other motorcyclist. Go to http://www.bikerfriend.org/ to get the scoop on what appears to be a wonderful idea.

It is the intention of this organization to raise the awareness of motorcyclists on the road. Initially, it was meant for drivers in cars to communicate to a motorcyclist that they also drive a motorcycle (stuck in a cage at the moment) and will allow them room on the road. Now it is hoped that this will also raise the awareness to the non-motorcycle community.

The bumper stickers are free, but if a person would like to donate even just a dollar or two that would be appreciated. They have promised that all donations would go back into making more bumper stickers and go toward the postage needed to send them out to all those who request them.

Go to the website and check it out. Wouldn’t it be great to see all these bumper stickers around town where you live and travel? I’m just helping to pass the word. I haven’t had any dealings with this organization, but this program seems interesting and worth while. So check it out and pass the word to other motorcyclists and non-motorcyclist. It’s a great way to raise the awareness of motorcycles on the road.

Safe Travels in Your Part of the World,

Betty :)