Frisco June 19th to the 25th

After Michelle, Adam, Graham, Miles and baby Merritt left on Sunday afternoon we had a chance to chill a little bit and this little pond about a 3 minute walk from our townhouse was a perfect place. 

Monday we took a ride up to Keystone with a stop-off at the Outlet Mall in Silverthorne for some new bike apparel. 

On the way home from shopping we met Lance and Rene from Waterloo, WI on a two month trek from Silver Springs, NM to wherever they end up somewhere up north in two months. We offered to let them stay with us over night but they wanted to get past Silverthorne for the day. Good luck!!

Tuesday was a ride up to Copper Mountain on the Ten Mile Creek path. It’s a constant climb up but we have the beautiful creek to occupy our thoughts. 

Because Summit County was one of the first and worst hit by the virus in Colorado we’re trying to do our part by supporting Main St. Frisco whenever we can. I’m doing my part by hydrating with an economy size Dunkel beer from Prost after the Copper ride. 

Thursday, for something totally different, we went kayaking on Lake Dillon.  It was fun and a great way to take the lake and mountain views in but we decided it’s really not our cup of tea. 

Thursday evening our neighbors back home started a texting storm by sharing pictures of elk behind our house, extremely rare if it has ever happened before!  Ironically we haven’t seen a single elk or deer since we’ve been coming up here. We’ll go home tomorrow to take care of some business for a couple of days and see for ourselves!!

Frisco, CO

Because of the virus’s impacts on our past and near future travel plans we decided to change up our lives a bit and rent a two bedroom townhouse in Frisco, CO for the next 5 months, less than a 2 hour drive away in Summit County, home of A-Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge and Cooper Mountain ski resorts and now us! Also home to some great hiking and biking trails and cool mountain air too!

Our place is about a mile walk through the woods and homes to Main St. where we found our new, favorite ice cream place for an after dinner treat at Foote’s Rest. 

Wednesday June 10 we rode our bikes on the bike trail up to Breckenridge for lunch, about a 24 mile round trip and a great way to spend the middle part of the day. 

June 11 we took a 20 mile ride around Dillon Lake.  Blue skies and snow capped peaks. 

On the weekend our son Ryan and his wife Mattie joined us for some fun including a bike ride towards Copper Mountain on the 10 Mile Creek path.  

It appears even in the woods at 9,000 ft. above sea level the political discourse and protests find their way. 

That’s friends of Ry’s and Mattie, Jake and Mar Nielsen on the left, Angela, Ry and Mattie on a temporary pedestrian only Main St. to celebrate the reopening of Summit County. We had a great weekend with the kids who also got some kayaking and fishing in.  Monday we’ll head back home but we’ll be back soon!

Back Home to CO

On Wednesday morning I started my three day trek back home to Colorado. I was crossing the mighty Mississippi once again but this time in St. Louis. 

It had been a pretty hard mornings ride and HOT so mid-morning I reached out for an impromptu lunch with my friends and John Garrett, Steve Richards and Dan Klenke were able to join me around 12:45. I had only one beer that hit the spot and a great lunch and time to catch with old friends again. Back on the road by 2’ish I made a push for Sedalia, MO for a 420 mile day. 

I had wanted a 6am departure from Sedalia to get more riding done before the heat of the day but I woke to a large thunderstorm that delayed me until 8am.  By 2pm I was ready for a little time off of the bike and some A/C which I found just off of my route at the Motorcycle Museum of Kansas in Marquette.  

The had some really nice old motorcycles back to the early 1900’s and over 600 racing trophy’s all won by the sponsor of the museum  including 16 state and 5 national trophies.  Stan “The Man” Engdahl was his name and he  left quite a legacy when he passed in 2007. 

http://www.ksmotorcyclemuseum.org/stan.html

With only 35 miles to get to my destination for the night, Colby, KS, I found myself riding into trouble.  After checking the radar I turned back in time to find a carwash in Hoxie, KS to hide out from the very high winds and heavy rain. 

About an hour later I was able finish my 520 mile day into the setting sun. It’s amazing how the weather can change in just an hour in Kansas. 

I spent my last riding days home limping in on a rear tire that went from okay to bad due to the high heat (and perhaps my slightly elevated traveling speed).  I tried calling shops within 90 miles of Colby for a new tire but as my bike is a “classic” and they haven’t made motorcycle wheels that small since 2000 there was nothing in stock. Therefore my last days on the bike were spent going 5 to 10 mph under rather than over the speed limit. 

On Friday to beat the heat for both me and my tire I started riding at 5am for my last 280 miles to home. I had the pleasure of riding into the setting full moon over the plains as the sun rose behind me. It was a grand morning on US36 that I largely had to myself. 

Me and my tire made it safely and only slightly worse for wear back to Colorado and home by 10:30. It was a great trip seeing family and friends and having the sense of freedom and adventure during these trying times. I feel great. Hopefully Angela won’t quarantine me for 14 days!!

😷

The Boys Are Back in Town

Sunday morning I’m riding back home to old Indiana on a great day from Poplar Bluff across southern Illinois. 

Tom West (r) road his Harley down from southern Michigan arriving within 5 minutes of me to reunite with Dave Chastain (c) at his place in Bloomington around 4:30pm. Let the fun begin!

After a great grilled dinner on Dave’s deck and a bonfire Sunday evening into the wee hours we ride our motorcycles over to Columbus, IN to meet John Crofts (r) the next morning.  We have a socially distanced breakfast and catch up on old times. 

John is big time into Cummins history after his career there and also a bit of a history buff so he volunteers for walking tours highlighting the architectural history of Columbus based on the leadership and largesse of a few visionary leaders at Cummins who believed in creating a strong and vibrant community to attract and keep highly skilled employees. Many great and not yet great architects have enhanced their reputation on modernest projects in Columbus including Eliel Saarinen who designed the First Christian Church built in 1942.  It was a beautiful morning for our almost 3 hour tour and a great chance to reconnect before we left John to his visiting family and headed back the 30 miles to Dave’s house. 

It can’t be summer without one lane roads due to construction.  

5 years ago this month Dave, Tommy, myself and David Bonitz rode our motorcycles through Selma, AL on our way to Key West. At this location in March 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis led 600 people on a 54 mile march from Selma to the capital in Montgomery to draw attention to equal voting rights but they were stopped on the Edmund Pettus Bridge after only 6 blocks by police and brutally beaten back to Selma. The widely broadcast images of the brutality galvanized Congress and LBJ to enact the Equal Voting Rights Act later that year.  I haven’t caught much of the news on my trip but the beatings and protests seem to continue 55 years later as we struggle to be better. Can we be better?

Dave’s friend and neighbor Bill (c) who has recently gone through chemotherapy have got themselves a free, old Boston Whaler boat as a summer project to restore and go fishing in.  The needed our help to get the rather heavy (waterlogged?) fiberglass boat off of the trailer and upside down on saw-horses to allow the cleaning and repair of the hull to begin.  We had to put our beers down momentarily to strategize how to move the boat without hurting our carefully honed physiques.  It’s not easy to age so gracefully!

Tuesday morning we’re back in line for construction again as we head down to French Lick to meet Tim Williams on his way to spend a little time with us in Bloomington. 

We get back to Dave’s place around 2pm in what has become a very warm day. We assume  our places on the driveway, in the shade, besides our road machines to hydrate with beer and some moonshine Tim imported from down south, infused with tangelos, blackberries and strawberries.  It was very tasty and very powerful.

Tim should be completely worn out because he just finished 3 non-stop round trips from his old residence in Houston’s Woodlands to his other home back in Evansville. He left early this morning and hasn’t unpacked anything yet.  He often has to miss these little  college reunions we have every now and then because he’s running O&G drilling operations in fun places like Iraq or Angola but he made the extra effort to be here with us on our last day. We’re glad he made it and we’re glad we survived his moonshine too!