Today started out rather tense, but we still managed to find some fun and humor along the way. We were up and out early. I checked the pressure in my damaged rear tire and it seemed to be holding, so we set off for Denver a little after 7am. The Foothills BMW/Triumph in Lakewood didn't open until nine. The GPS calculated that it would take 1:20 to get there and we figured given Denver traffic, it might take twice that. We got lucky and had very little traffic and made it in just over an hour. We took I-70 which is scenic, but hard to admire with the early morning sun in our eyes.We were getting ourselves organized outside the service bay when the service advisor came out and asked if I was there for service. I explained my predicament of having a chunk of metal in my rear tire, so he wrote me up and got my moto in by 8:30. Unfortunately the tire wasn't repairable, so $325 and about an hour and a half later, we were ready to go again. I really appreciate the prompt service they gave me on an emergency basis.
We decided we still had time to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park, so we headed back west on US-6 to CO-93 north through Golden and then CO-72 and CO-7 to Estes Park. We had to endure very slow drivers as I was scrubbing in a new tire and didn't want to take any risks. Estes Park is the eastern entry to the National Park and was very congested early on a Friday afternoon. US-34 is the route through the Park and was also very congested, especially on the eastern half. Almost every pullout was full as were all the picnic areas and hiking trailheads. Two stretches of construction forced us to wait in line for 20 minutes or so and then creep along at 10 mph. Both sections were about 8 miles long, the first was scarified pavement, the second was very bumpy, dusty, muddy hardpack.
From the western exit of the Park at Granby (too late for Ian's Mountain Bakery goodies!), we followed US-40 west to CO-9 south to Silverthorne. We ended up back in the same area we started out in this morning.
We decided we still had time to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park, so we headed back west on US-6 to CO-93 north through Golden and then CO-72 and CO-7 to Estes Park. We had to endure very slow drivers as I was scrubbing in a new tire and didn't want to take any risks. Estes Park is the eastern entry to the National Park and was very congested early on a Friday afternoon. US-34 is the route through the Park and was also very congested, especially on the eastern half. Almost every pullout was full as were all the picnic areas and hiking trailheads. Two stretches of construction forced us to wait in line for 20 minutes or so and then creep along at 10 mph. Both sections were about 8 miles long, the first was scarified pavement, the second was very bumpy, dusty, muddy hardpack.
We crossed the Continental Divide yet again at Milner Pass (10,756). I love how the Park is a condensed version of so much of what one sees exploring western Colorado. It is a great introduction to Colorado, or in our case, a terrific recap. In about 50 miles one can see wildflower strewn meadows, snowcapped mountains, tundra, beaver created wetlands, ponderosa pine forests, aspen forests and lots of wildlife.
From the western exit of the Park at Granby (too late for Ian's Mountain Bakery goodies!), we followed US-40 west to CO-9 south to Silverthorne. We ended up back in the same area we started out in this morning.
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