It was in June 2007 and I was talking to Johnnie Crow on the phone; we were talking motorcycles of course, we had to since we had already gossiped about everyone we could think of so the conversation naturally turned to the only other thing either of us we knows much about: Motorcycles.
Johnnie mentioned that he had planned to ride Pikes Peak with some friends and they backed out for some reason and I foolishly said, “Gee that sounds like fun.” (I sometimes allow my Alligator Mouth to overload my Butterfly Behind.) But, having made the big statement that I would like to go, we set a date for great adventure; little did I know that this would turn into a Big Dog Ride.
What is a BDR?
How to Recognize a BDR!
You will know you are on a BDR when you have these things happen:
At various times Mother Nature throws:
· Heavy Rain,
· Thick Fog,
· Blinding Sun,
· Darkness,
· Sunrise (or sunset) and you are riding into it,
· Near Freezing temperatures,
· Searing Heat,
· Head Winds that slow you down,
· Tail Winds that speed you up,
· Quartering Winds that make you not sure which way to go and of course…
· Cross Winds which try to knock you off your bike.
While you are dealing with the combination of things that Mother Nature brought, the DOT (Department of Transportation) will bless you with:
· Interstate,
· US Highways,
· Secondary Roads,
· City streets,
· Dirt roads,
· Loose gravel,
· 100 MPH Straight-aways,
· 5 MPH Switch Backs,
· Bumpy roads,
· Washboard roads,
· Smooth roads, and the occasional
· Missing bridge.
All the while, you are dealing with:
· finding gas,
· finding food,
· staying cool,
· staying warm,
· finding your way to the hotel and the attraction (or distraction) you came for
· those crazy drivers
· the courteous ones, and
· Bubba in the big truck who can’t backup without hitting a parked motorcycle.
If you find yourself with all these things while on your motorcycle, you are on a Big Dog Ride and you’d better be one with your motorcycle if you hope to emerge unscathed! If not, stay on the porch!
For What It’s Worth
Here are my thoughts on group riding:
1. Group Etiquette.
a. The group is here to have a good time. Be considerate of others and go along with what is happening. If you don’t like how things are done then feel free to complain AFTER you have organized a ride.
b. Be on time. Don’t punish those who are on time and reward those who are late.
c. It’s OK to be late on occasion but call to let others know so they can make plans for you. If you don’t have the courtesy to call then plan on being left behind.
2. Arrive at the agreed upon place with:
a. A full tank.
b. A full tummy.
c. An empty bladder.
3. It’s a democracy, go with what the majority wishes. If you disagree, then see Rule 1.a above.
OK, now you know what I think, be sure to mail your check to me for whatever its worth! There is a point to this little diatribe later; it was cleverly added here to confuse you.
Lawrence, KS
The Riders:
· Dave “High-Beam” Aiken
· Al “Rattler” Robertson
· Mike “Highway” Haxton
· “Trouble” Lezlee Bryan-Ford
· “Johnnie-On-the-Spot” Crow
· Jim “Primer” & “Trophy Wife” (“TW”) Ginny Tadlock
Each name has a story and will be explained later.
We left Lawrence under threatening skies; Al led us around the Turnpike and all the while dodging rain; once we got to our first stop, Al gave up the point man position and let me lead, for some reason, Johnnie (who had been to Colorado Springs before) appointed me (who had never been to Colorado Springs) as leader of the pack.
Little did he know how much he would regret that!
We stopped in Abilene at a little hole in the wall place for breakfast and shortly after that, in Salina for gas. After the gas stop we congregated away from the pumps for a short break only to find that I had picked up a hitch hiker.
You have heard of stowaways in the wheel wells of airliners and their fate? Well this is what happens to frogs when they jump aboard a Gold Wing!
Well, most of us were a little disgusted by it…not Johnnie Crow; he didn’t seem to
mind at all! In fact, he thought it was
kinda tasty!
Look CLOSELY at the picture
to the right for an enlargement of the shot to the left…see the bulge in the
cheek? I guess breakfast in Abilene did not quite fill him up and after all,
that old hopper would go to waste otherwise.
Johnnie said it was a shame to waste such a
fresh road kill! It’s hard to argue with
that.
Oh, by the way, remember my
philosophy about being on time? EVERY
time we were going some where, Johnnie was ready to go, so I call him “Johnnie
On the Spot”! Being the one who is
always prompt, he called “dibbs” on the frog
first so we all reluctantly let him have “Hopper”.
Riding with the
ingrates!
Al did a great job of dodging
the clouds up until Salina, of course he was off I-70 for part of that ride and
it was easy for him to dodge the rain, I did not know at the time that he could
see the rain coming in (he was in the front of the group and had a better view
of the weather) and decided I should lead.
Of course, being on I-70 for
a while, we had to go straight and go straight we did…into some of the biggest
rain drops since Forrest Gump was in Vietnam! Luckily we stopped off on the
side of the road and put on our rain gear for the wet period. I caught H-E-
double toothpicks too for getting the group wet.
I pointed out that up until
that time they had not had the opportunity to wear their expensive wet-weather
gear and that it was actually dry rotting in the saddle bags and that I had
done them a favor by leading them into the rain so they could moisten the material
their rain gear was made from, hence extend it’s life, hence saving them money
in the long run. Did I get any
appreciation for that? NO!
I was reminded several times
that Al had made sure we did not get wet under his control and that I was somehow
less of a leader because I did.
It occurred to me that I was
riding with a bunch of people who were just not grateful for the favor I had
done them and rode along in a prolonged silence..just me and the voices in my
head.
…is still better
than a great day in the office!
We got to Cheyenne Wells, CO
and Mike “Highway” Haxton (so called because he knew all the roads along the
way) suggested we stop for gas in one of the last places we could do so before
we got to the CO 94 highway which is a long desolate stretch of asphalt.
We all filled up and parked
our bikes and went inside to do the potty thing (yeah, my wife MAKES me use the word “potty”…one of the indignities of
being married, I reckon) and Lezlee parked her bike behind a truck where it
was visible to everyone…except the driver of the truck. He
backed over it, knocking it to the ground. Being responsible, the driver called
the police to report the accident.
OK, so they only wrote up a
report; this is what you call creative license! But the people in this little
town
Al and “Highway” made some quick repairs to
Lezlee’s bike and then took it for a short spin to make sure things were in
working order. Armed with the police
report in hand, the now damaged saddle bags in my Bushtec trailer, the group
was off on the road again. We took it slow for a while to make sure there was
nothing wrong that made the bike unsafe.
Lezlee’s stock went up in my mind (and I think everyone else) on how she handled
this whole situation. Instead of getting upset and kicking the truck (as I
would have done); she pretty calmly and
unemotionally dealt with the situation and things worked out well.
Frankly,
it could have been much worse:
Someone could have been hurt
or the bike could have been un-driveable and we would have had to leave her
there at this gas station with a hot dog, a candy bar and a bottle of water
until we made it back thru in two days.
Or it could have been mine… in which case I would still be in jail in Cheyenne
Wells, Colorado awaiting a manslaughter (albeit justifiable) trial.
Fortunately the damage was
only cosmetic; but it is still traumatic to have your property damaged and
frankly, Lezlee, I admire how you handled yourself and the situation.
Sign on Colorado 94
– they were NOT kidding
Fellas, I don’t know about
you but when I see a rest area or am at a gas station with Trophy Wife and ask
her if she has to pee, er uh, potty, the answer is almost always, “No, I’m all
right.”
But let us get one mile away
from the gas station or just far enough that I cannot change lanes without
wrecking 4 other cars to get into the rest area, you can be sure TW will say,
“Um…I have to go, can we stop soon?”
I thought that was just with
wives…this trip showed that it’s not confined to females, it happens to guys
too.
We were no more than 20
minutes from the last gas stop
and on CO 94 (remember? no services,
90 miles) that we hear on the radio something about someone’s bladder being
full.
Al dropped back to take advantage of the
‘facilities’, which in this case was a big Willow tree that hung precariously
over a gully that had not seen this much fluid since the dust bowl ended. Al said to go ahead and he would catch up, I
think he was more embarrassed than considerate so we gave him some privacy.
Well by gum, in no time at
all he has caught up with us! I thought
to myself, “Heck if that was me, I would not have had enough time to get
started...”
I figured he must have not had to go all THAT
bad but then he starts telling us about a rattlesnake he saw in the gully.
Apparently the snake did not appreciate the sudden warm rainfall and made
threats which caused Al to mount the bike and high-tail it to safety.
He later was telling Johnnie
about how he “warn’t afraid of no runt snake and he better not see that snake
around there again…”. I did not get the
whole conversation but the gist of it is, if “Rattler” Robertson ever sees that
little squirt again it will just be too bad for the snake.
We finally pulled into Colorado Springs and readied
ourselves for the trip up the mountain the next day; we found accommodations at
the Silver Saddle Motel.
The rooms were clean, the staff was friendly and accommodating and the best part is you can park your bike right in front of the room giving you easy access to carry things in and out.
One of the things I liked is that the towels were large
enough that you could
Not that an undersized towel is any big deal to me, I once was owned by a dog; Rascal, my Golden Retriever (RIP 2004) taught me a good many things:
· the joy of a back scratching,
· the value of a good stretch and
· how to properly roll around on the carpet after a bath to dry off the hair on ones back.
Trophy Wife on the other hand thinks this to be undignified and prefers a delicate method of drying off; so if the hotel has very small towels she prefers to dry off with toilet paper after her shower; fortunately, the ‘Saddle had nice big ones.
Other amenities at the hotel included a nice swimming pool, hot tubs and a continental breakfast. Make a note however, no soap or shampoo in these tubs, turns out they are not for bathing and it makes the hotel manager visibly agitated. No problem, I am not much for taking a tub bath anyway, I much prefer a shower.
But I am a bit of a fish out of water and the Saddle had a POOL. Trophy Wife knows to pack a swimsuit when we travel because I WILL want to swim.
This pool was small and there was a bunch of young people (about 30 to 40 years old) in the water; the older I get, the older YOUNG gets. They were crowding the pool so under the guise of testing the water temperature, I dropped in my Baby Ruth bar and then sat on the lounge chair with Trophy Wife.
After about 10 minutes, the crowd suddenly decided to leave the pool, making faces and “ooo”-ing (is that a word?) and Trophy Wife and I had the pool all to ourselves.
Just about the time I was gonna make my move on Trophy Wife; “Johnnie on the Spot” comes down to the pool. He spies the Baby Ruth floating there near the steps in the shallow end, scoops it up and parks his patooie there at the pool happily munching away on the Baby Ruth and chatting like a Jaybird on a wire about the day’s ride and eagerly expecting the ride up Pike’s Peak the next day.
So much for putting’ the moves on Trophy Wife! L
Pikes Peak
A History Lesson
Here are some facts about Pikes Peak you probably did not
know:
·
1803 - The US obtained Pikes
Peak along with another small parcel of land from around the present state of
Louisiana.
·
1806 - President Jefferson
sends Zebulon Montgomery
Pike to determine the Louisiana Purchase's southwestern borders. Pike set out
to climb the peak on November 24. 1806 from the Pueblo area, but was forced
back by a blizzard.
Pike was born in 1779 in Lamberton, New Jersey and began his
army career at the age of fifteen. He was killed during the War of 1812 after a
successful battle for York (now Toronto, Ontario), by a powder magazine
explosion on April 27, 1813. He died on a ship returning to Sackets Harbor, New
York where he was buried.
·
1820 - The first recorded ascent was by Dr. Edwin James, doctor,
botanist and historian, and two others from an expedition led by Major Stephen
H. Long on July 14, 1820. Major Long gave the doctor's name to the mountain,
but Pikes Peak soon became the official name, as shown by military maps of
1835.
·
·
1858 - The first woman to climb Pikes Peak was Mrs. Julia
Archibald Holmes. She made the ascent with the Lawrence party and stayed on top
for two days. Mrs. Holmes is also known as the "Bloomer Girl" because
of the bloomers she wore while climbing the mountain.
·
1890 - The Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railroad was built.
·
1948 - The Pikes Peak Highway
was then set up as a toll road under a permit from the Department of
Agriculture. Since June 7, 1948 it has been operated
successfully by the City of Colorado Springs.
·
2007 – Kansas Chapter “B” of the GWRRA ascends to the top of the
summit staying for a total of 45 minutes.
Pikes Peak
Getting There
Don’t look for Pikes Peak on MapQuest, the little town is Cascade, CO, if you want directions find that town. Where we stayed in Manitou Springs was about 10 miles from the entrance and the road to the entrance is a great ride in itself. To enter the Pikes Peak Highway, it costs $10 per person on a motorcycle and $35 per four-wheel vehicle; and you can drive the family sedan up there.
The road up the mountain is actually pretty good considering the harsh conditions it suffers during most of the year; from the entrance to about half way is paved and in good condition; then a nice, wide, dusty road alternates with pavement the rest of the way.
I tried to conduct an experiment using the Crow cycle as a
test facility, all in the name of science, we checked out his test dirt but he
washed it off as soon as he got back down so the scientific community will
probably never know the answers to the mystery of mountain dirt on a Gold Wing
Tricycle.
Lesson Learned: Not “TEST
DIRT” but “TEST DIRT, DO NOT WASH”. So much knowledge is lost for ever down the
drain of the car wash.
Pikes Peak
Life At the Top
The thin, rarified air at
14,000 feet is indeed thin; it made me understand what an asthmatic must feel
when trying to breathe, I could never get a satisfying, deep breath. Most of us
developed a slight headache and a somewhat dizzy feeling, like you had a shot
or two of tequila. There are people who spend their entire working days at the
top and I suppose they get used to the air but for a sea-level dweller like me,
it was an uncomfortable time.
There was a snack bar where
you could buy coffee and treats as well as expensive T-shirts and tables where
we were sitting to try to get acclimated; while we were sitting around, Lezlee
did some shopping
As I was trying to make up a
silly name for each person, she coined “Late Lezlee” but from my experience
with her on this trip, it’s more like “Not So Late” Lezlee; but I settled on ‘Trouble”
since it seemed to find her so easily back on the road. In fact, if you
remember my philosphy on riding in a group, you know, be on time, be a team
player…etc., Lezlee fits that bill pretty well.
While I am on the subject of
Lezlee, I think it is fair to mention that she was the only girl rider and had
only been riding less than a year at this point and was a bit unsure of
herself, riding with people who had been riding much longer, an average of 30
years or so..she was a little apprehensive I’m sure.
This was probably an
intimidating ride for her and it took some moxy to even attempt it; I refer you
to part one where I described all the conditions of the ride; the 44° temperatures and thin air are nothing to sneeze at…not that I had
enough air in my lungs to sneeze with!
So, for one to face all these
conditions and still ride successfully with these people, under these
conditions really speaks highly of her abilities and determination.
Personally, I thought it was a neat ride to the top and I finally experienced altitude sickness; how anyone can stay up here for two days is beyond me but I guess you can get used to it. As for me, I felt drunk during the time I was there and the longer I stayed the more dizzy and drunk I felt.
Now you know what they mean by “Rocky Mountain High”.
Pikes Peak
The Views
Space does not permit me to
show you all the breath taking views on the way up but here are a few shots to
give you an idea of what we saw; ‘course no picture really does it justice, you
just have to go see for yourself.
I am usually guilty of showing the scenery but not the people, so let’s take a peek at those who rode; here we are: Left to Right: Ginny Tadlock, Johnnie Crow, Dave Aiken, Al Robertson, Lezlee Bryan-Ford, Jim Tadlock (author) and Mike Haxton.