Greg's 2005 HOG's ABCs of Touring Contest
- Rides log
Greg S., our High Country HOG Chapter Photographer, is on an ABC's
mission this year.
Greg's ABCs rides log:
- 6 points earned on an April 2 230
mile trip to Henderson, Cheyenne, wellington, Weld county, Colorado
& Wyoming on April 2nd.
- 7 points earned on a 243 mile trip
to get Douglas and Elbert counties, Dacono, Ft-Lupton, Johnstown,
Kiowa, and Platteville on April 8th.
- 7 more points on a 525 mile trip
to get Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick and Yuma counties, Yuma, Nebraska
and Kansas on May 20th
- 12
points earned while going to the Colorado State HOG Rally in Durango,
on June 7-12th.
April 2, 2005 (Greg writes):
|  A
couple of things I have learned so far about doing the
ABCs is that while it is designed to get people to explore, most
people just like to ride and not stop at every possible location
to get a picture to check off the ABCs. So I usually end up going
by myself. I’ve also learned to bring along several wooden
clothes pins to keep the pages from blowing open in slight breezes.
I also have a zip lock bag to put “Hog Tails” in just
incase it is raining. I found there are not too many places the
magazine will stand up on it’s own as my pictures will show.
I’m going to look for a waterproof map holder. These usually
have a way to tie a string to them so they will tie to something
without getting lost. I could use this to tie to the bike in windier
weather.
|
Today I headed from the Sunday ride to Wyoming.
I stopped by the Weld County sign off of Hwy 66 just a couple
of miles East of I-25 before heading north on I-25 to Cheyenne,
Wyoming. The ride to Cheyenne was perfect. No wind, mid 50s (I
was dressed for colder weather), traffic was light after Ft Collins.
I stopped at the pull off at the state line for a picture of the
Wyoming state line sign. I was only 11 miles from Cheyenne so
I headed there for my letter “C”. As I approached
Cheyenne, a State Trooper passed me (after turning around through
the median) and pulled someone over in front of the Cheyenne sign.
So I ended up going down the business route (W. Lincoln Road)
and found a Cheyenne sign on the side of the road. Good thing
it was Sunday and the road wasn’t busy, there really wasn’t
any place to pull over. I headed back south on I-25 to the Flying
J to get gas. Tractor Trailers were lined up over the I-25 overpass.
So much for getting gas there, but I only had 104 miles on the
trip meter so I headed to Ft. Collins. |
 As
I neared the Colorado State line, I pulled over for a quick photo
with the ever “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign.
Why is the sign a dull brown with white letters? |
 As
I approached Ft. Collins I saw a gas station just off of I-25
in the town of Wellington, which just so happened had a city sign
immediately after I pulled off the off ramp and on to the main
street. So I pulled over (in the turning lane for gas station
to take a quick picture before getting gas. Motorcycles were everywhere.
This was the day for riding. I got home just in time to leave
and see “Robots” with the family. The weather was
still too nice to stay home, so my wife an I took off for a little
jaunt by Broomfield. 120th off of Hwy 85 was closed so we headed
to 112th and followed
the detour up Brighton Rd and passed the Henderson Post Office.
It was too good to pass up, so I turned around for my letter “H”.
We took 124th East of Brighton Rd (the road actually changed names
East of Brighton Rd.). We pulled into the Adams County Regional
Park for the letter “A” for Counties. Since the County
runs this Park and the sign is purchased by the county, the photo
should count (I hope). |
Total miles were around 230, with a movie and popcorn! I’m looking
forward to next week!
April 8, 2005 (Greg writes):
I got up at 4:30 am. The plan was to go to Yuma, then Nebraska and Kansas
state lines. Weather has a tendency to put and end to the best of plans.
I checked the weather and found out there was a wind warning for Yuma
county about the time I would arrive there. So much for that idea. I
decided to lay back down for a couple of hours and stay on the front
range where the wind was supposed to be 10 – 15 mph.
|  I
left at 9:15 am and headed up Hwy 85 for a photo at Ft Lupton
and Platteville. The weather had quickly clouded up with the winds
around 10 mph and temperature in the 50’s. After Platteville,
I headed to Sweet Tomatoes in Aurora to have lunch with my wife.
Afterward Kiowa was not that far away.
|
 I
got gas in Aurora and headed south to Franktown and turned East
toward Kiowa. Shortly after the town of Elizabeth, the winds picked
up big time. I was under a storm cloud, but it didn’t rain.
The wind was so bad (audience: How bad was it!). The wind was
so bad that my full face helmet was whistling as the wind whipped
around it, and I was just standing by the side of the road! I
think the high wind was due to the tunneling affect between the
rolling hills. I missed the Elbert County sign the first pass.
I was too busy trying to stay on the road.
|
I bought a map cover at REI (part # 586-117-0008) for $7.50 to put
the Hog Tales magazine in. It has 4 holes (one in each corner) to tie
string, or in my case attach bungee cords to, is water resistant, and
has a matt finish so the sun won’t glare on magazine. This turned
out to be a necessity when I reached Kiowa because of the high wind.
On my way back to Fredrick, I stopped by the Douglas and Elbert County
line for my D and E letters for Counties. The wind died down some, but
at least I was going with the wind when I turned north for Parker.
|  When
I reached Parker, I took I-225, I-70, I-270, and then I-25 to
Johnstown. When I turned East for Johnstown, I felt like I was
in Kiowa again with the wind! I headed to the post office for
my photo and took CR17 south into the wind. I stopped in Firestone
for gas and proceeded to Dacono for one last picture.
|
When I got back to Thornton, I stopped at Starbucks at 4:15 pm for
my first cup of coffee. Total trip was 243 miles and 7 more points (I
forgot that I already had Fredrick so Ft Lupton doesn’t count).
May 20th, 2005 (Greg writes):
I
took Friday May 20th off just to go riding. I left at 5:12 am and proceeded
east on 128th Ave. to Henderson Rd then went north on I-76 on what would
be a great day to ride! My first stop was at exit 60 looking for my
first letter of the day. I turned left through a single lane underpass
to the frontage road on the west side of the highway. Living in the
underpass were hundreds of Swallows which flew away in haste as I rode
by - what a thrill! I took the frontage road north to find the Morgan
County sign; only to discover that the only one was located off I-76
on the north bound side. I turned around and again chased the Swallows
back out of the underpass and got back on to the highway. I continued
up the highway a ¼ of a mile and pulled off to take the Morgan
County photo. Traffic was light at 6:30 am, and the shoulder was wide,
so I felt comfortable pulling over. After my photo I was back on the
road to Sterling.
I stopped at a little café for breakfast. The coffee was lousy,
breakfast choices were minimal: 1 or 2 eggs, an omelet, or steak. No
French toast or pancakes. I ordered a cheese and onion omelet. The eggs
for my omelet were whipped a little too perfectly. I had a feeling my
eggs were poured from a box and they didn’t taste very good either.
Next time I will ride the extra 1 ½ miles to Village Inn. After
breakfast I filled up with gas for my next stop – Haxtun, Co.
I left the gas station around 9:00 am and went east on US 6 towards
Haxtun. When I reached Haxtun, I turned north on CO-59 and traveled
12 miles to the Sedwick/Phillips County line for my second and third
letters of the day. The fields all around were very green and the roads
have been in excellent shape. It has been a beautiful morning so far!
The weather has been cool, but not cold. I turned around after my photos
and headed back to Haxtun. The joy of small towns! Nice and peaceful
except for my Harley rumbling through town - you would think at least
someone would look up to hear what was making this noise, but no.
My
parents have some good friends, Gary and Vicki, who have a farm a few
miles south of Haxtun. I use to work (played more than worked) on their
farm many moons ago.
Normally I don’t like to stop by anyone’s house unannounced,
but decided that if Gary or Vicki where outside, I would stop. As I
traveled down CO-59, my mind was flooded with memories of from working
on the farm. The odds were against me that either one of my friends
would be outside their home when I rode by, but the good Lord was one
step ahead of me! Gary was standing outside by the garage as I went
whizzing by. I slowed down and turned around.
I
stopped and chatted with Gary for about a ½ hour. He has an old
’65 Harley Sprint, and a 2004 Heritage Softail too. He told me
there are quite a few Harley Davidson owners in and around Haxtun. That
explained why no one took notice of me. He took a break from his work
on the farm and cruised with me 40 miles south to Yuma. We stopped at
the Yuma County sign for my fourth letter and then at the town of Yuma
for my fifth letter. While pulled over by the city sign, two State Troopers
pulled up in their car. They were under the impression I ran out of
gas just outside of town. We explained the HOG ABCs to them and all
was well. I fueled up in Yuma then Gary and I bid our farewells before
going our separate ways again.
Webmaster's note: after 525 miles, its great to see so many
bugs on the windshield. |
There's more to come, keep watching. ...
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