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Greg's 2006 HOG's ABCs of Touring
Contest - Rides log
Greg S., our 2005-6 High Country HOG Chapter Photographer, is on another
ABC mission this year.
Greg's ABCs rides log:
May 29 -> June 8th Canadian Trip, 2006
(Greg writes):
 A
few months ago, I decided to take a small trip on the motorcycle.
As my comp time increased at work, so did my trip:
Harley
Owners Group has a “contest” called the HOG ABCs.
The purpose is to get people to explore other places, and in the
process, earn “awards”. So I arranged my trip accordingly.
A point is earned for each letter of the alphabet for a city and
county. Points are also earned for each state, country, Harley Davidson
Factory, and so forth. |
I needed to prepare for the long ride, so I looked at the HOG website
for things I needed to do and bring. I replaced the rear tire and brakes
and I change the oil in the bike the day before I left. I also wanted
to bring my laptop along, so I bought a Tamrac Cyber Pro Express bag
that has room for my camera equipment, laptop, and additional items.
Since I would be wearing my boots anywhere from 12 hrs to 19 hrs a day,
my feet and boots would get rather ripe. So, I bought some Extra Strength
Athletes Foot cream. Used everyday, the cream prevented my feet and
boots from smelling. This item was not on the HOG list, but I highly
recommend using the cream. I do not recommend the powder version because
it does not work as well.
I packed two days before the trip. This was to give me time to think
of items I may have forgotten to pack. I charged all my batteries the
night before to make sure my camera and cell phone would not have any
problems.
 29
May 06: I left Thornton Memorial Day at 6 am and
headed east on I-70. Even though I was dressed for the cold weather,
after doing 75 mph for 2 hrs, I was getting rather cold. I needed
to stop for gas in Limon, so this was a good place to warm up
at McDonald’s. Incidentally, I had left my cell phone there
on a ride two weekends earlier. They were nice enough to FedEx
my cell phone back to me. So when I walked in, the manager who
sent it to me was there working, so I thanked him and replaced
the postage they spent to send it to me. After warming up for
15 minutes, I headed out east to Colby where I took a zig zag
route throughout Kansas. I traveled through Colby, Jennings, Alta
(where Russell Stover was born), and Stockton. The day warmed
up considerably as I traveled through Kansas, and turned out to
be quite a beautiful day. |
|  I
took a photo of the Geographic Center of the US.
Do you know its location? Some would consider it akin to seeing
the largest ball of twine (which is located about 40 miles south
of this photo). I don’t have any photos of the twine. I’ll
leave that excitement to someone else.
I reached Topeka in 12 hrs (at 7 pm – time change) and 709 miles
later. There were dark thunderclouds farther east, so I did not continue
on. I collected 5 ABC points today. Unfortunately, I missed a couple
also. |
 30
May 06: My goal this morning was to reach the Harley
Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations in Kansas City,
Missouri by 8 am. There was a thundershower at 2 am and a 50 %
chance of showers for the next leg of my trip. So I dressed accordingly
and left at 6 am again. The weather that morning was warm (69
deg), overcast, muggy, but no rain. I reached the HD plant an
hour early, so I stopped up the road for some coffee and gas.
This HD plant builds Sportsters and V-rods. I didn’t have
time for the tour, so I watched the quick video, found out it
takes 103 minutes to assemble a V-rod, purchased a pin and was
on my way again. |
As I headed north, the skies cleared up and the temperature increased.
There was always a hint of bad weather all around me, so I kept my rain
gear on. As I arrived in Des Moines for lunch, it started raining, but
only lasted for about 2 minutes.
It took me 12 hrs and 682 miles to reach Madison, Wisconsin. I collected
4 more ABC points. Unfortunately the Minnesota photo did not come out.
 31
May 06: Showers were predicted again for today, but
the roads were dry when I left in the morning, but I dressed for
rain just in case. The goal for today was to reach HD
Powertrain Operations in Milwaukee by 9:30 am when they open
for visitors. I left Madison at 5:30 am and despite the heavy rush
hour traffic in Milwaukee, I
reached the HD HQs by 7 am for some photos. The HQs
is located next door to the Miller Brewing plant. There are no tours
at the HD HQs, but a HOG ABC point is there. After a few photos,
I left for the HD Powertrain Operations plant. Again, I was going
to arrive early, so I filled up with gas and stopped for some coffee.
|
 When
I arrived at the HD Powertrain Operations plant, I only stayed
for the video. Like the tour at the Kansas City plant, this was
close to an hour long, so I didn’t stay for the tour. I
bought a pin, took a couple photos, and headed south.
I wanted to avoid going through Chicago, and I-35 seemed too far
out of the way, so I took Hwy 47 which is located between I-35 and
Chicago. This turned out to be a big error! It turns out, every
3 – 5 miles on hwy 47, I ran into a town. There was no easy
or quick way to get off the highway, and on top of all that, as
I approached the Illinois
state line, it started to drizzle. After an hour the weather
cleared up, and was sunny and warm. A section of my trip that was
supposed to take 2 hours ended up being over 4. This set me way
behind in my trip. To add insult to injury, when I reached I-80,
there was road construction just before the Indiana State Line.
They took a 10 lane highway, reduced it down to 4 lanes (2 each
way) and added a toll booth! I must have walked my bike a mile.
It took another hour to get through that mess. |
On the positive side, it was a good thing I wasn’t going the
other direction. A tractor trailer re-ended another tractor trailer.
The 5 west bound lanes where completely shut down and vehicles were
backed up was for miles! You could tell they had been waiting for a
while since most drivers were just standing around there vehicles talking.
I was so far behind that by the time I reached Flint, Michigan, the sun
was starting to set. There was no way I was going to make Toronto this
night. I also had to be careful because of the deer and elk in the area.
I made Port Huron my goal for the night. I tried to stay with a group
of cars or trucks for safety, but it started to drizzle for the second
time today and I couldn’t see through my face shield and fairing
and still maintain the speed the other vehicles where going, so I had
to slow down. By the time I was 20 miles out from Port Huron, the sun
had set long ago so it was dark, and the fog was so thick, I had to slow
even more. When I reached Port Huron at 10:30 pm (lost another hour do
to time change), I was still 4 hours away from Toronto.
I covered only 534 Miles in 16 hrs but still managed to collect 6 ABC
points. I noticed a lot of the Midwestern and Eastern states, county and
city signs are located in the center median of the Interstates. This proved
to be a hassle in acquiring ABC points, and I ended up missing some cities
and counties.
 1
Jun 06: The fog had lifted by morning when I got
up. I left at 5:30 looking for a much better day than the one
before. Due to the heavy fog and drizzle the night before, I did
not realize I was only a stones throw from the Canadian border.
As soon as I crossed the border, I took the Ontario
photo for my first, and it turns out, my only ABC point of the
day. I maintained the 100 Kph speed limit and soon found out that
I was going way too slow! I only passed one person on the highway
(he was on an on-ramp) who soon blew past me! Like red lights
here in Colorado, speed limits in Canada are only a suggestion.
I had to increase my speed to at least roughly everyone else’s
speed in order not to be a road hazard. Shortly after crossing
the border, I hit fog that lasted for almost 100 miles. It wasn’t
very thick, but made it difficult to see due to the buildup of
condensation on my helmet and fairing. It was a 4 hour trip to
Toronto.
|
The road sign said 20 Km to Toronto when I entered the city. I never
saw the sign saying I entered the city. The highway system there is
really unique. It’s basically a 10 lane express way in the center
(5 lanes each way) with and additional 5 lanes on each side of the expressway.
The additional lanes are the on and off ramps for exits. Your exit may
be a half mile down the road, but you would leave the expressway early
and enter the 5 additional lanes and gradually cross over and others
who are entering the express are moving in the other direction. This
kept the traffic jams to a minimum. Even though it was morning rush
hour, I only had to slow down for road construction. I pulled over for
gas on the other side of Toronto and asked if I was in Toronto since
I never saw the sign. The manager at the gas station asked me where
I was from and where I was headed. He was surprised when I said I from
Colorado. He gave me two maps for free! He told me he has a Yamaha he
rides on. He wished me a safe journey and I was off.
The province of Quebec
was a real wake up call! It was like entering another country. Everything
was in French. Road sign designs, street lights, everything was different,
including the drivers attitude on the road. I was making really good
time when I got to Montreal. I had originally planned on going to Quebec
and forgot I changed my route when I entered Montreal. I would have
to reach the city during rush hour! I walked the bike, and rode the
clutch for two hours through town! Imagine taking I-25, I-70, I-76,
and I-270 and shrinking them down so they would fit in downtown Denver
(between the office buildings). Next, raise the whole highway system
off the ground (like an overpass) with your on and off ramps being the
side streets in Denver. After I reached the other side of Montreal two
hours later, I topped off with gas, I decided to look at my map to see
where I needed to go next. To my horror, I was not supposed to be on
this side of the city!
It took me another hour to get back to the other side of the city.
I had plenty of time to learn French, but a few colorful words would
have been helpful! I could not find est 10 (east hwy 10). I took me
three tries until I was able to get onto hwy 10. The signs in Montreal
are posted in an unusual way. They are AFTER you make the turn, not
necessarily before. It took me 4 hours to get out of Montreal. By the
time I reached Sherbrooke, I was dark, cold and I was too tired to keep
riding and the deer and elk would be a hazard.
Sherbrooke is hidden in all the trees in the area. It took me 2 more
hours to find a hotel. There were no clear signs showing any hotels,
only gas and restaurants. I stopped to get gas and ask for directions.
Big mistake. I don’t speak French, and they tried to help me,
but the translation obviously failed. I rode around for a while looking
for a hotel and couldn’t find one. The town was not that big.
I found an IGA store and again asked for directions. My 15 year old
son should have been with me. The three French girls there would have
fallen head over heals for him (new kid in town). They and a couple
of teen age boys there spoke a little English but did not have a map
to show me where the local hotel was. I brought in my laptop (much to
their surprise since I was on a motorcycle) and pulled up their little
town. They asked me where I was from and again they were surprised.
They pointed right where I need to go (Motel Le Floral) and I said thanks
and was off to get a room.
The lady at the Motel Le Floral was older and spoke plenty of English
and gave me a room on the first floor since I had a motorcycle. I didn’t
even have to ask. I checked in at 9:30 pm. The door to the room was
in the hallway like a hotel, but there was a sliding glass patio door
leading to the parking lot. This made taking everything off the bike
and caring it into the room much easier and put the bike right outside
my door for security.
The lady at the counter drives trucks to Bangor, Maine and told me
exactly how to get there. This made my night much more restful, albeit
short…
I covered 729 miles in 16 hrs. 50 of it were probably in Montreal.
All this for 1 ABC point! I missed the letter Q earlier in the day.
 2
Jun 06: In order to make up for the lost time, I
left at 4:30 am. I could tell the sun was starting to rise, but
it was very foggy when I left, and the roads were a little wet.
The route I was taking would have been more difficult due to the
intermittent fog, except all I needed to do was pretty much follow
the tractor trailers on the road. I was trying not to rumble through
the small towns so early in the morning. Route 212 from Sherbrooke
was quite the enjoyment. There were rolling hills, sweeping turns,
small, and quiet little towns (at least until I came through).
I noticed along my ride the history and how religion
is importing to a lot of the small communities in the area. I
passed a small town 5:30 in the morning. It was basically just
a row of houses on both sides of the road. The road went straight
up the side of a big hill. In the middle of the village on the
hill to my right was a huge church and cross. I wanted to stop
and take a photo, but I didn’t want to disturb the small
village so early in the morning. |
 When
I reached the border, I took my photo of the Quebec Province
and crossed into Maine.
When I rumbled to the border, the border guard was surprised that
I rode all the way from Denver. The ride on hwy 27 was fantastic.
Unfortunately there was road construction on part of the highway.
The damage is mainly due to the tractor trailers which travel
this small 2-lane road. Between 212, 27, and US-2, this was the
most enjoyable ride and when the road construction is completed,
will be a highly prized route for riders. Every type of turn existed
here; long sweeping turns, short turns, cresting a hill or trough
while turning with lots of trees, and the speed to enjoy it! I
don’t think the fishermen appreciated me rumbling by them
so early in the morning, but I couldn’t have been any worse
that all the tractor-trailers on the road.
|
I made it to Bangor, Maine around 9:30 am. I topped off with gas and
headed east on SR-9 to Canada. This was a fast winding road that was
also a joy to travel on. The road changed to Hwy-1 at St. Stephen in
New Brunswick. I took an ABC photo at the New Brunswick Visitor
Center and traveled north east turned right on TC-2. I then turned north
on TC-16 and headed over the Confederation Bridge onto Prince
Edward Island.
I made my final destination for the night at Island’s End Motel
at 7:30 pm in Anglo Tignish. (I lost another hour due to time change).
After checking in, I traveled south into Tignish for some pizza and
then went to North Cape shortly after sunset. Can you find Tignish or
North
Cape without looking at the map?
I traveled 659 miles in 14 hours and acquired 4 ABC points.
 3
Jun 06: I was going to take photos of the sunrise,
but the forecast said it was going to cloud up over night. So
I slept in until 08:00. I spent the next two hours getting reorganized
and ready for the next leg on my trip. I should not have slept
in. I left Anglo
Tignish and stopped in Tignish
to take a couple photos of the magnificent
church there. Second
Photo.
Shortly after I left Tignish it started to sprinkle. I had lunch
Carr’s Oyster Bar Restaurant at Stanley Bridge. My lunch
consisted of steamed oysters, steamed mussels, steamed clams,
another type of steamed shellfish, and of course steamed lobster. |
 After
I had lunch, it started to rain. I stopped at Red Rock H/D for
a couple T-shirts and proceeded to leave P.E.I. (Prince Edward
Island). I crossed over the Confederation Bridge which costs $16.25
in Canadian and is 12.5 Kilometers long. By the time I crossed
the bridge it was raining so hard, that I had to be careful of
hydroplaning. It took me an extra couple hours to reach Havenside
B&B at Hackett’s Cove. It rained 3 inches today.
I traveled 623 miles in 10 hours and acquired 1 point toward the ABCs. |
4 Jun 06: It rained all day today. This was
the day I had planned on going to Halifax and Sydney for photos and
a tour the cities, but I never was able to leave the B&B until the
evening due to the heavy rainfall. We had 3 inches of rain again today.
A couple from Tennessee showed up for a stay at the B&B. When evening
came, the rainfall had stopped but was too late to really go anywhere.
The couple from Tennessee invited me to go with them down the road a
couple miles for a Lobster dinner. It was good to stretch my legs and
the dinner was not bad either.
 5
Jun 06: I left at 4:30 am for Peggy’s
Cove to take pictures at sunrise. Unfortunately, it was foggy.
Peggy’s Cove has 42 people that live there, but over 600,000
people visit the cove and lighthouse every year. It’s one
of Nova Scotia’s main tourist locations. I didn’t
know that when I planned the ride.
I tried not to rumble too loudly through the village. No one
was up getting any fishing boats ready, so I wanted to be as quiet
at possible. I took a few photos of the lighthouse
(second photo) with the fog over the ocean and proceeded to
Privateers H/D in Halifax for a photo. |
The weather was drizzly, but was clearing up slowly. Canadian Hwy 1
is a beautiful ride to I-95 in Bangor, Maine. I made my way to Sturbridge,
Massachusetts with out any incident before having to call it a night.
I covered 743 miles in 16 hours and accumulated 2 more ABC points.
 6
Jun 06: I left at 5 am and continued south along
I-84 and the weather was a little warm and overcast and the traffic
was manageable. One of the things I don’t like about the
east coast are the very short off-ramps. Most of the off-ramps
have a 30 mph curve on them. It just so happens I was following
a Tractor-Trailer when I saw my off-ramp come up out of the trees.
Not only did this off-ramp have a 30 mph curve, the off-ramp was
only a few car lengths long. Much too short for the speed I was
traveling! There was no way I could make the turn, so I headed
straight for the curb and put on both breaks hard!! I had only
a few inches to spare when I was slowed down enough to make the
turn. That was a close one. I’m sure the cars that were
on the highway behind me thought I was into the trees for sure!
I continued to Scranton, Pa and turned south on I-83 to York,
Pa for a tour at the York
H/D plant.
|
The
York plant builds softails like my Heritage Softail. I took the
tour this time. It was very interesting watching kickstands being built
by hand, fenders and gas tanks being pressed into shape, and robotic
lasers cutting the various holes needed. After I completed the tour,
I took and ABC photo and cut over to I-81 and continued south to Radford,
Va. for the night.
I covered a lot of territory today; 749 miles in 14 ½ hours.
I gained another 7 points.
 7
Jun 06: Today I left at 5 am and realized just how
pleasant the weather temp has been the last week and a half. Today
the weather climbed to a muggy 90 deg. I no longer needed to ride
with my rain gear on and was nice to have the “extra freedom”.
35 miles east of Little Rock, Ar I had stopped for gas. While I
was putting on my helmet, a lady was parked at the pump to my left
filling putting gas in her tank. I couldn’t believe her stupidity,
but she decided to light up a cigarette right there at the pump.
Even more to my astonishment, her husband came out of the store
and didn’t say anything to her about it, but carried on a
normal conversion. A real candidate for the Darwin Award! I hurried
and got out of there. |
I covered 1005 miles in 16 ½ hours traveling out of Virginia,
through Tennessee
and Arkansas, and into Oklahoma,
while gaining more ABC points. Unfortunately, I missed the Arkansas
photo.
8 Jun 06: My last day
on the road. It was going to be another hot day in the 90s according
to the weather forecast. The other bad news was that Colorado
was going to be in a Severe Thunder Storm Warning later in the
afternoon. I left at 5 am again and headed west towards Amarillo,
Tx. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky in the morning. I gathered
a couple ABC points (Union
City and Texas)
on my way to Amarillo. I then turned north on 287/87 to Boise
City. I could have saved my self some time by taking 87 through
Dalhart to Clayton
instead of backtracking from Boise City to Clayton. By the time
I reached Boise City I could see storm clouds to the North West
and the wind was starting to pick up. The wind was coming out
of the south, so this would help my gas mileage. When I reached
Raton in New Mexico, the wind speed was around 40 mph, but still
out of the south. I could still see the storm clouds again to
the North West. I headed North on I-25 for home. I had a hard
time keeping the speed below 80 mph due to the tail wind, but
no complaints here! |
The storm clouds were straight west of Walsenburg and covering the
eastern side of the mountains just a mile to my left. I put my rain
gear on headed north hoping to beat the storm before it reached the
highway. Unfortunately, the wind shifted and came out of the west at
50 mph! I had to slow down to 50 – 55 mph and had to turn my flashers
on. With the luggage on the bike, it acted like a small sail. I almost
ended up in the guard rail 4 or 5 times! The drivers behind me were
just a worried about passing me as I was about them passing me! As they
would pass, my bike would immediately go vertical until they passed
then I would be blown toward the edge of the road. I was not able to
stop for an ABC photo at Huerfano County due the wind.
Thanks for the Harley “family”! There were a couple of
guys in a pickup (with H/D mud flaps) towing a small trailer that would
hold two Harley's. They blocked the wind for me all the way to Pueblo.
The winds had died down somewhat before Pueblo. I waved thanks as they
headed on. It was a real blessing to have someone slow down to block
the wind.
Shortly after I passed through Pueblo, the winds picked back up. There
was a lot of traffic on I-25 which helped to block some of the wind
for me until I reached Colorado Springs. I headed east on Academy Blvd
to Fountain Blvd where I headed east to Powers Blvd. The winds died
down considerably the farther east I traveled away from the mountains.
By the time I reached the north side of Colorado Springs, the winds
were minor and I was able to finish my last leg of the trip with only
a few sprinkles.
I got home at 7:30 pm (13 ½ hrs later) and 848 Miles.
All in all, I traveled 7281miles
in 10 days (10 out of 11) and accumulated 36 ABC points. There were
plenty of people on the side of the road with vehicle problems; my only
vehicle problem on the bike was having a running light go out. I saw
a lot of country, people, places and history. While Colorado may have
1000’s, even millions of years of history, it doesn’t seem
to have the same “flavor” or “fullness” of history
that the east coast has. It was a wonderful experience.
May 7th , 2006 (Greg writes):
This was an expensive picture! I left this morning at 7:30 am
and headed up to the Wyoming border for a picture there, and one
at Cheyenne and the last one was supposed to be at the Colorado
border before I would catch everyone at Sunday ride in Longmont.
I brought my tripod with me so I could be included in the photo.
It was a cool morning and there was no wind until 2 miles before
I reached the Wyoming border. It was a little windy (out of the
West) but not too bad. My tripod could handle this breeze. The
Wyoming border has a pull off located at the sign big enough for
a tractor-trailer, so I had no issue in putting up the tripod
there. I set everything up and set the camera for a 10 second
delay so I would have time to get in front of the camera.
The first photo went without a hitch. I like to take at least
two just to make sure. Also I wanted to stand behind the bike
the second time. I pushed the button and had 10 seconds to get
behind the motorcycle. The instant I got behind the bike and turned
around, there was a couple in a pickup towing a trailer that was
just starting to pass me. Just then two large mattress pad boxes
and a lot of paper and books blew out of the bed of the pickup
and flew 15 feet East taking out my camera, lens and tripod. Then
another wave of stuff came out of the truck just as the truck
passed me. Everything missed the bike and me, but I was staring
down at $2000 on the pavement in several pieces. I didn’t
get upset and was quite calm about the whole thing, albeit cold.
It turns out they had a brass bed in those boxes and were headed
home to Montana. What’s the odds? Murphy’s Law….
This happened around 8:40 am. It was another hour before the State
Trooper showed up. I was shaking because of the cold. A baseball
hat isn’t very warn, naturally. Since I was not hurt and
the bike was not damaged, there wasn’t anything he could
do, so we traded insurance info.
When I got home (with only one photo) I tried on another lens
and looks like the camera still works even after traveling several
feet in the air before a nose dive into the pavement. Then lens
mount is destroyed, but it looks like it may have been designed
to give way instead of taking the camera with it. The lens may
be repairable and the expensive tripod is scratched up but still
works. Quite and adventurous morning if I do say so! |
Apr 30th , 2006 11 hour, 21
point ABCs quest (Greg writes):
 Before
I left for my ABC ride, I took a 3x5 card and wrote down the city,
county, or state in order (exit #s) that I will be riding by and
placed it under my take pad so I could see the exit #s. I got
dressed for the cold weather, but I soon found out I wasn’t
dressed nearly warm enough!
I
left at 5:25 am and headed to I-76 on my 11 hour journey.
The temp was 42 deg, overcast with heavy clouds and a few showers
to the north here and there. I received a few sprinkles as I passed
in front of 3 storm clouds while traveling North East on I-76.
My first stop was a photo in Keenesburg, Co.
The sun was just starting to rise when I took the photo.
I continued traveling and stopped at Morgan County
line for another photo. The clouds looked as if someone took a
very large fork and ran the prongs through the clouds. The sun
was shining through, but the temperature here was lower than when
I left, around 40 deg and I was starting to feel it. By the time
I reached Wiggins, I was starting to shake. It was good to stop
for my next photo so I could warm up a little. When I reached
Ft Morgan though, I was shaking so hard I couldn’t hold
the handlebars steady. So I stopped for breakfast and a hot cup
of coffee around 7 am. I left a half hour later, topped off with
gas and continued my ride.
It was still cold, but by the time I started to
get the shivers again, the temperature was starting to rise and
I started to warm up and the clouds started to disappear. When
I reached Sterling, the clouds were gone and there was no wind!
This would be short lived though. I had to travel to the north
side of Sterling on hwy 138 to find a Sterling sign for my photo. |
 I
proceeded east on hwy 6 to Haxtun. I headed north to the Phillips/Sedgwick
county line for my photos, but I could have saved
myself at least a half hour if I would have taken the Phillips
County photo just before Haxtun and the Sherman County line in
Kansas. Next time…. I headed south on 59 towards Yuma. The
wind started to pick up and I could see clouds starting to form.
Well, I had two hours of peace. It was still a beautiful morning
with the fields starting to turn green.
I stopped at the Yuma County line for another photo
and proceeded to Yuma for another photo and gas. There are several
wide sweeping turns where I was able to maintain 55 mph around
the corners. It was a nice change to the straight lines I’ve
been doing the last several hours. My route took me East on Hwy
34 to the Nebraska state line. |
 I
took my Nebraska photo and traveled
to Haigler where I turned south on CR 27. I only had to travel
a half-mile before I entered Kansas for two more photos (Cheyenne
County and Kansas). I continued to travel south to HWY 36. If
I turned west, the hwy will eventually take me to I-70, but on
a Sunday, I did not know if any of the small towns would have
a gas station open. Besides, I still have a few more point to
earn. I turned east again on hwy 36 and traveled 5 miles till
I reached CR 27 again where I headed south to Goodland.
Half way to Goodland was the Sherman County line
where I could have taken a photo. I stopped in Goodland for gas
and another photo, which happened to be a few blocks before I-70.
I already had a photo of Gilcrest, but wanted a different location.
Now it’s time for me to head home. The wind was around 10
mph and getting cloudy out here, but I see way west Goodland there
were no clouds. I headed west on I-70 over the state line and
into Kit Carson County. For some reason there is no County sign
here. The only one I have found is located on the west side of
the county when your traveling east on I-70. So I kept traveling
until I reached the town of Vona for another photo.
Next I stopped at the town of Arriba for another
photo. This is also the place I could have turned around on I-70
and travel 5 miles to take the Kit Carson photo. Then I would
have to travel another 6 miles to Flagler to turn around again
and head home. I decided to skip Kit Carson for now and continue
west. I stopped in Limon for gas before proceeding on my last
leg home.
I blew right past the Elbert County sign before
I realized it. Oh well, I’ll catch it on another ride, possibly
when I go for Kit Carson County. As I looked west towards the
mountains, I could see some dark thunder clouds ahead. Some clouds
to the south and some to the north. I was hoping I would be headed
between them. As I got closer to Denver, the storms were increasing
in intensity. As I reached Denver I could see the aircraft landing
in the storm at DIA. Tower Road would normally be my way home
from I-70, but this path would take me into the heart of the storm.
I was going to have to suffer and take I-270 and then I- 25 north
around the storm. This turned out to be a good choice.
My day ended the way it started, heavy dense clouds, cool temps,
and only a few sprinkles. I arrived home 11 hours and 528 miles
later, but I accumulated 13 more points towards my HOG ABCs.
|
 Next
I stopped at the town of Arriba for
another photo. This is also the place I could have turned around
on I-70 and travel 5 miles to take the Kit Carson photo. Then
I would have to travel another 6 miles to Flagler to turn around
again and head home. I decided to skip Kit Carson for now and
continue west. I stopped in Limon for gas before proceeding on
my last leg home.
I blew right past the Elbert County sign before
I realized it. Oh well, I’ll catch it on another ride, possibly
when I go for Kit Carson County. As I looked west towards the
mountains, I could see some dark thunder clouds ahead. Some clouds
to the south and some to the north. I was hoping I would be headed
between them. As I got closer to Denver, the storms were increasing
in intensity. As I reached Denver I could see the aircraft landing
in the storm at DIA. Tower Road would normally be my way home
from I-70, but this path would take me into the heart of the storm.
I was going to have to suffer and take I-270 and then I- 25 north
around the storm. This turned out to be a good choice.
My day ended the way it started, heavy dense clouds, cool temps,
and only a few sprinkles. I arrived home 11 hours and 528 miles
later, but I accumulated 13 more points towards my HOG ABCs.
|
Feb 26th , 2006 (Greg writes):
Sunday February 26, 2006 turned out to be a beautiful day to ride.
Unfortunately, I was not able to finish my homework the day before
so I was only able to ride for 2 hrs on Sunday. The local station
said the temperature was 64 degrees at 12:30 pm when my wife and
I headed off for Gilcrest. Two blocks down the street I could
tell it was no where near that temperature! That didn’t
stop any riders from what I could tell. Very little wind and mild
temps and a blue sky (at least until 1:30 pm) was inviting to
every rider and hundreds of birds. Spring must be just around
the corner!
We headed East from Colorado Blvd and 128th and some side roads
to get to Hwy 7. We proceeded east to Hwy 85 where we headed north
to Gilcrest. It seemed like we couldn’t go more than a few
miles before a police car would pass us going the other direction.
After the photo at Gilcrest we headed farther north to Hwy 285
where we headed West to Johnstown for a bite to eat at McDonald’s.
We took the normal route back south (County Rd 7 to Hwy 66 then
South through Fredrick). We took Hwy 52 to I-25 from there and
headed home. We traveled only 86 miles, but it has been a month
since I have been able to get on the bike and was having Harley
withdrawals by not riding. |
Dec 31, 2005 (Greg
writes):
 The
December 31, 2005 was an absolute perfect day to ride! If you weren’t
out riding today, you either were not in Colorado or the only one
not on a bike. I only rode for 2 ½ hrs, but enjoyed every
minute of it. While doing so, I gained another 6 points towards
the HOG ABCs.
One nice thing that is happening this year as opposed to last year
is that I don’t have to search for official signs for most
of the points required for cities and counties because I did all
that last year. I will be able to get more points earlier this year
than last and concentrate my effort on the letters I did not get
last year.
|
Dec 30, 2005 (Greg writes):
Today I got on the HOG website to see if the website has the
2006 HOG ABC prizes listed. Not only did they show the new prizes,
but the ABC website had the Jan/Feb 2006 cover of HOG Tails so
people can start their ABCs now; and I sure did. Immediately after
work, I rode for about an hour and a half and acquired 4 points.
Most of the time spent was finding a suitable sign at Erie. East
Countyline Rd was not the location, but the Post Office and City
Hall (both located in the Historic District of Town) were good
locations.
Now that I’m on my way, tomorrow is supposed to be in the
low 60s, so I will be out for a few more points!
|
There's more to come, keep watching. ...
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When
I arrived at the HD Powertrain Operations plant
