Chapter Overnighter - Colorado

Its dark at 3:45am – especially when you are hooking up a trailer to your bike. But, we were all packed and ready for the trip ahead. We made our way to the Chevron at Green River to meet the group. Everyone was excited and ready to roll. We started with 23 riders on 17 bikes with 7 trailers, so we broke into two groups, led by myself and Scott Hamilton.

Off we started down the 91 headed into the sunrise. Our first stop was gas in Newberry Springs where we were joined by Bob Barbano – who was there waiting for us. On the move again we made our way to Needles. The sun was completely up by now and the temperatures were raising well into the high 90’s as we began our ride through the desert and into Arizona. The funny part was that we were so excited to get to Colorado that the first day went rather quickly.

We weren’t sure if we were going to have lunch in Needles as we knew it would be really hot, but by then everyone was really hungry and we decided to eat anyway. The plan was to try to move quickly through each stop without a lot of lolly-gagging, it appears that Denny’s wasn’t on board with our plan and chose to keep a few of our riders a little longer then necessary. It was at this point in the trip that the horn honking started. From this point on when all but a couple of riders were ready to go and waiting for any amount of time, all the bike horns would sound, just like when you were a kid at a drive-in and the movie was stalled. I am sure the patrons of the Denny’s were not amused, but we were.

We gassed up in Needles and headed on to Kingman stopping at the same Chevron we always stop at right down the street from the Days Inn where we stay during the Laughlin River Run. Then we continued on to Williams to gas up, and then our last leg of the first day into Flagstaff. The hotel in Flagstaff was a cute, single story motel in a U shape. Everyone pulled in and picked a parking spot close to where they guessed their room might be – no one guessed well. Scott Hamilton was one of the first to check in, and the one that made all of the arrangements at the hotel for us – and of course his reservation was missing….thank goodness they had an open room.

Shortly after we arrived we were joined by Rick Sherrill who would be riding with us the remainder of the trip. Its always good to see Rick – he was our Lead Shepherd for a long time. For dinner there were a couple of choices, some chose to go to Bun Huggers Tavern right across the street from the hotel, and some of us walked down the street to Oregano’s Pizza Bistro. Both choices seemed to be good for all. After dinner we all sat outside and chatted about the day. Apparently while we were all out to dinner, Joe Magdaleno did a little reconnaissance and obtained a card and gift for Richard “Taz” Green for his birthday. One by one each person was called into Rick and Scott’s room to sign the card. Once everyone had signed the card, Joe presented it to Taz and we all sang a rousing Happy Birthday! The evening was really nice. We all sat together and discussed the next day’s plan and then it was off to bed to prepare for the ride to Durango.

Everyone was on their own for breakfast – choices were Dunkin Doughnuts and McDonalds, all within walking distance. I ambled down to Dunkin Doughnuts and while I was considering all of my choices my phone rang, it had begun! Richard Von Luft had chosen to stay at a hotel down the street (something about points). He had gotten ready to come and meet us but his bike would not start. Dead battery number 1. We arranged for Chuck Giambitti to go down to help him out, but luckily he was able to get the bike started and make his way down to our hotel. Amazingly there was a O’Reilly’s auto parts store right across the street from the hotel, so he popped in there and purchased a new battery to keep as a back up in case it didn’t start again. We all lined up to leave for Durango when dead battery number 2 reared its ugly head. Joe Magdelano could not start his bike! Keith Limbach and Scott were able to jump-start Joe’s bike. We were finally on our way.

Outside of Flagstaff we turned off onto Loop Road, which took us past the Sunset Crater. Black soil and large chucks of lava rock were everywhere. We then continued up the Navajo Trail to the Wupatki ruins. We stopped here to view the pueblos and take a few photos. This was really incredible.

We continued north and headed up through the Navajo Territory to Tuba City. After gassing up it was decided that we would stop for lunch. There were several choices, some went to Sonic, some to Subway, and some went I don’t know where. It was already starting to get really hot, so the priority was hydration. After lunch we all met at the parking lot next to the Shell station – know known as the Joe Magdelano Shell. Off we went on our way and everything seemed fine, then Joe tapped out. Bob stopped with him and shortly let us know that Joe had a flat. Scott turned back (he had a patch kit) in case he could help. The group continued on. I got a call on my phone that it was a broken valve stem and that they would have to get the bike towed back to Tuba city and get it repaired, Scott would ride out to meet up with us eventually.

Monument Valley is amazing. There isn’t anything else that can be said. It looks like it was created by Disney.

Because of the heat, the group stopped in Kayenta, Az to gas up, but mostly to hydrate and re-wet cool vests. The day had already been really long and we had many more miles to ride. It was here that Scott rejoined us.

All along the roadsides there were little stalls with Indians selling Navajo jewelry, beadwork and rugs. Finally, we left Arizona and rode into Utah, stopping in Mexican Hat for gas and then on to Cortez, CO. We arrived at the gas stop in Cortez exhausted. There along side of us at the gas pumps was a pickup truck with two sheep in it – to weird. We were all tired and hot and it was late. It was around 5pm and we still had the last 50 miles into Durango.

We rolled into Durango just as the sun was starting to set. Barb and Rick Sanecki (who had left a couple of days earlier than we did) were waiting for us at the hotel. We all unloaded and then looked for food. A few of us walked right next door to Zia Taqueria, which was a lot like a Chipotle so Evan felt right at home. Some others went down the street to another Mexican restaurant, and the others were on their own. We all turned in pretty early that night. Bob and Joe finally arrived about 9:30. Turns out Joe had a broken valve stem – but unfortunately he broke down in Navajo territory. AAA does not service Navajo territory, so he had to rely upon the local towing service. He was towed back to the Chevron in Tuba city where the nice Indian charged him $300 for a $2 part – and Joe and Bob had to do all the labor. They also tried to sell him a helmet equipped with some great Steer horns; he passed on the helmet. We did see another sucker on the road on our way home wearing the helmet though lol.

The next morning we were awoken by Scott, Terry, Luiz, and Minita pulling out at 6am to ride the long route through Silverton for breakfast, and out over 400 miles. We said goodbye to Rick and Barb Sanecki who were taking the train into Silverton. We watched the Battery Boys, Richard and Joe take off to the Honda/Yamaha dealer in town to get new batteries and get Joe’s tire checked. The rest of us saddled up and started a great journey. We rode up the Million Dollar Highway (550) to Silverton stopping a couple of times for some photos. A few times we were stuck behind some slow moving trucks, but that just allowed us to sight see a little more. It was on our way to Silverton where a 100 pound jack rabbit tried to kill me. The group was making its way up a hill when a large rabbit ran out into the road right in front of me, did a 360, stopped 3 inches from my front tire, then off up the hillside. I thought I was done for. I slammed on my brakes, forcing the whole group to stop quickly. Luckily no one was hurt and I am sure the rabbit was waving bye and laughing as we continued on.

The only word to describe the entire ride was Wow. There is too much to describe here, you just need to look at the pictures the other riders took and then go there yourself. Really amazing. We rode into Silverton and had breakfast at the Brown Bear Café. We walked in and learned that they had been warned that we were coming from the first group. Breakfast was really great; great service, neat restaurant, and great food. We then took a couple of hours to tour and shop. Clouds were starting to roll in and it was time to get moving and hopefully avoid the rain. (Note: Scott, Terry, Luiz, and Minita got poured on – have Scott show you his video.)

We started onour way to Telluride when the sky really got looking dark and like it would pour at any moment. We stopped so some of the group could put on some rain gear – this was insurance that it wouldn’t rain on us – and it worked. We only experienced a little drizzle. We rode through Telluride and out until the road ended. At the end of the road is a mountain with several waterfalls and a house built just off to the right of the start of one. I understand there is a service road that goes to this house, but I don’t see how they built it there. Another Kodak moment.

A couple of people were hungry, so we tried to find somewhere to stop in Telluride, but could not find any parking, so we stopped at the Conoco for gas, and ate a little there. Real fine dining lol. From Telluride we made our way around the mountain aiming for Cortez. Bob’s GPS suggested a quicker route back to Durango, by making a left turn up a ways. We tried to tell him it was probably a dirt road but his curiosity was too strong and he shot off past us in search of a short cut. A sort time later we met up with him along the roadside where he admitted it was a dirt road and that he would be rejoining the group. Lesson learned, don’t follow Bob if he thinks he has a short cut! We continued through Dolores, and Mancos into Durango. The first group arrived shortly after and all were back safe and sound.

We decided to all make our way up the street to the Serious Texas Barbeque. It didn’t seem that far up the road when we road past it that morning but it was a long walk up hill after a long day. The food was ok, nothing earth shattering, but then again it was barbeque. Lucky for us the walk back was down hill. We all gathered out on the patio (what I think might have once been a pool but was now grass) after diner and enjoyed the cool breeze. A small group of people walked up to the fence and asked if we were Star. It was a group from the Flagstaff chapter who were on a short overnighter through the area. They had seen one of our vests and decided to walk down the street and say hi. I guess Star is everywhere lol. We talked to them for a bit and then one by one we all turned in.

We rode out of Durango and stopped in Cortez for gas and then breakfast – Denny’s is right next door to a Shell station. We all attempted to get breakfast and gas within an hour and we came close. From Cortez we rode down to Four Corners (the place where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico all meet). All around the monument there are booths where the local Indians sell their jewelry, t-shirts, etc. A few purchases and a few photos and we were off. Back through Kayenta, Az and then back to the scene of the crime – Tuba City. We all had an early lunch and then we were back on the bikes and headed for the Grand Canyon.

Our first stop was at the Watchtower on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We toured the tower and the viewing area. We then loaded up and moved a bit down the road to second viewing area and took a lot more pictures. One last gas stop in Tusayan – here it was obvious that we were all getting tired and ready to get to the hotel. The day was long and people were starting to drag.

Finally, we arrived in Williams. As we checked in and unloaded we saw a Venture in the parking lot that looked really familiar. Turns out that David Heise, the president of the Flagstaff chapter was passing through and happened to be there. He and Bob ran off and had dinner together. The decision was that were we going no where for dinner. Dinner had to come to us – so we ordered pizza. As usual the group took over the parking lot and sat in a big circle. It was a really great evening. At one point we insisted that Brian Hefter take a group shot of us in the parking lot. We told him he needed to climb up to the second floor to set up the shot, and then he would run down to be in the picture, then we made him do it several more times. Too funny. After a nice evening we all turned in to get ready for the last leg home.

We took off from the hotel at 6:30 and made the big three block ride down to breakfast at the Pine Country Inn. It was there that Joe Magdelano presented me with the Jackalope (you got to see the pictures or the video) for my near miss with the 200 pound jack rabbit on my way up to Silverton.

After gassing up in Williams, we made out way out to Kingman. It was in Kingman that several members decided that they wanted to take a different route home. So we ended up in three groups leaving Kingman – one group was taking the original route home via the 95 through Twenty-nine Palms, another group was taking the 15 through to the 91 and the third group was going through Amboy. Turns out that all three got home about the same time – go figure.

My group (the original route) rode out through Lake Havasu, into Parker were we gassed up. Then out through the oven and 109 degrees to Yucca Valley. Here we got gas and had lunch, then pressed on home. Aside from a few little mishaps, we were all home safe and sound and had a great trip! Can’t wait to go back to Colorado again.

June Chapter Ride - Mt Pinos

There is a lot of history for me in the Mt. Pinos ride. It was my first ride with the chapter and it was my first ride as a ride captain. Because of that I was really excited to go there again. This is not a ride for the casual rider. By the end of the day we would have ridden 385 miles plus over a lot of twisties.

Because of this we started the meeting a little early with lots of info on our ride to Colorado the following week. Three rockers were presented by Glenn Sandstrom: a long deserved Tail Gunner rocker for Ken Indorf, a well deserved Shepherd rocker for Richard Von Luft and an equally well deserved Tail Gunner rocker for Chuck Giambitti. Once the business was completed it was time for the raffle and 50/50. Raffle items were won by Paul McInerny, Glen Sandstrom, Patty Giambitti, Mike Fry, and Ken Indorf and the 50/50 was won by Paul McInerny! Congratulations to everyone!

We split into two groups of ten bikes each with a total of 23 riders. I led group 1 and Ken Indorf led group 2 (he’s training, go Ken). We started off down the 57 to the 22 and before we even got onto the on ramp we were stopped. There had been a truck meets wall issue on the on ramp so we worked to get over to the right hand lane and shortly we were passed the accident and it was smooth sailing. From the 22 we merged onto the 405 N and then up to the 10W and out to the beach. It was a little chilly for a June morning with some low clouds at the beach, but we would be soon moving inland so that was no worry. We followed the coast up to Malibu for our first gas stop, and then up through Ventura and into Oxnard where we merged onto the 33 and out through Ojai. Once we were off of the freeways we started our first set of twisties up through the mountains. Our second gas stop was a very small gas station so we did a gas and go to make room for group 2. We then continued up and over the mountains and finally arrived at Mike’s Pizza in Lake of the Woods.

Lunch was great. If you are ever in the Frazier Park area and want some great pizza, Mike’s is the place. Our group took over the entire restaurant. They were nice enough to send out some fries to each table while we waited and provided a ton of free refills! The pizza was really good – and I hear the salads and calzone were also amazing.

Once we were all fed, we saddled up and started our way up to Mt Pinos. The ride up this mountain is really great, lots of twists and turns and some really awesome views. At the top of the mountain is a big parking lot with a ranger station where we stopped and took a group picture. We then made our way down the mountain and out to Lebec for our last gas stop. We had noticed a little bit of ash from the fires on our bikes when we left the restaurant, but by the time we got to the gas station we were pretty coated. The air was really thick and the smoke was everywhere. The view out towards Lake Hughes was really sad – big orange smoke clouds rising above the mountains.

Mt Pinos is a long ride and makes for a long day. A decision was made to call the ride in Lebec, rather than make our way back to El Torito where we usually end up. This way we could all get home a little earlier. So it was at this time we all said our goodbyes and hugs all around. We stayed in our two groups and followed the 5 down towards the 210. It was really shocking to see the fire on the ridge above us, even saw a few flames. We continued down the 5 to the 210 and onto the 57. From this point members peeled off to make their way home. At the end there were only four of us in group one hitting the 405 north into the beach cities. Still one of my favorite rides!