Here is the first of two posts of the return home from my DeTour ride in
2006. Its been posted here before but this might be an easy read today.
Best,
Jeff Saline
The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota
75 R90/6, 03 KLR650
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Listers,
Albuquerque, NM to Paonia, CO plus 15 miles
Travel time: 10 hrs 57 mins Distance: 488 miles
Steve rides away and now what? Heck, I need to go to Tramway and that's
where he's gotta go too. I turn right and go about a block and realize
I'm going the wrong way. He's heading south and I want to head north. I
do a U-turn, go a block and then turn right. I ride using the GPS to get
me to Tramway and turn left. Heck, it's 6 in the morning and no traffic
to speak of. This is pretty cool. I try to follow the directions Kent
gave me yesterday and I think I'm doing ok. I pass under I-25 and the
construction. There's a fuel station on the left so I pull in and get
fuel. I log the fuel and get going. In 1 1/2 miles I'm at 313 and turn
right. Nine miles later I'm at 44 turning left and heading for 4. Steve
and I had talked about riding on 4 as part of De Tour and I'm gonna find
out if it would have been worth it. It would have been worth it on De
Tour and it is worth it for the ride today too. Four is a paved two lane
in pretty good shape and has a few twists in it. The countryside is nice
and I enjoy the ride. The road takes me to some high country and I get a
few decent views and some cooler air. I stop and put on my jacket liner.
The road stays high and is really pretty fun. It's not the most direct
route for getting to Colorado but it sure is worth the ride. I get to a
descent a few miles before 502 and a heavy equipment hauler is in front
of me. He's running empty and the operator is very skilled. It's
obvious he's been on this road before and knows exactly where to slow
down and when to swing wide. His trailer scrapes the road surface a few
times as he makes his way around the switchbacks. At 502 he turns left
so I continue straight ahead. I get fuel in Espanola and then take 84
north to Chama. Steve and I rode a bit of the pavement near Chama two
years ago on the Great Divide Ride. Some of it looks familiar and I turn
left just before Chama. I pass the campground we spent a night at and
also the car wash where we unloaded the mud from our bikes. The road is
almost void of travelers and a stiff side wind is kicking up. I stop at
a sign marking the Continental Divide and take a picture. These roads
are pretty good and not crowded. I'm playing tag with a guy on a
Oilyhead GS and a girl on a Duc. They seem to be traveling light and
after they pass me I seem to pass them further along. I continue to
Pagosa Springs where I get fuel and take a good drink of water. I take
160 towards South Fork and come on some very pretty country with fabulous
views. And much to my surprise I come to Wolf Creek Pass. I've heard
neat stories about Wolf Creek Pass but have never been here before.
There's a nice water fall near the bottom and I stop for a few seconds to
take a picture. Then I continue to climb and climb and climb. There are
some bicyclists riding uphill and I'm very grateful my engine is running
strong. About 3/4 the way to the top a van is pulled to the side of the
road and one of the cyclists is leaning against it. The van has a banner
on it about an Oceanside to Ocean City ride. I can only guess that means
CA to NJ. At the top my GPS reads 10,714 feet. It looks like I could
squeeze another few feet out of it by moving forward in the huge pull
off. I don't. People are in the meadow and you can see paths where
folks are walking out to the snowpack and one guy is towing a sled. As I
pull away from the top a guy with the camera crew for the bike tour takes
my picture. The ride down the other side is great with good views and a
river along side the road for much of the way. At South Fork I pass the
GS and Duc and wave. Then I turn west and north on 149. The wind is
kicking pretty hard now and I slow to 45 mph and just mosey along. I'm
not in a real rush although I can feel the tug of getting home working on
me. I take a break along a nice section of road that borders on the Rio
Grande river. I haven't gotten to Creede yet. I eat a breakfast bar and
drink some water. I've been on the bike almost continuously since this
morning and the walking around and taking some pictures feels good. I'm
glad I don't have to concentrate on the road for a few minutes. At
Creede the wind is really blowing and there are a few tree limbs on the
road. I remind myself to pay attention and avoid any problems. The GS
and Duc pass me and wave and 5 miles ahead they are pulled to the side of
the road taking a break. I wave at them and everything is ok. I ride
over Spring Creek Pass at 10,898 feet and stop for a picture of the sign.
This is a wonderful road. A little while later I top Slumgullion Summit
at 11,530 feet. My GPS only shows 11,469 feet. They must mean the real
summit for their elevation. Just as I'm getting on the bike a county
dump truck comes rolling by. And then another one. Both are going my
way. Wow, I just messed up the timing for this descent. I get behind
the dump trucks and just have a nice leisurely ride down the switchbacks.
The GS and Duc show up behind me and I drop back a bit and wave them
ahead of me. They ride for a mile or two and the GS sprints past the
first dump truck. The Duc rider isn't quite as aggressive and hangs
back. I can tell she's not very experienced as the lines she's riding
are jerky and she's having to constantly correct and use the brakes.
After a few miles she passes the truck and since it's safe I pass it too.
I follow the Duc as she moves along to catch up with the GS. A few
miles further we enter Lake City and see the GS at a store and the Duc
turns in. I wave and continue my northern trek. I'm making good time
and enjoying the ride. The wind has calmed quite a bit and I just ride
along without many cares. I play with the GPS a bit and decide it's time
to start figuring out where I'm gonna spend the night tonight. I don't
see any nearby campgrounds indicated on the screen and also don't see
much public land available for camping. Not even a good dirt road I can
sneak down and pitch a tent. So I keep riding. I'm eyeing my fuel
situation knowing fuel is still a good distance off. I'm heading towards
Paonia and know I have to make a good fuel decision before taking 92 off
of 50. That'll put me in the middle of nowhere and no hope of fuel
anywhere near. I finally get to the intersection of 149 and 50 and it's
at the east end of Blue Mesa Reservoir. I stop for a quick break and to
make the decision whether I turn right and go to Gunnison about 20 miles
in the wrong direction but where I know I can get fuel. Or decide to
turn left and hope I can get fuel before turning north on 50 towards
Paonia. I decide to use the Steve Rankin fuel decision making matrix and
look at my trip meter. I've gone about 180 miles since I last filled up
and Paonia is only maybe 60 more miles. That puts me at 240 miles to
Paonia which normally has a fuel station open until probably 8 pm. I can
probably get at least 240 miles on the tank before I hit reserve. The GS
and Duc come shooting past me and wave as they go by. They turn right
towards Gunnison. I get on the bike and turn left to Paonia. I was on
this section of 50 in 2001 when I rode my 1975 BMW R90/6 to the Top O'
the Rockies rally held there. I remember it as running along the
reservoir and being an ok ride. Then turning onto 92 towards Paonia the
road gets small and twisty and very interesting. I continue on 50 and a
few miles up the road I ask a lady walking a dog about fuel stops in my
direction. She thinks there might be fuel a few miles up the road. I
say thanks and head on my way. I don't see a fuel stop and get to my
turn north on 92. About 3/4 of a mile along the road there's a sign
showing fuel available 3 miles down a side road. I decide it's not where
I want to go and press on. Stopping at the next pull off I take a few
pictures and enjoy the views. I can see snow capped peaks in the
distance and below me maybe 1,000 feet is the Grand Canyon of the
Gunnison. I'm looking down at a pretty steep angle and think "what would
happen if I fell?" Man, someone would get a pretty good dual sport bike.
I mount up and head off. This 92 is a fine road. It has twist after
twist after twist after twist after... I take it easy as I know I'm
tired and there might not be anybody on this road again until the
morning. The land on both side is private and posted. I keep looking
for a place to pitch a tent but I'm surely not going to trespass unless I
have a mechanical issue I can't fix on the spot. After maybe 15 miles I
decide to not camp until I've got fuel in Paonia. That eliminates any
temptation to camp where I'm not welcome. I ride on and finally get to a
more populated area. Then comes Crawford and is a right turn on the dump
road to Paonia. This will save me probably 8 miles versus going to
Hotchkiss and then to Paonia. I ride along for a few miles and see a
pickup truck approaching with it's flashers blinking away. I slow down
and then almost stop. This is the second time I've ever been on this
road and this is the second time I've had to ride through a cattle drive.
I ask the rancher if it's ok to ride through and he says something that
sounds like "Hell yes, go ahead!" So I drop into 1st and slowly ride
along near the shoulder. There are probably 200 or more cattle in this
herd and three or four riders on horseback accompany them. The riders
look at me like I'm nuts but the cattle don't seem to care one way or the
other. They usually move out of the way and give me almost a lane of
clearance. Usually. One old cow decides she doesn't have to move. I
don't think I could slap her on the rump but I was close enough to tell
she needed a bath. Matter of fact they all needed a good washing. I get
through the herd and in a few miles I'm in Paonia. I've been here a few
times for the rally and the town seems to really like the bikes. I go to
the gas station near the high school, fill up and ask the clerk if folks
are allowed to camp overnight in the park. We do it during the rally but
I don't know about the rest of the year. She doesn't know so I head over
to the park to see if it's posted. When I'm almost there I see a guy
walking three dogs and ask him. He doesn't know either but says they
allow camping during the rally. He supposes it's ok. I thank him and
head over to the entrance. I stop and take a good look at the sign. No
camping. I decide I don't need to test the waters on this issue and
think I can probably find a camping spot further up the road. But I've
probably only got another 45 minutes of light so I decide to move along.
Riding up 133 the North Fork of the Gunnison River parallels the road. I
seem to remember a campground up near a reservoir and figure maybe I can
get there before dark. I pass through Bowie and Somerset which aren't
much more than names on a map. Then I see a slight track to the right
that looks like it might lead to near the river and a camping spot. I
figure it's almost dark and once it is nobody will know I'm camping next
to the river. I think this may be an old fishing access trail. So I
check both directions and nobody is in sight. I turn off the road and
take the track. It immediately goes downhill and cuts hard to the left.
As soon as I'm out of sight of the road I stop and look to see what I've
got myself into. The road is heavily overgrown and rutted and steep. I
decide I can make it and brush a few tree branches away as I ride down
the track quickly getting to level ground. I ride about 100 yards and
decide to park. The paved road is in plain sight only maybe 75 yards
away and 30 feet above me. But it's not very heavily traveled and I
don't think anyone will see me as you'd have to be looking for me instead
of watching the road. I park the bike and walk ahead 50 yards to see if
I have another way out. It's blocked by downed trees and a fence. I
find a few old campfire rings and decide I'm home for the evening. I
quickly set up my tent and hope it blends in well with the browning
grasses and trees. My air mattress is quickly inflated and I'm ready for
some sleep. Tonight is a no hot dinner night as I don't want to
advertise my presence with a flame in the dark. I drink some water, make
sure the bike is on firm ground and save the GPS track from the day's
ride. I make a few quick notes in the log about the route but there
really isn't much to write. The roads were good and the traffic light.
The passes were high and rivers flowed fast. And the day was long and
I'm pretty tired. It's almost dark by now so I crawl into the tent and
set my alarm clock for 5 am. I want to be up with first light to strike
camp and be on my way before the road gets busy. I lay down and think a
bit about the day and before I know it I'm asleep.
End of the Ride Home, 1st Day.
Jeff Saline
ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal
Airheads Beemer Club
www.airheads.org
The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota
75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT
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