More pictures from Maria and Natasha's Swap Day

Phil, Natasha's former owner, took some pictures of his own while traveling here with Natasha and his wife Sharon and their two labrador retrievers.

Here's Natasha's trip from Oklahoma using Phil's pictures. Thanks Phil!

Natasha leaving Phil's Shop

At the border of her new home state

You've already seen pictures of the actual swap: LINK Here's a couple shots of yours truly, taken by Phil:

My last shot as Maria's owner

Done deal

Phil and Sharon then drove Maria out of my life, but hopefully not for good. Both parties expressed a desire to keep in touch. Phil and Sharon said they'd check in on Natasha via the blog; we told them to send us pictures of their future travels with Maria.

Here's a couple of shots of Maria as she made her way to her new home in Oklahoma:

Maria leaving her old home state

Entering her new home state

Resting sedately from her long trailer ride, her new digs seem quite spacious!

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye Maria

For those of you who've seen and enjoyed the movie "Sound of Music", you know that I've used the names of the female characters in the movie as names of my vehicles.

source: google images

Brigitta, one of the younger girls of the movie's Von Trapp family, is the name chosen for my 1987 R80 Beemer. (Front row, all the way to the right)

Brigitta

Liesl, the "I am sixteen, going on seventeen" girl, is the name I chose for my 1987 560SL Mercedes Benz Convertible. I thought she was my midlife crisis, little did I know it would be motorcycling! (Second row, all the way to the right in first photo)

Liesl

My big 420SEL Mercedes Benz, who was not long with us, was named Elsa after the Baroness in the movie.

Elsa

Lastly, there's Maria, my 2004 R1150RT Beemer, she was named thus because my wife stated: "Once the Captain found Maria, there would be no more for him". At the time, a thinly veiled warning to me to be happy with the RT since I had just traded in my 2006 Honda Shadow Aero (Gretchen, front row, second from right in first photo) for her.

Maria's been with me since OCT of 2006 and today I am swapping her for a 1996 Ural Sportsman Sidecar Motorcycle.

Maria, waiting for her new owner.

She will be missed but I think she'll get more riding from her new owner than from me. My motorcycling focus has gone from long distance riding to mountain trail explorations and wanderings here in the great state of Colorado. It it in this kind of riding that I believe the Ural will excel.

I picked Maria up with 19,437 miles on her odometer, she leaves me with 69,505 miles on her odometer. That makes it 50, 068 miles that we rode together. We had an excellent run, and I believe she'll take Phil right past 100,000 miles with no major issues.

So auf wiedersehen Maria, have fun in your new home in Oklahoma.

Riding Two Up with Miles

On a whim, this morning I tried putting my spare helmet on Miles, my recently turned 10 year old son. It fit him pretty good, I was surprised to find, and so the idea of a short ride with my son developed speed.

Pretty soon he had my spare summer mesh riding jacket on, a bit long but the armor was in the right spots. Jeans with scooter kneepads and summer gloves completed his ATGATT ensemble.


I got my own gear on and off we went. Miles started off riding by holding onto my waist. We went along a few miles like this and all was going well.

I made a stop and asked if he wanted to try using the grab bars....he did and off we went again, with him apparently leaning back onto the topcase. We took the long way home and I called ahead to my wife as we got near the house. She was outside, ready with the camera as I entered the cul-de-sac and circled around a few times.





So, Miles' first ride was a success even though the temperatures were a bit warm. Both of us were slight sweaty from the heat but big smiles were all around.

Maria and Brigitta go out riding together

For the first time ever, both my motorcycles: Maria the 1150RT and Brigitta the R80 Airhead, went for a ride together.

Since there's only one of me (a fact that is sometimes a comfort to women everywhere), there's no way for me to ride the two motorcycles I own at the same time. Well, that changed today.

Gary, who used to be my next door neighbor, who had moved away over a year ago to Missouri; was here for the day. He flies for Frontier Airlines and his daughter was visiting a friend in the neighborhood. Gary was at loose ends so he proposed to take me up on a repeated offer of mine from the past to go riding.

He shows up shortly after 9 AM and after lending him my old riding jacket and some gloves, we were off. Gary was on Brigitta and I was on Maria. It was really fascinating to me, to see how Brigitta looked in my side mirrors! She sounded pretty good to when Gary would pull up next to me at stoplights.

We went down on CO 83, aka Parker Road, past Parker and Franktown. I then took him up CO 11 where we found many patches of gravel which slowed us way down. Once we got into Castle Rock, I looked for a spot for a photo op with Castle Rock's namesake in the background:

Gary, with the girls

Me and the Girls

We exited Castle Rock, crossed over I-25 and took Wolfenberger Road towards CO 105. Turning south on CO 105, we cruised under sunny skies down to Perry Park and I turned into the development to show Gary the many rock formations there.

Here we are at Camel Rock, one of the more well known of rock formations:

Interesting, how shooting from basically the same location, we used different compositions

It's different, riding with someone else. Way different when he's on your motorcycle! Still, I got to see Brigitta as others see her, and I liked what I saw.

After Perry Park, we cruised through to Palmer Lake and had a quick lunch at Monument. We then crossed back over I-25 and headed east back towards Parker Road. The skies were darkening quickly and I could see a rain storm approaching from the west. We hurried north on CO 83 and got near home just short of 3:00 PM I believe.

One short stop to pick up a birthday cake to surprise my loving wife with and off we went for home. We got caught in a pretty good rain shower due to the cake stop but it was worth it to see the look on her face when I brought it out. I even managed to get three of her friends to show up to sing Happy Birthday to her.

Gary and I even worked in a late evening ride after the guests had departed. We saw perhaps six deer in the fields on either side of the county roads I'd selected. We only rode perhaps 50 miles during the evening ride but it was all good. This time Gary rode Maria and I was on Brigitta.

Again, it was weird seeing Maria in my side mirrors being ridden by someone else, but again I liked what I saw. I must figure out a way to safely take a picture of my bikes when ridden by someone else while I too am riding.

A good day of riding, a bit less than 200 miles total I'd say. Looks like Brigitta's odometer records more miles than Maria's odometer though. At the end of the first ride, Maria reported 8 miles less than Brigitta's total.....hmmmm.

Riding with a Fellow Rounder

This weekend, I had the pleasure of riding some of my favorite routes with a fellow yearround rider from S.E. Texas. We call ourselves rounders, and met with other like-minded individuals online at www.yearroundriders.com

Ken hails from Beaumont, TX where he and his Suzuki Bandit, show the mostly HD cruiser crowd in the area what it means to be a yearround rider. Ken was even seen out on his motorcycle after the snow they had down in Beaumont this past winter, a rare event for S.E. Texas. The snow pretty much locked everything down from schools to businesses but not Ken, he was out riding....the snow did not stick to the streets you see.

So Ken got himself a kitchen pass from his loving wife this past week and journeyed up to the great state of Colorado to see for himself some of the rides I'd documented in this blog. I was fortunate to have time to go riding with him on Saturday and Sunday. Ken is a great rider, can ride for hours with no apparent issues, and was maneuvering his overloaded Bandit on muddy roads with not one fall while cruising through the Rocky Mountain National Park.

On Saturday, we met at Idaho Springs at Noon and we rode up to the top of Mount Evans. We had great weather and I have to say, Ken has great karma in terms of attracting photogenic animals to appear for his camera. I counted over 12 mountain goats near the top of Mount Evans, some even trotted right by his stopped motorcycle! In all my times up this road, I've seen only one lousy goat, and he was begging for snacks at the visitor center on top of the mountain!

Ken and his Bandit, on the way up the Mount Evans Road

Ken at Summit Lake, near the top of Mount Evans

Notice how close this one of several mountain goats just casually walked in front of Ken's motorcycle! Photo courtesy of Ken.

Ken took a picture of me as I looked on in disgust at his luck in attracting the mountain goats for pictures! Note the clouds below our level! We were at times, riding above the clouds!

Our riding on Saturday was cut short though as we were winging our way down CO 103 towards Bergen Park. Brigitta, my 1987 R80, while I was engine-braking down the mountain road; started making the most awful metal sounds and I lost the ability to shift gears.

I coasted to a stop and Ken and I determined that either the transmission or the clutch throwout bearing were probably toast. Dammit! Oh, and to add to things, no signal received on either of our cell phones.

I was able to get her into first gear after several tries and we road/limped on down the mountain, making it all the way to Bergen Parkway before Brigitta refused to go into gear anymore. Depressed, I called for the tow truck while Ken waited with me in the strong rain and lightning and thunder that then occurred. Poor guy had to follow me on his Bandit in the rain while I sat nice and dry in the tow truck. We left Brigitta to be diagnosed at Bavarian Motorcycles West. Pete Homan was guessing it sounded like the transmission input spline gears were sheared away and the clutch plate would also have to be replaced. Dammit! Almost 23 years old and that's all the thing lasted? : )

I learned, the hard way as usual, that while Airhead engines might go 100K before needing an overhaul, transmission will only last about 50K before needing an overhaul. Not only that but that pesky transmission input spline has to be lubed every 10K miles, 15K miles max!

Ken took this shot of me by poor Brigitta, right after it had stopped raining/hailing on us while we waited for the tow truck to arrive.

So now we shall see what the repair costs will be. : (

Sunday, today, went much better. Maria, my 2004 R1150RT, though a bit out of tune due to my hamfisted efforts to change her idle speed; stepped in as the "spare bike" and Ken and I rode about 340 miles or so. We made a big loop, starting at Red Rocks Park near Morrison, riding then on US285 all the way down past Buena Vista and the Collegiate Peaks, getting down to Salida and riding east on US50 to Cañon City so Ken could ride Skyline Drive. We had to make up for yesterday's lost time you see.

Red Rocks Park, near Morrison, CO

Along the Arkansas River, riding on US50 heading East

On Skyline Drive

Man, I was tired at the end of today's riding! Ken looked like he was ready for more! And more is what he's going to get....he's still got the ride back to Beaumont, Texas over the next two days.

It was great riding with Ken, the first yearrounder I've met in person! He's now thinking of planning a yearrounder get-together for New Years down in Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, TX. Could be fun!

Maria and her magical gas tank?

A recent posting told you about a farkle I'd gotten for my motorcycles, that being an external Kolpin Gas can and mounting bracket. One of the objectives for said gas can was to ensure I would make it to the next gas station if the one I'd been counting on had been closed for example.

Yesterday, after I'd gotten home from the airport, my digital gas gauge (which had for months been displaying a bar or two too low) showed no bars. This is supposed to mean that I am soon to be low on gas. My odometer said I was at 195 miles since the last tanking up, and since I usually tank up around the 200 mile mark I figured it was time.

Cool I said to myself, good chance to see how long I can go AFTER the low fuel warning light comes on, which should be in the next few miles.

After dinner, I mounted the Kolpin gas tank and went to the gas station to put one gallon of gas in the external tank, nothing for Maria.

I then headed out to Quincy road for a safe road to "run out of gas" on since it had little traffic, was a paved two lane with mostly good shoulders to pull over on when I ran out of gas.

The "low fuel" warning light came on at mile 203, so far so good I said to myself, just as I expected it to. I wandered up and down Quincy Road, all the way to Tom Bay Rd and back to Gun Club Rd, racking up over 40 miles with no indication from Maria that she was out of fuel!

I maintained a steady 60 mph speed at 4100 rpm throughout this riding just to keep the variables to a minimum.

Weird I said to myself, but I kept on going. It was getting dark by now so I headed to the local auto parts store to pick up some Techron fuel injector cleaner and then wandered about the neighborhood streets. Still no signs of running out of gas!

Once I went over 51 miles with the yellow "low fuel" light still brightly lit I said the heck with this, the warning light must be skewed due to the fuel level meter having been skewed for some time. Remember, it had been reading one to two bars too low for quite a few months now.

So I headed for the gas station, figuring I'd fill up the tank to the brim and see how much gas I really had left.

Surprise, surprise, I was able to put in 6.8 gallons of fuel! Why surprise? Because the manual says the tank holds 6.6 gallons of fuel! So, either the gas station's pump is way off or I was at the cusp of running out of fuel or both.

I double-checked the manual for Maria and yep, she's supposed to hold 6.6 gallons only, and the "low fuel" light is supposed to come on when only 1 gallon of fuel remains.

I'll try it again when this present tank runs low again in 200 miles or so. On the plus side, I know I can go at least 40 if not 50 miles more when my "low fuel" light comes on. It'll be interesting to see if this is a constant and repeatable condition for Maria.

A Windblown Ride to Manitou Springs

The day was forecast to be overcast with a slight chance of rain and a high of only in the mid-50s. All proved to be true, what they did not mention or I missed was the really strong winds from the South! Ay Caramba!.

After an abortive attempt at heading towards Colorado Springs in the mid-morning (got rain/wind and sub40s temperatures which drove me back home), I did manage to make it down there by 2:00 PM after lunch. The ride down CO83, after I passed through Parker and Franktown, was straight into some pretty strong winds. It was not too bad as long as I was pointed South, then the wind gusts would hit me almost head on.

There was one seemingly endless stretch of CO83 where I turned East for a bit, then the wind would hit me broadside and I started having to lean hard to the right in order to keep a barely straight line and stay in my lane! I was sure glad when the road turned southwards once more time....scary stuff.

I stopped by Colorado Motorsports to pick up a farkle for Maria, it will be the subject of a future posting. After, I programmed my GPS to take me to Cutler Hall, the original building of the Colorado College, founded in part by General Palmer back in 1874.

Here's Cutler Hall, which was first named Palmer Hall by the way:


A whole campus worth of buildings, some quite ornate, others boringly modern surround Cutler Hall now as the college has grown. As you can see, a few trees have grown around it as well.

I left Colorado College and Colorado Springs behind me as I sought the sun which was illuminating the next valley over to the west, the location of Manitou Springs. Manitou is a UTE indian name for Spirit. There's more here in the city's historical website: LINK

A little research off the DPL website had produced some old historical photographs of renowned buildings which made up Manitou Springs back in the old days. The first example was Barker's House, a hotel back in the day and it apparently continues to provide lodging for the town's visitors who continue to come to Manitou Springs to partake of its spring waters.

Nearby is the Wheeler Clock, a distinctive sculpture which also included a clock for the use of the passersby:

Next stop was the Cliff House Hotel, another of the landmarks for which Manitou Springs was known for:

I continued West on Manitou Avenue where most of the above sights were located, ended up at the entrance to the "Cave of the Winds" tourist attraction. You get to the parking lot via a series of tight hairpin turns with few safe spots for posing one's motorcycle. However, some slow riding enabled me to get these shots:

Williams Canyon, with the "Cave of the Winds" building on the left, under overcast skies

Williams Canyon during a moment of sunlight

I got back into Manitou Springs and headed towards the Cog Railroad Depot, on the way there I saw this huge sign pointing the way to Miramont Castle Museum. It's quite an impressive structure, a mix of architectural styles apparently cobbled together from the original builder's memories of his world travels for the church: Jean Baptiste Francolon. More info here: LINK

Soon afterwards, I finally got to the Cog Railroad Depot, where tourist from back in the old days and today still, ride the Cog Rail all the way to the top of Pikes Peak.

Such a small little engine

By now it was 5:00PM and high time for me to start heading home. I took the I-25 super slab and under finally consistently sunny skies, I raced on home in medium traffic. I caught to and passed a fellow rider on what looked like to be a R100GS Airhead. I caught sight of him behind me, off and on, until I turned East onto E-470.

That was a mistake! Up till then, the strong winds which I'd fought all the way down to Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs had been at my back and no real issue. As soon as I started heading eastbound, I was again broadsided by very strong wind gusts! I made it past the first toll gateway and soon after exited on the Chambers Road exit, the winds were just too damn strong for me after so many hours of riding today.

The rest of the ride home was on city surface roads, where the occasional wind gust could be felt but I did not think I was going to get blown into the next lane. Got home with no real issue except some tiredness from riding and fighting the winds; along with sore wrists from manhandling Maria's sometimes behemoth-like weight when positioning her for photographs in Manitou Springs. I swear, the whole town had more inclined roads than flat roads!

Friday Afternoon near Red Rocks Park

I'd managed to rack up enough hours by early this morning, what with all the nighttime changes and long days this week, to take most of today off. Needless to say, I went riding.

The temperatures were in the mid to high 50s when I started out shortly after noon, overcast skies for the most part though there was occasional sunshine here and there. I took the E470/C470 slabs over to the vicinity of Morrison, Colorado. The town lies to the immediate west of the Denver Metro area and southwest of Golden.

Near Morrison itself is Denver's Red Rocks Park. Home to an amphitheater carved out of gigantic red rock formations, and a favorite place for me in terms of posing my motorcycles for pictures. I was riding Maria today, my 2004 R1150RT Beemer. I am currently running some fuel injector cleaner through the next couple of tankfuls to help with the mild surging. The injector cleaner fluid seems to be helping, along with adjusting the pre-load on my rear shock absorber.

Here's a link to the history and geology of Red Rocks: LINK

Anyways, here's some pictures I took of Maria as I slowly rode through Red Rocks Park. Not many cagers visiting and viewing, I even ran into a young fellow on a new Ducati motorcycle.

You can see the park's Trading Post just past the large rock formations

Sorry about the water drops on the lens, I was briefly rained on while in the park and didn't notice it had hit the lens

Built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

Once I left Red Rocks Park, I headed to the nearby town of Morrison where I rode about looking for interesting sights. It's a small town, full of tourist traps and restaurants. However, it does have this unique display of a vintage Fire Engine from yesteryear:

I had to shed a layer before I left Morrison as the temperatures were now high 50s to low 60s! I headed South on C-470 until I got to the Wadsworth Boulevard exit. I'd been watching these storm clouds as I rode south and found a good spot near Deer Creek Canyon Road to take this pano shot:

Looks pretty wicked doesn't it? However, it did not last long. It had become nice white fluffy clouds by the time I returned from riding the twisty turns on Deer Creek Canyon Road. Lots of gravel on the road so caution was the word of the day. I took this road all the way to the fire station at Fenders, then took South Turkey Creek Road to what I thought was the really small town of "Lost and Found".

I'd ridden past this "town" many times on my way towards US285 on past rides. Today though, after some googling, I found out it's a Substance Abuse Treatment Facility. Oh well.

I rode back the way I came on S. Turkey Creek Road, back through the twists of Deer Creek Canyon Road and back onto the C-470 slab which I took all the way home. 121 miles in about 4 hours of riding.

Snow storm is forecasted for tonight through tomorrow. Hopefully its not as bad as they're predicting.