Actually, these two routes weren't too hard to do in a day. The combined mileage was 369 for me and others in the group had varying mileage since their starting points were from different parts of the city and outside the city.
We had a good time...I had a wonderful time dragging my friends all over the place, too.
I've posted a couple of blogs along with photos on my site: mtnairloversview.wordpress.com
I wanted to take a moment to mention two parts of our route yesterday though.
- Gore Pass - this is a wonderfully twisty and scenic road that isn't traveled much. Unfortunately, since last year, road crews have patched the cracks all along this road with tar. And you know what that means to us...TAR SNAKES! Ugh! Well, it used to be a good route.
- RMNP rangers - I always enjoy talking with park rangers, because of their wealth of knowledge of the park. But, they can get a tad over-zealous. I learned a while ago that you DO NOT speed in the park. Several factors come into play here and one of them is the amount of tourists all over the place, not to mention the wildlife crossing the road. Unfortunately, when we were in the park, one of the rangers flashed his headlights at us as we were coming down the west side of Trail Ridge. When I saw this, I just waved at the guy and kept on going. We were enjoying the views and having a good time just touring. At one point, I pulled off the road onto a pull-out and started snapping photos. Next thing I knew, another ranger came up on us and told us to sit and listen to him. He then proceeded to give us a speech about speeding because a ranger had seen 5 bikers coming down the road at a high rate of speed...EXCUSE ME! What's hard about this whole thing was that we were not speeding. And to be accused of it is hard to take. With that said, here's a few pointers for law enforcement: 1. If you see a rider on a sport bike cruisin down the road coming at you and he's/she's got one hand resting on his/her leg or hip, then he/she is NOT speeding; 2. If you see a sport bike rider take time to wave at you, then he's/she's NOT speeding; 3. If you see a group of sport bike riders wearing all their gear and gazing every now and then at the scenery as they ride, then they are NOT speeding. Note: Indicated on one of our group member's speedo at the point of the flashing lights was 33mph.
I love...no, I absolutely love the state and national parks system. We all need these parks to remain in their pristine conditions for generations to come. And while I know that a complete stranger like a park ranger would not know this, I would appreciate being treated with as much respect as I afford the wildlife of these parks.
Soap box done...how's about some photos of the day?
Tired riders...
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Originally Posted by Ghosty
