Friends...and Family - Colorado 2023

[wheatonFJR]

Never quite sure how to start these things, but here goes...

Prelude
If you have read some of my previous posts regarding this trip, you will note that I am using some items on this trip that someone else is not able to use anymore. I will expound on that later, but for now I will just post some photographs. I found out while mounting tires that the rear brake pads were a little thin...fronts were fine. I also was gifted a new Yamaha cap that I dearly wanted, several in fact, from my #2 son David (Wheaton Jr). I also had a small booboo on my wedding ring finger due to the technical deficiencies at Wheaton Laboratories. IYKYK

















Saturday, June 17th.

-Wake up at 3am, leave at 3:50. Meet Lumberg at QT in Douglasville, GA. Lumberg helps a person who needs it. Cool, foggy in spots in eastern Alabama. Traffic in Memphis. Traveling at about 85/15above speed limit in Alabama/Mississippi. Hot in Arky. I start passing cars, then Lumberg sacrifices and really puts the pedal to the metal. IYKYK. After settling down for a bit in eastern OK, a Trooper lights us up in the passing lane, for impeding traffic. Lol. Got to Weatherford, OK in time for steak and whisky at Lucille’s Roadhouse.


The gloves that Duane couldn't wear...I needed for this ride, due to my self-branding booboo. Thanks Duane...you were on my mind this whole trip.


1066 miles. The one and only time.




Lumberg hands me a bottle of whisky for safekeeping. Why Weatherford? Jwilly picked up this ‘13 from Weatherford on May 11th, 2019.

[wheatonFJR]

Sunday, June18th- Day 2

Lumberg wakes up at an ungodly hour like 3am or something. Who would do that? He is returning back to Atlanta..evidently, riding with Wheaties isn't all its cracked up to be lol. Seriously, Lumberg came out here for a two day ride in the heat to help his friend. He couldn't get more time off of work at the moment, so he did a two day ride to help shepherd his friend out to within striking distance of Colorado. Friends who care do that. or friends that get off on that distance riding stuff anyways. I hate interstates. I think I am allergic or something...but Lumberg made sure we were on the interstates for as short a time as possible. Before, he left, Lumberg asked if I had room for a bottle of one of his favorite whiskies...making it seem like I was doing him a favor. He's sneaky, and his adroit, unexpected, maneuver left me answering his stated question...without considering what he was doing, giving me a gift. He's always playing chess, while I'm playing checkers...dammit again man!

As he headed back east in the darkness into a possible storm that passed through the night before, I returned to sleep. It was a long day for me yesterday and sleep was fitful and included waking up to painful muscle spasms from dehydration and not sipping enough water. The pain was a teacher and let me know not to make that mistake again.

Woke up about 3 hours later and got to packing up. Took FAR longer than it should have, and breakfast as well. But I only had 600 miles to go, right?




When planning this route, I should have payed attention to gas stops and gas stop locations. 2-laners in western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle is not the area to be wondering how far it is to the next gas stop. So I stopped in closer distances than I normally would just to make sure. It is only a 600 mile day, but when you start out late, take a long time at gas stops because the first gas station had pay at the pump gas, but was not open for a pee break, because evidently the "open" sign does not mean the same in Texan as it does in American Engrish. I also often experienced the pleasure of riding past a cattle feedlot about 15 minutes into a tank. lol.


Things just took far longer than they should have, which is frustrating...which you should not be on a vacation. So I just chilled as much as I could. So...I was heading up to the northwestern point of the panhandle because I was going to come into Pagosa Springs Colorado from the south on 84, like griff and I did in August of 21. Only this time it was 82 degrees...and not 104F. Much better this time! From NW Texas, I could see the beginnings of mountains off in the distance in New Mexico. Getting to those mountains, I was forced to take US 64 WB. I loved it in '21, I loved it even more on this Sunday afternoon in '23 because the traffic was close to nill...both bike and cars. Getting around vehicles and through these passes was truly a pleasure that only motorcyclists can understand, FJR riders that I ride with certainly know that joy. Enuf Said.




But this trip was more than just motorcycle fun and beautiful scenery...it was about friends. I hadn't seen Marty since August of 2021 at NAFO. Since that time, we have lost both FJRay and Jwilly...both of whom I saw at that event. I brought an autographed shirt that Ray sent to me, just because I asked years before. I wore it for the first time on this trip at a meal. (Louanne doesn't like a few words on that shirt lol) I also wore a shirt at a meal in Colorado that I wore when Jason brought me that bike after so many miles, not too many years ago. That shirt reads:

Everything happens for a reason;
sometimes that reason is that you
are stupid and make bad choices.

I have made many bad choices in life, and continue to do so, but buying an FJR, and riding with some of the best people and best friends I have ever had is NOT one of them.

You see..this trip is about friends. Marty had a bad, bad accident in 2020 a short time after he, AJ, and Jason went on a trip that I had planned to go on. I regret to this day not being on that trip...but being laid off took that decision away from me. I was determined to go on another trip with those three. Something inexplicable to this day happened in May of '22 and I was not able to ride with Jason anymore. But dammit, I was going to ride with Marty and AJ, no matter what. Yeah, Marty didn't have a motorcycle yet..but I was hoping that would change. He's had difficult times and I just added to that by being a major pain in the ass...texting him frequently and bugging him about getting a bike. Constantly. After all that shit, I'm surprised that he still wanted to ride with me. But he did. Marty and I are friends. One of the proudest statements I can make. I'm not near as smart he is, but he lets me hang with him now and then.

AJ and I are friends, he also is smarter than me and has spent a career helping people despite dangerous situations. I respect the hell out of that...to the depths of my being. Believe it or not, this trip will be the first time AJ and I have ridden together. AJ and his wife C allowed us to visit them in Albuquerque during the annual Balloon Fiesta last fall. This balloon festival has been on Louanne's bucket list for decades...and we have just not been successful getting to it. After Louanne's cancer diagnosis and surgery in September, we left a week later for New Mexico. We were NOT going to miss this! AJ and C made the time out there such a blessing. I cannot express how much Louanne and I appreciated it. I just..CANNOT. So...to be able to ride with AJ and C on this trip is a blessing.

So, back to the trip, you can understand how much this trip means to me, and how, when I arrived in Pagosa Springs, Colorado...a hug for Marty meant a lot...it just did. Of course, Marty and I are joking around and busting on each other as if a day has not passed, even though it's been almost an eternity. We settled into the hotel room and I laid my shit out, took a shower and got refreshed. AJ and C were going to arrive later, so Marty and I walked over to a local milkshake establishment and had a sandwich, tots and shake. Life is good. Colorado and friends.

We get a text later that AJ and C were leaving for Pagosa at 8PM! So, we will get together in the morning and figure out where we are going tomorrow...and that will determine the next day or two after that. In the meantime, I am bushed from work and two days of riding longer than I normally would and on roads I normally don't. I was out quickly.

Next, Monday - June 19th -Day 3, where do we go?

[D-Eagle]

You pulled a 1066 miler in one day? Very impressive my friend.

[0face]

So, I was already at the hotel, when I tracked Wheatie to the gas station next to the hotel. While he was inside, I snuck over to the gas pump and can you believe that fkr takes his keys with him to go pee? I would have taken his bike over to the other side of the hotel, but Nooo... he has to be all Mr. Responsible and keep his keys with him.


I guess he knew I was nearby...LOL

[gixxerjasen]

Somebody touch something electrical with that ring? How's that feel inside a glove holding onto a handlebar? I got goosebumps just thinking about that. Yuck.

[FJRoss]

You pulled a 1066 miler in one day? Very impressive my friend.

That is a "Hastings" day...
Any European history buffs?

[wheatonFJR]

Monday, June 19th - Day 3

Just a note, some of the photographs are Marty's, some are AJs and Cs...I forget which...so if they're good, they're likely not mine.

So, Monday dawned sunny and blue skies in Pagosa Springs Colorado. It is the best of times, knowing that we are beginning this trip together in scenic Colorado as a group. We gathered in the breakfast room of this hotel, greeted each other, talked about everybody's arrival...AJ and C arrived after dark and hooved animals were definitely on their mind. I will let them tell any stories they might have had regarding that. They did say that the temperature dropped quickly after dark. I will say that coming into Pagosa Springs from the south via rt 84 is one of the most beautiful wide mountain pasture scenes you will ever see with the horses, cattle, sheep, and goats on both sides of the road, with snow covered peaks in the distance at this time of the year. I will always treasure that view. So, Marty and AJ, set about trying to figure out where to go and where to end up...as that will set the ride for the following days.

While the smart ones finished their breakfast and got the feel for what people wanted to do...I took a break from the trip planning seminar and took photographs of the bikes just outside the door.



The decision was made to head east over Wolf Creek Pass, then head north on CO 149, stop at a particular overlook, then get to US50, head east into Gunnison for lunch and some gas, then head west to Montrose, but hit the Black Canyon Park before heading to the motel. Not a long route, but we were starting out late, and Montrose was a good jumping off point for wherever we headed next.

Shortly before heading out...




So we headed east towards Wolf Creek Pass with Marty in the lead, AJ and C in position number 2, and me as tail end charlie. This was the most used configuration we had, but occasionally I would lead, if others didn't give a fk who led, or sometimes AJ would lead. 3 very compatible riders. C was a great 2-up pillion. Wolf Creek pass was awesome as Marty got us ahead of the long string of cars before the pass. Nothing crazy, just good responsible group riding. I obviously was not in the lead.

Heading northbound on CO149 under sunny blue skies and just enjoying the motorcycle riding and the views/surroundings. You stop and savor that. We stopped at a falls just off of 249NB, which was cool. I don't know the name, never stopped there before.


short video of falls:
https://photos.smugmug.com/June-2023/i- ... 1-1280.mp4

Marty then stopped at an overlook that had some meaning from the past and a serious fkn view as well. Through a chain of friends last summer, Marty received a small portion of Jason's ashes that he distributed at this spot on this ride. I believe it is called the Windy Ridge Overlook if Jason's family or friends are ever out this way. It has an amazing view of the east side of the San Juan Mountains with a high wetland in front as you see the road curvy on and up over Slumgullion Pass in the distance.




My friend Marty, smarter than he looks...


...but he has waited for this moment for awhile, as Covid kept him from coming to Georgia last year and infecting the hell out of everybody. Jason was his friend. They did A LOT of stuff together.






We continued north, past Lake City, enjoying the curves and the views. We hit Rt 50, and turned right to head east into Gunnison to top off with gas and maybe have a snack or a lunch before returning west. We hit a BBQ place that was pretty good and ate outdoors under the shade and just relaxed under the mountain skies.

We headed westbound and got past the dam and CO 92 that heads to the north side of the Black Canyon. We were warned that there were construction delays on HWY 50...but we were going to Montrose...so be it. Just know that when there are construction delays in Colorado, they can be VERY long, as the terrain demands that they do LONG stretches of road at a time. I do believe this delay was a record delay for me. It was unbelievable...really.


After an interminably long delay, a long slow train of EB vehicles appears...




Finally we get to get going and we head up the curvy road to Black Canyon...it was late in the day by this time, and the decision was made that we did not want to spend the $25 or so per person to see the overlook. So we booked to the motel, I went on a run to a store to get something I needed. Got back, took a shower, and eventually we walked across the parking lot to the Mexican restaurant.

Next up: Tuesday, June 20th and the Million Dollar Highway and Naturita Canyon...

[griff]

Sunday, June18th- Day 2

Things just took far longer than they should have, which is frustrating...which you should not be on a vacation. So I just chilled as much as I could. So...I was heading up to the northwestern point of the panhandle because I was going to come into Pagosa Springs Colorado from the south on 84, like griff and I did in August of 21.

Any panda sightings?

[wheatonFJR]

Sunday, June18th- Day 2

Things just took far longer than they should have, which is frustrating...which you should not be on a vacation. So I just chilled as much as I could. So...I was heading up to the northwestern point of the panhandle because I was going to come into Pagosa Springs Colorado from the south on 84, like griff and I did in August of 21.

Any panda sightings?

No. No fkn weirdness this time.

[HotRodZilla]

While we were transferring pictures, Wheaties said some sent too small, so here's a few from day one that he may be missing. I'll discuss the ride from Hell to get to Pagosa, after. Lol.

Not even sure where this is. Maybe Gunnison?? Doesn't matter. I love flag pictures and this one is cool. BTW, Carrie, C, took most of the pictures.



From the falls:



Wheaty:



Windy Ridge:



During the spreading of Jason's ashes. That brought a tear to my eye. I miss that guy!!



Ah. The falls with an FJR salute:



That's all the photos I have of day one that Wheaties didn't already post.

So, the ride to Pagosa. Sheesh! C and I have been on lots of trips together. We have NEVER been on a trip this long together. With our daughters, their activities and all we have going on, both of us being gone for a week has always been impossible. Well, now they're older, Sophia has a driver's license and they are great kids.

I will say that we could not have been more proud of our daughters when we got home. Everything was taken care of. Sophia and Ethanee got Emma to games and practice and everyone got along. They cooked, shopped and just held down the house. I think I might have actually finally done something right!

Well, back to this trip. C and I have never had to pack for this many days. We decided to only pack to last until Thursday, and plan on doing laundry. Our plan was to be gone by 2. However, Emma was in a tournament and they continued to win. This was one of those situations where we wanted them to win but we also had to go. Well, they finally lost a game that left them at 3rd place. That put us home, close to 3. Then it took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to pack the dammed bike and figure out our bags. We packed the bike, unpacked the bike, finally reduced some stuff, got it all to fit and left at 1749. It's a 4 hour ride to Pagosa, so I knew we'd end up in the dark, which I absolutely did not want to do.

We stopped in Espanola for fuel and I swapped my tinted shield. Holy crap. I almost forgot to pack the clear one. If I had forgotten that, we would have been hosed. Got back on the bike in Espanola and realized my Sena had some kind of short in the mic. That was a cluster all week, but I made it through. Haha.

We were good until about Chama. When we turned out of Chama towards Pagosa, the sun was almost gone. I should have stopped to clean the bugs off of my shield, but I decided to just tough it out. Bad decision. As soon as it was darker than light, the dammed deer were THICK. The first huge doe was standing in the middle of the road. I saw her late because off all the dammed bugs on my shield. The second doe jumped out in front of us. C about shit a baby horse when I grabbed the brakes HARD. Thankfully no contact.

At some point, I passed a truck with TX plates that was going too slow. After the 2nd close encounter, I pulled over and cleaned my shield. As we were finishing up, that truck passed. Perfect! I caught up to him and decided I'd follow him to Pagosa. EXCEPT, he was doing 45mph. No frigging way. The temp had dropped from like 80° to 54° in a matter of 30 seconds, and I wanted off that dammed bike. So, I passed him again, held between 55 and 60, and just searched, HARD. I saw a few more F-Rats along the sides of the road, but thankfully no more in our path. We got to Pagosa and it turned out, Mark had rented the hotel as far west as we could have possibly gone. I might have said a couple mean things about my friend, but it wasn't his fault we left 4 hours late.

We parked at the hotel at 2149. Exactly 4 hours from when we left home. I have never been so thankful to get off my FJR. I've never been "scared" on this bike. That ride made me genuinely worry if we were going to hit something. We got checked in and ended up spending $3 to get 2 cups of Ramen and a pack of Pop-Tarts for dinner, from the vending machine. Haha. Marty and Mark were asleep, so I sent a text and said we'd be at breakfast at 0800.

We slept like babies! Got up in the morning and there were our friends when we walked out. Wheaties covered the rest!!

[gixxerjasen]

Sounds like a terrifying ride there AJ, but those photos, are you still rocking a Nokia 3310?

[Bugnatr]

The second doe jumped out in front of us. C about shit a baby horse when I grabbed the brakes HARD.

[HotRodZilla]

Sounds like a terrifying ride there AJ, but those photos, are you still rocking a Nokia 3310?

It's C's shitty iPhone. Maybe an 11?? I don't know, but her pictures suck. Her and two of our daughters insist on iPhone, while my smart daughter and I have Galaxies. Haha!

[Festus]

I've seen that phone issue recently. Every photo sent to me from a iPhone 13 Pro is suddenly tiny. Even shows 0kb in size. If it's texted or airdropped, it's small. Emailed and they are full size and all is fine.

A new update just came out, I hope it's resolved that issue.

If you want to get the larger photos, just have her email them and you should have good, large photos.

[Burnspot]

Excellent! I love riding in that area...except there's always issues with highway 50, whether it be hiding popo, construction, or hail.

[wheatonFJR]

Well, until I put the rest of the report on the board sometime this weekend, here are some maps of the days already posted that indicate where I was travelling from and to on each day.

Day 1 - Saturday_Travelers Rest to Weatherford


Day 2 - Sunday_Weatherford to Pagosa Springs


Day 3 - Monday_Pagosa Springs to Montrose

[wheatonFJR]

Tuesday, June 20th - Day 4

So, Tuesday morning dawns and it is another day that I look forward to. We will be riding the Million Dollar Highway as we head south of Ouray to Durango...and although this highway already has special meaning to me, Duane mentioned getting gopro video on me on this highway after he and Maralee visited this area previously. I'm not going to dive too deeply here, but Duane was my friend, and he was going to be on this trip...got vacation time off from his job and everything was set up...till it wasn't to be. So much of this trip has meaning for me, riding with Marty again and giving him a chance to say goodbye to his friend Jason at Windy Ridge, being with AJ and C again, and now...my turn to honor and remember my buddy from Laurens, SC.

However, something troubling has started to happen on this trip. Something in the background. Something that casts a shadow over this best trip of trips. More to that some other time.

Marty leads us south with AJ and C as per usual. The scenery changes from high plains to a valley between ridges and river as we come upon Ouray, Colorado. Sky is blue, weather is perfect. Beautiful town, been through here since Louanne's and my first celebratory camping trip after I finished up at University of Illinois in May of 1988. However, what I'm thinking about is just beyond that set of curves on the south side of town and the cliff wall beyond. Duane said he would get gopro of "spectacular" passing. Sometimes something like that turns into a vow. Like this time. I scooted past the others as we headed up the switchback and started my run. The road was pleasantly empty of cars but I kept the pace up, elevated...not crazy, I'm not Jason, nor Lumberg, nor Wayne, nor others...but I have my own pace. I ran above it. Above what I normally would do for awhile...as a gesture. A nod to Duane. There weren't enough cars to do a seven car pass, but I did my best. That's all I could do. When I wasn't maintaining focus on the road surface, I peered around me at the truly spectacular scenery and realized how blessed I am. This is a trip of trips. I periodically dialed it back to maintain contact with the others and we regrouped at Silverton and gassed up. We took some photos as well.






We moved on down the road to the high overlook at Molas Pass (EL=10,900 ft). THIS is where I spread a little bit of Duane's SC farm place red dirt that I gathered on the day of his remembrance ride. I'd like to think my friend is honored in some way...but I know that if I ever get back that way, I will be thinking of him then as well. I'm pretty sure that Colorado is better for having a little bit of Duane's homestead mixed in at that beautiful place.

Well, for better or worse, C took a photo of that happening...


Molas Pass was especially beautiful on this day...










...to be continued...

[0face]

I can add a shot from this spot… it’s a Pano shot from my iPhone let’s see if it works through Tapatalk…



I have a higher res one it wouldn’t let me upload without paying…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wheatonFJR]

Marty,
You need to post the Silverton selfie of the group...you know the ONE photo where C is in the photo as well

[0face]

So my retarded ass tried to get a group selfie and Carrie is just a little shorter than the rest of us (see how I made it her fault, you know I’m married…LOL)










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk