Day 17 and Last Day - Amarillo, TX to Colleyville, TX

Today was the last day of this great Ride to Colorado.

 

We left Amarillo, TX ...

 

... at 11am after enjoying breakfast together and stayed on the highway all the way to Colleyville, TX. We stayed dry and highest temperature we encountered was 96F although most of the day temperatures hovered around 90F.

 

For lunch we stopped at Dawson Family Restaurant in Childress, TX. I had the buffet (double whammy Chicken Fried Steak and Fried Chicken) and Paula had a Chicken Fajita Salad.

 

We arrived home at 5pm. We had done the 300+ miles in 6 hours, including the lone stop for lunch and gas.

 

It has been a great and memorable ride where we have ridden with friends from the LoneStarRiders Club, met friends that were amazing hosts, spent time with our daughter and spent a lot of time together enjoying each other's company and the beautiful state of Colorado. We did memorable rides that I will always remember including Mount Evans Scenic Byway, Engineers Pass, The Corkscrew, Alpine Loop, Million Dollar Highway, Highway of Legends, Rocky Mountain Trail Ridge Road, Route 6 and many others. We had great food, tasted different types of micro brews and enjoyed amazing sights.

We really enjoy these adventures and are very happy and fortunate that we do them "because how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives".

"It's an experience we shall always remember, or an experience which, alas, we shall never forget." ... Julius Gordon

 

Over and Out ...

 

Click HERE for all the pictures of Day 17

 

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Day 16 - Colorado Springs, CO to Amarillo, TX

Today was the longest ride of the trip. Over 350 miles that would take us nearly 6 hours of riding time and if you factored into it visit to Garden of the Gods Park, lunch and other stops it would take us over 8 hours. We left at 11am mountain time and pulled into our hotel just past 8pm central time.

We would also be in the Great State of Texas this evening.

Our only detour from the actual ride to Amarillo, TX was a quick in and out visit to the Garden of the Gods. The name of the park dates back to August 1859 when two surveyors helping to set up nearby Colorado City were exploring the nearby areas. Upon discovering the site, one of the surveyors, M. S. Beach, suggested that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden." His companion, the young Rufus Cable, awestruck by the impressive rock formations, exclaimed, "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." Although it would have been a great place for a beer garden, that plan never materialized, but the name stuck.

 

The Garden of the Gods Park is popular for hiking, technical rock climbing, road and mountain biking and horseback riding. It attracts more than two million visitors a year and is Colorado Springs' most visited park.

Because of the unusual and steep rock formations in the park, it is an attractive goal for rock climbers. Rock climbing is permitted, with annual permit obtained at the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center. The only requirements are reading the rules, proper equipment, climbing with a "buddy", and staying on established climbing routes. Due to the often unstable conditions of the sandstone—particularly after much precipitation—several fatalities have occurred over the years. This is a very popular bicycle-riding area because of the scenic views, safe one-way recently paved roads, and healthy clean air.

 

We also took time to visit a very big and interesting Trading Post and while Paula took pictures of some advice to pass on

 

I, on the other hand wrestled with Cat Woman.

 

We left the Park just as a dark cloud started to form on the mountains and started moving towards us. We were able to get away with only some sprinkles.

 

 

We stopped for lunch in Pueblo, CO for a always favorite Subway sandwich.

 

Throughout the day dark clouds threatened and a number of times we got a bit of light rain but we were able to ride without stopping to put on rain gear until we were getting to Trinidad, CO. The sky became very dark and rain started very slightly to fall. We stopped and put the rain gear on and kept it all the way to Clayton, TX. We did not get a drop of rain. Amazing ...

 

We rode the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway which was very pleasant.

 

And just like that, two weeks after we left we entered the Great State of Texas !

 

We stopped at Clayton to put in gas and hydrate. I had a great Dairy Queen strawberry and banana smoothie. Paula had the DQ blizzard.

 

This turned out to be a good idea as temperatures after Clayton, TX which was at 90F started to increase fast and eventually got to 101F. It was past 7pm in the afternoon ...

 

The 385S and FM 1061 were done at fast pace so that we could get out of the heat and the extra concentration was a good distraction from the heat.

 

We arrived at our hotel still at daylight and there were severe warnings of strong thunderstorms for the evening. We parked the bike and enjoyed the full service Holiday Inn with its own restaurant so we did not need to leave the hotel.

 

For dinner Paula had a Taco Salad and I had a Soup of Camarones (shrimp) and Cheese Quesadillas. It was a good dinner made even more special by a good win by the Spurs vs the Heat for game 5 taking them to a 3-2 lead. Go Texas !

Tomorrow is the last day of this most memorable trip as we take a straight ride into the DFW area.

 

Click HERE for all the pics of Day 16

 

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Day 15 - Boulder, CO to Colorado Springs, CO

As we were with our daughter Cristina and some friends (Andres and Stephanie) in Boulder we decided to stay over as long as possible and rather than traveling to Trinidad, CO as was our initial intention we only traveled 100 miles to Colorado Springs, CO where we would spend the night.

In the morning we enjoyed again the great pool this hotel had to offer. We were quite impressed by the Best Western Plus Boulder Inn and would highly recommend it to anyone staying in the Boulder area. Ask for a room with view of the pool ideally on the lower floor. It is a AAA 3 diamond property.

 

We got a late check out at 1pm and Andres came to get us at hotel where we left the bike loaded up with bags that were lockable and the rest of the gear we put in the trunk of the car.

 

In that way we had light clothes that we could walk in and enjoy the farmers market. It is an impressive farmers market that happens every Saturday and Wednesday and the local community fully supports it. The quality of some of the tasted products was very good although I found the prices steep.

 

Earlier in the week, Paula and Cristina had tea at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse and had been very impressed so I took a detour to look at it. It is very nice and reminded me of my trips to the East.

 

We had lunch at the farmers market and sat outside in some large tables and spoke with some of the locals. As usually they were not originally from the area but were now enjoying living there.

There were two shops I specially enjoyed, one was Into the Wind Kite Store which has much more than just a kite store. I felt like a kid again and had a ball looking at different types of toys. If you are ever in Boulder, take some time and give yourself a treat.

 

 

The other was Newton Running. Originally from Boulder, the company developed technology for running shoes which it was hoping to licence to Adidas, Nike or Saucony, but was turned down and subsequently decided to launch its own brand which is bright and fresh.

 

We watched another street performer and this time this West Indies born individual was able to things with his body that hurt to look at. He is a yoga natural ...

 

Actually street performers abound in Boulder, CO.

 

Andres and Stephanie took us back to our hotel and as we were passing a house, Cristina asked if we had seen the deer that was in the garden as a normal pet. Andres backed the car up and I was able to take a picture of this people friendly creature.

 

We said our farewells to Andres and Stephanie that have been great hosts and suited up and loaded the bike up.

We decided to stay with Cristina in a nearby Starbucks so I had to do two trips. One taking Cristina and the other taking Paula.

 

We finally said our goodbyes to Cristina and watched as she went back home. We had 1.5 hours of riding to do.

 

As we arrived at Colorado Springs, CO the sun was setting and the night was dawning and we thought about the many people that have suffered with the raging fires that have been devastating this part of Colorado. In the hotel we are staying there are a number of evacuees that are praying and hoping when they get back to their house it is still there. Very sad and it shows how fleeting our earthly possessions can be and should never be taken for granted.

 

“When something does not insist on being noticed, when we aren’t grabbed by the collar or struck on the skull by a presence or an event, we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”

-Cynthia Ozick

 

Live life my friends !

 

Click HERE for all the pictures for Day 15

 

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