2015 — Plugging Gaps In Colorado And Utah

OFMC 2015 route

It has become almost impossible to map out the first day's ride considering that so many people start from so many different places at so many different times. We're just showing the trip starting and ending at Denver.

Doing this ride as many years as we have it is nearly impossible to go new places without extending the trip additional days. But there are lots of places we have only passed through but never stopped, and at least a few more where we have never been. John's objective in planning this trip was to plug some of those gaps.

On departure day John, Bill, Dennis, and Ken met up in Black Hawk and then cruised the Peak-to-Peak to Estes Park, checking in at the Twin Owls. Friggs and Brett were coming later so we left their key stashed on Ken's bike and John sent them a text message to that effect. Except the voice recognition function of John's phone translated Friggs to "Free Eggs" and changed Brett to "Bread." So Free Eggs and Bread were with us on this trip. The Twin Owls turns out to be a place where deer and elk think nothing of grazing right out in front of God and everyone so we saw some wildlife while there.

At the Twin Owls in Estes Park Dennis was on his new Indian and for once he could put both his feet flat on the ground. Friggs was on his new Harley. Everyone else was on their same old machines; in Ken's case, his Kawasaki.

Starting out in the morning the guys in front agreed on a route but Ken and Bread in the rear were not privy to that info. They didn't make it through a traffic light and when they finally could go the other guys were nowhere in sight. So Ken took the lead and headed for the entrance he was familiar with and the two of them rode on to where the two roads come together before going up over Trail Ridge Road. That fact was passed to the other guys, thank you cell phones, and we reunited there and headed on up.

Up on Trail Ridge Road there were some traffic jams as lots of people stopped to gawk at herds of elk that were putting on a good show. The weather was great, the sun was shining warmly, and it was a terrific day to go over Trail Ridge. We made a stop at the bottom on the other side and again where that road met US 40. And everywhere we stopped (where there were other people), people gathered around to look at Dennis's Indian. It was like that the whole trip.

Trail Ridge Road Heading west on 40 we hit some rain going through Byers Canyon but correctly figured it was inconsequential and kept going. Turning off 40 to go over Gore Pass, however, the rain ahead promised more so we suited up. Good decision. We hit Toponas and turned north to Oak Creek where we were staying that night. After walking to a good barbecue place for dinner we were back at the motel sitting out under the eaves as the rain came. At one point two riders on a BMW came in, circled the motel, and headed back on out, discouraged by the "No Vacancy" sign lighted at the office. Thing was, there were vacancies but apparently the managers turn that sign on when they no longer feel like bothering. We could imagine easily the lady on the back telling the guy in front via their communicators how badly he had screwed up not making solid plans. They pushed on through the rain and darkness.

Our plan the next day was to take the Twenty Mile Road to Hayden but construction forced us to go through Steamboat. It was raining, so we suited up. From Steamboat it was US 40 all the way to Vernal with a stop in Dinosaur, and the rain stopped along the way, too. In Dinosaur we met up with some folks riding bicycles across the country. Not our preferred method of two-wheeling, especially that kind of distance. To each their own.

Maybell From Vernal we continued west on 40 until we reached Duchesne and then, for the first time ever, we turned south on US 191 and rolled through a wide canyon or narrow valley and then up and over some pass, all through really nice country that we were seeing for the first time. Rain threatened but never came, so far. Meanwhile it meant it was very cool and comfortable. We hit US 6 and jogged west on it a bit till we turned south at Utah 96 which goes past Scofield State Park and Reservoir. Stopping in Scofield we enjoyed a cook it yourself burger lunch, feeding the burgers and buns through a Burger King type machine.

A series of roads took us from Scofield up a canyon past a mining operation, along a high ridge, and then down a valley to bring us back out into a broad valley. And oh yes, we got rained on pretty good along the way. This brought us to Huntington where we picked up Utah 10 and headed south to Ferron, our destination this day. All in all, the area we passed through this day was absolutely spectacular and we loved the ride.

At Ferron we were in an all-inclusive business with rooms, restaurant, convenience store, gas. As it rained we sat out again under the eaves and talked with a couple guys doing roofing in the area. Lots and lots of horseshit conversation ensued. And of course plenty of beer got drunk.

Hanksville Inn Continuing south the next morning, we reached I-70 and took the frontage road a bit west to where we again headed south, on Utah 72. This was more new country for us. And just as the Butler map that John had consulted promised, it was more gorgeous country. We intended to turn off and go around Fish Lake but a sign at the turn-off warned of road closure. It was unclear, however, so we agreed to go and if we reached a stop we would just turn back. No harm, no foul. Turned out the closure was on a road we intersected but not ours so no problem. The problem we did encounter, however, was a big truck creeping ever so slowly up the hill to Fish Lake. Nearing the top nearly everyone finally got around him but rather than allowing Ken, the last in the group, to slip past, the trucker sped up to 75 mph on the downhill, forcing Ken to pull back in behind him until he finally turned off.

At US 24 we turned east through Loa, Bicknell, Torrey, and Capitol Reef National Park on our way to Hanksville, our stop for the night. The motel was old and well-worn but the biker kind of guy running it gave us the corner with our own patio. A little later we were finally joined by Johnathon, Randy, and Ray, who had ridden all the way from Denver that day. We finally had the whole group.

John ended up providing the excitement that night. While some of us played poker, John sat off by himself and was very quiet. If anyone asked if he was OK he was say yes, but eventually Ray asked and John did not answer. We all checked for ourselves and John was just glassy-eyed and silent, only occasionally answering that he was OK. We didn't believe him. He was totally drenched with sweat and most of the time did not respond when spoken to. Free Eggs called 911 while Johnathon called Cheryl.

Group shot at Glen Canyon Cheryl said he was fine, just give him his schnapps and put a cold, wet towel around his neck. We lept to do that and sure enough, he soon came out of his stupor or whatever it was. Free Eggs told 911 they didn't need to come but, as Bread commented, that wasn't going to happen. Once you call them they come, period. And sure enough, awhile later we heard throught he desert night the sound of a siren drawing ever closer. Finally, with lights flashing, the EMTs pulled into the parking lot and a very embarrassed John spent the next half hour convincing them that they didn't need to take him somewhere.

The next morning we headed south on Utah 95, which crosses through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The last time the OFMC came through here it was John and Ken and Bill going the other way, stopping for the night on the south side to take the ferry across in the morning. The water in the lake has since dropped a long way and a couple bridges have replaced the ferry. We cruised. Somewhere south of the recreation area we hit a pit of tar snakes like none of us have ever seen before. You come along a tight turn and find oozy tar going like a crazy spiderweb all over the pavement and you just roll through it holding your breath as your front, then back tires slip and catch, slip and catch. Yikes!

A little south of Blanding we picked up US 191 again, this time going south to a winding series of roads that would take us to Cortez while avoiding the Four Corners area. This was a fine road up until we reached Colorado, where we ran into a chip seal operation. The last 10 miles or so was on this unpleasant surface--very, very fresh.

From Cortez US 160 took us east through Durango to where we turned south for Ignacio. Sky Ute Casino, the new improved one, was our destination. Along the way, however, Free Eggs learned that his lady friend Vicky had been in a car crash and had broken her foot. He made plans to head back to Denver the next day while the rest of us headed for Gunnison.

Creede Surprisingly, the Sky Ute was kind to several of us so we didn't give the Indians quite so much money this time. In the morning Free Eggs blasted away early while the rest of us cruised on up back to US 160, to Pagosa Springs, over Wolf Creek Pass, to South Fork, and then northwest over Slumgullion Pass, through Lake City to Gunnison. Of course we had to stop in Creede for a bit of lunch and--more importantly--ice cream. This was an ice cream-deficient trip so there was no skipping it here in Creede.

On to Gunnison to the Water Wheel Inn, which abuts a golf course where we had tee times set for the next day. Also staying at the Water Wheel were three guys on two bikes and one in Morgan Three Wheeler car. Very cool car with an S&S motorcycle engine mounted across the front providing power. In the morning Johnathon and Ray took off and the rest of us played golf. Nice course, nice arrangement with the motel. It's almost certain that we'll be back there again.

And that was the last night and in the morning Ken had been in touch with a friend in Gunnison who invited us over for breakfast. Everyone was eager to get going, however, so only Ken and Bill went for breakfast. Then they, too, headed home and by mid-afternoon the 2015 trip was over.

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