2020 — No New Mexico For You

OFMC 2019 route

The "fun" started about a week ahead of time this year as we got word that New Mexico, our intended destination for three nights, had closed down due to the coronavirrus. All of a sudden we had to make new plans.

Plan B fell through, too, when we found that the Sky Ute Casino and Hotel in Ignacio was closed. So we made Cripple Creek our gambling stop and Gunnison our golfing stop.

So on the appointed day, Bill, Dennis, and Ken met up at the usual Conifer gathering place and headed out. Alamosa was the first day destination and Bill wondered if we might do something other than take U.S. 285 across South Park through Fairplay as we have done, oh, about a thousand times or so it seems. For a change, we turned south at Pine Junction to Woodland Park and then got on U.S. 24 across the south end of South Park, after coming up over Wilkerson Pass. A little checking confirmed that somehow, in all these years, the OFMC had never ridden this particular stretch of road before. The first first, but not the last.

After a lunch break in Buena Vista we headed south, but only as far as Poncha Springs, where we stopped at Jenna's place, knowing that Jason and Kim and the boys would be there, too. Jason was recently given a very nice Harley and Kim pledged that she would do all she could to ensure that Jason comes with us next year. That would be great!

On Wilkerson Pass As we prepared to push on the sky ahead was looking a bit black so we each put on minimal rain gear. Coming over Poncha Pass it looked like the weather might already be to the east of us but very shortly we got pounded. It didn't last long, though, and soon we were drying out. Then, as we came past the sand dunes, the wind hit us, leading Ken to observe that these were presumably the winds that created the sand dunes. We reached Alamosa and checked in our motel and Bill made a photographic note of the fact that this was one of those motels where you could just park your bike right outside the room. We like that.

Parked outside Rerouting had required following a path that you would never deliberately choose under other circumstances, and this led us to get on the second bit of road the OFMC has never been on. We left Alamosa the next morning and headed east, up over La Veta Pass, down to Walsenburg, and then a short jog north to where CO 69 runs northwest up through Westcliffe. We also needed gas and for whatever reason, every station in town was packed with people waiting in line for the pumps. We pulled into one station and got in line and then, when we were ready to roll, discovered that the elusive CO 69 headed north from right there at this gas station. They really might mark this road a little better.

At Westcliffe we stopped for a break and were a bit amazed at how much traffic there was, most of it campers and RVs with Texas plates. Funny, I always thought Lake City was the Texas capital of Colorado. Who knew?

Dennis on Cottonwood Pass The road went on from Westcliffe, to meet U.S. 50 just east of Cotopaxi, in the Arkansas River canyon, and a short jog on pristine pavement took us to the turn-off on CO 9 that leads to the back route into Cripple Creek. Check-in at the Double Eagle was infuriatingly slow and when that was finally done a fire alarm went off and they said we couldn't get on the elevators until this was resolved. We finally got settled in and headed out to do some gambling and have some dinner. This was Saturday night in Cripple Creek and you have never seen this town so deserted since they first brought gambling in. Everything was pretty subdued, with the result that we all probably lost less money than we have in a long time.

The question for the next day was what route to take to Gunnison. Either backtrack to U.S. 50 and go over Monarch Pass or, as Ken's friend Kevin, in Gunnison, suggested, looping back to Buena Vista and coming over the newly paved Cottonwood Pass. Cottonwood Pass was the consensus and to get there we ran back out the back way from Cripple Creek but then where the road forked we stayed north up to U.S. 24 again, at Florissant. This was the third new stretch of road for the group. Then it was up over Wilkerson Pass again, across South Park again, down to Buena Vista again.

Coming into Buenie the sky over Cottonwood Pass was completely black so after a break we all suited up fully and headed out. By this time, though, the weather had already moved across and while the road was wet we barely encountered any raindrops. Up on top we met up with Kevin, who told us he had gotten dumped on coming up the pass from the other direction. The four of us rode on down to Taylor Reservoir, down the Taylor River canyon, to Almont, then turned south to Gunnison. Coming out of the canyon outside of Almont we got hit by fierce winds that stayed with us all the way to Gunnison and continued for a few hours more. Riding over Cottonwood Pass was another first for the OFMC. That makes four.

At Blue Mesa Reservoir At the Econolodge in Gunnison our experience was vastly different than when we had stayed there before. That time, we had needed to revise our reservations and a non-English-speaking clerk who had no idea how to use the reservation system simply deleted our old reservations and made completely new ones--at a substantially higher price. This time the native English speaking clerk was the soul of helpfulness and competence. Huge, huge improvement.

The next day was golf day and we headed off to Dos Rios. Grabbing a bucket of balls we headed off to the driving range but on Ken's first practice swing his right shoulder hurt like the dickens. He had hurt that should in February but it had seemed healed. He whacked two balls and each time it hurt A LOT and he turned to the other guys and said, "I can't do this." Ken took his clubs back to the pro shop and got a refund and then drove the cart for Bill and played ball spotter for both of them. And, oh yeah, to the surprise of exactly no one, Dennis outshot Bill.

The next day's ride was to Durango. West out of Gunnison to Montrose, then south on the Million Dollar Highway. After a lunch stop in Ridgway we looked at the sky and figured we were likely to get wet but decided to keep riding until we needed to gear up. Through Ouray and on up toward Red Mountain Pass, and then Dennis figured it was time for rain gear. By the time we were ready to roll again it was raining, so Dennis's timing was good, but it never really let loose. We got into Silverton and stopped for ice cream and the sky ahead still looked wet so we geared up again. Again it was not necessary and before we got to Durango we were stopping to take it all off.

In Durango We had some confusion and a bit of a wild goose chase finding our motel in Durango. It helps to review your itinerary and know what place you're staying at. But we got checked in and it was nice, with our doors opening onto the river. There was an Applebee's that was part of the motel so we opted for dinner there. Inside the temperature must have been no higher than 60. It was cold! Dennis and Ken went back for sweatshirts and Bill later said he should have done so as well. An inquiry to the waiter confirmed that they set the temperature for their own comfort, not that of their guests. But the food was really good and we split two meals three ways and everyone was completely satisfied. We then walked around the downtown Durango area and Dennis just had to have his second ice cream of the day.

Our ride the next day was to be a short one so we were in no hurry to take off. Bill and Dennis went to the Harley shop while Ken went to a Honda shop for a quart of oil because he had noticed he was dripping oil onto the asphalt below his bike. That never did develop into anything, though. Then we took off and it didn't take long to reach Monticello, Utah. Lesson learned here: Monticello is a nothing town. There is no reason to stop there except to sleep, and we were there long before bed time. But Abdul, the guy running the motel, was a real friendly guy, a real go-getter, who was busy painting stripes on the parking lot, after having the lot resurfaced.

In the morning we walked a block to the restaurant went the sky looking very threatening. As we ate the sky opened up and the rain just poured. By the time we were done, though, things were clearing so we got back to the motel mostly dry. Then we suited up and headed north. The desert is always its most beautiful after a rain and that was certainly true this day. What a beautiful ride. By the time we got to the turn-off to Utah 46, however, the road going over to Naturita, the sky was clearing. We got into Colorado and shed our gear again and rode the Unaweep Highway to Gateway and then northeast to pick up U.S. 50 northwest of Delta. Now it was hot.

We stopped in Delta at McDonald's for lunch and found that they let you in one door and out the other, with no indoor dining. Dennis and Ken ate their lunches in the shade of the building with a trash can housing as their table while Bill walked over to a grassy shaded area for his. Then it was just a short hop to Hotchkiss, where we were staying at the Hotchkiss Inn, which everyone loved the last time we stayed there. Thanks to the coronavirus they are not currently offering their wine and cheese spread but it's still a very nice stop. Plus, they now offer a complimentary hot breakfast.

One thing that was always different and unpredictable about this whole trip was how each place has taken their own approach to dealing with the virus. In Gunnison they had you order your breakfast and they would either deliver it to your room or you could pick it up. This resulted in many, many boxes heading for the landfill. In Cripple Creek there was some seating in the restaurant but many people were picking up their breakfast to go and eating it in the bar. Every place was different.

Leaving Hotchkiss in the morning it looked like weather ahead so we partially suited up. Going over McClure Pass was beautiful but we stopped in Carbondale to unsuit. The road to Aspen and going through Aspen were their typical snarls but we headed up Independence Pass and we almost had the road to ourselves. After a typically beautiful ride over the pass we stopped for lunch at Twin Lakes and then did the last few miles to Leadville.

In Leadville the motel was old and shabby and Ken's pull-out sofa bed may have been the worst we've ever encountered in 30 years on this trip. He had to put the seat cusion off the couch under his mattress or his head would have been on the floor. The room had a bit of an odor, too. But it was close to downtown, unlike the place we stayed here last time. So we walked up and had a beer at a brew pub and then Dennis had an ice cream and said he didn't need dinner. Bill and Ken went to dinner, however, and ended up finding a place where the food was superb. Next time you're in Leadville go to the Tennessee Pass Cafe.

One last time the morning brought a black sky in the direction we were headed and we suited up. Once again, before we ever got to Buena Vista it was blue sky and getting hot. Time to peel once again. Then a stop in Fairplay, a stop on top of Kenosha Pass, and then, like horses headed back to the stable, we just rode and peeled off on our separate routes. One more trip in the books.

Home | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005_1 | 2005_2 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011_1 | 2011_2
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024