Sportrides To Salida

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With New Video!!

What a beautiful day to go riding, finally nice temperatures and decently clean roads, well for the most part clean. I subscribe to a local email list called the Colorado Springs Sportrides Group, a small contingent of local riders who just like to have fun, do trackdays and ride our favorite bikes. One member R_Grote put out a call for everybody to come ride to Salida, posted it on ST.N even but ended up haveing to do the In Law shuffle for the weekend. So I thought no way this ride is gonna die with him so I said come one come all lets go anyway and 7 guys showed up, and one woman. However only 6 of us actually went riding which was quite all right nice size group.

I spent the day getting used to my shorter windscreen which likes to push back my helmet a bit when at speed, but it protects my camera so I don't mind. It felt really good to get back on the bike.

VFR_FLA might have the sunshine and the warm weather but he don't have rides like this!

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Lunch in Salida at Amica's Pizzaria brew pub where I had the in house "Root" variety

I lead for the first leg and tried to keep a cop freindly pace for the most part, a bit over the limit as the cages were strung out lumps of oatmeal - gotta pass them when you can (literaly not figurativly). We took a leasurly pace around to Florence and took the back way into Canyon City.

The Map
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Streets & Trips File

The Terrain
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The Video
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Ride To Salida Video

25mb 5 min wmv format

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Not soon after we cleared Canyon City and started to head down the Arkansas Valley Ira and Willy decided to give me a buzz and go on up ahead, which is good cause that means I have subject matter for the videos right!

I dont much like to lead anyway as you have to watch your mirrors more than usual to keep the group in sight.

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Right about here the pace took off to triple digits, and well it didnt seem like we were going that fast, but causually looking at the speedo whoops!!

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Comming around into view the Sangre De Christos pop out with snow capped glory, complete with wind swept clouds hanging over the peaks.

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Cotopaxi near the red rock river guided tour river rafting station, *illiteration be damned

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Comming out of the first canyon into Howard for the big turn northwest

There was a wreck in Howard that had taken up the entire highway, a bus and car collided nobody was hurt for goodness sakes but it slowed everybody down, well not us but it shook of a few cages.

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Ira giving the signal to reposition

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The Collegiate Peaks on Hwy 285 north to Buena Vista

More Photos in the Gallery

All in all a great ride good company and fun, it got a bit sandy comming back up into Guffy and along High Park Road, I had a couple of "oh shits" comming over the endless hill top crests filled with gravel - I dont know what it is about Colorado roads why each crest of a hill has the road dive off left or right, never knowing which way your gonna go? Add a bit of Gravel to the mix and your in "oh Shit" Land! Once almost home in Woodland Park the motorcycles got thicker and we recieved a warning from a buddy on his R1, some squids caused havoc on Ute Pass and had the cops out looking for them, rousting everybody on a bike looking at licence plates, but appearanly the raid has supsided by the time we hit Ute Canyon. It as thick with cars so we just took it easy, no performance awards today just good riding.

Thanks Bill, Willy, Craig, Bash, and Ira it was fun!

Yeah, I may not have rides like that, but I did have 70 degree weather. And I didn't see any Bikini's in your photos! But it looks like you had a great day! :thumbsup:

Spammer I clicked on the gallery link and got an error. :joystick:

Looks great Slammer, thanks for sharing.

My son said he saw a sportbike take off and run from a motorcycle cop in WP, heading towards Divide.

I almost got ran over by a state cop who was flying on 67 towards WP. I assume he was heading for the bike chase on 24 west.

I was heading north on 67 when I saw him, so I pulled over to the very right side of my lane and stopped. The cop passed four cars using my lane (the cars he was behind did not see him and were not moving over) and then passed between me and the cars on his right. He had to be going at least 70 through there and literally missed me by about 8-10 inches. I was really pissed. The cop was totally out of control, and overly excited to get in on the chase or whatever the heck was going on.

Other than that....it was a great ride!

Ira mentioned somthing about that, we stopped at the loaf and Jug so Bash could releive himself and ran into a bunch of his friends, they told us that there were cops everywhere looking at sportbikes, taking down plate numbers. But it was clear all the way down Ute Pass, I guess a whole group of squids decided to run from the cops and they were out for blood I guess.

Lets face it some of those Woodland Park cops are a bit starved for action, giving out tickets to blue hairs on the way to gamble away thier social security checks in Cripple Creek is not what they signed up for. I am glad he MISSED you, sounds like you got the idiot cop out of the bunch.

Comming down the hill from from Divide did you see that guy on a Blue Gixxer in jeans and a Joe Rocket jacket, maybe thats the guy he was pulled off in a driveway talking on his cell phone?

Nice job as usual Miguel. Looks like you are enjoying your new Video camera huh? :thumbsup: Keep 'em coming bro!!!!!!
Really enjoyed it.

Naw thats the old camera cause I blew up the new one, hooked up the wires backwards and fried it, its at the JVC service center being refitted. Cause Like I said in another thread I got "dumbasscan'tremembershit-itis"

Miguel,

Can you take a picture and describe how you set up your video camera on your VFR? I'm most curious.

Nozz

You crack me up Nozz

I'm jealous. What a great route. You should take a second job hosting and taping fly-and-ride destination tours. John

Very soothing. I can't wait til the snow melts. Thanks for giving us cabin fever folks something to drool over.

Jealous, but appreciative.

I noticed somthing a bit wierd after comming home from that ride, I rode fast but not at my limits. So I took a look at my tires and found my chicken strips to be about what I expected, not all the way to the edge for a late winter ride, bout a half inch on the back tires, but my front tire was almost 1/4 inch? Following Bash and Ira the last section they were being cautious in the blind stuff and in the shadows, but a bit more aggressive when it came to the gravel, I tried to keep the gas on but tensed up a couple of times when I saw a lot of the stuff on the roads, but did not panic, just kept it smooth as I could. Colorado roads just dont last more than 3 years before they crack up in the high country

Strange so see a smaller patch of virgin rubber on the front instead of the back? Wierd, my buddy Craig told me later he felt incredibly rusty on that ride and so took a positon in the back.

It is strange how just a few months of not riding can ruin your confidence, rust up your skills. Me I have to relearn how to ride every time I put on a new set of tires.

It sure looks nice out there,hopefully l'll go out for a blast with some of you guys when l get moved over to the 'States.............Mick :beer:

God....makes me jealous....I miss the ride to Salida. I just move to Las Vegas from Colorado Springs. "Job Op." I haven't scoped the ride scene here as of yet but its coming. I do miss the roads around Hwy 50. Although I don't miss the late summer hail storms in the Springs. HS, thanks for leaving the VFRD card on my bike seat at Apex.

Nice job on the Vid of the ride. Like I said before, I truly miss the twisties out around 50...