Jonesin for a Ride!

Archive for the ‘2011 Sturgis Trip’ Category

Day 5 route l- 300 miles

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Sturgis Then – 89 degrees and thundershowers, Sturgis Now – 89 Degrees and thundershowers.

Only 300 miles to cover today to get to Rapid City and we wanted to get in early for a change, so we left about 8 ish under clear skies. Since I have been running in short sleeves, it was time to put on some suntan lotion.

No threat of rain on this trip till our final 20 miles into Rapid City. It was hot and humid and our path was heading right into a very, very black ominous sky. The wind was picking up and as we approached the coming storm. We all pulled over to put on our helmets and rain gear. My weather station was blaring sever thunderstorm warnings and other cars coming from the opposite directions stopped to tell us softball size hail was falling 5 miles up the road and some even complained about the dents in their cars.

As we stood on the side of highway 79, we put on our gear and debated what to do. John called the hotel and asked what the weather was like. “It just stop raining here”, so we forged forward.

The weather station continued to sound it’s warning as we road the last 20 miles in, tell people to take cover and if caught during the storm, to crouch down….

Our time to debate and put on our gear was enough time for the major part of the storm to blow over the section of road that we were heading on, so we ended up riding into Rapid City with just a lot of wind and sprinkles, accompanied by some spectacular lighting and cloud formations.

We finally arrived at our Days Inn and we checked into our suite to celebrate Akzl’s accomplishment! This is hugh for a 16 year old to ride a Honda 750 1,600 miles in 4 days. Someday when he rides a bigger heavier bike, he will really appreciate his accomplishment!

Day 4 Route-343 miles
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Day 4 we left around 10 am after a quick stop at the Harley Davidson dealership in Grand Junction and followed I-70 to Denver then north on I-25 to Cheyenne. Today we ran about 60 miles between stops, had a lunch stop in Edwards, CO, and by 7:00 p.m we pulled into Cheyenne just before an approaching storm. It was a beautiful ride as the scenery was very green and the weather was mostly sunny throughout the day.

Don’t know why, but for a Saturday, traffic seemed congested as we approached Denver. It could have been due to a large bicycle event that was taking place through the Vail Pass contributed to it.

After cleaning up and hanging at the pool and hot tub at the Hampton’s Inn, we walked across the lot to enjoy a dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

Tomorrow we should be in Rapid City dodging thunderstorms as we approach.

A Vista shot of the boys in Utah from the previous day

One of several tunnels along I-70

The ride through Glenwood Canyon

Our lunch stop in Edwards, CO

Day 3 Route-422 miles
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Beautiful weather today! After getting Sharon’s bike dialed in, we left St. George and headed into Zion National Park, where it was slow going through the park, but well worth the views that you are treated with.

Several close calls today with some bonehead people driving. First ws just outside the park. Somebody deceided at the last minute to stop in the middle of the road to take pictures of the Bisons, causing us all to slam on the brakes. Later in the day, a Florida driver deceided to also stop in the middle of the road, causing a whole line of us to slam on the brakes. Luckily Steve pulled up because the truck barreling down behind him end ended up stopping where Big Steve’s front tire was and right next to Sharon!

But we plodded along and 11 hours later we made it to Grand Junction

This is John’s response to Churro. Your next!