As I was cleaning the bike, three other bikes arrived at the motel and, well you know how things are, bikers talk to other bikers and soon we had a group bike cleaning / chatting session going. The four bikes looked good lined up in the car park, clean and shiny once more!
These are the four people that arrived on the 3 bikes, this picture being taken in the morning, just before we departed the motel. So, meet Doug and Julie, Kevin, Mike from McKinney, Texas ....
All that hard work cleaning the Leading Ladies was wasted the next day when it rained! It hadn’t rained for so long, the roads were very dirty and as soon as the rain fell, the dirty water was sprayed up from my front wheel and other vehicles, so now the bike needs doing again! It will have to wait a few days, for I just don’t feel like doing it just yet.
When I started riding today I went first to the base of Cascade Falls in Ouray. At this time of year the falls are just a trickle but the height is tall enough to make seeing them at any time of year worthwhile. A warning though – like many minor roads in small towns in Colorado, the one to get to the falls is gravel, but riding to the falls is okay, albeit a short way uphill. Here are the falls....
The trouble is, as I discovered a few days ago, riding up steep gravel roads is relatively easy, but coming down them is not. I used my new-found technique of turning off the engine and coasting down whilst holding the clutch in, letting out the clutch when I needed to slow down and therefore using the engine braking to slow down without fear of locking a wheel. I have found the worst thing to do is to use the front brake in these circumstances as this does lock the front wheel on the loose gravel. This was the gravel road leading away from the falls....
Heading west out of the town, I saw Ouray hot springs. I had considered going there the previous evening and I am glad I didn’t – they looked too utilitarian for my taste....
I did notice the large fish pond in the foreground and there are many huge fish in there. Maybe it has something to do with the water and its minerals....
The road between Ridgeway and Placerville and then south is a good one, but I must admit, I think I have too much of a good thing. I can only take so much of great looking mountain scenery and while if I came across this as my first Colorado mountain scene, I would think it wonderful, after 3 weeks of magnificent peaks, I had seen enough....
On John and Diana’s recommendation, I went to see Log Hill, which has a terrific road leads to golf course with a great view on the way up. They also told me to look out for a timber fence running alongside the main road and sure enough I saw it. It looks new and goes on for miles, surrounding what I later found out was a 15,000 acre ranch. Here is the entrance to the ranch....
The Double RL stands for a certain Ralph Lauren. I am certainly pleased to see that some of the money I have spent on his shirts has been invested wisely!
I had decided to go to Telluride for lunch, but I wish I hadn’t bothered. This was approaching the town....
This is the main street through the town....
Now, bearing in mind this is a tiny town in the mountains, no doubt wanting the business that passing visitors can offer, I was amazed to discover that to park on the main road in the town, you had to pay. I really couldn’t be bothered to find out how to pay and do whatever I needed to help this obviously poor struggling town to keep its financial head above water. I feel sorry for the businesses in Telluride, having to put up with some stupid local politician that thinks it is important to collect money to park a car or motorbike. I went somewhere else for lunch!
Nearby, I stopped for gas and noticed some lovely cars being unloaded from a covered truck. I waited while this old Alpha Romeo was taken out from the back....
I stood admiring this beauty and noticed a gentleman standing nearby and I said something like “That is a lovely car”. He looked at me as if I was something he just stepped in and he didn’t respond, choosing instead to say to the guys unloading the vehicles in a loud voice “Will you please hurry and unload my car after George’s”. I am careful not to swear on my blog, but this guy was a wanker. I have met very few impolite people on my tour, but this guy goes on the top of my list as Arse Number 1.
I didn’t wait to see his car unloaded. I hope they dropped it.
I left Telluride vowing never to return!
Here are a few last Colorado mountain pictures. The weather wasn’t great and it rained a coup[le of times, but still not enough for me to stop and put on my waterproofs....
On the road towards Cortez, I hit the 13,000 mile point on my tour just south of Dolores, and here is the now customary photo of the ‘000 mile point...
Wow, 13,000 miles!
I have discovered that I have made a major misjudgement regarding places to stay. Each evening, at around 4 or 5 o’clock, I begin to look for somewhere to stay that night. It has been so easy to find motels or hotels that I like the look of when I arrive in a town and these places have always had a room available, that I got a little complacent about this, being sure I could find a bed for the night just about anywhere. I was wrong! When I arrived in Cortez, it occurred to me that I really should look at what accommodation might be available in Monument Valley and make a reservation, just in case they got busy each day as that evenings travellers began to arrive. I telephone the hotel I wanted to stay at, but to my disappointment, it was full. I telephoned all of the hotels in Bluff, the next nearest town and they too were all full. I looked at what was available for miles around – nothing! With the help of Jackie my wife, the nearest place we could find and book was in Page. Wait for it, that is 121 miles away!!
I also checked the Hotel I wanted us to stay at in the Grand Canyon – the only rooms available were on different nights than I wanted and were very expensive! This lack of hotels / motels would need some serious re-arrangement of my tour plans for Arizona! Instead of going to Monument Valley now, I will go later when hotel rooms are available – I have booked one already!
I went to bed in Cortez slightly annoyed with myself, that I was having to change my route just because I hadn’t thought about booking hotel rooms in busy areas. On this tour, good days are common. This was not one of them!
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