Except for riding down the street in front of the dealer and riding the bike into the trailer four days ago, this is the first ride! How often does one read a report from an inaugural ride? Icy weather prevented any riding until today... and still had to coast through a couple of black ice sections
. Early this morning while others slept, while the driveway was frozen (Better than when the sun warms the ice and permafrost, turning it wet/muddy/slick), I snuck out of the house for the first ride. Brought the camera. Here's the neighborhood.
Paused along the 1/2 mile driveway. About 1/4 mile to go to a county dirt road. Someone on the anal side of the spectrum (Like me), with a driveway like this, and a bike like this, can have their mental challenges :-/... but find adjacency to the National Forest worth the routine clean-the-bike tasks...
If you're wondering how the driveway is kept clear, 60" so far this winter, the mighty thing from J-D helps...
Made it to the county dirt road. Mt. Logan is in the distance. Big game is in these woods. Neighbor saw a mountain lion along the driveway. Once surprised a redtailed hawk on the driveway with a rabbit in its talons. It labored to lift off with the rabbit but nervousness with the bike had it dropping its prey right next to me. Have a video of a bear going to town with a hummingbird feeder next to our house this summer. Elk, mule deer, turkeys, bobcats, etc. routine. When the driveway is plowed after fresh snow, one can see their tracks. When there is no snow, one can see the tracks of the big twin...
Arrival at a highway about five miles away. Pausing above the Platte Canyon with the Platte River Mountains providing the backdrop. It is here where the digital camera AA batteries crapped out. One pic taken...
So I get batteries and top off the tank in the nearby town of Bailey. Practice working with that cool recessed gas cap. It is cold here in the valley/canyon. Maybe less than 30 degrees. Up ahead where I'm going the road is in winter season shade and shadows. Be smoooooooth on this cold, dark section of the road. Don't you just love poster sized temp tags?
On the other side of the canyon the valley opens up a bit. Pausing at the high school. Do you recall the Colorado school hostage situation/shooting late September? This is the school. Happened on the second floor to the far left. My two youngest were here when it happened. My sophomore daughter was in the classroom directly below the hostage classroom. She knows well the six girls who were hostages. The community is close, and has become closer...
From the same spot looking up the valley towards the next stop. The large Aspen grove below the ridge in the distance is the result of a long ago wildfire. Many Aspen swaths and forests can trace their beginning to a fire clearing out the dense pines.
History and honor I don't take lightly. Have paused here more than a few times. Bailey VFW Post 8661. It is an active post with a community sausage, biscuits, and gravy breakfast the first Sunday of every month. If in the area on that Sunday, stop by for a killer breakfast.
Looking towards the southern slopes of Mt. Logan...
And finally, on the chip and seal county road taking me back from this first ride. The fingertips are feelin the cold! Rosalie Peak in the distance - 13,575ft. Sweet bike, sweet ride, sweet memories from only a 25 mile ride. The memory ledger wouldn't have had a deposit if instead the 25 miles were spent in a heated vehicle with the radio on. Zzzzzzzz.
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Topic: The First Ride, 30 Degrees, 25 Miles, 10 Images (Read 4832 times)