The trip was GREAT! Seven days of riding, five of which were solid mountains and passes. Came in from Santa Fe up through Pagosa Springs, Wolf Pass, then up 149 to Gunnison. Took 92 to Hotchkiss, and 133 into Carbondale. 82 down through Aspen, and up the Independence Pass. Little tight in some places!
24 up to Leadville, then 91 and 9 north to Kremmling let us hook east on 40 a ways and catch 34 up to Grand Lake, and on into Rocky Mountain Nat Park. After the first time over Trail Ridge, we took the Old Fall River Road back to the top. It's a one-way dirt trail, with tight uphill switch-backs and fantastic views. We sure got some funny looks with me on my Connie, and my buddy on his V-Rod!
Out through Estes Park on 7, 72, 119 down to Idaho Springs put us in position to head to the top of Mt. Evans. Encountered mountain sheep in the middle of the road up, at 12k ft. The rest of the climb to 14k+ was rain, sleet, fog, cold, wind. The ride down from summit got dicey with visibility at near zero, sleet piling up over one inch, heavy lightning storm all happening at once! As we were inching down the 14 miles of hairpins, my TPM monitor went crazy over a low rear tire situation, and the high beam switch got too wet to work properly. Of course it was rapidly getting dark, and we ended up riding back to Idaho Springs in heavy rain to find a hotel room.
67 down to Cripple Creek, then 24 out to Colorado Springs, with heavy rain putting us into a hotel there.
Nice sunny run down 25 to Trinidad and Raton, then over to Amarillo, Wichita Falls, and Ft Worth finished us out in the brutal Texas 110 degree heat.
Thanks for the tips, and it certainly was the ride of a life time for us. I'd even put up with Colorado winters just for the summer riding there!
2,600 total miles, and the bike never missed a beat. Slow leak on rear tire probaly due to an old repair. Ran great on the 85 octane in the high elevations. Highest MPG calculated was 53.8, and lowest of trip was 40.3
Will get some pics posted soon.