Labor Day Weekend 2007

On Wednesday before Labor Day I headed out on the Harley for 6 days and 2650 miles of touring through Utah and Colorado. The first day was 653 miles from my house to Jim's. It was a long day but it was a really nice ride.

The following day 7 motorcycles and 9 people met up and headed out on the highway. The group consisted of me, Jim and Margo, and their friends Corey and Lynette, Steve, Dave, the other Dave, and Randy. We headed S/E to Moab where we had lunch and then on to Telluride, CO.

After hanging out in Telluride for a while, riding the tram to the top, we saddled up again and headed out to Rico, Colorado where we had reservations for the night. On the way there we rode over Lizard Head Pass. This is some of the most beautiful scenery in the country and what a great ride it was.

We stayed at the Rico Inn which is a small bed and breakfast. Dinner was REALLY good, albeit expensive, but we were treated like we not really welcome there. Perhaps our group was too large...? There were also issues with the reservations but ultimately we all had a room and a bed to sleep in.

After a night in Rico it was time to head out. Randy, Steve, and the other Dave had only planned on doing the first day with us as they each has committments at home to attend to. So, after breakfast they headed back to Orem. The rest of us headed for Durango where we stopped for a bit and then we headed north on Highway 550, also known as the Million Dollar Highway. It is miles and miles of sweeping turns, twisties, and fantastic scenery. The highway passes through Silverton and Ouray and eventually ends in Montrose.

While in Ouray I noticed that my volt meter was showing that my battery was failing. I wasnt sure if it was a battery problem or a charging problem. As we rode N/B towards Montrose I watched the volt meter drop lower and lower. Finally, it was pointing at zero. I lost my stereo along the way and several miles later my electronic speedometer started to freak out. It eventually died too.

I was getting a little nervous because my motorcycle has electronic fuel injection and I feared that without electricity the fuel pump would give out. We finally reached Montrose and I pulled up alongside Jim to tell him that I needed to stop at the Harley shop that was in town. I was going to suggest that the group continue on the last 60 miles to Gunnison where we had rooms for the night while I got my motocycle fixed, figuring I would catch up with them later that night.

Well, as fate would have it, as I pulled up at the first stoplight in town, the EFI gave out and I was dead in the water. We pushed my bike off to the side of the street and contemplated what to do. I knew I had to get to the Harley shop so I hopped on the back of Dave's old Yamaha and off we went to Black Canyon HD.

In speaking with the Service Manager I was told my problem could be a battery, a voltage regulator or the stator in the alternator. My battery was quite old anyway so I bought a new battery and returned back to my bike.

A couple minutes later the new battery was installed and it fired right up. However, the volt meter showed that the battery was not charging so I figured I had bigger issues. We rode back to the Harley shop and they put a meter on my bike. I learned the stator had burned up and a new one was necessary.

The only problem was they did not have one in stock and with the holiday weekend it would be next Tuesday or Wednesday before they could get one in. We found that the Harley shop in Grand Junction had the part but Grand Junction was 75 miles in the opposite direction of where we were headed. Oh yeah, it was 5PM and the store closed at 7PM.

With little hesitation, Jim and Margo headed N/W to Grand Junction to get the part. I left my bike in Montrose and hopped on the back with Dave again. The rest of us headed east to Gunnison. Once we got there, I had a nice room, a king bed, and I settled in for a good nights sleep. 210 extra miles later, Jim and Margo arrived in Gunnison with my needed stator. What a brother, eh!!!

The next morning Dave and I headed back to Montrose to deliver the stator. It took less than an hour to install the new part and a few hundred bucks later I was back on the road.

The rest of the day took us through more beautiful scenery as we climbed in elevation. We finally arrived in Estes Park, at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park. We had dinner at a Japanese place and Jim even tried out a Japanese phrased he had learned. He asked where the bathroom was, even though he didnt need to use it, and the guy actually understood him. I cashed out early and went to bed while the others went sightseeing and had ice cream. I think I was a little worn out and depressed over my mechanical issues.

Sunday September 2nd had us riding through Rocky Mountain National Park. What a beautiful place. Thick green forests full of all sorts of wildlife (although the only thing I saw was some moose (Moosen?) off in the distance) and then rising elevation to up above the tree line. Up there, you can really see why these mountains are called the Rockies......There's lot of 'em!

While in the park, we went on a hike. It was 1 mile from the visitors center up to the top of this mountain. I thought I was going to die while hiking but I made it and lived to tell about it. I had to have a celebratory victory photo at the top! Then, it was a mile back to the visitors center. I was pretty whipped by the time it was over but I was proud of myself for actually being able to do it. A year ago, I never would have made it. Lets not forget, this was done at 12000 feet and Im used to 1200 feet in elevation!

We had a great ride from RMNP on to Steamboat Springs, CO. The last 25 miles or so were high speed sweepers and what a ride it was.

It was really fun as there is a descent into Steamboat and on those sweeping turns you can get some nice speed up. That is, until you get caught in traffic.

Steamboat is a cool little town and we went to the downtown shopping district and walked around sightseeing. Lots of touristy stuff but it was fun.

Monday morning, Labor Day, we started back to Utah. We stopped for lunch in Vernal and that was pretty much the high point of the day. Traffic in Provo Canyon was terrible as we were not the only ones returning home from the weekend. We got back to Jim's around 5PM. One nice hot shower later and life was all good again.

The next day I loaded up and left at 4:30AM. Ten and half hours later I pulled into my own driveway in Mesa, AZ. Six days on the road, lots of great riding, great fun, extra money I hadn't intended on spending, and 2650 miles. What a great road trip.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Angela had joined us. She had foot surgery earlier in the summer and the healing process was taking much longer than anticipated. Maybe next year, eh?