First off, thank you very much for a recent, very generous donation! Don’t worry, I don’t plan on getting heat stroke (and continue to do my best to not run myself, and Donna, into the ground with heat exhaustion!)
Anticipated Mileage:
Actual Mileage: 392.4
Total Miles Traveled: 1,381.7
The night in Big Springs was…difficult, lets say. I spent the night at McGreer Campground (thanks to the people that run the place, upgrading me from a campsite to a cabin! on the cheap!).
I was lucky enough to be in a cabin throughout the night, and not in my tent. Lucky because it stormed all night. Not just little storms, but rather significant lightning and rain. Forecasts for the storms was 1-2 inches, and based on the amount of rain I heard, I’d believe it. Combine that with the wind made me very nervous for Donna, who was outside, parked on grass (because there aren’t any concrete parking pads here), with her cover (think: Sail) on. I kept getting up from the bed to check on her! And Yes, she was ok. Didn’t fall over!
I left at 5:30 am from Big Springs, driving through the morning mist, clouds, and cool. High Plateau scenery throughout as the sun rose. Drove through some nice, small towns, and some bigger ones (such as Sterling).
The drive along the Pawnee Grasslands was very pleasant (aside from all of the trucks).
Stopped at the Genuine Dealership in Fort Collins, but they were busy with uHaul rentals.
Then….the Mountains.
Words cannot describe what I saw, or how I felt as I drove along Colorado State Road 14. It was as close to a religious experience that I have – similar to that of being in the Adirondacks. In lieu of more words, I’ll let the pictures do the talking (when they will upload, of course).
Also, side note: The River Water was nice and cold! Tossing my shirt in there, wringing it out, and then riding with it under my vented jacket was just like air conditioning. Thanks for those who gave that tip!
After passing the Continental Divide (at just about 9,000′ altitude! I started the day just shy of 4,000′!), I made my way into Steamboat Springs. All of the campgrounds were full, and the hotels were either full or a little out of my price range (at $300 a night?!), so I continued on to Craig, Colorado. That means I am an hour ahead of where I planned to be tomorrow!
Performed a post-ride inspection (as I try to do every night), and noticed Donna was running a little loud. So I pulled off the engine cowl, and saw that the air filter was off! Wonder when that happened…good thing it can’t escape the engine compartment! I noticed a little bit of oil on the engine case near the top…shouldn’t be related to the air filter missing. Something to monitor. Good thing I check the oil daily (guess I better up that), and haven’t had a problem yet.
Time for sleep, so I can wake up early. Traveling through Dinosaur, CO, possibly Provo. Have to decide if I am going to go I-80 through Nevada, or US-50. Leaning towards 50 due to speed limitations (cruising at 55mph), but services can be a lifesaver. I think I”m pretty well prepared though…
Leaving towards US-50. Safer, I’ll bring a ton of liquid to drink (water, gatorade, etc.) and leave early to avoid the heat of the day.
Want to Help? That would be super-cool!
Than trip should take an estimated 10 days maximum, and roughly 3,000 miles. That will take a bit of a toll on the ol’ wallet, so I am happy to take any donations my generous friends would like to offer. For reference:
$3 will get me approximately 70 miles closer to my goal.
$15 will feed me for the day
$35 will get me one night at a Tent Campsite at a KOA Campsite
$40 will buy me one tire when I get to my destination (as the rear tire will likely be spent by then!)
$75 will get me one night at a hotel (and more importantly, a shower!)
If you would like to donate, feel free to leave a comment (they are private until I approve them, or you can email me at bryrhoey at gmail) and I can set that up, or you can send me money via PayPal! 🙂
If you live along the route, and don’t mind me camping/crashing/eating with you, I’d appreciate that too!
I’d say definitely US-6 to US-50. If you take 80, you’ll be stuck on the interstate all the way to Reno. Just make sure you have lots of gas, water, and the cell phone is charged up. You need a rescue plan in place in the event of getting stuck out there.
Got the gas, got the water, and cell phone is on the charger on the bike that I installed!
I think I’ve got this.