We made it...... for 2 of us in attendance this was the 3rd attempt, spanning 10 years.
Returning riders from last year were, Alan Humes, Kurt Pierce and myself. Additional riders were Pat Conlon, Joe Keane, Tommy Laughery and my daughter Katie Greenlee.
The forecast for the weekend looked much better than last year. Tommy, myself and my daughter did the tent camping thing in Woodland Park. At 8600 feet in elevation, that is the highest I have ever pitched a tent.
Friday evening a few of us did make it to the Airplane Restaurant for dinner.
Saturdays weather was perfect. Nice and sunny from the start. An easy ride up to the visitor center and the bike lineup with Sasquatch. We got to our stopping point last year.... Devil's Playground and the Park Ranger checked everyone's windscreen sticker and let us pass for the final climb up to the Summit. The new building/Restaurant is really nice.
The ride down was pretty uneventful. There is a stopping point for a brake temperature check for cars and trucks.... we got waved on through. I did get to follow an older Goldwing with a sidecar for a few miles.
Lunch at Rudy's BBQ was very good. We had perfect timing. The monsoon rains came and went while we were eating. After lunch the group split up and went separate ways. A few of us visited The Garden of the Gods park. It was a quick visit as it was getting late in the afternoon.
The ride back to Kansas was uneventful.... 500 miles of long, boring straight roads. A few cattle feed lots that you could smell about the time you saw them.
I have decided to make this an Annual Event..... this will be a 1 day event and a destination ride. I will pick the location (town) and the actual unique destination. It will be a different location every year.
For 2024 the location will be Evergreen, Colorado and the destination will be the Echo Lake Lodge and the Summit of Mount Evans. From my understanding the mountain has officially been renamed Mount Blu Sky. Specific details will be given early 2024..... hope to see a good group again.
Fred
