Eventually we wound up just riding on Saturday which turned out to be great weather for riding. We rode with a friend Sean and his wife Pam,
I got up at 6:00 to prep my bike (wash the windshield) and make some breakfast. I was in the mood for some good hash browns and eggs do I grabbed a few potatoes and a big onion to prep
I washed the potatoes and tossed them in the microwave for 5 minutes to get a head start. Then I cut the onion into large chunks so my wife and daughter can pick the onion out.
When the microwave beeped I took the potatoes out and dropped them in cold water. If I try to cut them hot, they just mush, but if I cool the they cut into nice squares.
With the potatoes and onions both peeled and cut, I added some bacon drippings and fried them up. It was great
At 8:30 I woke Kyle and got the bikes out to prep. I texted Sean about the temperature. It was 45 degrees but the sun was shining and it felt great out.
At 9:30 we left the house to meet up at a nearby gas station. Kyle had his light gloves on as we rode, but once we stopped he grabbed my heavy gloves (can't find his) and said his hands were already cold. Sean and Pam came 5 minutes later. We all fiddled with stuff on bikes, making sure all ways ready. Then headed out of the gas station toward the freeway. Just as soon as we got out of the parking lot I realized I hadn't grabbed my camera out of the trunk. I always forget something at the start of a trip.
Traffic on the freeway was light. There was still a chilly nip in the air but I felt great riding. We made it through town without much problem and exited on South Academy Boulevard to head over to highway 115.
The ride down 115 was nice with only light traffic and no idiots. The temperature had warmed up quickly into the 60s. We didn't hurry because we had the whole day to ride and no real goal other than to enjoy ourselves. When we got to Penrose, we stopped at the gas station for a break. It was a bit early to rest, but none of us has been riding hard lately and it's easy to get out of riding shape. No one complained about the early stop.
After a quick refresher we continued South toward Florence. Both Sean and I are church volunteers at the Federal Prison in Florence, so we know the road and the area well. After we turned onto highway 67 and were riding past the prison, I took a couple of pictures of Sean and Pam riding past the prison. It's hard to photograph because it's so spread out.
At the end of highway 67 we were just approaching some mountains and came to an intersection to join highway 96. We turned right and headed up into the mountains. It cooled off just a bit, but not bad and the riding got allot more fun as we wound our way South towards Westcliffe. After 10 miles we came to another intersection with highway 165 leading East. We turned left towards Rye and Colorado City. We're only going to take 165 for about 20 miles until we reach Bishop's castle.
165 is a great road with nice sweeping turns, climbs, descents and allot of beautiful views. I was quickly lost in the left right left of the turns and banks. There are a couple of high speed hair pins that catch you a bit by surprise because you can't see that such a sharp turn is coming until you're half way through the turn.
We arrived at Bishop's Castle at 11:00 and already there were allot of cars and motorcycles parked along the roadway. There's no formal parking for the castle, just a widened shoulder along one side of the highway, and flat dirt areas along the rest of the road. There were over 30 vehicles parked by the road but still plenty of places left for us. We were just getting parked when a large group of 30 motorcycles came rumbling down the highway from the East and pulled up. The filled much of the empty spaces as we took our gear off and snapped a couple pictures.
Most of this new group were awed by the castle but had no desire to actually go into it. Kyle looked at the castle, spotted the tallest tower and said "This must be climbed", and with that, he headed in and up. I followed a few minutes later and took a few pictures as he climbed.
Kyle was good to his word and climbed all the way to the top of the spindly tower. I don't have much desire to climb that thing myself, but I did follow Sean and Pam up to the metal ball althought I didn't climb up INTO the ball. From the top of the
Stopped for a break in Penrose
Passing the Federal Prison outside Florence (Sean and I volunteer to lead church services)Traffic on the freeway was light. There was still a chilly nip in the air but I felt great riding. We made it through town without much problem and exited on South Academy Boulevard to head over to highway 115.
The ride down 115 was nice with only light traffic and no idiots. The temperature had warmed up quickly into the 60s. We didn't hurry because we had the whole day to ride and no real goal other than to enjoy ourselves. When we got to Penrose, we stopped at the gas station for a break. It was a bit early to rest, but none of us has been riding hard lately and it's easy to get out of riding shape. No one complained about the early stop.
After a quick refresher we continued South toward Florence. Both Sean and I are church volunteers at the Federal Prison in Florence, so we know the road and the area well. After we turned onto highway 67 and were riding past the prison, I took a couple of pictures of Sean and Pam riding past the prison. It's hard to photograph because it's so spread out.
At the end of highway 67 we were just approaching some mountains and came to an intersection to join highway 96. We turned right and headed up into the mountains. It cooled off just a bit, but not bad and the riding got allot more fun as we wound our way South towards Westcliffe. After 10 miles we came to another intersection with highway 165 leading East. We turned left towards Rye and Colorado City. We're only going to take 165 for about 20 miles until we reach Bishop's castle.
165 is a great road with nice sweeping turns, climbs, descents and allot of beautiful views. I was quickly lost in the left right left of the turns and banks. There are a couple of high speed hair pins that catch you a bit by surprise because you can't see that such a sharp turn is coming until you're half way through the turn.
We arrived at Bishop's Castle at 11:00 and already there were allot of cars and motorcycles parked along the roadway. There's no formal parking for the castle, just a widened shoulder along one side of the highway, and flat dirt areas along the rest of the road. There were over 30 vehicles parked by the road but still plenty of places left for us. We were just getting parked when a large group of 30 motorcycles came rumbling down the highway from the East and pulled up. The filled much of the empty spaces as we took our gear off and snapped a couple pictures.
Most of this new group were awed by the castle but had no desire to actually go into it. Kyle looked at the castle, spotted the tallest tower and said "This must be climbed", and with that, he headed in and up. I followed a few minutes later and took a few pictures as he climbed.
Kyle was good to his word and climbed all the way to the top of the spindly tower. I don't have much desire to climb that thing myself, but I did follow Sean and Pam up to the metal ball althought I didn't climb up INTO the ball. From the top of the
Stopped for a break in Penrose
Getting near the mountain finally
Kyle posing on the road in front of Bishops Castle
Kyle climbing the stairs up to the 2nd floor of Bishops Castle
Lookup up to the top of the castle
Looking down at our bikes from the 2nd story of the castle
Sean and Pam coming up the steps to the castle
Sean and Pam taking a self pic on the 2nd floor
Looking down at the road from the roof just below the big ball
Looking back at the castle just before we left. Kyle was at the tip top of that metal spire on the left
Riding down towards Westcliff
