Summer Trip VI

"...its about the journey, not the destination..."

The little portable jumper box that rescued me from the wilds of eastern Colorado..

    Waking up in Colorado City I had to decide on the best strategy to get a battery. The guy who checked me in said there was a Batteries Plus near by and they would probably have the battery I needed. I looked on line and found the place he mentioned just 15 minutes away. I went out to the bike and removed the side panel that covered the battery. Then, using the jump box pictured above, I started the bike and rode over. Once I arrived I took off the seat, and then, using the tool kit on the bike, removed the old battery. 

My motel in Colorado City was right next to a gold course, but it had a good view of Pike's Peak in the distance.

 Once in side the store the guy looked at my old battery and said how many do you need? Every body's a comedian! For a mere $102.74 I purchased a new battery. Went back outside, put the new battery in the bike, and it started right up. Problem solved. 

One of the many pull offs on the way back down Pike's Peak.

By this time it was just after 10AM. I put Pike's Peak Toll Road into my phone, and set out for the 

45 minute ride across Colorado City. Once I got on the other side of I 25 the road (US 24) started to twist and turn and climb past the town of Manitou CO. Curves. I hadn't seen many of them in recent days so I enjoyed them immensely. Near the town of Cascade you tun left to begin going up to Pike's Peak. It took 30 minutes to get to the toll house, a 2 mile distance, because there were so many vehicles waiting to go up. It was a steep road. It was hot. My bike heated up; a lot! A I finally reached the toll house I realized I was losing my clutch. The engine had not "overheated," but it was so hot the clutch fluid overheated. I paid with the bike in neutral, but when I tried to pull in the clutch, it was not working. I turned the bike off and pushed it to an open space to cool down. My hope was that when it cooled the clutch would work properly. After 20 minutes I started the bike and found that I had "some" clutch, so I started what was a 19 mile ride UP to the summit. This ended up being an aggravating ride as the cars drove too slowly, not allowing enough air to move through the radiator as the bike climbed steadily upward. In addition some of the cars and pickups had trouble going around 10 mph curves! On 4 wheels! They should try it on two wheels at 5 mph! It was challenging! 

The summit. Lots of construction, lots of people, and few places to park!

THEN about 2/3 of the way up I was informed that I couldn't ride all the way to the summit because of construction and limited parking at the summit. When I had paid my toll I told the lady I had ridden my bike over 1,500 miles to ride to the top, and she had given me a summit pass. This got me through the "road block" and on my way to the top. Once there I found a place to park the bike and get off and take a picture, but it was such a mess, and there were so many people wandering around, I got back on the bike for the ride down. There were some great places to stop to take pictures, which I did. In all there was so much traffic, and so many people that I don't think I'll do it again. 

Once again I am not capable of capturing the beauty of the view from up on the mountain . 

By the time I got back down I was after 2 PM.When I got back to Colorado Springs I looked for a diner I had seen during my morning battery adventures. I found it, just 2 miles from my motel. There was a BSA motorcycle decorating the interior, along with a vintage Harley. Obviously I had chosen the right place for lunch. 

I offered the waitress a dollar if she could tell me what BSA stood for. I kept my dollar.  (British Small Arms)

After lunch back to the motel. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, and looking at my route for the next day. I was going back east of Colorado City on CO 94, and then navigating down to Dalhart Texas. I found a motel there, watched some TV, and then called it a night. 

The eye catching decor of Gunther Toody's Diner.