Day 8 –Boulder to Colorado Springs

Rode 180 miles, Posted by Bug

Today’s initial 84 miles were mostly urban. The other 96 started with a ride through the Garden of the Gods, after dropping off our luggage at Ron and Kim Charity’s home, and ended at the foot of Pike’s Peak. GOTG is a series of golden, rocky outcrops that dot the desert between Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, laced with a narrow, winding road (slightly wider than a golf cart path) for motorists, cyclists, and hikers. The Garden road ends where the gorgeous little town of Manitou Springs begins. Previously a plain little watering hole at the foot of Pike’s Peak, the town is now an attraction in its own right, at once rustic and frou frou, like a pretty girl in hiking garb.

We started to drive part of the way up Pike’s Peak, but Blue decided to take us on a harrowing tour of an ugly little hillside neighborhood full of gravel and hairpin turns, not a good combination for motorcycles. Navigating it was no problem for Blue, Bull, and Barca, but the Bug aged 15 years before we got back down to the main road.

To top it off, Blue got too far ahead of the other three of us, and wound up alone, whereupon he just headed back to town. Bull and Barca paid $4 to drive part of the way up Pike’s Peak, while the Bug drove back to town to find a drink holder that would fit his handlebars (got it). It’s been 100 degrees here, and the altitude, while they say its 6,000 feet closer to Heaven, feels like the outskirts of H-E-double hockey sticks.

Tomorrow we head into Kansas, breadbasket of America and several other nations. With the current heat wave, I expect toast.