Riding a Honda Goldwing Sidecar Rig

This afternoon, I'd arranged to meet with Ken A.  He'd answered the craigslist ad I'd posted a few weeks back putting Yoshie, my 2006 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom Sidecar rig for sale.

Ken showed up at my house riding his nice looking Honda Goldwing 1800cc Sidecar Rig!  I wasn't expecting this and was rather pleasantly surprised.

We exchanged pleasantries and spent the next half hour or so chatting about each others motorcycles.  Ken had owned a 2006 Ural and he was quite interested in seeing how things had changed in the last five years or so.  Ken had also had the "pleasure" of owning a MT16 Dneper Russian sidecar rig, which he mentioned spent more time being worked on than being ridden!

I showed Ken around Yoshie, pointing out her pluses and minuses.  Finally it was time for the test ride.  I had gotten good vibes from Ken, he knew his sidecars and seemed experienced at handling them so no worries there in terms of staying safe on the road.  He then asked me if I'd like to ride his Goldwing!  I of course didn't hesitate and donned my riding gear quickly.

I led the way out of the neighborhood.  Me riding the Goldwing, Ken on Yoshie.  Here's a few words that came to mind as I rode that Goldwing:   Smooth, quiet, fast and massive!  That 1800cc engine had no problems pulling the additional weight of the sidecar, and shifting the gears was smooth as butter.

Soon, we were at the Aurora Racetrack where there was plenty of room in the empty parking lot for Ken to put Yoshie through a few maneuvers in a safe manner.

Here's some shots of Ken's Goldwing Sidecar Rig that I took while he put Yoshie through her paces:

 She's definitely the biggest sidecar rig I've ever driven!

 Just look at all those buttons. 

Nice looking rig, isn't she?

Ken finished putting Yoshie through her paces, remarked she was a lot more stable that he'd thought she'd be.  I found it fascinating to watch another person putting my rig through the maneuvers today, she looked good!

We then rode back towards my house, again with me in the lead.  Yoshie's lights in the Goldwing's rear view mirrors were quite brilliant, truly amazing to me that someone could not see them.  

Back home, Ken took Valencia, my 2011 Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig out for a spin.  You remember I said he'd owned a 2006 model before?  

While he rode about the neighborhood on my Ural, I showed the Goldwing to my youngest son Miles:

Pretty hard to miss seeing this coming at you, don't you think?

 Miles on the Throne

 Miles was quite impressed with the spacious sidecar

All smiles!

It may have been a tactical mistake, suggesting to Ken to take Valencia out for a ride after riding Yoshie.  He came back impressed with how far the Urals have come in terms of quality and performance.  I think I heard him say: " I think I might have to look into a Ural".  

A bit more chatting later, it was time for Ken to go.  He's going to think on Yoshie, he seemed to like her, we'll see how it all turns out.   He got to try out my rigs, I got to drive his, it's all good.

A Summer Day on Mount Evans, Colorado

A pretty hot day forecast today, Sunday, for the Denver Metro area. I left the house while things were still in the high 60s, low 70s of the early morning and met a co-worker at his hotel in Broomfield, CO. Mike P. was in town to meet both myself and Dan H, we all work for TIAA-CREF in the Network Services Firewall Team.

After some time lost while I lost my bearings leaving the area of Mike's hotel, we finally got onto 88th Avenue which eventually lead us to its junction with CO93. We kept going west towards CO72 once we crossed over CO93 which becomes Coal Creek Canyon Road.

We twisted and turned our way through the high rocky canyon walls, cruising past the towns of Wondervu and Pinecliffe, ascending and descending via hairpin turns and distant vistas of bare mountain peaks through the thickly forested roads eventually ending up on the Peak to Peak Highway just north of Rollinsville.

Our first stop on the Peak to Peak Highway was the lake at the border of Gilpin and Boulder Counties, the distant mountains reflecting on the calm waters of the lake. We continued heading south on CO72 and and turning onto CO119 which took us past the gambling towns of Central City and Blackhawk. Eventually, we connected with US6 which we took west towards Idaho Springs and the western end of CO103, which one must use to get to CO5, The Mount Evans Highway.

A quick stop for gas and beverages, we then got onto CO103 and slowly ascended up towards Echo Lake. This lake marks the nearby location to CO5 and the fee station which marks the start of the Mount Evans Road. Some kind of event was going on and it was only $3 for each of use for the entrance fee!

Upwards we climbed, Valencia, my 2011 Ural Patrol pulling cleanly and strongly in first and second gears; past the timberline and soon onto the rocky expanses spanned by a mountainside hugging road. Fourteen miles is what you traverse to the top of Mount Evans. 

Most of the road is nicely paved, but watch out for frost heave conditions near Summit Lake!

It being a beautiful day, and things being forecasted for the 90s down in the Denver Metro Area, the top of Mount Evans was crowded with people and cars. 

There was a line of folks walking the last quarter mile up the pile of boulders trail to the highest point of Mount Evans. Both Mike and I elected not to walk up this last bit of trail, content to stand next to the sign announcing we were above 14,000 Feet.

We slowly escaped the crowded parking lot after perusing the sights at the top. We stopped often to take pictures, sometimes to wait for all the long horned sheep and white mountain goats and their kids to have their pictures taken by tourists in their cars. 

There were a lot of goats and their young kids amongst the rocks, so there was a lot of stopping while folks clogged up the narrow mountain roads to get their pictures.

Eventually, we reached the lodge near Echo Lake and had us some pie!

We motored on after this snack, continuing eastward on CO103, through Juniper and Squaw Pass, twisting and turning as we sometimes rapidly descended from Echo Lake. There was quite a bit of sand and gravel on some of the hairpin turns coming down from the mountain but being on three wheels, no problem. 

There were many motorcyclists out, going up and down the mountain. I have to think though, those riders without helmets must have been wishing they'd worn helmets, when we were rained/hailed on while coming down the mountain! It was smaller than pea sized hail and it didn't sting much at all, but it made quite loud pinging noises on my helmet.

We reached the area near Bergen Park without further incident, turning onto eastbound I-70 for a short spring until we reached the Genesee exit and took it past the Buffalo Herd Overlook and onto US40. We wanted to avoid the usual frantic chaos of traffic on Sunday afternoon on the I-70 slab you see.

We cruised along, getting warmer with each mile that we got closer to the Denver Metro Area. Soon enough, we were past Golden and feeling the 95°F temperature quite well, thank you very much! Cruising up CO93 towards the CO72 junction felt like riding through a very large oven, with seemingly blood warm air rushing by us.

I got Mike P. back to his hotel, safe and sound, his first sidecar ride and first Fourteener accomplished. I rode back home using US36, US270, I-70 towards the eastern edge of the Denver Metro Area and was home soon after 5:00 PM. 

Hope you like the pictures, it was about 52°F up on the top of Mount Evans, over forty degrees in temperature difference!

Uraling to a Wedding

Martha and I got dressed up and rode Valencia, my 2011 Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig to Flagstaff Mountain in People's Republic of Boulder.  We were attending the wedding of a dear neighborhood friend, Donna's daughter Caitlin and her soon to be husband, Eric.

The weather was great, it was in the mid-60s as we left before 9:00 AM in order to have a leisurely ride on the slabs to the direct opposite side of the Denver Metro Area where Boulder is located.

We got to Boulder with no incident and found a good shady spot to park Valencia.  Plenty of time for us to then doff our riding gear and into our "wedding clothes":

 Helmets removed for the pictures, but still wearing our riding gear.

 Now in our "Sunday Best"

Martha, my better half

The wedding ceremony was to take place at the Sunrise Amphitheater about halfway up Flagstaff Mountain. It kind of reminded me of an ancient Greek amphitheater, I am sure it was with such examples in mind that they created this one.

 Sunrise Amphitheater on Flagstaff Mountain

I am happy to report, no one tripped on the gravelly steps.

A string quartet provided live music before and during the ceremony.

Nice job, Ladies!

What?! No pictures of the bride and groom?  I am sad to report neither myself or Martha were in a good position during the ceremony or during the reception afterwards to get a good picture of the bride and groom.  Once we get a copy of the ones shot by the "pros" hired for the event, I'll add it to this posting.

In the meantime, here's a picture of the happy couple

Congratulations!  Caitlin and Eric!

Lightning and a Fiery Sunset

I went for a short ride before sunset this evening, things had cooled off into the mid-70s after a short rain fall.

I offer you a view of the cloudy skies and a fiery sunset.....the sunset shot was not tweaked for color, shot using my camera's sunset mode, tweaked only for cropping and resizing.

Typical Colorado Sunset, we have it rough here, don't we?

While waiting for the right light conditions, I shot several minutes of dark skies with sporadic lightning flashes.  Here's a short video clip of the parts with lightning, and a view of a couple out "walking" their dog.