DAY 9 (8/9 - Friday) - Mueller SP to Rincon Campground via Pike's Peak
We passed around the idea of bypassing the Pikes Peak... well, I can't tell you how much of a mistake that would have been, this part of the trip was one of the best stretches. This wasn't a high mileage day whatsoever, it was just an easy stroll and it was great.
We got up a little later than usual - 6:30 am vs 6:00 am - hey, I'm not a drill Sargent and they needed a break (me too).
These guys were hanging around the fire pit.
Now... for this next picture, you have to understand how cheap Rick is... he dropped one of a .99 cent pair of ear plugs and the wind caught it and sent it over the edge... well, that's .49 cents and Rick could just see it... so, off he went.
But, getting back up was a little tougher than he thought, he did need some help.
Good news though, he got the ear plug.
Made it to the top.
At the railway at the top we caught this little guy (Marmot?) running around, I got him in an action shot.
Here we are posing with him while he's looking at us like a couple of idiots.
Smart animals...
Well, enough of that... back down we go...
Rick knew of some dirt road out of Cripple Creek, CO so we headed there.
Cripple Creek has one gas station and it's very tough to find... and apparently even tougher to escape.
CR88 is the road between Cripple Creek and Cannon City. The last small section is paved but most of it i dirt. Lots of washboard stuff.
I'm the novice here so took it easy, very easy... I came up around a corner and saw this.
Now, you're probably thinking "wow, he must have been going fast" or "gee, he slid that rearend around" or "must have caught air over that cattle guard".
Nope, the bike well over while he was stopped and trying to get a pic of the two of us coming up behind him. Hey, if it's gonna fall over, I'll take that one any day.
We had lunch in Cannon City and decided to just ride west until we felt like grabbing whatever campground looked good. We were off schedule with the original routes at this point but it didn't matter as we were all close enough to home to get there within a day or two so we were open to being flexible.
US-50 out of Cannon City is always a great road.
We found Rincon Campground in a little canyon with no cell service at all - great stuff when you're used to being 'connected' 24x7.
There was even a guy fly fishing and catching trout in front of us.
About 179 miles for the day, probably the least amount any of us had ever done touring but we didn't care as we were on the bikes all day and it was a great time - sometimes it really is quality and not quantity.
We passed around the idea of bypassing the Pikes Peak... well, I can't tell you how much of a mistake that would have been, this part of the trip was one of the best stretches. This wasn't a high mileage day whatsoever, it was just an easy stroll and it was great.
We got up a little later than usual - 6:30 am vs 6:00 am - hey, I'm not a drill Sargent and they needed a break (me too).
These guys were hanging around the fire pit.
Now... for this next picture, you have to understand how cheap Rick is... he dropped one of a .99 cent pair of ear plugs and the wind caught it and sent it over the edge... well, that's .49 cents and Rick could just see it... so, off he went.
But, getting back up was a little tougher than he thought, he did need some help.
Good news though, he got the ear plug.
Made it to the top.
At the railway at the top we caught this little guy (Marmot?) running around, I got him in an action shot.
Here we are posing with him while he's looking at us like a couple of idiots.
Smart animals...
Well, enough of that... back down we go...
Rick knew of some dirt road out of Cripple Creek, CO so we headed there.
Cripple Creek has one gas station and it's very tough to find... and apparently even tougher to escape.
CR88 is the road between Cripple Creek and Cannon City. The last small section is paved but most of it i dirt. Lots of washboard stuff.
I'm the novice here so took it easy, very easy... I came up around a corner and saw this.
Now, you're probably thinking "wow, he must have been going fast" or "gee, he slid that rearend around" or "must have caught air over that cattle guard".
Nope, the bike well over while he was stopped and trying to get a pic of the two of us coming up behind him. Hey, if it's gonna fall over, I'll take that one any day.
We had lunch in Cannon City and decided to just ride west until we felt like grabbing whatever campground looked good. We were off schedule with the original routes at this point but it didn't matter as we were all close enough to home to get there within a day or two so we were open to being flexible.
US-50 out of Cannon City is always a great road.
We found Rincon Campground in a little canyon with no cell service at all - great stuff when you're used to being 'connected' 24x7.
There was even a guy fly fishing and catching trout in front of us.
About 179 miles for the day, probably the least amount any of us had ever done touring but we didn't care as we were on the bikes all day and it was a great time - sometimes it really is quality and not quantity.