After a quick breakfast at the hotel Chance & I headed south on WY 191, aiming toward Denver. Google Maps told me it was 528 miles at the shortest, so I knew I was in for a long day. The two-lane highway wound its way along several smaller rivers that ultimately feed the Snake and I was treated to magnificent views of the canyon wall. After 20 minutes of this we spilled out into the flat part of Wyoming; sand, sagebrush, and absent of human activity. There were no other cars, and I wanted to make good time, so I slammed the throttle down and we sped through the desert.

Unfortunately this was the most tedious part of the entire trip, and if you've driven through Wyoming you know why. There is nothing but nothing out there. The only humans are those that are like me; on their way to someplace else. It feels like you're on another planet.

WY 191 intersects with Interstate 80 at Rock Springs and I stopped for lunch at the "Renegade", fine American cuisine. After a decent omelet we rolled on, jumping on I80 east. The wind was fierce yesterday - this part of Wyoming is subject to high winds since the land is so flat, and the winds typically run North/South, perpendicular to I80. Between the wind and the wake left by semi trucks I spent the other part of an hour struggling to keep the bike on the road. To keep on the road I had to crab the bike into the wind, seemingly as much as at a 15-degree angle at times. I was really scared, fearing I'd be drawn into the back of a semi or pushed off the road completely, and the wind was buffeting me so badly I was getting tired. So I started saying to myself, over and over, "I am the wind, I am a feather, I am the wind, I am a feather..." And that centered me and after a while I wasn't thinking about it anymore.

The next several hundred were pretty boring and aren't really worth writing about. Sand, wind, sagebrush, no humanity to speak of. The last part was the best though; crossing the Rockies. Heading out of Steamboat Springs, CO we began a rapid and windy ascent. Alpine meadows and snow-capped mountains danced in my periphery as the ambient temperature dropped. At one point I noted 47-degrees. This was some of the best riding of the trip, and I stopped to shoot these pictures.




















After 560.6 grueling miles I pulled up to Mark's place at 10:30 PM. It was great to see my old friend after all the planning, miles, and drama. We stayed up all night talking about the ride, watching the footage I'd taken, and b.s.'ing.

Today we'll going to the BMW of Denver shop to check out the bike and then spend a relaxing, low-mileage day.

Labels: updates