Sounds like a great trip Mike. Know some of those roads and places well myself.
Which model K bike could only manage 130? Joe. -----Original Message----- From: Michael Cordon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2002 11:54 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: GTS Ride Report -- Northern California to Taos, New Mexico & Southern Colorado I just got back from a 3,500 mile ride to Taos, New Mexico and Southern Colorado (from Northern CA). Except for some slight hesitation when rolling on the throttle between 4,000 and 5,000 rpms, the GTS performed flawlessly. For those who are bored and want to read a ride report . . . Every year, I take an annual long ride with my bro-in-law and two other friends. I ride my GTS, my bro-in-law a '99 Harley (Dyna Wide Glide?), another guy a Yamaha Road Star, and the other a BMW K bike. On the morning of Saturday, 8/17, we rode through thick fog toward the Angeles Crest Highway (a.k.a. "The Crest" . . . a sweet mountain road in So Cal). The thick, wet fog cleared as soon as we got a few hundred ft. up the mountain. The road starts at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains in Pasadena. I had ridden a bicycle up the road 15 years ago . . . but it's way more fun on a motorcycle. We stopped and had breakfast at a cool sportbike hangout that's part of the way up the road (Newman's Ranch?). A bear and her little cub came down for a brief visit. The other side of the mountains is the Mojave Desert . . . since we were headed to AZ and New Mexico, there was no way to avoid the heat of desert. (Trust me, if you can, avoid the Mojave during the daytime in August.) We rode through Josha Tree Nat'l Park. By the early afternoon it was getting hot . . . 118 degrees hot. We filled up in Blythe (Blight?) and took cover in an air conditioned Dairy Queen to hydrate. We then rode over the Colorado River. On the other side of the bridge, we rode down a 1/4 mile and jumped in the water. Very fun. After we got back on the bikes, the BMW rider decided to test the GTS as we rode across the desert. I thought it was too hot for any high speed games, but I'm stupid and couldn't resist. Result: the GTS passed the K bike and continued to accelerate away . . . the top speed of the BMW was about 130 mph . . . the GTS pulled to approximately 145 (indicated). The GTS may not be the fastest bike around, but it's a solid all around performer and is a stellar sport-touring ride. We rode into Prescott, AZ, had dinner, and then rode to Flagstaff. The next morning we rode mountain bikes in Flagstaff. Then we got back on the motorcycles and rode across part of the Painted Desert (high desert, so the temps were nice), through numerous Indian Reservations, and through the Petrified Forest Nat'l Park . . . very fun and scenic. We rode into Albuquerque at about 8 pm. We hit the Jacuzzi first because it closed at 9 pm. A hottie from Durango, CO joined us in the hot tub and invited us to mountain bike with her in Durango. Sweet offer, but given how insanely fit she was, I suspect she was looking to ride us into the ground. We met some very nice people in New Mexico. However, trying to get a good dinner in Albuquerque after 9:30 p.m. was difficult . . . ended up at a downtown Sports Bar. After dinner we checked out the local night life . . . interesting. The next day we headed toward Taos, via the Jemez Indian Reservation . . . a different world, but a very beautiful and scenic valley. Check out the museum and the ruins. Then we rode into Los Alamos . . . home to the nuke bomb. Very interesting place. I didn't know that my alma mater, The University of California, has significant ties there. We visited the museum . . . could have spent hours there, but we need to push onto Taos to rent our mountain bikes for an early ride the next morning. A thunder storm hit us on the way to Taos, but with temps around 90, it felt great. Taos is a fun place . . . and the people were great. I noticed that there are dogs everywhere. I liked that. The following morning we rode mountain bikes across the South Boundary Trail, which starts 30 miles outside of Taos. It's a kick ass fun mountain bike ride, with elevations over 10,000 ft. Then we jumped back on the real bikes and motored across some amazingly picturesque country in North Western New Mexico and into Durango, CO. Beautiful vistas, great roads, and perfect weather. Sport-touring rocks. Durango's a fun place . . . but fairly quiet at night. However, the fantastic huevos rancheros the next morning made up for it. We had visited Mesa Verde Nat'l Park and Ouray, CO on an earlier trip, so we headed North toward Telluride. We arrived in Telluride at noon. Getting there was great, as expected . . . more twisty roads and majestic views. We walked the main street in about 90 minutes and I picked up a cool shirt. Interestingly, the average home price in Telluride is over $550,000 (and I thought the Bay Area was the worst). That afternoon, we headed out to Grand Junction, CO. I'd never been there before, and I really liked that place. It's good sized, is pretty, and has plenty of restaurants. If you're interested in nightly entertainment, drop by Cheers (but avoid Bobby's). The following day, two riders peeled off (one south to his home in Flagstaff and the other went North to visit family in Utah), while my bro-in-law and I rode west to Eureka, NV along I-70 and Highway 50 (a.k.a. "The Loneliest Rode in America"). Hwy 50 is a desolate road, but a blast to ride on a motorcycle. Along the way, I rode past a bicyclist who seemed to be riding alone out in the middle of nowhere Nevada. About 7 miles ahead, I slowed down as I approached another bicyclist . . . learned that the group of 5 guys was riding from New Jersey to San Francisco over 20 days. The guys were spread out over a 20 mile distance so as I approached them, I slowed down and talked with them for a few minutes. This gave my bro-in-law and his Harley a chance to get ahead . . . there were strong headwinds and plenty of mountains to climb such that the Harley could only do 75 mph up the hills into the head wind. I barely even notice the head winds, except as trucks passed going the opposite direction (e.g., wham). Oddly, as we rode across Hwy 50 from the Utah border into Ely, NV, I counted 7 dead cows on the side of the road. There are no fences along the highway to keep the cattle from wandering onto the road at night (my theory). My bro-in-law thought that someone had shot 'em. Either way, strange. We spent the night in Eureka, a town that was once silver boom town . . . the buildings still show signs of boom town Victorian opulence . . . but there are now only 600 people there. The courthouse was built in 1870 and is stunningly beautiful. They are so proud of the courthouse that when I asked to see it, we got the grand tour. Amazing woodwork. A judge from Ely comes out twice a month to hear cases there. Sign me up! We also learned about the "Redshirt Brethren," which is apparently a guy's club whose members are called "Clampers." The club's apparent mission is to help "widows, widders and orphans." We were told by a "widder" (her former boyfriend was a Clamper) that Clampers have been around since the early 1800's, but she refused to tell us more citing confidentiality/secrecy reasons. Eureka's a very fun and interesting place to visit! My bro-in-law and I meet up with our wives in Reno . . . they had arrived a couple of days earlier. Meeting up with them at the end of the ride is perfect because the girls can get together and have fun, then we all meet and have more fun. Everyone has fun (and we get to ride every year!) It was a great trip. The GTS ran beautifully. I flat-spotted the Bridgestone rear tire, but that's bound to happen on long rides. I'll be needing a new chain and two new tires. The bike cleaned up easily, except for the wheels, which are gross. I hate cleaning the wheels. Mike Cordon '94 GTS P.S. Anybody have any ideas on what might be causing the hesitation when rolling on the throttle between 4,000 - 5,000 rpms (after coasting)? I've never noticed it before. (I had the valves adjusted before the trip.) ====================================================================================== NOTICE - This communication may contain confidential and privileged information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any viewing, copying or distribution of, or reliance on this message by unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. ==============================================================================
