Day 27: Riders in the Storm

I wanted to title today's entry "Sweet Home Colorado" but, really, the theme of the day was riding in the storm.

When we looked out the window this morning, the first thing we saw was the steady rain. Terrific. Looking at our respective weather apps, we decided to hunker down and push the limits of the hotel check out time. The hotel desk staff was gracious enough about the delay. They let us keep our bikes under the awning after we packed them, even though we asked for a late check out and hung out in our room for another hour. When the rain slowed down, we took a chance on heading out.

About 10 miles south of town, we could see we were heading into worse weather, so we turned back (again) with the intention of topping off the tanks, and waiting a little longer for the storm to move even further south. One more time, we headed back into Laramie. After we got out of the storm, we could see the blue(-ish) sky behind the rain.

While we waited, I added one more layer to my ensemble -- my gaters (because my feet were getting cold). By this time I could hardly move to get on the bike, but I was as warm as I could be riding a motorcycle, in the rain, at about 50-degrees (ambient temp, not with a 55-mph wind chill attached). Oh, and I had stuffed a pocket warmer in each sleeve to help keep my hands warm.

We hung out at the gas station putting on extra clothes, checking the oil, cleaning our glasses, and generally wasting time for as long as we dared, then pointed the bikes back to the south. Our intention was to pull over regularly to let traffic pass and to make sure everything was OK with each other. First stop, Tie Siding, WY.

Riding at a speed barely safe enough for US Hwy 287, the ride to Tie Siding was slow and cautious. We have ridden Hwy 287 many times, and it's not always a friendly stretch of highway. The winds can be unpredictable and wicked. Today it was wet.

Feeling like we were inching home, we stopped at the rest area north of Virginia Dale -- again to let traffic pass and to use the facilities (our good fortune that it was open). We agreed to check about stopping at The Forks in Livermore, but by the time we got there, we were ready to press on. A quick check at Ted's Place let me know that we were on the same wavelength -- stop at Vern's Place for food before heading to our cars.

We both felt a sense of accomplishment at completing the long ride. Not just for having ridden that long and that many miles, but for arriving home safe with no major mishaps. There is a lot that I didn't put in this blog, mostly because I didn't want everyone to worry. We had more than one close call, but we chose to let the good times define our journey.

We have stories to tell and more adventures to experience.


Mileage today: 67.1
Jae's trip total: 4703.6
Donna's trip total: 4698.8(?)