This morning we were up and at 'em at 6:30 AM. (I know, right? We are almost never moving that early when we are on vacation. But this morning we were on a mission.) Our goal today was to ride all the way home.
Last night, I put in a request for nice weather (or at least missed weather) for our ride home today. (I believe in the Law of Attraction. I mean, why not, it's worked for me so far.) And it worked, up to a point. Then it worked again.
We got the bikes packed, the place cleared out, the keys returned, and were sitting down do breakfast at Two Chicks and A Hippie (Donna wanted that awesome green chili one more time before we left) by 8:15 AM. By 9:00 AM we were riding east on US Hwy 160 facing our old nemesis, Wolf Creek Pass.
This morning the weather gods were with us as we had one of the most gorgeous rides over the pass that we have ever experienced. The sky was a perfect Colorado Blue with white puffy clouds. The last time we rode over Wolf Creek Pass, we to hailed on and rode over in rain and 50° temperatures. This ride was a treat.
As we left US 160 and turned onto US Hwy 285 north, the wind picked up and we could see the clouds build up in South Park. We pulled over to gear up for rain so we wouldn't have to do it at an inconvenient place. Sure enough, 5 miles up the road, the rain started. We were glad we had put our heavy gloves and rain gear on, because not only was it raining, the temperature had dropped as we were climbing over Poncha Pass.
By the time US 285 turned northeast, a few miles south of Buena Vista, the rain had stopped over our heads, but we could see evidence of it along the road. We stopped a couple more times to get off the bikes and stretch before we reached the I-76 cutoff to I-25 in Denver. We had decided earlier in the day, that if traffic was as bad as it had been on our way out of town last weekend, we were going to take the service road instead of the stop and go traffic that plagues US Hwy 287.
Surprisingly, traffic on I-70 and I-76 through Denver and north on I-25 was relatively light considering the holiday weekend. We expected traffic to be much worse. Once again, we could see evidence of rain that had passed less than an hour before.
When we arrived back in Fort Collins, we had a final meal to celebrate another successful trip. We stopped at the Hideout Patio Restaurant and Bar for a bite before heading our separate ways.
Donna and I arrived at our home on the mountain around 8:15 or so. The dog was also very glad to be home. In fact, he hasn't left my side since we got here.
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