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Trip Reports & Journeys

Not all of the roads in Colorado indicated as scenic are deserving of this important designation, but sometimes just getting off the super slab is a relief. We left I 70 at exit 195 aka as Copper Mountain. Though the road has a few curves, the views are not especially charming until we turned west into the mountains on a county road at the main crossroads in Buena Vista to Cottonwood Pass where the pavement ended. The road was gravel and dirt until Taylor Park Reservoir. A turn south on Rt 135 took us along the Taylor river with all the curves and riding enjoyment we rode 600 miles for. We rode the loop of Gunnison Nation Forst with the expected mountain vistas and hidden lakes and creeks to Hotchkiss on Rt 92 to Delta on Rt 50. No scenery here until we reached Montrose and Ouray which may be the most spectacular city in the Rockies with hundreds of Queen Anns and Victorian homes. The riding from Ouray through Silverton to Durango is challenging with several passes with cold rain and sleet to encourage a prudent speed. Mac and I rode through downtown Durango around 6:45 pm in the rain and was on our way out of town because neither of us had printed out the Tiger Ride-In info and had no idea where the group was staying or meeting. We saw a lone Tiger at a motel parking lot at the edge of town and turned in to see if he was part of the group. He was, and they were meeting for dinner at the Texas BBQ Restaurant on the north side of town. We followed and met up with Jerry Moffit, Greg lawyer, Dale and Kathy Thornton and Jim and Marge Holley (formerly from Omaha) and several other fellow Tiger riders from Texas, Salt Lake City and Illinois. It was a wonderful gathering of fellow adventure motorcyclists telling stories, the usual lies and reconnecting with old and new friends while it rained cats and dogs outside. Since we hadn't made any plans because we were toting tents and camping gear, the prospect of camping across the street from the Motel where everyone else was cozily sequestered was starting to lose some of it's alure. Fortunately, Slovakia Frank from Salt Lake City had two beds and was quick to share his room for a split of the rather hefty nightly rate. There was no vacancy at many of the motels that Mac and I would trade for a saggy tent and jumped at the chance to stay at the Day's Inn with most of the other Ride-In group. I drew short straw and had to suit back up to ride the rain to find some bourbon for our night cap. A couple slugs of the kickin chicken (Wild Turkey) got us all mellow and the evening would down nicely. Of course, we assumed that the Continental breakfast was included in our sub-lease agreement with slovak Frank and no one pointed out otherwise then next morning. Friday, we headed west on 160 and outran the rain and hail. The group had visited Mesa Verde the day before and spoke excitedly about the Cliff dwellings at the park. Mac said "let's do it" and we spent 3 hours riding the park, photgraphing the cities that the Utes had built in the clam shell shaped openings in the edge of the cliffs. A quick ride to the Four Corners allowed us to brag that we rode Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. The highway, rt 160 south/west of Cortez is indicated as Scenic Byway, but it wasn't. We tried to ride the gravel from Aneth, Utah north off Utah rt 262, but it turned out to be a nice lonely paved road for about 60 miles. The Best road of all without comparison is rt 145 running first N/E out of Cortez, CO to Telluride!!!!! It was without comparison. The pavement was good, lots of curves, a burbling river running along side and the spectacular Quaking Aspens along the water's edge turning yellow and gold. The scenery and the roadway along rt 145 changes at Telluride to wide open fast sweepers through deep red canyons until rt 141 at Nucla. We took the chance of camping there since it was really cold up near Telluride and the threat of rain was always haunting us, but the night was mild with only the deceiving sounds of the aspens blowing in the breeze sounding like rain drop on the tent flys. Saturday was mostly clear and blue. The roads going north were wet and puddles indicated that the rains skipped over Nucla leaving a great day for us. We avoided Rt 70 choosing instead to ride rt 6 and rt 65 then rt 330 to Collbran where we agian rode the dirt roads for about 50 miles. The nice folks (except for the Goth slut waitress at the Collbran Cafe with an IQ lower than a bowl of buggers) advised us not to ride the dirt road to Silt because of the heavy rains that night, but it was relately easy and very pretty. From Silt we went west to Rifle then north on 13 to Meeker, east on another Scenic Byway through Buford where the road shortly turned to gravel. The river valley was ablaze with the gold and orange and crimson Aspens. The road curled up over the Ripple Creek Pass and the rain turned to slush, then snow and finally ice. The sun was setting and the evening air cooled to 29 degrees and the road turned into a Luge run. Thank God Mac was nice enough to stop and walk back to help me pick up my slippin and sliding Tiger each time. Mac's GS handeled better with the aggresive knobby tires than the Tiger but it was very slow going taking over 3 hours to go about 50 miles to Yampa on rt 131 just south of Steamboat Springs. That 50 miles was the most beautiful stretch we encounterd in spite of the difficulty. We had to wait for herds of cattle then sheep to mosey on down the road and the pines were now pewter colored from the freezing snow and the Aspens were bent over 180 degrees from the weight of the snow on the fully leafed sapplings. We pushed on to Kremmling then Silverthorne because we were afraid of getting snowed in at the upper elevations. The ride home Sunday was a breeze, literally, A tail wind pushed us home and we enjoyed the clear and warmer skies of Nebraska.

See some pictures of Mac's trip below!!!

Ireland - Jim and Mary Luben

In the spring of 2003 I was at your dealership looking at the bikes and buying some parts when you suggested I sign up for a trip giveaway being sponsored by BMW Motorad and Edelweiss Tours.  On July 3,2003, I was contacted and advised that I had won one of the grand prizes, a voucher worth $7,000 to be used for one of the world wide tours.  My wife and I decided to take the tour of Ireland.  Because of the available dates for this tour, we had to wait until July of 2004 to take the trip.  It was well worth the wait.

After arriving in Dublin the first day, we met with the tour guides who were both very experienced riders form Austria and rented our bikes with the rest of the group to begin the tour the next day.  We rode and R1150RT that turned out to be a very food choice for the tour.  All we had to carry with us were cameras, rain gear, and other small personal items.  All other luggage was taken from hotel to hotel by the Edelweiss support van, which accompanied the tour.  This was great.  Without getting to detailed about the trip. We left Dublin and rode along the southern coast with stops in Waterford, Kinsale, County Cork, Killarney, and then inland to Limerick.  We rode many narrow roadways along the coast and peninsulas called rings, which took us over mountain, passes and through some of the most gorgeous scenery I have ever seen.  Ireland is fabulous and rich with history.  Some days we stayed with the group and others you could take off on our own to see the things you wanted to see.

The accommodations and meals were all first class.  The hotels were mostly the old world style with large dining rooms and wonderful furnishings and of course, pubs.  After each day of riding, the group all met in the dining room for a 3 to 4 course meal and a couple hours of socializing and talking about the day’s events.  It was truly a trip of a lifetime for us.  I have included several photos, which include some of the scenery, and also some of the other tour members.

Our special thanks to you Dave and your crew and dealership for participating in the sponsorship of the contest, for without that, we would never had the opportunity to takes this lifetime trip.  Thanks again.

Jim and Mary Lubben

Pictures to come

Watch this space for rider trip reports. See below for how to submit your trip report. Also check out the Big Sioux Riders web site for local ride information. www.bigsiouxriders.org

How to Submit a Trip Report

Do you have a travel story you'd like to share? Send it to us! If your story is selected to be used on our website, you will receive your choice of a free BAK BMW T-shirt or a 5% discount on a parts & accessory purchase at BAK BMW.

To submit your story email it to sales@bakbmw.com with the subject "Trip Report Submission". Be sure to include any pictures.