Day Four of the CCC trip

Dano says:
Today I felt that everyone was getting in a semi-schedule routine. We were getting up early enough, taking care of business and generally getting ready to hit the road. I got up and lubed and tightened a few of the bikes chains, I also checked the oil levels. With the dirty work and the packing done, I grabbed a shower, and then Chewie and me enjoyed the free breakfast in the lobby. With everyone good to go, we departed Grand Junction with beautiful weather at a decent time in the morning. I-70 east out of Grand Junction is wonderful for making time and having amazing scenery to enjoy as you go.
I love the Colorado River and the tall narrow canyons that it runs in. The elevated highways and occasional sighting of the Amtrak train are stark contrasts to nature's beauty that they run through. All of this beauty and to add to the fact that you are gaining elevation into the famous Rocky Mountains. At one fuel/rest stop in Aspen we pull in and got the cold shoulder. I guess that we weren't riding BMW's or Ducati's, what a pretentious bunch of wankers, I hate snobs.
While stopped in Aspen, I called TheMoke(Ian) and told him our arrival time. I was doubting myself that I missed a turn off, so I exited and called him once again. Sweet, I didn't pass the exit and we had a few miles till we met up with him. As we were leaving, Steve decided to "leave" a little of the rear tire on the pavement. I missed seeing it, but I heard that big flat 6 Honda bouncing off the rev limiter...haha(being in front sucks sometimes as you miss all of the hooligan behaviour). We meet up with TheMoke at the next exit, the usual twenty minute meet and greet takes place and we inform TheMoke that gas is needed. No worries as his GPS tells up there is a gas station in Empire, cool. A few miles down the road we pull into the ancient station and swarm the only premium pump. The sad thing was that it was an OLD pump... it took forever to pump, pay, pump, pay....yeah all the bikes had to do this with cash basically. We decide to throw some nuked burritos down our throats and get ready to hit some big mtn country. As we were leaving, we were approached by a local young custom bike builder. The fella had a small Chinese motor grafted onto a bike frame and another low rider bike. Major props to the kid for his design and fab skills. Oh yeah, fatty(me) broke his side stand while in the full tuck on the bike taking a picture. All I remember is hearing a "PING" and feeling the bike start to lean left....
I felt bad and apologized and tried to make it right, but he insisted that it would be a easy weld fix and the bike was just a mix of parts anyways he says. Very nice kid, he even gave one of us his business card with website info on it, who has that? It was a fun stop, we got to enjoy his creations that he was eager to show,

and he got to ogle some sweet bikes.
With the day ticking away, and the not so good looking weather looming ahead, I suggested that everyone suit up for nasty weather. My concern was the rain and lowering temps, I didn't want anyone to get hypothermia if they were to get wet in the cold. We suit up and take off, hwy 40 up to Winterpark is fun, mixed in with a few sprinkles here and there. We pulled into Granby, because the temperatures rose and a few of the guys were roasting in their suits. A quick stop and off we go, next stop, the shoreline of Lake Granby for a few pics. While stopped we gassed up, and donned the rain suits again(lucky me, I had my Tourmaster textile gear). I insisted that everyone get ready for cold and wet roads ahead. I couldn't see the mtn top in a few places so in my past experience, it forecast harsh conditions ahead. For the most part we got lucky and only got rained on at the 12k foot summit.
Yes we got rain, sleet and hail. Yes it was cold, and yes the rest of the fellas were ready to get off that mountain. So we proceeded down after a picture stop (I installed my suit thermal liners, hate me because I'm beautiful, not because I'm warm).


The trip down got better as we descended, everyone was amazed at the lack of guard rails at 12k feet. You better pay attention to the road, target fixation up there will get you a nice fall over some BIG cliffs. Like riding on sleet/hail/rain covered roads wasn't bad enough to distract you. Fun times...just a few days before and we were roasting in 118 degree heat, now this. Welcome to America Chewie and Bucket. I love going over that pass. You never know what type of weather you will get, along with the wildlife and natural sights makes it a must see. We didn't need or want to stop in Estes Park so we set out to Castle Moke in Longmont. As we came into Longmont I was amazed at the ability to now wheelie again because of the lower elevation, Hockey agreed. We arrived a little before dark and unpacked. WOW what a nice castle Ian, truly a sweet place. You have the English cars, bikes, yourself, a castle, all that is needed to complete the package is a moat. A moat for TheMoke. When we arrived at Castle Moke we took a breather in the bailey as we stabled the bikes. Hockey's rainsuit looked a little tattered, he decided that the easiest way out was to summon his inner Hulkamania.
No No NO....wrong shirtless dude,

this is the Hulkster

And this is the Hockymania...

A few of us stayed there are cleaned up and TheMoke(Ian) and a few others ran out to get some adult beverages, only later to be denied because it was to late. When Ian returned he and the wife provided chips and dips and LOTS of nice English beers, while they finished the fabulous pork ribs, chicken and baked beans...nom nom nom. The dinner was fantastic and I stuffed myself and enjoyed everything about the night. You have a great family Ian, a wonderful wife Darla, daughter and son.

After dinner some of us washed clothes and ourselves too. We sat around watching videos from Uncle Dude and discussing the fastest route around Denver via the toll roads. Thanks for the tip on that Ian. Later in the evening we all calmed down because we were tired and TheMoke family had a life that started early the next day. So with that in mind, we scattered to our beds or sofas.

Many thanks go out to Ian and his family. From meeting and riding with us, to the wonderful dinner, beers and the sweet accommodations at Castle Moke. I owe ya.

David Says:
Commuting on I-95 in northern VA everyday has given me a pretty solid dislike of interstates. Weekly I see three lanes packed with people doing everything from typing on a laptop to shaving while traveling well above the speed limit. There isn't much to hate about I-70 leaving Grand Junction. It follows a river up through the canyon and at times the east and west bound lanes are almost stacked on top of one another. Across the river there was a set of railroad tracks and I kept waiting for an old steam powered locomotive to come around the bend. After a bit of that we met up with the Moke. While Dan was destroying some poor kids life work I spotted this wicked Jeep.


I'm not sure why you would take the doors off a vehicle when you live in CO but then again we were on motorcycles heading into the bad weather. With the weather looking gloomy we decided to put on the rain gear. Rain Gear is one of the things I wanted to upgrade before I left but never had a chance. I had a feeling if it got cold it wouldn't last more than a day but this was the worst weather I'd hit so far so I put it on. Glad I did too because the higher in elevation we got the colder the rain got. Speaking of rain I have to admit I ride pretty much like I grew a vagina when it starts raining. Always have. Don't think I've been setting any records in the twisties since Cali 'cause I haven't. The rain just makes it worse. We headed into Rocky Mt National Park and as we started really getting up in the elevation the rain started to develop chunks. By the time we passed the 11,000 ft mark it was sleet. Big vagina, but so worth it. The views were amazing on top. Even though we couldn't see much past the next ridge line that still left a pretty rugged looking valley to see. We start down the other side and the weather relents a bit. Later The Moke tells me he's surprised it didn't start snowing, I said "good thing 'cause I would have walked the bike down". It would be getting dark soon and there was a fantastic meal waiting for us at The Mokes house so we quit messing around and started making time. Saw a few bull elk and a big mule deer on the way out of the park but didn't have an opportunity to get a picture. The Moke and his family treated like kings, fed us, let us drink his booze, and let us crash at his very nice pad. Thank you and your family. Day 16 5791 miles so far


Bucket says: Loved that road heading out of Grand Junction with the elevated highways, brilliant. So many different variations of roads over the last few days, amazing. When we got to ASSPEN I realised this was a money town, so I made a point of saying hello to as many people as I could. Funny some of the responses. I felt like a troll when we stopped under the bridge while Dano called the Moke, meanwhile Uncle Dude and myself got a great photo, I didn't realise you were so short Dude. Next thing Stevo is bagging up the the big Honda and we are away again. We meet up with the Moke and fuel up in Empire, where once again people were having trouble with the accent. Off up into the Rockies, whilst everyone else was donning there rain suits I decided to go hard core and do it in jeans as I was sick of my textile gear. Yep, that was a good idea as when we got to the top my jeans were actually frozen, you could tap them and they made a noise and were crunchy. I decided to warm up with a cigarette but couldn't be bothered to take off my helmet, that was an experience as Hockey dared me to take a choof and blow it out with my visor down, COUGH COUGH, but another great photo indeed. Just the sheer size of these mountains is amazing, the scenery is breathtaking. I also noticed the air was a bit thin up there. Then it was on to The Moke and family castle. What a great home and family. Putting all us smelly motorcycle enthusiasts up who they had never met before, awesome. They fed us and gave us booze and good company, thankyou you very much The Moke family. Another brilliant day with my mates.



miles traveled for the day=335

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