Day Seven of the CCC trip

Dano says:
Well I know I slept like a rock and I woke up feeling great. Time to roust the gang, I open the door and there is Doug, Doug looks at me and says, "Who the f#*k bought this confrontational bastard?", pointing at Nimec. HaHaHa...good times my friends, good times. There was a LOT of trash outside the rooms, it appeared that we all went to bed without cleaning up outside. With a quick sweep of the area and dispensing of the trash, we got ourselves ready. Bikes packed, chains lubed we decided that our agenda today was to see the St. Louis Arch and then off to my pals place in Lexington, Kentucky. We got to downtown St. Louis and found the interstate was detoured....damn. Well we continued on as far as we could and luck had it that we made it to the Arch. Some of the group didn't care to go up in the Arch, but I did. So Leggy, Uncle Dude, Doug and myself took off walking from the parking lot as everyone else stayed with the bikes.





Family resemblance?


The Aussies got a first hand look at the new Chevy Camero,
I like it. We paid our fees and waited to board the tram to the top of the Arch. OMG is that a small capsule, and it seated five people. Not us people, maybe Leeds and Bucket people. The Arch tram is a combination of elevator and tram, it pulls you up and sideways at the same time. There is a funny rocking motion as it goes...what a ride. We four larger than average guys were crammed into a space about the size of the front seat of a Volkswagen Beetle.


Damn it was a small space. So we get to the top and exit like accordions. The feeling of being at 630 feet high and in the inside of the Arch looking out, gave me the feeling of being in an aircraft.
From the look, to the sound of the air conditioner, it made me feel like I was flying. The views were cool and worth the few bucks.


We did the photo shoots and made our way back to the Love Capsule to head out. At the bottom we got a woman attendant to shoot a few pics of us crammed into the capsule. I'm glad that I love these guys as it could have been a little awkward. Back to the bikes we go because now we have lots of miles to Lexington still ahead. We turned out of the parking lot and followed the signs to the interstate. Lets just say that St Louis has horrible road directions and worse road crew people directions. The road crew guys liked our bikes but couldn't direct their way out of a paper bag. And they work for the city road crews, wow. All I want to do is get on that bridge that is over our heads, how do we do that? Scratching their heads and saying "Well the roads have detours, so you have to go this way,....hey Mike/Fred(one of their own people)....how do you get on the 64 east from here?". Thanks guys, We'll figure it out, we made it this far across the country. Two minutes later with a few left hand turns we are screaming over their heads on the 64 east. With the day having moved on faster that normal because of the Arch stop, we were approaching lunchtime. So with people making the universal holding a imaginary burger to the helmet gesture, We spotted a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. It was good grub and plenty tasty, I had the boneless wings split in two different sauces. With our bellies full it was time to roll out. The bad thing about eating a large lunch and then riding in the sunshine and nice temperatures, is that you get sleepy. We did a few hundred miles and Chewie rode up next to me and gave the laying your head on the hands sleepy gesture. Ok, time to take a rest break, better safe than sorry. We exited the next available place and as would luck have it there was a new rustic restaurant there.
It had a huge covered patio with benches out front that had our names on them. Chewie stretched out and grabbed some zzz's. After about 15 minutes he got up, I said nope...get back to sleeping, he didn't argue to much. We all took a little nap and then got up maybe 30 minutes later. It was well worth the loss of time to be traveling well rested. As we were about to leave the manager approached us and told us to come in and enjoy some dessert.....damn, OK.
This time I didn't share with Hockey. I got apple pie and a few others tried the Bread pudding with bourbon sauce. Damn it was good too. Ok time to leave now. We made good time the rest of the day only stopping for gas. We got to Louisville,
stopped for gas and I called Gary to tell him where we were and the expected time of arrival. It looked like we were going to hit some rain and we did get a few drops, but we skirted the bulk of it. A little over a hour later we were in Lexington where Gary was waiting for us on the side of the road in a truck. He led us into his casa where we introduced ourselves to my pal. We unloaded and cleaned up as Gary made some mighty TASTY burgers.


As Gary made dinner, his wife Jessica came home and they set out chips and dips for us. Then came the ice chest of cold beers and two bottles of whiskey. One of Crown and another of Woodford Reserve. Wow, that Woodford is some nice whiskey. It is also made right up the road from where we were. We sat outside on the back patio and enjoyed a great dinner with my good pal Gary and wife Jessica. It was a perfect night to sit out and enjoy the outdoor temps and that's just what we did, petting the chocolate lab Bailey and the poodle with the cone on its head. That poodle kept us entertained by himself, what is it about a dog with a plastic cone on its neck that is so funny? Well on to more serious stuff, like the whiskey and drinking. Gary decided to turn it up an notch and walked outside with a Mason quart jar that is 3/4 full of a clear liquid. He sets it on the table.... we can all guess as to what it is. Good ole 'shine. Bucket is the first to pick it up, and we talk him into being the taste tester. He unscrews the top and sniffs it, and wrinkles his face. He reluctantly takes a sip and swallows it down...then he breathes in. Cough, cough....man that warms you up. He takes a second sip and passes it around. Doug takes the jar and two fists the shine. Go man GO. A second or two later he says, "That's FANTASTIC" and goes immediately to round two. Oh no, this don't look good, somebody is going to be comatose soon if they keep drinking that 'shine like that. Doug's eyes were mere slits about 10 minutes later, that 'shine kicked into overdrive and put Doug on easy street. We passed that jar around until it was gone and had a blast doing so. Three bottles of liquor vanished along with a lot of beers, wow another great night with the boys. During the passing of the 'shine jar, someone mentioned something about not wanting the other dudes germs on the jar. Yeah right, that 'shine is a pure disinfectant and kills all the germs. Damn it was tasty, by far the best that I have tasted, it was smooth and almost had a corn hint to it. I don't recall what time we went to bed, but I'm sure it had to do with the liquor being finished off. Gary was awesome and had a few beds, couches and blow up beds for us to sleep on. With everyone settled in, I crashed out upstairs. What a night, every night seems to be getting better.


David says:
We took our time getting on the road so traffic could die down going into St Louis. We got to the arch but I wasn't particularly interested in seeing it so I went across the street to the old courthouse where the Dred Scott case was heard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott_v._Sandford
Much of the old courthouse was being renovated but I still thought it was cool being there. After some confusion and a lot of left and rights that we probably didn't need to make we got to the interstate and started making time. It was getting late and we were pushing hard trying to make it to Lexington So I decided I didn't really have to pee that bad I could possibly hold out till we got there. My plan was flawed from the beginning because not only did I not know where we were going but I had no idea how long it would take to get there. After a while a fart also started brewing but I wasn't relaxing any muscles down there so I just held onto that one too until I hit what felt like a speed bump at 75. My bladder held its own but the fart escaped and felt like it may have brought some solids along for the ride. About that time someone signaled for a bathroom break and we pulled into a rest stop. I took off into that stall fully prepared to sacrifice a pair of boxers and bike shorts minimum. A quick check revealed no need. Sweet. We met Gary on the off ramp and followed him to his house. Gary and his wife Jessica fed us and got us completely hammered. Most of that night is a little blurry. I did have a chance to call Dina that night and tell her for the first time since I had left that we were in the same time zone. It made me feel better because I was missing her pretty bad by this time. Lexington KY 7051 miles so far.

miles traveled for the day=370-380

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Day Six of the CCC trip

Dano says:
The morning came fast, wow. But I will admit that I had no ill effects from the late night festivities. The only thing that bothered me was the damn garbage truck that came by at 5:00am and banged the trash bins around LOUDLY. Nice job ASSHOLES. We all cleaned up and saddled the bikes, proceeded to the front of the hotel. That's when two special somethings made their appearances on the Aussies bikes.

Uncle Dude can tell that story. They had a free continental breakfast and we sat down and ate. I had a waffle and a couple glasses of really acidic orange juice(bad idea Dano). Since we were gassed and lubed up we tore ass outta Dodge and rode east. It didn't take long for the orange juice to come back to haunt me. A night of heavy drinking followed by extremely concentrated OJ on my stomach didn't mix well. Lets just say that there were more than a few stops to vacate myself. Hell I did two times in one stop. Man I felt like...
.. well crap. I felt so bad that Bucket let me ride the Sprint to make me more comfortable. Thanks bro. We stopped later in the day to have lunch at Subway (they should have been a CCC sponsor) and I ate a sandwich. It helped tremendously as did a nap and some Powerade. I was over the worst part by lunch. Time to make waves to St Louis. Saddle up fellas. I don't recall anything really exciting about that leg of the trip. I do recall stopping on an On-Off ramp to take a leak and call Doug((Brian)confusing I know) to see where the hotel was that he reserved for us. We also discussed our arrival time to the hotel. With that all settled we traded bikes again, I don't recall what I was on, but Hockey had his first try on the Sprint. I got to know one thing about this quite man named Hockeyfan. He like wheelies, so much so he does them in front of cops, refer to day one of his trip. I was in the lead and looking in the mirrors as we came up the steep on-ramp. I saw a quick wheelie followed by it setting down ok. A few seconds later I saw the bottom of the Sprint's oil pan as he did a 12 o'clocker...hahah on the on-ramp merging into traffic. The bike came down faster than he expected I think, haha. Nice one Hockey, way bigger than what I have done on that bike. It was a fast day and we arrived into St Louis fairly early in the afternoon. I was skeptical about what hotel we were supposed to be at because they didn't have reservations at the one that we pulled into. So I rode down to the corner and down the street to another motel6/8 to check there. In route I came across something that stopped me in my tracks. A beer/liquor store named Dirt Cheap. Anybody on TheSpeedTriple.com knows what this refers to. I got back to the 1st hotel where the guys were and told them of my discovery. More on that later. As we were standing there our new pal pulled Doug pulled in on his clean Roulette Green 1050 Triple.
We Check in and get 4 rooms with military discounts again...saweeet. Off we go to our rooms and unload the bikes. After that we went across the street and gassed up for the next day. Then we all ride down to the beer store and some of us piss off a lady in a car. She makes it a point to race in the parking lot and almost hit some of us and start a screaming match that we can do whatever we like. Settle down lady. She goes into the store, buys her alcohol and comes out screaming still at us. Wow, have a drink lady, take the edge off. We were still outside because we were all laughing because of the store name and the billboards. Speaking of billboards, its not a good idea to leave a ladder attached the sign. Yes we scaled the sign, yes all of the CCC gang.
Chewie, Bucket, Hockey, Doug, Nimec, Uncle Dude, and me were all on the sign. Some random Dirt Cheap customer was cool enough to take our pictures while we were on the sign getting honked at by cars on the nearby Interstate. With the artsy pictures done we head inside to get our nightly poison fix. Lots of beers, check. Crown Royal, check. Miscellaneous other liquors, check. Two sets of Dirt Cheap boxer underwear, check. As we exit the store, I think I suggested that we do a burnout video in front of the Dirt Cheap neon sign. Ok, lets do this shit. We were all ready to do this covert illegal video and haul ass outta the parking lot. I say to self, "Self, the store managers and workers seemed cool as hell. I wonder if I asked if we could do a burnout in their parking lot, if would they mind?" Ok, out of my mouth comes, "Hold on dudes, I'll go ask if it is ok to do a burnout". I walk inside and sure as hell the manager says, "Fire it up man". I walk outside and tell the good news. Ok, who is going to do the burnout? Hockey stumbles over himself raising his hand and yelling "I'll do that shit". Perfect, we got an action hero and Uncle Dude is on the video detail. We gather around Hockey as he does two nice long burnouts.




We accomplished the Great American Burnout at Dirt Cheap. Its amazing the little damage that the burnouts did to the Pilot Roads, man are they some tough tires. With the side show done, we acted like law abiding citizens on the way back to the hotel. We tried to duplicate the previous night and ordered pizza and sat outside
in front of the rooms. Good times my friends, good times. It was fun having the new fish in the group, Doug. We had in our midst two of the class (TST site) clowns, Uncle Dude and Doug. Lots of laughter and joking went on. Whiskey Dan made an appearance tonight, he is similar to Tequila Dan minus the tequila. It was my first night to room with Bucket and I learned that he likes to sleep in the bed nearest the bathroom. He informed me that it is easier for him to make it to the pisser while being pissed. HaHaHa, no worries mate.


I didn't know Kartstar worked at Dirt Cheap, and dang your lookin old Fred.


David says:
After a night of drinking I can say I was sleeping rather soundly when I heard what I thought was a truck loading up our bikes by dragging them up a ramp with a chain outside. It was about to be on like donky kong when I got to the window and figured out it was only the trash truck. No getting back to sleep now. We get cleaned up and ready to leave and there is still no more than 10 cars in the whole parking lot. Today's menu consisted of toast, cereal, bagels, and make your own waffles, not bad for a hotel breakfast.
I got to ride the Sprint for a while in the morning and I remember mentioning to Bucket how smooth the power is on it. I said something like "I bet I could wheelie the sh*t outta this thing". The response was classic Bucket, "I'll be expecting to see that the first chance you get". Not wanting to be a bad host and disappoint my Australian buddy when we hit the on ramp I rolled on the gas and gave a little tug on the bars. It carried the tire about a foot off the ground for about 10'. I slowed it back down, checked the mirrors to be sure Bucket was watching and grabbed a handful of throttle and gave it a good yank. Now that was a wheelie. I rode it up the rest of the ramp and onto the interstate to a few fist pumps and a bunch of thumbs up from the cars that were close enough to see it. Bucket rolls up and gives me a thumbs up and an approving head nod. We got off the interstate for lunch and I was on my bike going along a feeder road next to the interstate. I guess I was at the back of the pack when I rode out a nice wheelie but no one saw it. That was the only decent 2nd gear wheelie I nailed the whole trip.
We rolled into St Charles, MO early in the evening and Dan rolls out to make sure we were in the right place. He comes back after a few minutes with a sh*t eating grin and says you're not going to believe what I found. We get checked in lose the bags and take off to see what was so funny. We had caught up with fellow TS3 member Doug and end up in the parking lot of Dirt Cheap Liquor store getting screamed at by some psycho lady for what she felt was dangerous riding. Never mind the fact that she came rolling into the parking lot like a bat out of hell and almost taking Leggy out. I bet Doug was wondering what he had signed up for about then. Booze in tow and burnout pics in the can we rolled back to the hotel to try and pick up where the night before had left off. St Charles, MO 6675 miles so far.


miles traveled for the day=395

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Day Five of the CCC trip

Dano says:
Ahhh, the day that I was waiting for. The wide open Plains of eastern Colorado leading into western Kansas. I-70 east out of Denver is motorcycle bliss. Well, we all ready ourselves at Castle Moke and prepare to head out so Ian can take his son to school. After the round of "Thank you's" from everyone we rolled over to I-25 south for a few miles to hit a gas stop. With the new morning scheduled breakfast that we had to include (Uncle Dudes breakfast, like I argued with it), I spied a Waffle House near the gas station. Oh yeah, time for an American grease spoon icon. We grabbed a bunch of seats at the counter and grubbed out, lets roll bishes. Down to the 470 we go, but wait....whats this? Is my stomach upset? How can this be? Damn Waffle House strikes again. I detour into a Marriott hotel parking lot and proceed to use their accommodations.

Ok, fast forward if you don't like sophomoric/teenager boy humor. You have been warned! So I get to the nice restrooms and make my way to a stall. I know the boots in the next stall,

they belong to Uncle Dude. The restroom rendezvous goes like this...(Dano) What's up Dude? looks like we are going to be stall neighbors." (Dude laughs) "sup brudda." hear the ass gaskets being opened and placed on the Thrones, bare asses sitting on them....silence....pause. (Dano)"I'm gunna be nice and give ya a courtesy flush." smiling I do so, and let one rip in the whirlpool background noise. Quickly Dude follows up "Oh yeah." and fires one off too. Both of us are laughing now. I smile and say "Back at ya." and launch a retaliation second round. Giggling school boys we are, Dude pipes up and says, "I'll see your flush and raise you one." and immediately cranks out two rapid fire flushes, damn professional. I'm crying I'm laughing so hard I cant talk. (Dude)"You can out corner me, but ya cant out flush me." Dude gets up and because he is in the handicap stall he walks out of my boot viewing sight. Water in a sink turns on and he starts to wash his hands....in the stall too. I ask, "They have a sink in the stall?", (Dude)"Yeah, and they have bagels and coffee machine too." I was glad that I was on the toilet because I would have crapped or pissed my pants because I was laughing so hard. The boots walk off and leave me. I get outside and we both laugh looking at each other. With everyone fed and relieved, we head out into the wide open spaces that is eastern Colorado. At that point Steve parted out company and headed back on his own as he was going to do some big mile days at a faster speed than us. Adios Steve, good meeting you.

The weather was sunny and blue skies, perfect weather to ride in. We all took full advantage of the hair-ties that Hockey had given us and set our make shift cruise controls on. Private Parts(Chad) practiced his Iron Cross cruise control balance act. I did a high speed strafe on Private Parts and Hockey with the RC FiddyOne at full song. We swapped bikes a few times in during the day at gas stops. I recall eating at McDonald's because Chewie wanted to see if they made the burgers the same way as in Australia. They did, tasted exactly like what he was used to. While eating lunch, Hockey posed a question. The question was that we vote on changing CCC Chad's name from Private Parts to Rose. Hockey can fill in that story, haha. It might gave been at that time that I also nominated that we change Hockey's name to "The Fall Guy" because of his run in with the ground at Lake Arrowhead. Hockey laughed but wasn't too keen for the change Hahaha. With a quick bite to eat we rolled out to get across the open plains. We stopped at the Colorado/Kansas border and took the normal State line sign photo.



From there we made it into Salinas, Kansas for the evening. We spotted a Travelodge right off the interstate and booked 3 rooms with the sweet military discount that Hockey provided. Hockey and I were at at the counter and asked to have three room right next to each other. The girl at the counter said she would look for three open rooms together. Hockey and me look at each other(not because we are sexy, but we are) because there was maybe FIVE cars in the whole parking lot. The hotel was three buildings and two stories each. Do your best then please. With keys in hand we divvy up the rooms and unload the steeds, leaving the unloaded Ventura packs on the bikes. Why? Because its early, we ain't got no jobs and we ain't got shit to do, I'm gunna get you drunk. (Friday the movie reference) Off to gas up the bikes, lube the chains and make a beer, whiskey run. With all the party essentials in hand (thanks for the tequila guys) we went back to party central. The tables and chairs from all three rooms came out in front of the rooms onto the covered sidewalk. We formed our own private outdoor patio club, with our six bikes right in front of us. We had the whole backside of the hotel to ourselves. Next on the list, pizza. Domino was called and grub was delivered. We couldn't have had a better time than what we did. Six guys with nothing to do except ride, drink and have fun. We drank lots, and enjoyed a great evening of bullshitting and great company. Tequila Dan made an appearance, that's me when I have lots of tequila and start to smile and laugh a lot. I'll let some of the others fill in the blanks of the night because I don't recall a lot...I do remember that the Aussies became Crown Royal fans, Cheers big ears! What a night, fist bumps all around.

Chewie says:.....this was one of the best nights we had......one of those things you can't plan, they just happen.

Dano says:.....I agree Chewie, it was by far the funnest night of the trip(speaking for myself). There were other many close seconds, but this night topped them all.



David says:
We actually got an early start today. Good thing too because this was going to be a big mile day. We fueled up the bikes not too far from The Mokes house and Dan spotted a Waffle House. I wasn't exactly pleased with his decision because I've had a few bad experiences at the WH but I made the best of it, ordered light and stayed away from anything fried. About an hour into the ride Dan hits an exit ramp and rolls into a hotel parking lot. I have no personal knowledge of what went on in that bathroom but he went in with a slightly panicked look on his face and came out giggling like a school girl. After that we headed down to I-70 on a toll road. I've never been through a toll that doesn't get their money right away, this one took a picture of your tag as you drove by and mails you the bill. The combination of the overloaded bike and dirty tag means I never got a bill. Good because that one toll in Ohio cost me over a $100.
I'm not really sure why but I was expecting a big drop in elevation leaving the mile high city. That was not the case. The Great Planes spread the elevation drop over about three states. I never knew that. We did about 400 miles on a straight, flat, boring interstate. Along the way I guess Nimec started to fight the boredom by trying to see how long he could ride with no hands. I watched him ride along with his arms floating out to the side for probably 10 minutes when it hit me, it looked just like he was recreating the scene from Titanic where "Rose" is standing on the bow of the ship. I chuckled to myself till the next stop and put the name change to a vote. It passed.
I have to agree with Dan and John that was one of the best nights on the road. I have no idea how long we were outside but it was one of the most relaxed and stress free times I have had and I'm glad I had such a great group of friends to share it with. It was one of the moments that has made me define this trip as "life changing". Salina Kansas 6266 miles so far.




miles traveled for the day=458

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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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