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Riders (left to right):
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Riders (left to right):
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(click on picture for more)
Unbound '10 was another great ride -- i.e., great scenery; great roads; great weather; and, most important -- no new nicknames. Special thanks go to Bill, Russ & Bill for joining me and keeping Unbound from turning into "One-Bound" this year. It's always great to be back in Colorado and the scenery in Moab Utah is such a contrast to the mountains of Colorado. Except for a couple brief "showers" at Monarch Pass and Trail Ridge Road atop Rocky Mountain National Park, the weather was perfect. My brother Dave was also back at the wheel of the "mule" and was joined by his fiancee Erika. It was great to have Erika join us and she seemed to adapt quickly to the hectic pace of Unbound. She also joined me on the bike a couple times -- and even hung in there when the rain turned to sleet and then to small hail at 12,180ft atop Rocky Mountain National Park. Then in Vail she also learned about the rare cousin to the Jack-a-lope -- the Jack-a-Pheas-a-lope -- which has tail feathers and birds-feet.
The ride began and ended in Boulder, CO (home of my alma mater -- the University of Colorado) and covered 1,674 miles. We hooked-up with Bill & Co in Montrose, CO who road east from Portland, OR. We then did the "San Juan Skyway" in southwest Colorado that took us over Red Mountain Pass (the "Million Dollar Highway") and through the scenic towns of Ouray, Silverton and Telluride, where souvenir shopping, an adult beverage or a breakout game of foosball could be had. The trip then headed west to Moab Utah where we explored Arches National Park and Canyonlands N.P. From Moab we headed east to Glenwood Springs. The road out of Moab that follows the Colorado River reminds me of the backdrop for Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner cartoons. From Glenwood Springs we did a loop through Aspen and Vail and over Independence Pass -- where we stopped to checkout the roadside info on the ghost town of Independence for Dave. The last leg took us over Berthoud Pass and then through Rocky Mountain National Park.
More to come as pictures surface and I have time to incorporate...