I ain't no young chicken, having turned 69 years of wrinkled ancientness in July 2009. A few aches and pains notwithstanding, I decided to hop on Red Leader and take myself a little bike trip while the wife was away. Unlike most of my previous motorcycle tours, this time I decided to ride strictly solo. Having but one camera (mine) made it hard to have much in the way of action and "people" shots that the girls prefer. No matter - my goal was the journey (see route at left) - not any particular destination. A sub-goal was to advance my already respectable mileage position among the Colorado group of riders of Honda ST motorcycles. As you can see at right, I was in 7th place in the state of Colorado after my return. 7,500+ total miles by end of June in 2009 is not too bad for anyone - especially geezers.

My previous bike trip to Yellowstone was in 1980 and I was eager to see that wondrous place again.

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Various Panoramic Views from the tour:

DESCRIPTION	CLICK PHOTOS FOR MEDIUM RESOLUTION	HI-RES
Looking out from the porch of the historical Old Faithful Inn. The famous geyser is behind the camera about 1,000 feet. Watch the Old Faithful video (at right) and you will get a good sense of how the Inn and geyser area is laid out. I have named my motorcycle (2005 Honda ST1300) Red Leader - can you find it in the photo?	Old Faithful video Boardwalk1 video Boardwalk2 video Fumarole video Paintpots video	hi-res
The beautiful Grand Teton Mountains about 50 miles north of Jackson Hole, Wyoming (point #8 on the route map further above, left).		hi-res
My long-legged Red Leader crouches, engine softly purring. She is eager to be on the road again. None of the other bikes I've ever owned could so effortlessly throw as many miles behind its tail lights in a single day - and none as likely to earn a Performance Evaluation.		hi-res
A long shot of the high plains, and in the distance a huge lake behind the Flaming Gorge Dam in southwest Wyoming (point #10). If you ever go there, be sure to take highway 191 along the eastern rim and avoid highway 530 on the west rim. The road signs in Vernal, UT are really messed up so be careful if you're coming from the south.		hi-res
Red Leader seems to be uninterested in the beauty of the Flaming Gorge. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of riding this magnificent steed is when I actually have to rein her in for a stop to take pictures.		hi-res
Looking down over the water impounded by the Flaming Gorge Dam in southwest Wyoming. On the far shore, look for the arched bridge spanning a finger of the lake.		hi-res

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Here are the other pictures of the June 2009 tour of Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Flaming Gorge:

hi-res - one of the first glimpses of Devil's Tower, WY	hi-res	hi-res - almost there...	hi-res - Standing in the shadows of greatness.
hi-res - Day Two: Going to Yellowstone National Park in WY	hi-res	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res - This is going to be a tight fit	hi-res - Many red cones in Yellowstone this summer.	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res - Paint Pots in 2009 and when I saw them first in 1980	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res - Wheeling into the historical Old Faithful Inn	hi-res - She looks a little hippy but it's just the wide angle lens	hi-res
hi-res Wayback: Two photos of Old Faithful we took back in 1980: here and here.	hi-res	hi-res	hi_res - In 2009 - Here is the same Lodge as it was back in 1980 with Scott, Brian, and me. Fireplace 1980
hi-res	hi-res -This place is huge inside!	hi-res - Lots of 1990s fire damage but mostly OK now	hi-res - We look ahead as Yellowstone rushes away behind us.
hi-res - Cone Zone: Still more construction	hi-res - Ruts and loose gravel for 15 miles. Very bad for bikes.	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res	And so we leave the the mighty Grand Teton range heading south towards Jackson Hole, WY. It is late in the afternoon and there are many miles to crush beneath our wheels before we sleep tonight.	Tomorrow we will continue south west into Rock Springs WY and thence due south through Flaming Gorge along its eastern rim.
hi-res - Day Three begins with a really friendly Bambi.	hi-res	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res	hi-res	hi-res
hi-res	hi-res	hi-res	hi-res

Red Leader and I continued onwards for the rest of the day. It was a long way home. Near Glenwood Springs, eastbound on I-70, we encountered a heavy, cold downpour. That lasted - without remission - until Idaho Springs. Finally made it home to Longmont about 8:30 PM that night. Other than the rain, there were no problems during the entire tour. Well done, faithful steed.

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THE TOUR THAT NEVER WAS

Early AM on July 28th 2009, I left Longmont headed north west. This was launch day for a 3,000 mile dream trip through Yellowstone Park and thence north and east into Glacier National Park and over its legendary Going To The Sun Road. The route (shown at left) was going to reverse the direction of the June tour to Yellowstone (further, above), but with a 900 mile extension.

For the first leg of the trip, I decided to go west for along I-70 and then north to Vernal, UT. This would put me into a "clockwise" pattern of travel which would, 7 days later, return me to Longmont, CO. Out of Vernal I would head north through the Flaming Gorge and back into Yellowstone. Unfortunately, I was relying on my GPS and it decided to put me on Highway 530 out of Vernal, which runs along the west rim of the Flaming Gorge. No real problem with this, except that Highway 191 along the eastern rim (which I had ridden in June 2009) is much more scenic.

At any rate, Highway 530 took me to Green River, WY, which is about 15 miles or so west of Rock Springs. To make a long (and painful) story short, during a slow (under 10mph) left turn at an intersection in Green River my bike passed over a small slick patch of something (oil, antifreeze, whatever) and the front wheel washed out. The bike and I went down and in the process my left leg was broken in three places. And this was only on Day One!!

At the time of the accident my wife was visiting friends in eastern Wisconsin and it took her 4 days to pick me up at the hospital in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The "tip-over" wings on the bike worked perfectly and not even a scratch was to be seen on Red Leader. We left her in a storage bin for two weeks until one of my sons could drive up to Wyoming and haul her back home to my garage. No scratches on me, but I now had a bionic leg held together by a titanium plate and 10 screws. I could never pass through airport security again without challenge.

Update: 20 weeks after the accident my leg bone is still not healed but at least I can hobble about without crutches. My gait now has a definite Walter Brennan-like lurch (and probably always will), quite appropriate to my ever more geezerlike features. Maybe even worse, I have unavoidably missed many months of good riding time. Still not sure when I will be able to ride again, but it will certainly not be anytime in 2009.

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RIDE THESE OTHER TOURS WITH US:

Yellowstone 1980

Monument Valley 2003

Highway 101, CA, 2004

Gateway, CO, 2008

Motorcycle quotes and wisdom.

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