Emptiness Tour 2021: Stop Six: Boulder/Breckenridge, CO: Crazy Man

 

Eisenhower Tunnel - I-70 Colorado

The trip from the Badlands to Boulder, CO encapsulates all that is good, and challenging, in a cross-country motorcycle tour.  High plains, open spaces with no signs of humanity, fast speeds, and relentlessly long.  From the Badlands to Rapid City, SD, to Hot Springs, SD, and Hwy 79 South to Scottsbluff, NE.

Along Hwy 79, in much need of gas, I came across one of the very few towns with a gas station - Crawford, NE.  Ok, one may ask: what the hay is out here of any real interest?  Gas up and just drive man!  Wrong!  Next door to the gas station was this place:

The best BBQ sandwiches ever - with good ole fashion chocolate shake.  According to Chris (seated), this place has been here for decades.  Chris is an employee of the State of Nebraska - Weights & Measures - "just so everyone gets a fair deal", he said.

Chris told me of a place nearby that I should visit - only 3 miles to the right of the main Hwy 79.  Of course, I thought it is only 3 miles (6 roundtrip).   Turns out that Fort Robinson was the place where Crazy Horse was killed and the last armed Indians in the US surrendered.  Of course, one can be very sad about all this, but I decided to take a look:

Back on Hwy 79, I headed to Scottsbluff, NE then on to Cheyanne, WY.  I was so lucky with the weather the entire day: in the high 60's with rain threatening, but fog sweeping across the plains producing a beauty, and an atmosphere, that can only be fully appreciated on a motorcycle.

Approaching Cheyanne, WY was the biggest weather challenge I have had on this tour: hail, rain, lightening.  I pulled into a gas station and just waited til the worst of the storm passes.  I was going to make Boulder by 5:30 or 6 pm no matter what.  I had an appointment to have my Ducati serviced at Boulder Motor Sports at 9 am the next morning.  So, off I went toward Boulder.  Heavy rain on I-25, lots of traffic.  

Crossing into Colorado, I noticed two cars on the right shoulder.  I was suspicious of their intentions, so I slowed down.  Lucky I did!  They decided to pull out into traffic right in front of me - however, I was prepared.  The only thing I worry about is getting rear-ended in situations like this - so, I checked the situation behind me.  All good - crises averted.  Construction on I-25 created a nightmare situation for miles.  Finally, I arrived in Boulder (around 6 pm) and checked into The Boulderado Hotel looking like a mountain man - crazed:

Had a great dinner, went to the dispensary (LOL), and headed to the hotel for a good sleep.  Boulder Motor Sports next stop.  I arrived at the service bay.  Met Crim and Nick at the shop and waited while my bike was going get an oil change and chain adjustment.  I met two fellow Ducati enthusiasts, Randy & Doug,  We went to the Laughing Goat around the corner for coffee:

We went back to Boulder Motor Sports to check up on our bikes.  Poor Crim: he had run a diagnostic test on my bike only to find that that his software was outdated and caused a jam in my front panel display.  Crim was so great - he was so worried about my customer experience, he was at a loss as to how to fix the issue.  The bike was essentially dead until we could fix it.  I called my buds at Two Wheels World where I bought my bike, and Emiel, the service manager, sent me a photo and instructions on how to get it fixed:

Within 15 minutes the bike was resurrected!  My thanks to Crim and Boulder Motor Sports.  We worked out the problem - crises averted.  I have to say that I would not want anyone else working on my bike while out on the road.  If I had gone to the dealer in Denver, they would have held my bike for a couple days just to do the oil change.  They would not have had the concern and care that Boulder Motors Sports had.  BTW - my bike is super new on the market.  It is rare for any shop to service such bikes in the infancy stage of its release.  So, no blame at all for the software mixup.  On a cross-country trip, you just have to roll with the punches and just know all will be alright.  It was.

Off to Breckenridge:

It was a beautiful day - clear sky and in the low 70's once in the mountains

I arrived in Breckenridge in one piece.  As I approached the house, Janis was opening the garage door by chance, and I just drove into the garage.  A perfect ending for the trip out of this tour.

I will start up the blog again when I leave Colorado and head back to Florida in late September.  I will go through New Mexico, Texas, etc.  Til then - happy trails.