Taking Advantage Of Great(?) Weather
Eating at Rosie’s on a different ride.
If projected temperatures of the 60s in early February are not an outright invitation to ride I don’t know what is. The RMMRC made plans.
We met up Sunday at 10 a.m. at Performance Cycle with our destination Rosie’s Diner in Monument. A lunch ride.
There’s one trick to fabulous weather in Colorado, however. If it’s not sunny it can be quite a bit different. Saturday also had a warm forecast but it was cloudy and was not nearly as comfortable as it might have been. Sunday at least started out sunny.
I was smart enough this to bring my heated gloves with me. I didn’t think I’d need them so I just stashed them but at least I had them if I needed them. Too many times I have not done this and regretted it.
We started off heading down Quebec to Daniels Park and on to pick up US 85 south of the park. It was only at that point that I turned on my electric vest. I wasn’t cold yet but it was getting cooler and I knew once we were up on the Palmer Divide the temperature would drop.
We scooted over to Sedalia and then resumed going south on Perry Park Road (CO 105). We started seeing a lot of bikes. You always do on that road.
And it got cooler. Still, the road was clear of ice and snow so that’s what matters. Then we got into Palmer Lake and the main road through town was extremely wet from snow melt. I had to wonder if we had come this way a couple hours sooner it would have been ice.
On through Palmer Lake to Monument and lunch. There were four of us on bikes but also three in a car. Two of those are overcoming health issues and could not ride so the third, Roy, drove them all so they wouldn’t entirely miss out. Good. We like these guys and we’re glad they came.
Heading out we split into two twosomes. Bob and Steve retraced the route while Tom and I headed east to pick up CO 83, to head north that way. We were pleased that the wind that had kicked up just as we had arrived at Rosie’s seemed to have abated. Wrong. We reached CO 83 and made a left turn and were instantly blasted by the powerful wind that had until then been at our backs. And a cold wind at that.
We worked our way north and as Parker Road got busier north of Parker we inevitably got separated. No matter. This always happens on the way home. We’re all going to split off somewhere, it doesn’t matter if it happens sooner.
Of course we were by now coming down from the Palmer Divide heights and as we did it got warmer and warmer. Before I got home I had turned my vest off–too warm.
So it was a good day to ride but nowhere near as nice as we had hoped. Oh well, it is February, after all. Be thankful for what you get.
Biker Quote for Today
What’s a motorcyclist’s favorite movie? Gone with the Wind!
Tags: RMMRC
