Passes & Canyons Blog

Making a stop at the top of Berthoud Pass.

OK, I admit it, I wimped out on the Ice Cream Ride. This annual RMMRC ride makes three stops for ice cream and I couldn’t do it. I did eat ice cream twice that day but at the third stop I just couldn’t.

But it was a really good ride–beautiful day and a good group to ride with. And it turned out to be a good bit longer than initially planned. It seems Sara and Sean went out to pre-ride the route the day before and ran into construction on U.S. 285 that was a major blockage. So the ride was re-routed.

We met up at an ice cream shop (where else?!) in Lakewood for the first treat of the day. I tried to go easy on myself by ordering the frozen yogurt. It was already hot out so it didn’t seem terribly out of place to eat it at 10 a.m.

There was a good-sized group, about 15. Of course, with this group, there were some BMWs, my V-Strom, Alan and Cheryl in their Honda sidecar rig, one Spyder, a Boulevard, one Harley, and a few others. An eclectic group.

We took Jewell west to C-470 to I-70, heading for U.S. 40 west of Idaho Springs. And soon ran into a huge traffic jam leading to Floyd Hill due to what the sign said was “a fiery crash at exit 244.” So much for avoiding delays.

Eventually it was up and over Berthoud Pass and on to Granby, where we stopped for lunch. Then on to Kremmling for the second ice cream stop. Here I followed another guy’s suggestion and ordered an “Electric Fence.” This was a milk shake with a shot of espresso. It was definitely good.

By the way, along the way we shed probably half of the group, all with their own ideas as to where they wanted to go, so when we left Kremmling we were down to about nine.

We headed south on CO 9 to Dillon, continued on as though we were going over Loveland Pass but then turned and took Swan Lake Road around the reservoir and reached Frisco–our actual destination–that way. And here we stopped for ice cream again.

So I was just sitting in the shade outside the shop, chatting with folks, when suddenly there was this huge crash and the sound of shattering glass and the thunk of a window screen falling down. Right behind me about a foot. Turns out it was a double-hung window that gave way and when it hit the sill one pane shattered and hit the screen so hard it knocked the screen out. Thankfully, the screen protected me and the two people beside me from the glass. As the shopkeepers rushed out asking if we were hurt we were able to say no, not at all. If not for that screen I think we might have had to give a different answer.

From here the group pretty much dispersed, each taking off on their own way home. It was late enough in the day that I-70 was clear sailing, which was a real blessing. A good ride, about 265 miles for me.

Biker Quote for Today

I’d rather ride my hog then sit around drinking beer. — Nsmith82990