Ahead lay the wide arching curves of the highway. Hugging the shoulders were stands of quaking aspens that climbed up-ward on rocky slopes. Early day pioneers called these Rocky Mountains "The Shining Mountains" in awe of their beauty. Such was the scene for the drama about to be enacted.
Colorado is motorcycle country, just waiting, begging, for a rider on two wheels to come along and tae on the challenges that mountain riding offers. There's no better place on the continent to ride the curves than in the Centennial State, named in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
With six times the mountainous area of Switzerland, you can't lose in Colorado. Fifty-three mountain peaks reach upward of 14,000 feet. Skirting the "Fourteeners" - as the local call them - is an up, down and around ride with a roof of blue and white overhead. Over high mountain passes, between towering mountain ranges, down wide, spacious valleys and alongside fast-flowing streams, you swoop. It's a motorcyclist's dream of varied and beautiful landscapes.
Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park - the highest continuous paved road in the United States at 12,000-plus feet - and the Million Dollar Highway in the state's southwest corner are just two of the dramatic backdrops for Freedom Tours, a Colorado-based company that takes the motorcyclist on a journey through the state's mountain colorscape of deep blue skies, verdant green forests and red rock canyons. I recently had a chance to sample one of the company's tour, which are offered regularly throughout the riding season in Colorado.
Introductions were in order at our first get-acquainted dinner near Longmont, Colorado, the jumping-off point for the tour. Motorcyclists congregate naturally, and questions were bantered about as the riders learned about their traveling companions for the next several days. The bonding process began early, and each personality added his or her own ingredients.
Tour participants come from all over the country and a few from overseas. One English couple had even flown to Colorado and purchased their bike on a buy-back program. A single woman roder her Honda CBR1000 to Colorado from Ohio. Seventy-three years young, another arrived from Montana on his Honda 250 Helix. Addressing the group, Freedom Tour owner and leader Mike Broadstreet highlighted the mountain pilgrimage. "There are 14 mountain passes to cross. We'll travel some of the least-frequented roads in the Rockies. This is real Alpine riding! There will be frequent stops and a relaxed pace of approximately 200 miles per day. You can ride as you feel free to - after all, this is a Freedom Tour."
"Is it going to rain?" one tour member asked the leader.
"Never can tell," he replied - then, glancing skyward, added, "If we put on our raingear, maybe it won't. Most of the time, the rain gods are on our side, and we ride between the giant summer thunderheads."
Returning to the subject at hand, Broadstreet continued, "Breakfast and dinner, along with lodging, are part of the tour. I've checked out a lot of excellent eateries, as well as top-notch lodging. I keep the tours small in numbers with several tours each season." One out-of-state rider aptly put it, "I could have never figured where to go myself. There's just too much scenery."
The stony gater opened early next morning as we rode between the giant, uplifted hogbacks marking the entrance to St. Vrain Canyon west of Longmont. Behind us lay the flat prairie country, ahead was the mountainous havitat that was to be our home for the next several days.
At first the group did accordion maneuvers in resjponse to the sharp curving asphalt. Each rider sought to learn about his companions' riding skills. How would the flat-landers do in the curves? Immediately we started to rise in elevation, and there came a corresponding change in plant and animal life. Biologists refer to these changes in elevation as passing through the various life zones.
Pullouts provided rest stops to further become immersed in the land and skyscapes, and times for the cameras to appear in unison. Click went the shutters to record the top of the world. It was also a good chance to socialize. "Did you see that porcupine back a couple of miles?" "Chat are those large black-and-white birds we've been seeing?" The questions came and went.
Speaking of birds, it seemed strange that every time the group passed the frequent magpies the English couple - who had tied a Union Jack bandanna to the right side of their bike's handlebar to remind them which side to ride on - raised an arm in salute. When asked why, they replied that this English custom is one way to avoid bad luck. "You want to keep good luck on your side," the answered. Before long every tour member gave a salute to the feathered creature.
"We're going to be hard-pressed to see anything prettier than we saw today," uttered the riders from St. Louis. Their Honda Gold Wing had the handle "Serenity." "Wget a lot of serenity when we're on the bike," they added, reflecting on the name emblazoned on the trunk by a pinstriper.
This could also be said for cruising the Rockies. There's a serenity, a tranquillity found riding in the forest domain. The woodsy smells and temperature changes, engine reverberations, the sounds of running water flowing over boulders - all make for a memorable journey.
A bumper sticker on a passing pickup seemed to sum it all up: "Today I Cherish, Tomorrow I Dust."
Ineveitably, the last night came all too soon. Clustered together in one of our hotel rooms we reflected on the hapenings of the past week. Laughter was followed by quiet reflective moments. The group had become a family.
"When I get hom I'll be thinking of all you guys," remarked the woman from Ohio, adding, "I had a blast. Good scenery, good roads and good company."
As a final farewell, the St. Louis couple presented the group with a large cookie cake. On top, inscribed in icing, was the epilogue to a remarkable mountain exploit: "Freedom Tours, Farewell One and All."
