Colorado Part 2: there

To perhaps speed things up if you just want to look at the pictures, here's the Flickr feed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45538364@N02/sets/72157624255944275/

It has some pictures that I won't be putting here because, well, there are only so many pictures I feel like linking in any given post. That's also why the last post, which was supposed to be a complete "to, there, and from" ended up as only the "to" portion. This is the "there" portion. The "from" portion is forthcoming.

Moving on...

After fighting traffic through Denver and almost running out of gas (gas mileage was down almost 15 mpg due to serious headwind in Colorado), I finally made the DAG, where I found various UTMC drinking beer and repairing motorcycles. Tires, wheel spacers, carbs, countershaft seals... all were dealt with amidst the chaos. I believe most of an engine was rebuilt somewhere in there. Beer was swilled, meat was cooked, and I'm told much fun was had. I really don't remember. I was tired as all hell by that point.
















As you can see by the last picture, the motorcycle clusterfuck had reached epic proportions relatively early. It only got worse as the night wore on, with no few bikes rolling in well after dark. All told, just wow.


I woke up here the next morning (that's mine in the foreground center), among the Seattle crew I did not know at the time, but who I would end up accompanying northwest a few days later. We then ventured to obtain delicious breakfast burritos, and I remember being amazed at their collective caffeine addiction. The comment was made that I was "healthy" because I was drinking water, and then quickly retracted when I pointed to the half-pound of chorizo and eggs wrapped in a flour tortilla I was eating at the time.




This is my favorite morning-after-party-trashcan picture ever. Aluminum is aluminum, right?




Not too long thereafter, we got down to the business of getting to the campsite in Buena Vista. Reviewing the pictures, apparently I have a man-crush on Black Joe, because he's in no few of them:

Black Joe in a Colorado small town:



Black Joe carrying his chair on his wallet chain:



Black Joe reacting hilariously to disgusting meat products:




(Okay, so that's about it for Black Joe.)


For those who don't know, the reason for going to Colorado was a get-together of UTMC types called Ragnarok, which was allegedly my idea, though I quit having anything to do with it shortly thereafter. Having been there, I can't say I really regret that. I like most people individually and in small doses. This was not that. I liked the UTMC because it was such a non-club. I like DOOM (another UTMC get-together) because it's a non-event held by a non-club. Ragnarok definitely looked like a club event held by a club. Sooo not digging it.

Aside from taking some pictures and a handful of very decent conversations, I was pretty well done with it after the first few hours. So were Scotty, Business Dan, and Black Joe. On the morning of Day 2, I joined them for coffee in Leadville while they plotted their escape.





(Okay, so Business Dan is definitely more "wistfully looking" than plotting, but you get the idea.)

I also nearly froze to death on that trip. It was 40 degrees when we hit Leadville. I was wearing a summer jacket over a t-shirt, riding 70 mph. Reacquainted myself with my old friend, Mild Hypothermia. Hot chocolate has never tasted so good. I decreed that I wasn't leaving until it hit 60.

Amid planning, Scotty also decorated my helmet some more.




Upon return to camp, Delta Force packed up and hit the road, leaving me to fend for myself.






Pintgrudge wearing what has to be the least appropriate (on many levels) collection of motorcycle clothing I've ever seen (yes, that's a kilt), talking to Dozer, who's sporting an ice pack after dislocating a shoulder while trying to follow Mountain in the dirt. That sidehack Goldwing may be getting a diesel engine, and I may be the one putting it in, but that's a project for the future.




Beemer Dan (who was still a little loopy after overmedicating) and Ames (who was still wearing his Batman riding suit).




Also, here's a random picture of a motorcycle and another of a bunch of people standing/sitting around.






All in all, Ragnarok was very weird, and I spent much of my time there trying to escape it. Fortunately, Colorado is full of good roads, so that wasn't too difficult.


So the plan was to stay for the whole thing and then head for LA to see my brother, but when Iko (which I may be spelling incorrectly) asked me if I wanted to ride back to Seattle with the ZKMC, I jumped at the chance. After a brief delay finding my keys, we got away the next morning.




What happened from there is, again, another story for another day...