Day 6 – Colorado, but not without problems.

We left Oakley this morning with Denver as our destination. We set out on the road and not even 30 minutes in we lose Gomes. I signal to Marco to pull over. We look back in the distance to try and find Gomes and we see a small dot that we believe to be Gomes. We wait it out and about two minutes go by when we see lights go on, on that dot. The light gets closer and eventually clear enough to confirm that it is in fact Gomes. He pulls up next to us and presents me with my bag. My military green day pack had fallen off the bike. It took a tumble, a clip broke and it got slightly torn but everything was still in it. I thank Gomes for grabbing it, as losing that bag would really suck since I have essentials in that, and I hand it to Marco so he can strap it to his bike instead. And we are back on the road.

The last stretches of Kansas were completely dead. Nothing for miles on end except little unmanned gas stations on the side of the highway that you can pull over and self serve at. We pull into one to fill up for the last time in Kansas and there’s a sign stating that there is a $50 gas limit per transaction. Although multiple transactions can be done. Not sure if this is to limit gas consumption per person or just a limit at the station. I also inspect my bike at this point to make sure things are well and I notice the back tire has been rubbing on something. I look under my seat and realize that it had bottomed out a few times and hit the back of the electronics pan and bent it back. Marco bend it out of the tires way as much as he can. We fill up and hit the road.

Before we leave Kansas there was one last stop we made. As we were driving along the interstate we see a big plantation of sunflowers and we stop on the side of the highway to take photos. We wrap our photo session and continue on.

Yes! We are finally in Colorado. Not much longer ’til we get to our first major destination, Denver. Marco had been having some bike troubles and wanted to stop somewhere with a garage or big gas station and about 20 minutes into Colorado we find a stop that fits all the requirements. We pull over and Marco heads to the garage to get some grease for his front wheel while I fill the tires with air to spec PSI. 32 PSI in the front tire and 36 in the back.

Marco gets back with the grease and decides he rather just take his bike by the garage and work on it there so we mount our “blind horses” and ride 100 feet to the garage. There, three guys come out and greet us. They were working on a rat rod so I go in to check out that bike while Marco gets to work. I talk to the guys a bit more until Marco is done. He finishes up and after some more brief words with the guys, we thank them for their hospitality and head back to the gas station we were at to grab some food at a Mexican place next door and top off our tanks. We hit the asphalt again. Maybe another half hour down the road I signal to Gomes to get Marco to pull over because I was being paranoid about my bike and wanted to make sure my tire was getting torn by the electronics pan under my seat. We pull to the shoulder just after exit 371 to Genoa, Colorado. Well, it’s a good thing I had us stop because Marco’s bike was done. It had taken the tolls of the road and was going to need some extensive TLC if we wanted to continue riding it. Marco breaks down the details in his post here.

We get on the phone with my AAA and I find out that my basic membership doesn’t cover motorcycles. Marco will need to pay for the full tow which is about 90 miles, to the BMW dealership in Aurora, near Denver. While waiting two bikers stop to ask if we need assistance and we explained unless they could tow us their is not much they could do but we thank them anyway for stopping and checking. A Colorado State Trooper also pulls up behind us to make sure everything is okay. We explain the situation and let him know we are contacting a tow service. We chat it up a bit with him and tell him our story. He shares with us that he’s originally from Atlanta but moved out here for the military and eventually stayed because his wife loves it out here. He tells us she runs her own business which intrigues me so I question the type of business. He informs us she runs a woman’s clothing line. All made in the US, out in California, which then gets shipped out to their home, where she ships out the orders from. You can support her work at LillieAvenue.com.

The tow truck shows up quicker than we expected and we get the bike loaded. One of Gomes’ friends has a friend who lives in Denver. They get connected and she insists we stay with her so that is our destination in Denver. The plan is to head there to drop off our gear and then meet up with Marco at the BMW dealership to pick him up and get his gear. We go on our separate ways. Marco heads to the dealership in the tow truck and Gomes and I head out on our bikes. It took us another hour and a half to get to Denver. We pull up to the location and it was like fate, our host Meaghan pulls up at the same time. She was already informed on the situation and volunteers to drive us to get Marco. We thank her and after dropping off our stuff in her apartment head out for Marco. Meaghan is this really cool half Irish, half Italian short, girl from Westchester, New York. She moved to Denver two years ago when her twin brother moved out here and liked it so much she decided to stay. Her hospitality goes unmatched thus far. She takes us in like family.

We pull up to the dealership and get Marco. He had gotten there too late and the shop had already closed. We head back to the apartment with plans to get back to the dealership first thing tomorrow morning.

Back at the apartment Meaghan feeds us and gives us some Colorado beer which I must admit was really good. Her apartment is on the 7th floor, in the heart of Denver. It’s nice and spacious and has a good sized balcony with a view to the mountains of Colorado. “She must witness some amazing sunsets”, I think to myself. Her roommate joins us for the night and we tell stories and laugh until we tire out and eventually knock out. Day 6 complete. What an adventure today was. We are on schedule but I don’t think that will remain that way.