Yesterday I was able to commute to work on the GS. No one told me it was going to be so windy. I rode to Boulder in the morning and worked until about noon. Then I rode down to Castle Rock, about an hour all highway, for a meeting. it was really flippin' windy and I wasn't expecting that at all. I don't mind the wind so much. It's the debris that I hate. It was like a spoof of a horror movie where all the stereotypical things happen and then more outrageous things start happening just to be silly. First there was gusty wind, then dust, then dirt from construction areas, then paper trash like fast food bags and cups and then pizza boxes. Then there were leaves, sticks and tumble weeds. And of course the random pieces of large plastic caught on fence lines blowing in the 40 MPH winds (or whatever they were). And then it seemed every odd type of vehicle with various potentially dangerous objects inside just waiting to blow into my path - pick up trucks with furniture precariously tied down, trash trucks with crap blowing out the back, dump trucks with tarps flapping out the back. You name it, I saw it yesterday. Luckily, none of those items ever touched me or the bike, except for the dirt and dust of course. (I think I need a new helmet. This one lets in too much wind.)
Hubby was returning home from Colorado Springs so called to see if he could follow me home. He said they were talking about hurricane force winds. It was nice to have him follow me although I did lose him on the highway. I wasn't even going that fast. ;-) It was gusty but not too unbearable. A relaxed but firm hold on the grips seemed to work well. And leaning when the gusts came.
While at my meeting at the library in Castle Rock, I found this book for $1 in their used book store. :-)
On Saturday, my lovely hubby and I took a short ride to Golden and had lunch. Ahhhh... that was a nice time as it always is. He kept his bike on the battery tender all winter (unlike moi) so it started right up. My bike has been charged and is running great. But, I think we killed the clock and trip odometer in the process of jumping it. We are still looking into that.
This weekend we also decided on our next moto road trip. We always try to go somewhere neither of us have been. This time we are planning to stay in Colorado. I'll have a separate blog post about it later when I have time to do it up correctly with pictures and links and all that. In the meantime, feel free to try to guess the location. :-)
Wind gusts are no fun at all. At least you can chuckle about the debis flying by.
ReplyDeleteWe were riding down Highway 101 at the coast last year and the wind gusts were horrendous coming off the ocean. No fun at all.
That looks like a great score on the Moab guide. I have no guess where you will be traveling in Colorado. I don't know enough about the terrain to guess.
What kind of helmet are you using? I have a Scorpion Exo 400 and I find it lets too much wind in too.
That's good to know about the Scorpion. It was one I was considering. Hubby has a couple of Scorpion helmets and likes them. He also rides with a big fairing to block the wind. I have an Icon Airframe. It was so comfy when I first got it. Fit perfectly. I think it's beginning to break in though. Maybe I should try getting new padding? I wouldn't mind investing in something considering how much I usually ride.
ReplyDeleteI've never had to deal with a lot of wind but I would guess that gusting winds would be a real challenge. Especially if it was combined with large vehicle traffic.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, my guess Mesa Verde.
Allaina:
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking Hwy 550 north of Durango and perhaps end up at Mesa Verde. We were there a few years ago during a snow storm in November
bob
Riding the Wet Coast