A Calm Ride With A Purpose

Ron 0:20

Welcome back to the Peace Love Moto Podcast. I'm your host, Ron Francis, here in Loveland, Colorado, and today, my friends, we go for a ride. A peaceful and an amazing journey through some of the most remote and beautiful areas of the Colorado Mountains. So before we get started, think about this, and I'll repeat it later, but you'll hear it here first. We set out on motorcycle rides not to escape life, but to ensure that life doesn't escape us. Yeah, that makes sense, doesn't it? And that is indeed our goal for this episode, this virtual journey. This, my friends, is a ride through some of my favorite places. Traffic-free roads, away from the tourist routes, snow-capped mountains and rivers that I have just been thrilled to ride past for 30 years now. We are embarking on a two-day spectacular 350-mile loop through the heart of the Colorado Rockies. Our focus is to recognize the beauty and the power of Mother Nature, all while being reminded of how much we love to ride motorcycles. And this journey is for you, my guests on this ride. All set to music, I'll try to help you to relax just as I will as well as we take a journey together. Just totally relaxed, totally chilled out. I'm excited to have you with me. Are you ready to go? I am too. Stay tuned. Recorded in beautiful, loveliness, Colorado, welcome to Peace Love Moto, the podcast for motorcyclists seeking that peaceful, easy feeling as we cruise through this life together. Are

Weather, Elevation, And All The Gear

Ron 2:15

you ready? Let's go! It was a mild winter here in Colorado this past year. Much of the mountain snows have melted below 11,000 feet by now. But you see, we have peaks that are over 14,000 feet. We affectionately call these 14ers. Long's Peak is our tallest peak in Rocky Mountain National Park just to the west of us. Long's is at 14,256 feet. And yes, we'll be riding very close to it. Yep, there's snow up there. Some snow stay year-round. Now, the roads will be dry these next couple of days, which will be great according to the weather reports. Maybe some late afternoon showers, but we always expect those and we'll ride prepared for those. We'll also be prepared to layer up. The highest peaks that we'll be crossing will be about 30 degrees cooler than we experience here in the valley. Remember, when we're riding out there, we ride with all the gear all the time. Carry stuff with us for any kind of condition. That sure makes life easier, and it sure keeps us feeling secure no matter what Mother Nature may have in store for us. The highest continuous paved road in America, Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park, is officially open now. Yes, we'll be crossing it on this trip at over 12,000 feet or two and a half miles above sea level. These next couple of days aren't about rushing to any destination. It's not about the connection to your next destination. Instead, it's a connection between you, your heart, your mind, your bike that you love so much, and Mother Earth. And we're gonna set all that to music to match the landscape. Yeah, we're gonna have a visit with our mom, Mother Nature, because she's out there and she will speak to us when we find those times to stop, to get off the bike, to take a really good look, and to just listen. Are you ready to go? Yeah, me too. Let's go.

Horsetooth Turns And Vern’s Breakfast

Ron 4:59

We begin our journey here in Loveland, Colorado, my home base, heading north then west. We'll be bypassing the route that the GPS directs us to because that's the way all the tourists go, right? We don't want that. No, let's take the long way, the scenic route, embracing Road 14 along the Cash Lapuder River through Pooder Canyon. But hey, first things first, we're in no hurry, right? Gotta take care of ourselves. Gotta feel good for this long day in the saddle. So before we head up the Twisty Canyon, are you hungry for breakfast? Yeah, me too. And I know just the place. Oh, and it's a fun route to get to this breakfast spot. From Loveland, we go northwest and we take the road that hugs the beautiful Horse Tooth Reservoirs. Strange name I know, but yeah, that's what it's called. These are steep, twisty roads with the lake to our left. And as we reach the high points, you can look to your right and see the eastern plains of Colorado. It's like you can see all the way to Kansas out across there. It's amazing. So you'll find yourself wondering the front range, and you'll witness the moment that the planes yield to the majesty of the Rockies. You'll see it right there in front of you. Look to the right, then look to your left. That's the connection. On the map, Horse Tooth may appear to be just a twisty road until you cross over Taft Hill. That's where the road transitions to County Road 38E and the horizon swiftly shifts. You'll start climbing directly up the face of the Hogback Ridge. And believe me, it's a spirited, punchy greeting for you and your machine. You'll take this road at a safe but fun speed if that's okay with you. These tight turns give us a chance to test your cornering skills and hit the apexes just right. Immediately following those sharp turns are climbs that will test you and your bike. Your bike will be saying, Hey, I can turn and I can climb too. Just watch this. Within about a half a mile, we gain 400 vertical feet. And after a descent, we do that five more times. Oh man, it's fun. It's the ideal appetizer for the spirit. Before we dive further into the heart of the canyons. And speaking of appetizers, do I have a place for you in mind? It's called Vern's Place, and it's in the tiny little village of LaPorte. Vern's Place is a local landmark that has been serving classic American comfort food since 1946. It's a favorite gathering spot for locals and motorcycle riders just like us who are about to take in the scenic cruise into the mountains. It's early, and in the morning it's a little cool out, but it feels really nice with the sun just now reaching us, so let's plan on sitting out at the patio and have a big breakfast with juice and coffee, of course, and then finish off with a world-famous cinnamon roll. Yum. After plenty of food to hold us over for a while, let's top off with gas one more time and head up the river. Because now our world changes. We begin to climb and will continue to climb for the next 60 miles or so. The Kashlaputa River runs right beside us, a torrent of white water. The river rafting companies are already in full swing, and we can see them in the distance coming down the river, those groups of matching rafts. If you look closely, you can see the smiles on their faces. Sometimes looks of terror. You can hear them laughing and sometimes screaming going over the rapids. Fun to watch. So let's slow down. Let's give them a big wave as we pass. This road up the mountain has very few straight portions at all. We'll be twisting through the canyon for yeah, quite many miles. Lean left, lean right, let the rhythm of the canyon wash over your stress. Let it clear your mind. That's what we need to be focused on. And the river. And the canyon walls on each side. And the bluest sky you can imagine above you. Rocky peaks are soaring on all sides of us now. Here and there we'll see jeeps parked on the side of the road. We'll slow down. We'll look up those cliffs. You see the ropes? Now you see the rock climbers way up there? Yeah, it's amazing how high they are. Sheer faces of rock. It's amazing. Do be careful looking up though. Because these aren't straight roads, and there are hardly any guardrails out here. Which makes it fun, keeps it interesting. As we finally crest the mountain peak for this portion, Cameron Pass, we stop for a picture at that famous rock formation called the Crags. This is a great place to get off the bike and to stretch. The river doesn't pass through this portion of the road, leaving us nothing but that view. And at first, you hear only silence. But as your eyes come back into tune with Mother Nature, you hear the leaves on the trees way across the valley, like a mile across. You can hear those leaves. And the sound of a small creek about 200 feet below, as you look across that chasm. We're at a little over 10,000 feet right now. It's nice and cool up here. As we just crossed over Cameron Pass. This is our first pass of the trip. It's not quite the Continental Divide. It's not, not this portion, but we're almost there. We've ridden about 75 miles so far. You'll find out tomorrow on our return trip that this very spot here at Cameron Pass is only about five miles north of the border of the Rocky Mountain National Park, where we will be riding through tomorrow in the opposite direction. Now we are descending, dropping into the wide open spaces, the windswept valley toward Walden. I come out here all the time. Walden's just close enough to my home where I can make it out here, maybe to grab uh lunch or an early dinner, and then ride home by sunset in the middle of the summer. Love it. Walden. Oh, I love Walden. Walden isn't a manicured resort town at all. It's a living, breathing outpost of the real American West. There are no other towns nearby at all. At 8,000 feet, Walden is completely cut off from the frantic pace of the front range, which would include Denver and Boulder and such. Not much more out here than ranch land and open space, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. A lot of open space. Looking every direction. This is cowboy country in its truest sense. The streets are wide, the architecture is rugged, it's weathered, and the local economy is still driven by cattle and hay fields and the grit of ranching families who manage the winter

Walden Silence And Rabbit Ears Pass

Ron 12:45

times out here as well as the beauty of the summer. Most of them have worked this valley called North Park for generations. I've met many of them. Interesting people, kind people, generous people. Now, depending on your fuel range, Walden is a great place to top off with gas because the next place to find fuel is another 60 miles away. I'm talking about the 60-mile stretch ahead of us that carries us into the remote high-altitude basins of North Park, straight into the heart of mountain culture called Steamboat Springs. As we pull up our kickstands in Walden and we say goodbye to North Park, that expanse of windswept valley that feels like an old relic from the Old West. We'll continue on Highway 14 and we find ourselves on a long, relatively straight stretch of road slicing through the sagebrush. We can ride safely at 60 miles an hour out here. Put your crews on if you want to. We'll be watching for the occasional stray cow or deer or coyote or elk or even there's some moose out here around the marshes, so we'll keep an eye out. Yes, you'll hear your bike in the wind, but you can just sense how silent and vast it is out here. Exactly the kind of open road that allows you to release any lingering mental clutter. You see those yellow signs along the road? Signs advertising the best place to buy your next pair of Western boots? Well, that's FM Light and Sons company. Keep that in mind, because we'll find out more about FM Light and Sons later. But for now, keep your eyes on the horizon because the majestic park range is standing there waiting for our arrival. And we'll be soon crossing over it. It's massive. As the elevation begins to rise again, we enter the dense groves of aspen trees and the deep green evergreens. The road is sweeping and twisting in a way that requires our total focus as we climb toward the first crossing of the Continental Divide. And then we reach it. Rabbit Ears Pass. Standing at 9,426 feet, we cross the invisible line of the divide and merge onto U.S. Highway 40. Still a small road. Suddenly the landscape unfolds before us in a spectacular display. Look to your right, those legendary rock formations stand there. They're the reason for the name. Those are the rabbit ears. Now look to your left. As we take the steep descent into Steamboat Springs, the midway point of our journey, and we stay there for the night. Ski Town, USA. Some of the superstars of American Olympic skiing are from this area. This is the Napa Valley, as far as you can see to the left, as we're still high in the mountains. The home of the most famous Western store, FM Light and Sons. We've seen the signs. Now let's see the store. Now the story behind this Western store is really incredible. It was back in 1905 and a guy named Frank M. Light rolled into Steamboat Springs by Stagecoach. The town was basically just a collection of dirt streets and a few wooden cabins, but he opened up his little Western store right on Lincoln Avenue, which was Main Street. They say that the business grew and became popular among the local ranchers because he had exactly what they needed. And by 1928, Frank's sons came up with this wild and crazy idea to pull in more travelers from the region by just popping up a bunch of signs. So they hopped in a truck with a post hole digger and stacks of yellow and black wooden signs, striking deals with local ranchers to plant them along the highway fences. And at one point there were more than 300 signs scattered all over Colorado and Wyoming. Today they say there's a little over a hundred of them still out there. We saw a few on our trip out, right? And they're maintained by hand as local historic landmarks. And there it is, on the right-hand side of the street, there's a large carved horse on the sidewalk in front of it. We walk in, and there on the wall are cowboy boots. Just filling the whole left side of the building. Lots to choose from. Cowboy hats and shirts and blue jeans straight ahead of us. You hear the old floor creak beneath you? That is the spirit of FM Light and Sons. Steamboat Springs is our home base this night. We'll stay at one of my favorite little family-owned motels right on Main Street. As we continue through town from FM Light and Sons, we spot the landmark motel. Can't miss it. Really, it's impossible to overlook. I'm talking about this luminous pink and white beacon of a sign featuring a smiling rabbit and those legendary ears. Remember Rabbit Ears Pass that we rode over? This is the motel named after it. My friends, welcome to the historic and funny and wonderful Rabbit Ears Motel. While some mountain communities have swapped their souls for modern architecture, this spot has anchored this eastern entrance of the town since 1952 and has stayed the same. It remains a slice of genuine 1950s Americana, and it's the ultimate nostalgic sanctuary. This place maintains the classic motor court style that you might find along Route 66 back in the day. And the best part is it's it's family-owned. This is the friendliest staff and the cleanest rooms that they take care of with pride. So let's check in, settle, settle in, drop off our gear, stretch out our legs for a casual walk, and let's walk on through the rest of Steamboat Springs. Across the street runs the Yampa River, where you can rent a raft and go for a cruise if you want. Here too is my favorite little bookstore and coffee shop combination called Off the Beaten Path. Don't miss the upstairs

Steamboat Nights And Old West Icons

Ron 19:40

loft section up there because you can take a look at a book and take your coffee up there too. It's just a really relaxing spot. For later in the evening, we have lots of dinner options. My wife and I often enjoy this Italian restaurant, actually really close to the Ravidir's Hotel called Mambo, which you can find all sorts of spots that are just wonderful places to eat in town. And as the evening sets in, it's a good time to visit the famous Steamboat Spring Ski Resort area. Of course, they're not skiing this time of year, but it's actually a nice, relaxing time to be out there. Here you can see the main ski base of Ski Town USA. And here you can take the gondola up mid-mountain to watch the sunset if you'd like. It's a relaxing space to sit and listen to the music that always plays through the village up there. Once satisfied with your afternoon and the evening in the village, we'll head back to the rabbit ears for a quiet night's rest. Good morning. After a refreshing night's rest, we'll walk back into the village of Steamboat Springs and have a nice breakfast and certainly have some Steamboat Springs coffee. And then we'll prepare ourselves for this day. This day. Really watching the road because this gets interesting up there. I know that it can sound confusing about the fact that we're crossing the Continental Divide again, but the fact is that the Continental Divide switches back and forth all over the place. You can cross it multiple times, practically going in a straight line. Well, yeah, it's just it's just a wonderful thing, and we'll be crossing it one more time and when we get into Rocky Mountain National Park. But until then, we're gonna reach the little town of Granby pretty soon, and that's where we turn left on Highway 34 and start working our way toward Rocky Mountain National Park. And Highway 34 may sound familiar if you've listened to the podcast before, because that's the road that takes you all the way back to my home here in Loveland. And now it's time for the most thrilling part of our journey. Once we leave the little town of Grand Lake, we enter Rocky Mountain National Park at its western portal. Once we enter the park gates, we'll proceed through what's called the Kawanichi Valley. The name Kawanichi is a beautiful Arapahoe term which translates to Valley of the Coyote. As we point our bikes north on Highway 34, before it starts curving around, we hit Trail Ridge Road. The horizon expands in this massive valley, nestled deep between the soaring peaks. Right down the middle flows a gentle winding stream. And friends, that little stream represents the humble headwaters of the great Colorado River, long before it gains enough strength to sculpt the Grand Canyon. This lush valley floor is covered in dense willow marshes, making it the perfect habitat for moose. While we cruise along at 30 miles per hour and we admire the majestic Never Summer Mountain Range right in front of us, oh my goodness, those are the most rugged peaks, the most beautiful peaks. It's a basic, untamed stretch of road out here that perfectly captures the spirit of why we love to ride motorcycles. We climb and we climb and we climb some more. Then we eventually see the high road up ahead and notice that the trees have all but disappeared. Because you see, we're reaching 11,500 feet, well more than two miles above sea level. And at this elevation, the trees can no longer grow because the growing season is just too short. Up here, we approach Milner Pass and

Trail Ridge Road To Stanley Porch

Ron 24:55

once again cross the Continental Divide. Remember how the divide twists and turns? Climbing above Milner Pass, we are now above tree line and the view. Oh, this is a good time to get out your camera and also to get out some new layers because it's getting cooler now at this elevation. We'll be prepared for colder winds up ahead. The skies still show no sign of rain. All is good. And now, oh my goodness, look at the views. As we look north, we can see all the way into the state of Wyoming. We can see the snowy range of Wyoming far in the distance. But you remember yesterday when we climbed Cameron Pass together riding west? Well, that pass is only one mountain peak away from us to the north. As the crow flies, I believe it's five miles. There's some serious wilderness through those five miles, but what a beautiful sight. So next, let's stop at the Alpine Visitor Center here in the center of Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a great place to stretch and walk through the highest visitor center in all of the national park systems. Looks like it's 50 degrees according to the temperature gauge up here. In my experience, it's typically 20 degrees warmer here than it is down in Estes Park, which is our next stop. We leave Rocky Mountain National Park and immediately enter the village of Estes Park. It's a midweek and not close to a holiday, so there's not many tourists in town, which is nice. At 7,522 feet, Estes Park serves as the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. The town wraps vibrant mountain culture around the history of Colorado, where the winding Big Thompson River flows past little boutiques, outdoor gear shops, and legendary historic, the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley is known as the inspiration for the movie, the shining, the ghost tours are quite popular here to say the least. And it is a beautiful, beautiful hotel with an amazing view. So let's go ahead and let's stop in the Stanley Hotel because, as you may be guessing now, it's time for a coffee break. And not just any coffee break. Let's grab a cherry latte called the Red Rum and take it out on the iconic porch to have a breathtaking view once again at the Continental Divide. If you saw the movie or read the book, The Shining, Red Rum will be familiar to you. After relaxing a time in Estes Park and at the Stanley, it's a good time to head back to our home base in Loveland. But let's take an alternate route, one that the tourists are mostly unaware of, so don't mention anything about it. From near the Stanley Hotel, let's take Devil's Gulch Road to the north of Highway 34. This road begins as an easy, slow, curving cruise across the mountain valley and then descends deeply into the Glenhaven Valley far below. And then following the north fork of the Big Thompson River, we twist and turn for the next 10 miles until we rejoin Highway 34 and continue our journey east, riding on home to Loveland. And after riding through the amazing tight turns called the Narrows, we begin to rejoin the city limits of Loveland. This is my home, a home where my wife and I raised our children, and we dearly love it here. So here we are back in Loveland. And as we begin to wrap up, just take a moment right now to relax your shoulders, to take a deep breath, and remember the crisp mountain air as it still may virtually linger in your lungs. Remember the silence up there, remember the peace. Remember how huge and beautiful Mother Nature appeared to us. And also remember that phrase we used at the beginning of this journey? We set out on a motorcycle ride, as we said, not to escape life, but to ensure that life doesn't escape us. Guess my question is, did we accomplish that? I feel like we did. We leaned into the curves, we stopped at Vern's for breakfast, stopped at the rabbit ears at the steamboat, and then we saw the majestic Rocky Mountain National Park. So my friends, I hope your mind feels a little more clear today by spending this half hour with me. I hope your heart feels a little lighter. Mother Nature spoke to us out there in the rustle of the aspens on Cameron Pass and the rush of the Colorado River, the headwaters out there in the National Park, and the quiet majesty of Long's Peak. All the way we just slowed down. We looked and we listened. So thank you so much for riding with me today. Sharing this mindful journey with me was really nice. There's truly nothing better than exploring this beautiful backyard with good company like you. Once again, I want to thank my good friends at Viking Bags for their product support of this podcast episode. And if you too would like to be a supporter of the episode, that would be great. Or supporter of the podcast, I should say. Uh just check the show notes, and there's some show support options out there. So, my friends, until we visit again, keep seeking peace of mind out on your motorcycle. And keep your heart ready for as much joy and as much happiness as you can stand. I'll see you out there. Peace.