Glacier - Day 9

Colorado Springs, CO to Garland, TX: about 730 miles

Forecast for the day was pretty ugly compared to the rest of the trip. Cool temperatures and rain possible all the way to Dallas. I was really planning on making it in one day, as this being Sunday, I needed to be back at work in the morning.

As well, after putting in over 3600 miles the last eight days, I was kinda ready to be home… still enjoying the ride mind you, but it would have been better had the weather cooperated some.

Again I pulled out the cold weather gear and bundled up from head to toe knowing that it was going to be cold most of the day.

I pulled away from Kevin’s house about 7AM that morning. The sun was not yet up and there was a quietness on the roads leading out of Colorado Springs. I know the cold front had overtaken us again as there were low hanging clouds and low temps.

I cruised down the road at the state mandated limits after a state trooper whizzed by me to pull over a truck that just passed. There were lots of troopers on the road that morning, fortunately I did not meet any of them personally.

And the weather was just plain cold with patches of rain on and off all the way to Raton.

I snapped these pics at the rest area on the north side of Trinidad before tackling the pass. It was clouded over such that you couldn’t even see it.

I throttled up the pass and over to Raton where it was time to fill up again, before heading to the Texas panhandle. Again, rain accompanied me all the way across the Texas state line. Anyone who’s ever traveled from Raton to Texas is familiar with the little hills in NM, just before you cross the state line. I snapped these pictures knowing the area had a special place in Jason’s heart…having broken down in this area twice in one week, he’s probably not that eager to pass by here again.

With those final shots I pretty much buckled down, trying to get home before dark. I still had a long way to go and there was no guarantee that the weather would cooperate.

Reaching Amarillo about lunch time I refueled the bike and grabbed a burrito at Taco Bell, called Nikki and let her know I was probably looking at sometime after 9PM to be home, if the weather would cooperate. I still had just under 400 miles to go before the day was done.

I pulled out the MP3 player and cranked up the tunes and headed down the lonely stretch of 287 that was my channel to great roads and scenic views. The weather was still cold and I had not removed any of my gear. Rather uneventful trip until I reached Wichita Falls, where I stopped to fuel up and saw the remnants of a huge rainstorm that I must have just missed. A guy asked me which way I was headed and I replied, 'to Dallas’. He just shook his head and wished me luck. He had just come from that direction and stated that traffic slowed to about 30MPH due to the rain. It was so heavy you couldn’t see to drive. That was encouraging.

I tightened up my gear and headed south on 287. It wasn’t long before I hit the rain and limited visibility caused mostly by the dark clouds, not the rain. It was raining off and on for most of the journey.

Finally, when I reached Decatur, it was warm enough that I could remove the cold weather gear… after about 13 hours in it I was ready for a change. I stripped it off at the gas station… my last fill up before I reached home. That last 88 miles was a welcome respite from the weather up to that point. The Valk was running smooth, the weather was great and the traffic was… well, welcome to the metroplex.

I cruised in about 9:30PM finishing a 14 ½ hour ride for the day. Google-maps says 830 miles based on the route I took, but the bike odometer says only 730. It kinda felt more like 830 to me.

This trip had just about everything but hail and snow… and we’re certainly glad that was not a part of it. Here are the odometer pre and post pics to show the 4300 miles traveled for this trip.

It was a great trip and I’d do it again without hesitation. But we’ve already been there, so we’re looking at new places for the next one. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you updated on our traveling adventures.