Left Clovis, NM Friday around noon for Colorado Springs, CO. Spent the weekend and then headed home to Clovis, NM on Sunday - in pretty crummy weather.....
Headed out from the USAF Academy, CO during the short break between storms, but fog was really dense. No sooner got on I-25, and rains cranked up again, then added stronger winds. Fortunately it was mostly headwinds. As I headed south, the rain came and went, but when it rained – it really came down. It was nasty. By the time I hit Pueblo, CO, hail hit me for a while. Right hand is sporting some attractive bruises from a few hits. Pretty surprised considering the thickness of my lined gloves.
Several miles north of Trinidad, CO a white car hauled ass past me doing an easy 100+, shortly followed by two staters with pretty red and blue lights flashing. A few miles later, I rounded the bend, went under the overpass at Ludlow, CO, and was greeted by the two staters climbing up the embankment on my right, toward the white car – dangling from the top of the embankment facing down, a second dark colored car in the ditch line under it, both cars smashed to hell. Looked pretty bad – especially for the white car which looked like it could come tumbling down off the embankment any moment. No idea what that was all about but since it didn't involve me - meh!
When I reached a few miles south of Starkville, CO, CO DOT was kind enough to put one of those movable lighted highway signs saying “Raton Pass hail covered” – then flashed to say “Extreme wind gusts”. They weren’t kidding. Fortunately, Raton Pass is under construction and choked down to single lane traffic which really slowed traffic down to about 25 or so mph. Almost too slow to handle the winds on a bike. Had the wind come from the side, I’d have had to find a hole to crawl into until the winds died down. Winds registered 57 mph gusts roughly when I went over the crest of Raton Pass, NM.
Here’s something to giggle about. I damn near ran out of gas on the way home.
I used 4.187 gal from the Chevron on Llano, to Raton, NM, on the way up to Colorado Springs.
After running around CS for 2 days, when I fueled to head home, I put in 5.059 gal at the station at the AFA.
When I got to Grady, NM, my low fuel light went on.
I added 5.585 gal [usable fuel capacity is just under 6 gals ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ from the same station in Raton, NM, and the Chevron here in Clovis, NM.
That’s the difference in mileage on the 15 RT in headwinds [direct south – in the face] at “steady at 45 and gusting to 57”.
Had a great ride overall and really enjoyed seeing some old friends again.
Headed out from the USAF Academy, CO during the short break between storms, but fog was really dense. No sooner got on I-25, and rains cranked up again, then added stronger winds. Fortunately it was mostly headwinds. As I headed south, the rain came and went, but when it rained – it really came down. It was nasty. By the time I hit Pueblo, CO, hail hit me for a while. Right hand is sporting some attractive bruises from a few hits. Pretty surprised considering the thickness of my lined gloves.
Several miles north of Trinidad, CO a white car hauled ass past me doing an easy 100+, shortly followed by two staters with pretty red and blue lights flashing. A few miles later, I rounded the bend, went under the overpass at Ludlow, CO, and was greeted by the two staters climbing up the embankment on my right, toward the white car – dangling from the top of the embankment facing down, a second dark colored car in the ditch line under it, both cars smashed to hell. Looked pretty bad – especially for the white car which looked like it could come tumbling down off the embankment any moment. No idea what that was all about but since it didn't involve me - meh!
When I reached a few miles south of Starkville, CO, CO DOT was kind enough to put one of those movable lighted highway signs saying “Raton Pass hail covered” – then flashed to say “Extreme wind gusts”. They weren’t kidding. Fortunately, Raton Pass is under construction and choked down to single lane traffic which really slowed traffic down to about 25 or so mph. Almost too slow to handle the winds on a bike. Had the wind come from the side, I’d have had to find a hole to crawl into until the winds died down. Winds registered 57 mph gusts roughly when I went over the crest of Raton Pass, NM.
Here’s something to giggle about. I damn near ran out of gas on the way home.
I used 4.187 gal from the Chevron on Llano, to Raton, NM, on the way up to Colorado Springs.
After running around CS for 2 days, when I fueled to head home, I put in 5.059 gal at the station at the AFA.
When I got to Grady, NM, my low fuel light went on.
I added 5.585 gal [usable fuel capacity is just under 6 gals ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ from the same station in Raton, NM, and the Chevron here in Clovis, NM.
That’s the difference in mileage on the 15 RT in headwinds [direct south – in the face] at “steady at 45 and gusting to 57”.
Had a great ride overall and really enjoyed seeing some old friends again.