I hit a cow last time on the Trans America Trail in 2011, lets see what happens this year,

7th Aug – 30th Aug 2013.

Six of us are returning to Colorado to re ride the Continental Divide and join back up with The Trans America Trail and ride on to Santa Rosa North California.

Some of the places we visit Durango,Silverton,Monticello, Moab,Green River, Richfield,Eureka, Battle Mountain, Denio Junction,Lake View, Gilchrist,Port Oxford and finally Santa Rosa.

 

 

Here and in the hotel, tipical me had to really work hard to get here from the airport, FORGOT TO TAKE name of hotel, and so on, tried to save $10 at HEATHROW on money exchange thought I would use ATM at my destination.

Bingo 5 ATMS later and one in a taxi no go, I forgot to inform Lloyds Bank I was on the move, taxi driver was getting very concerned after 20 mins in reception, me trying to extract $35 from the hotels petty cash.

It all works out in the end with the taxi driver happy with £30 English pounds and a queue of about 10 folks behind me thinking stupid Englishman, anyhow room found on computer and taxi driver on his way.

Bakery tomorrow, it will be great to see the folks again at the Golden Crown Bakery,

What a fantastic welcome I have had today, massive hugs for the Father and Son team here, its 5.30pm here and I have just looked at my watch thought it was about 2pm, gee I have worked hard today, its great being the apprentice again.

Being watched over my work and thanked for my hard work is something you don,t recive as a boss, I looked up at one time to see every one stopping there work and just watching me working away, at one time this sounds real silly but its very emotional being excepted like this, tears rolling down or sweat not tears as its a great privilege to be here.

The assortment of folks arriving here all day long just to be part of this Neighbourhood bakery is to be seen to believe, with pizza speciality bases, one the Blue corn is outstanding food to be eaten.

Its a long way too travel but if only I could reproduce the sense of community accomplished here, maybe I do but I don’t realise it, I have have such a wonderful day, one I don’t wish too end.

Late for work today 9.30am as a trip to WELLS FARGO to exchange ENGLISH POUNDS to the US DOLLAR, what a great outfit this bank is, rye smile when they asked my name, JESSIE JAMES my reply never herd that before Sir.

Two I.D drivers licence and my DEPT CARD, taxi waiting out side as I exit with my dollars to take me to work, and straight to work as well,

Two off the most wonderful days of my baking visits, I realy can’t tell how I have felt in these four walls, theses people and customers are very very special.

All cut out by me

we went out to Sadies tonight for the most disgusting meal I have ever eaten or sent back, horrible I cant even call it food, it was apsaultly disgusting.
Folks weren,t eating it but carrying it out in stirofoam boxes, after attempting to eat some of it.
I couldn’t help myself and went you to the manager and thanked them for the most wonderfull eating experience, much to the amusment of the others.

Heres the manager

Well I plucked up the courage to talk to this very soft spoken man, lovely person he was so interested to here about what we are doing in the US, funny how you make asumptions, as I saw this guy with his heavely tattoed mate.
I am not a great lover of tattoes and don’t understand them, but that is surely my hang up as a small minded idiot.

Bikes we picked mine up earlier from a local BMW dealership that has been kindly looking after them for 24hours

Heres mine now back at the NATIVO LODGE hotel

Off to bed now as our first day tomorrow, I am shareing with Tim tonight don’t know how long for as my last room mate only lasted 6 hours, cant understand why, well 3 hours and Iam in the fouay of the hotel on a round chair sofa thing.

I snore, we have a doctor in the group thought he maybe able to remove my adenoid’s, but hes not that sort of doctor, It looks like two singles and two doubles in future, well at least im able to keep up to date with this.

On our way as you can see Alberqurque 0 miles, then a group photo then we are away

Asked a Chinese guy who was watching onto take the photo of us all

We are away, Im just going to write some high lights as late in last night and now its 6.30 and I have waited 2 years to go on the steam train though the Colorado mountain to Silverton from Derango, it leaves at 8am, and I am told I need to have booked a reservation.

At $200 or $90 theres bound to be a space on one of the 3 Trians, anyhow we got away at midday yesterday, mostly road to get here, 16 miles of dirt road which is a lot in the UK in one road.

The ground was hard packed but a little rutted, then a photo stop and a mile later Doctor Gary Randells bike gave up the goast, gallent efforts from folks to fix 2 hours in all, me I was on the log supporting the back of the bike, and the odd arm wave at the odd passing truck.

Anyhow in the air was a very black sky with lightening forks all around seems normal in troubled times all adds the the fact that desitions need to be made, Tim and I go on to the next town 22 miles away, while the others tow garys bike.

A room is found by Tim with the wind picking up big time, its Chooper Bike weekend in this town so some real mean looking folks with there choppers, what I have found out so far is the meaner these people look the nicer they are, how bazzare.

So a room found and off we go to Durago must to my dismay as the storm looked Biblical as somebody had said, Gary gave me his now unwanted waterproof jacket and that sure did save the day for me as it got colder in the mountains as you would expect,

On packing I packed for hot weather not rain and its monsoon time here, 270 miles done that’s amasing for what happened in the day, late start and a breack down, anyhow 9.30 here into the only hotel left a Best Western, theres a HARLY DAVISON rate $20 less they are very large US motorcycles, so we are on them.

This country never secese to amase me we stay in the best hotel in this small town only because all others were full and I have to eat my breakfast off of paper plates, and use plastic knives and forks, oh and eat bloody margarine.

On telling the poor lady who only job is setting breakfast out in this BEST WESTERN HOTEL that as an Englishman I feel totally insulted by the fact that her boss Mr Mc ######## expected me to eat off paper and use plastic, we have no washing merchine she replied, no but you have 25 million unemployed I said,

As for NO BUTTER, time to eat my scrambleded tasteless egg and drink my coffee and GO

Go at 7am I am first in line at the ticket office at the Historic train staition in Durago the train takes people on to Silverton where you can spent 2 hours and return, it takes you 43 miles through the Colarado mountains.

A ticket bought I run back to pack and inform others that I will meet them later at about 6pm in Silverton as its a returen ticket and I will have to ride thought the mountain on to Silverton on my return.

So packed gear stored behind the desk in the office in the HOLIDAY INN and off to the train, I have seat 40 Gondala 20 open air ment to be 3rd Class its the only way to ride this train.

As you can amagin lots of tourist and lots of locals with children with year long passes to the train trip, I just love this picture above it was taken from the hip as not to let the family know.

163 photos I don’t think one captires the splender of this trip up the mountains, I had booked a bus trip back and now realised I had made a big mistake, so a word with the conducter and if I saw him a bit later on he would check out his seating plan to fit me in.

We enter Silverton and I depature the train and hop into a stage coach its got to be done $7 and a trot around the town, as we rode the bloke the others turned into the main street with me waving franticly from the coach, and stouting only to upset the driver and horses,

As I have said 163 photos and I am try to pick the best for you.

I am afraid my writing will have to get a little dark now as the smile on that nice train drivers face was to turn to horror as he became 1 hour for our destination, as he tried hard to warn a fellow on the line with a full 30 second blast of his horn.

I am afraid the worst happened the train pulled up it took him 4 carriage lengths and SB yours truly was level with this poor chaps final minute. Nothing anybody could have done as the chap passed away, I jumped to the gap because I thought a child had fallen to the ground from the gondola.

Not the best afternoon, the lovely family I had befriended all day had two young boys and the Mike the boys father and I were trying hard to cover over with words what had happened as we were feet away.

Mindy the mother was fantastic breaking into stories, while confusion, took hold, I asked folks not to look but I cant understand for the life of me the enjoyment of looking at a torso, but they did, as I was telling them what sick ##########er they were, still didn’t stop it.

Police came after 10 minutes guy was covered up, conductor very shaken gave us the run down, The Sherrif gave out water it got hot on that train as we were moved into the 2nd Class glasshouse, after a while coaches arrived one at a time and we were taken off the train.

http://durangoherald.com/article/20130811/NEWS01/130819920/0/News/Man-dies-after-stepping-in-front-of-train

So enough of that, its Monday that was Sunday today I have just walked the town off Silverton taking in the old building and just doing nothing, so nothing to report, oh went off looking for a shower in the town only to be shown that its opposite my room

It had to be done, not to be taken out of city limits (oh yeah)

The owner said hes had 4 @ 300lbs in them so we were OK

We are now on the move after my 2 days sight seeing and we now have joined the Trans America Trail where we left it 2 years ago, Its my first day riding as the others have been out in the mountains, while I relaxed and soaked up the small mining town of Silverton.

Its been a fantastic days riding so diverse, 170 miles covered almost in a straight line across Colorado, I real haven’t ridden off road on a motor cycle very much for the last two years, and I feel that I dropped straight back into it.

The bike its self is the key as its powerful and light and well balanced, so its really not the pilot, the 5 of us had bonded well its funny how a hard days riding sorts out all sorts of misnomers.

I hope I picked the correct word the misnomer not sure what it means but it sounds good, its been dusty too out there, 170 miles and just crossing tarmac roads it doesn’t seem possible.

The terrain had changed from rocky mountain passes to now the open Colorado prairie, as I am riding I cant help feeling how lucky I am to be doing this again with such good folks, I was going to say great folk but the night is young.

We have stopped riding for the day and pitched up in the WAYSIDE INN were ever that is, time to post some photos

Out of Colarado into UTAH today, starting off with long long roads of compact mud or sand leaving Colarado, some 50 miles of dirt roads as far as the eye can see, it gives you time to think of things back home.
Mile on mile, just thinking of things, am I doing the right thing, is my life going in the wright direction, what do folks make of this carry on, am I deserving of the love of my friends and family all this is spinning around inside my helmet.

Then the road surface changes, the front wheel twitches and I am back on the bike, all those thought now put back for another time, its time to concentrate again as those easy miles turn into hard miles once again.

We are now in the mountain grass lands of Utah, the Trans America Trail every so often has a small sting in its trail, the route divides we hesitate for a small moment the lead riders check and double check there routes. The trail then turns off a major gravel road sending up a very rocky incline, with large boulders louse rock entwined with small trees and in places as tight as a house corridor.

Then opening out onto beautiful pastures and meadows where we stop and recover from this half a mile step incline, we here cows lots of cow and cow means real cowboys.

I cant begin to tell of the tails this man told us over the 30 minutes we spent in his company,
collecting his ananials from miles around just has he was taught by his Grandfather, he was getting quite emotional in front of 5 complet strangers talking about his life with his Grandfather who died in 2008, leaving him to carry on a family ranch from early for fathers.
This encounter in the middle of nowhere was moving for us all as we wandered back to our bikes and rode off just managing that final photogragh.

Moved now to PAGE 2 look on headings, thank you