[Malgy]

Hi Jim, I only use the motorcycle 6/7 months a year, during the spring/summer period, because in the other months it is cold and I do not enjoy the trip. I have a Roadmaster MY16 with 80,000 km, I have always had a motorcycle since I was 14 and I have done many km, then in the last 10 years I wanted to keep track of my trips during the summer holidays and I condensed them in the map you see. (45,000 km) My itineraries are very conditioned by the weather so I always try to go to places where it does not rain and is hot, my wife says that however this precludes many itineraries in other countries that could be interesting. Maybe she is right, but the thought of having rain and cold doing itineraries further north discourages me a bit. We will see next summer what to do.

 

[BritishJim]

When the temperature hits 16° (60°F if you prefer) here in Colorado, time for a ride. Something that does not get old is having people asking and taking pictures nearly every time you stop. I watched a pickup stop, circle around, get out, take some pictures, circle around again. It's been a running joke with my young bride when I come home from a ride and say it was a bad day with her reply, "What, no one gushed over your motorcycle?".

 

[TheBru]

When the temperature hits 16° (60°F if you prefer) here in Colorado, time for a ride. Something that does not get old is having people asking and taking pictures nearly every time you stop. I watched a pickup stop, circle around, get out, take some pictures, circle around again. It's been a running joke with my young bride when I come home from a ride and say it was a bad day with her reply, "What, no one gushed over your motorcycle?".
View attachment 833324

61° here in Delta, Co yesterday. Nice riding weather!!!

 

[BritishJim]

 

[BritishJim]

Summer 2025 travel has begun, we have a total of 3 trips planned this year. I purchased the Butler Maps to help me in planning. Butler advertises that their maps, and I quote, “Are waterproof, tear resistant, and incredibly tough.” One member of the family decided to put that to test and concluded while indeed tear resistant, little bite holes began to appear.

Last year was Yellowstone and got us into a National Parks kick and this first trip has us going out west to Utah. Our first stop along the way is in Grand Junction, Colorado and, as always, taking advantage of special moments when they happen, the hotel we stayed at has a real chef working there and with my own Sandy being a former personal chef, got to spend time swapping stories.

We planned this time of year as a trade off between being warm enough in Colorado and cool enough in Utah. First ride of the trip is east of Grand Junction along the Grand Mesa Byway. Every trip we learn how to do things better, such as bringing your rainsuit regardless of what the weather is predicted, and we learned a chilling lesson right from the start. Was 70deg with the sun out in Grand Junction that morning, perfect! Off we go wearing medium weight jackets, happy as can be.

We enter the Grand Mesa ... up, up, up we go. Now for a little science that we clearly decided to ignore. The elevation of Grand Junction is 4,600ft. At the top of Grand Mesa the elevation is 11,200ft. There are different factors but generally the temperature decreases 5deg per 1,000ft. Let’s see, 70deg at start, go up 6,600ft and shazam! hello 46deg. Don't let those smiles fool you, we were cold!

Sandy was a real trooper, the only comment was, “There better be soup for lunch!” While the Wagon Wheel had elk burgers, no soup on the menu. Still, was warm inside and the hot food tasted great.

What did I learn? There is a reason elevation is shown in the Butler maps, eh?

It’s been 4 years and 25,000 miles since getting the TRiO on the bike and have come a long way in learning to properly ride it. Made a short video coming out of the canyon, turning and slowing to a full, smooth stop. Will say am quite pleased with my progress (and Sandy agrees).

 

[Tundra_Man]

Not sure if it's on your list, but highway 141 south of Grand Mesa is another ride worth doing. Not as much elevation, but follows the Delores River canyon.

 

[Wharf Rat]

If you are doing your route planning from a computer, look at Rever. They have an arrangement with Butler maps. I think Butler may have some ownership, but I am not sure.

 

[BritishJim]

Today was Colorado National Monument, west of Grand Junction and a ride along the rim road.

Weather and temperature were perfect, thank you very much. Many stretches along the route are not for the faint of heart, tight switchbacks and a l-o-n-g drop over the side. I thought of it as a condensed version of the Grand Canyon, still quite grandeur in scale.

After a terrific ride, over to the town of Fruita, Colorado and lunch at Munchies. Always enjoy watching people stop by the bike trying to figure out what this thing is. We award bonus points when they pull out the cell phone and take a picture.

We are moving onto Moab, Utah that afternoon and, not wanting to arrive too early, stopped by the dinosaur museum in Fruita and splurged getting two senior tickets for $16. Read they had animatronics but didn’t see any, still was quite interesting, seems the area is rich in dino bones and is a working research facility.

 

[BritishJim]

After leaving Grand Junction we got into Moab and booked a Star Gazing tour that night with RedRock Astronomy. Traveled about 6 miles out of town and started viewing around 9pm. Great area to see the stars, could have been better due to the quarter moon but was the best night of the three during our time in Moab. Whilst looking at a double cluster a satellite zoomed past. As a 30-year aerospace engineer, whose specialty was in that field, had special meaning to me. Finished up around 11:30pm, way past our bedtime, quite tired and cold, but the others were feeling it too. Still, enjoyed it all and glad we went. On a side note, rented a car for that night as did not want to be on the bike at night, especially with Black Angus Cows walking around.

Next day, we ride out Highway 128 which snakes along with the Colorado river. This area was the main goal of our trip, and the travel and weather did not disappoint. Behind Sandy is Jug Handle Arch, had to find just the right spot to see this.

Running through the canyon, leaning into all those curves was sheer delight.

This shot sums up the whole day, and trip for that matter.

Back into town and what a way to end then shakes at the Moab Diner.

 

[BritishJim]

Today was the main attraction, Arches National Park and will throw in some pictures of a few arches. This first being Landscape Arch

Us under Sand Dome Arch. The ground is filled with the finest sand you've ever walked on, comes from the eons on erosion, by wind and water, of the stone. We saw a family with young children who brought buckets and shovels like you would have at the beach and the kids were having a great time.

Lunch break. While at the Moab Diner yesterday we picked up a box lunch that they sell which was perfect for us to take with us. Can't beat the location!

Did not take much of the motorcycle, that was more of yesterdays trip but wanted to show we did indeed bike the park.

The star of Arches is Delicate Arch, this is what is on the Utah license plate. We knew the hike to the base would be difficult, at least for us, and opted to view from the "upper" viewing point. What we didn't know was just how steep the climb was and, although wanted to turn back, hung in there and got to the top. Unfortunately, that pretty much did us in and skipped going to the last set of arches we had planned and headed back to the hotel.

Certainly the 90 deg temperature played a factor in our exhaustion but has taught us to be more cognizant of how much we exert ourselves so we don't end up shortchanging our plans.

As we head back to Colorado the weather has made a dramatic turn and has become quite cold with thunderstorms. We'll spend a few days in Durango, Colorado taking the Durango-Silverton steam engine train to Silverton (where they are predicting snow if you can believe it), then a night at the Best Western/Star Drive In, in Monte Vista, Colorado who's draw is being able to watch the drive in movie from your hotel room.

That's it for this trip, no broken ankles or dead battery this time which makes this quite successful for us and great memories of some really scenic and relaxing drives.

 

[EvilMonkey]

Fun … thanks for all the great pictures…

 

[Malgy]

There is nothing to do, your stories always fascinate me and make me dream of your great country and its people. You are great.

 

[TheBru]

If you go thru Delta stop by!!

 

[BritishJim]

To finish out this trip, we ended up with cold, rainy weather in Durango, Colorado and skipped going through Mesa Vera National Park, but we had planned things for us to do in case of a ‘down’ day, so worked out fine.

We did finally get to ride the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railway, something we'd tried twice before. 3½ hours each way with time to check out the former gold & silver mining town of Silverton. Breathtaking views as you slowly wind through the San Juan National Forest. The couple sitting across from us were Harley riders, so we start off showing pictures of our children, meaning our bikes of course. Got into all the trips we both made and the time flew by. A great trip!

Check out the people in that open air car, it's only 38 deg f (3 deg c) BUT unobstructed views and the tickets were cheap!

Back in Durango a real hidden treat is to visit the railroad museum right next to the station. It’s free and loaded with all kinds of interesting exhibits, not just trains, including this Indian motorcycle.

Onto Monte Vista, Colorado and check off another bucket list item, staying at Best Western Movie Manor next to the drive-in were you can watch the screen from your room. Walked over and got the movie popcorn from the concession stand. The movie was Thunderbolts and, like most of us ah, 'seasoned citizens' not following the Marvel universe did not get all the inside references but the movie was enjoyable. Certainly better than what was playing the week before, Snow White. The sound is piped into the room and was surprisingly good quality. I will admit, much like the Wigwam motel in Holbrook, Arizona, the Movie Manor was ‘nice to have done once but once was enough’.

 

[BritishJim]

Hit the 30,000 mark and took the bike in for service which they needed two days to accomplish. Besides normal checks, also replaced spark plugs and put on a new drive belt. Got a little bit of a discount since they did not have to do anything with the front end. I continue to praise the maintenance team at Pikes Peak Indian, they take great care of the bike and special attention in not letting the bike fall over as so many think it holds itself up.

Typical weather this time of year in Colorado with thunderstorms every afternoon. I picked up the bike using the IronHorse trailer and noted that one side of the Rock Tamers (See Page 7) seemed to be coming apart.

Since the company that makes them is close by, and they were the ones who put them on, decided to stop by and ask about that. The fellow took one look and said, 'It melted!" Sure enough, looking at the other side you can see the car exhaust in the upper right pointing down right at the material.

They do make an attachment that runs the exhaust through the flap but would not fit on this small of an area. No need to do anything, with the main flap holding up just fine and the clear bra on the front of the trailer, we're not getting the rock damage to the trailer like before.

Next month we'll be going through Rocky Mountain National Park. Yes, will be the busy time of year but, at 11,500 feet, did not want to freeze on Trail Ridge Road like we did on Grand Mesa Byway last month. Should be alright as you need a timed entry ticket which will limit the amount of visitors. I will mention, if you want to go to the more popular National Parks that have timed tickets you need to do some extra work. For Rocky Mountain, the tickets for July became available on June 1st at 8am and within 5 minutes, the best times were taken. We did get ours and with bike all serviced and tickets acquired we're all set.

 

[BritishJim]

During the July 4th festivities, learned that there is a logo for America's 250th anniversary (Semiquincentennial if you prefer).

There is a great website with information on all the activities and events leading up to July 4th, 2026.

Many of the states have created a 250 logo unique to them, some impressive looking others, like Colorado, Meh...

Even some cities have gotten into the sprit

I wanted fly a 250 flag on my bike and tried my hand at making a custom design which is an option to create your own at X50 Flag Mounts. Got my design put on the bike and very pleased with how it looks.

 

[BritishJim]

Was an absolutely perfect day for a ride up Pikes Peak Highway. Sunshiny & clear with the temperatures in the 90's at base meaning when reaching the peak at 14,115 feet the temperature was in the high 50's but with the sun beating down felt warmer.

You do have to get a timed entry ticket along with the fee to travel up, $15 per person. There were plenty tickets available when I got online to buy them.

The paved highway is 19 miles in length and not for the faint of heart with no guardrails, tight hairpin curves and heck of a drop off. Actually, did just fine through those curves (thanks Jersey for those private lessons from Ride Like a Pro) although will admit I really had to concentrate and the main thing I kept thinking was, keep giving it the gas through the curve and use that rear brake. Got through it like butter!

Made it to the top and they have a motorcycle parking section. Don't know if those electric bicycles next to us qualify, or more interestingly, did they really ride those up on battery power alone?

You don't have to take the highway to reach the summit, many take the cog railway which is a relaxing 3 hour trip through gorgeous scenery. The peak is open all year around but the road is closed in the winter and the cog railway is the only way up.

However you get to the top, you're rewarded with a commanding view that stretches on forever.

They have quite the visitor centre and home of world-famous delicious donuts, the only ones in the world made above 14,000 feet. Because they’re made specifically at this altitude, if you try saving them for after you leave the summit, you’ll be very disappointed as they will have lost their fluff.

Back down we go and stop at The North Pole, an enchanting vintage amusement park nestled at the foot of Pikes Peak. Home to Santa’s Village and the jolly man himself.

Yes indeed, what a perfect day!

 

[Longboarder]

What an amazing looking machine you have. Fantastic trip too.

 

[BritishJim]

Thank you! Always appreciate the encouragement to continue documenting our adventures. Soon we'll be setting off for the Ozark's for a couple of weeks around Arkansas & Missouri and close out 2025.

 

[BritishJim]

The adventure ends...

We were halfway through our Ozark tour, everything going splendid. Was going to write about a wonderful experience at R-B Drive In in Hutchinson, Kansas with the friendliest home folk you've ever met.

Then onto our stay at the 1886 Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, complete with hotel cats and ghost tours.

Fantastic curvy drives through Ozark country with weather that could have not been better.

Finishing up a perfect day, glad for all the work we put into making this motorcycle something truly special and mastering the TRiO. Got completely lost crusing through the curves, gently leaning into each bend.

Stopped off for some ice cream without a care in the world and looking forward to moving on to Missouri and continuing rides there.

We were in Eureka Spring doing 25 miles an hour with heavy traffic (was corvette weekend) and, while I pay special attention to intersections for those out to kill us, someone abruptly turned right in front of us, not an intersection, just two yellow lines in the road. I saw a white car and then on the ground we both fall.

Wearing gloves, mesh jackets, helmet, boots, Duluth Firehose pants, we managed to have only sprains, some road rash and black & blue all over. I was ok but we took Sandy to the local hospital and they determined she has a minor, non-displaced fracture in her ankle. I run through my mind what could I have done to prevent this but the cold hard truth, not a damn thing. Was a narrow, road and without warning, just turned right in front of me.

We cut our trip short and headed back home but before leaving Eureka Springs, went to the towing company with the intention of getting the bike in the trailer. That was not going to happen. Take a look at the left side front tyre, which is what took the brunt of the impact. Pushed completely up and into the bike.

If I didn't have the TRiO, I seriously doubt I would have a left leg today as that is what would have impacted the car. It was impossible to move the bike much less get it in the trailer. I told them let's forget it and now belongs to the insurance company, even if this could be repaired, I would have no confidence in the system and, as for getting another Roadmaster and putting on a TRiO, Tilting Motor Works is out of business.

The anger is certainly there after spending 5 years getting to this stage to have it all dashed in a heartbeat BUT quickly displaced with grateful thanks that we survived with minor injuries, could have easily been something much, much worse.

To be completely honest, Sandy and I had been talking for sometime that we wanted to do these trips for about two more years and then sell the bike and trailer as a package deal. Unfortunately, after this experience, neither of us have any desire to get on a motorcycle again.

I will finish with this parting message. It has been an unbelievable adventure and did things we never would have imaged from group tours to individual trips. Learning to master this TRiO continues to be a sense of pride for me and when we think back on our Roadmaster, it will not be that picture above of a broken piece of junk but rather the special times and memories we gathered which we will always cherish.

Thank you all who have been willing to share in our journey and it has been an honor and delight telling the story. This is what will come to mind when we think back with fondness and joy bringing a genuine smile to our faces.