The bikes had a layer of ice on them in the morning so getting everything cleaned up and getting ourselves geared up was the order of the day. I rode to Cortez without my heated jacket plugged in and it wasn't terrible, but it was chilly. There was a dusting of snow still hanging around in the shaded areas all morning. With a couple of trips over mountain passes ahead I took a few minutes while stopped for a cappuccino/gas break in Cortez to dig out the wiring. I plugged in for a nice warm comfortable ride the rest of the way with my heated jacket and glove liners.
Something about Cortez must cause the part of the brain used for driving to deteriorate. Riding a motorcycle is an exercise in avoiding getting tied up in other drivers stupidity. The only two times I had any trouble in this 4000+ mile trip both came in Cortez. First a guy in the gas station nearly nailed me when he hammered the throttle and wheeled around the pump in an apparent attempt to reach 50 mph in the confined parking lot. A lot of noise spinning his tires then stabbing the brakes resulted in very little progress for him and nearly bounced his kid off the dash. Once on the road another guy who had been brake checking me for some unknown reason decided to run me off the road - presumably for having the audacity to pass him to avoid his game playing. While looking directly at me he aggressively merged into me and pushed me off onto the shoulder. Fortunately my bike has an amazing ability to accelerate out of problems like that so I was able to clear some space between me and the POS truck he was driving in about 1/2 second. A couple of seconds later and he was a speck in the rear-view mirror.
Even though we missed out on the high mountain roads further north it was still a treat to ride 160 through southern Colorado. I've been on that road for at least a part of almost every ride out west and I'm still not tired of making it a part of the route. We just don't have those kinds of views here in Texas. We pressed on to Pagosa Springs before stopping at a little place called the "Boulder Coffee Cafe" to reload with another caffeine shot and something to eat. I grabbed a bowl of Tortilla Soup and my "go to" Vanilla Chai Latte...
The soup was exactly what I needed and was amazingly good. But I have to say that the Chai Latte was the best one I've ever had, and I've had a lot! I may have to fabricate a reason to pass this way again.
The rest of the ride down to Santa Fe was smooth with no drama. We took 84 south all the way to Santa Fe and that road is just the right mix of sweepers and elevation changes to fit the K1600 perfect. While we didn't break any records we didn't exactly pay a lot of attention to the speed limits out there either. It was a great way to end the "fun" riding part of the trip.
