What's the Point?

Ever since I put the R80GS up in Colorado Springs for the summer I have been talking with my 13 year old daughter about joining me to experience the wonders of riding in Colorado. Convincing her didn't take too much work - I think she's gotten a touch of the 'bug' already - but getting Mom (aka COMKITCHENSINC) to approve took many lively discussions a new helmet, ballistic riding jacket, m/c gloves and boots. Worthwhile activities like church mission trip and choir tour were roadblocks in the schedule, and with school coming up it began to look like we were going to lose our window of opportunity. Finally, however, it all came together, the date was set for the weekend of Aug 6-8, and I began to plan.

I planned several different routes in different directions to allow for weather, interest (or lack thereof) and comfort. This would be Emily's first trip away from home on the bike, her first camping trip, and her first time in Colorado. That's a lot of firsts for 3 days, and while I didn't want to over-do it there was so much I wanted to share with her. I planned to go north to Rocky Mountain National Park. I planned to go west to Aspen and Independence Pass. I planned to go south to Trinidad and Cordova Pass. I planned rest breaks and meals and camping, points of interest and scenic overlooks. My ROADS OF COLORADO was tattered and scarred and thumbed into translucence.

But as Dwight Eisenhower once observed: Planning is important, but plans are no good once the bullets fly.

We arrived at the DFW airport (you know, the one on which BOTH Dallas AND Ft Worth agreed) in time for the first flight out at 0845, no mean feat for a 13 year old girl on a Saturday morning. We checked one large duffle and carried on only a small backpack/purse with 'essentials'. I was proud of the way she had pared down her packing list and then suffered my picking through it further until it would fit on the bike. Note: I left the eyelash curler IN for this trip to avoid too much shock at once. I was also proud of the way she smiled and chatted with the ticket and gate agents. Unfortunately no amount of charisma would get us on the first 2 flights, so we spent the first 1/2 day of our vacation (and at $5.50 a Hagen Daas Bavarian Chocolate Sunday the most expensive half a day) waiting to get seats. Finally we arrived at the U-store-it at 1600L (4pm Colorado time). Now Plans had to change.

The idea of Planning is to accomplish the task at hand. One has to distill all requirements into a single point and make that happen. So, now faced with only 2 days and a new rider I had to rethink what the point of this vacation was to be. It wasn't really riding, and it wasn't really sightseeing. It was to spend time with my daughter while I still could, while riding in beautiful Colorado. Where we went, what we saw, what road we took was secondary to the opportunity to get a better picture of the young woman (oh, gasp) that she is growing up to be.

The first day we visited Pikes Peak, battling a touch of fatigue and altitude sickness, and talked about how cold it was, how beautiful it was, and how her older brother and I had had the same problem when he there with me ten years ago. Then we traveled up 24 to 67 and Mueller SP to camp - but were told it was full and we couldn't even go in to check. So we regrouped and went up a dirt road until we found some 'free' camping. She did a great job of hanging on to the bike and to the sleeping pads lashed to the saddlebags over the rough road. That night we talked about the other girls in her Jr Hi class, and what the boys on her summer choir tour were like, and how cold it was really going to be.

Second morning we took pictures of wildflowers and then headed into Cripple Creek for pancakes, a ride on the narrow gage railroad, a visit to the mining museum, and discussed why grandpa is sharing his memories so frequently these days, why we listen, and what its going to be like when he can no longer tell us these tales. We rode the loop thru Victor and Terr81 back up to 67N and 24, then at Woodland took 67N to Deckers, where we stopped for cokes and conversation at a convenience/coffee shop with a dozen other scooters. It was fun to watch her cultivate conversation with strangers - beginning only with the of a color of motorcycle (purple - don't ask me!) for a seed. Then we followed the Platte River up to Buffalo Creek in search of gas. I passed up the pump, but she spotted it next to a 1893 general store, showing she was more than just a passenger (from the word 'passive') on this trip. The old gent on the front step was the father of the middle aged woman currently running the place - which had been in the family since 1900. It was complete with mailboxes and hardware, fertilizer and female products, butchered meat and canned goods. After an expensive but worth the entertainment fill-up we returned to Lone Star Campground, just outside Deckers, and she showed off her newly acquired ability to set up the tent and lay out the sleeping bags, while I unloaded and set about cooking dinner. That night we hiked along the river, scaled cliffs, discussed the optimum distance between shirt bottom and pants top, and why dad gets so picky about how low hip-huggers ride these days.

Final morning we took off to the north on 67 towards Sedalia, where we would join I-25 back into Colorado Springs. We needed to further curtail our ride due to family medical issues back home. By the way, sex-ed and health at school are fine, but an 8-month pregnant older sister provides much more fodder for discussion, as does the possibility of cancer in a 43 year old aunt. That's a lot of fat to chew, but fortunately you only have to nibble on it a little at a time each stop for gas, restroom, or directions. The route was terrific, up to I-25 and the cut-through to the U-store-it, and I recommend the area for canyon carving, cruising, fishing, or general relaxing in the COS/DEN area. We stuffed the duffel, caught a cab, and even made the first flight we tried with side-by-side first class seats (yeah, the life of an airline pilot).

We didn't go far north, or west, or south; in fact we only traveled 250 miles total. We didn't see the RMNP or Mt Elbert or herds of Elk. We did get the chance to leave computers, tv's, telephones, cd's, and all the other distractions of family and home behind us for a while and concentrate on talking with each other.

And that, friends, was the point of it all.