My plan was to leave Phoenix at daybreak on Wednesday, May 26.
I wanted to get out of town while the air was cool, and be up the hill to Flagstaff in time for breakfast with my cousin.
But I found the process of loading gear onto my BMW K1300S Therese impeded by a profound sluggishness.
The root cause was not a mystery.
I’d consumed rather too much champagne the night after passing my glider pilot check ride.
Fortunately, a high overcast helped keep temperatures from escalating as they might have. Better yet, Eric was able to flex his work schedule, and his wife Jen was off work entirely, so I was able to enjoy their fine company, and a fine brunch, when I belatedly arrived at their home on the northeast end of town.
I wanted to get out of town while the air was cool, and be up the hill to Flagstaff in time for breakfast with my cousin.
But I found the process of loading gear onto my BMW K1300S Therese impeded by a profound sluggishness.
The root cause was not a mystery.
I’d consumed rather too much champagne the night after passing my glider pilot check ride.
Fortunately, a high overcast helped keep temperatures from escalating as they might have. Better yet, Eric was able to flex his work schedule, and his wife Jen was off work entirely, so I was able to enjoy their fine company, and a fine brunch, when I belatedly arrived at their home on the northeast end of town.
Eric and Jen
After a short visit I got out of their hair.
Heh.
I refueled and continued north and east toward Colorado.
Heh.
I refueled and continued north and east toward Colorado.
US-89 northbound from Cameron, Arizona
US-160 eastbound, west of Kayenta, Arizona
US-160 eastbound, east of Kayenta, Arizona
Therese carried me quickly and smoothly across the desert, often with the road entirely to myself, until I rolled up to a construction zone southwest of Four Corners.
Crawling along this stretch was no fun at all. Therese is optimized by design for high-speed running and has never once declined to provide more power whenever I’ve asked for it, but she’s not so good at the opposite. Going slowly is simply inimical to her nature and she nearly always punishes me for making her do it. There’s no excuse for a modern engine to have these kinds of sporadic, though somewhat predictable, problems with terrible off-idle transition and a tendency not to idle at all that grows worse the longer such an operational mode continues. But it’s been a common and infuriating syndrome with this bike that neither I nor any other shop's mechanic has yet solved.
Once beyond the construction I continued to Cortez, then Durango, where I was pleased to find ethanol-free fuel at the pump. I hoped it would improve the motor’s low RPM behavior, but it’s hard to say if it did as the remainder of my ride was unimpeded; even while passing through Pagosa Springs I maintained` enough forward momentum to avoid rideability issues.
Then it was up and over Wolf Creek Pass where the problem was, as always, keeping a lid on Therese’s inclination to deeply offend the delicate sensibilities of the Colorado State Patrol.
Crawling along this stretch was no fun at all. Therese is optimized by design for high-speed running and has never once declined to provide more power whenever I’ve asked for it, but she’s not so good at the opposite. Going slowly is simply inimical to her nature and she nearly always punishes me for making her do it. There’s no excuse for a modern engine to have these kinds of sporadic, though somewhat predictable, problems with terrible off-idle transition and a tendency not to idle at all that grows worse the longer such an operational mode continues. But it’s been a common and infuriating syndrome with this bike that neither I nor any other shop's mechanic has yet solved.
Once beyond the construction I continued to Cortez, then Durango, where I was pleased to find ethanol-free fuel at the pump. I hoped it would improve the motor’s low RPM behavior, but it’s hard to say if it did as the remainder of my ride was unimpeded; even while passing through Pagosa Springs I maintained` enough forward momentum to avoid rideability issues.
Then it was up and over Wolf Creek Pass where the problem was, as always, keeping a lid on Therese’s inclination to deeply offend the delicate sensibilities of the Colorado State Patrol.
Minutes after cresting the pass I rolled into the driveway of my late father’s house.
A ride of 559 miles, but it's getting to feel a bit like a commute.
A ride of 559 miles, but it's getting to feel a bit like a commute.
My stepmother Cathy Getz was there, and my sister Susan who Cathy had picked up from Durango airport earlier that afternoon, and my father’s younger brother Jim who’d driven from Mississippi in his Toyota Prius.
Also at the house was a passel of dogs. I’ve known Gigi+, Star, and Nikki for years, but new to me was Jim’s Jack Russell mutt Wiggles. Please know I use the term "mutt" with deepest affection; mutts are the best.
Wiggles was suspicious of me at first but quickly warmed up; she’s a sweet girl and we soon became really good friends
Also at the house was a passel of dogs. I’ve known Gigi+, Star, and Nikki for years, but new to me was Jim’s Jack Russell mutt Wiggles. Please know I use the term "mutt" with deepest affection; mutts are the best.
Wiggles was suspicious of me at first but quickly warmed up; she’s a sweet girl and we soon became really good friends
Wiggles
*
Feasting commenced.
*
The next day, Cathy & Sue and I hiked up a nearby mountainside. Our ascent was blocked by a raging torrent.
Feasting commenced.
*
The next day, Cathy & Sue and I hiked up a nearby mountainside. Our ascent was blocked by a raging torrent.
John P., Cathy, Sue
We retreated and resumed feasting.
*
I took a day ride up CO-149, "The Silver Thread". This is one of my favorite roads and very much my personal playground whenever I stay in South Fork.
*
I took a day ride up CO-149, "The Silver Thread". This is one of my favorite roads and very much my personal playground whenever I stay in South Fork.
Therese, the San Juan Mountains, and Lake San Cristobal from Slumgullion Pass, Colorado.
*
My son John arrived from Michigan in his Ford Escape hybrid.
Feasting continued at Mountain Pizza and Tap House.
My son John arrived from Michigan in his Ford Escape hybrid.
Feasting continued at Mountain Pizza and Tap House.
Jim, Sue, Cathy, John R.
*
Jim's daughter Jennifer, her daughter Sammy, and 4 more dogs arrived from Kentucky in a Jeep Cherokee.
Jim's daughter Jennifer, her daughter Sammy, and 4 more dogs arrived from Kentucky in a Jeep Cherokee.
John R., Jim, Wiggles, Jennifer, Sammy, Sue, and "4 More Dogs" (the chocolate lab is Cerberus).
Eudora, Echo, Mavis.
*
Feasting continued.
*
Jennifer's sons and their girlfriends arrived, having flown into Denver and rented a Jeep Patriot that proved to be a less than ideal road car, but was just the thing once they got to South Fork and went out exploring the back roads.
Feasting continued.
*
Jennifer's sons and their girlfriends arrived, having flown into Denver and rented a Jeep Patriot that proved to be a less than ideal road car, but was just the thing once they got to South Fork and went out exploring the back roads.
Sara, Zack, Sammy, Jennifer, Megan, Tyler, Jim.
*
Feasting continued.
*
Feasting continued.
*
COVID travel restrictions and precautions had until now -- and still, in the case of my wife Laurel -- prevented our gathering to celebrate the life of John Joseph "Jack" Dancoe.
On Memorial Day 2021 we held a service for my father, who passed away in 2020.
On Memorial Day 2021 we held a service for my father, who passed away in 2020.
Perky with John Joseph "Jack" Dancoe. February 6, 1941 - April 5, 2020.
The eulogy I composed for my father a year ago is here: Fathers Day 2020
Clan Dancoe.
Over the next few days my extended family gradually filtered away; the kids departed via their various vehicles, JR with his Escape loaded to the headliner with the items of our inheritance. Cathy drove Sue back to Durango airport for her return flight to Phoenix.
By Thursday it was just Cathy, Jim, four dogs, and I at South Fork.
The previous evening we'd walked the dogs down to the north bank of the Rio Grande and the home of Cathy's cousin Barb and her husband Vern. When I saw model aircraft and walls adorned with pictures of airplanes, it was instantly obvious Vern was a pilot. Proud of having recently earned my own wings, I struck up a conversation on the topic. We agreed to meet the next day and do some hangar flying.
The previous evening we'd walked the dogs down to the north bank of the Rio Grande and the home of Cathy's cousin Barb and her husband Vern. When I saw model aircraft and walls adorned with pictures of airplanes, it was instantly obvious Vern was a pilot. Proud of having recently earned my own wings, I struck up a conversation on the topic. We agreed to meet the next day and do some hangar flying.
Vern and his AT-6 "Tail Dragger".
Russian aerobatic plane.
Beechcraft Baron
In addition to various aircraft, Vern's hangars contained a number of classic cars in various stages of restoration, and other vehicles including watercraft and even a motorcycle.
Not all of these were Vern's projects. Some were his sons' toys, one of whom was an F-16 pilot and now flies for Southwest Airlines.
We strolled around Rominger Airport in Del Norte, poking into one hangar after another, then went for lunch in South Fork.
Vern told me stories of growing up in the San Luis Valley, learning to fly truly old-school, and flying around the west often via airplanes that would be considered dangerously underpowered by modern standards, in which making it over that next mountain range was not assured if things weren't just so.
He spent years dusting crops, and as he told those tales I found myself wondering, not for the first time, how any of those pilots survive the job.
We strolled around Rominger Airport in Del Norte, poking into one hangar after another, then went for lunch in South Fork.
Vern told me stories of growing up in the San Luis Valley, learning to fly truly old-school, and flying around the west often via airplanes that would be considered dangerously underpowered by modern standards, in which making it over that next mountain range was not assured if things weren't just so.
He spent years dusting crops, and as he told those tales I found myself wondering, not for the first time, how any of those pilots survive the job.
Friday June 4 was a very good day.
After breakfast I got the call that my tires had come in. Several days earlier I'd ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Power 2CTs, by far the best motorcycle tires I've ever ridden on, and perfectly matched to Therese. They'd now arrived at the nearest shop equipped to mount and balance them.
In hopeful anticipation of this call, the wheels were already off the bike. I put them in the back of Jim's Prius and headed for Alamosa.
It was a fine and particularly spectacular day to drive across the San Luis Valley with some of my favorite tunes playing. The broad high plain was surrounded by distant snow-capped mountains and brilliant white cloud banks in an azure sky.
After breakfast I got the call that my tires had come in. Several days earlier I'd ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Power 2CTs, by far the best motorcycle tires I've ever ridden on, and perfectly matched to Therese. They'd now arrived at the nearest shop equipped to mount and balance them.
In hopeful anticipation of this call, the wheels were already off the bike. I put them in the back of Jim's Prius and headed for Alamosa.
It was a fine and particularly spectacular day to drive across the San Luis Valley with some of my favorite tunes playing. The broad high plain was surrounded by distant snow-capped mountains and brilliant white cloud banks in an azure sky.
The guy behind the counter at Peak Motorsports took my wheels and, because it was lunch time, asked for a couple hours to get them done.
"Not a problem", I assured him. "I can amuse myself until then."
I immediately headed for Thai Hut.
After consuming a highly satisfactory bowl of gang dang I tooled around town doing various errands. Once my to-do list was checked off I went back to the bike shop, figuring I could just hang out there until the tires were installed. As I stepped out of the Prius my phone rang, advising my wheels were ready for pickup.
My next task required a solid internet connection. There was just enough time to return to South Fork, but instead I went back downtown and bellied up to the bar at San Luis Valley Brewing Co.
"Not a problem", I assured him. "I can amuse myself until then."
I immediately headed for Thai Hut.
After consuming a highly satisfactory bowl of gang dang I tooled around town doing various errands. Once my to-do list was checked off I went back to the bike shop, figuring I could just hang out there until the tires were installed. As I stepped out of the Prius my phone rang, advising my wheels were ready for pickup.
My next task required a solid internet connection. There was just enough time to return to South Fork, but instead I went back downtown and bellied up to the bar at San Luis Valley Brewing Co.
San Luis Valley Brewing Co., Alamosa, Colorado.
I had not quite an hour to kill.
My accomplices in the murder were two pints of Alamosa Amber.
I then hosted Club Discovery, a Zoom happy hour with some of my favorite former colleagues from Plex.
My accomplices in the murder were two pints of Alamosa Amber.
I then hosted Club Discovery, a Zoom happy hour with some of my favorite former colleagues from Plex.
Paddock Stand By the time I returned to South Fork I was disinclined to work on my motorcycle, but there was one thing I really needed to do as quickly as possible.
Removal of a BMW K1300S front wheel without the benefit of a paddock stand is a tricky operation.
It risks the whole damn machine collapsing off the center stand.
Such an event would undoubtedly and instantly cause damage severe enough to render the machine unroadworthy, which would only be the beginning of the complications.
I'd cobbled together a substitute for a paddock stand using some wood stands my dad had made for working with his travel trailer, various bits of shim lumber, a crowbar, and some very dicey "for emergency use only" props I'd assembled out of bolts and turnbuckles that I keep in my on-board tool kit, in case I have no choice but to pull the wheel in a parking lot.
I recruited Jim to help steady the bike and provide the occasional bit of additional muscle needed so I could get the axle slipped into place. After that, the motorcycle was secure and I could sleep well; concern about the bike teetering from atop my primitive supports had been disturbing my dreams.
Removal of a BMW K1300S front wheel without the benefit of a paddock stand is a tricky operation.
It risks the whole damn machine collapsing off the center stand.
Such an event would undoubtedly and instantly cause damage severe enough to render the machine unroadworthy, which would only be the beginning of the complications.
I'd cobbled together a substitute for a paddock stand using some wood stands my dad had made for working with his travel trailer, various bits of shim lumber, a crowbar, and some very dicey "for emergency use only" props I'd assembled out of bolts and turnbuckles that I keep in my on-board tool kit, in case I have no choice but to pull the wheel in a parking lot.
I recruited Jim to help steady the bike and provide the occasional bit of additional muscle needed so I could get the axle slipped into place. After that, the motorcycle was secure and I could sleep well; concern about the bike teetering from atop my primitive supports had been disturbing my dreams.
Saturday morning was devoted to completing the installation of the wheels as well as a comprehensive inspection of brake pad condition and other roadworthiness checks. I also dumped a double dose of Techron fuel injector cleaner into the tank, hoping it would help stave off poor low-RPM behavior.
Once buttoned up I felt very good about the state of my machine.
Therese was ready for the next stage of Tour 2021.
Jim and Wiggles drove off for Mississippi, or "Muddisloppy" as he's more likely to refer to it.
I'm notorious for being the last to leave a party.
It was too late in the day for me to head out. The weather during my stay at South Fork had been unseasonably wet, with rain and thunderstorms common on any given day. This had been fine with me as after my Lake City day trip I didn't want to push Therese's worn out tires, not even on dry pavement. She'd remained parked for days while I enjoyed watching storms from the comfort of the house or the veranda or whatever brewpub or tap room we'd driven to in a four wheeled vehicle.
That weather trend was predicted to continue through Monday, after which there'd be a stretch of days with 0% chance of precipitation and generally perfect temperatures for riding around Colorado.
While I figured I could probably ride around any bad weather that might develop before Tuesday, I didn't want to pitch a tent and camp in it. That meant getting a hotel room and that meant waiting for Sunday to depart, since I had no reservations -- indeed I didn't even have a route planned -- and would be unlikely to find a room available on Saturday night.
Thus ends Tour 2021, Part 3.
Once buttoned up I felt very good about the state of my machine.
Therese was ready for the next stage of Tour 2021.
Jim and Wiggles drove off for Mississippi, or "Muddisloppy" as he's more likely to refer to it.
I'm notorious for being the last to leave a party.
It was too late in the day for me to head out. The weather during my stay at South Fork had been unseasonably wet, with rain and thunderstorms common on any given day. This had been fine with me as after my Lake City day trip I didn't want to push Therese's worn out tires, not even on dry pavement. She'd remained parked for days while I enjoyed watching storms from the comfort of the house or the veranda or whatever brewpub or tap room we'd driven to in a four wheeled vehicle.
That weather trend was predicted to continue through Monday, after which there'd be a stretch of days with 0% chance of precipitation and generally perfect temperatures for riding around Colorado.
While I figured I could probably ride around any bad weather that might develop before Tuesday, I didn't want to pitch a tent and camp in it. That meant getting a hotel room and that meant waiting for Sunday to depart, since I had no reservations -- indeed I didn't even have a route planned -- and would be unlikely to find a room available on Saturday night.
Thus ends Tour 2021, Part 3.
+As I was writing this blog Cathy texted, "Gig went to live with Jack this morning."
RIP Jack and Gigi.
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