Day Eight - Colorado Springs to Denver

....the scenic way and with a side trip up Pike's Peak to start the day. 

This who have been following this blog to date will have noticed there has been no shortage of steep curvy roads. Not least least of which was Mt. Evans - the highest paved road in North America. Well, leave it to us, we found the second highest, and although it was much better maintained it was altogether a colder, windier and generally more unsettling climb. Not least of which, at 14,115 feet above sea level,  is the strange feeling that altitude generates. 

Little did we know we could have got there by railway!

 

Of course here is the shot to prove we made it,
 

And here is just a sample of the road coming up. 
 

And a scary place to stop!
 

Safely back down we headed for Hwy 67 north and the journey back to Denver. Now, when not riding keen observers will have noted that we are usually eating and today Deckers provided a lunchtime stop where pretty much all of us had hot dogs - except for Two Burger Potter!
 
Actually, the cheeseburger was the restaurant's mistake - Brad swears he never touched it!

Don made an antique gas purchase up the road - when did you last see one of these with actual rotating numbers - and we were on our way to Eaglerider. 
 

Would you believe it? We got all the way to the bike drop off dry and then the heavens opened with a cold rain as all the guys got inside while LZB was left to ride on to the hotel. (Actually, it stopped just about as fast as it started). 

A final dinner at Maggioni's finished the ride and the recounting of stories that will become better and better with each retelling began. 

 

And then there was one. Tomorrow LZB begins the long ride home and an abbreviated entry to this blog will be made each day to mark his progress home. 

Colorado is a great state to ride in - truly a Rocky Mountain high. 

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