The next leg of the journey was Cumberland Pass... an easy one by 4-wheel standards, but just bumpy enough to make so you couldn't ever check out when on the big heavy bike. I was in 2nd/3rd pretty much the whole way up, my brother in 1st/2nd... seemed like it took over an hour to get through Tincup and up to the top of the pass, but we did it, and got the pic to prove it.
On the way down I made my brother lead, then realized when he's in front he goes about 2x faster than when he's behind me. So note to self, next time make him lead more. By the time we got down the hill it was like 4:00/4:30, and we were tired... the original plan was to blast up to the Alpine Tunnel and check that out, then I had mapped out kind of a back roads way back to the base of Old Monarch Pass... well we wound up bagging going up to the tunnel, and by the time we made it to Pitkin decided to just stay on the pavement and head over Monarch the normal way. That stretch of highway between Parlin and Sargents is still boring, even on a motorcycle... but traffic was moving, we didn't pass much, just stayed in the pack.. going up the pass was a different story though, for the first time in probably forever I was driving something that could actually go faster than the conditions allowed, and we wound up rallying up that road at a pretty good clip. I had the bike in manual mode for most of this, as camping out in 4th gear just felt really good.... love the power when you get into it, and being able to back off the throttle to slow down coming into curves was sweet also. Nothing like 2 full days to get you really comfortable on your bike, was leaning down on corners way more than I probably ever have. Anyway we made it to the top, and figured we had maybe an hour left of light left, so quick pick and then back on the bikes.
I had to get gas again at the bottom in Poncha Springs, so we both filled up, debated a little about trying to get home, but realized we were both pretty tired and we already got the hall pass to be out another night so let's just camp around that same spot again. So we stopped at Johnson Village for some dinner, then headed back up the hill towards the Four Mile area again. Our spot from last night was now occupied, so we took another one down on the main road.. which ended up being totally fine, and in fact got the sun a little earlier so things were drier in the morning.
The next morning was downright frigid. Grip heaters on max, all clothes buttoned up, I made it to the top of the first big hill and had to stop and put all of my liners on. Then 1.5 hours later we were back in hot civilization, sweating, back to work by 10:00. I totally want to do that same ride again, if nothing else explore more in that Fourmile area east of BV, that was totally fun. I think we clocked about 350 miles total, it's been so long that I lost that data on the inreach software, and I didn't save it. But for some reason I've still got the line on the map, here's the full trip:
that lower red flag is were we hit the highway at Parlin, so about 20 miles from Gunnison. I didn't do a flag for the 2nd campsite as they were within walking distance of each other. Overall the Africa Twin was just excellent, I really like the DCT in most situations, though if I ride for too long in automatic mode I forget which finger shifts up and which one shifts down... just lack of experience really I need to develop that muscle memory. But there were a few times I'd roll into a corner in 4th kinda hot, then shift into 5th rather than down into 3rd, which then led to some brief panic braking moments... not that I was going all out or anything. But that stuff will come.
My only regret maybe is not getting the Adventure Sport model... which has a taller suspension and a bigger gas tank. When shopping the rational was you'll probably upgrade the suspension anyway, so don't bother, and you can always carry gas and you probably want to take a break anyway. But there were a couple times I wished I had another gallon of gas stashed somewhere, so that could be on this year's project list, finding a good spot to store some. I didn't leave with a full tank, but filled up in Bailey, then again in Fairplay, again in BV, and again in Poncha Springs... I couldn't have made it back to Johnson Village/BV, was on my last "square" at the top of Monarch. And I wish the little computer would give you more accurate miles, you'll get a "distance to empty" when you've got maybe 15 miles left until you're walking... shoot why not let me leave it in that mode all the time?
Anyone up for a dual sport ride this summer?