Day 18 of my 22′ Rocky Mountain Tour. My last day on the motorcycle, before meeting friends in Fort Collins to mountain bike for a week.
I woke up at sunrise, had my coffee, and quickly crossed the bridge to catch some epic sunrise photos as they filled the canyon.
Cool temps, clear skies, nice light. I moseyed back to camp and got to meet a cordial camper while eating my breakfast.
Pretty cute watching a 5 year old girl walk her pup while her dad caught up. Morning campground walks with a dog seem pretty great.
Another camper who loved my V-Strom said I had to check out the reason Sinks Canyon gets its name. Sinks Canyon is named for the ‘sink’ where the river flows INTO and under the limestone, and then rises through the ‘rise’ back up out into the open down the canyon.
I packed up the bike, and set out to do a little exploring of the area. The good news is each viewpoint was just off the road, so I wouldn’t have to ditch my gear to change often. And it was cool enough that I could keep my jacket on without sweating.
I check out the visitor center, which has a good collection of local geological donated by the local university. I always enjoy geology museums etc. because the theme of ‘Yeah you can touch everything, it’s just rocks’ is strong.
I hike down the trail and come upon the SINK, and it’s LOUD!
Pretty weird and unnatural seeing a raging river flow straight into a rock formation.
I went back to the parking lot, and rode a mile or so down the road to where the river ‘rise’ was, bringing the river back into the open.
There is a fish hatchery down the road. For conservation reasons, no fishing is allowed on THIS side of the road, so the majority of fish congregate here near the Rise. There is a state sponsored fish food dispenser with quality food to help the fish thrive, and it raises money for the program. The fish grow and spawn, and the river stays stocked.
These fish were huge, like 3 feet long each.
The view north and down the river/canyon was one of my favorites from the trip.
Satisfied with the views, I get back on the bike, fill up with gas in Lander, and bid farewell and set off to Fort Collins. The road opens, the traffic disappears, and I enter more remote portions of Wyoming.
The open terrain was still accented by mountains and other geological features. Made for a remote but still very scenic ride.
There were even some lakes, lake houses, and other various water features as I made progress to Colorado.
Overall it was a good ride, and as the temps climbed past the 90’s around noon, I was ready to get off the bike and into air conditioning. My friend from Austin before the trip offered to meet up in Colorado to mountain bike for the week.
Me – “Oh sorry man I’ll be on a motorcycle trip, I can’t make it”
Him – “I’ll just throw your mountain bike in my truck, take it to Colorado with us, and you can meet us there to ride?”
Yes. Yes sir, yes that sounds like a fantastic idea. With friends like these…
I stayed with some other friends in Fort Collins, and Bike Week (the mountain variety) 2022 was set to start. We had the people, the skill, and the wheels. First though, I was offered a Yamaha dirt bike to whip up and down the street real quick. I have never really ridden a true dirt bike, and I don’t think I have ever ridden in flip flops, but it was fun to be a squid for a few minutes.
It was good to be out of a tent, and the next post will be a summary of a week of mountain biking. Don’t worry, some motorcycle action will be thrown in (of the Yamaha FZ-09 variety), and you won’t be stuck with just the pedal powered two wheel version.
I mean, with a garage like this, is there a lack of riding options?
