As I headed to the lobby for some breakfast, one of the ladies asked me where I was going. I told her that I planned to get to Denver that night. She looked at me and that look on her face did not look good. She told me that the main interstate was closed up in the mountains due to accidents and weather. I wouldnt be able to make it through there, motorcycle or car. There was a huge storm system that covered all of Colorado and there was no way around it. Denver was out of the question.
After breakfast, I immediately went online and checked the weather forecast and radar. The weather system literally covered all of Colorado and Wyoming. Not minutes after I checked the weather, zigyphoto from advrider texted me and told me to call him. I was supposed to stay at his place in Boulder and he was concerned for my safety crossing over the Rockies.
We talked for a while to determine the best route out of Grand Junction. It was obvious that I would not be making it to Denver that night but I wanted to cover some ground. I had two options. Go North to Wyoming and then East, or go South to New Mexico and go East. I figured I had to go a little North anyways so thats the route I took. We knew that I would hit the storm at some point but at least the elevation is lower than the Colorado Rockies. Thats the chance I took.
As I headed North, there was snow at higher elevations. Riding along the road, it started rising and eventually, the road surface was level to the snowline off in the distance. It was now snowing. Eventually, the elevation got up to about 8000ft and snow started coming down harder. A state trooper coming the other way saw me and pulled a u-turn. Great...I was in for another police encounter wasnt I? He followed me for about 10 kms before he pulled another u-turn and went the other way. Was he curious? Watching out for me? Who knows, I'll never know.
Elevation started declining and the snow turned to rain. I was pretty relieved because once the snow starts to accumulate on the road, my day is done. Eventually, I got to I-80 in Wyoming and before hitting the highway, there were 2 BMW riders hanging out at an abandoned building. I stopped by and talked to them. Their destination was Texas and they asked how long the snow went for. I told them not too long and in return, they told me I was in for some trouble if I was going East. I was going East...
Snow started coming down pretty hard, elevation was rising. I was in for a winter wonderland. It was cold, road splash was everywhere, snow was accumulating on my helmet, visor was fogging. It was pretty bad but I was going to ride until snow started accumulating. I ended up drafting behind a truck as it was pretty windy and my heated gloves were failing. The trucker was aware that I was drafting him and he put on his 4-ways everytime there was a bend in the road. Eventually I took an exit to warm up...my hands and toes were now freezing. Ended up in the town of Laurmie.
As I was eating my nice warm Chili, Osman from Colorado sent me a text message with Cowboy's from advrider. I thought Osman found me a place to stay for the night so I called Cowboy and talked to him about the weather and a place to stay for the night. But he wasnt aware about the offer to stay for the night and I didnt want to put him in a difficult situation so I found myself a motel for the night. What happened was another rider from Toronto was stuck in the same town as me because of the snow and created a rescue thread on advrider. He thought it was me and contacted cowboy to save me. Was a simple misunderstanding and I misinterpreted the text message but I was glad someone was out there looking out for me. A nice warm shower for the night was enough to keep me happy.
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