The Great White North - Day 11 - "Heading Home"

Day 11 (7/21/19)

We made a point to get up early so we could hit the road and get home with time left in the day, so we hopped on the two-wheelers and jetted out of Rawlins as fast as we could.  I had thought about taking HWY 130 down into Colorado and then going home through Walden and Grandby but since we’d been on the road for so long I was pretty confident I’d be taking that path alone if I wanted to make it another long day.  Instead we opted against this route and decided the fastest path home was the best option.  Only having to run about 240 miles was a relief, and I was very glad that past me had given us the option to make this last day a short one.

I80 was about as bland as you can imagine, but I was just grateful it was a beautiful and non-windy day to be riding.  If you know anything about Wyoming you know how it can blow like a son-of-a-gun, and from past experiences wind and bikes don’t mix too well, at least for me.  So we hauled down the interstate and only got hung up a few times due to road construction, but even going through Laramie was quick.  From there we cut diagonal along 287 since it was shorter in miles and about the same amount of time for a prettier route.

When we rolled up on the state line it feel good to be back in Colorful Colorado.  We had an absolute blast everywhere we went but as Dorthy once said, “There’s no place like home” and I still can’t find anywhere I like better than my home state.  We got stuck behind some more campers and the like…I guess everyone else really likes it here too, but eventually we got into Fort Collins and fueled up for the last time before hitting our driveways and giving the bikes (and ourselves) some much deserved and needed rest.

From Fort Collins it was a quick and easy jaunt down I25 (yes, hiss, the evil interstate) back to Denver.  I’m not entirely sure what happens, if I’m just that excited to get home or what, but every single time we get close to home I end up losing Bob in traffic even worse than usual.  He caught back up eventually though and we stuck together until he peeled off toward his house.

After Bob was gone I could tell I was really excited and ready to be home because I was hauling ass down some roads I probably should have been a bit more cautious on, but I was trying to beat the clock and get home before 11am (yeah I know the clock in the pic above doesn’t reflect that).  Sure as shit, I hit it right on the head.  I pulled up, hit the hidden garage door opener on the bike and rolled in right at 11!

My dogs missed me, my fiancee missed me, and I was home.  And in addition to all of that we’d just successfully completed a pretty gnarly motorcycle adventure that had taken us on nearly 4000 miles over the course of 11 days without any real issues.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d say that’s quite a feat, one that I’ll talk about for years to come!