Ken & Heather went to middle school together in Alaska, but only reconnected last year!  They love each other, love to ride, and love their scaled back retirement lifestyle...though they are really just prepping for retirement.  Ken still owns a business in Tulsa that he is looking forward to selling so he and Heather can travel and play full-time!

After spending a great couple of days with Ken & Heather, I headed west bound for Denver CO.  Along the way I stayed in Wichita KS with another lovely couple, Wally & Sandy Shutt.  They are within weeks of buying a new (blue) Goldwing.  Lucky them!  Of further note, Sandy makes cinnamon rolls from an old family recipe that easily rival Cinnabon!  Yum!

On Day 93 I pulled out of Wally & Sandy's home for a 500-plus mile ride to Denver.  Typically I favor rural roads to the intestate system.  This day I elected to ride the roads less traveled, across Kansas and up into Colorado. 


It was a super windy day, only accentuated by the wide open plains where the winds blows completely free of obstruction.  For hundreds of miles the wind attempted to pull the helmet right off of my head.  I felt like I was leaning the cycle 45 degrees against the wind for hundreds of miles just to keep from being blown over.  There were times in Colorado when I wondered if I could continue.  I did not see even a single other motorcycle on this route--- all day.

When I left Kansas the temperature was in the mid-70s.  By the time I got within 70 miles of Denver, however, the temperature had dipped to 41 degrees.  It was windy...and cold!  I stopped for dinner by my hotel near the Denver airport and my fingers were frozen...so much so that I had trouble getting the key into my trailer lock.  Oh, mother nature gave me a real challenge on this day---> Day 93!

Mother nature definitely presented me with quite a challenging 24 hours of motorcycle operation on Days 93 & 94!  Wind blown and snow dusted! 

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Day 89---234.4 miles traveled, 4 hours and 33 minutes of moving time, 3 hours and 30 minutes of stopped time, 51.5 miles per hour average moving time, 29.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 75.7 miles per hour.  Day 90---Day of rest.  Day 91---290.2 miles traveled, 4 hours and 54 minutes of moving time, 27 minutes of stopped time, 59.2 miles per hour average moving time, 54.2 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 86.1 miles per hour.  Day 92---4 miles traveled.  Day 93---514.2 miles traveled, 8 hours and 10 minutes of moving time, 52 minutes of stopped time, 61.6 miles per hour average moving time, 55.8 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 84.7 miles per hour.  Day 94---24 miles traveled.