Laramie Lap Round II... an epic ride in February

[Number Two]

At this point, I inform my Dad that this is probably going to be the make or break point of our trip.  If we make it through the woo, we'll probably be able to finish the loop.  The wind sweeps up large drifts, and the trees help shelter snow, long after it has melted away elsewhere... not that you've seen any melted snow on this trip.



What lies ahead...

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

That left turn back to Laramie is looking mighty good at this point!!!!!!!!!

[Number Two]

So now the trip takes a turn for the work.  That's right, I said work not worse.  What ensues is a melee of loose sandy gravel, ice-packed ruts, and a series of bobsled descents... like this one:



At one point, going about 3mph, I spin a cookie and dump the 600.  I hoist it off the ground before it quits running, but it's too late, it's already flooded.  I spend the next 15 minutes working off last night's texas-bacon-cheesburger trying to get started again.  The big thumper finally fires off, and we're back in business, albeit minus part of my clutch lever and some pride.  The barkbusters! Yeah, I know...  They're on the list.

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Just so you aren't misled about this being the only steep, slick-as-snot part of the ride on the Vedauwoo road...notice that I'm missing one of my high-speed, low-drag Ace Hardware knee pads!!! I had gone through several of these areas, one or two so deeeeeeep that my knees drug and obviously that's how I lost the knee pad. Number Two/Aaron will make a trip back out come Spring thaw only this time he'll be driving the 4Runner. Hopefully, it will be laying somewhere along the road. There was abso-freaking-lutely no way we were going to make it back up the hill at this point. Foward-ever forward!!!

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Hey guys,

Going to stop here for the night. We still have photos to download and the going is slow on photobucket tonight from this location. We will return tomorrow and finish the trip. Hope you had a good read so far.

[Number Two]

The road finally opens up a bit and we wrestle our way out to the short stretch of highway.



I'm slightly suspicious of what's coming next.  The heavy snows at vedauwoo are likely to be matched by Roger's Canyon as we cross back over the range into the Laramie valley.

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Time to finish this report.

What you didn't see is the bobsled run called a road that we just came down! And, what you also missed is the minivan that was in such a hurry to get on down the road that we pulled over and let them go by. Nothing like sharing the backroads with people in a hurry!

Speaking of sharing the road...just down the road from Number Two's/Aaron's last photo we ran into another adventure/dual sport rider. Sorry no photo as we were underway at the time. As we were approaching the rise of a small hill, we came upon a guy in Carhart Overalls, no hat, riding a mini-bike. He was a big guy and looked like all arms, elbows and knees on that thing! We looked at him and he looked at us and we all rode!

[Number Two]

Well, the skies are definitely getting darker.  We just layed down a few slab miles with a bunch of traffic doing 10 over.  It's getting much colder, too.  We take a minute to regroup, gas up, and.... what's this???

We are developing a pattern here.  The wife slipped me a few cookies as I was headed out the door.  Refueled, we get ready to head north.



The road is a super-slab dirt highway, and we make some good time up to the forgotten mining town of Horse Creek, WY.



We know Horse Creek is a real town, because it has a post office.




We're about to get on Rogers Canyon Road, a county road with no winter maintenance.  This is the most remote part of the lap, and cell reception is a convenience we left behind a few miles back.



The first obstacle is a formidable hill climb that had my rear tire spitting gravel back when this road was dry.  We catch a break, and it turns out that hill is mostly snow free and we make it up without incedent.  Maybe the trip back to Laramie won't be as rough as I though.  At the end of this picture the road takes a right turn and the hill starts.  Probably a 15% grade or better.  RVs, and 5th wheels need not apply. 

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

We transitioned from dirt to blacktop and then had about 10-12 miles to do before we stopped to fuel.

Everybody and their brother seemed to be driving a big Dodge 4x4 pickup and everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get to Cheyenne! Nothing like a little wind buffeting to make the ride interesting. Speaking of interesting...As we left the Vedauwoo area we could see over into the north range and there was nothing but a wall of gray hanging in there and guess what...that's where we were headed!!!

Nothing like heart-shaped valentine cookies to munch on! Dude...got anymore? Wanna pass me another?!

We topped the tanks off for the ride north and headed out into the unknown as Number Two/Aaron mentioned he hadn't covered this section of the Laramie Lap just yet. Nothing like laying down first tracks!!!

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Forgot to take a postcard to mail here! Horse Creek is a wide spot in the road but it's the point where we started to make the turn for the final run back to Laramie.


Trust Number Two when he says RVs and 5th Wheeler need not attempt this hill climb. It was steep, sandy, and stepped all the way to the top! The bright thing was it was clear of snow and the skies looked like they could open up and snow at any time!!! Hope our luck holds.

Wish Number One/Stephen (our oldest son-lives in the Minneapolis area) could have joined us for this little jaunt. It would have looked like something else, two bikes and a four-wheeler trudging over the hills, across the prairie, and down through the canyon-lands. Sure wish he could have been there. Speaking of that...wish some of you guys could have joined us as well. Would definitely have been an interesting 111 miles!!!

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Going to take a short break for lunch and then we'll return and complete the rest of the ride report.

[fringefan]

Looks like a good time

Whats with the woven rug on your backpack?

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Ahhh, the rug.

Well, I had originally put the rug under the gas can to give it some cushion instead of sitting directly against the metal rack. The rug worked its way out from under the gas can, the can fell off and we put the rug onto the backpack for the rest of the trip. That was the only place to put it and have it stay out of the way.

Otherwise, it was a great ride, especially in Wyoming and in February!!!

[Jud]

Great ride, great report.

[Hank]

Great report.   Maybe I'll have to venture out on my 500 if (when) I get it done.