Ride to Blackhawk - 7/12/08

My friends and I had been planning on the ride to Blackhawk for some weeks, but due to one thing or another, I was the only one of us able to go. The temperatures are in the 60s to mid 80s, sunny, and not a chance of rain. It appears that us 17 riders are in store for an excellent ride.

We started at the ITT offices in Colorado Springs. Jim Brewer was our leader, riding a Honda Gold Wing. The rest of us are riding Harleys, Kawasakis, and another Honda. We hit the road a little after 9 AM.

The route took us up I-25 to Monument, and then along Highway 105 north to Sedalia. It's a route we're all pretty familiar with, so there weren't any problems along the way. We stopped at the Sedalia Grill at about 10:15 for a break. It was there that we all agreed that it was a good thing the heat wasn't ten degrees warmer. The ride temperature was perfect.

From there, we rode north on highway 85 through Louviers, and west of Highlands Ranch. We then rode on to 470 west, an expressway that circles 3/4ths of Denver. We took it from the south post to the west-the city of Golden. From where we rode, we could catch a glimpse of the Coors Brewery, but that wasn't our destination. We took highway 6, and which then merged into highway 119. This took us directly into Blackhawk, and into the parking garage of the Rivera Casino.

We parked our bikes and started through the casino to the buffet. We had heard that the buffet at the Rivera was really good. Considering the price we paid for it ($16.00 a plate), I would figure that we would have someone butter our bread for us. The food was good, but not that good.

After lunch, I bummed around the casino. I don't like gambling, but I suppose if I were better at it than I am, I would like it more. So, I watched the people. I wandered through three or four casinos, and read up on the local history there.

That got me to think about what the appeal was to the casinos. The Colorado Casinos of Blackhawk, Central City, Leadville, and Cripple Creek are all old mining towns, made famous by their history. What I would expect from a casino in these towns is a saloon such as those in the TV show Gunsmoke or a John Wayne movie. Instead, there are casinos that really seem to me to be out of place. I really wonder what another 100 years of US history will show about this place.

We had agreed to ride up together, but not to commit to ride back together if we didn’t want to. I wanted to stop and take a lot of pictures, so I elected to make my own way back.

I went back the same way that we got there, until I reached Sedalia. After stopping for a Coke and to listen to the Blues singer performing at the Sedalia Grill, I fought my way back in to traffic and back home, by way of Deckers.

Deckers is a tiny settlement some 27 miles southwest of Sedalia, and a stopping point for a lot of bikers. I had heard that the roadway from Sedalia to Deckers is good, but in some areas it is unpaved. So I planned on slowing a little during my ride.

The first thirteen miles were uneventful. The road was clear and took me over a few hills and past some well maintained properties. Then, I arrived in Sprucewood. This is another smaller settlement at a crow’s foot intersection. I saw a road sign, albeit one carved in wood, but it pointed to a gravel road as the way to Deckers. Unfortunately for me, it was the road least traveled for a reason.

I figured that there would be a few patches of gravel and this was one of them. This patch of gravel went on for about 10 miles. It was all gravel, so I had to take those 10 miles at about 15 to 20 miles per hour. This road passed some smaller homes, an A frame, another dome style, and a couple of log cabins. There were some pretty good views, and a couple of places that stood out, but over all, I think I should have taken the other route that went more west than south.

When I got back to the asphalt, I had an easy five miles back east to Deckers, riding along side the South Platte River. I was then able to ride along Highway 67 through the acreage scarred by the Hayman fire which happened over five years ago. I passed a couple of bicyclists pushing themselves to climb a difficult hill, and found my way in to Woodland Park.

From there, it was about twenty some-odd miles back to the Springs, so I took the ride down the Ute Pass easily. When I got home at 6:30 PM, I had put 226 miles onto the bike from when I had started. I was pretty sore, and was really glad to be home.