Saturday, September 25th, 2004
Broomfield to Westcliffe
7am to 5:31pm: 386 miles

I had set my alarm for 6am. My plan was to be at the King Sooper's on South Parker Road about 7:45am. The frigging cats woke me up at 5am to get fed. By 5:30, I figured I wasn't getting 30 minutes more sleep so I got up and got ready.

By 7 I had showered, read the paper and had breakfast. I was on the bike and ready to head south. I hit 25 and followed it down to 470. 470 is a toll road going east. At the booth, I paid the $1.50 and headed off in search of Parker Road. The instructions I had showed the address to be within a couple of blocks of the exit. When I didn't find it, I decided to continue on south until I got to the coffee place in Colorado Springs. I was admiring the morning, nice and clear and not too cold, when I realized my Gerbing's wasn't working. It was nice that the sun was out but it had hidden behind some clouds and it immediately cooled down a couple of degrees. I figured at my next stop, I'd pull out the electrical kit I had and replace the in-line fuse. Fortunately I spotted a King Soopers and saw the bikes. A quick signal and a right had me pulling in to the station.

I rolled in and got off the bike. After introductions, we waited a few more minutes. I took advantage of the time and pulled the seat off of the bike and replaced the blown fuse. I got it all back together just as we were getting suited up and ready to roll. One of the guys zipped down the parking lot. I don't know if he came back or got back on the road or what (later I found out that he had just stopped by to say "hi" and head back). We got started, headed out to 83 south and headed to Colorado Springs.