Sunday Ride: The CVO 3 in 1

It is always fun to be invited to ride in with a new group. I had no idea that Harley Davidson had a CVO Group. CVO stands for Custom Vehicle Operations and to quote a friend of mine…”it’s a Harley that has upgrades done already so they can charge more than way too much”…..LOL!!

Custom paint, chrome, motor work and other stuff. The CVO program was started in 1999. If you have been to your local Harley Davidson dealer, chances are you have seen a CVO bike or two. My son always points out the really cool purple, rust and metal Fatboy on the floor. Why he loves this bike so, I have no idea.

Photo courtesy of Harley Davidson.com

What a cool Fatboy, eh??

Like mother, like son, I suppose. Let me tell you, my son loves motorcycles.

Oh, uh, okay, I’m off track.

I had no idea that there is a CVO Group. Evidently, this group has a ‘rally’ every year and this year it is being held in Cripple Creek, CO…and is going on in the next few days. My friends are putting this together and invited me to ride in on to test the route. Of course, I’m game!

We have six riders…two on a CVO Electra Glide (cha-ching), one on a CVO Electra Glide 2 (again, cha-ching), one on a 100th Anniversary Heritage, a Deuce rider, and the Rainbow Wahine on her Fatboy.

The route: Three mountain passes….even in June…brrrrr. This ride is the longest of the planned events and is approximately 280 miles. It is going to be a long day in the saddle.

The meeting is between 6:30 and 7:00 am in my cul-de-sac. Yawn. Oh, and it is a nippy morning. Nippy for chaps, leather jacket, gauntlets, neck gaiter, and ear warmers. Yes, it is June!

First stop is Wilkerson Pass on Hwy 24. It’s a beautiful stop! I snag a couple of pics and my pin. Whooohoooo…they have pins! Not only does the visitor center have pins, it is also a Scavenger Hunt item!

Scavenger Hunt Item: Mountain Pass

The Mountain Ranges off the Wilkerson Pass Visitor Center

The other photos are of the mountain ranges at the visitor center. The sky is such an amazing blue color! Now you see why I need cold weather gear…see….SNOW!!!

Mounting back up and back on the road, we get to Hartsel and head up to Fairplay on Hwy 9. As we pass through Fairplay, a thought occurs to me…South Park is on the list…and it is right around the corner. Of course, I have to stop and take the image!!

South Park City...it's a pretty cool place!!

We continue on to Breckenridge…this is our lunch stop. We park and hunt a lunch spot with patio seating. It’s just a gorgeous day….as luck would have it, we did find a place with patio seating and managed to get a waitress who told us stories about her bartending gig at Sturgis!

Oh, and the skyline of Breckenridge…..gorgeous, isn’t it??

The Lunch Stop Shot...courtesy of our waitress

Once lunch is finished…we head back to the bikes. I stop at Bubba Gump’s—I know they have Breckenridge pins, so I get one. I tell the rest of the group I’ll catch up. As I’m running (and in motorcycle boots is no easy feat) to catch up, I pass a “landmark”. Hmmmm…on the Scavenger Hunt List?? I’m told no. I insist. I am told no again. Okay, I bargain with my fellow MSR member….let’s get down and shoot the image. I’d rather be wrong…take the shot and it not be on the list than not take the shot and come back.

Yes, it’s on the list. And I’m not telling what it is either!!!

On our way out of town, we had to make a detour. Wal-Mart detour. I’m thinking to shop at the ski shop while the others do the Wal-Mart run. I need some kind of ski gear, right?? LOL. Turns out I didn’t get any ski gear, but I found these cool goggles that I can wear riding. They work great. Except I look like a bug and it doesn’t help that they are purple with blue lenses. I’ll post up the image one of my friends took while I’m riding and you decide for yourselves!

We have a short jaunt on I-70. Well, it was a long ride on I-70; especially when you are doing 5 MPH. Feet up, feet down, feet up…you get the picture.

We do finally peel off I-70 and head to Evergreen. What a cool little town! Heading south again, we ride through Conifer, through Pine and stop at The Bucksnort (see previous post).

On the road again, we get through Deckers, down through Woodland Park, then to the Springs. I leave my group since I would rather ride through town than up I-25. Run a few errands, fill up for gas and look at my trip odometer.

Some 300+ miles. It is after 8:30 PM.

It was a great ride. The only thing we skipped was Mt. Evans. Two additional hours we didn’t have to give, so we shelved the detour. It will be there tomorrow. I did, however, shoot the image of the mountain..so you can at least see where I *should* be going!!

I hear the ride up Mt. Evans is well worth it!!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine