18 Aug – Pinon, CO

Left Holbrook reasonably early and headed for Boulder, CO. about 700 miles away via Interstates 40 and 25. Pinon is really just a truck stop 30 miles north or Pueblo on I25. For the most part getting here was just a case of winding the throttle round to 80mph and filling up when the tank emptied, which at this speed it did quite quickly. But $10 fills it up and away you go again.

By the northern regions of New Mexico the desert had given way to green pastures and slightly cooler weather and you would never guess you have crossed into Colorado except for the sign welcoming you to “Colorful Colorado”. At one point earlier I rode under some very dark clouds and it was clear that rain was in the offing but right now it was the lightning that was my immediate concern. Lightning really gives me the willies. Anyway it left me alone this time but just over the hill there was the prettiest scene straight from a winter wonderland – white everywhere. The traffic was at a crawl and there were many vehicles stopped on the side of the road. The white carpet turned out to be hail stones and the road was awash with water from the melt which put paid to my dry boots and pant legs. Not to worry, I ran into the hail storm just down the road and that finished the job. By the time I got to the shelter of a gas station I was soaked to the skin, not to mention bruised all over by the lumps of ice.