GPZ Rally West '09 "The Fandango in Durango V"

[Dave Daniels]

Dave,
Hope to see you this year for the southeast Ohio ride. That is, if we have it. It was a blast last year. 

--- On Fri, 4/3/09, Dave King <oldfr8dog at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Dave King <oldfr8dog at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: GPZ Rally West '09 "The Fandango in Durango V"
To: scapco at ecentral.com, "GPz List" <gpzlist at micapeak.com>
Date: Friday, April 3, 2009, 8:47 AM

Man, I'd love to join you guys on this ride.  Ain't gonna happen
though.  Too many miles between here and there and too much going on around
here.  You guys be safe and have fun.  
 
If any of y'all ever come to ride in the East Tennessee / W North Carolina
area I'd love to meet up with ya for some riding.  
 
Hoist one for me, Dave King.  '96, black is beautiful.

--- On Thu, 4/2/09, Charles Scappaticci <scapco at ecentral.com> wrote:


From: Charles Scappaticci <scapco at ecentral.com>
Subject: GPZ Rally West '09 "The Fandango in Durango V"
To: "Kawasaki GPZ1100 Discussion" <gpzlist at micapeak.com>,
"George McCaul" <geomac at earthlink.net>
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2009, 10:16 PM



The GPZ Rally West '09 "The Fandango in Durango V"

OK Folks, you've waited patiently during these cold miserable winter
months, and now it's time to officially make those plans.

WHAT:  '09 GPZ1100 Mailing List Western Rally and International Concours
d'Elegance.  Non-GPZ riders, deemed by a regular list member as
responsible and road-worthy, are also more than welcome.

WHERE:  The Teller House Hotel (www.tellerhousehotel.com) 1250 Greene
Street, Silverton, CO 81433, ~ 800.342.4338 ~ 970.387.5423 or The Bent
Elbow Restaurant & Hotel (www.thebent.com) 1114 Blair Street, Silverton,
CO 81433, ~ toll-free (877)387-5775 or (970)387-5775.  Accommodations
are hotel and the rates are tourist town rates, from $65 to $90 per
night for a room with one or two queen beds, many are one queen bed only
so reserve accordingly.  For those who would rather camp out under the
stars, camping is available at the A&B RV or a couple of other places.
Visit them on the web or call me for directions.  I will be staying the
Bent Elbow again this time.

AREA DESCRIPTION
Nestled high in the heart of the San Juan Mountains in a mountain valley
at 9,318 feet, the Town of Silverton combines supreme natural beauty and
magnificent Victorian charm.  Silverton is a town that has its own color
and character.  Most of the buildings and the mining-laden hillsides
reflect a simpler day as does the Silverton lifestyle.  Winter
activities include skiing, snowmobiling and lots of drinking.   Local
summer recreational opportunities abound and include camping, hiking,
fishing, biking, boating, photography, and nearby off-highway vehicle
riding areas.  Visitors can also take the Durango & Silverton Narrow
Gauge Railroad for a trip back into American history.   Having lived in
Durango for three years while attending college, I can attest to the
beauty and scenic vistas in the area.

For more info, see:  http://www.silvertoncolorado.com/

WHEN:  25-28 June 2009.  Arrive anytime on Thursday the 25th and leave
on the morning of Sunday the 28th, or later if you so desire.

25 June - We will occupy our hotel rooms Thursday (June 25th) evening,
with the usual stories of the trip down.  Plan on a walk to dinner for
those who arrive early enough.  For those coming from the east and
riding down with me, I am planning on taking the scenic route we usually
take over Monarch Pass, through Lake City and Creede, and over Wolf
Creek Pass which is an excellent ride.

26 June - Early morning walk to breakfast.  All day ride over the
Million Dollar Highway via Durango, Cortez and past Mesa Verde National
Park to Stoner, to scenic Telluride (with a stop for lunch hopefully),
through Placerville, Ridgeway, Ouray, Red Mountain Pass and back to
Silverton.  This time we will do the ride backwards from what we have
previously.  We did this loop the past three rally's and it is a
nationally ranked ride, Cycle World calls one of the ten best in the
USA.  Please plan on leaving the motel on the early side so we can miss
the Winnebago/land barge parade over the passes.  Return to camp for
cleanup (we should be back by 3:00 or so), shopping and local sight
seeing and dinner and the usual festivities and debauchery.  Total
mileage is about 220 so it's not a terribly long day.  I'm thinking
about a pre-drinking/after dark ride up Red Mountain Pass or up the dirt
road towards Lake City for some star gazing which is simply amazing at
10,000 feet or so.

27 June - Early morning hike to breakfast.  This year we are planning a
ride up Colorado 141 to Gateway and possibly Grand Junction depending on
time.  Gateway has a large new car museum owned and founded by the
creator of the Discovery Channel and it has some pretty amazing cars in
it.  The scenery follows the rivers, but the vistas and butte's you'll
see are right out of the old westerns.  The ride is mostly easy sweepers
with some tighter curves thrown in to keep it interesting. (See my pics
from my ride last summer at http://community.webshots.com/user/scapco)
Depending on how far, fast, or scenic everyone wants to ride, make the
day as long or short as you desire.  Expect more spectacular scenery and
many stops for posing and photo sessions on the way back.  Return to
camp for cleanup, another brisk walk to dinner at the Bent Elbow
Restaurant and more festivities and debauchery.  I'd like to do another
T-shirt swap between the attendees like we did the last few rally's.
Creativity is important.  LOL!

28 June -  Break camp and clean up.  Not so early, bleary-eyed ride to
breakfast.  Teary good byes and photos, exchanging of email addresses,
cell phone #s, web URLs, and PDA data.  Long ride home begins.  I prefer
to take the long way home which is near 450 miles of mountain passes,
figure 10 hours in the saddle if you go my way.  There are several ways
to shorten the ride depending on how one's “nether region” is holding
up.

All attendees are expected to ride safely on all group rides, and
expected to comply with the basic rules of the road.  Also, not all of
the parking in Silverton is on the best surfaces, so please bring something
to put under your kickstand or center stand.  Also, because of the
altitude it can be cool at night, so bring some warm clothes or if you're
Canadian and used to the cold, bring some shorts.

COST:  Up to you.  I don't make food reservations so spend as much or as
little as you desire.  Silverton is somewhat of a tourist/mountain town,
so expect things to be priced accordingly.  Beer is "plentiful",
remember you're staying in a hotel where the first floors are
bars/saloons (and the upper floors were once whorehouses!!).  LOL!  When
I went to college in Durango in the late 70's there were 52 places to
buy alcohol in a town of 12,000, and I think I knew them all.  One
warning, drinking beer at 9,300 ft altitude is not like drinking at sea
level.  If you’re a six pack per evening guy, three will do just fine up
here.  I’m not kidding!!

I believe this will be a fairly small gathering due to the economy and
being our fifth gathering so I encourage everyone on the list to make
every reasonable attempt to make it to this year's rally as it might
be the last.  Those that attended the GPZ rallies in previous years will
confirm that the events exceeded all of our expectations.  They continue
to be the peak experiences I've have in many years of motorcycling.
Local bike rentals are available in Denver at Colorado Tour Bike Rentals
http://www.tourbikes.com or (720) 231-6349, or http://www.eaglerider.com
(Hardley's and Lead Wings only).  There are probably others too so shop
around.

To read more about the previous rally's, visit the list page and check
out the pictures at: http://list.gpz1100.com.  If you have questions,
suggestions, or an offer of help, please don't hesitate to email me or
call me on my cell at 303-956-6501.

I "might" be able to accommodate one or two before or after the ride
at
my ex wife's place in the south Denver metro area.  I will be living at
my ex-s after next weekend for a couple of months until I can find a new
place to live. Just let me know if you need a place to crash and I'll see
what I can do.  Also, for anyone who wants to hang around Denver and ride
on Monday the 29th, we're repeating the always spectacular day long ride
through Rocky Mountain National Park which is one of the highest paved
roads in North America and reaches altitudes of near 13,000 feet.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you.

Charles S.
Centennial, Colorado
2009 Rally Coordinator
303-797-8970 Ex- Wife's Home
303-956-6501 My Cell