Pikes Peak HOG #405 After Meeting Ride Saturday, September 12, 2020
Article and photos by Mark Watkins
PPHOG #405 Road Captains Mark Watkins and Buster Brown volunteered to lead the after meeting ride
down to Trinidad and then west on Hwy 12 on what is known as “The Highway of Legends”. Mark was
the lead and Buster was going to be the sweep or tail gunner. It was decided earlier in the week to do this
ride in honor of El Paso County Sheriff ’s Deputy Detective Greg Young who passed away unexpectedly
at his home on August 19, 2020. Mark had printed some commemorative decals that were handed out
both during the meeting and at the pre-ride briefing. Det. Young’s celebration of life was being held on
this day as well.
Mark conducted the pre-ride briefing at 10:15 and soon found out that we were going to have 24 bikes
total on the ride. Randy Bailey volunteered to lead a second group and Charlie Ford volunteered to be
the sweep for that group. Marcus Baird said a prayer for the ride after the briefing and it was kick stands
up at 10:30 sharp.
The first leg of the route was through Colorado Springs on I-25 and south to Pueblo. We continued
south to our first stop which was Colorado City. The first group stopped on the east side of the interstate
and the second group stopped at the gas station on the west side of I-25. Three bikes in the first group
decided to head back home for various reasons at this point.
The next stop was a fuel stop in Trinidad which was approximately 20 minutes. We then headed west
on Highway 12 past Lake Trinidad State Park, through Cokedale, Weston and the beautiful little town
of Stonewall. From there we rode up past Monument Lake and then stopped at North Lake for a group
photo. From there it was up to the summit of Cuchara Pass—elevation 9, 995 feet above sea level—then
down into the town of Cuchara and on to La Veta. The ride officially ended in La Veta and a small group
of riders had lunch at the Mission Deli. The remaining bikes broke in to two groups and headed back to
Colorado Springs.
Perfect weather, a great ride and breathtaking scenery made it a great day to live and ride in our beautiful
state of Colorado.
