2026 Syracuse to Denver and return

This year will be an epic ride of over 5,000 miles (8,046 kilometers) out to Denver and return. Of the seven riders this year one lives in Denver, (the famous Dudley), one will ride out early to visit family in Utah and three will ship their bikes to Denver and fly out for the rides around Denver and then ride home with the group. The last one (the son of Dudley) might ride out after he gets his bike fixed or might get a new bike in Syracuse or might get a new bike in Denver – who knows!

I have to decided to ride out solo via Toronto, top of the Great Lakes and on to North Dakota and then to Denver via South Dakota.  North Dakota is the only state I have not visited in the fifty states in the USA.  

My solo trip will take six days. Maybe shorter or maybe longer depending on weather and if I need more sleep. I plan to ride 2,300 miles (3,701 kilometers) Solo riding is a little lonely, but I can stop when I want to and stay in accommodation that presents itself when I'm tired, Nothing is planned but the general direction. The ride with the group is more structured as in nightly locations, hotels, restaurants etc. but a lot of fun at night or in gas (petrol) breaks chatting and talking about past trips.

The group will ride around the Denver area for four days and cover around 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) After this we head home for five days and cover around 1,900 miles (3,057 kilometers) We will ride via Kansas, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio. On the way home we plan to visit the Buffalo Bill museum, US Airforce museum in Ohio and anything else that looks interesting.

Change of plans

Because of the fires and smoke in Canada, I decided to ride via Buffalo, up through Michigan and Mackinaw City rather than via Toronto and the top of the great lakes. The distance is not that different, but I did not get to see my friend Graeme Murry in Toronto (I will catch up with him at Niaga Falls golf in September as we have done for years.)

Day 1

444 miles. (715 kilometers) Thursday, 30th July 2026. Up Early and on the road by 8:00am. Susan. as always was there to see me off. I rode the thruway to Buffalo in rain and I crossed into Canada after a brief line as usual. An old man on a big bike always gives the border guard a smile. I crossed back into the USA near the end of the day with no delay. I stayed near Flint Michigan, and I saw a hotel near a steak house and though it was an easy stop for 5:00pm. Dinner was a hamburger and a glass of wine.

Day 2

455 miles. (732 kilometers) Friday 31st July 2026. Up early with a muffin and coffee for breakfast as I was hoping to make 580 miles 933 kilometers) today. Traffic was moderate with mostly a single lane with overtaking spots occasionally. The speed limit most of the way was 75mph (120 kph) and I sat on 80mph (129kph) most of the time. I had looked at the weather early and it was supposed to rain around 4pm. I hit by a good downpour so I stopped and sure enough it did not rain again.  Dinner was yet another hamburger down the street, so an early night is planned. My hope tomorrow to reach North Dakota but it depends on the road and traffic.

Day 3

511 miles. (822 kilometers) Saturday 1st August 2026. No rain. Started off cold and misty and ended up hot. The road across Michigan was smooth and fast but Minnesota road was terrible with a lot less traffic. The good news is I made Fargo North Dakota. My 50th state. I have now been to all fifty states in the USA. About 36 on the motor bike and most of those with the "wild Hogs" Tomorrow I hope to make Sturgis South Dakota. I have been there twice before. Sturgis is the world's largest bike rally. I will avoid the town even though the rally officially starts next week. I really want to ride most of the Black Hills just south of Sturgis. I have seen Mount Rushmore so I will skip that this time.

One of our "gang" who rides with the name "Dudley has ridden over a thousand miles (1,609 kilometers) in one day. I don't know how he does it! 511 (822 kilometers) is enough for me. There is a club you can join called the "iron butt" club where your register your start and finish. I think you get a certificate and a very sore arse.

Did not take any photos of North Dakota except this one. This is the largest hill on the plains. Miles of flat ground with fields of lucerne sun flowers, corn or nothing. Hundreds and hundreds of miles with very few houses or barns.

Day 4

306 miles. (493 kilometers) Sunday 2nd August 2026. I planned to ride 500 miles (805 kilometers) today but it was cool in the morning and hit 95 degrees (35c) by eleven am. Also North Dakota is as flat as a pancake and the wind off my left caused buffering. The speed limit was eighty most of the way so I sat on a comfortable 75mph (121kph) with the bike on cruise control. The roads were mainly cement with small  grooves so it was bumpy most of the time. Luckily there was little traffic and very few trucks. There were lots of big trucks pulling huge campers generally doing 60mph (97kph) The farms stretched forever with corn, sun flowers and lucerne.  Gas (petrol) stations were about 50 (81 kilometers) to 80 miles. (129 kilometers) My bike has a six gallon tank (23 liters) and at 40 miles per gallon (5.88 Liters per 100km) so I stop every 200 miles. (322 kilometers) A chance for a break and a drink.

At about two o'clock I had enough and decided to stop for the night. Tomorrow I head to the Black Hills near Sturgis. Hopefully it won't be crowded,

Day 5

334 miles (538 kilometers) 3rd August 2026. Up early and headed due South. Stopped in Sturgis. What a zoo. Officially it does not start until the 7th but there are bikes all over the place. The venders are setting up tents. Had to buy some bug spray at the Harley outlet and they were folding T shirts and packing shelves. They also were setting out all the bikes. I had to buy some bug spray but they either had a large bottle or a set of small ones with sample products. I also stopped at the Corbin seat tent. I asked how much the Corbin leather cream for my seat was and he said just take a bottle!

I then rode through the Black Hills and a special road called the Needles. Plenty of tight bends and beautiful scenery. Tomorrow I will cross into Nebraska and reach Colorado. 

Day 6

351 miles (565 kilometers) 4th August 2026  Edgemont South Dakota to Bennett Colorado via Wyoming. A nice easy day but freezing cold to start at 52 degrees (11 Fahrenheit). It took its time bloody warming up. Luckily I packed some warm gloves for the trip because we are riding up Pikes Peak in a few days and it has an elevation of 14,115 feet (4,267 meters) and the temperature today at Pikes Peak (No ' punctuation) was between 39f and 52f.  Thursday will be between 50f and 72f. I was going to ride back roads today but decided to get to the hotel early so I could get my washing done and relax. As an aside my mother's maiden name was Bennett so I thought of my Mom often today. Once again fast speeds and lots of traffic closer to Denver. 

Day 7 

83 miles (134 kilometers) 5th August 2026. Bennett Colorado to Monument Colorado. I rode back roads that were very bumpy with lots of farms. Monument is a heavily wooded section that is an hour south of Denver. The elevation is 7,300 feet so it is cooler than the plains and the air is so fresh. I arrived at Dudley's house at about ten and the boys arrive around one. They had their bikes shipped in. JDog rode out to Salt Lake city and arrived around three. six of us will be riding around Denver for three days and then five will ride back to Buffalo and Syracuse.

Dinner was terrific. Dudley's wife cooked Spaghetti and meatballs, a great salad And I had a very nice glass of Chardonay. Their house is set on several acres and surrounded by pine. The air is so fresh and no noise at all. They love the area around Monument. Their daughter lives about an hour away and their son's family will be moving to Denver soon.

Day 8

188 miles (303 kilometers) Thursday 6th August 2026. I awoke at 4:30am. I'm still on New York time and at home I awake early. Packed the bike, a very nice coffee and I was ready to ride. We left as usual around 9:30am. We stopped at Garden of The Gods and the rode up Pikes Peak. Famous for the hill climb. The peak is 14,115ft (4302 meters) The ride is 19 miles (31 kilometers) with 156 bends. The bends are often very sharp. The speed limit is 20 or 30 miles per hour. For most of the road there are no barriers so it is a shear drop. At the top it was a little hard to breathe and it was cool but not as bad as it could have been. The views were a little hazy but that was a lot better than cloud everywhere like Mount Washington last year.  

Tonight we are staying at Frisco Colorado with an elevation of 9075ft. Nice little town that has a lot of tourists.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of The Gods - The Hogs went for a hike and I guarded the bikes from marauding girl scouts

Amazing rock formations were everywhere.

Pikes Peak had amazing views. Little cloud and spectacular.

We saw many bikes going down the mountain but not many riding up. They must have a service where they had the bikes delivered to the top and coasted down. Only a crazy person would try and ride up.

Day 9

245 miles (394 kilometers) Friday 7th August 2026. Frisco CO to Montrose CO. The ride today had amazing scenery, great views but it was bloody hot sitting on and even hotter engine.

We mainly spoke to hotel receptionists and gas (petrol) station attendants. Plus the odd old rider who had given up riding.

Day 10

271 miles (436 kilometers) Saturday 8th August 2026. Montrose CO to Alamosa CO. Apologies to whoever read the blog yesterday. I thought we had ridden the Million Dollar highway but we in fact rode it today. When I wrote the blog I reference a posting on the highway and thought it was a tame day and not very dangerous compared to the description below. Today it was dangerous with signs of washout that it had two weeks ago. There were large numbers of workman fixing the issues.

The highlight of the day was riding the million dollar highway. A 25 mile (40 kilometers) Famous for its steep grades, narrow winding roads and sheer drops. The highway earned its name from legends suggesting it either cost a million dollars per mile to build or contained gold in its gravel or simply offers million dollar views. 

Not the view today,

Interesting ride - one of the most dangerous and most beautiful rides in the USA

Please note - one of the group criticized the fact that I used web photos. I will add other phots when I return home. 

A passing motorist suggested the gang jump up and cheer. You will notice the one smart and reserved Hog member did not join in the action.

Day 11

275 miles (443 kilometers) Sunday 9th August 2026. Alamosa CO to Monument CO, A shorter day to day and over 100 (38c) at lunch. The roads were more conventional but the scenery still very interesting.

Tonight we are staying once again at the Clark's residence. Shahin (Mark's wife) and Chelsea (Mark's daughter) cooked a very special Persian dinner of chicken, Persian rice, salad and yogurt. Delicious and of course we all ate too much. 

Dudley cooking breakfast for the crew. Better than any Holiday Inn we stayed at. No powdered eggs for us!

The traditional wave off. We were very sad to leave the Duley household. The best bike is second from the left.

Day 12

376miles (605 kilometers) Monday 10th August 2026. Monument CO, to Russell Kansas. A long ride today. The first 200 miles (322 kilometers) was secondary roads that were not that interesting and a little warm. The last miles were around 105f (41c) with very strong side winds that shook the bike badly.

We visited the Buffalo Bill museum. It was near this spot that Bill won his title "Buffalo" by shooting the most in one day. Very sad but they were used to feed the workers on the railroads. A little old lady gave a summary of the events. She mentioned she went to Manhattan as a teenager and preferred the open spaces.

 Dinner at a local restaurant was a a short walk and very pleasant. Not fancy but filling. We drank a lot of water after the heat. As usual we sat around an outdoor area shooting the breeze. Tomorrow will be another hot day. Hot is better than rain!

Buffalo Bill museum was simple but interesting, At least they had air conditioning.

Day 13

370 miles (596 kilometers) Tuesday11th August 2026. Russell Kansas to Boonville MO.  Nearly 100f (39c) A very hot ride. Mostly back roads but the last hour a busy highway and intense heat. Good roads all the way. I was glad to get to the hotel and shower and do my laundry. Dinner was pizza and wings. Very nice and delivered to the hotel. Mark T Alias Bobby last night after dinner want to buy some lip Balm so we went to Walmart. The lady at the front door looked it up and said isle G. Off we went A, B. C. D, E, F , H. No G. After searching the whole store we asked another worker and he said near the pharmacy, which was near the entrance, Huge store and then only two choices! Mark bought both. We then had to queue at the self check out. Mark could not believe the size and irrational layout. Tomorrow the story of the noisy bike.

Day 14

403 miles (649 kilometers) Wednesday12th August 2026. Boonville MO.  to Indianapolis Indiana. The day's ride was uneventful except the speed limit most of the way was 75mph(113kph) and we rode to the speed limit.  Cars and trucks whizzed by us constantly. We were expecting rain all the way and even put our rain suits on before we left. Not a drop and it was a sauna until we packed away the suits at lunchtime. Dinner was a walk away and very simple but nice. When we returned to the hotel they suggested we park near the entrance because a lot of cars get broken into. It seems like a nice area but there is long term parking for the airport and little traffic at night so very opportunistic for theft.

AS promised - the story of the noisy bike, I was riding along yesterday and heard a rattle. I'm a little sensitive to rattles after a noise developed last year so I leaned forward and sideways and the noise stopped. Strange. After serval miles I discovered the rattle was coming from the air inlet on my helmet! I opened it up and the rattle was gone.

Day 15

351 miles (565 kilometers) Thursday 13th August 2026. Indianapolis Indiana to Kent Ohio. Started off a very foggy morning. The afternoon was hot. Mainly highway at relatively high speed. We expected rain and donned our rainsuits but by lunch we peeled then off.  

We visited the US Air Force collection in Daton Ohio. An amazing place you could spend days investigating. We only had an hour or so and hardly touched all the exhibits.

Dinner was very good Mexican that even Bobby liked it (Phyllis - I do mention other Hogs!)

So many planes and nameplates. Fantastic collection.

Huge rockets that filled the tall hall.

Day 16

405 miles (652 kilometers) Friday 14th August 2026. Last day is always sad. Its great to head home but you still think about packing, stopping for gas and making sure everyone is happy. The run today was fast. Three of the Buffalo boys peeled off and Bobby and myself had an extra 157 miles (252 kilometers) to ride to Syracuse. My loving wife was not home to greet me. She had left this morning to go to New York city to see the babies and celebrate little Fred's fifth birthday. (They grow too fast) 

In 17 days I have ridden 5,335 miles (8586 kilometers). Pretty close to what was planned. Slightly more than from Sydney to Perth and return. Amazing countryside from the flat plains of North Dakota. The amazing Black Hills of South Dakota and the fantastic riding in Colorado. A great adventure that might be my last big ride. Who knows. The group I rode with are a great bunch. No arguments. Ready to help each other and always willing to have a laugh. Most of the time jesting at me. "the one closest to the box!

I will add photos this week as it is a pain to add them on the ride.