harley tales

Harley tales happen unexpectedly all the time when Ben and I ride the hog. There’s nothing conventional or predictable including the people!

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You never know what will happen when you’re riding a Harley. Yes, you always come home with hard-to-believe Harley tales.

You never know what will happen when you’re on an adventure! I call them ‘harley tales.’ So, Ben and I decided to take a Harley trip to Crested Butte & Aspen—a short, but exciting 3-day exploration.  It’s particularly good to get out of the kitchen when you’re working on contest recipes.  

Scenic Motorcycle Rides Near Me

Why? Because you can get stale.  You can lose your perspective.  

You can become thwarted with your creativity, so what better to fuel the juices than something entirely different. As I’ve always said, inspiration comes from the most unlikely places. And, meeting new people can give you entirely new levels of creativity.

Harley tales keep me young.

Best Time to Ride Motorcycles in Colorado

A few hours into the ride, the clouds were forming—they looked real ominous hovering over the peaks of Mt. Harvard and Mt. Princeton, 14’teeners of massive size in Colorado.  Riding on a Harley makes you feel really miniscule beside these massive structures, and with the wicked-looking shades of grey clouds, we knew we were riding into the mouth of the tiger as we were gaining elevation.  Weather can turn on a dime, and you don’t mess with Mother Nature!

No Way Could I Make This Up!

Harley Rides

The rain drops were starting, and we pulled off the main road looking for some shelter before ascending the massive Monarch Pass. 

No Way Could I Make This Up!

Motorcycle Clothing

Stumbling upon a guest ranch with just a few cabins, we pulled in hoping to buy some coffee and wait out the better part of the looming and intense storm.  Ben got off the Harley and headed to the check in cabin…the sign said ‘open’…I lingered behind getting some things from the saddle bags.  As I walked towards the sliding screen door that had a big smiley face spray painted on it, I heard Ben, who looked like Darth Vader all in black from head to toe,helmet, gloves, chaps, boots, sunglasses (and me not looking like Princess Leah, but the mini-version of Darth Vader), saying, ‘Don’t be frightened, I’m a nice guy…we’re looking to buy a cup of coffee and wait out this storm.’

Motorcycle Riders

As I walked in, the lady, not 5 feet tall, behind the check-in desk who was probably in her late 70s, her face wrinkled and lined like a road map and her thinning  hair cut like the Dutch Boy paint character, matter-of-factly said, “I ain’t scared of you—my kids and grandkids ride motorcycles…and I don’t drink coffee…my husband drinks it, in the morning and he drinks one cup.”  End of conversation.  ‘Go ahead and sit down…’ No conversation.

No Way Could I Make This Up!

Motorcycle Rides

Ally: “When I was outside, I saw your purrdeee kitty sittin’ in your pittchur window.” (The windowsill full of bottles with colored water in them, nick nacks, and doo dads.) Smiling.  ‘We love cats. We have one, an ol’ creek cat…’ And, I proceeded to tell her all about our gnarly and semi-feral cat, Callie kitty that we took in when we found her injured, domesticated and healed her and made into a princess house kitty.

Harley Davidson Riders

Sitting in her glider rocker methodically going back and forth the entire time, she doesn’t lose a beat…’I have two cats—Dezi and Lucy…they were rescue cats, ‘bout 18 years old now…we ‘bout lost Dezi not long ago…’  My expression of awe—‘Oh, no, what happened?’  ‘Went to bed one night, he was fine, woke up the next mornin’, and he was ‘bout dead…’  Another expression of ‘oh no…what did you do?’  ‘Took ‘em to the vet in town…she ran everrrr thing on ‘em, blood tests, Xrays, MRI…found nuttin’  Another expression saying ‘What did you do next?’  ‘Now my vet’s holistic, so she said I needed to git a Cat Intuit…ya know what that is?’

Harley Davidson Rider

‘Uhhh, no, is it like a cat whisperer…I’ve seen one on TV…’  ‘Yeah, like a psychic…figured since you’re a cat lover, ya need to know, just in case…’  My expression now is ‘Yes, go on…’  ‘Well, my daughter emailed that cat intuit who’s in Calllifornia a picture of Dezi, and she called and communicated with Dezi…found out what was wrong…’

Life is Filled with Unexpected Adventures

‘Did you have to put Dezi on the phone?’  Plainly dressed in sweats, slippers, wool socks and a faded sweatshirt with ‘Alpine Rose’ in the center,  “Nah, you know how these people can use their brain waves and distance doesn’t matter…’  ‘Well, what was wrong?’  ‘Come to find out Dezi had a blockage in his intestines, Xrays didn’t even show it…she knew it was there…so I got them Metamucil tablets and sprinkled on his food for a few days, and before long he passed it…big ol’ poo (turd)…now he’s just fine…’

Unexpected Adventures

Ally: ‘Wow, wonder how Dezi got so sick all of a sudden?’  ‘Well, since yer’re a cat lover, I’ll tell ya…ya know animals can transmit…’  ‘What?  Not sure I understand…’  ‘Dezi knew I was feelin’ bad that night, he took what was in my body and transmitted it to his…poor littl’ thang just didn’t have the energy to pass it out on his own…’

harley tales

Monarch Pass

By now the rain had started clearing, Ben brought my rain gear, I put it on.  We thanked the lady for her hospitality and letting us stay for a spell, and we were on our way not fully realizing what we were about to encounter as the ol’ hog started climbing another 3,000 feet over Monarch Pass.

Unusual Travel Experiences

The thing about life and adventures is that you’ll never have these incredible experiences unless you take some chances and move past what’s just so complacent and easy to do.  This side bar with this interesting woman at the guest ranch is just one more escapade that has enriched me—the magic carpet ride through life.

harley tales

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16 Comments

  1. gigi crockett says:

    great story! i sure do miss my sweet little 882 hugger (harley). my husband bought it for me on our 13th wedding anniversary. he already had one and i was his passenger for many years until i mentioned (rather strongly heehee) that i’d live to have my own. anyway, one of my best life memory(so far) was the cross country trip we made from maine to arizona, on our bikes. SO much fun! and what an adventure!
    thank you for sharing one of your adventures…i thoroughly enjoyed reading about it.
    love sent
    gigi crockett

    1. Oh, Gigi!! I can just see you blowin’ in the wind and going cross country! What an awesome adventure to ride your own 822 Hugger! You’re my kinda girl! Isn’t it incredible what you see, taste, smell and feel on the open road. I know just riding on the back of Ben’s Harley gives me that immense feeling of freedom. And, boy, do we meet some imaginative people, like this lady who gave us shelter from the storm. xoxx Sending love, ~ally

  2. Robin Rudy says:

    Loved your story…can just picture the whole encounter!
    See you two soon.

    1. Robin!!!! Can’t wait to see you and wild Steve! Been way too long…hey, thanks for reading the happy harley tales! ooxo

  3. Wow, what a kewl story. My husband and I used to ride our Harley, and even had two others that we rode separately, but his balance got bad and he became afraid to ride, so he sold his Suzuki and we’re selling the Harley to a friend; it’s about to kill me, but I can’t ride that monster myself. Anyway, we’ve come across some neat people and circumstances through the years and I have a lot of wonderful memories.

    I have kitty cats and that was a good tip, using the Metamucil for one that has poop problems. I had one almost die one time…the vets couldn’t do anything for her. I took her to a chiropractor and had her adjusted, and she snapped out of it and lived many more years! I also have one that was so sick he had a fever so high and for so long that he lost the hair on his head and ears…he had feline leukemia. The vet gave him only a month or two to live. I anointed him and his food and prayed diligently not to loose him, and he’s still running around today at 13 years old! My vet gets teary-eyed every time he sees him because he’s the only cat ever to defeat the disease!

    Hope y’all enjoy many, many more wonderful rides through the mountains!

    1. Oh, Marysue!! Those are amazing and poignant stories about your kitties…yes, there’s more to alternative treatments than meets the eye, and I was very grateful to have this total stranger, who’d given us shelter from the storm literally, share this part of her w/us…maybe it’s just a biker’s aura, but we’re all mostly a good bunch of people. Hate to hear ya’ll have to give up the Hog…can you get a tricycle Harley…I’m sure when Ben can’t do the big Hog anymore, he’ll break down and get the trike…just something about that wind blowin’ in your face and seeing the world in a totally different way on a bike! We’ve had an amazing ride…going through The Black Canyon/Gorge was spine-tinglingly beautiful…I was panting not believing what my eyes were seeing! Come back often SusieQ…always love having my motorcycle family here!! xo ally

  4. Miss Ally, all I can say is that interesting characters attract interesting characters. 🙂 What a marvelous story from real LIFE!

    1. Oh, Kim, I just KNOW your life is full of these stories…that’s why you’re the person you are…so enriching and soul-fulfilling…thank you, angel…ox

  5. Wow! I never knew cats could do that… maybe that’s why they have 9 lives! Only you Ally! Wonderfully weird memories! LOL 🙂

    1. Yep, reckon ol’ Dezi used one of those lives! Gotta love life when you have these unexpected flavors! Thanks for coming to visit, sittin’ a spell and hanging w/me! xo

  6. Isn’t that just like life, Ally? You never really know now amazing it can be unless you take a chance. Love hearing about your adventures, what fun!

    1. Chris! Thank you! There’s just so much out there to taste in life, and this was one unexpected flavor that left an imprint on my heart…thanks, sweet friend, for taking time to visit~~ 🙂 xo

  7. Well, Ally….that’s just LOL funny! I bet ole Dezi had a hairball blocking his intestines…you reckon?? Or perhaps he actually transmitted some disorder from his “little” owner…..giggle, giggle, giggle!!!

    1. Oh, Sharon, whatever Mr. Dezi had, his life has forever impacted mine! What a deliciously interesting turn we made into that guest ranch…life is full of flavor as only you know!! Always love having you here in the kitchen w/me! xo

  8. David Riley Sr says:

    Very COOL ! 🙂

    1. Thanks, Mr. David! That’s the intriguing thing about circumstance…you never know where life will take you! 🙂

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