The weather maps looks good and I made a smart move by stopping in North Platte. While I slept a storm front passed through with those bright objects that leave you with a tingling sensation and smelling like burnt toast. There would still be a little rain and wet roads, but that's ok. It's still cold.

Northeast Colorado makes me smile as I hop off the freeway onto Hwy. 14. For some reason, the bike only got 30 mpg on that last tank and had me hoping I would make it to the next exit. I believe the cold weather and some bad gas caused the problem. With this beautiful scenery I forget about the gas mileage, pull onto the shoulder and watch the shadows from the clouds play amongst the hills.

Who needs meditation when this wonder plays out in front of you. There are no trees to speak of, just rolling green prairie. Beautiful. Then the clouds win their battle with the sun and that's my queue to move on.

Down the road I have one of those "Oh, crap" moments as the sign reads 'Pavement Ends.' This wouldn't bother me if it hadn't been for the torrential rains the previous night. The mud is SLICK! As I pull up to the beginning of the one lane construction zone I tell the sign holder that this is no way to start my morning. The road is being completely ground up and recycled as is my confidence in the traction I have on this surface.

About 50 miles east of Fort Collins, the Rockies appear. They form a continuous line on the horizon from south to north. I expected to see more snow, but only the highest mountains are sporting their winter caps. Fort Collins is a college town and I check in at Colorado State. Riding around the circumference of the campus doesn't impress me. It's not until I explore the interior that the true nature of the campus appears and is quite nice.

I'm beginning to remember what I didn't like about college. My dorm is at least 80 miles from my parking space. I'm assigned room D-307 in Corbett Hall which sounds suspiciously like the third floor. The girl at the desk laughs when I ask her where the elevator is. I've got a lot of stuff, like camping gear. So let's see if the heart works at more than a mile above sea level. Hopefully this is a medical school.

Once I'm tucked away in the room I ride down to the BMW Dealer in Loveland. The shop is amazing and the people are extremely friendly. What I can't understand is when motorcycle shops, BMW in particular, got so antiseptic. I used to spend hours going through a motorcycle shop, looking at bikes and new gadgets. Today it takes maybe one-half hour and I'm done. BMW shops are becoming like McDonalds where each one is going to be the same no matter which city you're in. The difference is the people and this shop has a great crew!

Back at the university and I'm starting to feel a little intimidated. The group I'm with contains 750 of the best mathematicians in the country from both college and high school, and then there's me. This should be interesting. It's already humbling.

I've arrived a day early. Tomorrow the work starts, so I can play for one more day. Last year I was trying to find a short cut around Ft. Collins with no luck. This year, armed with a better GPS, I'll look again.

CR 38E heads west out of town toward Horsetooth Reservoir and Lory State Park. In the distance, cars are snaking their way up the mountain. This looks promising. Centennial Drive north has the reservoir on one side and a view of Ft. Collins on the other. If this damn breaks, the city is going to get an instant bath. The rock formations around the park are beautiful.

CR 23 is a wonderful ride to Bellvue. This little town remains somewhat unspoiled, but it's just a matter of time before it's part of Fort Collins. A left out of Bellvue takes me down CR-52E which climbs through the mountains and delivers a stunning view of a valley. The road dead ends onto the Poudre Canyon Hwy., which is where I was last year. The road is still amazing along the river which is flowing exceptionally strong. Throughout the week, I'll continue to explore the area after work. The rest of the vacation will have to wait.