A ride that was organized on three rider sites, ADVRider.com, KLR650.net, and KLRWorld.com.

Here are some of my photos. I tried to zoom ahead a few times to get photos as others went by, but I didn't get enough of a lead and missed most of the shots I wanted.

Initial gather in Monument. 17 or 18 bikes, I think.





Initial ascent, across the foot or Mt Herman. Easy dirt, much less rocky than it used to be.







After playing on dirt on the Rampart Range, we took a break in Woodland Park and then headed for the Peak. Storms were building, but the ride up was dulled only by slow traffic and one car that stalled out on a turn.



A group photo has already been posted, so thanks! We broke up for the ride down, and as usual the views were better on the descent. Heavy rain and lightning in the near-distance. The group I was in didn't get any rain until we were off the mountain.







Unfortunately, my bike developed a bad knock in the upper motor before I got out of Manitou Springs. John and I bided our time while Laurie and Laura rode to get our trailer. Once rescued, we had a nice dinner back near home.

I will tear into the KLR's motor at some point after ChickFest. Hopefully it won't be too bad, but it sure sounded ugly.

Cheers, all! We'll do something again I'm sure.

Update:  It turned out that the piston's wrist pin had popped out one if its retaining clips and was scraping on the cylinder wall.  Lots of damage to the piston and cylinder.  This led to a rebuild of the upper motor.  Thankfully, the con rod still seemed solid and had no extra play.