GPZ Rally West '07 "The Fandango in Durango IV"

[Charles Scappaticci]

The GPZ Rally West '07 "The Fandango in Durango IV"

OK Folks, you've waited patiently during these cold miserable winter 
months, and now it's time to officially make those plans.

WHAT:  '07 GPZ1100 Mailing List Western Rally and International Concours 
d'Elegance.  Non-GPZ riders, deemed by a regular list member as 
responsible and road-worthy, are also more than welcome.

WHERE:  The Teller House Hotel ( www.tellerhousehotel.com ) 1250 Greene 
Street, Silverton, CO 81433, ~ 800.342.4338 ~ 970.387.5423 or The Bent 
Elbow Restaurant & Hotel (www.thebent.com) 1114 Blair Street, Silverton, 
CO 81433, ~ toll-free (877)387-5775 or (970)387-5775.  Accommodations 
are hotel and the rates are tourist town rates, from $65 to $90 per 
night for a room with one or two queen beds, many are one queen bed only 
so reserve accordingly.  For those who would rather camp out under the 
stars, camping is available at the A&B RV or a couple of other places. 
Visit them on the web or call me for directions.

AREA DESCRIPTION
Nestled high in the heart of the San Juan Mountains in a mountain valley 
at 9,318 feet, the Town of Silverton combines supreme natural beauty and 
magnificent Victorian charm.  Silverton is a town that has its own color 
and character.  Most of the buildings and the mining-laden hillsides 
reflect a simpler day as does the Silverton lifestyle.  Winter 
activities include skiing, snowmobiling and lots of drinking.   Local 
summer recreational opportunities abound and include camping, hiking, 
fishing, biking, boating, photography, and nearby off-highway vehicle 
riding areas.  Visitors can also take the Durango & Silverton Narrow 
Gauge Railroad for a trip back into American history.   Having lived in 
Durango for three years while attending college, I can attest to the 
beauty and scenic vistas in the area.

For more info, see:  http://www.silvertoncolorado.com/

WHEN:  21-25 June 2007.  Arrive anytime on Thursday the 21st and leave 
on the morning of Sunday the 24th, or later if you so desire.

21 June - We will occupy our hotel rooms Thursday (June 21st) evening, 
with the usual stories of the trip down.  Plan on a walk to dinner for 
those who arrive early enough.  For those coming from the east and 
riding down with me, I am planning on taking the scenic route we usually 
take over Monarch Pass, through Lake City and Creede, and over Wolf 
Creek Pass which is an excellent ride.

22 June - Early morning walk to breakfast.  All day ride over the 
Million Dollar Highway via Durango, Cortez and past Mesa Verde National 
Park to Stoner, to scenic Telluride (with a stop for lunch hopefully), 
through Placerville, Ridgeway, Ouray, Red Mountain Pass and back to 
Silverton.  This time we will do the ride backwards from what we have 
previously.  We did this loop the past three rally's and it is a 
nationally ranked ride, Cycle World calls one on the ten best in the 
USA.  Please plan on leaving the motel on the early side so we can miss 
the Winnebago/land barge parade over the passes.  Return to camp for 
cleanup (we should be back by 3:00 or so), shopping and local sight 
seeing and dinner and the usual festivities and debauchery.  Total 
mileage is about 220 so it's not a terribly long day.  I'm thinking 
about a pre-drinking/after dark ride up Red Mountain Pass or up the dirt 
road towards Lake City for some star gazing which is simply amazing at 
10,000 feet or so.

23 June - Early morning hike to breakfast.  This year we are planning a 
ride up Colorado 141 to Gateway and possibly Grand Junction depending on 
time.  Gateway has a large new car museum owned and founded by the 
creator of the Discovery Channel and it has some pretty amazing cars in 
it.  The scenery follows the rivers, but the vistas and butte's you'll 
see are right out of the old westerns.  The ride is mostly easy sweepers 
with some tighter curves thrown in to keep it interesting. (See my pics 
from my ride last summer at http://community.webshots.com/user/scapco) 
Depending on how far, fast, or scenic everyone wants to ride, make the 
day as long or short as you desire.  Expect more spectacular scenery and 
many stops for posing and photo sessions on the way back.  Return to 
camp for cleanup, another brisk walk to dinner at the Bent Elbow 
Restaurant and more festivities and debauchery.  I'd like to do another 
T-shirt swap between the attendees like we did the last few rally's, 
that was a blast.  Creativity is important.  LOL!

24 June -  Break camp and clean up.  Not so early, bleary-eyed ride to 
breakfast.  Teary good byes and photos, exchanging of email addresses, 
cell phone #s, web URLs, and PDA data.  Long ride home begins.  I prefer 
to take the long way home which is near 450 miles of mountain passes, 
figure 10 hours in the saddle if you go my way.  There are several ways 
to shorten the ride depending on how one's “nether region” is holding up.

All attendees are expected to ride safely on all group rides, and 
expected to comply with the basic rules of the road.  I am proud to say 
that we have had great, accident free rides at all three previous 
Durango rally's, and I will insist that we continue that trend by 
successfully completing all corners we start and by carefully avoiding 
the local wildlife (the four legged kind).  Also, not all of the parking 
is on the best surfaces, so please bring something to put under your 
kickstand or center stand.  Also, because of the altitude it can be cool 
at night, so bring some warm clothes or if you're Canadian and used to 
the cold bring some shorts.

COST:  Up to you.  I don't make food reservations so spend as much or as 
little as you desire.  Silverton is somewhat of a tourist/mountain town, 
so expect things to be priced accordingly.  Beer is "plentiful", 
remember you're staying in a hotel where the first floors are 
bars/saloons (and the upper floors were once whorehouses!!).  LOL!  When 
I went to college in Durango in the late 70's there were 52 places to 
buy alcohol in a town of 12,000, and I think I knew them all.  One 
warning, drinking beer at 9,300 ft altitude is not like drinking at sea 
level.  If you’re a six pack per evening guy, three will do just fine up 
here.  I’m not kidding!!

We currently have about 15 riders signed up and I encourage everyone on 
the list to make every reasonable attempt to make it to this year's 
rally.  Those that attended the GPZ rallies in previous years will 
confirm that the events exceeded all of our expectations.  They continue 
to be the peak experiences I've have in many years of motorcycling. 
Local bike rentals are available in Denver at Colorado Tour Bike Rentals 
http://www.tourbikes.com or (720) 231-6349, or http://www.eaglerider.com 
(Hardley's and Lead Wings only).  There are probably others too so shop 
around.

To read more about the previous rally's, visit the list page and check 
out the pictures at: http://list.gpz1100.com.  If you have questions, 
suggestions, or an offer of help, please don't hesitate to email me or 
call me at home at 303-797-8970.

Anyone coming to Denver before or after the ride is welcome to stay at 
my place in the south Denver metro area.  Just let me know if you need a 
place to crash and the hotel Scappaticci will endeavor to accommodate 
you.  I’ll be setting up my pop-up camper outside for overflow.  Also, 
for anyone who wants to hang around Denver and ride on Monday the 25th, 
we're repeating the always spectacular day long ride through Rocky 
Mountain National Park which is one of the highest paved roads in North 
America and reaches altitudes of near 13,000 feet.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you.

Charles S.
Centennial, Colorado
2007 Rally Coordinator
303-797-8970 Home
303-956-6501 Cell