Happy Father’s Day, everyone!

To all you Dads out there, consider this blog post my Father’s Day card to you.

But first, a traditional card.

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Last August, I checked an item off an imaginary bucket list by riding to Sturgis, South Dakota, for the annual crazy-fest in the Black Hills.

Official attendance at the 78^thAnnual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was listed as 480,000. Almost a half-million. Including me.

Lots of alcohol, lots of skin, bikes galore, tons of fun.

It was part of my yearly riding adventure, and, some might say, the pinnacle of my Harley riding career. Hard to top that experience.

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But in the spirit of continuous improvement, I’ll try.

Beginning tomorrow, I’ll set out on my eleventh major ride in the past ten years.

Every previous trip covered multiple states, or provinces (Oh, Canada!). Last year, for example, we visited nine states, and 18 National Parks, Monuments and Memorials.

This time, we’re trying something different.

One state, two goals:

• Riding Colorado’s most spectacular Rocky Mountain roads
• And, sampling the state’s tastiest ribs along the way each evening

For reasons that should be somewhat apparent, I’ve branded this year’s ride as the 2018 Rocky Mountain Rib Rally.

But why only Colorado? And what up with this rib thing?

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First, the geographical part.

When last year’s Sturgis Bucket List Ride began in July, I was living in La Quinta, California, where I’d been since 2000. The ride ended three weeks later in Carbondale, Colorado, where we’d just begun construction of what would become our new home.

In May, following nine months of construction, Sarah and I moved into our now completed “Cozy Carbondale Cottage.” For reasons both practical, and emotional – I’m just not ready, yet, to stray very far from home.

So I invited my riding pals (my posse) to join me on a Colorado-only journey this year. Yes, kind of selfish on my part, and I can probably only get away with this once.

Despite being a one-state solution, the riding over the next two weeks will be absolutely world-class. The Rockies offer some of the most breathtaking, thrilling and beautiful rides imaginable. Of all the journeys I’ve been on over the years, riding the Rockies is as good as it gets.

Don’t feel even the slightest bit of sadness for me staying close to home and being confined to Colorado’s 104,185 square miles. I’ll be OK.

That hopefully, answers the “Why Colorado?” question.

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But the ribs?

I love ribs. They’re my favorite food. Simple as that.

I’ve long said that my last meal, if I know in advance that’s what it is, will be ribs.

I’m on record as being an unapologetic rib lover, regardless of the health consequences.

As anyone familiar with this blog knows, the two highlights of each day on the road are the ride, and the dinner that follows it.

There’s usually significant pre-trip Yelp and TripAdvisor research on my part, looking for tasty dining opportunities at the end of each day’s ride. I usually target a mix of burgers, pizza, Asian, brewpubs, Mexican, Italian, and yes – ribs.

This year, my research focused on BBQ or rib joints everywhere we’re headed. If a day’s ride ended somewhere with a nice place to sleep but no ribs to eat, well, that destination was quickly deleted from the itinerary.

Turns out BBQ and ribs are plentiful in the Rockies. If this blog inspires you to have a rib or two yourself over the next few weeks, thanks for joining the posse, at least in spirit.

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On this Father’s Day, Sarah and I are joined for dinner by our good friend, Dave Bowman, a father of two – Nathan and Tess. Thank you, Gail, for sharing Dave with us for Father’s Day, and for the next few weeks.

Dave arrived in Carbondale today, at the end of a four-day journey from his home in Fullerton, California. He pulled into our driveway this afternoon on his Harley, a 2008 Ultra Glide Classic. Dave rolled in after a 266-mile ride from Monticello, in southeastern Utah.

Dave’s here because he’ll be joining me on the 2018 Rocky Mountain Rib Rally. Home base for the trip will be our Cozy Carbondale Cottage. We’ll take several day trips, and a number of multi-day journeys – but always return to Carbondale. Because it’s home.

To learn a little more about Dave, go to the “My Posse” page on my blog, and scroll down until you see a tall guy standing behind a shiny red bike.

Tonight, Dave and I experience our last non-rib dinner until July. Sarah joins us on our patio for grilled salmon. Pretty tasty. Perhaps even healthy. But it’s no substitute for ribs.

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For the next two weeks, Dave and I will be riding by day, and eating by night. And, I’ll be posting to this blog each evening after dinner, often typing with fingers still sticky from rib consumption. #StickyFingers

To help you acquire the kind of useless information this blog traffics in, each day’s post will conclude with three factoids:

“Today’s Colorado Fun Fact” – something interesting about Colorado.

“Today’s Rocky Mountain Rib Rally Fun Fact” – a tidbit about something worth noting along that day’s route.

“Today’s Colorado Food Fun Fact” – a tasty morsel about Colorado’s food and restaurant culture.

And now, the first of the factoid trifectas.

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Today’s Colorado Fun Fact: Wondering how Colorado got its name? The word colorado means “colored red’ in Spanish. The state of Colorado was named after the Colorado River, which Spanish explorers named “Río Colorado” (meaning colored river) for the red silt the river carries in rivers and streams from the mountains.

Today’s Rocky Mountain Rib Rally Fun Fact: Our ride will cover about 2,400 miles, taking us above the tree line, across the Continental Divide, over the world’s largest mesa, to ski areas now basking in summer sunshine – and to Roaring Fork Valley rivers, where Dave says he’ll teach me to fly fish.

Today’s Colorado Food Fun Fact: With two weeks of ribs ahead on the menu, you may wonder about their nutritional value. While ribs may have some health drawbacks, like high fat and considerable calories, they aren’t totally devoid of good stuff. Ribs provide significant amounts of protein, along with vitamins (B-12 and D) and minerals (Iron and Zinc). In summary, pork ribs aren’t bad for you, as long as you practice portion control. Portion control … seriously?

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I look forward to having you join me on this ride and rib fest over the next few weeks.

Finally, as I like to say each year when I blog about my travels – if you happen to learn anything along the way, you’re welcome.

Glad to have you along for the ride.

Vroom, vroom.