Check Out the Cool People We Met in Longmont, CO

Sash with new riding buddies, Amy & Brian Green, and Jason ON

Our two and a half weeks in Longmont, CO has come to an end. We've packed up and left yesterday, headed to Phoenix, AZ for three weeks via Southern Colorado and Northern Arizona.

Along the way, we'll be spending 2 nights in Salida, CO, 2 nights in Pagosa Springs, CO, and then two more nights through Arizona until we finally hit Phoenix.

It's been a really productive time here in Longmont. Here's a list of stuff that happened...

1. Sash hooked up with Joan Krenning, the founder of Steel Horse Sisterhood, to go over next year's Summit. She's now in charge of the Welcoming Committee.

2. We got to meet with Sash's fellow Steel Horse Sister, Val Rosario over lunch.

3. We hung out with Jason ON a few days, founder of the Motorcycle Riders forum on Google Plus. Jason led a ride with us through the Rocky Mountains, and then rode with us part of the way leaving Longmont.

4. Brian and Amy Green rode out from Nebraska to attend Thunder in the Rockies in Loveland, and they hung out with us one night and we did a ride as well.  Brian and Amy are relatively new to riding, and a really fun couple to hang out with.  We had lunch with them in Black Hawk.

5. I visited a client from my beef jerky blog, Thanasi Foods in Boulder. They make Dukes Smoked Meats, along with Bigs Sunflower Seeds. They're one of the top selling brands of jerky in the United States. I got to have both lunch and dinner with Duke himself, Justin Havlik, got a tour of their corporate headquarters, and will be working with Justin to develop some cool new jerky varieties.

6. We had lunch with Betty Owen, who writes, "Ask Betty Owen", a website on healthy living. She's actually a client of ours through Too Much Tina.  She's also from San Diego, but was out here visiting her son.

7. We did the bike night at Quaker Steak and Lube in Westminster. Several of the Steel Horse Sisters were there, and Jason ON came out and met us there too.

8. We hung out with Joel Coopersmith, a fellow rider who frequents the Motorcycle Riders forum on Google Plus. Joel lives in Longmont. We met at Oskar Blues Brewing in Longmont, and he helped Sash and I with the Tuesday night bar trivia called, "Geeks Who Drink".

9. I got to meet one of my avid readers of Motorcycle Philosophy, Carl Hamlin! Sash and I, along with Jason ON, pulled into Pump House Brewing in Longmont one night, and after I got off my bike, this guy walks up to me and asks if my name is Steve. I said, "Yes", and he said he's been following my blog for a number of years. So I invited him to join us inside and we hung out with his girlfriend Liz over some beers. Carl develops artificial intelligence for the US government.  Liz is really sweet and compassionate, and trains horses for a living.  We hung out with them again over dinner on a later night.

10. I had dinner with my brother and mother over the Labor Day weekend.  They live in Denver.

11. We toured the Forney Museum in Denver where they have a large collection of old Indian motorcycles. It also had a collection of vintage Honda motorcycles, and some beautifully restored Buicks from the 1950s.

12. Sash and fellow Steel Horse Sister, Gabriele Zimmerman, drove in her car to Estes Park to visit the Stanley Hotel, which was the inspiration for Stephen King's, "The Shining".  Sash later hung out with Gabriele in the week.

13. My favorite place to eat in Longmont is Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids. Oskar Blues is a pretty successful craft brewery. This place has outstanding burgers (I had the Lenny Kravitz which comes with pastrami), but also has great Beer Can Chicken, a really good green chile marinated steak, and awesome seafood jambalaya.

14. Pump House Brewing is my runner up favorite. They have an outstanding green chile smothered cheese burger.

15. It's tough to beat the $5.00 steak and lobster at Gilpin Casino in Black Hawk, however.

16. It rained a lot out here Longmont and parts surrounding. Probably 15 of the 18 days we were here it rained.

Sash with Joan Krenning and Rock, in Loveland, CO	Amy & Brian Green, with Jason ON and myself (right)	Me working in the hotel lobby after breakfast
Green chile smothered burger wrapped in a tortilla	Trivia night at Oskar Blues Brewing, Longmont	Riding my bike along Hwy 119 towards Longmont
Me riding along Hwy 287 south to Westminster	My bike parked along Main Street, downtown Longmont at night	A view of our hotel room from my desk
The Forney Museum in Denver has lots of Indians on display	Jason ON leading us on a ride through the Rockies	Jason ON sitting on his ass up in the mountains
Me with Justin Havlik, the guy behind Duke's Smoked Meats	Sash with my bike at Left Hand Brewing, Longmont	I caught this lightning strike over Westminster
Liz and Carl, our new friends, at Pump House Brewing	The half-rack of ribs at Nordy's, Loveland, CO	One pound burger with bacon, guacamole, and cheese
My bike parked at Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, CO	Our scorecard for Trivia Night at Oskar Blues Brewery	Sash with a fellow Steel Horse Sister, Val Rosario
Sash after a long day of visiting friends and meeting clients	Sash and I meeting our friend and client, Betty Owen	Sash with my sister-in-law Beverly at Joe's Crab Shack
Sash hamming it up in Black Hawk, CO	Sash with Rock at Nordy's, Loveland, CO	At the corporate office of Thanasi Foods, Boulder, CO
Sash sporting her new green riding vest.	Sash making some plates of appetizers in our hotel room.	It's no wonder why Sash likes Jason ON so much!
Sash and Jason ON with our bikes at Pump House Brewery	Sash with my brother and sister-in-law for BBQ at their place	It looks better when your stick your head all the way through.
Drinking a Sashtastic, a virgin drink (recipe here).	Savery Savory Mushroom tower, Westminster	Me with Carl, an avid reader of my blog.
Sash and I with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law	Me riding through Longmont during a cloudy day	Forney Museum in Denver has lots of vintage Indian ads.