State 45 of 50 

 

 

    Colorado 1

 

Capital: Denver

Population: 4.3m (ranked 22nd of 50 states)

Area: 270,000 kmē (ranked 8th of 50 states)

 

 

 

 

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Ride Report

This state: 1,641 kms     Journey to date: 25,817 kms

Scroll down below the route map for this state's ride report and photos

 

 

Ride Report

I've had to split Colorado into two web pages. It was 1,500kms of unsurpassed beauty and stunning riding. The route meandered around as I tried to link up as many of Colorado's well-known published motorcycling routes.

The aspen was changing color, the skies azure blue and you could all but hear Julie Andrews crooning away in the mountains.

The elevation has got to me slightly. The last few days I've been feeling slightly jaded and sluggish. It's either the burger count or a touch of altitude sickness. But consider how high Colorado is. The passes are up at 11 - 12,000 feet. That's the height of Mt Cook.

Colorado also offered up a few shrines which I visited.

As usual I'll let the photos do the talking.

Shrine #4 folks, the big one. This is the town of Fruita, near Grand Junction.

One night in 1945 a farmer named Lloyd Olsen was told by his wife to go out and kill a chicken for supper. He chose a chicken called Mike. When he swung the axe it failed to sever the jugular vein leaving one ear and the brain stem intact. It missed the carotid artery and a clot prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Mike was still able to walk around and balance on a perch. The first night after the botched decapitation he slept with his head under his wing, literally. The Olsens decided to care for Mike and fed him milk through an eye dropped and kernels of corn. Mike's crowing was basically a gargle and he tried pecking for food with his neck. Soon the media got to hear of Mike The Headless Chicken and Lloyd Olsen took him on a circuit alongside the two-headed calf. Olsen also got flak for keeping the chicken alive. Unfortunately the Olsen cat ate Mike's head so on tour a fake head was on display.

One night in Phoenix, on the way back home from a tour, Mike started choking in the motel room and died.

The town of Fruita erected a statue to Mike annually in May have a Mike The Headless Chicken Day with events such as Pin The Head On The Chicken and Chicken Chuck-Off.

I appreciate you think this is a crock. Here are the actual photos of Mike below.