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Never Took This Road This Direction Before

Thursday, September 10th, 2026


Up at the turn-off from Squaw Pass to go up Mount Blue Sky.

Nick and I headed out for our second ride of his visit, this time on Friday of the Labor Day weekend. No way was I going to take us out I-70.

Again in the cool of the morning we crossed town on Hampden/US 285 and turned north on CO 93 just up to the turn onto CO 46, the road up Golden Gate Canyon. As expected, almost no traffic up here. Yes!

We cruised up to the Peak-to-Peak Highway and turned south on CO 119 to run down to Black Hawk. At Black Hawk we turned up the road to Central City. Through Central City to pick up the Central City Parkway, which we would take over to I-70.

The Central City Parkway was a greenfields road project financed by the casinos with the intention of bringing gamblers more easily to the casinos. It’s up high and it’s two-lane divided highway full of sweepers.

Approaching I-70 we could see the road below and it was choked with traffic leaving the city for an early start on the holiday. Just as I knew it would be. Fortunately, we only needed to get on it for less than two miles and then we got off at Idaho Springs. From the middle of Idaho Springs we crossed the highway and headed up CO 103, up past Echo Lake on the road to Squaw Pass. More nice road and great weather. Who could ask for better?

Just past Echo Lake it was time to make a decision. Nick had some interest in going up to the top of Mount Blue Sky (formerly Mount Evans). The issue was the cost. They have a toll gate at the bottom of the road and even for a motorcycle is would cost $17. Do we both want to ride to the top, just to look around a few minutes and come right back down? Are we $17 dollars interested?

We had been sort of riding with a couple on another bike since Idaho Springs. They must have been thinking the same thing. We all pulled off into this parking lot by the entrance and Nick and I decided no, so we got back on the bikes and took off. A bit later the couple on the other bike passed us going over Squaw Pass. Decision made on both counts. If you want to do Mount Blue Sky, do it in a car where the whole car load goes up for the one price.

So Squaw Pass is a nice ride and it brings you back down to the Evergreen Parkway where we faced another decision. Going left we could get back to I-70 just for a short distance and then get off and take old US 40 back down to CO 93. Or we could go left a very short distance and turn down Kerr Gulch and go through a nice wooded area and end up back at Kittredge. Or, and this is what we did, we could go right into Evergreen but then turn up Little Bear Cub Creek Road up and over to Turkey Creek Road.

I was particularly interested in this because while I have been over this road several times coming to Evergreen, I had never been on it going the other way. This would be a first.

They say a road looks entirely different going the other way and I would say this was not entirely different but it sure was different. It really does give you a different perspective. And through all of this we were successfully avoiding all the early holiday traffic.

You get down to Turkey Creek Road and it quickly brings you to US 285. Not a lot of choice here. So there we were coming back into town in the heat of the day and at rush hour. And once again it was miserable.

Once we got past Broadway and were now on city streets we were on a stretch I have wondered about for a long time. I know that going west on this road I always get in the right-most lane because it moves the fastest from Colorado Boulevard to Broadway. I have often looked at the right-most lane eastbound wondering if it also moved faster. Nick had tried that twice now and didn’t seem to gain anything but I figured OK, let’s try it.

Nope. It was just as slow as the other lanes. So when we got to Colorado, where that lane ends, I turned south on Colorado down to Quincy, which runs sedately through the wealthy Cherry Hills Village area. This is heavily patrolled so you can’t go fast but it’s prettier and there’s a heck of a lot less traffic. And from there we made it on home. Nice day’s ride. We’re toughening Nick up for this upcoming four-day ride. Those easterners think 150 miles is a long day’s ride. That doesn’t cut it out here.

Biker Quote for Today

Get a motorcycle. You will not regret it. If you live. — Mark Twain (sort of)

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Nice Day To Ride Guanella

Monday, September 7th, 2026


Nick fishes out another layer on top of Guanella Pass.

Nick is in town with his bike and we’re doing some riding. On Wednesday we rode Guanella Pass.

The great thing about going somewhere and riding with a local is that the local knows all the good roads, most of which you may have no idea exist. So I kicked around several ideas as to what route to take on this ride.

First thing, as always, is getting across town. I live just four blocks off US 285 so 285 is almost always the best way to start off. We headed out to Morrison and then turned up CO 74, up Bear Creek Canyon. At Kittredge we turned up Kerr Gulch in order to avoid the traffic and the busyness of downtown Evergreen. Plus, Kerr Gulch is really a nice ride.

Reaching Evergreen Parkway up by Bergen Park, we jogged just a couple miles over to take the road leading to either westbound I-70 or the overpass across I-70 to get on old US 40 up Mount Vernon Canyon. No surprise, we chose US 40. US 40 is the highway that I-70 replaced and while it wanders away from the slab most of the time, at other times it is basically an I-70 frontage road.

Cruising up through this area I was reminded of what I have seen repeatedly of late, the huge proliferation of dead pine trees. It has all appeared suddenly but it must have been happening for a while. Presumably these trees were fighting pine beetle infestations but with the drought this year they finally lost the battle. A lot of them. This place is a forest fire waiting to happen.

We ran up Floyd Hill alongside I-70 and then down the other side where, at the bottom, you have a great view of the really large highway project now under way to smooth out the sharp turn at the very bottom that has been a thorn in the side of highway planners for decades. At the bottom we turned left, fed onto old US 6, which fed onto I-70, and got off again at Idaho Springs. Time for a break and an explanation for Nick of what he had just seen.

We stayed off the slab, using US 6 to make our way up the canyon, to Georgetown, and then headed up Guanella Pass.

Guanella Pass is big for “leaf-peeping,” cruising the high country in the fall to see the leaves changing color. It gets pretty spectacular in places and this pass is a close-to-town favorite. It’s too early for any leaf-peeping just yet but I did note that just a few aspen were already turning. They say with the drought, though, that this year’s show is likely to be a bit subdued.

I was a bit chilly coming into Georgetown so I put on a sweatshirt while we were there and told Nick what I was doing and why. This is not my first rodeo. Nick figured he’d be fine. We hadn’t gone far up the pass at all when I was feeling very glad to have the extra layer. We stopped at the top and Nick pulled out an extra layer, too.

We cruised down the other side looking to have a bit of lunch in Grant but the food truck that usually sits where the pass road hits US 285 was not there. What was there was a row of A-frame cabins and another row of rectangular cabins with slanted roofs. None of that was there the last time I came this way. Turning toward Denver I pulled into the parking lot of the Shaggy Sheep cafe but as has happened every time I have thought to eat there it was closed. I just always come by on the wrong day of the week. So we rode on to Bailey and had lunch there.

Then it was on down 285 into town and back across town on 285. Right at the peak of the commute, with lots of stop and go and heavy traffic. This was not the 100-degree weather we had recently but we were still roasting. Nick knew where he was going now so he changed lanes to try to make a little better speed but again, not my first rodeo, and we got home with me right behind him.

So it was a short ride for me, a substantial ride for him, and the first step in getting him prepped for the four-day ride we’re doing right after Labor Day.

Biker Quote for Today

“Be at one with the universe. If you can’t do that, at least be at one with your bike.” ~ Lennard Zinn

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An Impromptu Ride

Monday, August 24th, 2026


Stopped at Daniels Park with the RMMRC on an earlier ride.

A bunch of the guys from the RMMRC were getting together just for breakfast down in Parker the other day so I figured I’d ride. The forecast was calling for another record hot day but in the morning it would be bearable.

Bob was there. It was good to see him. This was the first time I’ve seen him since I heard he had to give up riding entirely due to health issues. Pretty sad. He said, “It happens in the best of families.”

Dave and Gene were both there and they both rode. They’re getting ready to leave very soon for an Edelweiss Tours ride through the Alps. They wanted to make sure they had their communicators synced up and working properly.

After we ate, and after they got the communicators working, someone said, “So you want to go for a ride?” We were all game.

Gene suggested doing Guanella Pass, which would have gotten us out of the oncoming heat, but Dave didn’t have the time. Other things on his agenda for the afternoon. No, let’s just do a loop down through Salida, to Palmer Lake, and back over to CO 83 and up through Franktown. A ride we’ve all done all or part of a hundred times but what the heck.

I didn’t think about it until we were moving but it would have been a courtesy for me to have texted Judy two words: impromptu ride. But we have our phones set up to track each other so I knew when I didn’t get home when she expected me she would look and see that I was obviously out on a ride. She did.

We headed down to Hess Road and took Hess around the Rueter-Hess Reservoir, across I-25, and onto Castle Pines Parkway. Oh my gosh what a lot of work they’re doing on that road. They appear to be putting in a median the entire way and completely reconstructing the westbound lanes. Slow going.

At Daniels Park we headed south to pick up US 85, then a jog to the right to Salida. Then through Salida to pick up CO 105. This road runs along the face of the foothills and is a favorite for bikers. On summer weekends there’s a constant stream of motorcycles in both directions. On this Friday we had it mostly to ourselves.

The heat was building but as long as we kept moving it didn’t get bad. Other than occasional traffic lights we did not stop.

At Palmer Lake we turned east on Palmer Divide Road. That’s an arrow-straight road that crosses back over I-25 to hit CO 83 coming up from Colorado Springs. To my surprise, Gene turned onto northbound I-25, but I stayed with Dave. I didn’t want to get on the slab. What’s with Gene?

Dave and I cruised on up past Castlewood Canyon State Park, to Franktown, and on to his turn-off at Bayou Gulch Road. Then it was just me cruising on home. A nice ride but by the time I got home I was very pleased to feel the coolness of the swamp cooler at work. And we did set another record high.

Biker Quote for Today

Nothing matters at 90 miles an hour, nothing matters at all.

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The Heat Breaks

Thursday, August 20th, 2026


Once completed I-70 at the foot of Floyd Hill will take a flyover through what used to be a hillside in order to smooth out a sharp turn. You can see where the pillars will be built for the westbound lanes. The pillars for the eastbound lanes are already in place.

It has been so blazing hot for so long that I just haven’t been interested in getting out on the bike. Sure, it’s cooler once you get up in the hills but that long slog across town coming home has just been killer. Guess what? It finally cooled off. I went riding.

Heading west across town in the morning was cool and comfortable. I got to Morrison and headed on up Bear Creek Canyon and immediately found myself behind someone in a U-Haul truck. A professional trucker might have pushed that thing around the tight turns at a good clip but this guy was no pro. And there’s almost no place to pass.

This was the slowest trip up the canyon ever. But that wasn’t all bad because the reason things have cooled off is that we have had torrential rains–and we have really needed rain. But with rain comes sand and gravel washing down onto the road. Back in June there were torrential rains up here and this whole road got washed out in several places. This time, however, while there was some sand and gravel, the worst was where unpaved driveways come down to the road. Some were pretty bad but you could see it coming and adjust.

Fortunately I was only going as far as Kittredge. At Kittredge I turned off onto the road up Kerr Gulch. Kerr Gulch Road was much cleaner and there’s never more than minimal traffic so that was great. I got up to Evergreen Parkway and headed north the short distance to where I turned onto old US 40 running up Mount Vernon Canyon and then down the steep decline over Floyd Hill to where US 40 meets US 6.

This is a real point of interest these days. I-70 is right alongside US 40 coming down Floyd Hill and, uncharacteristic of most interstates, at the bottom of the hill you need to slow way down for a sharp left-hand turn into Clear Creek Canyon. Well, it is uncharacteristic of interstates to have such a turn and after all these years they are doing something about it. They have cut off the hilltop and are erecting tall pillars to carry the interstate on a more gently curving arc high above the existing roadbed. It’s a pretty impressive sight. I stopped and shot a couple pictures.

Then I headed down into Clear Creek Canyon to pick up the Peak-to-Peak Highway over toward Black Hawk. So far the sky had been clear and blue but now storm clouds were starting to form. At Black Hawk it looked like it could rain at any time but just a few miles further and the sky was clear again. Weather in Colorado is very localized.

The Peak-to-Peak was clean and clear and up high like this things were very nicely cool. I was planning to head down through Golden Gate Canyon, however, and the last time I was on that road it was lousy with sand and gravel. Odd, because none of the other roads were–just Golden Gate. What would it be like this time?

Clean and clear. Nice. But now the clouds were forming again and looking threatening. It could be a race down the canyon to see if I could get ahead of them. I won the race.

Now south toward Morrison again and then east across town. Yeah, it was a good bit warmer–a bit too warm, I’d say–but nothing like the furnace it has been. Nice to finally get out for a ride.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you think that’s actually a *suntan* that makes real bikers so dark-skinned.

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A 5-Day Colorado Ride

Thursday, August 6th, 2026


Map for 5-day ride.

I got a comment last week from Richard, referring back to a very old post where I had put together a suggested ride for someone who had found this website:

Hello Ken, I will be part of a 4-bike group coming from Central Texas September 20 and starting our CO tour 21st. This route looks great but would you recommend a slightly different one for us? Our only two wishes would be to 1. ride the MDH from Ouray to Silverton (north to south rather than the other way around) and 2. end up in the very south of CO as we need to head for Ruidoso NM on Day 6 (Saturday 26th).

I could probably adapt this myself but why not ask an expert who knows the state as I could route us right past something magnificent. We are coming from Brownwood TX and are comfortable with 600 miles or so on our ride to CO – so maybe staying that night in the very north of NM.

Of course I’m always happy to help riders plan their trips so using the original post as a starting point I put together this following route to meet Richard’s wishes.

Two points I would make: These days are around 300 miles and while that may not seem like much, on slow-going mountain roads that can actually be a pretty long day. So you should just pick different points to stop for the night and whatever other adjustments suit your needs. Also, this route leaves the group in southwestern Colorado for the fifth day so if they wish to stay west it could be a short day, but if they want to head back east it’s a nice day’s ride of their choice. Heading for Ruidoso the next day I suspect they will want to come back east. Here’s the route:

Arriving
Come from central Texas and stop for the night at either Raton or come into Colorado a bit to Trinidad or Walsenburg.

Day 1
Starting out Day 1, cruise a short distance north on I-25 to the Colorado City/Rye exit (CR 670) into Colorado City and pick up CO 165 west toward San Isabel. Pass through San Isabel and make a stop at Bishop Castle. After you’ve gotten enough of that amazing piece of art continue on 165 to where it hits CO 96 and turn right, heading up to Florence and then take CO 115 on into Canon City. Go west on US 50 just out of town and look for the turn-off to Skyline Drive. Ride Skyline Drive, which takes you right back into town. Then head west on US 50 again, this time looking for CO 9, at Parkdale and take it north to Fairplay. Continue on 9 over Hoosier Pass down to near Frisco and then take a right onto Swan Mountain Road along the east side of Dillon Reservoir. You’ll hit US 6. Take US 6 east over Loveland Pass and down to I-70. A short jaunt on I-70 will bring you to the US 40/Empire exit. Take US 40 through Empire and on up over Berthoud Pass, down to Winter Park. That’s just a hair under 300 miles so Winter Park might be a good place to stop for the night.

Day 2
Continue north and west on US 40 to just past Granby and turn right onto US 34, which runs up past Grand Lake and into Rocky Mountain National Park and over Trail Ridge Road. Be aware that you need to arrange your entrance into and through RMNP in advance. Trail Ridge Road brings you out at Estes Park. Continue on US 34 down the Big Thompson Canyon but before you get into Loveland make a left turn on CO 56 up toward Masonville. Take CR 27 (Buckhorn Road) to the left and stay on it (just stay on the pavement) up to Stove Prairie and down the other side where you’ll pick up CO 14 up Poudre Canyon. Take a left on CO 14, up and over Cameron Pass into North Park and Walden. At Walden go left and where the road splits, CO 14 and CO 125, stay to the right on CO 14 down to Muddy Pass, which is US 40. Go west (right) on 40 over Rabbit Ears Pass, down to Steamboat Springs. Unless you want to see Steamboat you will turn at the bottom of the pass onto CO 131/CR 14F and take that road down to Oak Creek, to Yampa, and on to Toponas where you will take a left onto CO134 over Gore Pass and will rejoin US 40 just outside of Kremmling. Take 40 into Kremmling and at just under 300 miles Kremmling would be a good place to spend the night.

Day 3
Head south out of Kremmling on CO 9 (right at the stoplight) on down to Silverthorne. When you reach I-70 get on it and blast west a short distance over Vail Pass, past Vail, to Minturn and turn off onto US 24 over Tennessee Pass. This will bring you to Leadville. Continue south to the Twin Lakes turn-off (CO 82) which will take you over Independence Pass. Go through Aspen down to Carbondale and turn south (left) onto CO 133 over McClure Pass. At Hotchkiss turn south on CO 92 through Crawford down along the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison until you get to the dam, where you reach US 50. Take 50 on into Gunnison for the night. Total mileage for the day about 315 miles.

Day 4
For Day 4 you’ll start with a little backtracking along the Blue Mesa Reservoir, but soon you’ll reach the dam again and now you keep going on US 50 to Montrose. A terrific sidetrip, if you don’t mind about 20 extra miles, is to turn into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and ask at the gate about how to find the East Portal Road. This very steep road twists its way all the way to the bottom of the canyon. It’s a great ride. Then you’ll come back up the way you came, all the way back to US 50. Then continue on into Montrose. Head northwest (right) on US 50 through Delta and on to Grand Junction. Follow 50 all the way until it hits I-70 and then take I-70 west a few miles to Fruita. Get off at Fruita and take the well-marked CO 340 down into Colorado National Monument and follow Rim Rock Road through the monument. This will ultimately bring you right back into Grand Junction where you will pick up US 50 and head back the way you came in, but only for about 8 miles. At Whitewater turn right onto CO 141, the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway through Gateway and on down to Naturita. Past Naturita, where CO 145 splits off from CO 141 take CO 145 to Placerville. At Placerville go left onto CO 62 to Ridgway. Another 10 miles south on US 550 puts you in Ouray for the night. Total about 310 miles.

Day 5
This last day has you headed onto the Million Dollar Highway. You climb up into the canyon from Ouray and wind your way south to Silverton over Red Mountain Pass. From Silverton you continue south over Molas Pass down to Durango. That’s just over 60 miles. From here you have a number of options and I’ll leave it to you to decide what works best. You could head east out of Durango on US 160 to Pagosa Springs and then go over Wolf Creek Pass and down to South Fork. From there you would continue east on 160 to Alamosa and then maybe turn south to set up for your next day’s ride to Ruidoso. Or at Pagosa you could turn south on US 84 down into New Mexico and turn south at Chama toward Espanola. Or at Chama you could come back into Colorado on NM 17/CO 17 over Cumbres and La Manga Passes to Antonito. Then turn south on US 285 into New Mexico. Or from Durango you could continue south on US 550 to Aztec and wherever in New Mexico you want to make it to that day.

So, OK. Tweak away. I guarantee this route would be pretty darn sweet but everyone is different. Take from it as you wish. Have a great ride.

Biker Quote for Today

It truly is an odd thing we bikers do, riding through miserable conditions like this. We don’t invite then or look for them, surely, but when they are upon us we relish the challenge and silently claim the superiority of adventure over comfort, wilderness over warmth, discovery over certainty. — Foster Kinn

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The Joy Of Hitting The Road

Monday, August 3rd, 2026


On a ride with other guys.

It hadn’t been all that long since my last road trip, a five day run out to Utah back in June. Still, it apparently is easy to forget just how great it feels to be out riding beyond your usual day-ride area. I took off for Cheyenne to test ride a Yamaha Tracer 9 in July was really struck by just how good it felt to be out on the open road. Just “Wow, I love this!”

Part of it may have been being by myself. I had posted the ride on the RMMRC’s Meet-Up page in case anyone wanted to come with me but nobody signed up. That didn’t surprise–or dismay–me. (Although Dave told me later he would have joined me but for the fact that he was in Kansas at the time.)

But I like riding alone. There’s just a delicious feeling that comes with knowing you are totally free to stop, go, turn–whatever–any time you want.

So there I was, heading north mostly on US 287, taking unplanned turn after unplanned turn and it just hit me how really good it felt. I was not expecting this feeling. I savored it.

And I enjoyed moving at my own pace. Sometimes I like to dawdle and when you’re with a group you pretty much need to go at whatever speed the leader sets. Although there have been times when I have peeled off and said you guys just go on, I’ll meet up with you later.

Don’t get me wrong; I like traveling with other people, too. I like both. Sometimes you do one, sometimes you do the other. And I know people who really don’t like traveling alone. What if you break down? What if you need assistance? Well, you just do whatever you need to do. Chances are really good that you’ll figure something out. And then what a great story you’ll have to tell.

That makes me think about buying this Tracer 9. There aren’t many left in the shops around town. What happens if by the time I decide to buy they’re all gone? I’ll tell you what happens. Road trip! I think I could live with that.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 71. Beer is a breakfast food.

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