Passes & Canyons Blog

Judy and I headed up for a fall ride on the Peak-to-Peak highway Saturday, and what a gorgeous day for a ride it was.

We were both really up for this because we haven’t gone for many rides together lately. In fact, it was becoming more and more clear to me that I hadn’t been doing any rides at all for enjoyment lately. I ride plenty, but it’s mostly for transportation. Time to have some fun.

There were only two problems: traffic and traffic.

We took off up I-25 to catch the 6th Avenue expressway west and out of town, but nearing Broadway the traffic was parked on the interstate. No problem, we’ll just jump off at Broadway and go north and catch 6th that way.

So we got to Alameda and I headed west again, hoping the highway would be clear at that point. We drew near and there was a traffic jam, so we turned north on Delaware, to 1st, to Santa Fe, with intentions of catching 8th west and onto 6th.

Guess again. There was construction on Santa Fe, narrowing traffic to one lane. We crept and crept and finally got past it, got to 8th, and got onto 6th. Only took 45 minutes. :>(

OK, so then it was great. We blew out 6th Avenue, curved around Golden onto CO 93, and then turned west on the road up Golden Gate Canyon. This is what motorcycling in Colorado is all about. Nice curves, towering rocks and cliffs, green forest . . . just sweet.

On up we climbed to where we hit the Peak-to-Peak, CO 119 at this point, and turned north.

It was definitely cooler up on the Peak-to-Peak than it was in town but we were dressed for it. The sun was shining, traffic was light, and there were a lot of motorcycles. Nice day.

We stopped in Nederland to stretch a bit and also to get some ice cream, but in the old part of town where we were we didn’t find it. No problem, Judy suggested we head down to Boulder and get ice cream there.

Boulder Canyon was a sweet ride, too, of course. This whole route is nice, and so close for an afternoon ride. We got to Boulder, headed for the Pearl Street Mall, and found that they have dedicated motorcycle parking right at Pearl Street. Couldn’t ask for better.

We got our ice cream and sat out doing some people watching. Boulder is not like so many other places. People watching here is definitely world class. Lots to see.

Then it was time to head on home and I figured to go down Broadway and take 93 back to Golden, rather than taking the Boulder Turnpike and having to deal with traffic in the center of Denver.

Guess again. We managed to time it perfectly to hit football traffic after the CU Buffs had just beaten Wyoming. All I can say is, working the clutch must really build up the muscles in my left arm. This mess made what we had run into in Denver look not nearly so bad.

Finally we got out of town and even then, 93 was choked with departing football fans. It was stop and go much of the way to Golden. We ended up back home about two hours later than that ride should have taken. A great day up in the mountains but oh man, the city just killed us.

Not to self: Stay away from Boulder on Saturday during the football season.

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Biker Quote for Today

Helpful Hint: Traffic lights timed for 35mph are also timed for 70, 105, and 140!

I frequently am asked about routes for motorcyclists planning their trips to Colorado, and I’m always glad to offer critiques and suggestions. I figured I’d go ahead and share this recent request with everyone.

Hey Ken, coming to Colorado Oct 2 to do a 5 day ride.. Any suggested routes? Want to go through Vail and Aspen…thanks for your thoughts!

My response
It appears you’re coming from Michigan, so I’m going to look at this from east to west and back east again. I don’t know if you’ve been here before or this is a first time so I’ll treat it as first time.

One thing you need to bear in mind is that in October it can get pretty cold at higher elevations, and snow is not out of the question. That said, here’s a route you might consider. The two end points are Loveland and Fort Collins, and you could start at either and end up at the other, doesn’t matter. We’ll start from Fort Collins.

Take CO 14 up the Poudre Canyon over Cameron Pass and down into North Park at Walden.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/poudre_canyon_and_cameron_pass.htm
From Walden, stay on CO 14 down to Muddy Gap and then take US 40 over Rabbit Ears Pass.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/rabbit_ears_pass.htm
This takes you to Steamboat Springs, which you might want to visit but if so you’ll then backtrack a couple miles to get to the next road.

Go south out of Steamboat on CO 131 to Toponas and then take CO 134 over Gore Pass to rejoin US 40 and go south a few miles to Kremmling.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/gore_pass.htm

Go south from Kremmling on CO 9 to Silverthorne and pick up I-70 over Vail Pass and down to Vail. I’m guessing you want to stay a night.

Continue west on I-70 a short distance to the Minturn exit and take Tennessee Pass up to Leadville on US 24.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/tennessee_pass.htm

Continue on to the Twin Lakes turn, at CO 82, and go over Independence Pass to Aspen.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/independence_pass.htm

If you’re planning on staying in Aspen this will be a short day.

Stay on CO 82 to Carbondale and then go south on CO 133 over McClure Pass down to Hotchkiss.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/mcclure_pass.htm

Pick up CO 92 to Delta and then US 50 toward Grand Junction. Before you get to GJ, turn off on CO 141 to Gateway and down to Naturita. This is the Unaweep Canyon scenic byway.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/unaweep_canyon.htm

At Naturita, continue on CO 145 to Placerville and on toward Lizard Head Pass. Along the way you’ll want to run into Telluride and maybe spend the night. Then you’ll return to the road and actually go over Lizard Head Pass.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/lizard_head_pass.htm

Take CO 145 down to Cortez, US 160 over to Durango, and then head back north on US 550 over Red Mountain Pass through Silverton to Ouray and Ridgway and Montrose.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/red_mountain_pass.htm

At Montrose go east on US 50 past the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Blue Mountain Reservoir to Gunnison and then past there over Monarch Pass and down to Poncha Springs.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/monarch_pass.htm

Pick up US 285 and follow it north to Fairplay, then take CO 9 over Hoosier Pass to Breckenridge and to Frisco where you rejoin I-70.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/hoosier_pass.htm

Go east on I-70 to the Empire exit and US 40 and then take US 40 over Berthoud Pass and down to Winter Park.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/berthoud_pass.htm

Follow US 40 to Granby and then catch US 34, which takes you through Rocky Mountain National Park and over Trail Ridge Road, down to Estes Park.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/trail_ridge_road.htm

Continue on down US 34 through the Big Thompson Canyon to Loveland.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/big_thompson_canyon.htm

That ought to just about do it.

Now, there are some places I left out because I’m not sure how much hard riding you might like to do. Take a look at this and if you want to add more let me know and we’ll work it out. But be aware that mountain riding is slower than crossing the plains, and 250 miles in a day can be plenty. Especially as the days get shorter.

Enjoy.

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Get your motor running, head out on the highway

September 2, 2009

The National Forest Service has announced that approximately 5 miles of the Guanella Pass Road has been reopened from Georgetown to the Clear Lake day-use area, but the road remains closed between the Clear Lake day-use area and the Clear Lake Campground. After further assessment, the Forest Service and the Clear Creek County Commissioners have decided this part of the road is safe for travel.

Guanella Pass and the Clear Lake Campground can be accessed through Grant, from U.S. 285. Please note that travelers cannot get through to Georgetown or to Interstate 70 from U.S. 285.

August 24, 2009

Be advised that Guanella Pass is closed until further notice. The U.S. Forest Service ordered the closure yesterday because unusually high precipitation this summer has created unstable conditions and provoked fears of a landslide.

Says said John Bustos, spokesman for Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests, “With the amount of moisture we have had the rock mass has loosened up and there is concern about it sliding across the road.”

The closure is on the north side of the pass, down from the summit between Georgetown and Clear Lake Campground. That stretch of road is also undergoing extensive reconstruction, so it has been a rough road to ride for quite awhile. The lower portions on both sides of the pass are paved but the stretch of road going over the top is gravel. Although rough, motorcycle of all sorts, including Harley baggers, commonly ride the pass road.

I’ll update this post when the pass reopens.

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Remember… It’s not how FAST you get there,… It’s how FAST YOU GO, getting there.

I reported in April about the inaugural Motomarathon event and series put together by Boulderite John Metzger. Well, John and the Motomarathon Association are back with the second event in this first season, the Pikes Peak Motomarathon, scheduled for Sept. 11-14, 2009.

Here’s the skinny on the event.

Motomarathoners Arise!

You have nothing to lose but your chicken strips!

Pikes Peak Motomarathon

September 11-14, 2009

This 4-day endurance ride starts and stops at Pikes Peak Motorsports in Colorado Springs. It is on paved roads (with dirt options), averaging about 400 miles each day.

PIKES PEAK MOTORSPORTS
5867 N. Nevada Ave., #150
Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Motomarathon Association staffers will be taking a scouting ride this week to line up hotels and conduct route research and experimentation (no animals will be harmed).

Go to www.motomarathon.com to register and watch for updates.

The Colorado Motomarathon was the Central Rockies at their finest.

This ride captures the essence of the incredible San Juans and the immensity of the Pikes Peak region…

…and perhaps a dip into the Land of Enchantment (New Mexico). The Ancient Sport-Touring Ones considered these Sacred Places.

Wanted: Those who rode the inaugural Colorado Motomarathon, send us your photos to start our Gallery Section on the Web site, and…

We’re going to start tracking members’ bikes, so please let us know your year/make/model.

Stay tuned.

Anyone up for a ride?

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Never do less than 40 miles before breakfast.

Update Aug. 8, 2009

The pass is open again.

Aug. 6, 2009–

Loveland Pass is currently closed due to a gasoline/diesel tanker truck that rolled and caught fire yesterday. The alternate route is I-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel. The Colorado Department of Transportation says that you should “Expect minor delays along I-70 at the tunnel at the top of each hour.”

Trucks hauling hazardous materials, such as gasoline, are routinely routed over the pass. With the pass closed, these loads will pass through the tunnel, but at such times the tunnel is closed to other traffic, thus the delays.

The rollover occurred about one mile below the summit on the Keystone side of the pass.

I will update this notice when the pass reopens. Here’s a shot at the top of the pass, coincidentally showing two tanker trucks crossing the summit.

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Everything works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it isn’t the end.

After cruising Kebler Pass last weekend we went on up Taylor Canyon and over Cottonwood Pass. This was another of those Colorado roads that I haven’t been on because it wasn’t paved and I wasn’t sure how good it would be on a motorcycle. I had been hearing that it was decent gravel, however, and needed to check it out.

  Cottonwood Pass looking west

Well here’s the verdict. It is not as good a gravel road as Kebler Pass. It is passable, however. I know this for a fact because there were Harleys and all sorts of bikes doing the ride.

I knew that Cottonwood Pass was paved on the eastern side, from Buena Vista, and I have been up there on my bike previously. What I didn’t know was that on the western side, coming east out of Almont, you pass through Taylor Canyon, which is absolutely gorgeous, and the road is paved all the way to Taylor Reservoir. It’s only about 12 miles then from the reservoir to the top of Cottonwood Pass.

Considering all that, I would definitely add this road to my list of good rides in Colorado. Personally, I would prefer going east to west so all of the gravel would be downhill. I just feel more comfortable on a street bike going downhill on rough gravel. And some of it is rough, make no mistake. But if those Harleys can do it anyone can.

I’ll be adding Cottonwood Pass and Taylor Canyon to the website as soon as time permits. I have a lot of good photos but you’ll have to wait until I get the new page up to see the rest of them.

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Destinations are merely excuses to ride.

I’ve never been a dual-sport kind of guy, mostly because I haven’t had the opportunity. Well, I had the opportunity over the weekend.

I hooked up on Friday with Sue Slate, the National Program Chair for the Women’s Motorcyclist Foundation. Sue is in Keystone from now through the end of the International Women & Motorcycling Conference and I dropped by to talk with her about the Adventure for the Cures ride she has organized.

This ride will take a dozen experienced riders with very little, if any, experience on dirt on a tour of the Colorado mountains. The mix is expected to be about 80 percent dirt/gravel and 20 percent pavement. Each rider had to commit to raise at least $2,000 for breast and ovarian cancer research, as well as pay a sign-up fee of $400. The “Dirty Dozen” begin their ride on Aug. 10 and will end up back in Keystone for the start of the conference.

So I met up with Sue, and we talked about the ride and about her motivation for doing the fund-raising that she does, and mostly about her total passion for motorcycles. Sue got her first bike at age 19, used to ride observed trials, and lives and breathes motorcycles. As a public school teacher she used to ride to work every day, would bring motorcycle engines into class as a way of showing unmotivated students that even a motorcycle mechanic needs to be able to read, write, and do math.

Now retired from teaching, Sue works ceaselessly for the WMF and also finds time to be an on-call employee for Kawasaki, working at various motorcycle events around the country.

We covered it all and then she asked me what I was doing that afternoon. I had nothing planned, and was wondering that question myself, because I was in Keystone with my wife, who was there for a conference. “Do you want to go for a ride?” Sue asked.

Of course I did, but I hadn’t planned on doing so and I didn’t have any gear with me. No problem, Sue had extra gloves and a helmet that would fit me as well as a green-white-black Kawasaki jacket. And she had bikes. Lots of bikes. Sue had rolled in from New York the day before in an RV pulling her “toy hauler” with five dirt/dual-sport bikes of various sizes. She would ride her KLR 650. I rode her Versys.

We geared up and off we went. Sue had suggested riding Boreas Pass, which struck me as terrific because I had never gone far on that road, and only on cross-country skis. And I’ve almost never had the chance to ride dirt.

I was sure the road to Boreas Pass ran off CO 9 from a little north of Breckenridge toward the pass but I followed Sue on up to the top of Hoosier Pass, where we pulled off. “Oh yeah, Hoosier Pass, that’s the name,” she said as we dismounted. So no, I didn’t get to do Boreas Pass. Turns out the Versys I was on didn’t have the right tires for dirt anyway.

So we admired the view, chatted with another biker who pulled off there, and then headed back down the pass, up I-70 to Copper Mountain, and then rode to the top of Fremont Pass. Then we headed back to Keystone.

I didn’t get to ride dirt but I did get a chance to ride the Versys, which was a new one for me. It feels a lot different from the inline fours I’m accustomed to but I definitely liked the upright seating position. I was interested to find that the little half windshield did a very good job of blocking the wind blast at speed. I’ve never enjoyed riding without a fairing or windshield for that reason.

The seat was much too hard for me to even imagine taking off for a weeklong ride as we do each summer. Other than that, it was a nice bike. I’d really like to do more off-pavement riding because there is so much of it here in Colorado and I really feel like I’m missing a lot. I don’t have room for a third bike, though, so maybe it’s something to consider whenever one of my current two dies. But that’s not likely to happen soon. There must be another way to work this out.

Anyway, it was fun getting to ride the bike and Sue is a fun person to hang out with. And I’ll have a chance to get some dual-sport riding instruction before the Adventure for the Cures ride sets off. Of course I’ll be reporting back to you on that.

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Steve Smith had asked my assistance in planning his Colorado ride and he sent me this follow-up now that he’s back home. He rode some passes I’ve never been on. Makes it especially interesting. Here’s Steve’s report.

***************************************************

My trip started in the western North Carolina mountains on Friday, July 3. My dog and I made Oklahoma City that night thru some nice hot weather. Saturday, the 4th, we kept on to New Mexico and up thru Taos to Antonito, Colorado area. I was not sure just exactly where some of the campgrounds were located on your website, so I took the safe route and checked AAA where I found the camp ground at Mogote. The people were nice and had a free cook out that evening. The facilities were nice with a shower and nice shaded camping area for $18.

  Stunner Pass

The next morning I rode past the camp grounds that you mentioned and they looked very nice. My goal was to ride to the pass and find a sign and get a picture, so my first pass that morning was La Manga. It was a nice ride over to Cumbres for my second pass in just 30 minutes or so. I retraced my tracks back across La Manga to the forest road 250 and up to Stunner Pass. This road was very navigable but not recommended for a shiny Harley or Goldwing, due to the rocks and potholes. I was riding a loaded 1150 GS and it was slow going in a few places. As with all the roads in Colorado, they are all very scenic with great vistas. I kept going north up to the highway and made a left turn to Wolf Creek Pass for my 4th pass that day.

The next two passes were easy to achieve on a great road up thru Creede and on to Spring Creek Pass and then Slumgullion Pass for the 5th and 6th passes. Just past Slumgullion towards Lake City I made a right turn towards Los Pinos Pass. This road was even rougher than the road to Stunner but still was very scenic. At this pass the sign had disappeared so I have no picture of that one.

Once thru the pass it was about 29 miles out to Hwy 114 and to North Pass for my 8th pass. A u-turn took me back to Gunnison where I went up thru Crested Butte and on towards Kebler Pass. Before I got to that one there was a road off to the left to Ohio Pass. I found no sign but a nice rocky, pot-holed road for a couple of miles. Kebler was my 10th pass that day and the road on out to Paonia was a very nice gravel road. The aspen surrounding the Lupines and was a sight to behold. That evening I camped at the Redstone campground for $32. Yes I went over McClure Pass but since it was under 10,000 ft, I didn’t count it for that day.

By the end of the day I had ridden over 10 passes above 10,000 feet and was done with the pass counting in 10 hours.

  Los Pinos Road

The next morning, I left Redstone and ventured up thru the slow traffic at Aspen to Independence Pass. Wow, the views were great. My next pass was Tennessee Pass north of Leadville. I retraced my track back to Leadville for lunch and then up to Fremont Pass. I continued north to I-70 over Vail Pass and then on to Shrine Pass, just a short 3 miles from the rest area on a good hard packed road that any bike could handle.

Next in my sights was Loveland Pass and then to Guanella Pass south of Georgetown, but the road was closed for construction so I went to Berthoud Pass instead. That was my last pass, as I told my sister I would be at her house north of Woodland Park at 4 PM. The road down thru Deckers was very nice and I was able to beat or avoid some rain and hail.

My total account was 17 passes over 10,000 ft. I started around 8 AM on July 5th and was drinking a cool one by 4 PM the next afternoon or 32 hours total. In hindsight I could have done more if I wasn’t so packed down and left my dog at home, but we had an excellent ride thru some very beautiful country.

I would not recommend Stunner and Los Pinos Passes for an inexperienced rider. That may be done better in a car or truck. On the other hand, any bike could make it, but it may be missing some parts that get rattled off during the ride.

***************************************************

OK, so thank you Steve for that ride description. Now I’m going to have to find out where Stunner and Los Pinos Passes are.

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