Passes & Canyons Blog

If you’re planning to ride Colorado and want a base of operations from which to take day rides, where should you stay? This is a question I received twice recently so it occurred to me that I ought to post my answer here. In this case, I’ll be responding to this particular question.

We will be trailering our bikes to Colorado from Florida and plan to ride from August 1st through August 8th. We’ve been out west to ride in other states and usually stay in two separate locations. This allows us to ride a different route each day and really see the area. What would you recommend as the two best areas to stay in while doing day rides?

This was my reply.

I would suggest these two spots as your home bases: Ouray and Breckenridge. Here’s my thinking.

Ouray, first of all, is gorgeous. Of all the cool places in Colorado, Ouray stands out. If you end up not staying there you must at least go there. Of course, Ouray is at the northern end of one of the best roads in Colorado, Red Mountain Pass. (By the way, this photo is of Red Mountain Pass approaching Ouray, although it’s not usually so crowded. This traffic resulted from a construction blockage.)

That also positions you to take the loop and do Lizard Head Pass and go to Durango and Mesa Verde. You can also go north to Montrose and then visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and take the Unaweep Canyon road.

And there’s a lot more in the area. You could spend your entire vacation there.

Breckenridge gives you access to a whole other part of the state. Go south over Hoosier Pass into South Park and take any of several roads that converge there. Or, go north of I-70 and loop up through Steamboat Springs over Rabbit Ears Pass or go east over Trail Ridge Road.

Also from Breckenridge you’re very close to Loveland Pass and Mount Evans.

En route from one base to another you might want to make a point to go via some route that takes you over Independence Pass. This is another of the very best.

So there are some ideas to consider. If you have questions I’m happy to address them to the best of my ability. Truth is, though, you really can’t go wrong riding the Colorado mountains, wherever you go.

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t ride so late into the night that you sleep through the sunrise.

If you’re figuring that Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day is set for the third Wednesday in July as always, here’s an alert. It’s not. It has been changed.

In fact, it’s not even being called “Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day.” It is now just “Ride to Work Day,” and it has been moved to the third Monday in June. That’s June 15 this year.

The name change has been made to make the event more inclusive, encouraging scooter riders to join in as well. The date change is intended to take advantage of more moderate weather. The event has also taken on an international scope and in Europe, July is often vacation time for a large number of people.

Additionally, the organizers hope that a Monday event will encourage riders to commute on two wheels all week, rather than just one day. And finally, because Sunday is usually a slow news day, it is hoped that a Monday event will garner more media advance coverage.

In case you’re not familiar with Ride to Work Day, the purpose is to demonstrate:

• The number of motorcyclists to the general public and to politicians.
• That motorcyclists are from all occupations and all walks of life.
• That motorcyclists can reduce traffic and parking congestion in large cities.
• That motorcycles are for transportation as well as recreation.
• That motorcycling is a social good.

So I hope to see you on the road June 15.

Biker Quote for Today

No matter what marque you ride, it’s all the same wind.

It’s not that Saturday was a milestone, because we’d already reached this point, but it was nevertheless a day worth noting. Charley and I went riding motorcycles together for the first time.

I know, there’s a lot of background that needs to be filled in here.

Charley is my wife’s son. Judy and I have been married for 13 years. Charley was 16 when we got married. Thanks to him and his sisters, the first 7 years of our marriage were utter hell. Are you starting to get the picture?

I’m not telling you anything Charley hasn’t heard directly from my lips when I tell you that there was a time when I hated him with every fiber of my being. I spoke those words, however, at a point where I was recommending that the authorities release him from the detention center where he had spent the last year, because I felt that he had grown and changed and was ready to be given another chance.

It didn’t start out like that. Shortly before Judy and I were married I took Charley with me on a camping trip my buddies and I used to go on every spring. At one point I pointed over to him and said to John, who I was standing with, that “He’s probably the closest thing to a son that I’ll ever have.” Things went to hell soon after that.

Charley was approved for release that day and he truly has turned his life around now. We eventually reached the point where I could tell Judy in all honesty that I truly have grown to like and care for Charley. We’ve had a good relationship for some years now. And Charley had a motorcycle of his own for awhile, although we were unaware of that until after he sold it.

So lately he has suggested that the two of us take my two bikes and ride together. That sounded like a fine idea to me and on Saturday we did it. I rode the Kawi and Charley was on the Honda. I showed him the Palmer Lake to Franktown loop that Judy and I have ridden many times, and the three biker-friendly bars along the way. Business was hopping on such a beautiful spring day. We didn’t drink but we did have some eats.

Altogether we spent about four hours riding and talking and enjoying our time together. The contrast with the bad old days could not have been sharper.

Charley is still the closest thing I’ll ever have to a son, and it’s nice that we’re a lot closer to that than we once were. And what dad doesn’t want to share his passion with his son? Charley wants to get another bike of his own, but he’s scraping financially these days so who knows how soon that will happen. In the meantime, I do have two bikes. No doubt we’ll be riding again.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride Safe, Ride Long, & Have Fun

I’d been hearing rumors about this but finally confirmed it just a few minutes ago. The Elephant Ride over Guanella Pass from Grant to Georgetown is on for this weekend.

Mind you, this is no ordinary ride. First off, Guanella Pass is covered in snow and has not been plowed. Second, most of these guys are going to be camping at Grant the night before. Is that tough enough for you?

And who are these crazies? Why the Adventure Riders. You may recall that I have mentioned this group on a number of occasions. They’re the ones who did a fund-raising ride to support a group the provides medical care to remote areas in Africa.

I doubt I’ll be able to make it up there on Sunday but if any of you guys reads this and wants to send me some photos and a report I’d love to hear from you and pass it all along.

Have a blast you guys.

Biker Quote for Today

I refuse to tiptoe thru life only to arrive safely at death.

An interesting news report about the Fort Collins Chief of Police. He was up on Stove Prairie Road and went down on his buddy’s Road King. He suffered a broken pelvis but got back on the bike and rode into town to the hospital.

“It was very apparent something was really wrong,” said Chief Dennis Harrison.

Yeah, I guess. Call me a wuss but I think I would have waited for the ambulance. Oh, and no mention about the condition of the bike.

No place is a good place to go down but Chief Harrison did pick a nice place to ride. I’ve been on that road many times and I strongly recommend it. What it is best is a way to avoid going through all the sprawl of Fort Collins when you’re on your way up the Poudre Canyon. The Stove Prairie Road runs over the ridge from the Buckhorn Canyon to the Poudre. Here’s a map showing the area.

What you do is head west out of Loveland on US 34, like you’re going up to Estes Park, except just a bit west of town, as you get past the hogback, you go north on CO 56 to Masonville. At Masonville you go left at the T intersection. Right takes you down by Horsetooth Reservoir and into Fort Collins. Left takes you up the Buckhorn.

You don’t need to worry about finding the Stove Prairie turnoff because that’s the way the pavement goes. Where the Buckhorn road and the Stove Prairie road diverge the Buckhorn road turns to gravel. So stay on the pavement.

The road rises up to the tiny community of Stove Prairie and then heads down into the Poudre. A left takes you up the Poudre on CO 14, over Cameron Pass, and down into North Park. A right takes you very quickly to the Mishiwaka Inn, the best bar in these parts, and then down to hit US 287 just a couple miles outside of LaPorte.

There’s one other good riding option you might want to be aware of, and that is the Rist Canyon road. From up on top, at Stove Prairie, the Rist Canyon road (Larimer County Road 52E) takes you directly down into LaPorte. Once you come over the crest it is a very steep downward run that is reminiscent of coming into Golden on the Lookout Mountain road.

It’s all good riding. But you’ll enjoy it more if you keep the rubber side down.

Biker Quote for Today

Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly.

It’s getting to be that time of year. The road to the top of Mount Evans has closed, so that means other roads can’t be far behind.

Others that close for the winter include:

• Trail Ridge Road
• Kebler Pass
• Independence Pass
• the Pike’s Peak Road
• Cottonwood Pass

You can keep tabs on which of these are still open, as well as get real-time info on road conditions around the state at the Colorado Department of Transportation site.

The other roads are maintained all year round but you never know when they’ll be getting snow. The truth of the matter is, although I ride down here on the flatland all year round, I almost never ride in the mountains after October. There are more hardy riders than me, though. Redleg comes to mind. He seems to ride anywhere he wants any time he wants. You’re a better man than me, buddy.

Biker Quote for Today

Winter is nature’s way of telling you to polish your bike.