Passes & Canyons Blog

We got another early start leaving Hotchkiss the next morning and it was another of those glorious, pristine early mornings out riding through nature. McClure Pass is always nice but at this time of day it is especially nice.

Of course, at Carbondale we picked up CO 82 to Aspen and that is always busy, just as passing through Aspen is always a snarl. Just get those behind you. Then, amazingly, we had Independence Pass almost to ourselves. I have never seen such light traffic on this pass. How nice.

After a stop in Twin Lakes for lunch we cruised on the short distance to Leadville and to our motel on the south side of town. I had deliberately chosen a place in this area because on other trips we have stayed on the north side of town, in a newer motel, but it was a long walk from there to downtown. So we were close to downtown but I can only say the place we stayed was a bit dumpy.

Our stay in Leadville was uneventful, other than the fact that we had an excellent dinner at the Tennessee Pass Cafe. I have no connection to this place; we just thought it was excellent and I’m passing along a tip.

In the morning it looked like rain to the south so we geared up but before we got to Buena Vista it was clear and getting hot so we stopped to shed the gear. Then east on U.S. 285 toward home. A stop in Fairplay and then another stop on top of Kenosha Pass so Bill could get a picture.

We were still a good way out but said our farewells here because at about this point we turn into horses headed for the stable and don’t even concern ourselves with staying as a group. Sure enough, Dennis took off at a serious clip and Bill and I soon lost him up ahead. We weren’t really trying but Bill and I did stay together until we reached our point of divergence and then we were each on our own. Another OFMC trip was in the books.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Motorcycles don’t insult you if you are a bad rider.

From Durango we had a short day in store so we were in no hurry to take off. Dennis and Bill paid a visit to the local Harley dealer while I made a stop at the local Honda shop. I wasn’t riding my Honda–I was on the Kawi–but I had noticed a small pool of oil beneath my bike and spotted a drop of oil hanging off the fairing, ready to fall.

This caused some concern. I had just had the oil changed and a complete tune-up done on the Kawi just before we left. Had Joel not tightened the drain plug sufficiently? Had he overfilled the oil reservoir so it was throwing out the excess? I put the bike up on the center stand and checked the sight glass but couldn’t see anything. This suggested overfill because I’ve see it when the oil is low and you can see the inside of that chamber.

I called Joel, my mechanic, and asked him diplomatically how many drain plugs he had pulled. The Kawi has two and I made the mistake once myself of only pulling one and then when I went to put the new oil in it got overfull on less than the prescribed amount. Joel assured me had pulled two drain plugs. As for filling it, he said he doesn’t measure, he looks at the sight glass and stops when it reaches the right level.

Joel asked how big the drip pool was and told me it was nothing to worry about if it was only a little puddle about three inches across. So just to play it safe I went to the Honda dealer and bought a quart of oil, which I carried with me the rest of the trip and brought home unopened.

So about 11 a.m. or so we headed west on U.S. 160, through Mancos, to Cortez, and then northwest on U.S. 491 into Utah, to Monticello. This was about 105 miles and this was our stop for the day. I had planned it this way because other than perhaps going to Moab there was really nowhere else to go around here. But I figured there must be something to do in or around Monticello because in consulting maps of our previous trips I saw that we had stayed there two nights once, many years ago.

It turned out I had misread my own writing. We didn’t stop there for two nights, it was where we stayed the night of day two of that year’s trip. And I tell you what, Monticello is a really small town. We walked up to one end of town and got ice cream, later we walked to the other end of town for dinner, and that was Monticello. We did a lot of hanging out that day.

The next day we walked next door for breakfast and while we were there the skies opened up and a deluge poured down. It was over by the time we were finished with breakfast but the sky still looked very threatening so we suited up and headed out. Now we were riding north on U.S. 191 through the desert and anyone who lives out in these parts will tell you the desert is at its most beautiful right after a rainfall. That was the case this day and this ride was one of the best of the trip. The smells and the colors are something you have to experience to understand.

After 30 miles on 191 we turned east on Utah 46, which crosses back into Colorado and becomes Colorado 90, to Naturita. If you have never taken this bit of road you need to work it into your route some day. It runs across the south face of the Monte La Sal mountains and then drops precipitously into a lush canyon and finally out into ranching country. This is a hidden gem that I suspect most people have never seen.

We then turned north on CO 141, the Unaweep Highway, which is also very, very scenic. We followed it to Gateway and turned east to meet up with U.S. 50 at Whitewater, a little south of Grand Junction. Then a jog south to Delta and a turn east to Hotchkiss–home for the night.

I’m going to do a little naked promotion here. At Hotchkiss we stayed at the Hotchkiss Inn. Kris and Andy Bartol, the owners, advertise on this website. But that’s not the point. The point is, they have an extremely nice place here. I routed us through Hotchkiss a few years ago and ever since then the guys have raved about how much they liked it. So they were very pleased when I told them we were stopping there again this year. OK, promo over. And so is this post.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Your motorcycle won’t wake you up at 3 a.m. and ask you if you love it.

After a day off the bikes we were ready to ride again. Today’s destination: Durango.

Another early start had us riding in the cool of the morning along Blue Mountain Reservoir and on to Montrose. By Montrose it was hot and time to peel off some clothes. Heading south we passed through Colona and thought about stopping and calling John, who lives up in the hills nearby, but didn’t figure we should. John is one of the OFMC founders but he has health issues and is no longer riding. Those same health issues have him and Cheryl happily isolating way out here away from the virus. We didn’t think he would even want to come down and meet us in Colona so we didn’t even suggest it.

As we approached Ouray the sky ahead was ugly up ahead but we figured we’d keep going until we needed to suit up. We headed up Red Mountain Pass and it wasn’t looking bad but finally Dennis decided to pull over. We geared up and before we were ready to roll again the rain was falling. Good timing Dennis. But it never rained hard and we could have done without the gear.

It didn’t amount to much, however, and was totally stopped by the time we reached Silverton. Silverton, in case you are unaware, is a mandatory ice cream stop. And we’re nothing if not law-abiding bikers. Silverton was crowded but most people were wearing masks even out on the street. Clearly we were not the only ones who were determined not to let a microorganism spoil their vacation.

The sky was looking ugly again as we got ready to leave so we put the rain gear back on but once again it could have been left off.

The cruise on down to Durango was uneventful, other than Bill’s failure to notice as Dennis tried repeatedly to get him to pull off so we could shuck our now hot extra layers. Finally he and I just pulled off and figured Bill would notice we weren’t behind him. Rolling again we soon came on Bill, who had taken the opportunity to shed his own gear.

“Was there a problem,” he asked me.

“Dennis wanted to stop and take stuff off but you didn’t notice his signals to you.”

“He should have pulled around me and pulled off.”

“Tell that to him.”

We really do have some signals agreed upon but they don’t work if the person in the lead is not paying attention.

By the time we got to our motel, however, Bill was glad to have gotten that stuff off beforehand. It was hot! What changeable weather we have in Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

Top 10 signs that a computer is owned by a Harley rider: 06. — Password is “WillieG”

After a night in Cripple Creek the OFMC had a couple options on getting to Gunnison, our next stop. I had figured to just backtrack to U.S. 50 and go over Monarch Pass. But I had been in contact with my friend Kevin, in Gunnison, and he texted me saying, “I highly recommend Cottonwood Pass. Best asphalt in the state.”

Judy and I had just been over Cottonwood in the car a week earlier so I wasn’t thinking about it, but I mentioned it to the guys and they liked the idea. Obviously we had never been over Cottonwood on the trip before since it had only just been paved. So Cottonwood it would be.

We headed out of Cripple Creek by the back way but then bent north to Florissant. We went over Wilkerson Pass again, as we had two days earlier, into South Park and down to Buena Vista, again.

Approaching Buenie we could see that the area around the pass was enveloped in deep purple clouds so we figured we’d better suit up. During our stop I texted Kevin, who was planning to ride out and meet us on top. I warned him to wear rain gear. By the time we headed up the pass, however, the weather was moving along and while the road was wet we never did encounter rain. On the other side of the pass, however, Kevin got pounded.

We met up top and spent a good half hour shooting the bull with each other and also Charlie, who was up there on his Indian. Charlie just moved out to Buena Vista from Wisconsin and is just in the stage of exploring all that Colorado has to offer. I pointed him to this website but he said he had already visited and found it very helpful. Those are the words I love to hear.

We headed on down to Taylor Reservoir and stopped to peel off the rain gear because now it was sunny and warm. Riding down through the Taylor River canyon was sweet but we got to Almont and came out of the protection of the canyon and got hit by powerful winds. Those winds kept up on us all the way to Gunnison and for a couple hours more. A windy day in Gunny, I guess.

Now we were in Gunnison for two nights because this was our golf stop. The next day we hit the links but on the driving range I took a practice swing and my right shoulder hurt–a lot. I whacked a couple balls and the pain was intense! I had hurt my should back in February and had had no pain for a couple months so I thought I was OK, but obviously I was not. “I can’t do this,” I told the guys. I took my clubs back and got a refund and drove the cart for Bill while playing ball spotter for him and Dennis.

Next day we’re heading for the Million Dollar Highway.

Biker Quote for Today

Top 10 signs that a computer is owned by a Harley rider: 07. — Number key pad only goes up to two.

On the second day of this year’s OFMC trip we had to break a mold or two to get from point A to point B. We were in Alamosa, after originally planning to head from there into New Mexico. But a coronavirus closure in New Mexico forced a change. Our destination was now Cripple Creek.

Unfortunately, the easiest way to Cripple Creek from Alamosa would have had us retracing our ride from the day before, all the way up to Poncha Springs. That’s basically a long, straight shot up the San Luis Valley. We didn’t want to do that. But with the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness in the way, we had to go around. So we took the southern route.

That consisted of a blast to the east on U.S. 160 to Walsenburg, a short jog north to CO 69, and then a ride up through Gardner and Westcliffe to hit U.S. 50 just east of Cotopaxi. From there it was just a little ways east to where Fremont County Road 9 heads north, then county roads 11 and 1 as the back way into Cripple Creek.

We got an early start, in the cool of the morning, and it was a beautiful ride across the valley and up over La Veta Pass. There’s something almost magical about riding through the countryside as the day is dawning, and it was like that this morning.

At Walsenburg we needed gas and were amazed to find every gas station in town packed with vehicles lined up waiting their turn at the pumps. So we joined the queue. Then we found the not very well marked CO 69 right there where we got gas. OK. We had been pretty puzzled.

Heading north on 69 I soon realized that I had been here only once before and that was in about 2000 when Judy and I came this way on a ride with the Concours Owners Group. We hadn’t known going in that this group liked to do fun, 400 to 500 mile day rides. We didn’t go on many COG rides after that.

The terrain running up 69 was very similar to the area between Buena Vista and Salida: a broad valley, hills on both sides, and a bit arid.

We stopped for a break in Westcliffe and what a surprise that was. That little town seemingly in the middle of nowhere was very, very busy, mostly with RVs and campers with Texas plates. Who knew? I thought Lake City was the Colorado capital of Texas.

North from Westcliffe to U.S. 50 was getting into the hills and when we got on 50 we were on fresh, totally smooth pavement that is always nice. Then the back way into Cripple Creek is beautiful and very hilly and twisty. If you’ve never gone that way, either coming or going, you owe it to yourself to do so. Besides, there’s a whole lot less traffic than coming down to Cripple Creek from Divide.

So we were there in Cripple Creek on a Saturday night. You have never seen this town so empty ever since they opened up gambling. But we got a really nice room really cheap.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you think that the Harley-Davidson plant should be one of the seven wonders of the world.

We’re back from the 2020 OFMC ride and despite initial uncertainty about the wisdom of the whole thing it went smoothly and I’m confident we avoided any serious threats of Covid 19 infection. I mean, we spent most of our time either on motorcycles or else with no one else around but each other. Restaurants were about the only place we could have run into the virus and every one we went to was taking serious precautions.

So we took off on a Friday morning, meeting up as we so often have before at the King Soopers in Conifer. Our destination for the day was Alamosa and Bill was interested in getting away from the standard ride down U.S. 285 over Kenosha Pass, through Fairplay, and then south from Buena Vista. Instead, we turned south at Pine Junction and went down through Deckers to Woodland Park and then west into South Park over Wilkerson Pass. That’s where that photo above was shot.

Continuing across South Park on U.S. 24 it occurred to me that although I had personally been on this road numerous times, it was actually the first time the OFMC has done this road as a group. So chalk up what turned out to be a number of firsts.

At Antero Junction we got back onto 285 and ran down to Buena Vista, where we stopped for lunch and a break. Rain was threatening but we didn’t think rain gear was needed so we headed south. We did run into a sprinkle or two but were fine. We made a stop at Poncha Springs to say hello to Bill’s daughter and other family members who were at her place for the weekend and then headed out again.

We had been looking at the sky in the direction we were headed and we each had geared up to some extent, but not fully. Coming up Poncha Pass the sky was black but looked like the worst was already to the east of us. Then it hit us hard. My riding pants are waterproof and I had my rain jacket on but my gloves were getting very wet and I could feel water soaking into my boots. Then it all cleared away and pretty soon everything was dry again.

If you’re headed down 285 going to Alamosa there is a point where you need to get off that road onto CO 17 and as is common for Bill, who was leading, he shot right past the turn. Dennis and I made the turn and pulled off to wait for his return. Fortunately, this particular time, we didn’t have long to wait.

Powerful winds hit us from the west as we came south past Great Sand Dunes National Park, which we could see to our east, and it occurred to me that these were the winds that had built those dunes.

We got into Alamosa, checked in our motel, and had a very good dinner at Nino’s, which I heartily recommend. And that was our first day. How great to be out on the road on the bikes again.

Biker Quote for Today

But she can hide, hide in the pouring rain. She rides the eye of the hurricane. — David Wilcox

Judy and I wanted to go camping and we had not been over Cottonwood Pass since they finally paved the whole thing last year. I discussed that in this post.

So we got up on the east side of Cottonwood and found a campsite. The next day we went over the top and down to Taylor Park Reservoir. The day was still early so what do we do now?

Looking at the map we could see that another road ran from the reservoir up to Tin Cup, a so-called ghost town that I thought I would never get to because I thought the only way there was over a really difficult four-wheel-drive or dirt bike pass. That’s Tin Cup Pass. But the drive from the reservoir is easy on a gravel road treated heavily with magnesium chloride. So we went.

There really wasn’t much at Tin Cup but there was a crossroads where you could go straight or else turn left. Left was over Tin Cup Pass, down to St. Elmo on the other side. We were in Judy’s Subaru Forester. We weren’t going over Tin Cup. Straight ahead, however, was Cumberland Pass and the map showed it to be in better condition than Tin Cup Pass. OK, we figured, we’ll go as far as we can and if it gets too rough that will be the time to turn around.

It’s needless to say that the drive was beautiful. Basically what you’re seeing is how this part of the world looked long before the white man ever came on the scene. Except for the road, of course.

We took it slow, and the Subaru was up to it. Along the way, however, numerous dirt bikes and ATVs went blasting past us as we pulled over to let them by. Those are definitely the kind of vehicles you want out here. We were generally going about 7 or 8 miles an hour and they must easily have been doing 20 mph or more. Of course, on the other hand, most of them were eating dust or wearing masks and goggles to keep the dust out. We enjoyed our closed windows and AC.

It was not a bad road. There were a couple times when it got rough enough I started having doubts but those stretches passed and all was fine. We got up on top of the pass and there were a slew of ATVs and dirt bikes. One of the ATVs was having problems, and this is not a place where you want to be calling AAA to. They finally got it running and that guy headed down with another behind him for security.

Up on top there were several roads going off to the surrounding hilltops and there was a group of bikes and ATVs up on one of them. Heading on down the other side the road went into a deep valley that looked like more nice riding. That goes on to Pitkin, over near Gunnison. We didn’t want to push our luck and we really didn’t have time anyway but I have no doubt it would be a great ride.

So, bottom line here, if you’re into dirt biking, and especially if you’re not an expert dirt biker, Cumberland Pass definitely gets my recommendation. Would I do it on my V-Strom? Yeah, I would. I’ve been on rougher roads than this on the V. I wouldn’t touch it on my other two bikes, though.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if every magazine you subscribe to has the word “Biker” on it somewhere.

Ever since I heard last fall that they had finished paving Cottonwood Pass over on the west side I’ve been wanting to get up there and see it. Part of my eagerness, however, was trepidation about the “improvements.”

We’ve all seen how so-called improvements can often diminish the appeal of a road like this. They don’t just come in and lay asphalt over the existing road, with all its twists and turns. Whereas the old road was built to the contours of the land, the “improved” road reshapes the land to the contours of the road. And inevitably they straighten out a lot of the curves.

As you can see in the photo above, the inevitable happened here. Those bare streaks show clearly how the old road used to go, and you can see how the curves have been straightened. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve done a beautiful job on the road. It just can’t help but be a bit disappointing if you know what the road was like before.

And a lot of bikers did ride this road before. I’ve even seen Harleys on the old road, so while it was rough in places it was very doable. But there are plenty of riders who would never have taken it and now they will.

Of course what all this means is that I now need to revamp the Cottonwood Pass page on the website. I already had it on there because it had been paved on the east side for a long time and, as I said, some riders were doing it even then. But now revisions are in order.

So if you’re looking to get between Buena Vista and Gunnison, you really want to consider Cottonwood Pass now. I’m sure it’s shorter than heading south from Buenie to Poncha Springs and over Monarch Pass to Gunnison, and there’s much less traffic. Do be aware, however, that this is a summer only pass and is closed in winter.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if you’ve never seen a sunrise from two wheels.