Riding On The Plains
It has gotten cool and we’ve had snow in Denver now. I know they’ve gotten a lot more snow in the mountains. I probably won’t be riding up in the hills any more any time soon.
That doesn’t mean I won’t be riding, though. It’s just time to change direction. In fact, I already took my first ride on the prairie this past weekend. Guess what? It’s really nice out there.
In the cooler parts of the year I like to ride around the outskirts of Denver and explore the new construction going on out there. If there’s road that is newly paved, I want to see where it goes. I find myself wandering around out there and sometimes getting lost but how lost can you get on Colorado’s eastern plains? The mountains are to the west.
Of course every time I do this it blows my mind how much construction and new development there is. We have friends who moved from west Denver a few years ago to Watkins and I used to think they were a long way out there. Have you wandered around out there recently? The city is not that far any more. It will probably swallow them in 10 years.
As it is now, houses go on beyond where Smoky Hill Road ends, and of course that road is four lanes almost to the very end. Heck, I remember when it was just two lanes, and I’m not even sure it was paved back when I’m thinking about. But I’ve taken rides out there with some frequency and watched the transformation. For years I looked at these mostly large houses and wondered where in the world all these people got all this money. Of course, now we know many of them never had that money and now I wonder how many of these places are sitting empty. That may buy our friends in Bennett another 5 years before the city gets there.
My point, of course, has nothing to do with houses or the economy. My point is just that even when the mountain roads are snowy there is still a lot of good riding to be done at the lower elevations. I don’t ever put my bikes away for the winter. How about you? Maybe I’ll see you out on the road sometime in January.
Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle wit and wisdom #19
Biker Quote for Today
I wonder where that road goes?
November 1st, 2011 at 10:48 am
What are some good rides out east? I will be riding out of Lakewood.
November 3rd, 2011 at 11:52 am
I like going out CO 83 (Parker Road) toward Colorado Springs and then turning east on whatever paved road looks inviting. For me it’s all about exploring. Anytime I can follow a creek or river or a ridgeline that guarantees you won’t just be going straight on section line roads. When you’re in the area east of Castle Rock, along the Palmer Divide, you’re in hills and woods and that’s generally more interesting than rolling over the prairie, although rolling over the prairie is not necessarily a bad thing.
You can head out on Smoky Hill Road, or Hilltop Road, or CO 86 east out of Franktown–just follow your nose.