Passes & Canyons Blog

Yeah, it looks like winter out there but technically it’s still only fall. In other words, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

The temperature was in the 50s, hardly a cloud in the sky, and I had not ridden the Honda in November yet. My assignment was clear.

For once I actually had a route planned out in advance. I headed west on Belleview to Santa Fe and then south. It was about then that I remembered that the last time I went this way I couldn’t get through. There was major roadwork in progress where Santa Fe crosses C-470 and I had gone around and around trying to figure a way to get where I wanted to go. Either I was going to have to find another route again or else I’d get to see what they had done.

The construction was finished so I got through, but what exactly they had done was not at all clear to me. What the heck was all that about? I was expecting a whole new interchange with C-470 or something but that was not the case. I’m assuming I’ll never know.

Just south of that interchange, however, they had shifted the road a bit. The gas station and other shops that used to be right along the road are now accessible only by turning off the main road onto a bit of frontage. Making them more difficult to get to but making the road a little safer I’m sure, eliminating all that pulling on and off right onto the main road.

I continued on south on US 85, with nothing much new to be seen here. Reaching Castle Rock, I crossed I-25 and took Founders Parkway just to the left turn onto Crowfoot Valley Road, the most direct route between Castle Rock and Parker. This road has seen huge changes since I started riding it, going from a small two-lane with a lot of open country to having housing developments just about everywhere. At one point I passed a farm that used to be all alone out there and now there is a row of houses looking down on it from the ridge above, going on and on and on. How long ago was that farm isolated? Two years? Yeah, a lot of change around here.

It was a potentially chilly day so I had worn my electric vest but had not felt the need to turn it on yet. Castle Rock is higher than Denver, being down toward the Palmer Divide, so I was definitely feeling the cool here. I considered turning the vest on but it just really wasn’t necessary.

I ran up Crowfoot Valley Road till it turns into Motsenbocker Road at Stroh Road and up to where it bends west on Todd Drive. Right there there was construction going on that looks as though they’re connecting to the northeast to Parker Road across a new bridge. That will be interesting to explore when it’s done.

Todd took me to Jordan Road, which I took up to Arapahoe, then east to Parker Road and on home. About 60 miles–an hour and a half. Nice day for a ride.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: You can’t get diseases from a motorcycle you don’t know very well.

This map (courtesy of Google) shows Bayou Gulch Road running west to Pradera Parkway and on to Crowfoot Valley Road. Bayou Gulch continues north from that junction and meets Crowfoot further to the north.

The Tuesday forecast was for highs in the 60s so I had to ride. You don’t get better February riding days than that. And this time, unlike so many times when I take off, I had an idea where I was going. Kind of.

I was thinking about Parker and Castle Rock and the road that runs directly from one to the other, Crowfoot Valley Road. I was inclined to go clockwise, home to Parker to Castle Rock, but even after all this time I was not clear on where I would turn in Parker to get on Crowfoot. So I figured I’d go counter-clockwise because I know where to pick up this road in Castle Rock. Fine. Let’s go.

I was still uncertain, though, how I wanted to get to Castle Rock. I knew I wanted to come in on US 85 but did I really want to make my way all the way out to Santa Fe and C-470 to pick up 85? Preferably not. So I headed south on Quebec, knowing that would take me to Daniels Park. From Daniels Park I would take Daniels Park Road on south to 85, then left to Castle Rock.

But as I drew near to Daniels Park and Castle Pines Parkway I realized this was another situation just like Crowfoot Valley Road: I knew how to get on the road going north but was not sure where to pick up that same road going south. Maybe I could recognize the intersection. If not, I knew the road (Monarch Boulevard) would take me to Castle Pines Parkway and then I would just go west to Daniels Park Road.

That’s what happened. I passed two intersections that I thought might be what I wanted but I couldn’t be sure. So I stayed on Monarch. Then as I came up to the southern terminus of the road I wanted I decided I would turn onto it and ride it back to where it meets Monarch and then I would take note of landmarks so I would know in the future. Also, probably most importantly, I saw that this was Buffalo Trail. Just remember that name.

So I did Buffalo Trail, noted the landmarks, retraced my steps and then went back to Castle Pines Parkway and did the jog over onto Daniels Park Road. Down to 85 and east to Castle Rock.

I crossed I-25 and went up Founders Parkway and then left onto Crowfoot. Now the question was, where was I going to come out when I got to Parker? But here’s where it got really interesting. As I got close to Parker I saw a sign for Bayou Gulch Road. What? I know Bayou Gulch Road. I’ve ridden it many times with the RMMRC, as one route to get out to Kiowa to Patty Ann’s for breakfast or lunch. Does Bayou Gulch come all the way over to Crowfoot? Something to check out in the future.

But as I got into Parker I came first to Stroh Road–and here Crowfoot became Motsenbocker Road, going north instead of northeast–and a little further on I hit Hess Road. And I knew Motsenbocker heads back west from there. So that’s why I didn’t know where in the central part of Parker you pick up Crowfoot–you don’t. You have to first go west on Hess or Stroh. So that question was answered.

Only now I had a bigger question and there was no time like the present. I went east on Hess to pick up Parker Road and turned south. Bayou Gulch Road runs east from Parker Road along the southern boundary of The Pinery. Does it go east from there, and does it run all the way through to Crowfoot? I had to find out.

Yes it does run west from Parker Road. And yes it does run all the way through to Crowfoot–only not at the moment. Not far from Crowfoot it is currently closed due to construction and they detour you onto Pradera Parkway, a road I had never heard of. And Pradera does go through to Crowfoot.

So now I was retracing my course northeast on Crowfoot and I spotted something else of interest. There was an intersection marked North Pinery Parkway. Does that go all the way through, too? Oh my gosh, there are a bunch of through roads here I never knew existed. Well, no. I didn’t ride it to see but Google Maps shows me now that Pinery Parkway does not go through. So I was not wrong to wonder if Bayou Gulch did.

Anyway, from there I just made my way home after a really nice day out riding and some fun exploring. I love exploring.

Biker Quote for Today

If you never owned a motorcycle you’ll never understand.

This is what they’ve been predicting but now the forecast says Friday or Saturday, not Thursday.

The weather reports were all saying three to eight inches of snow in Denver on Thanksgiving Day but Wednesday was another warm, gorgeous Indian summer day. I had to go for a ride.

I skirted around the south side of Cherry Creek State Park, south on Peoria, which became Broncos Parkway, and then south again on Chambers. Chambers just keeps going. It used to be it took me a long time to get out of town going west but going south it didn’t take long. Now the city just goes on and on and on. You get into Parker, which in my memory was a wide spot in the road heading southeast on CO 83 but now is just as large as other suburban cities such as Thornton or Arvada.

I was wondering where Chambers comes out. Was I correct that it ended at Hess Road? One way to find out.

Yes it does, although with all the earth-moving and early construction it looks like it could easily go further in the next year. Or maybe it never will and Hess will be the northern boundary of whatever new subdivision that is being built. Whatever . . . I turned east.

Crossing Parker Road Hess gives way to Hilltop Road and I continued south and east on that. Where Hilltop branches off to the left I continued south on Flintwood. The RMMRC often rides out to Kiowa, to Patty Ann’s, in the winter months but we generally stay on Hilltop, so this was a bit of road I haven’t been on much. Nice for a change.

When I hit CO 86 I turned west, toward Franktown. What is it about Franktown? I cannot count the number of times I have been totally stumped trying to think of the name of that town. I’ve tried a variety of mnemonic devices to help me remember but again and again I find myself approaching and thinking, what the heck is the name of this town I’m coming to? It’s Franktown. Does anybody else have this problem?

At Franktown I turned north on CO 83 but coming into Parker there was a huge back-up. Way up ahead I could see lane closures and because traffic was heavy nobody was moving except at a crawl. Time to bail out. I turned west on Main Street. That was what I had wanted to do anyway because I wanted to continue north on Jordan Road.

So I turned north on Jordan Road. Much less traffic but then, after crossing Lincoln Avenue, I again ran into a snarl. Once again there were lane blockages ahead and everyone was having to move to the left. As I came up on it I saw that a fire truck was parked diagonally, blocking the right-hand traffic lane. Getting closer I saw two totally smashed cars and knew what the issue was. Then I saw a third car, equally smashed, and then — oh my gosh! — a fourth. Somebody did something really, really wrong. And judging from the absolutely totaled condition of all four cars, somebody was headed for the hospital. What a way to spend your Thanksgiving.

For me though, it was a beautiful day to be outside and on a motorcycle. And looking at the sky to the west it was hard to believe that we were supposed to have snow the next day. Well, it is now the next day and there’s not a flake of snow anywhere in evidence. But it’s gray and it’s cold, a good day to stay inside. I definitely did the right thing.

Biker Quote for Today

Fools use four-wheelers, and legends ride on two wheels.

My route.

I took off on the CB750 not knowing where I was headed so I wandered over onto Parker Road. That at least would get me out of town.

I knew from a couple rides that there is a road that runs diagonally between Parker and Castle Rock and I had only ever taken that road coming to Parker, never going to Castle Rock. In fact, I wasn’t even sure (memory not clear) where it came out in Parker. So let’s go find it and take it the other direction.

I got into the old downtown area of Parker and eyeballed Main Street heading west wondering if that was where that road came in. I didn’t think so and I kept on. I had the idea in mind that I wanted Hess Road but wasn’t sure.

Next I came to Twenty Mile Road and that looked promising so I turned. At the very least, this was exploring. After going west a short distance, Twenty Mile Road turned north and soon intersected with Main Street. OK, turn left. I guess I’ll see where Main Street goes.

I knew that Parker had grown enormously over the years but I always had it in mind that it had grown mostly to the east. Wrong. There is a huge part of the city to the west, and I went right through it. This was clearly not the road to Castle Rock. In fact, as I got further along I could see the Reuter-Hess Reservoir further south, confirming that I had really wanted Hess Road. But I had never been west out of Parker on Main Street so again, this was exploring.

Where did this road come out? Well, first of all, it came out of the city into open fields and no development at all. (This road is so new that my mapping software, a few years out of date, does not even show it.) You know as well as I do that that won’t be the case for long. But it went on and hit I-25 at the I-25 exit for the Cabela’s store on the south end of the metro area. Now I knew. And by this time it was Ridge Gate Parkway.

After crossing I-25 Ridge Gate Parkway bent north and soon it intersected Lincoln Avenue. I went west on Lincoln Avenue, now figuring I wanted to work my way over to Chatfield Reservoir. I’d been over there a couple times recently and had seen this road, Rampart Range Road, that went off somewhere that had me curious.

I turned south off Lincoln Avenue onto South Quebec Street and that wound its way further and further south, becoming Monarch Boulevard along the way. I had been this way recently. When Monarch Parkway hit Castle Pines Parkway I knew exactly where I was. I turned west on Castle Pines Parkway to Daniels Park Road and took that south to U.S. 85. Then north, past Sedalia, and off at Titan Parkway, which leads over to the road going around the south of Chatfield.

Titan Parkway runs straight west almost to Chatfield State Park and then a 90-degree turn puts you on Rampart Range Road. A little ways south you hit Waterton Road and this is the road around the south end of the park and reservoir. But where do you go if you continue south? This was what I had come to find out.

Of course, this area is where you find Roxborough State Park, an area of gorgeous rock formations. Continuing south on Rampart Range Road I saw for the first time some neighborhoods built in really beautiful settings among these rocks. Oh my gosh! I bet these places are expensive.

Then the road went up a bit of an incline and curved in between two miniature flatirons and I was starting to think that, oh boy, this is really going to be cool. But I came between the rocks and there was a sign, “Residents only right lane,” and a guard shack. I stopped at the guard shack and a very nice older woman, in the role of guard, greeted me.

“Howdy. I’m exploring,” I said. “I was wondering where this road goes.”

“This is the Arrowhead gated community,” she replied.

“So does this road come out somewhere else?” I asked.

“No, it’s one way in, one way out.”

“OK, I guess that’s all I need to know,” I replied, knowing that meant I was now supposed to turn around. And she pointed me to the turnaround, just in case I wasn’t totally clear on the matter.

Now I know.

Biker Quote for Today

Every mile is my destination. Every failure is my motivation. I’m a rider. I live to ride. Nothing comes between me and my bike. I’m a rider and I’ll survive. — Sagar ZZ