Doing The Guanella Loop
Stopping to regroup on the downside of Guanella Pass.
Wednesday morning and I went by the Original Pancake House again and this time the other folks from the RMMRC were there. It turned out the last time that the ride had been canceled because pretty nearly everyone who normally goes on these impromptu rides was gone on a ride to Alabama. I just didn’t get the notice of the cancellation because it was put out via the group’s recently added Meet-Up group, of which I was not yet a member.
I’m a member now. And it turns out that apparently this Meet-Up thing is a good recruiting tool. There were several other guys who are not RMMRC members who came via Meet-Up, and who may now become members. In this particular case, let’s hear it for social media.
The ride this day, the decision was made, was to go up through Evergreen, across Evergreen Parkway to I-70, to Georgetown and over Guanella Pass. Just an easy 140 or so mile jaunt. There were nine of us on a bunch of BMWs, a couple Concourses, a Gold Wing, and a V-Strom 1000.
Figuring it might be chilly in the morning, and would definitely be cool up on top of the pass, I wore my newest mesh jacket with a fleece vest underneath. I was right about the morning chill but by the time we got out of town I was very warm and looking forward to higher altitude. It definitely was cool up on the pass so my thinking was good.
Riding with a bunch of guys you’ve mostly never ridden with there is always the question of how well you will do together. At breakfast I sat next to the guy on the V-Strom (can’t remember his name) and he told me of another Meet-Up group he had ridden with where in his opinion the ride leader was a bit crazy and at times he found that ride scary. Yeah, you’ve just got to ride your own ride.
This group went together well, though. After a lot of shuffling and getting separated in city traffic we regrouped out by Morrison and headed up the hill. Everyone just naturally arranged in staggered formation and nobody was crowding anybody. A good riding group.
Guanella was a good ride. There had been talk about encountering snow on the road up high but it was completely dry. Be aware, however, if you’re heading up there soon, that there is considerable gravel in some of the hairpin curves. I took those at about 5 mph.
There were a good number of bikes on the road over the pass, so other people had the same idea we did. It was definitely a good day to ride.
The only thing I thought was a bit lacking was that when we got to the top of the pass we paused to regroup but then just kept riding. It seems to me that the top of a pass generally calls for stopping and getting off and looking around a bit, stretching your legs. Certainly I could have gotten off my bike and walked up to the ride leader and suggested we do that, and I didn’t, so I can’t blame him. But it just felt a bit gratuitous to me to not stop a bit. I mean, I like to ride, but I like to make stops, too.
So then it was down the other side, picking up US 285 at Grant, and on back into town. (Where I roasted with that fleece vest on!) And we scattered and went our separate ways.
Biker Quote for Today
“I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating; the BMW GS handles in ways a two-story building was never meant to.” — AZ_ADV Rider
Tags: Guanella Pass
