Sunny Day Colorado Ride on 10-17-2020

This day-ride took place a week after my crazy snow experience up on Cottonwood Pass.
I was still craving some more dirt roads, and with the days getting shorter and not knowing how many good riding days we'd have left, I took advantage of the nice weather on October 17th.

I wasn't planning on going as far, and also deciding to stick closer to the foothills. I wasn't going near the Continental Divide on this ride.
I started with my usual gathering my gear, looking the bike over, and getting dressed for the ride. I left a little later in the morning.
The sun was out and it was a beautiful day!
I took my usual route in through Deer Creek Canyon, and turned down Foxton Rd towards the Platte River. I made my way through Deckers and then to the little town of Westcreek, where I turned off the pavement and on to dirt.



I followed W Stump Rd, to W Creek Rd, and then Trail Creek Rd.
The roads are easy dirt with a little sand in spots, but flow nicely over the hills. This area is fun to ride through.



I stopped to take a picture of the bike on a small bridge over Trail Creek.
(This is not a foot-bridge, even though it looks like one. It is for Dirt-bikes and ATVs on the "717" Trail System)



I continued on, and the road eventually turns into Wildhorn Rd.
I made my way back to pavement at Florissant, and then down Teller County Rd-1 to Cripple Creek.
I grabbed a burrito and a gatorade at the gas station as I entered town, then fueled up the bike and headed to "Shelf Road"



The road winds its way south along a canyon formed by Fourmile creek, past old mining relics and some pretty cool scenery.





You make your way past a tiny little natural arch, high up on a rock formation.

The road makes its way south and eventually ends at Canon-City.
There's nothing challenging about it at all, and I'm sure it gets its name from the southern end where it's hung up on the cliff (like a Shelf).









A little ways before reaching Canon-City, I turned on to road F-24 and into Red Canyon Park.
This little area reminds me of Utah.



I found an empty picnic spot, and took a break for some lunch.
A bunch of Jeeps drove by as I ate, and I figured I'd give them plenty of time to get down the road so I wouldn't be eating dust.





After a nice break I continued along F-24, where the road became a bit more challenging.
There were a lot of twists and elevation changes, some decently steep.
There were also some rutted sections and some with rocks strewn along the road.

I didn't have any issues until I tried to make a tight u-turn in the middle of the road to get a picture of this place.
Some abandoned ruins of a once-standing structure from long ago. I have no idea what it might have been used for?


When I went to make my u-turn, there was a rock embedded in the road that stopped my front tire.
My forward momentum combined with having the bars cranked all the way to the side started the bike tipping over.
If I would have tried to save it I would have hurt myself, so I just stepped off and let it fall. (no pictures of dirt-nap)
I went for the key and switched the bike off, paused for a moment and took my helmet off.
I had dropped this bike a couple times previously, but I always had my buddy with me to help get it upright. I have never picked it up by myself....................
I purposely wasn't in a hurry. I took a few deep breaths and relaxed. There was no-one around.
I then set about picking it up using the "Back-to" method. Rump against the seat with one hand on the bar and the front wheel turned all the way toward the ground. The other hand on the side-case rack. Lifted with my legs, and once it started off the ground I walked backwards while leaning into the bike until it was upright. It was actually easier than I expected.
The crash-bars have done their job. Not a scratch on the engine or bodywork.

I continued on, and eventually turned on Rd-69. Made my way through Thompson Gulch and past some Ranches, and then eventually to High Park Road to meetup with pavement again.





I was planning to do some more dirt exploring on Route-2, but decided to turn around and head towards home before it got too late in the afternoon.
It was mostly pavement the rest of the day as I made my way back through Woodland Park, Deckers, Sedalia, and then back home.

The ride ended up almost 280-miles.
It was a gorgeous day to be out, and was happy I could enjoy it!



Here's a "Highlight" video of the route.

Excellent! The kick-stand not properly deployed at a m'cycle dealership tested out the factory bump plate. Plenty of help arrived quickly, but it doesn't hurt anything for it to lay there, other than my ego. After removing helmet, gloves, jacket, & ear plugs, I assumed the position. Still the help didn't hurt. Sharp, colorful pics. Smartphone?

I gotta get to CO to visit you sometime. Great riding. While I've solo lifted several times, twice in one afternoon, I'm not getting any younger. I've done my lifts with the handle bars. I took time during my rib recovery to put togther one of those moto lift jacks. Riding solo makes me nervous about getting a foot pinned.

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Conflubmw said:

Excellent! The kick-stand not properly deployed at a m'cycle dealership tested out the factory bump plate. Plenty of help arrived quickly, but it doesn't hurt anything for it to lay there, other than my ego. After removing helmet, gloves, jacket, & ear plugs, I assumed the position. Still the help didn't hurt. Sharp, colorful pics. Smartphone?

Click to expand...

Yes, all of the pictures came from my iphone 6-plus.
Although I just got rid of it a week ago. I've upgraded to the 12-pro Max.

holligl said:

I gotta get to CO to visit you sometime. Great riding. While I've solo lifted several times, twice in one afternoon, I'm not getting any younger. I've done my lifts with the handle bars. I took time during my rib recovery to put togther one of those moto lift jacks. Riding solo makes me nervous about getting a foot pinned.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

You're welcome to come out anytime.
For the high-country and high-passes, the best riding is probably from mid-august into early-September.

Great places! I wanted to ask, are all the roads empty if you drive away from the cities?

Great pics! Love the goldies!

Ss1 said:

Great places! I wanted to ask, are all the roads empty if you drive away from the cities?

Click to expand...

Not empty, but the farther away from the cities you get the less vehicles you will see.
Some of the more remote roads are pretty empty.

Nice report. thanks for sharing.

Cheers!