Okay, back in the game….
I was super busy with work and just didn’t make the time to continue the report. I’m now on vacation at Table Rock Lack near Branson, MO so as I lounge by the lake, I’ll carve out some time to continue the report.
Monday June, 24th
It’s been a long 5 days so far, so I decide to take the day off from riding. Spending the day reading in the hammock and checking out Ouray sounds pretty good. I head over to the front of the KOA and introduce myself to one of the groups gathering to go out and ride for the day. (This is the bunch that headed out to ride Imogene)
After a few hours of hammock time, more people start to converge on the KOA. Mike (VstromMike) and Zach (gmtech) post up in the campsite next door. Then, Rob (Zepfan) arrives looking for a spot and I just happen to have room since Ryan unintentionally aborted the mission. Wandering around the KOA, I find some old friends from last years’ gathering in Whitehorse, and meet some new faces before the evenings meet and greet. Prior to the meet and greet I decide to scope out the town of Ouray and pick up a few things. (Like a couple growlers from Ouray Brewing Company. Tasty….)
When it came time for the meet and greet, people started to gather, make introductions, and tell stories. Many peeps were gathered around Merchant’s bike to hear the stories that came from the day at Imogene. People eventually broke up into smaller groups and continued the evening around their campsites and their cabins planning the next day’s rides, sharing stories and beverages before turning in for the night. (Thanks for sharing your “The Glenlivet 18”, Limey.)
Tuesday June 25th
The Alpine Loop sounds like a great ride. Let’s do that! This is the loop that goes over Cinnamon Pass out to Lake City and back over Engineer Pass. My riding buddies for the day are Mike, Zach, and Rob. We start out heading south through Ouray on the Million Dollar Highway. They had recently chip-sealed the road, so it seemed a bit dicey to really let it rip around the corners. As we’re climbing up the road, we pass a sign that says “Alpine Loop”. Huh, is this our turn? I thought it was a bit further up the road, but hey, the sign must be it. Let’s turn up here. I don’t even think we made it more than ¾ of a mile before it got kinda hairy and I dropped my bike. Zepfan dropped his bike as well. Knowing that our “intended route” was part of the COBDR, we knew that there was no way we were on the correct trail. As we turn the bikes back around, we’re greeted by a fleet of 4X4’s that are getting ready to crawl up the hill. Glad we met them at the trailhead and not part way up the trail. We would have had to wait FOREVER for them to pass by.
We continue up the Million Dollar Highway until we find our route after a couple of “back and forths” past the turnoff at Ironton. Onward and upward! It wasn’t long before we go to the really loose switchbacks of Corkscrew Pass. I try and make one of the steeper switchbacks in one fluid turn and my front tire washes out and I drop the bike. After a couple of attempts we decide that we’ll need to do some adhoc trail maintenance, and level out some of the loose stuff. Zach was trying to do this on his Tourances which made it an even tougher task. Some of the other hairpins gave us some difficulty, but all in all we eventually make it up to the top despite a couple tip-overs from the group. It felt like an accomplishment making it to the top of Corkscrew but we still have California Gulch AND Cinnamon Pass to climb if we want to make it to Lake City. Climbing the ridge from Corkscrew Pass to California Gulch was SUPER rocky. Rob was leading the group and charged up the hill. After managing half of the climb up California Gulch the road simply became too rocky for Zach’s Tenere which was still rolling street tires, no engine guards, and no skid plate. Yeah! He’s frikken crazy to be that far along the trail in the first place! Zach had already dodged a few bullets by not getting any damage when he dumped his bike on Corkscrew, but this section of road simply wasn’t worth risk. We waited to see if Rob was going to turn around or if was going to continue on. After about 20 or 30 minutes it became clear Rob wasn’t coming back. We passed along a message to a couple of 4x4’s that said we’re going to grab a burger in Silverton (just in case he was still waiting at the top) and off we went back down the trail. The drainage down Cement Creek out to Silverton wasn’t nearly as rocky as the road up California Gulch, so we were able to let ‘em run a bit, which was nice.
Once we got down to Silverton, we grabbed a burger at the first burger joint we saw. We were DIRTY from the loose and dusty trail going up Corkscrew. It looked as if we just rolled around in dirt and then entered the restaurant. We cleaned up a bit, inhaled the hamburgers, and talked about what to do next. Mike and Zach decided to ride the Million Dollar Highway back to Ouray. I wasn’t quite ready to be done with the dirt, so I decided to make my way up to Animas Forks to see what that was all about.
Animas Forks is just a short ride, mostly well groomed dirt road from Silverton. (20 or 30 minutes) Upon arriving there, who do I run into in the parking lot? Rob! When he realized we had taken a different route, kept on going over the pass to Animas Forks. Not only was Rob there taking in the sights, but George (SuperTen) whom I’d met in Whitehorse was up there too. Well boys… We’re up here at the base of Cinnamon Pass….. There’s still plenty of daylight….. Let’s head up the mountain!
Unfortunately the plan was foiled not more than 30 yards out of Animas Forks. Rob, leading the group again, was a little less than careful when picking his line and smashed his skid plate on a rock. Unfortunately it was one of the plates that mounts to the engine (SW Motech) and it put a quarter sized hole in the pan. The oil drained out quick, but Rob realized what had happened and shut his bike down before causing any damage. Now, how are we going to get him out of here? Fortunately, there were some nice people willing to give Rob a ride back to the KOA. Although, they made him ride in back with the dog which was pretty funny. Better than riding “cupcake” on George’s or my bike, I guess.
George and I decided that we’d just head back to the KOA as well, instead of pushing on. We’ll come back and do Cinnamon Pass later in the week. Besides, a beer sounded pretty good at that point anyway. We enjoy a spirited ride up the Million Dollar Highway back to the KOA. It’s beer and hammock time for me!
I don't have any pictures for this post as I'm on vacation and what few pics I have are on my computer at home. Zepfan has posted some pictures in his ADVrider thread,
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=900214 so I poached a couple of those. Photo credits to Rob. Thanks Rob!
