I was able to get some days off so a friend and I could tour southwest Colorado; me on the S10 and he on his GS. Beautiful weather the whole five days with the leaves starting their fall color change. We didn't really have destinations just ideas of places we wanted to see. Butler Maps was our guide and we tried to hit as many G1 rides as we could. We would usually stop for coffee some place that had wifi in the afternoon and look for a place to stay that was ahead of us and make reservations. It was a great way to travel since we had no real destination and no time line to follow.
Day1: We left Denver and rode US285 to Buena Vista then over Cottonwood Pass,
Taylor Park Reservoir,
and then down to Gunnison.
Day 2: Rode the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Then through Cedaredge and over Grand Mesa and Grand Mesa scenic byway to Grand Junction. Then down 141 to Gateway which is a beautiful valley. Stopped at Gateway for gas, which has a really nice resort and auto museum out in the middle of nowhere.
Here's the Palisade,
then it was down the Unaweep canyon.
Went through Norwood and stopped finally at Ouray.
Day 3: Drove the Million Dollar highway to Durango, then west to Mancos and Dolores and back north towards Telluride.
This is just south of Telluride,
Had lunch in Telluride where we met the Yamaha dealer from Delta. He hadn't seen the S10 yet so we spoke for a while and I gushed on how much I was enjoying the bike. We then rode on to Montrose, Delta and Paonia for the night.
Day 4: We rode 133 to Carbondale and down to Aspen for lunch and a visit to the Maroon Bells.
We rode over Independence Pass and spent the night in Leadville. Going up Independence Pass we took a short detour up Lincoln Creek road. This is a typical forest road: best with a high clearance vehicle but not overly technical. We had a blast and I was really impressed with the S10's abilities. I was laughing out loud with how slow I could ride this bike. When you get up on the pegs this thing balances extremely well.
Day 5: Drove up the 10th Mountain Div highway to Red Cliff and then turned east over Shrine Pass Road (another forest service jeep road) to Vail Pass. Rode to Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and over Loveland Pass and then a side trip up Berhtoud Pass with a stop at Jenny's cafe in Empire (one of my favorites). Then wound our way home though Evergreen.
Overall we did 1200 miles. The bike was fantastic. I was on an AirHawk cushion which made all the difference in the world, 6-8 hours in the seat was no problem. I'm thinking about getting a Vista Cruise; my hand and arm were getting tired. I have the Go cruise but it would tend to slip some (Heaterz Grips) and was hard to use going in the hilly sections (which was most of the ride).
Day1: We left Denver and rode US285 to Buena Vista then over Cottonwood Pass,
Taylor Park Reservoir,
and then down to Gunnison.
Day 2: Rode the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Then through Cedaredge and over Grand Mesa and Grand Mesa scenic byway to Grand Junction. Then down 141 to Gateway which is a beautiful valley. Stopped at Gateway for gas, which has a really nice resort and auto museum out in the middle of nowhere.
Here's the Palisade,
then it was down the Unaweep canyon.
Went through Norwood and stopped finally at Ouray.
Day 3: Drove the Million Dollar highway to Durango, then west to Mancos and Dolores and back north towards Telluride.
This is just south of Telluride,
Had lunch in Telluride where we met the Yamaha dealer from Delta. He hadn't seen the S10 yet so we spoke for a while and I gushed on how much I was enjoying the bike. We then rode on to Montrose, Delta and Paonia for the night.
Day 4: We rode 133 to Carbondale and down to Aspen for lunch and a visit to the Maroon Bells.
We rode over Independence Pass and spent the night in Leadville. Going up Independence Pass we took a short detour up Lincoln Creek road. This is a typical forest road: best with a high clearance vehicle but not overly technical. We had a blast and I was really impressed with the S10's abilities. I was laughing out loud with how slow I could ride this bike. When you get up on the pegs this thing balances extremely well.
Day 5: Drove up the 10th Mountain Div highway to Red Cliff and then turned east over Shrine Pass Road (another forest service jeep road) to Vail Pass. Rode to Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and over Loveland Pass and then a side trip up Berhtoud Pass with a stop at Jenny's cafe in Empire (one of my favorites). Then wound our way home though Evergreen.
Overall we did 1200 miles. The bike was fantastic. I was on an AirHawk cushion which made all the difference in the world, 6-8 hours in the seat was no problem. I'm thinking about getting a Vista Cruise; my hand and arm were getting tired. I have the Go cruise but it would tend to slip some (Heaterz Grips) and was hard to use going in the hilly sections (which was most of the ride).