Don't miss rides in Colorado (possibly also Utah and Wyoming)

[MurphCO]

Alpine Loop:

https://www.codot.gov/travel/scenic-byways/southwest/alpine-loop

if you just stick to Animas Forks and Cinnamon Pass, the wife should be fine. There are a few spots where it takes a willingness to throttle through stuff, no water crossings, just a couple of sort of steep parts, all dirt, a good pass with very little technical prowess required.

Others have suggested Imogene Pass, i'd say no if your wife has a problem reaching the ground while on her bike, and its not suitable for two up, its got some technical parts not for the sqeamish. BUT this is a great opportunity to rent a Jeep and go over it, easy. From Ouray to Telluride...great fun.

https://goo.gl/maps/iXUsY

Ophir Pass, do able....i don't recall any treachery, but then others may want to chime in on that...

https://goo.gl/maps/SFSVu

Black Bear is a definite NO on the bikes, unless you want to die. in a rental Jeep, your call....the steps are pretty killer.



Paved Goodness:

out of Ouray, Million Dollar Highway 550 to Durango, over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs, South Fork, Lake City, back up to Hwy 50
https://goo.gl/maps/X1adX

if you choose to go to Utah, do not miss Hwy 141 to Gateway, this is worth the day trip as well.
https://goo.gl/maps/0AaDQ

 

[Dirt_Dad]

MurphCO - the narratives are very helpful. Are you a CO native? Your location says AL, but you sure seem to know CO.

 

[MurphCO]

Yeah I lived in Colorado most of my life and just recently moved to Alabama for work.


Not the greatest move for motorcycling, but whattya gonna do?


If you have any questions about anything, just inbox me or whatever, glad to help you put passes and routes together to get the best bang for your buck.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

If you have any questions about anything, just inbox me or whatever, glad to help you put passes and routes together to get the best bang for your buck.

Thanks, I'm sure I'll have questions.

 

[lotecredneck]

Alpine Loop:

https://www.codot.gov/travel/scenic-byways/southwest/alpine-loop

if you just stick to Animas Forks and Cinnamon Pass, the wife should be fine. There are a few spots where it takes a willingness to throttle through stuff, no water crossings, just a couple of sort of steep parts, all dirt, a good pass with very little technical prowess required.

Others have suggested Imogene Pass, i'd say no if your wife has a problem reaching the ground while on her bike, and its not suitable for two up, its got some technical parts not for the sqeamish. BUT this is a great opportunity to rent a Jeep and go over it, easy. From Ouray to Telluride...great fun.

https://goo.gl/maps/iXUsY

Ophir Pass, do able....i don't recall any treachery, but then others may want to chime in on that...

https://goo.gl/maps/SFSVu

Black Bear is a definite NO on the bikes, unless you want to die. in a rental Jeep, your call....the steps are pretty killer.



Paved Goodness:

out of Ouray, Million Dollar Highway 550 to Durango, over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs, South Fork, Lake City, back up to Hwy 50
https://goo.gl/maps/X1adX

if you choose to go to Utah, do not miss Hwy 141 to Gateway, this is worth the day trip as well.
https://goo.gl/maps/0AaDQ

On the route out of Ouray, you can pick up Co 92 to the East of where you come out on CO 50 and then take it through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Crawford, (The late Joe Cocker had a tavern there call the Mad Dog Saloon) and back to HWY 50 in Delta. HWY92 and HWY 141 through the box canyon to Gateway are my favorites in this corner of Colorado.

 

[BillPacific]

Hello Dirt Dad, I was in the military too, and originally settled in Plymouth NH and rode many of the good roads from there to the Maine Coast. Now living in Utah I get over to Colorado once in awhile. I still have a lot to explore over there. The Bulter Maps street or trail maps are great. I seen your comment you would like to ride roads that are fit for a soccer mom, Highway 14 in Colorado west of Loveland is very nice it follows the river and eventually goes up to 10,000 Ft. without any cliffs. Colorado has some roads that can overwhelm your senses on a big bike with gear and cliffs.
Myself there was a section on Highway 550 out of Ouray heading North to South was like hanging on a cliff edge with 10mph tight corners and traffic pushing me to the edge. There was No gaurdrail to give you ellusion of being held in. Next time I ride that road will be South to North to stay on the inner part of the road.
Other great roads in the west Highway 12 in Utah all of it, And Highway 12 Idaho, Idaho is out of your way on this trip but should always be considered by street or trail riders. Southern Idaho is no fun but central to the top is great.

 

[BillPacific]

I dont think anyone has mentioned my favorite ride in the U.S., Hwys 14 and 14 A from Ranchester to Cody Wyoming, both for the flow of the road and for the scenery.
And continuing on from Cody up Hwy 120 to Hwy 296 which is the Chief Joseph Hwy to Hwy 212 over Beartooth Pass to Red Lodge. Awesome awesome ride.

I been on those roads out traveling out of Yellowstone. I agree very nice roads, Bear Tooth is epic in some spots

 

[Dirt_Dad]

The Bulter Maps street or trail maps are great.

Thanks, maps were going to be my next question.

My planning has been temporarily interrupted due to my daughter getting engaged and life getting thrown into wedding planing mode. Picking a date for the Colorado ride is secondary to figuring out the timing of everything else is around here. Still thinking it will happen, but it got a little bit harder to get my wife to leave here for a couple of weeks. I think I've got her convinced.

 

[snakebitten]

Durango to Ouray (either up or down) is a never ending gourmet of motorcycle sensation.
The road from Grand Lake to Estes Park is a mind blower as you ride the Hughes paved road in America.

And yep, Bear Tooth Pass (Bitter Root?) coming out of Yellowstone north, over to Montana...........you are an alien on another planet.

Living in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, even Idaho, puts you right in the stuff I dream about.

 

[Arkyrider]

Thanks, maps were going to be my next question.

My planning has been temporarily interrupted due to my daughter getting engaged and life getting thrown into wedding planing mode. Picking a date for the Colorado ride is secondary to figuring out the timing of everything else is around here. Still thinking it will happen, but it got a little bit harder to get my wife to leave here for a couple of weeks. I think I've got her convinced.

Check the states websites. They offer a lot of free material, some include free state maps. I have received free maps from other states and they have all been current/updated maps.

 

[tomatocity]

Links to Free State Maps http://www.fuzzygalore.com/2011/01/links-to-free-state-maps-travel-guides-and-brochures/

Found this with a Google search. Probably more out there.

I ordered as many state maps as I could for a trip this year of next. Will be traveling to Texas for sure this year. If all goes well I will continue a Coastal trip to Key West and up to Ocean City... If all does not go well I will be riding to Ardrossan, Alberta, Canada to visit a friend.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

It seems like Christmas time around here with maps from most all the states arriving in the mail each day. With a lousy weather weekend I was able to stay inside and plan out the first 2K miles of the trip. That gets us through all the flat lands, Badlands NP, Mt Rushmore and ends at Devils Tower.

I see the trip unfolding as legs from there.
-) Devils Tower to Bear Tooth Pass / Yellowstone
-) Yellowstone to Northern Utah to Arches NP Utah (maybe or maybe not Canyonlands NP)
-) Eastern Utah to Sand Dunes NP in Colorado
-) Sand Dunes north to all the stuff that has been discussed in this thread.
-) Colorado to home

The plan is to be out in the area during late May and early June. Now the promised questions.

Anything special I should consider about the weather during the period I mentioned?

If we checkout the sand dunes in Wyoming is there any reason to see the dunes in Colorado?

Time between the Devils Tower and all the Colorado stuff is about 9 days. Is there enough time to enjoy everything I have in mind, or would this itinerary be too much. Obviously you don't know how long or short we linger. General gut reaction is what I'm curious about.

What about gas and hotel availability...is it a concern? I'm from the east coast where both of those are everywhere.

Thoughts?

 

[low drag]

Drop into the regional sub forum here, there's a group of us that get out from the Denver area quite often. Sometimes we meet up with some guys in CO Springs. We hit lots of cool places, just take note of the names of towns/canyons etc and do Da Google Maps thing....

If you're just passing through there's been lots of good passes listed. If you're going to base came and ride the front range area a bit west and north-ish from CO Springs Phantom Canyon, Goose Creek are fun. Lots to see. Wolf Creek pass on highway 160 way down south is a great drive/ride, it will take you to the 4 Corners.

Most of the trails and pass roads are dry clay with loose shale and rock. Passes that are old railroad beds are hard packed with fist to melon sized rocks sticking up, rough but very doable. BUT, be advised it rains at night & afternoons in the mountains and that dry clay is SLICK when wet. You may come to appreciate that S10 ABS, I know I have. Some passes will have some fun water crossings due to run off from snow/rain as well.

 

[FrontRangeRider]

You've gotten lots of great recommendations already but I'll look through our routes from previous trips to see if I can find anything else to offer.

Also, if someone mentioned Steve Farson's book, Motorcycling Colorado, I did not see the post. That book is well worth the price.

 

[bigbob]

Riding my Tenere to Star Days in Longmont in July instead of my Stratoliner. EMAIL good rides in that area to bob.stilwell@centurylink.net please.

 

[craigd]

Dirt Dad and others traveling to Colorado,

If you are passing through the Northern Colorado/Fort Collins/Estes Park area, please feel free to PM me. I can give suggestions and if the timing works out, I would be happy to act as a free tour guide for a day or two in this area.

Cheers,
Craig

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Dirt Dad - You asked about fuel availability. One thing I've noticed about riding in CO compared to back on the East Coast is that sometimes fuel is a long way away. For example, when heading from Paonia to Gunnison via the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (highly recommended!), you'll see a sign that says somethinglike "Last gas for 80 miles." Saw a bunch of those signs in UT last week as well. Google Maps is not always correct about the availability of an open gas station so the Gas Buddy phone app might be a better option for finding fuel.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

If you are passing through the Northern Colorado/Fort Collins/Estes Park area, please feel free to PM me. I can give suggestions and if the timing works out, I would be happy to act as a free tour guide for a day or two in this area.

Making a note...thanks.

... so the Gas Buddy phone app might be a better option for finding fuel.

There's one I never would have thought of on my own. Thanks!

 

[BillPacific]

Hello Dirt Dad,

I been off the site for a long time. How was your trip? Where did you ride?

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Had an awesome ride. Ranks up there with the best trips we've ever done. Certainly the most memorable ending of a trip. Took a couple of pictures. They are in the ride report that lists of the places we went.

The Report: http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=15892.0