Have I told you how much I love Riding Colorado?

[John OoSTerhuis]

Take a trip down memory lane (when a local Coloradan got us lost on the way to Mt Evans):

The day we got a police escort!

There’s a couple of other videos of interest on the Bill Rankin YT channel…

 

[ChucksKLRST]

gotta love it. Great ride that day.

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Day One of Overnight Colorado Ride. July 2022. V-Strom 650


I just got back from an overnight 550 mile ride. Last week I had decided that I wanted to ride a few Colorado Passes that I have not ridden in a couple of years. But to do that I needed to do an overnight ride. All of my riding of late has been day rides, out and back and home in time for dinner. The Passes I had in mind were, Cottonwood Pass (12126 ft) out of Buena Vista, Kebler Pass, 31 miles of dirt,(9980 ft) out of Crested Butte, Independence Pass (12095ft) out of Aspen, and Loveland Pass (11990ft) out of Keystone, Colorado. These four were my target passes however the route I chose to ride took me over nine Colorado Passes total. The lowest being McClure Pass at 8763 ft and the highest being Independence Pass, the highest paved Pass in North America (12095ft). Yes there are higher passes in Colorado , but they are 4x4 dirt Passes. I will leave that for the younger crowd. BTDT in a previous life.
Day One’s route was to take me down to Deckers and south along route 67 to Woodland Park. A nice twisty scenic road that climbs out of the valley to 843ft, before turning west onto highway 24 to traverse Light Pass (9165ft) and Wilkerson Pass (9502ft). This is a nice scenic route through the Pass until dropping down the mountain into South Park. Then it is just a straight road across South Park to Highway 285. There it climbs up Trout Pass (9346ft) and descend to Buena Vista (7955ft) at the base of Cottonwood Pass. It was time to take a short break and gas up, as it was 150 miles from my departure. Wanted to make sure I had enough gas for the rest of the day. Cottonwood Pass (12126ft), my first objective of this trip. Cottonwood is a beautiful ride, the East side of the pass has some excellent pavement (for Colorado), with some high speed sweepers on the lower end, and some tight hairpin turns as the road gets higher. The West side of the pass used to be dirt and gravel dropping down to Tayler Park Reservoir. It was paved about three years ago and now is a beautiful leisurely ride down the mountain. Although I do miss some of the adventure of riding the dirt down to the reservoir. From there the road passes through Tayler Canyon runs along the Tayler River, Forrest Rd 742. A very scenic ride, to Almont. There I stopped for lunch at the Three Rivers Resort. Nice place with outside dinning, and a good Bacon Burger.
After Lunch rode into Crested Butte(8908ft). Highway 135 is flat and straight. No big surprises along the route. The scenery is nice and the view into Crested Butte is beautiful, with the mountains behind it. No other paved way out of Crested Butte except retracing back down 135. All other routes north or west are 4x4 trails or Kebler Pass dirt road. Crested Butte, 25 to 30 years ago was a small artsy/hippy town, but progress has discovered it. New vacation condos and town homes are springing up along the route into town. Traffic is max out and tourist are everywhere. Of course it is the middle of July / tourist season. The road over Kebler Pass (9980ft)is listed on the maps as unpaved county highway 12. 35 miles of easy non-technical dirt and gravel. One has to be careful and stay to the right as a lot of cars traverse this road during tourist season. However if the road is wet or the C-Dot is spreading mag-chloride on the road, it is quite slippery and has Pucker-Power potential. Today the road was dry with about half of it covered in fresh gravel. It was like riding on marbles.
Up over the Pass down the other side and Objective two was met and completed today. Turned right on state highway 133 at Paonia State Park(6500ft) and head for McClure Pass. (8793ft) on the way to Carbondale for the end of day one. Unfortunately the hotel I wanted to stay at was full and the Comfort Inn next door wanted 300 bucks for a night. So I rode into Glenwood Springs and found a mom and pop motel for about half the price. Everything is expensive now days, especially during tourist season in Colorado. Stay tuned for Day Two of my overnight loop through Colorado. Total miles for the day 330 miles, total time 9 hours.
https://goo.gl/maps/TJTxsbQm1idARhTLA

 

[Bmacleod]

You are living the dream Chuck. Great rides

 

[CDNolddude]

Day One of Overnight Colorado Ride. July 2022. V-Strom 650


I just got back from an overnight 550 mile ride. Last week I had decided that I wanted to ride a few Colorado Passes that I have not ridden in a couple of years. But to do that I needed to do an overnight ride. All of my riding of late has been day rides, out and back and home in time for dinner. The Passes I had in mind were, Cottonwood Pass (12126 ft) out of Buena Vista, Kebler Pass, 31 miles of dirt,(9980 ft) out of Crested Butte, Independence Pass (12095ft) out of Aspen, and Loveland Pass (11990ft) out of Keystone, Colorado. These four were my target passes however the route I chose to ride took me over nine Colorado Passes total. The lowest being McClure Pass at 8763 ft and the highest being Independence Pass, the highest paved Pass in North America (12095ft). Yes there are higher passes in Colorado , but they are 4x4 dirt Passes. I will leave that for the younger crowd. BTDT in a previous life.
Day One’s route was to take me down to Deckers and south along route 67 to Woodland Park. A nice twisty scenic road that climbs out of the valley to 843ft, before turning west onto highway 24 to traverse Light Pass (9165ft) and Wilkerson Pass (9502ft). This is a nice scenic route through the Pass until dropping down the mountain into South Park. Then it is just a straight road across South Park to Highway 285. There it climbs up Trout Pass (9346ft) and descend to Buena Vista (7955ft) at the base of Cottonwood Pass. It was time to take a short break and gas up, as it was 150 miles from my departure. Wanted to make sure I had enough gas for the rest of the day. Cottonwood Pass (12126ft), my first objective of this trip. Cottonwood is a beautiful ride, the East side of the pass has some excellent pavement (for Colorado), with some high speed sweepers on the lower end, and some tight hairpin turns as the road gets higher. The West side of the pass used to be dirt and gravel dropping down to Tayler Park Reservoir. It was paved about three years ago and now is a beautiful leisurely ride down the mountain. Although I do miss some of the adventure of riding the dirt down to the reservoir. From there the road passes through Tayler Canyon runs along the Tayler River, Forrest Rd 742. A very scenic ride, to Almont. There I stopped for lunch at the Three Rivers Resort. Nice place with outside dinning, and a good Bacon Burger.
After Lunch rode into Crested Butte(8908ft). Highway 135 is flat and straight. No big surprises along the route. The scenery is nice and the view into Crested Butte is beautiful, with the mountains behind it. No other paved way out of Crested Butte except retracing back down 135. All other routes north or west are 4x4 trails or Kebler Pass dirt road. Crested Butte, 25 to 30 years ago was a small artsy/hippy town, but progress has discovered it. New vacation condos and town homes are springing up along the route into town. Traffic is max out and tourist are everywhere. Of course it is the middle of July / tourist season. The road over Kebler Pass (9980ft)is listed on the maps as unpaved county highway 12. 35 miles of easy non-technical dirt and gravel. One has to be careful and stay to the right as a lot of cars traverse this road during tourist season. However if the road is wet or the C-Dot is spreading mag-chloride on the road, it is quite slippery and has Pucker-Power potential. Today the road was dry with about half of it covered in fresh gravel. It was like riding on marbles.
Up over the Pass down the other side and Objective two was met and completed today. Turned right on state highway 133 at Paonia State Park(6500ft) and head for McClure Pass. (8793ft) on the way to Carbondale for the end of day one. Unfortunately the hotel I wanted to stay at was full and the Comfort Inn next door wanted 300 bucks for a night. So I rode into Glenwood Springs and found a mom and pop motel for about half the price. Everything is expensive now days, especially during tourist season in Colorado. Stay tuned for Day Two of my overnight loop through Colorado. Total miles for the day 330 miles, total time 9 hours.
https://goo.gl/maps/TJTxsbQm1idARhTLA

Great rides, great pics. Been out west a few times but never Colorado. One day I hope to ride to say Montrose and then spend 4 or 5 days doing as many passes as I can.
Thanks for sharing

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Very nice pictures, my friend. Good to see your face in one of them!

Warm (I mean really Iowa warm) Regards, John

 

[Sheriff41]

I intend to venture out to CO after I retire and your posts will serve as reference and inspiration. We have a couple high spots around San Antonio, maybe 200' or so.

 

[ChucksKLRST]

I intend to venture out to CO after I retire and your posts will serve as reference and inspiration. We have a couple high spots around San Antonio, maybe 200' or so.

Yes, but you have the Hill Country not too far. When I lived in Wichita Falls I would make the ride down and ride the Hill Country for the weekends. Of all the places to ride in Texas the Hill country is the best.

 

[ChucksKLRST]

OK Here is Day Two.



Day Two of Overnight Colorado Ride July 2022
Day two saw me leaving from the Motel in Glenwood Spring at 0600 and headed to Aspin(7907ft) via Highway 82. Traffic was terrible, even at 0600 hours. Everybody (the workers) who works in Aspin cannot afford to live in town so they all live closer to Glenwood Springs. Most people who are so called residents of Aspin don’t even live there permanently, as evident of all the private jets at the airport. Lots of big money in that town. So I just keep going and don’t stop. There is a little road that parallels 82 into Aspen that runs along the Roaring Fork River called Upper River Road. It is a little winding two lane that cuts thru the country side and terminates in the city limits of Aspin. I enjoy this little route as it gets me out of the traffic on 83. You pick up this road at Snowmass. Once in the city of Aspin, pickup 82 again as it runs through the middle of town and then heads off to Independence Pass. My third objective of this trip. Independence Pass, the highest paved pass in North America at 12095 feet above sea level. It drops down to Twin Lakes near the intersection of Highways 82 and 24. The ride from Aspen over the pass and down the mountain is spectacular. Views are breathtaking, especially in the early morning with the sun rising in the east over the Continental Divide. I sure do love riding / living in Colorado, On down the mountain to Twin Lakes and a short stop for coffee at a little VW Van coffee shop
Finished my coffee and motored on to Leadville (10152ft) via highway 24, with the idea of having brunch at the Golden Burro Cafe. Last time I stopped there for breakfast was before Covid. They had the best breakfast; Eggs Bacon Hash Browns etc. A real hardy mountain man type breakfast, at a reasonable price. Leadville sets at the base of Mosquito Pass (13986ft). A 4x4 steep rocky dirt road. High clearance vehicles, 4x4 ATVs, and off road adventure motorcycles are pretty much the mode of transportation over the pass. Also Leadville is near the start of Hagerman Pass (11925ft) which is another technical dirt pass. I have been over both in my past younger years. Hagerman is a lot easier than Mosquito, but they both have their challenges. But not this trip. Anyway got to the Golden Burro Café, walked in and the first thig I noticed was it had been remodeled. It no longer had that old mining town charm. Sat down at a table and the next thing I noticed reading the menu was all the entrées were made up of Plant Base foods. No real eggs, no real bacon. A vegetarian menu. I guess it is OK if one is a vegan, but not me. The Golden Burro was sold to new owners a year ago. No idea why. I can only guess Covid was part to blame. Going to have to find a new place to eat in Leadville now.
Onward down Highway 91 and over Freemont Pass (11318ft). A nice high speed sweeper road. Freemont Pass is near the Climax Mine that is a major molybdenum mine. Following the road down the mountain it intersects I-70 at Wheeler Junction, Copper Mountain. Jumped on I-70 and got off a few miles down the Highway at Frisco and rode over Swan Mountain Rd around the back side of Dillion Reservoir to Keystone, to the base of Loveland Pass. Swan Mountain Rd is a great little twisty winding road with some nice elevation changes, if you can get there before the tourist traffic does. Also be careful of the bicyclist. Too many of them.
Loveland Pass (11990ft). My forth and last Objective of this ride. Many people from out of state think that Loveland Pass is near Loveland, Colorado. Not even close. Loveland pass is on Highway 6 circumventing the Eisenhower / Johnson tunnels on I-70. The west side of Loveland Pass is where Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin) ski resorts is and down the hill from that is Keystone Ski Resort . Loveland Pass is also the route that Semi trucks, ie. 18 wheelers carrying hazardous materials on I-70, must traverse over. Not allowed to drive through tunnels. It is always fun if you get stuck behind one going up the mountain. NOT. Anyway made it to the top and only had to pass one semi tanker trunk going up the mountain and none coming down the east side. Although there were quite a few tourist lookey loos at the summit. Got my few pictures and headed home. The rest of the ride down the mountain was uneventful as I rode the access roads that parallel I-70 and then cut over to Highway 285 via Evergreen. As soon as I got down into the city (Denver 5277ft) the temps went up to the high 90s. Too Hot. Time to get off the bike and have a cool one at home. Total miles 220 for the day 8 hours total time for the day. Total miles for the ride 550.
https://goo.gl/maps/cxBarwMNBCd4NjPn7

 

[ChucksKLRST]

High Country Trifecta
Each year I try to ride three High Country rides. Trail Ridge Rd in Rocky Mountain National Park, MT. Evans, and Pikes Peak.
Today I was able to finalize the first of the three. Trail Ridge Rd. The highest continuous paved road in North America. (12183 ft) What is making this feat a bit inconvenient this year is Mt. Evans, RMNP and Pikes Peak requires a reservation time to enter the parks and drive to the summits. Not a big issue just kind of a pain as I can’t take off on a spur of the moment and head up there. I guess too many out of state flat landers what to visit. Good for the tourist industry. Not so good for the locals that just want to get up one morning and GO RIDE. One thing that RMNP has going for it. If one just wants to get into the park without a reservation then one must get there before 0900hrs. After that a reservation is required. The ride to the RMNP from my house is just under a two hours , so I needed to leave the house by 0600 this morning to make the entry at around 0800, leaving time for some kind of traffic issues that come up during tourist season. That meant getting up around 04:30 so as to have time for breakfast, coffee, and looking over my moto forums, and lists.
I geared up and pulled out of the Garage at the stroke of 6am. I took the most direct route to RMNP which meant some freeway running. I am not a fan of riding the freeways’ around the Denver Metro area or along the Front Range for that matter. I-225, I-70, I-270 and then US.36, the Denver Boulder Turn Pike. Once in Boulder took the Boulder Parkway to bypass the middle of town and it dumped me out on two –lane, Highway 7 / 36 into Lyons. From Lyons Highway 36, is a motorcyclist road early in the morning with no traffic. Twenty one miles of great high speed sweepers with a few tight corners as it winds up the mountain from Lyons (5363ft) to Estes Park (7522ft), the Gateway into Rocky Mountain National Park. Spent 30 minutes in line to get into the Park at about 07:45. I guess everyone else had the same Idea as I. 85% of the folks turned off to go to Bear Lake, (reservation required) the other 10% stopped along the way and the last 5% of cars I had to make short order and passed them on the way to the summit. Beautiful ride up even though the speed limit was only 35 and 40 mph most of the way up. The earlier the better. Next time I will try and get there earlier, however I do not like to ride in the early morning darkness any more. Eyes are too old. After I descended from Trail Ridge and exited the Park I stopped In Estes Park for lunch and the then headed home via Peak To Peak Highway and down Golden Gate Canyon, on across the City. Highways 7,72,119,46 and then across town. 260 miles round trip.
Here is the route that I road and a few pictures I took on the ride up and back down. Enjoy.
https://goo.gl/maps/yx9Kb5VMiNgyJJKT8

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Took the FJR out for a 190 miles leisurely ride this morning. Headed out about 08:30 across town to Highway 285. I had to fight the I-225 Parking Lot for about 10 miles to get to Hampton Ave, where it crosses the city. Once on Hampton 285 the traffic was normal morning rush hour night mare, but the traffic stayed moving and nobody did anything stupid. Nice and cool climbing the foothills on 285 to Pine Junction, where I made my left turn and descended down the hill on highway 67, headed to the small Hamlet of Pine. Lots of nice twist and turns along the route into Pine. From there the road follows The North Fork of the South Platte River through Pine Valley. It is a beautiful ride in the early morning. Made my way past Pine on to Buffalo Creek and then to Deckers. There I stopped at the Deckers Café' and had my ritual coffee, as I watched the anglers prepare for their day of fly fishing. Spent about a half hour and then motored on south on Highway 67 into Woodland Park. Stopped for gas and then proceeded down the mountain to Colorado Springs. I could not help my self and had to stop and the German Bakery (Wimberger' Old World Bakery) Picked up a couple of loafs of German Breads and a pastry for lunch. Good Stuff. From there I hit I-25 north to the turn off for Highway 83 and headed back home. Nice relaxing 190 mile ride. Only got hot when I got back into the city.
https://goo.gl/maps/EbCnuLznpqyDVHhLA

 

[Tankereng]

Can't wait to get home and hit what I've come to refer to as "Chucks Loop"... LOL

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Another early beautiful late summer day here along the front Range of the Colorado Rockies. It has been a couple weeks since I rode up into the High Country. Today I chose to ride the Big Versys 1000 SE over Guanella Pass via Echco Lake. Along the secondary roads in the foothills there are signs that say "Please Share The Road" Meaning don't run over the bicyclist. All is good, but I never thought that it also meant, don't run into the Big Horn Rams. I was motoring up the steep switchback of Guanella Pass, came around a corner and there was a heard of Big Horn Rams moseying up the road. First time I have run into them along this route. I also came across couple of dear, but they were too fast to get a picture. Here are a few pictures and the route that I rode today.
https://goo.gl/maps/fiVecJeobc7u5dw39

The big Versys at Echo Lake





Ram looking out for Traffic.




Ram trying to figure out if I am a threat







Share the road.





Looking North at the Continental Divide



The Summit of Guanella Pass




Heading down the south side of Guanella Pass

 

[Steve E]

Thanks for the pix and the write ups. Very fun to see the beauty of Colorado!

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Thanks for the pix and the write ups. Very fun to see the beauty of Colorado!

Thanks, One just has to know where to take the photograph.

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Last night I decided I wanted to do a very early ride down along the river “North Fork of the South Platte” which required me to leave the house no later than 07:00 hours. This desire also required me to wake up at around 0:500 so as to get my stuff together. It is getting harder and harder for this 73 year old body to get moving in the early morn. Finishing my breakfast and two cups of coffee, I did a quick check over of the V-Strom and was out the door at 06:30. A beautiful cool morning of around 60 degrees with blue skies, and no wind.

I made my way across the south side of the Denver Metroplex without too much aggravation from the Tuesday morning work traffic. Amazing how so many people can be in such a hurry to get to their place of employment and then in the afternoon be in such a hurry to leave it….it is great to be retired and not deal with that rat race anymore. Once on the south west side of the city, my route was to take me up over Rampart Range and down the other side past Spruce Wood, descending down Nighthawk Canyon (Three miles of dirt road with a 15 degree descending grade) to the river.
Once down the canyon I rode along the river leisurely enjoying the coolness of the shadows and the warm of the sun peeking over the hill tops in the early morning. This is one of my favorite rides but I very rarely get to ride it so early in the day. No traffic, just a few early morning anglers trying their luck with fly fishing for river trout. I brought along my little camp chair and stopped for a while to take in the sounds and sights of the river. Sat for about thirty minutes and just listened to the gurgling of the water as it flowed over the rocks and watch the shadows grow shorter as the sun rose higher in the sky.

OK enough sitting around, back to highway 126 towards the hamlet of Pine. Where to ride to now? As I was motoring along highway, I passed the dirt road FS 550 (Redskin Creek Road) turn off to Wellington Lake. This is a private lake tucked back into the hills of the Lost Creek Wilderness area about eight miles from the pavement of HW 126.I have not been back here in a few years since my DR650 days. It has been raining lot back up here in the hills lately. Everything was a beautiful green against the blue of the morning sky. I began to wonder what condition the dirt road / trail was going to be. Only one way to find out, GO RIDE. As made my way back through the forest, the further in I got, the hills got a bit steeper, the trails became a bit narrower, and there were a few muddy spots, but no water crossings to contend with. After about 30 minutes of traversing through the forest I emerged out at Wellington Lake. The Lake was quite low from the last time I was up here a few years ago. I suppose some could blame climate change as Colorado and the West has been in a drought state for the last few years, Snow packs in the mountains have been less and for a shorter duration and normal rain fall has been somewhat scarce.

Took a few pictures of the lake and then headed back towards Highway 126 via Forrest service roads 560, and 211. 17 miles and about an hour to the Deckers Café’. Just a half mile or so from the lake is a water crossing. It looks small and shallow but was deeper than expected. The water came up past the axles. Exiting the water I was able to save the bike from sliding out from under me. FS 560 takes one over a small pass called Stony Pass and then through the forest to exit out into the Burn Area of the Hayman Fire of 20 years ago. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayman_Fire).

What used to be forest is now open rocky hills as the grasses and bushes have taken over the landscape where the trees once stood. Unfortunately I will never be able to see the area reforested with the pine trees on the hills that I use to hike, during my younger years. I motored along the FS road 360 for a while and stopped to chat with a couple of KTM riders doing my route in reverse. On up hill and dale to FS211 which leads down the hill to highway 126 and then three more miles to the Decker Café. Which was not open today? No coffee stops today. It’s time to ride on home before the temps get to high crossing the city. Back up Nighthawk Canyon, over Rampart Range and down into the craziness of civilization. I arrived home about 11:45 having ridden about 150 miles or so today. Good ride and I enjoyed it a lot. I rode about 35 miles of dirt out of the 150 total miles. 55 of which was just crossing the city to and fro.
https://goo.gl/maps/E3d56VgcWFxEFeAo6

 

[ChucksKLRST]

High Country Trifecta II.

If any of you have been following my ride posts on my Face Book Page, you have read of me mentioning my Ride Trifecta. I call it my High Country Trifecta. Each year I try and do a motorcycle ride to Trail Ridge Rd in Rocky Mountain National Park, Mt Evans, and Pikes Peak. The last couple of years I have only been able to accomplish only two of the rides, Trail Ridge, and MT. Evans. I posted my Trail Ridge ride a few weeks ago and this past Friday I was able to accomplish my Mt. Evans ride. Only one more peak to go. I will try and do Pikes Peak this month, if it does not snow at the summit, before the end of September.
Last Wednesday I was surfing my Moto forums on my computer, and it dawned on me that Labor Day weekend was coming up. I have not been to the summit of Mt. Evans this year and Mt. Evans summit traditionally closes right after Labor Day. I better get my reservation and GO RIDE. Got on line, registered on the Park Service website and made my reservation for Friday Sept 2. Two dollar reg. fee and I have a lifetime Fed Parks Pass. I am all set to go.
My Reservation window for Mt. Evans was for 0800-1000. This required me to leave the house at 0700. Another early morning rise and shine for this old retired guy. My route is one that I ride a lot up to Echo Lake as this is the starting point for the climb to the summit of Mt. Evans. The ride to Echo Lake is one of my favorite routes and I have ridden it a lot. Across Denver on Highway 285 to Upper Turkey Creek Canyon, then a right turn on to High Dr. which drops out in Old Evergreen. Passing the Evergreen Golf Course on Upper Bear Creek Rd, I Ride back through the canyon past some very, very (Lots of Money) expensive homes. A few miles later I make a right turn onto Witter Gulch Rd. This road starts the climb up to Squaw Pass Rd. Witter Gulch Rd has quite a few steep switchback turn on it. This is preparation for the switchbacks on Mt. Evans. Once onto Squaw Pass Rd (103) it is a beautiful ride topping out at 11,000 ft before a slight decent to the Echo Lake Lodge at 10,000ft. Here is the entrance to the Summit of Mt. Evans, State Highway 5. It is an overstatement to call this road a highway. I presented my Reservation document and my Federal Parks Pass had headed up Mt Evans Road. 14 miles later I was at the Summit, (14,200ft. according to my GPS.) Took a few pictures and then headed down to ride some of my fav. twisty’s before crossing the city to home. Part two of my trifecta is done. Great ride, 150 miles and many more smiles.
https://goo.gl/maps/8uETGoVcJ6CAkwr47

 

[Pop-Pop]

It looks like ill b there next week. Waiting for the heat wave in the southwest to break.

 

[ChucksKLRST]

High Country Trifecta III

High Country Trifecta: Trail Ridge Rd RMNP, Mt. Evans, Pikes Peak.

The daylight is getting shorter and the dark is getting longer. The warm weather is turning to a cooler time and soon the snow will be flying in the High Country. Watching the weather forecast for the Front Range of Colorado, a cool / cold front is going to be moving in this coming weekend. Along with it is forecasted some long overdue rain. However that also means that there might be snow at the 14000 ft. level in the High Country. I still need to ride to the summit of Pikes Peak to accomplish my High Country Trifecta for this year.
Thursday was supposed to be another overly hot day so I decided to make my ride to Pikes Peak on Thursday, one, to escape some of the heat in the City and two, to be able to complete my trifecta ride this year. I made my reservation for the 08:00 to 10:00 window, which meant I had to leave the house between 06:30 and 07:00 . It is a two hour+ ride to the gate of Pikes Peak drive, without riding down south on I-25. I try not to ride freeway as much as possible. Riding I-25 between Colorado Springs and Denver during rush hour in the morning is taking one’s life in their own hands. Crazy driver who think the freeway is a race track.
I left the house at 06:30 on the dot and made my way south on State highway 83. It runs through Parker and then on to Franktown and then the road opens up on to the north east side of Colorado Springs. Only real morning work traffic to deal with is from SE Aurora, through Parker and halfway to Franktown. After that, few cars and open road. I had to get on the freeway at Inverness parkway on the north side of the Springs for the last 20 miles to the Cimarron exit onto Highway 24. There after a few miles west up the mountain past Manitou Springs through some great 35-45 MPH twisties it bring me to the turn off for the Pikes Peak Toll Road. This passes by The North Pole Santa’s Work Shop Park and to the toll booth for the ride up Pikes Peak. As a side note: If one does not want to ride /drive up the 14000 for mountain, there is a Cog Rail train that leaves out of Manitou Springs to the summit. I have ridden the Cog Rail train many years go, and I would recommend it. Great ride. Fun Time.
Paid my 13 dollars (I get a two dollar military / senior discount) and started up the mountain. The ride starts at 7375 ft and ends at 14110 ft. in altitude. Beautiful ride through the forest and then the real fun is above tree line. The switch backs get a little bit steeper and tighter as the road ascends up the mountain with many stretches of no guard rail. Magnificent ride up. 19 miles from the toll booth to the summit and 98 miles from my house to the summit. I arrive at the toll booth around 08:40 and arrive at the Summit of Pikes Peak about 09:20. Took my pictures and looked around. The views were not as clear as I would have like because of the smoke from the Western State’s fires. A bit hazy to say the least. Headed back down the mountain around 09:50 and decides I would make the ride home via Woodland Park to Deckers and then along the North Platte river on Highway 67. Stopped at the Deckers Café for a short break and drink and then headed along the river for the rest of the ride home.
Another great ride along the Colorado Front Range. Just over 200 miles total
https://goo.gl/maps/qpFJVaoEzpTiEwxa7