Colorado 1000K-Ride This past Saturday

[Firehawk068]

This turned out to be an AWESOME day of riding!
It ended up being my second longest ride day ever.............

A few days prior, I had been checking the weather for the weekend and knew I wanted to check out some new roads that I had never been on.
I put together a basic ride route, with some new roads, as well as some sections I wanted to re-visit.
Knowing that it was going to be a long day in the saddle, and not wanting to end up in the mountains after dark I planned on leaving early.....................However I ended up sleeping in a bit longer, and got on the road at 7am.



The first part of the ride took me down Rt105 through Sedalia and Palmer Lake.
Halfway down this road my nose detected the distinct sting of forest-fire smoke. There's a bunch of them here in Colorado, and sometimes the wind currents blow and concentrate the smoke in certain areas.
There was a bunch of smoke-haze mixed with morning fog down by Colorado Springs.







After getting on the Interstate in Monument, I blazed down to my first fuel stop at Colorado City.



The next road was new to me. I headed west on Rt165. It follows a mountain range through the towns of Rye and Fairview.





I made a quick stop in Fairview at a very well-know Colorado Landmark. (Bishop's Castle) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_Castle
I didn't have time to take a tour, but plan on bringing the kids down there to check it out.





I continued on the 165, then turned west on Rt96 toward Westcliffe.





Once there, I headed North on Rt69.
I stopped to take a picture of a wildfire spotted up on a mountainside.



Mountains in the distance.



I continued North toward Texas Creek.







Once I met up with the Arkansas River, I headed East on the 50 towards Canon City.





.

Just before you enter Canon City, there is a turnoff to a one-lane road that follows a "Hogs-Back" ridge along it's spine. (Skyline Drive)
Halfway along it there was a short delay while a tow-truck retrieved a rider's Harley after he/she apparently dropped the bike and was too scared to ride it the rest of the way.















I wanted to try and get an uninterrupted GoPro video of the road, so I made another lap.............................I almost made it. At the end, there was another delay as a group of Harley riders couldn't quite figure out how to negotiate the last hairpin turn.
I'll apologize about the bug splatter on the lens, my buzzing fairing, and my howling speedometer. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts2c7t-2Rx0

I'll update the rest later today..........................More details to follow.

[Tekime]

Beautiful ride, great shots.

The heat here is overwhelming today, only mid-80's but the humidity is unbearable! Although in Maine anything over 50 is tee shirt weather 

[Firehawk068]

After my second lap of "Skyline Drive", I stopped in town to top up the fuel tank.
I then back-tracked a short distance West on Hwy50, where I turned North on Rt9 towards Hartsel.



I happened upon a Bison Ranch, so I stopped to take a picture.





I continued on, and once I reached Hartsel I headed West on Hwy24 towards Buena Vista.











Heading North out of Buena Vista on the 24, I once again met up with the Arkansas River.











I turned West on Hwy82 at Twin Lakes.
I had to stop and take a few pictures of the gorgeous scenery.







While I was at Twin Lakes, I made a stop at White Star Campground.
Earlier this year when my wife and I bought our Pop-Up Camper, I joined one of the Camper forums. I popped in to say HI to a couple other forum members, who were having their "Colorado Rally" at this particular campground this past weekend.



I sat in the shade and chatted with them for about a half hour, but having already started my day behind schedule I didn't stay long.
I continued West on 82 toward Independence Pass.





Heading up the pass, I made a quick stop for a picture or two.





One of my ideas for the day was to test out the GoPro camera, to see what worked, and what didn't.
I grabbed a bunch of footage. Some of it is interesting, some not so much.
I learned a bunch of things about it, and about filming with it. Next time out will hopefully get some better results.
I didn't really edit any of the footage I got, or add any music. It is all just raw footage.

Here's a Video of me riding up the East Side of the pass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D95bJ1RcS5w

Once at the top of the pass, I stopped briefly for a couple more pictures.





I knew I still had a good distance to cover, so I didn't spend a lot of time up there.

Here's the video of riding down the West side of the pass, and into Aspen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcPVi2hPppg

I didn't stop in Aspen, as I knew I was still behind schedule, so I continued up the 82 through Basalt, towards Carbondale.
I ended up topping off fuel in Carbondale.











I then continued North towards Glenwood Springs.
Just as I was getting into town, I spot this guy!

http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4020 <- Awesome detail of his fabrication!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F4sJU8eoDw











I rode a short distance on Interstate 70, through Glenwood Canyon, to the little town of Dotsero.
I wanted to revisit "Colorado River Road". I rode it last year going the other direction. It is half paved/half dirt.
I was surprised to see they have done some work to the road surface (the dirt section), and they are replacing the one-lane bridges with modern 2-lane ones.
I hit the road just at the perfect time. The late afternoon setting sun brought out all the different colors in the canyon.
I did get video footage of almost the entire road. I split it into 3 parts.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjkl7yBN_5M

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD5wA1AK60s

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-hTee3P4jc

I stopped at one spot along the Colorado River for a quick break, and a snack.





This is one of the bridges over the river that they are replacing.



Trains also run through this same section of canyon, along the river.
I rode this track last year on an Amtrak when we took the family to Glenwood Springs for a fun weekend away.



Reminders are everywhere, that most of Colorado is actually High Desert.



The day was getting long, so I made tracks toward the final leg of my ride day.

I turned North on Rt131 at McCoy, and rode a short distance to what would turn out to be one of my favorite roads in Colorado.
Highway 134 from Toponas, over Gore Pass and on to Wolford Reservoir. This road just has a nice rhythm to it, with lots of fast sweepers.



I didn't really take many pictures, as I was just enjoying riding it.
I did get some video footage, but haven't uploaded it yet, so I'll post the links later.

At the end of this road, I headed down Hwy40 to my final fuel stop of the day at Kremmling.
The light was fading fast, so I grabbed fuel and a quick snack, then headed south on Rt9 past Green Mountain Reservoir, towards Interstate 70.









By the time I reached Silverthorne it was pretty much getting dark, so I made one last quick stop to clean the bugs off my visor and headlight cover.
The remainder of the journey home was Interstate freeway.

I arrived safely back home almost right at 10:00pm

This was my ride route for the day: https://goo.gl/maps/HFLTAur5Hmr



Total distance covered was 658 miles, or 1059 Kilometers. (the extra 8 miles was my second lap of "Skyline Drive")



A day's worth of Colorado bugs................



I ended up having PERFECT weather all day! I couldn't have asked for a better riding day......................................Well, maybe if I had a close friend or two along for the ride, it would have been better.  

One of my goals for the day, was to finish off this set of Conti-Motions, so I could plan on getting a new set mounted.
I'd say "Mission Accomplished"..........

Rear:


Front:


I ordered a new set of tires on Tuesday, and they showed up at my door in 2-days, with NO shipping or tax!
I'm not a super-aggressive rider, and I've heard a bunch of good reviews, so I figured I would try a set of these this time.
We'll see how I like them.

[FJmonkey]

That F!&% does it for me!!! I have to ride with you and enjoy them roads and awesome places. 

[Pat Conlon]

Colorado was beautiful Mark. You were missed.

I hope we go back to Ouray. Much better facilities there than the pestilence at the KOA in Gunnison.

Alan, I am digging your ride reports!

[Firehawk068]

That F!&% does it for me!!! I have to ride with you and enjoy them roads and awesome places. 

Get your Monkey-Butt out here!
Let's Ride!  

[Firehawk068]

Alan, can you post a route map? I am digging your ride reports!

I updated the post with a route Map.

[Pat Conlon]

Got it....thanks!

[FJmonkey]

How much for a set of 17" Shinko tires? I get a set of Continental Motions for less than $170 delivered. And I run them to near the edge. Craig O. runs off the edge so they out perform what I can do.

[Firehawk068]

How much for a set of 17" Shinko tires? I get a set of Continental Motions for less than $170 delivered. And I run them to near the edge. Craig O. runs off the edge so they out perform what I can do.

This set was $151.oo to my door.

[FJmonkey]

How much for a set of 17" Shinko tires? I get a set of Continental Motions for less than $170 delivered. And I run them to near the edge. Craig O. runs off the edge so they out perform what I can do.

This set was $151.oo to my door.

Ok post up your source. I may try a set. Or PM if it is a secrete... 

[yamaha fj rider]

Awesome post Alan. So many roads so little time.

Kurt

[rktmanfj]

You're gonna like those Shinkos, I think... I'm on my 3rd set.

They last a lot long than the ContiMotions, too. My current set has 4 rallies on them, and going strong.

[aviationfred]

Great post with awesome photos. Hwy 50 along the Arkansas river is one of my favorite stretches of road.

I have read good reviews on the Shinko's. I have thought about trying the Shinko Verge 2's or the new Metzeler Roadtec 01's.

Thanks for sharing your ride.

Fred

[Firehawk068]

How much for a set of 17" Shinko tires? I get a set of Continental Motions for less than $170 delivered. And I run them to near the edge. Craig O. runs off the edge so they out perform what I can do.

This set was $151.oo to my door.

Ok post up your source. I may try a set. Or PM if it is a secrete... 

No secret, just Amazon...........
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007KAFSXW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1