I am going to tow the bikes out west and my wife is flying into Denver. Does anybody know a good loop we could do over the week and end up back in Denver. I am looking for some stops with some nice places to stay and get some nice dinners. Also if the weather acts up we can hang there and enjoy what ever town we are in. I have never been in that area so any ideas would help. I plan the middle of July
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Colorado riding
- Thread starter cpc
- Start date
guenner
Member
Aim for the resort at Gateway on Hwy 141 on the western border of Colorado: Excellent rooms and fine dining. You'll find more info on the web. It's shortest riding distance from Denver airport is 300 miles on I-70. But you have plenty of scenic roads to get there and back to Denver besides I-70.
Places I suggest to include are: up Pikes Peak from Colorado Springs in the morning, Hwy 50 between Canon City and Gunnison, Independence Pass between Leadville and Aspen, Hwy 560 between Ridgway and Durango.
Mornings are your riding friends and expect thunder storms in the afternoons!
Make sure you have a reservation for your hotel at the day's end destination because it feels like half of Texas is here in June and July.
/Guenther
Places I suggest to include are: up Pikes Peak from Colorado Springs in the morning, Hwy 50 between Canon City and Gunnison, Independence Pass between Leadville and Aspen, Hwy 560 between Ridgway and Durango.
Mornings are your riding friends and expect thunder storms in the afternoons!
Make sure you have a reservation for your hotel at the day's end destination because it feels like half of Texas is here in June and July.
/Guenther
Mark H
New member
I just love it when I read these posts and find like minds.
My wife and I are planning our next big tour in the US, and Colorado looms large in the itinerary.
I mapped out where I thought looked challenging and exhilarating from Google Maps and it included all of the points mentioned by Guenther. Thank you for validating our proposed route.
This part of the US looks like stunning motorcycling country and we can't wait to get there. Our timing is a little earlier but similar late May and early June (not until 2016).
I hope you and your wife have a great time and please share some of your experiences after the adrenaline rush has subsided.
Regards
Mark
My wife and I are planning our next big tour in the US, and Colorado looms large in the itinerary.
I mapped out where I thought looked challenging and exhilarating from Google Maps and it included all of the points mentioned by Guenther. Thank you for validating our proposed route.
This part of the US looks like stunning motorcycling country and we can't wait to get there. Our timing is a little earlier but similar late May and early June (not until 2016).
I hope you and your wife have a great time and please share some of your experiences after the adrenaline rush has subsided.
Regards
Mark
lee
Debbie's Servant
Hwy 14 Fort Collins to Walden along the Poudre River
Hwy 67 Woodland Park north to Deckers and north to Hwy 285. Lots of bikes at Deckers on a weekend.
Hwy 149 South Fork to Hwy 50 west of Gunnison. Waterfalls between Slumgullion Pass and Spring Creek Pass. Check out Creed.
Hwy 145 starting at Placerville, pickup 141 north of Redvale, pass through Gateway (mentioned above) and end at Whitewater.
Great road, but it gets hot out there. It was 100 deg last July when we were on it.
Hwy 92 Black Canyon of Gunnison
Hwy 550 Ouray to Durango. Check out Ouray, Silverton and Durango.
Hwy 114 Saquache northwest to Hwy 50 east of Gunnison.
If you don't get far the first day after picking up your wife, Idaho Springs is a nice town to spend the night. Good places to eat and we like to stay at the Columbine Inn.
Ask for one of the updated rooms..
Welcome to the forum.
Hwy 67 Woodland Park north to Deckers and north to Hwy 285. Lots of bikes at Deckers on a weekend.
Hwy 149 South Fork to Hwy 50 west of Gunnison. Waterfalls between Slumgullion Pass and Spring Creek Pass. Check out Creed.
Hwy 145 starting at Placerville, pickup 141 north of Redvale, pass through Gateway (mentioned above) and end at Whitewater.
Great road, but it gets hot out there. It was 100 deg last July when we were on it.
Hwy 92 Black Canyon of Gunnison
Hwy 550 Ouray to Durango. Check out Ouray, Silverton and Durango.
Hwy 114 Saquache northwest to Hwy 50 east of Gunnison.
If you don't get far the first day after picking up your wife, Idaho Springs is a nice town to spend the night. Good places to eat and we like to stay at the Columbine Inn.
Ask for one of the updated rooms..
Welcome to the forum.
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Mark H
New member
Lee,
Thank you for the great photos and for the tips on roads.
I had started mapping this area out and we are going to be heading north from Denver area after coming across from the far west. Deckers is certainly on our route.
I did have Hwy 14 to Walden on my route but it was from Masonville up Stove Prairie Road (NCO Road 21) which intersects 14 at Stove Prairie Landing.
Would you recommend this run, or is the first section of 14 from Fort Collins (287) worth us catching?
We can skirt the western edge of Fort Collins from Masonville and it doesn't add a great deal to the distance but I can't tell if this is a better option from what I see on Google Maps.
Also - earlier on we were heading north from Durango to Montrose then Hotchkiss via Sapinero to McLure Pass to Glennwood Springs, but I had 550 as the route. Is 160 out to South Fork and then up 149 worth the wide sweep or is 550 an equal run? https://goo.gl/maps/NJCEN
We love fast mounting twisties with few cars and good road surface.
Highways and particularly interstates are a no no if we can avoid them.
Thank you for the great photos and for the tips on roads.
I had started mapping this area out and we are going to be heading north from Denver area after coming across from the far west. Deckers is certainly on our route.
I did have Hwy 14 to Walden on my route but it was from Masonville up Stove Prairie Road (NCO Road 21) which intersects 14 at Stove Prairie Landing.
Would you recommend this run, or is the first section of 14 from Fort Collins (287) worth us catching?
We can skirt the western edge of Fort Collins from Masonville and it doesn't add a great deal to the distance but I can't tell if this is a better option from what I see on Google Maps.
Also - earlier on we were heading north from Durango to Montrose then Hotchkiss via Sapinero to McLure Pass to Glennwood Springs, but I had 550 as the route. Is 160 out to South Fork and then up 149 worth the wide sweep or is 550 an equal run? https://goo.gl/maps/NJCEN
We love fast mounting twisties with few cars and good road surface.
Highways and particularly interstates are a no no if we can avoid them.
Mark H
New member
Durango to Glenwood Springs could look like this - https://goo.gl/maps/Ydncg
lee
Debbie's Servant
It's been too many years since we have been on 14 to remember for sure. Seems like it's at least 15 miles out of Ft Collins before 14 gets good and you're in the canyon.
Maybe a local will jump in and let you know if 21 is a good choice.
lee
Debbie's Servant
Adding 149 to the above route is too many miles in one day to allow for picture taking and site seeing.
We really like 149 because of little traffic, but if you have never been on 550, I would make 550 my first choice. Try to leave time to check out Silverton.
If you find time for 149 here's the directions to North Creek Falls.
From the town of Creede, travel West on State Highway 149 for 26 miles. Turn right on paved road and go southeast for 1/2 mile to the Overlook.
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Mark H
New member
Lee,
We are crossing 10 states and 9,500 miles in 35 days - as the plan looks now. We did a ride like this exactly 12 months ago but this time we are venturing a little further east to include Colorado.
This next adventure will be in late May 2016. The bikes will ship from Australia by sea and will be waiting for us when we arrive. Same deal last time but we were riding an R1200R and F800R.
I'm going to be posting some more information for those who may be interested in the coming months.
If you would like to see more about the previous trip, we had a blog site which we used to share the tour in 2014. It reads in reverse order so starts with the end - if you get what I mean.
http://endlessroads2014.blogspot.com/
Thanks again for the tips on Colorado roads.
Local knowledge trumps Google maps every time.
Mark
We are crossing 10 states and 9,500 miles in 35 days - as the plan looks now. We did a ride like this exactly 12 months ago but this time we are venturing a little further east to include Colorado.
This next adventure will be in late May 2016. The bikes will ship from Australia by sea and will be waiting for us when we arrive. Same deal last time but we were riding an R1200R and F800R.
I'm going to be posting some more information for those who may be interested in the coming months.
If you would like to see more about the previous trip, we had a blog site which we used to share the tour in 2014. It reads in reverse order so starts with the end - if you get what I mean.
http://endlessroads2014.blogspot.com/
Thanks again for the tips on Colorado roads.
Local knowledge trumps Google maps every time.
Mark
Mark H
New member
I'll check these out - thanks.
We struggle with electronic maps sometimes. Hard to see the "big picture" if know what I mean.
We struggle with electronic maps sometimes. Hard to see the "big picture" if know what I mean.
Mark H
New member
Lee,
It makes for two big days of riding but we could do both in consecutive days - possibly skip the detour to Black Canyon on the second day if the weather is not kind.
https://goo.gl/maps/Du7RG
This does miss the top section of 550 but I suspect it's the lower half which is the best.
.... and then
https://goo.gl/maps/TBdFE
We love long days of riding and are up early to start each day. Living in Australia we get very comfortable with distance and the GS just eat up the miles.
We do tend to sacrifice some of the more tourist oriented experiences for those had on two wheels. These adventures are about the riding and what comes from that which is why road selection is so important. Roads, riding and the people we meet along the way.
Colorado is going to be a blast.
Mark
It makes for two big days of riding but we could do both in consecutive days - possibly skip the detour to Black Canyon on the second day if the weather is not kind.
https://goo.gl/maps/Du7RG
This does miss the top section of 550 but I suspect it's the lower half which is the best.
.... and then
https://goo.gl/maps/TBdFE
We love long days of riding and are up early to start each day. Living in Australia we get very comfortable with distance and the GS just eat up the miles.
We do tend to sacrifice some of the more tourist oriented experiences for those had on two wheels. These adventures are about the riding and what comes from that which is why road selection is so important. Roads, riding and the people we meet along the way.
Colorado is going to be a blast.
Mark
Adding 149 to the above route is too many miles in one day to allow for picture taking and site seeing.
We really like 149 because of little traffic, but if you have never been on 550, I would make 550 my first choice. Try to leave time to check out Silverton.
If you find time for 149 here's the directions to North Creek Falls.
From the town of Creede, travel West on State Highway 149 for 26 miles. Turn right on paved road and go southeast for 1/2 mile to the Overlook.
lee
Debbie's Servant
Your route looks good. North of Ridgeway on 550 is nothing special.
It's been a long time since I've been on 128 in Utah along the Colorado River, but I remember it as a nice route down to Moab.
Check out Arches National Park.
In Utah, Hwy 12, Torrey to Escalante is a fun road.
A neat little gravel road in South East Utah is Moki Dugway, hwy 261.
http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/783-mokee-dugway-usa.html
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lee
Debbie's Servant
Another nice route. The ride along the north side of the canyon is nice and you don't need to ride to the bottom of the canyon if pressed for time.
Mark H
New member
Highway 12 in Utah is also on our list - https://goo.gl/maps/A0Axx
There is simply no end to the amazing roads in th US.
You guys are so lucky to have such a diverse and expansive selection of good quality blacktop. The icing on the cake though are those outrageous mountain ranges. They make for some of the most incredible fast corner riding anywhere in the world.
There is simply no end to the amazing roads in th US.
You guys are so lucky to have such a diverse and expansive selection of good quality blacktop. The icing on the cake though are those outrageous mountain ranges. They make for some of the most incredible fast corner riding anywhere in the world.
