To The High Country - June/July 2013

Quick Facts:

Dates: 6/21 - 7/6 2013

Total Trip Mileage: 5650 miles

Accommodations: Tent, Hotels, 3 days condo rental

Full Photo Collection, in various sizes, on SmugMug Here (clicky)

Camera: iPhone 4S...my Canon point and shoot camera died the night before I left, preventing "rolling shots".

For those interested in packing details, I'll cover that at the end.

I'm still putting this report together, so it will span a number of posts in this thread as I get them written.

I'd always dreamed about taking my FJR out to the high mountains of Colorado, where I spent most of my time growing up, but really didn't know if I'd ever get enough time or have the finances to put such an adventure together. Then in May, pigs flew. First, my brother (a SoCal FJR owner and forum member) and I offloaded some land we owned in TN kind of by surprise, then my brother put the thought in my head that I ought to ride my FJR out to meet him and his son in our hometown of Winter Park, CO while they enjoyed a father/son mountain biking and fishing trip. It was a slippery slope from there.

Getting two weeks off worked out pretty easily; our office is closed for the 4th of July week already, so tacking on a week and a day before that proved trouble-free, especially with my boss enamored with the idea of me riding across the country. With that, the major pieces were in place. Apart from the few days I was going to be hanging with my brother and nephew, the plan was to meander around Colorado and see where the road took me with no real schedule other than when I wanted to be back home. I also planned to mix tent camping and hotels, depending how I found myself at the end of each day. I'd originally planned to hit Utah and Arizona as well, but the 110+ heatwave they were having put me off that. That said, I did get a tiny piece of those states near the end of the trip...

Preparing the bike for the distance wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I mounted a new PR3 rear and PR2 front (no real reason for the mix...I love both versions), changed the engine and pumpkin oil, topped off the cooling reservoir, checked my brakes, and double-checked my accessory wiring. I also bought and installed Gary's (Garuald) excellent hydration system to replace my suit-vent-blocking Camelbak. Earlier this year, I'd installed a CalSci tinted shorty screen for better cooling (works great) and opted to keep it installed for the trip.

Friday, June 21, 2013 - 675 miles

Here, the bike's all packed and raring to go...



The plan for getting out to Colorado was simple...slab it. While I would've loved to mosey my way out there, I figured it was best to get there relatively fast THEN mosey. I left early on Friday, the 21st with plans to meet my brother on Sunday afternoon, when he arrived in Winter Park.

RIDER TIP: If you're going to take I-40 into or out of NC at the TN border, it might be worthwhile to check the condition of I-40 through the Pigeon River Gorge prior to hitting it as its prone to accidents and rock slides. As I was about 1/4 of the way through, I saw a massive overturned logging truck accident on the eastbound side...the stoppage looked to be around 12 miles long and apparently lasted a few hours. Here, I'm miles away from the accident at the last westbound NC rest area and traffic is stopped dead just over the dividing wall...that had to suck bigtime. I lucked out.



I stuck to I-40 until Nashville, where I jumped on I-24 and kept heading west. The weather was hot and humid, with the occasional cooling rain shower, but traffic wasn't too bad and I made pretty good time. At Cadiz, KY, I found a nice Super 8 and called it a day with 675 miles done for the day.



Sunrise the next day...the bike patiently waits.



Saturday, June 22 - 657 miles

I woke up with the sunrise, packed up, and hit the road, continuing up I-24 to I-57 and then I-64 towards St. Louis and I-70. While stopping in Illinois for fuel, I noticed that my right fork seal had started to leak...it didn't appear to be too bad and hadn't traveled down the fork leg much or blown onto my leg, so I wiped it down and planned to dig into it that night at the hotel.

Stopped in Lake St. Louis at one of my favorite eateries that we don't have in my area. My only complaint was that they brought my baked beans out too early...I like to dip my fries in the beans, but by the time my burger and fires arrived, the beans were gone.

While eating lunch, I missed out on the only real rain storm of the day...darn...



As the day wore on, the crosswinds increased. At a truck stop to fuel up, the tv weather said 60-70mph crosswinds...yep, it was a lot of fun (not) fighting those crosswinds. At one of the rest areas, I met a Super Tenere rider heading to New Mexico, via Colorado. Interesting guy with a long history of long rides...he wasn't enjoying the crosswinds either, nor the 90+ heat that had me draining my 1/2 gallon jug at a pretty fast rate...refilling at truck stops & convenience stores was painless.

I detoured around the I-70 toll section in Kansas City and took US24 all the way to Topeka before rejoining I-70. The detour wasn't that bad and was actually a nice break from the slab; it tried to rain a little bit, but only a few drops fell.

The crosswinds continued to be the theme of the afternoon. At the rest area between Topeka and Junction City, this fella with the boat, who'd been tailing me for many miles on I-70, looked about as tired as I was from battling the winds. He wasn't having fun, but remarked it was probably better than what I was dealing with...



After an afternoon of crosswind battle, I pulled into a Motel 6 at Salina, Kansas and called it a day after 657 miles. The left side of my body was sore from the bludgeoning crosswind and the cold AC in the hotel room felt awesome. Still had work to do though, as I pulled out my Seal Mate and set about correcting the weeping fork seal; the Seal Mate worked. The fork seal would not leak again for the entire trip...in fact, the bike was flawless for the remainder of the trip.

Sunday, June 23 - 498 miles

Once again, I was up with the morning light, but today would be the last day of slabbing as I expected to hit Winter Park in the afternoon.

Morning light in Salina...



At a truck stop in Bunker Hill, KS, found something you just don't see everyday...



As is tradition, when entering Colorado, take a picture of the welcome mat...



After blowing through the heat island of Denver as quickly as possible, I finally hit the mountains! I continued along I-70 until reaching US40 at Empire, where I headed north up Berthoud Pass. The pass wasn't in the best shape...it almost seemed like it hadn't seen work since I left the valley in the early '90's, lol. Still just as scenic...



Looking north, down into the valley where my hometown of Winter Park lay. The Continental Divide runs down from the right side of the pic.



Sorry, can't help it. Self-promotion...I was thrilled to be here finally!



Rolled down the pass into my hometown valley and stopped at Winter Park Resort to meet up with my brother and nephew. The base area of Winter Park Resort...a bit of snow still remains.



The ski area's changed a lot over the years and, for me, the base area is practically unrecognizable with the massive condo development sitting in what used to be a mega parking lot (left side of above photo). At least Balcony House (middle building) and West Portal (right building) looked familiar. My father used to work here as did I, year round, during my high school years; it was a fun job that included a season pass during the winters...which was awesome. Just out of frame right is the Moffat Tunnel that goes under the Continental Divide, over to the east slope. I probably should've snapped a pic, but I'd seen it thousands of times and couldn't be bothered.

After waiting a bit, my brother and his son returned from some mountain biking at the ski area. It was good to see both after a few years! We shot the bull for a bit then, as rain started to fall, my brother took off to finalize the condo we'd be renting for the next few days while I wandered down the road a bit past Winter Park to see how things had changed in the 20-odd years it'd been since I left town to enter the USMC.

Between the towns of Fraser and Tabernash, off US40, looking back, south, towards Winter Park and a minor storm; Berthoud Pass lies beyond.



We finally settled into our rented condo for the next couple of days; the day slipped away...



Monday, June 24 - Winter Park.

Today was to be a non-riding day as my brother and I wanted to tour around the county and see how things had changed. My brother's been back here several times since our high school days, but I hadn't been back since around 1991 or so. Here's a quick tour of the area...

Looking up towards downtown Winter Park on a Monday morning; the ski area watching over the town. Rush hour? Ha.



The town center of Winter Park lies at around 9,000', and is apparently now the country's highest incorporated town as of 2006 with a peak elevation of 10,578' on some empty land thanks to annexation.

The largest notable feature that struck me is the extent to which the pine bark beetles have ravaged the forests of the valley and Colorado in general. Back in the '80's, the forests were thick with trees and the beetles were just starting to become a problem, but wow, they've been busy since then...there are wide swath's of forest either cleared thanks to them or in the process of being killed by them (the large gray patches of dead-standing forest are easy to spot). It was quite a shock to me. The swath's of dead trees essentially turn into firecrackers, waiting for a lightning strike to set them alight...we've unfortunately seen the fiery results over the past few years. To mitigate the risk of fire and rot fall, the dead trees are cut down and stacked, leading to large areas of clear cut. Some of trees are recycled into other uses, as we'll see later...

Our hometown valley, Byers Peak (12,804') is the "can't miss" feature...it's a fun climb when the conditions are decent.



Beetle-killed trees in our old neighborhood between Fraser and Tabernash, just down the road from Winter Park. You can see the stacks of cut-up dead trees...the most popular method of dealing with the beetle kill trees.



Our old digs as kids/teens. My parents bought the land and Boise Cascade built the house in sections and trucked it up from the front range and put it over the basement foundation...fascinating stuff for us kids, lol.



Our "neighborhood" was a loose collection of a few houses back in the '80's. It also included what we liked to call "The Ghost Town"...it was actually a logging camp or something like that from the early 1900's. It used to be a secluded, forest-locked collection of falling down structures. As kids, we found a lot of neat stuff there, including pieces of some rather nice plates. These days, thanks to the beetles, it's out in the open and what remains is quickly falling to the ravages of winter.

My nephew checking out the Ghost Town's outhouse.



Behind the ridge our old house is on, is a little valley that holds the Devils Thumb Ski Ranch. You can just see the pinnacle of rock that makes up Devil's Thumb up on the ridge of the Divide. Again, this used to be a heavily forested area...still beautiful country and it'll rebound eventually.



We're on US40 in my brother's pickup, heading over towards Granby here. The Waste Management truck ahead of us just finished trying to run us off the road while crossing a bridge; he missed us literally by an inch. He was doing at least 20 over and must've had somewhere important to be. My brother's LEO driving skills saved the day...



The town of Grand Lake, just outside the Rocky Mountain National Park. Grand Lake's really sleepy in the winter, but comes alive in the summer. I lived here in a nearby ranch/campground during the summer of '87 after I graduated high school in Granby and was awaiting my entry date into the Marine Corps.



We had some lunch in Grand Lake and then beat it back to Winter Park to do some fishing...our tour was over, lol.

My brother working the creek outside our condo.



My brother pulling one in with his son looking on. The fish in the creek were Brook and Rainbow Trout...small, but sometimes up to 12". This creek was a bit tricky at times as snags were common.



Tomorrow, on this trip, I'll be taking a day ride over to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

The next installment comes soon and I promise, there are many passes and great roads to come...

And we continue...

Tuesday, June 25th - Rocky Mountain National Park.
Today was a free day as my brother and nephew were going out mountain biking, so I went out and did my own brand of biking...in the Rocky Mountain National Park. During the summer after my high school graduation, I'd regularly lead horse tours...and a few girlfriends into this park; it's an impressive place filled with impressive views.

RMNP is primarily serviced by US34 and is known as Trail Ridge Road while it goes through the park. The road rises to an altitude of 12,183', but crosses the Continental Divide at 10,758'. Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved continuous road in the US (Mt. Evans is higher, but not a through route).

The road into the park from the Grand Lake side offers some stunning scenery while gently making its way to the base of the climb...


Making the climb up Trail Ridge; you can just see a cut below where the road makes its way up to where I'm at.


Looking back down the valley I came up on. The road/trail across the valley has always sparked my interest...I think it's an old mining road.




A better view of the valley on the west side, back towards Grand Lake. The views really don't stop on this road.


I kinda skipped taking pics of the no guard-rail climb above treeline as I approached the "summit", but I did grab a pic of tourists being fascinated by old snow at the "not quite the summit, but the only real spot for the parking lot summit". The actual 12,183' road summit is a bit past the store at and lacks a pull off or parking.


Look east from the summit...I think that's Old Fall River Road climbing up the hill (dirt).




The ridge that extends upward from the summit parking lot...Trail Ridge goes around this over on the right side as it heads east.


Hey, an actual bike photo finally...Feej waits to head down the hill.


I'm just past the summit parking lot here...closer to the real summit. If you're not careful, you could waste an entire day soaking in the views...




Looking out over the Gore Range....I want to say this valley goes eastward if I remember right. Whatever...it's friggin spectacular!


The east side of Trail Ridge, as it made its way down to Estes Park via several steps. Yes, it's fun if there's no traffic...


Looking back up while going down to the east.


I eventually reached Estes Park and found it to be HOT and jam packed with tourists...I quickly left and forgot about being a shutterbug, but I did stop on the outskirts of town to grab lunch. Nothing remarkable, but good. I headed back up the Trail Ridge and collected a few more shots before beating it back to Winter Park.








Got back to Winter Park late in the afternoon and enjoyed a hearty "last meal" with my brother and nephew, who'd be leaving tomorrow...as I'd be doing also. Back at the condo, the creek called...

My lovely loaner rod with the ever-kinking line, lol.


My brother and his son having their moment...that's the way it should be.


Tuesday was a good day, lots of scenery and good times with my brother and nephew. Tomorrow, they'd be heading back to SoCal and I'd be resuming my adventure around Colorado with such places as Cottonwood Pass, The Million Dollar Highway, Mt. Evans ahead of me.

To be continued....

Tasty ride report. Waiting for the next chapter ....

Looking good! Standing by for the next installment...

--G

Wednesday, June 26th - On the move...
My brother and nephew were returning to SoCal today, so it was time for me to once again hit the road and continue my adventure. As they departed, I lazed around the condo a bit until I decided where I wanted to go today. My general idea was to cruise over to Steamboat Springs, check it out, and then turn south and run until I felt like stopping for the day, wherever that may be.

One last look; Byers Peak from our rental-condo's deck.

I dumped the condo keys in the dropbox and made for the hills...

The route to Steamboat is pretty simple; US40 west. The road goes through Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, and Kremmling, then on over Rabbit Ears Pass (9426'), eventually ending up in an over-commercialized Steamboat Springs. It's a fairly interesting ride over the pass (not enough for a photo), but otherwise somewhat sedate and unchanged from what I remember as a teen. As for Steamboat, it was already hot and full of traffic when I arrived...all I wanted to do was keep rolling, so I snapped a photo and beat it.


From Steamboat, I turned south and took CO131 towards Wolcott, which lies along I-70. CO131 turned out to be a neat little road, with some canyon carving, and a little surprise.

Near McCoy, fixin' to enter a nice little canyon...


As I worked down the canyon, a nice collection of sweepers with no traffic, I saw a bunch of dust blowing up from the rim of the canyon...it held an unexpected surprise.


My guess is that they were practicing mountainside deployments...as a few Youtube videos have shown from operations in Afghanistan.




At Wolcott, I turned east onto US6, and paralleled I-70 until US24, where I headed south again, towards Leadville. US24 turned out to be packed with spectacular views and some really good riding.

US24, in the White River National Forest


US24, White River National Forest, as it crosses over a rail line and Water St (the dirt road). This road was a great ride, especially on the FJR...the scenery was gorgeous too.




Looking back up the road from the bridge. FUN!


US24 southbound, heading towards Leadville. The views are simply awe-inspiring.


I blew through Leadville, which seemed like a Harley headquarters with a splash of REALLY heavy hauler big rigs, and headed for Independence Pass (12,095'), which is west, off US24 on CO82. I've never been on it, but I heard it was cool, so I thought I'd have a look for myself. It didn't disappoint.

When you turn off US24 onto CO82, you quickly come upon Twin Lakes...


I worked my way up 82 and eventually, Independence Pass revealed itself in a stunning preview...


Looking back from where I'd come.


And a sprinkle of bike pr0n...


The cut we just saw from below...guard rails are in short supply on most of the mountain passes in Colorado.


Made it...


Looking off to the west, towards the Aspen area.


It was at the Summit where I got to practice my international biker relations. In the photo below, you'll see 3 Harleys on the far left...they're rentals. Each bike was being ridden by some European fellows...I'm guessing from the east; none could speak any English. While I was standing around the summit sign, one of them approached me and signaled through various gestures if I could take a photo of their group by the sign. Sure thing! Next thing I know, each approaches me with their cameras and soon, I'm balancing 4 cameras, snapping pictures of them posing by the sign. Really nice guys...I bet they were having the time of their life...much like I was. Apparently, they loved my FJR, as they couldn't stop looking at it...it really sucked that our communication skills were lacking.


Sorry, can't help it...


Hmm...


Coming down the west side of Independence Pass. What a neat road...


From the pass, the next notable point along 82 was Aspen. It met my expectations completely...crowded, too much traffic, and hot...I slipped through town with nary a photo and continued on CO82 towards Glenwood Springs. By now, it was late afternoon, so my thoughts turned to finding a spot to stop for the night and the Allstays camping and RV app on my phone said there was a campground just outside of Glenwood Springs that sounded good...target set.

While I cruised up to Glenwood Springs on the, by now, busy CO82, I passed by the turn to CO133 at Carbondale. It looked like the road headed straight for some tall mountains...that'd be my target for tomorrow's start. A few miles later, I turned west off the road and tracked down the Hideout Cabins & Campground. They had a tent spot, showers, and it was cheap ($25). I set up my tent in a nice quiet little spot and split for some grub and beer...


Today was a VERY full day of excellent riding and beautiful country and I was ready for more on Thursday. First though, I needed some shut-eye....tomorrow should be interesting.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The helicopter you saw is part of the Colorado National Guard's high altitude training, open to all branches of the military. I have seen them many times around the Flat Tops.

https://co.ng.mil/arng/haats/facts/default.aspx

eddiememphis said:

The helicopter you saw is part of the Colorado National Guard's high altitude training, open to all branches of the military. I have seen them many times around the Flat Tops.https://co.ng.mil/arng/haats/facts/default.aspx

Click to expand...

Yea, I expected as much. It was pretty cool watching them for the tail end of the exercise that I saw.

Good stuff. Very good stuff. FWIW, I graduated in '88 but never entered the service. You may see in my RR Dad's license plate on the '07 FJR indicates his USMC Vietnam Service.

Nice report & wonderful pictures!

Thanks!

Thursday, June 27th - Black Canyon of the Gunnison & Cottonwood Pass WOW...
Woke up at a somewhat more relaxed time and rolled out of the tent; the day looked like it'd be a good one...at least as far as mountain weather goes. Packed up, stopped by the local McD's for a "Big Breakfast" and rolled south to catch what I'd passed by the evening before, CO133 at Carbondale. This day was to be another one with no specific plans or agenda...just cruise until I stopped pretty much.

I turned south on CO133 and marveled at the wonderful morning; a little ways south of Carbondale, Mt. Sopris (12,953') exemplified what it was like...


The road was fantastic, with nice sweepers and a some tighter stuff as I came up on McClure Pass (8763').

It's not a high pass, relatively speaking, but that doesn't mean it was short on views.


Just another day cruising in Colorado...the wildlife...


Approaching McClure Pass...and more stunning views.


Partway up the initial climb up McClure, I ran into my first real construction stoppage on the trip. A bunch of guys were descaling the rock face beside the road (too far ahead of me for a pic). I was stopped for about 10 minutes and then moved on, but not before looking back down the road.


I've always considered Colorado one of the most scenic states...so I tend to gawk.


Pr0n...McClure Pass.


Without stopping at the summit (basically a cut with no views), I made my way just down from it and gazed at what was to come...a good little ride was coming up.


One last look back up towards the summit.


After clearing the pass, the ride become more of a really nice canyon running affair, rolling alongside the Paonia Reservoir. Saw an FJR going the other direction with a group...that happened a lot. I never seemed to run into actual "stopped" FJR riders on this trip, until the very end, usually it was FJRs zipping by in the other direction or folks walking up to me or the bike and professing to their liking or wanting an FJR. I have no trouble extolling the virtues of this fine machine to anyone who asks.

Along the Paonia Reservoir...the sign tells the story....FUN!


I continued down CO133 with the goal of reaching Hotchkiss, CO where it looked like CO92 might be a good choice to hop on. Along the way, I experimented with some dirt...

This road leads up to Kebler Pass (10,007'), which heads east over to Crested Butte, a place I wanted to visit a bit later, but not right then. I turned around after having gone a number of miles up the road. This is a road I have to explore in the future; it's paved in bits here or there, but is treated dirt for the most part.

I continued heading south on CO133 until I reached Hotchkiss, then turned east onto CO92. I had no real preconceived notions or prior knowledge about 92 other than noticing it skirted the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, so it had to interesting. I was richly rewarded for the pick as it turned out to be one of the best roads I'd ever run...

CO92 starts out rather sedately from Hotchkiss and then, as it approaches the rim of the canyon, the fun begins. The road clings to the side of the canyon like fudge drizzled over ice cream, with heaps of high speed sweepers with the occasional tight turn thrown in for good measure. Seems like some folks run into construction or traffic jams on this road, now that I read up on it, but for me, I had none of that...little to no traffic and zero construction or signs of construction. Feej got a workout...

92 starts quietly...


Then hits the Black Canyon of the Gunnison...


Commence giggling like a school girl...


No shortage of views along CO92 and the canyon.




If you look hard, you can see 92 back in the distance as it loops around up to where I was at. Sweeper city....


Beauty shot...and the scenery of course.


Steep...


92 wasn't finished yet...just an unbelievable strip of pavement....really.


Morrow Point Reservoir lies at the bottom of the canyon.


I think this road was allocated all of the guard rails from the other roads I'd been on so far...


Here's what you get A LOT of on this road.


CO92 as it winds its way down towards meeting US50. I'd consider this road a bucket-list road...it was so much fun and I caught it at the perfect time.




Unfortunately, CO92 ran out and I was greeted by US50, where I had to make a decision...turn right, towards Montrose (US550 - Million Dollar Highway) or turn left and head east to Gunnison. The Million Dollar Highway was on my "to-do" list, but I was thinking it would make a great closer on this trip, so not yet...I headed to Gunnison.

If you hadn't noticed, the scenery in this area is markedly different, but it still retained every bit of beauty found in the mountains. The Blue Mesa Reservoir, on the way towards Gunnison.


Upon reaching Gunnison, I decided now was the time to see Crested Butte, so I turned north on CO135. The ride contained a bit of canyon carving and some gentle stuff...with the attendant knock-out views. May I present Crested Butte...


There was some sort of huge bike event going on in Crested Butte and bicyclists were all over the roads (the theme for most of my mountain riding in CO, lol). I passed through town and ran into a dirt road that headed up to Schofield Pass (10,722'). I followed the road up for a few miles, but decided to turn around after checking my map. The pass is good up to the summit, but goes 4x4 on a rock shelf past that...something beyond the FJRs capabilities except for the most crazy of us.

Schofield Pass road, looking towards the northeast...stunning scenery!


Just can't help it...the FJR is a thing of beauty...


Coming back south, through Crested Butte...


My next task was exiting the valley Crested Butte was in and my choices were few and the day was getting very long. I could either go back south to Gunnison and continue from there, head back west over Kebler Pass (the dirt road I'd turned around on earlier in the day), or tackle Cottonwood Pass and head east to Buena Vista...I picked Cottonwood...it looked like fun.

I backtracked a bit south on CO135 until just north of Almont, CO, taking a road called Jack's Cabin Cutoff...a detour from the closed normal route out of Almont. The road was dirt and rather fun; after a few miles, it dumped me off along the Taylor River and a beautiful ribbon of freshly-laid asphalt (Gunnison County Road 209). The road meandered through the National Forest, along the river up to the Taylor Park Reservoir (9400'). It would've made an excellent high speed sweeper road (reminded me of 28 out of Deals Gap) if it weren't for it being an "open-range" road and loaded with herds of cattle, lol. I had a few surprises around corners, but my speed wasn't too much, so it was more of a curiosity...from me and the cows, as I maneuvered between the beasts crowding the road. My shutterbug instinct completely failed me here, but I did eventually reach the reservoir..


Finding the right road past the reservoir was a bit tricky as there are several leading off in various directions, but I managed to stick to County Road 209 as it turned to approximately 14 miles of dirt to the summit of Cottonwood Pass (I didn't use GPS while in Colorado, just my Rand McNally Road Atlas "book" on the iPhone...no connections needed). What a road! The dirt road to the summit was a challenge with a heavy bike like the FJR, but the ole girl did it, reaching the 12,126' summit under weepy, dark clouds.

Going to the summit from the west side means nothing but this the whole 14 miles.


It wasn't too bad, but the hairpins were sketchy as they were covered with a lot more loose pea gravel.


Going up...


Looking back down at what I'd come up on.




....and I reached the Cottonwood Pass Summit as darker clouds rolled in. I was very proud of myself for making those 14 miles without dumping the bike in some of the more sketchy sections....I came white knuckle close more than a few times.


From the summit eastward, the road becomes Chaffee County Road 306 into Buena Vista and is nicely paved all the way down...it was another fabulous bit of pavement with only a few vehicles on it.





I took one more look at the west side's dirt road I'd come up on before setting off for the paved eastern side. You can just make out where the pavement starts at the summit.


I must confess, no photos going down the eastern side of Cottonwood...I was too busy having a frickin blast! It turned out to be a great stretch of pavement all the way down to the point where it hits the flats going into Buena Vista. The few vehicles I came up on kindly moved aside as if they knew what it was like for a motorcycle on that road.

Once in Buena Vista, I turned north on US/CO24 and stopped to scope out accommodations for the night as the evening was creeping in fast. My Allstays app came to the rescue as it pointed me to a little campground just north of town along the Arkansas River...and it had showers!


That night, I enjoyed a Subway sandwich and some beer while watching thunderstorms roll over the mountains I'd come over a bit earlier...it had been a most excellent day of riding! I wondered what tomorrow would bring...

TO BE CONTINUED....

Burnspot,

Wow! You gave a wonderful account of your loooong journey. Loved both the pic's and the narrative. Planning my own solo camping trip to Colorado very soon. In two of your photos, I see a very practical rear luggage rack. Is it home made or from an aftermarket supplier? Any info you could provide about it would be much appreciated.

Thanks and best wishes for many more safe miles in your future.

Proteus1952 said:

Burnspot,
Wow! You gave a wonderful account of your loooong journey. Loved both the pic's and the narrative. Planning my own solo camping trip to Colorado very soon. In two of your photos, I see a very practical rear luggage rack. Is it home made or from an aftermarket supplier? Any info you could provide about it would be much appreciated.

Thanks and best wishes for many more safe miles in your future.

Click to expand...

Hey, thanks a lot Proeus! I got more coming.
The rear rack is made by Premier Cycle Accessories. It's changed over the years...here's a link to the latest version I think: https://www.pca-one.com/productDetail.asp?productID=7771&RetURL=search&search=&bikeType=&bikeMake=&bikeModel=&bikeYear=&MfgCode=PCA

They come up for sale here in the forums from time to time. I've found it to be super handy to have as you can strap just about anything to it (with appropriate weight concerns).

Burnspot,

Holy Cow! Such quick turnaround on a question! I'll look into Premier Cycle and keep the weight concerns in mind. I've had my FJR for less than two weeks and have to adjust to the differences from my old pair of wheels. (A 2000 750 Nighthawk on which many LD camping trips were made.) I like to camp whenever possible and hit the motels only when forced to by fatigue or really bad weather.

Best regards,

Proteus

Friday, June 28th - A Kinda Short Day Spiced With Loveland Pass
I woke up to a dusty campsite; the wind was blowing and dust was coating everything...almost as bad as the pollen I'd run into earlier in the trip. Like an archaeologist dusting off some ancient person's skull, I lightly cleaned the bike of the little piles of sand, packed up, and beat it south into Buena Vista for some food. I stopped in at The Branding Iron Bar and Grille and enjoyed this marvelous collection of calories...


After breakfast, with the morning sun beating down relentlessly on me in my one piece Stich, an old fella and his wife accosted me and started asking heaps of questions about my bike and the trip...he was an old BMW guy. It was fun talking to him, but eventually even his wife thought he was starting to ramble and tugged at his shoulder to go eat breakfast before it turned to lunch. By now, I just wanted to get rolling and get some cooling airflow...I was baking. Back on Feej, I headed south and then east as US24 meandered a bit. My rough plan was to move north (I wanted to do the Mt. Evans thing) and knock it off a bit early today to find a campsite that I could spend two days at before the weekend crowd hit and sponged up all the sites. I had seen CO9 on the map and thought I'd have a look and see if it was interesting going north from US24 to Fairplay. It wasn't; I could've saved a bit of time and just taken US285 up to Fairplay, but no use crying over it...I didn't have a date or anything. CO9 up to Fairplay is largely flat, straight...and fast. When given lemons, make lemonade right?

The scenery on CO9 changed considerably as I left Fairplay, traveling north, and got into the mountains again.


Breckenridge was along the road, but first, you cross Hoosier Pass (11,539').


The summit of Hoosier...it seemed popular with bicyclists. The views were good.....and so were the views of the mountains.




I descended Hoosier Pass and headed for Breckenridge; the road was a good ride, with plenty of excellent vistas and curves. I snapped a pic of the ski area and, as was my custom in hot, crowded ski towns, I kept rolling...


I continued on CO9 to Frisco, where I spent a bit of time looking for a campsite. It was here that the pine bark beetle seemed to wreak total destruction as the campgrounds located around Dillon Reservoir were almost completely stripped of trees, with only hundreds or thousands of stumps marking what was once there. It was a bit sad. Even with the lack of cover, the campsites were all full. There are still some nice vistas though...


With no apparent camping in the Frisco/Dillon area, I came upon US6 and turned east, deciding to head towards Georgetown. I knew this upcoming stretch of US6 from my past of living in the state and having been a professional truck driver...I knew it went over one of my favorite passes - Loveland Pass. US6 winds its way past a couple of ski areas, on both sides, and serves as a bypass route for trucks hauling oversized or hazardous cargo since they're not allowed through Eisenhower Tunnel normally. It's not a long road, but it climbs to a summit of 11,990' on a well-maintained ribbon of asphalt that's not too heavily traveled and equipped with nice, long passing zones. The views are spectacular, especially looking down the valley eastward, where I-70 comes up to enter Eisenhower Tunnel. Hairpin corners are few, but sweepers are plentiful...it's an awesome little stretch of road for a bike. I ended up blowing some time here as I ran the pass a few times for giggles...especially since traffic was pretty much non-existant on it.

Heading up Loveland Pass from the west....


Looking back...


It snakes its way up...


Made it... If you look closely, you'll see I-70 down in the valley below as it makes for Eisenhower Tunnel.


US6 makes its way down the east side in a beautiful collection of sweepers, with a few hairpins...the near horizontal cut near the bottom is I-70.


A glance back at the west side...a few pics ago, you could see the stepping of the road as it climbed. That was a fun stretch to run a few times.


Looking south off the summit.


And of course, a bit of pr0n...

I'd end up back here again tomorrow while on my little "rest break", lol. Fun road!

I hopped on the slab and ran I-70 down to Georgetown at a brisk pace, making brief detour to check out Silver Plume...it's touristy, but it didn't pique my interest and so I finished getting myself into Georgetown. Georgetown's a neat little historic town shoved into a steep valley and bordering I-70. At the west end of town is the Guanella Pass Road, a road that steeply climbs up the mountains butted up against Georgetown and heads to Duck Lack with some beautiful asphalt and then dirt. I followed the road for a several miles, checking the campgrounds that dotted the road, but came up empty handed...they were all full already (mid-afternoon). With that, I decided to head back to Georgetown and see about finding a hotel, eventually coming up with Super 8 (I had good luck with Super 8's on this trip). I'd stay here for two nights and chill...it is my vacation after all. Compared to the days before this, this was a very short riding day, but I didn't care...I hammered Loveland Pass a few times and had a blast doing it. That's what it's all about.

That evening, I walked towards downtown Georgetown for some food, but along the way, I found the Mountainbuzz Cafe & Pizzeria and decided that it would do the trick. Ordered up an 8" pizza and a beer. I went out to the front deck to have a seat and wait. Holding my beer, I slid my chair back a bit to get more comfortable, not realizing that behind me, the deck dropped 10" to another level. One of the chair legs went over the edge, taking me with it in a flail of arms and legs. I ended up on my back with debris all over the place...my right forearm took a pretty nasty bang along a table leg BUT IT DID NOT AFFECT MY ABILITY TO HOLD MY BEER DURING THE FALL...those cat-like reflexes, hmm. :rockwoot:I picked myself up off the ground, dusted off, and tried to play it off as best as I could with the other few other patrons there...I'm sure I failed, lol. Hurt like a *****, but no blood or broken things, so it was all good (it'd make an appearance later). The pizza arrived....mmm. It was awesome!


I wasn't too sure what I'd be doing on my "rest day" tomorrow, but I'm sure it involved riding...

TO BE CONTINUED

You are doing great, keep it up. You kinda have me wishing I had gone a little further north into Colorado instead of... Oh well, it's all good. Great pics as well by the way.

Redfish Hunter said:

You are doing great, keep it up. You kinda have me wishing I had gone a little further north into Colorado instead of... Oh well, it's all good. Great pics as well by the way.

Click to expand...

Heh, well, on your report, you went some places I'd wanted to go....but when I was out there, the Arizona/Utah area was in the middle of that 120 degree heatwave. So I tried to stay close to the cool strip in the middle of Colorado, at least for a bit.

Saturday, June 29th - Taking a break?
Today was going to be my light duty day...kinda. I checked Google Maps and found a Yamaha dealership over in Dillon, so I decided to run over there and see what they had. I also wanted to pick up a fresh can of Plexus after nearly emptying my current can after having to clean my visor of BIG bugs several times a day on this trip so far.

For the run over to Dillon, I decided to just burn west on I-70 and honk the horn in Eisenhower Tunnel along the way, yes, nerdy. The dealership was called Silverthorne Power Sports and was small, but they had a single can of Plexus and seemed like nice folks. No sport touring machines...didn't expect any, but they had plenty of ATVs and 2 wheeled off road conveyances.

Rolling into Dillon.




Silverthorne Power Sports, the local Yamaha dealer.


After leaving the dealer, I had time on my hands, so I decided to follow CO9 north up to Kremmling. I'd been through Kremmling earlier in the trip, but had never done 9, so I wanted to see how it was. Turns out it was fairly sedate, although the views remained excellent.

CO9 between Dillon and Kremmling.


Green Mountain Reservoir, along CO9.


I reached Kremmling and stopped in at the Kum 'n Go for a Mountain Dew and Snickers bar. While there, 3 retired Army officers pulled in, 2 on BMW's and one on a big scooter...the scooter driver had a peg leg and swore he'd have a bike if he could figure out the shifter with his peg, lol. All were cool as hell and on a long road trip together. Wish I'd gotten a picture; they were some cool cats. After they departed, I headed back south on CO9, with the intention of going back to Georgetown and relaxing.

As I was heading down CO9, I spied a paved road shooting off to the east, into the hills, that I hadn't seen before. My day riding tendencies kicked in and I tested out the ABS as I decelerated hard and turned onto the road marked as Ute Pass Road. It looked promising and turned out to be quite a fun little curvy road...and I had it all to myself!

Heading up Ute Pass Road...you can see the road curving around the mountain in the distance.


The road makes a gentle, curvy climb up into the lower hills.


The road eventually crested at a tree-covered summit and quickly drops you down into a small valley...and the Henderson Mill. The Henderson Mill sits at the tail end of a 15 mile, elevated conveyor belt...the longest of its type in the world, that passes under the Continental Divide via an old train tunnel to the molybdenum mine at the other end, in Empire, CO.

Henderson Mill, with the world's longest elevated conveyor belt heading off to the right.


The conveyor belt continues off into the distance, past the reservoir on site. It's painted green to blend in.


Around the mill, looks like fun. Beetle kill is evident in the little peak on the right.


Just past the mill, the road turns to dirt and splits, with one road going towards Granby and the other, in worse shape, heading towards Fraser...both places I'd been to earlier in the trip. I followed it towards Granby for a bit, then turned around.


Heading back down Ute Pass Road towards CO9






Got back down to Dillon and headed back towards Georgetown, but decided to hit Loveland Pass a couple more times while it was trying to rain...






Interesting sign atop Loveland Pass...they use big guns...


I finally got back to Georgetown and tracked down a burger and a beer in town, then called it a day.

A bit of Georgetown and it's historic buildings....pretty crummy photo taking on my part in town actually, lol.


After enjoying a massive burger and a beer, I sauntered back to the Super 8 and spent the evening shooting the bull with an old crusty ex-Harley-rider-on-a-Victory that was in the room next to mine...that guy could tell jokes like nobody's business. It was a slow day, a rest day, but the riding wasn't that bad. Tomorrow would be MUCH MUCH better as I was going to run Mt. Evans...and head back south...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Your pics are fantastic. I am impressed at your willingness to go off the pavement with your FJR. Pop and my cousin were AGAINST anything that was not asphalt or concrete. I can definitely see a dual sport of some kind in my future.

Redfish Hunter said:

Your pics are fantastic. I am impressed at your willingness to go off the pavement with your FJR. Pop and my cousin were AGAINST anything that was not asphalt or concrete. I can definitely see a dual sport of some kind in my future.

Click to expand...

Quite honestly, the dirt roads in Colorado weren't too bad as long as they were treated, though you had to watch for soft spots and treat hairpins gingerly (Cottonwood Pass). That said, I nearly dumped it a few times. I'm still against dirt roads with water crossings though...at least on the FJR. .