Colorado - Fall Day Ride

[RyanR]

So this one is a few weeks old I am just now getting around to posting. I had just had a rough break up with my gf of several years and was feeling pretty miserable. My boss told me to take a couple days off and after much deliberation I determined some time on the bike would do me good. I headed out the door with the intention of cruising around for an hour or two to blow off some steam. The farther from home I got the better I felt so I just kept riding until the smile stuck and I was laughing in my helmet.


Sunlight Mountain, I'll be skiing here soon enough.


Fall is in Full Effect in Colorado


First time riding the CRF with a street bike helmet, the difference in noise level vs. my dirtbike helmet is huge. It made for a very quiet, relaxing fall ride.


Obligatory Poser Shot


I ran into some fellow outdoor enthusiasts along the way


I had some dark clouds threatening all day, but never got a drop of rain on me.


Glad I left the house. Feeling better already.


I even found some excellent single track in my wanderings.


Even at the highest point in the ride (~9,800ft) the temp was still quite comfortable.


I took a crack at moving this tree, said F#&% it, grabbed a fistful of throttle and rode over it.


This turned out to be one of my favorite rides ever. Perfect temp. Perfect Scenery. And this layer of leaves with some tacky mud below was a complete hoot to ride on. Slick enough to slide the bike around, but a whack of the throttle would dig through the leaves and you had all the traction you could want. It was highly addicting!


After you get over 4-Mile and Baylor the roads open up a bit and the speeds increase.


Excuse the weird stitching my panorama app is a bit off at times.


The scenery changes, but it's still not too shabby.


About 3.5 hours in and I'm almost to Electric Mountain Lodge and a beer starts sounding like just the thing!


Ahh! A nice refreshing BlueMoon, my sports drink of choice for adventure motorcycling.


Dining area at the Lodge. I scanned the menu and there were a couple other people eating, the food looked excellent but I needed to hit the road or I would be doing a lot of riding in the dark.


Hit Paonia and headed back up 133 towards McClure Pass. I had to stop and clean my faceshield so I snapped a quick photo in front of this big-ass silo.


Near the top of McClure Pass: I may have passed a few slow moving tourists on the way up and one lady from Arkansas felt the need to stop and inform me that I had been exceeding the speed limit. She cut her lecture short and sped off when she realized I was taking a leak next to my bike.


It's all downhill from here... I rode a couple miles down the dirt rode that starts at the summit. Some great scenery and camp sites, I need to go back and explore this area some more.

After exploring the summit for a while I cruised down 133 past Marble, Redstone and coasted into Carbondale on fumes. Put 4.3 gallons into my 4.0 gallon tank and slabbed it home on Highway 82 feeling worn out and happier than I had been in a long while. Sometimes I forget how therapeutic riding can be.

Ryan

[rckt grl]

Great pics! I hope to visit Colorado in the next couple of months and if I can secure a job in the area, I'm moving west!

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by rckt grl

Great pics! I hope to visit Colorado in the next couple of months and if I can secure a job in the area, I'm moving west!

Thanks! Good luck on the job, Colorado has some amazing riding. Both on and off-road.

[KingJeff]

Nice photos Ryan. I'm glad you got out. It's amazing how getting on the bike can change your perspective.

[AdvRich]

Great Pics. Thanks for the Fall Rocky Mt buzz.

Love the road side adjustment moment

Riding ... some of the best therapy going.

[luispcabral]

Fantastic scenery!

Great Pics. By the way your bike looks awesome! Was it rough doing all those miles on a dirt bike?

What brand and type of tyres do you use?

Regards
Luis Cabral

[flyingz06]

Man it sucks here in Indiana.

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by luispcabral

Fantastic scenery!

Great Pics. By the way your bike looks awesome! Was it rough doing all those miles on a dirt bike?

What brand and type of tyres do you use?

Regards
Luis Cabral

Luis, the bike was running Kenda Trakmaster II tires for that trip. They are definitely on the aggressive side for a DOT knobby but they seem nearly as smooth as the D606's I have used on other bikes. Not as much grip on the pavement (Especially when wet) but more bite off-road.

I have the CRF setup as a lightweight dual-sport so it is quite comfortable for me to do a full day of mixed riding.

[NKOrange]

Hey Ryan, great ride and pics. Have a great winter. Sunlight is fun! I take it you are in the Carbondale area? Planning to explore some more of that next summer.

[nrspence]

Wow great pics. Looks and sounds like you had a wonderful therapy session ha ha

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by NKOrange

Hey Ryan, great ride and pics. Have a great winter. Sunlight is fun! I take it you are in the Carbondale area? Planning to explore some more of that next summer.

Yep, I am in Glenwood Springs. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you're in the area next season.

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by nrspence

Wow great pics. Looks and sounds like you had a wonderful therapy session ha ha

Wonderful indeed. Without my motorcycles I would probably still be sitting at home with the blinds drawn feeling sorry for myself.

[MelonMan]

I was just up in your area 2 weeks ago. I'll have to try to find the roads you rode. Great pics. They gave me the incentive to get up there this coming Spring/Summer.

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by MelonMan

I was just up in your area 2 weeks ago. I'll have to try to find the roads you rode. Great pics. They gave me the incentive to get up there this coming Spring/Summer.

It's an awesome ride, you start in Glenwood Springs and ride all dirt over to Paonia. Once you hit Paonia you can take Kebler Pass to Crested Butte and then take Schofield Pass to Marble and back down Highway 133. That's a solid day's ride with about 180 miles of dirt and 70 or so on the pavement/graded dirt road. If you want to try the ride from Glenwood to Paonia let me know, I am happy to share the GPS tracks, it took me several recon missions and nights of peering at Google Earth to complete the route.

Here's a snapshot of the full route minus the return trip:



Blue Sections are graded dirt or paved roads. Orange Sections are Two Track or Jeep Road.

[MelonMan]

Thanks Ryan,
I'll save this map and explore those roads soon. I'll drop you a line when I roll through.