Colorado Mountain Adventure Ride 2018

Motorcycle Trip Summary:

Jackie and I have done several motorcycle trips to Colorado to meet up and ride with Jackie's brother, Ash. Our last visit in 2015 was based in Ouray.  We loved riding in the area so much we decided to base in Ouray again for several days and invited Ash to join us.

Intrigued by the rocky unpaved mountain passes we came on bikes suitable for tackling the terrain - BMW 1200 GS's and a KTM 1090. The were a blast both on and off road. 

We then moved on to the canyons west of the mountains spending a night in Grand Junction. From Grand Junction we crossed the Grand Mesa and took the long way to Aspen exploring more canyons on the way.

Details of this trip follow....

 

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The Plan

• July 7, Sat. - Fly to Denver from North Carolina.
• July 8, Sun. - Hang out with Jackie's brother in Denver
• July 9, Mon. - Pick up bikes, head for Ouray
• July 10,Tue. - Million Dollar Highway to Durango and back
• July 11, Wed. - The off road Alpine Loop in the high mountains
• July 12, Thu. - Loop west through Telluride
• July 13, Fri. - CO 141 loop to Grand Junction
• July 14, Sat. - Grand Junction to Aspen
• July 15, Sun. - Aspen to Denver
• July 16, Mon. - return bikes, hang out in city
• July 17, Tue. - Fly from Denver to NC.

 

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The Best Motorcycle Roads on this Trip

US 550 - Million Dollar Highway

CO 141 - Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Road

CO 145 - Lizzard Head Pass

CO 65 - Grand Mesa Scenic Highway

CO 92 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison River

CO 133 - McClure Pass

CO 82 - Independence Pass

US 50 - Monarch Pass

CO 103 - Mt. Evans Scenic Bypass

CO 74 - Bear Creek Canyon

The Alpine Loop

Bird Camp Road 

 

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Where We Stayed

Denver - Stayed with family

Ouray:

Grand Junction:

Aspen:

 

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Notable Places Where We Ate And Drank

Sedalia

Denver

Ouray

 

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Lake City

Naturita

Aspen

 

Silverton

Telluride
 

Grand Junction
 

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The Bikes We Rode 

BMW 1200 GS - Jackie (Rental)

BMW 1200 GSA, BMW 1200 GS - Wayne (Rental)

KTM 1090 - Ash (Personal)

KTM 690 - Ash (Personal)

Bikes Rented from:

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Things I learned on this trip - 

Plan your Colorado motorcycle trip to avoid riding into / out of Denver on weekends - Especially holiday weekends. If the weather is nice everyone heads for the mountains. Traffic can get brutal.

The rides are long -  When you link them together to form the most convenient loops you're often on a day ride. 

It's hot in the summer - Not the best time to ride the canyons. 

The Best Motorcycle Roads on this Trip

US 550 - Million Dollar Highway

US 550

North of Ouray, US 550 runs to Montrose. Ouray sits at the base of the mountain pass. North of town you enter a broad valley that continues to Montrose. The small town of Ridgeway lies between the larger towns at the significant junction with CO 62.

 

The Million Dollar Highway is the section of US 550 from Ouray to Silverton, so called due to the numerous gold and silver mines at it's highest points. From Ouray, the road climbs quickly through switchbacks as you leave town. There are a couple nice overlooks worth a stop to take in the grand views of the canyon you're about to enter. There's a small tunnel then you'll find yourself clinging to the two lane road perched on the edge of thousand foot drops with no guardrails. The road climbs along the slopes of the huge mountains, occasional glimpses of the rushing river below. Expect construction and short delays, they are always working on this road. Reaching some switchbacks near the top of Red Mountain you'll pass a scenic mine then roll out across the top of the pass. The road then winds the long way down to Silverton through wonderful curves high above the valleys below.

 

 

South of Silverton US 550 climbs again through curves and switchbacks to reach Molas Pass then makes a gradual winding descent through the broad wooded valley on the way to Durango. 

 

CO 141

 

CO 141 - The Unaweep/Tabequache Byway  was one of the best roads we discovered this trip.

 

 

It's a long ride. It takes a while to get into the slickrock area then there's a long open stretch.

 

Enjoy those high rocky areas while you can. The road next drops to a long flat stretch of desolate empty riding.

 

The long flat stretch across the open range leads to the start of the 150+ miles of canyons to come. 

 

 

Coming into the Naturita, the middle of the ride, the canyons start to build. It's a good place for a break. Blondie's Diner fit the bill, food was good.

 

 

The canyons continue to build north of Naturita. 

 

 

They really get big once you pass Gateway.

 

The canyons just go on and on, growing every bigger. It's amazing.

 

July is probably not the best time to ride this road, temperatures were over 100 degrees at times. Spring or fall are probably better, still the ride was thrilling.

 

As you draw nearer to Grand Junction the canyons become smaller and greener. Then gradually fade away. There's one last easy drop down into the valley and town.

 

 

CO 145

 

CO 145 starts at it's north end as an intersection with CO 141 near Naturita. It then runs southeast to Telluride passing the important junction with CO 62, the link to Ouray.

 

 

It's the section south of Telluride that offers the best riding through the high mountains.

 

 

CO 65 - Grand Mesa Scenic Highway 

CO 65 takes you on a beautiful ride across the top of Grand Mesa. 

 

 

Coming in from the I-70 at the north end, CO 65 makes a long and dramatic climb through a large canyon to gain the top of the mesa. 

 

 

 

Once you get on top of the mesa the road rolls along through the high forest the landscape dotted with innumerable small lakes. Trails lead off into the backcountry.

 

 

Midway across the mesa a visitor center offers a convenient scenic stop.

 

Once past the visitor center the road starts a long slow roll down from the heights. 

 

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CO 92

 

C0 92 traces along the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River climbing to the rim of the deep gorge then rolling along the edge for quite a while.  It's a curvy technical ride in places. While you'll catch peeks into the depths, to really appreciate the beauty stop at the overlooks or ride out onto the points. 

 

The road drops down from the north rim then passes through Crawford and flatter country to reach C0 92 at Hotchkiss. 

 

 

CO 82

 

CO 82 runs from downtown Aspen over Independence Pass to meet US 24 at a remote junction. It's a gradual climb which brings you atop the edge of a huge gorge then circles around the rim. The edge of the road drops thousands of feet to the valley below and the heights can be intimidating. Coming down the road traces a river through the forest passing through the tiny town of Twin Lakes before it reaches the end of the run near the actual Twin Lakes.

 

CO 133

 

 

CO 133 is a long nice ride we used to approach Aspen. Watch your speed at the west end near Hotchkiss and Paonia, we saw a lot of police activity here.

 

 

The road makes a gradual climb into the mountains ultimately crossing McClure Pass then running through wooded canyons as it descends towards Carbondale.

 

 

Approaching Carbondale the road traces the banks of the rushing Crystal River.  

 

US 50

 

US 50 from Poncha Springs to Grand Junction - Poncha Springs lies in a broad flat valley. Heading west the road soon climbs high into the wooded mountains through winding curves to reach Monarch Pass then makes a gradual descent to the beautiful canyons near Gunnison.

 

 

West of Gunnison the road crosses through the dry hills to reach Montrose. It's not a particularly scenic section.

 

 

From Montrose, US 50 angles north to Grand Junction. We found little of interest on this stretch of the road.

 

 

 

CO 103 combined with CO HWY 5 forms the Mount Evans Scenic Byway which includes the highest paved road in the US.

 

 

The ride is not far from Denver and connects to I-70 so it tends to get crowded on weekends and holidays.

 

 

The Echo Lake Lodge is a good pit stop with good food.