| Author | Message | ||
     Corporatemonkey |
I know this is not exactly Buell related, but I was hoping someone could help. I was planning to head to Colorado in the month of August on the bike. That has been shelved because of the recent getoff. I have to have the brake looked at first. In the mean time a last minute business trip came up. I have to leave early Tuesday for Tucson, AZ. The trip home I have to bring a vehicle back with me to sell. Part of my arrangement to do this is I get a few days to explore Colorado on the way back to Seattle. My original plan for Colorado was to ride with no plan. Every day decide what I felt like doing that day. This trip I need a plan. I really am leaving the planning to the very last minute. So I am trying to gather a few choice places to see. I am thinking of looping the state, but do not know what I should not miss. Aspen is on my list, as is Pikes Peak. Anything else? Any assistance will be much appreciated. | ||
| 98s1lightning |
Man your in luck, before leaving AZ. you must go by the AZ. Cardnials stadium and MOON THEM. Now that your done and in CO. you can do the same at the Broncos place, MILE HIGH, then when its all over and your back in Seattle you can send me any spare Seahawk game tickets you might have laying around. GO SEAHAWKS! PS. any Seahawk goodies are welcome here in Ca. @ my address, thank you and be sure to take plenty of photos. | ||
| Crusty |
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison. (Rt. 92) The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. About a million other spots. Make sure that you go over Independence Pass (Rt. 82) going east from Aspen. God made Colorado so that motorcyclists would know what Heaven is going to be like. (Message edited by Crusty on July 29, 2007) | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming/ 98s, I will fedex you the Seahawks and their stupid stadium., free of charge. You can take the Mariners, and the Sonics too. I am just sick of paying for their venues... | ||
| Jumpinjewels |
My hubby and I just got home from doing 1500 miles thru CO. Did Hwy 82 over Independance pass into Aspen, Hwy 133 thru Carbondale thru Paonia into Montrose, Hwy 92 was a blast, the Million Dollor Hwy that goes thru Ouray and Silverton WOW, there's about 18 miles of Hwy 114 just off of Hwy 50 that's a kick in the .....,there's a back road off of Hwy 9 just west of Royal Gorge that goes up to Cripple Creek. Hwy 67 out of Cripple Creek towards Woodland Park is fun. If you cont up 67 north of Woodland Park thru Deckers there is Horsepower Hill. A nice ride also is 141 from Ridgeway up to Gateway, a bit hot when we were there and it's mostly canyon lands but very beautiful. There's a multitude of roads here in Colo so hope you have fun. | ||
| Elf |
Jamie, At least you still get to come to CO!! What sort of vehicle are you going to be bringing? J.jewels is spot on with the roads she's mentioned being great, but they might not be fun in a 1975 Caprice - if you catch my drift!  But, if you're all about sightseeing, her selections are great! You've also gotta throw in Rocky Mountain National Park! I believe it costs $10 to get a daily park pass, but it's completely worth it!! Also, since you're coming from Arizona, make the trek through Monument Valley and the Four Corners area. Durango and Cortez Colorado are cool towns. BTW, Arizona is hell in the Summer. I know. I spent 15 years there. Coming from Tucson, you'll be passing near the town of Coolidge. Which in the Summer is ANYTHING but cool. Hope the A/C works well. Drop me a line when you get close! First round's on me when you get to Denver! | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
JJewel, That is some great sounding stuff. I am hoping tomorrow I finally have time to crack open a map (I know, I know...). Elf, I will be traveling in a 2004 Honda Element (for sale if anyone wants it). I did Monument Valley last year, cost me a $1000 for vehicle repairs (sand storm from hell). What part of Denver are you in. PM the details as I most likely will head through there. It is always nice to dine with someone. | ||
| Jimidan |
A buddy and I did two weeks out there in late June and early July. The highpoint was riding over Independence Pass (out of Aspen) on July 4th, under a full moon at Midnight. We stopped at the top and walked around at the overlook bathed in moonlight that was incredibly bright bouncing off of the snow. It was surreal, as was the fact that there were at least 200 private jets parked at little Aspen Airport. The low point was while riding in Gilpin County (west of Denver), where the best roads were 40-45 mph, even out in the most rural areas. These same kind of roads were 65 mph in other counties in the state. We were having some real fun, passing a large group of cruiser riders going up the side of a mountain, some of whom didn't appreciate being passed, as they were throwing us the bird as we worked our way through them at a rather high speed (for them). At the top, the road straightened out for a stretch in the high country when we passed a county-mounty going in the opposite direction. He was in a white Dodge Ram 4x4 with a rather small decal on the side so we didn't recognize that he was a deputy sheriff trying to pull us over until he finally caught up to us 12 miles later. At that point he had called ahead to his other deputies and told them we were running from him. We never changed our speed even through a series of sets of curves, and we certainly were not running from him. When he finally caught up to us, we're poking along behind a big truck down a mountain side when we heard his siren, so we slowed and pulled to the edge to allow his "emergency vehicle" to pass. At first, I thought it was a volunteer fireman, but when he got closer he barked out over his loud speaker to pull over. We did at the first side road, at which time he gets out of his vehicle with his hand on his gun, and told us not to move. He could see that we weren't kids as he probably thought initially, but he was in a frantic state...not a comfortable feeling to have in the middle of nowhere, CO. The rest of the deputies started coming in with sirens blazing from different directions in a variety of vehicles. Do these guys drive their own trucks. or what? They exited their trucks with hands on their guns too. We were saying, "Hooooold on a minute, we didn't even know that we were even being chased!" We finally got them calmed down but it was obvious that we were the entertainment for that Sunday afternoon. The real kicker was when the cruisers that we had passed started going by and cat-calling us! You can imagine... He got us for doing 71 in a 45, although he gave us a break and dropped it to 69 to keep us from going to jail and having to come back for court. The ticket only cost $126...amazing as that wouldn't even pay the court cost in KY. We just considered it our Colorado tax. There are so many roads though...and we just moved south staying in the heart of the Rockies. It did put a damper on the rest of the trip though. There are great roads all around the Arkansas River basin. (Message edited by jimidan on July 30, 2007) | ||
| Littlefield |
+1 on the highway 141. There are lots of nice twisties but the stretch of 141 along the Delores River is the most memorable. A nice long day loop is from Montrose down through Teluride, cut over to Delores and catch 141 up to Grand Junction and back down. | ||
| Elf |
Jamie, PM sent. Here's a site with some good info: http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/ Click on the "Great Roads" area. Won't be as fun in an Element, but still great! Jimidan, Hwys. 119-72-7 that run from I-70 up to Estes Park are called the Peak-To-Peak Scenic Byway. Was this the road that you were on? I swear that Gilpin County generates half of their operating revenue on that road! I've been popped there, and every time I ride it, I see at least two people getting a "performance appreciation certificate"! The Sheriff's Dept. uses MANY different vehicles, most of which seem to be of the type that you described - unmarked trucks and SUV's. I learned my lesson on that road... As you found out, there are other excellent roads, though! I personally love CO. Hwy 126 from Pine Junction to Deckers. Some great spots to open it up (not that I would do or condone that, or anything...  )! | ||
| Jimidan |
Hwys. 119-72-7 that run from I-70 up to Estes Park are called the Peak-To-Peak Scenic Byway. That was it!} | ||
| Vortec57 |
Hwy 141 is good, he Colorado national monument can be fun, depending on traffic. The Grand Jucntion area is FULL of twisty roads. if you get in the area let me know and we'll head out for a bit | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Well after a late start*, I made it to Flagstaff AZ. Tomorrow I am heading toward Durango. *Late starts involves someone forgetting to tell you that the vehicle needed an oil change. And they were nice enough to leave a can of WD40 in the back... In the desert heat... Yes the can exploded, WD40 is a fun substance to cleanup. That took hours to get that out of the headliner. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Cripple Creek ghost town Royal Gorge Bridge And of course Pikes Peak All must see locales | ||
| Yttikcat |
I just got back from the area between Breckenridge and Ouray and it was absolutely beautiful. Although I was off-roading in a truck, I saw zillions of bikes. I agree with JumpinJewels - Million Dollar Hwy is really amazing. I would stay clear of Denver. I read in the American Motorcyclist Association mag that Denver just past a noise ordiance against motorcycles and about the only thing that you will not get a ticket for is a stock muffler system. One additional comment that I will make about Colorado is that the only people that I saw in helmets, gloves, jackets, etc. were foreign bike owners and BMW owners. It blew me away that none of the Harley riders wore any kind of protective gear. I really believe that when you do a sport, you should wear the proper gear. A race car driver does not wear cut-offs, t-shirts and flip flops while racing, a diver does not go into the water without a tank and other scuba gear. They all wear the proper gear. Why is it so hard for people riding motorcycles to wear the proper gear? | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Well tonight I am in Aspen. Nice place. Tomorrow I am off to Colorado Springs, should be a fun day. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
I'm back... I will post details shortly. |
