Nothing to see here in Colorado, pass right through. Maybe look into the great state of Illinois for adventure riding?
Here's another good one and my favorite Colorado specific one - I love this song, and definitely listen to the words... <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X6LzWZYWpOU" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe> Bill Fries (aka C.W. McCall) was the mayor of Ouray in the 70s and 80s I believe. We has a marketing man from Iowa who wrote the "Old Home Keep on Truckin' Cafe" theme song for an ad for the Old Home Keep on Truckin' Cafe and it caught on and became a big hit. He then basically invented this personality for himself (which I think is completely awesome) and wrote about 5 or 6 really awesome songs. If you have a chance check them out on Youtube: Crispy Critters (completely funny, also a it's just a joke) Old Home Keep on Truckin' Cafe Classified (also -- completely awesome for anyone into cars). "Dog's name was Frank" Black Bear Road Wolf Creek Pass are my favorites... :) then there are more like CJ5, and Convoy. A lot of people say his music was behind the "truckin' " pop culture movement of the 70's with his hit Convoy. Which led to things like Smokey and the Bandit, etc, for better or worse...
Hey, Thanks for the info. I'm sure I'll use it a lot when I move to CO in Aug. See you guys out there.
Shouldn't be.... just might be once in a life time trip... Hey love this thread and we are coming to CO in June maybe the 3rd week. Let me jump to the question. 4-6 guys we want to rent a home base in a town or out in the woods (that is the question, which one) where we can ride out of each day and see as much of the good stuff as possible. Bikes: KTM 690 Endure or lighter... Skill: I would like to think better then the avg Bear. Physical shape: Most of us should come back alive.:eek1 Type of riding - Most of what I saw in this tread is perfect... Not looking for wide open gravel road but more challenging. Here is the catch.... 2 people are driving out with trailer (from NC) and bikes while the rest of us fly into Denver (cheapest) or unless you guy say "Hey Clayton fly into telluride well worth it" Is this possible or a good idea in your books? My thought is if some whats to take a day off having a home base is the way to go... We have 7 days. Finally I guess drive time from Denver to Lake City or Ouray (name the town) is a bit of a consideration as well as want to ride more and drive less:) Thanks for your input! Clayton
We stayed at Silverton Hostell & rode 7 days with 640+ miles of absolutely amazing riding, Passes, Singletrack & Gorgeous Scenery We rode very few areas twice, with very little pavement to connect the loops around Telluride, Ouray, Lake City & Creede. Not bad without a silly GPS I'd do it all over again I'm sure Geek & other locals will have much better info tho
Silverton or Ouray are the places to stay....in Ouray we prefer to stay in the Comfort Inn, Ted and Betty are great people and motorcyclists too. Step out of your room and just look up into the mtn tops, feels like you can touch the mtns from your front door. We have also rented a house there.. http://www.ouraycolorado.com/ouray-lodging/cabins-condos-homes.php We have flown into Montrose which is only 45 mins from Ouray...another thought is to fly into Denver and sample the riding from Denver to Ouray...Monarch Pass, Old Monarch Pass is a great dirt road, Tincup, Taylor Reservoir, Pitkin Cumberland Pass, etc..there is a lot of great riding starting 90 mins out of Denver.
Thanks for the post... It really helps! As we are on some what lighter bikes just want to reduce the road stuff as much as possible! Please anyone else have suggestions?
This interactive map may help with your planning, just zoom in... http://www.colorado.com/colorado-map
I'd stay in Ouray. More hotel/restaurant options. Three of us flatlanders did a week here in 2011 on brand new KLR 650's. (We trailered from Illinois) Alpine loop one day, Ophir/Last Dollar next. Spent one day riding over to Moab and back just to see Arches NP. Did a day trip down to Mesa Verde NP. Another day in the Silverton area and all the Gulches (out and backs). When I go back...I would add a couple days in Moab to do the White Rim Trial. Sidney
I'm headed out to Silverton in July with some friends and I can't wait! We have XR's and this is my plea: I can't seem to find any definitive intel on what our jetting should be for this trip. My worry is that our bikes; which our tuned well for Ga elevation, will bog down and really spoil another otherwise fantastic trip. Can anyone point me to a jetting guide for 10k elevation? I'd really like to do it all before I get there, trial and error isn't my cup of tea...
Call Dynojet and they will send you exactly what you need based on elevation, exhaust, de-smogged, etc. I think we jetted ours for 8,000 ft and it was fine but we also drove out from Denver, based in Ouray. You could also call the Montrose Honda dealer, Davis Service center, good people, I'm sure they willtell ya what jets are right - http://www.davisservicecenter.com/
I've heard 1 size leaner on the Main ... & 1-2 sizes Richer on the Pilot. Sounds wrong to me, but this is what they say
I've used and really like JD Jetting. They will have everything you need for any elevation you will encounter. Very easy, just follow the instructions. Last year I took three bikes to CO and like a dummy ran off with out my jet kit. I had JD Jetting send a kit to Leadville PO. Installed my jets camping at Turquoise Lake near Leadville (good place to camp). Then rode a great loop to Aspen, Pearl Pass, single track on the other side back to Aspen, hard top to Basalt and back over Hagerman pass to camp. Bike ran like a top. Here is a pic in the Silverton area for you to dream on.