Roamin' The Rockies: a woman's solo adventure

[Wind-venture]

Hey folks, new forum member here, so bear with me if I don't have all the customs of your site down. excellent site btw, you all should be proud. I know I feel lucky having found such a vocal and knowledgable community.

Too the OP, excellent adventure you're on. I have property not too far from the Royal Gorge. I lived there for about two years, sometime ago. One ride you should take if you head back east on 50. It's the Gold Camp road, I think thats the name, runs from colorado Springs up around Victor. beautiful stretch that runs along the frontrange and really lets you know you're in the Rockies. Take the DR, as it gets kinda narrow in some spots. i'd suggest making it a two day jaunt, one in the daylight so you get the lay of the road, and the next at night so you can see the lights of Colorado Springs. There's an excellent resivoir up near Victor thats a good place to swim after a hot summers day ride. Victor or Cripple Creek have decent room rates if you decide to get a little gambling flavor of the old west.

i've got a few other roads you might want to try, but don't want to hog space with my first post here. Give word if yoiu decide to head north or south after Gunnison.

Ride easy, and keep the wind in your back

[Slojoe]

Great ride report, thanks for posting the pictures. Trips without set destinations are great. Have fun and keep the camera working. I'll be looking for your next post.

[LATJ]

Nice.

[Black Ice]

Fantastic report! Keep 'em coming.

[wayno]

Great

[Klay]

[Scottysix9]

Tomichi Creek Road. I was there Sunday.






The road doesn't end at the corral- that's where it gets fun. Many passes and lots of dirt riding north and west of there.

Enjoying your report. Keep up the great work.

[bongodave]

Two little quotes come to mind:

Your riding philosophy;

"Gone are the days we stopped to decide

Where we should go, we just ride"

"Crazy Fingers," -Grateful Dead

The rest;

"I've always relied on the kindness of strangers." -Scarlet O'Hara

Good luck, and have fun, Scarlet!

[h17]

cool...

n

Great!

[msmetz]

Fantastic pictures! What kind of camera are you using?

[1stiski]

Great first post. TY.

[duhgee]

You've managed to find the way to enjoy both types of roads with the best type(s) of bike. The only thing I wonder is how much it kills you to be driving the nice twisty roads in your truck when you're towing a bike that'd just scream on them!
Many wishes for the greatest memories. Keep the pics coming!

[astro]

Great posts. Looking forward to the updates.

You might find this interesting if you haven't already seen it

An easy way to pick up a fallen motorcycle

It's by CArol "SKERT" Youroski who is about 5 foot nothing and I've watched her demo picking up a K1200LT.

It's harder to pick up a bike that is flat on the ground and not angled up by bags or cylinder heads but it might give you a few ideas.

Take it easy on your back. Too early in your trip to be hobbled.

[CamoGreg]

Great pics

Glad you did the Royal even if it is touristy. Didya ride the bike across the bridge?
Sways and bucks like hell in a wind. I was too chicken after walking it

[gypsyrr]

I have tried her method before when I had a parking lot drop with the RR. It didn't work for me then either. Finally adrenaline kicked in, and I just grabbed the bars and pulled up the bike. No back pain.

I tried her method with the DR. Nothing. Adrenaline never kicked in either I guess because I was having so much fun in the canyon. Plus, I was on dirt, and that bike is so 'thin', once you get your back against the seat, you are practically sitting on the ground by then. Calls for much more quad muscle than I presently have. I'll be doing more leg strength building exercises when I return to the gym, that is for sure.


And yes, duhgee, it does kill me to not be able to ride roads when I'm trailering. But that is the nice part of having time on my side. I can stop when I want, and ride what I want (if I can get the RR out of the chock). In fact, I did do that once I reached Buena Vista (coming report). I slept in a parking lot that night because it was dark when I arrived and no place for me to go. The next morning, I parked at the city park, unloaded the RR (with the help of a couple who showed up for a walk), and rode around that area for a couple of days. That is an advantage to having the truck. If I can't find a campground, I can sleep just about anywhere...... free. And I found that many motels will sell a shower for $3-$5. Campgrounds often have showers, but you have to pay the entrance fee first, which is usually higher than the motels rate for a shower. And sometimes the showers are not free. At Eleven Mile State Park, you have to pay per minute. If I remember correctly, $1.75 bought only 4 minutes, and the entrance fee to the park was $6.00. Of course, I know there are ways to avoid the fees, but I won't admit to having done that. :)

So there are pros and cons. If my trip was shorter, I would not trailer. But then I would be in a bind as to which bike to take.