Riding the Colorado Trail through Rockies This Weekend on a whim!

[BoochZilla]

This Friday I am flying to Colorado to join some industry friends for a ride through the Colorado Trail & Rockies this weekend. Not enough time to get myself and my bike out there so I am renting a 650 Wee Strom when I arrive. Leaving Friday and flying back to Philly on Tuesday Night.

Will be leaving from Gunnison and hitting the following waypoints over the weekend:

Cottonwood Pass
Monarch Pass
Marshall Pass
Independence Pass
Aspen
Glenwood Springs
McClure Pass
Ohio Pass
Crested Butte


Would love to hear any feedback, as this is my first time riding Colorado and I am sure many of you have hit parts of this journey before. I have to admit, among other things, I am am researching any can't miss, hole in the wall, Guy Fieri-esque food stops right now. Any recommendations welcome.

I am excited to be beating on a new Arai XD3 (Motard Black ) and the rest of my gear will be the best of FirstGear lineup. Gear and Ride report with pics and HD video to follow.

I love impromptu adventures.

Anthony

[Gadget Boy]

That's going to be a great ride.. be sure to snap lots of pics and post them here

[BoochZilla]

Don't worry, I'll be taking the trusty Canon DSLR on the trip ;-)

Also just snagged Fire Pin for the iPhone which will log all of my waypoints on a google map for posting and posterity.

Have you done the Colorado Trail Gadget?

Originally Posted by Gadget Boy

That's going to be a great ride.. be sure to snap lots of pics and post them here

[mjbuckner]

Anthony,

I've lived in CO for over 30 years now and can tell you that you're in for an awsome ride! If you had time to include the Ouray / Telluride area and the Rocky Mountain National Park you'd have hit most of the top rides in CO. But then again, you'll have a reason to come back.
I do have a couple of suggestions for some things along your route. Just outside of Gunnison on your way up to Crested Butte is an Italian Restaurant called Garlic Mike's. It's on the right and backs up to the river. If you care to, they have outside seating. Good food, reasonable portions and a local favorite. Of course your friends in Gunnison would know best.
If you find yourself passing by Marble, CO along 133, take a few minutes to ride on up there. It's about 5 miles off the road. The marble from this little area was used to make the Lincon Memorial. It's pretty bizarre to see huge chunks of the stuff just laying around the road sides and the town itself has some picture worthy sculptures.
A few hours soaking in the Hot Springs pool in Glenwood Springs can be a good idea, especially after a long day in the saddle. There is a Brew Pub in the Hotel Denver in Glenwood Springs where you can get a Growler of beer and a pretty good meal.

Enjoy your trip!

Michael

[gstanfield]

I'm not sure where you are from, but altitude sickness can be an issue so drink lots of water, even when you don't think you are thirsty. Other than that have a ton of fun, take lots of pics and make memories that last a lifetime.

George

[BoochZilla]

Flew to Denver today and drove (by car) 250 miles to Gunnison to arrive at the meetup.

Colorado is beautiful. And I havn't even done any riding yet. The weather is perfect this time of year and the trees are just starting to change. Took 285 South through the mountains. I want to fly home and kidnap my wife to bring her back. Its just awesome out here.

I leave bright and early departing with our group of 10+ headed to Cottonwood pass.

I am Fire Pinning (iPhone app) the entire trip so you can see the whole route we took. (obviously for today, those are wyapoints by car) Pretty cool app.

Also I have posted some pics I shot from the road today as well as a shot of me getting my gear prepped for departure tomorrow morning.

Check out the Fire Pin Map with Pins Here: Map!

Here is a Link to the pics I posted from today:
ADV Colorado Day 1 Prep

I think tomorrow is going to be wild, but if it gets hairy at all, I am staying at a holiday in express tonight (no bs!) so I got that working for me :-). Riding and camping tomorrow.

I will leave you with some parting shots from today....







On a side note, the Arai XD3 is what it is. Just one sick helmet. This is however the first time I am gong to be rockin any FirstGear for the ride. The TPG Rainer is new for 2009 and TPG Escape Pants complete the set. While tomorrow is the first acid test (30 in the morning, 70 in the afternoon with rain expected), I must say that my first impression is very high. There is a degree of polish to the new line that don't remember from seasons past.

Two wheels down.

Anthony

[PacificPT]

Looking forward to the RR!

[BoochZilla]

Crazy riding the last two days. Been without cell reception most of it.

Here is an early highlight. There are 22 of us on this ride. Pics and video a plenty.

I just uploaded this. It may need a couple minutes before its processed. (time now 8:43)

[BoochZilla]

Marshall Pass early today...

[CoffeeGuy]

Nice meeting you Anthony and the rest of the gang. I'll add my pics when I get home. Plowing my way through Kansas.

John

[BoochZilla]

Yo John,

It was great riding with you and hanging out as well. Hoping some of the other crazies chime in here. Expect an email with links to all my pics and video as well as a full report and link here - please feel free to post your "best of" here as well.


Talk to you soon.

Anthony

Originally Posted by CoffeeGuy

Nice meeting you Anthony and the rest of the gang. I'll add my pics when I get home. Plowing my way through Kansas.

John

[garweb]

Hi, I think you will be transiting Kebler Pass ( near Crested Butte between Mclure & Ohio Passes ). Stop on top and look for the grave stone of the young girl. Note the inscription. Makes one think....
garweb (former Crested Butte residient)

[BoochZilla]

Hi,

I wish I knew going into that - we rode Kebler on Monday - I am pulling together a ride report as we speak. What a great ride.



I did not see the grave stone, but now I wished I looked around a bit more - what did it say?



Anthony

Originally Posted by garweb

Hi, I think you will be transiting Kebler Pass ( near Crested Butte between Mclure & Ohio Passes ). Stop on top and look for the grave stone of the young girl. Note the inscription. Makes one think....
garweb (former Crested Butte residient)

[txxr]

nice, im a bit jealous

[BoochZilla]

Using my iPhone and FirePin I was able to track the whole ride except for the parts in which I had no phone reception (unfortunately the top of every mountain). If you switch to hybrid or satellite view you can guess the crazy twisty roads that we took. Obviously Firepin connects the dots as the crow flies. Also I will note that I flew from Philly to Denver.



Be sure to Zoom in.

Anthony