Day 1

Day 1

Greeley, Colorado, a northern suburb of Denver was chosen as the origin and ending of this Colorado motorcycle adventure. The Greeley/Loveland area is easily accessed and avoids much of the traffic congestion of the Denver area. It is also located on Hwy 34 which leads us into our first distinct route of the day, the Big Thompson Canyon ride.

As we start our journey west on Highway 34 we soon leave the flat lands of the Denver area in our mirrors and start to tackle the winding highway as it enters the shaded steep canyon walls and follows the tumbling Big Thompson River. The ride begins at “The Narrows”. This short section of the canyon is motorcycle enchantment with its tight and nicely cambered curves, punctuated by the river squeezing through a narrow chasm of vertical granite walls.

While we rode the whole ride through Big Thompson Canyon in 2012 we will be only riding a portion of it on this trip as we exit on County 43 toward the small town of Glen Haven. This 15 mile engaging detour, known as the Devil's Gulch Road, starts with an introduction that is sweet and polite, with the North Fork of the Big Thompson River showing some nice form. At three miles, and for the next five, things get very intimate and we will be leaning our bikes into a fun set of tight, closely spaced curves as we ascend the narrowing canyon and approach the small town of Glen Haven.

The slow down at Glen Haven is followed by a speed up toward an 800 foot climb, largely accomplished with two sets of tightly folded hairpin curves. Our reward at the top is a major photo op of the Continental Divide peaks of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Their skyscraping lineup stands at attention for our eyes or camera lens. A gentle descent through grassy meadows, which keeps the vistas before you, the finale as we enter Estes Park, the gateway City to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

As we enter the town we pass by the historic Stanley Hotel. This Georgian style hotel is best known as the place that inspired Stephen King to write his thriller novel, The Shining.

We drive through the tranquil Estes Park early in the morning and will be avoiding the crowds that swell later in the day and make the town difficult to traverse. While in 2012 we traveled Hwy 36 from the town center to the Park entrance, today our route takes us westward along Hwy 34 where we eventually enter the Rocky Mountain National Park and begin our journey on the Trail Ridge Road. There will be a $10 entrance fee if you are alone on a bike and a passenger will cost you another $10.

Even though Rocky Mountain National Park is well known and documented, we will have to admit that from the moment we enter its gates we will be struck by the grandeur of the vistas and will understand why this area was designated a National Park. As we round every curve and ride over every rise of the Trail Ridge Road we'll realize that that is one extraordinary road, especially as experienced on two wheels. However, be on the sharp lookout for Elk and other wildlife on this route!

Careful thought went into the engineering and design of the Trail Ridge Road and its placement enhances the visual aspects of the park. The 40 mile route includes an ascent up to the highest point at 12,183 feet above sea level. We should be on the lookout for grazing deer and elk, and on the west side, their big moose cousins. More than 8 miles of the winding road on which we will ride will be above 11,000 feet. The descent gains momentum as we cruise and navigate a sharp series of tightly wound curves down to the headwaters of the Colorado River below. The riding then levels out and sweeps towards the Grand Lake Park entrance, the Never Summer Range on the west guarding the way.

In the town of Granby we stop for gas and perhaps a bite to eat, or to watch the 4th of July parade that starts at 11:00, or continue our journey westward now driving along a portion of US Hwy 40 which is designated as the Colorado River Headwaters Scenic Byway. Although we will be riding down the river valley, the river isn’t always right there next to our bike. Its flow will sometimes be distant and hidden by dense stands of cottonwood trees. This is the case for the first eight miles to the town of Hot Sulphur Springs, as US 40 traverses a gentle valley through low rising hills.

Just west of Hot Sulphur Springs, Byers Canyon, a five mile gorge and canyon swallows up the traffic. For many of us riding this route, this will be the highlight of this road. There is a chance a Union Pacific train will race us through this cut in the earth… but we all know the outcome of that race don’t we? Byers Canyon is the mighty Colorado’s first rock cutting work of art; it’s first canyon of many of its 1,450 mile journey to the sea. After we emerge from Byers Canyon west portal the road and river will be more neighborly on this stretch of US 40, and they’ll accompany each other most of the remaining distance to the ranching town of Kremmling.

In Kremmling we hit Colorado Hwy 9 and point our wheels south with the imposing Gore Range, with its lineup of 13,000-plus foot peaks – including Mt. Powell at 13,448 feet – as an impressive scenic site in our windshield. As we head south the “blue” waters of the Green Mountain Reservoir take over accompaniment duties from the dammed Blue River. This is one of the better big water shore rides in Colorado. Again, be aware of wildlife along this route. There may be some construction going on as the Colorado Department of Transportation has a project to install wildlife overpasses and underpasses to allow wildlife to cross this highway and reduce wildlife and vehicle accidents.

In Silverthorne we hit I-70 and head west 34 miles to Vail and exit 171 where we turn south onto US Hwy 24 and travel the scenic Tennessee Pass towards Leadville. There isn’t a boring strip of asphalt on this entire route. The diversity of sights and scenery is a bonus. We climb 1,200 feet from the Eagle River with a steady diet of fun and challenging riding. To our north is Red Cliff, the cliffy jaunt on the steep western slopes of Battle Mountain. We will be between a literal rock and a river gorge place. We then cross over the historic and commemorated Red Cliff Truss Bridge high above the Eagle Gorge. This area was part of Camp Hale during World War II and was used as a training ground by soldiers skiing and fighting in the Alps of Europe. We will see the abandoned remains of this large training camp as we cruise along on Hwy 24.

The Tennessee Pass itself is not dramatic at 10,424 feet when you consider Leadville eight miles down the road is already ski high at 10,152 feet but it is located between the monster 14,000 foot peaks of the Sawatch Range and puny 13,000 foot peaks of the Mosquito Range. The scenery on the descent to Leadville is pastoral, with fields of cattle leading to slopes of trees, which give way to the granite tops of Colorado’s two tallest mountains, Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet and Mt. Massive, 12 feet lower at 14,421 feet.

At Leadville we continue our journey on US Hwy 24 southward along the Collegiate Peaks Scenic Byway, the largest concentration of peaks higher than 14,000 feet to be found anywhere between Alaska and South America. The road here is gently winding, with mild grades and straight sections. With popular towns along its length and the access it gives to the heart of the Colorado Rockies it can have its share of traffic. This means that the way to experience this byway is to be in cruising mode. Go with the flow. Smell the wildflowers. We descend over 2,000 feet towards Salida where our lodging awaits us for the night.

During the evening we can watch the fireworks in Salida as we celebrate the 4th of July!

Day 1: 307 miles 7 hours saddle time

Continue to Day 2