I had last Tues & Wed off. Didn't really have anything to do (that I wanted to do), and my better half had to work. Time for a SOLO road trip The weather here has been good and bad. The mornings have been spectacular - crisp clear air, cool, and a beuatifull blue sky. The kind that gives you a fever and makes it hard to go to work. Starts getting cloudy by early afternoon. And it's puring with thunder and lightening by 1700. Had to plan my trip to be settled NLT 1700. I don't mind getting wet, but lightening and flash floods are kinda hazerdous. And, this was my first "long" trip since last fall. No need to push it this time around.

Left the Springs and headed north on I-25. Cut west at Castle Rock, then north through Boulder, Longmont, and Loveland. It's hard to pick a route around Denver that doesn't involve a lot of stop lights or a lot of extra miles.

At Ft. Collins, I stopped for lunch at a small sandwich shop in the middle of town. Right across from Subway! Bought 2, one for dinner. After lunch, headed west on 14, following the Cache Le Poudre river. Wow, that is some spectacular scenery up that way. What a gem of a road. Sheer cliffs, spikey summits, and a nice smooth (and very curvey) roadway. 4th of July, even some nice looking co-eds on the river. If you havn't been up this way, you really should. I've been all over Colorado, and this is one of the best.

The valley widens out a little, and climbs all the way up to 10,000+' at Cameron Pass. That's right at the southern tip of Colorado State Forest, the wild moose capital of the continental US. Didn't see any moose, though. It drops down the other side of the mountain range, and into a large valley.

Because I'm a cheap SOB (and I was by myself) I stayed in the KOA campground just north of Gould, CO. Because the weather was a little iffey, I left the tent at home and paid for a cabin. Not cheap, but about half the price of a hotel room. I managed to dodge thunderstorms all morning, and didn't get rained on. Some dark clouds moved in about an hour after I stopped, but didn't produce any rain.

The next morning (wednesday) I headed north to Walden. Fueled up, and continued SW on 14 towards Rabbit Ears Pass. Beautifull country, easy riding. Then headed south to Krimmeling, and picked up 9 south. This takes you right past Green Mountain Resevoir, and the town of Heeney. Wow. Almost as good as the alps.

Then through Silverthorn, Frisco, Breckenridge, and up over Hoosier Pass, 10,000+'. Stopped for lunch in Fairplay. I usually eat at the Brown Burro - good food and excellent coffee. But they were packed with tourists and locals alike, so I went next door to the Moose Haven (or something like that). A little sandwich shop that shares the building with a laundromat. Had an excellent ham pannini, and a nice dark coffee. Excellent lunch, I highly recommend it.

By now, it's starting to get a little cloudy. Uh, Oh. We know what's coming next. I continued on down 9, through the northern end of South Park. Easy riding 2 lane roadway, intersects 24 at Hartsel. 24 cuts almost directly across the middle of South Park. Kinda dull. Partly because it's pretty flat, and partly becaue I've done this about 1,428 times.

At Wilkerson Pass, there's a new national park service visitor center. Decided to stop and look around. Learned some new stuff. Saw some nasty weather ahead of me. Oh, well. Brought that rain gear with me for a reason. I continued on through the rolling pine covered hills, through Lake George, Florissant, Divide, and then down the pass back in to the Springs. Lots of clouds, no rain! Not a single drop hit me in 2 days. After I got home, I checked the weather radar. All of northern and middle South Park was covered by heavy rain - yellow and red on the radar. Glad I missed that. Yes, God does smile on me.

Total miles was only about 550, so a

 

Nice report Bob. Really enjoy taking these kinds of rides. Rode the Poudre for the first time last September, going over Cameron to a lunch in Walden. I remember enjoying the curves for miles, then seeing a sign say Cameron Pass was still 34 miles away!

On your way back you passed through my county of Park.

On Tuesday (The 4th), I rode over Hoosier Pass as well, but made it home before the heavens opened. [8D]

 

Bob,

Sounds like a nice ride.

We rode from Casper, Wyo. to Denver by way of Granby on the 5th. We were in Walden a little after noon on Wednesday. Must have just missed you. We had rain from about the top of Berthoud Pass all the way into Denver.

Rode home from Denver yesterday and had rain most of the way.

Regards,

Bill

 

Too bad about the weather, Bill. The weather this past week has been pretty unusual for this corner of the galexy. Couple articles in todays paper about flooding. One of my favorite day trips is washed out, and won't be open for a few months.

 

Bill:

What helmet do you ride with (if you use a helmet)? I have an Ultra as well, yet I find that if I wear my 1/2 helmet, the rain is like needles on my face. So I carry my full helmet with me just in case. Bulky, but necessary for full enjoyment and safety.

Just wondering what you use. TIA....

Tod

 

Bob,
Was that sandwich shop Avogadros? The Poudre river canyon was always one of my favorite places. I grew up in that area and spent a lot of time in that canyon. Jimmy Carter declared the Cache La Poudre river a wild river back in the 70's so that they can never dam up that canyon. Next time you're looking for an interesting way to get from Longmont to Ft. Collins, take 287 north from Longmont. Just after the road turns east to go into Berthoud turn north on the county road and take that into Loveland. When you you get to US 34 go west about 4 to 5 miles and turn north on the road to Masonville. At Masonville, turn right and that will bring you to the south end of Horsetooth reservoir. Follow the road north around the lake and keep bearing left at each intersection and the road will take you through the foothills with a view overlooking Ft. Collins on one side, and the lake on the other. The road over the three dams is all paved now (it was all dirt when I was growing up) and will bring you into Bellevue. Turn right there and it will bring you back into LaPorte by Vern's Place. It's a great way to get from Loveland to La Porte with no stop lights.

 

Tod,

I have a novelty helmet that has the three snaps on the front for a sunvisor. I have a flip down shield that snaps onto the front of the helmet.

I seldom wear a helmet except in bad weather or to comply with some state's helmet law.

Wife always wears a helmet, and her's is a half with the flip down face shield that snaps on.

Regards,

Bill

 

No, I think it was a chain, something Famous sandwich shop. It was pretty good.

That looks like a good route by the lake. Thanx, I'll keep that one in mind.