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Just returned from three days in Paonia, Colorado, at the 49th Annual BMW Top of the Rockies rally.
I decided to take my R1200R Classic. Of the roughly 600 people in attendance, there were lots of GS’s and RT’s (and a surprising number of Africa Twins) but only one other R1200R. Interesting how many folks were admiring it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the bike over the 3 days, 900 miles of riding. Very glad I took it and not my RT!
This photo was taken on the Dallas Divide, between Placerville and Ridgway, CO. Telluride is on the other side of those peaks.
![[Image: 2d6cfe9b1db99a56743ae67e005fb810.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202107/2d6cfe9b1db99a56743ae67e005fb810.jpg)
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Excellent LR.
CO seems to be the land of the ADV bike.
Africa Twins are quite popular and seem to be at [healthy] odds with GS's, and to a much lesser comparison, KTMs.
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cool bike and pic LR. I thought about an R1200R classic once
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Sometimes less is more! That's a fabulous photo, LR; bike looks sweet.
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Stichill, as part of this loop, I rode CO 141 from Whitewater to Naturita, via Gateway and the Dolores River canyon (one of my all time favorite routes in Colorado). I believe the Cheese Weasels rode it on their last trip out here. Anyway, I didn’t realize that several sections had recently been resurfaced. I think it’s even more fabulous now.
I also rode CO 306 over 12,126’ Cottonwood Pass, from Buena Vista to Taylor Park. The west portion of the pass was an unmaintained graded road until two years ago. It’s now paved and perfect. What a wonderful roller coaster of a road, with highly distracting views! It’s on my short list of must-ride routes!
![[Image: c66cb5bdf6a7639ec95878c0c3d916f1.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202107/c66cb5bdf6a7639ec95878c0c3d916f1.jpg)
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(07-18-2021, 12:58 PM)LongRanger_imp Wrote: Stichill, as part of this loop, I rode CO 141 from Whitewater to Naturita, via Gateway and the Dolores River canyon (one of my all time favorite routes in Colorado). I believe the Cheese Weasels rode it on their last trip out here. Anyway, I didn’t realize that several sections had recently been resurfaced. I think it’s even more fabulous now.
I also rode CO 306 over 12,126’ Cottonwood Pass, from Buena Vista to Taylor Park. The west portion of the pass was an unmaintained graded road until two years ago. It’s now paved and perfect. What a wonderful roller coaster of a road, with highly distracting views! It’s on my short list of must-ride routes!
Ha! When we rode it we ran across a couple of road crews that must have been the advance force ahead of the paving crew. They were operating two huge road sweepers. At one point, one of them was operating at 3 mph on a looong right-hand sweeper. We couldn't see if the opposing lane was clear, so we had to endure it for what seemed like an eternity. When we finally saw daylight, the CBR250R suddenly morphed into a CBR600RR and left that $#!+ show in the rearview mirrors!
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Stunning photo and nice bike, LR.
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Looks like a great trip!
Was this near the million dollar highway?
Riding Southwest Colorado is still on my bucket list!
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The Million Dollar Highway is the 25-mile stretch of US 550 between Ouray and Silverton via 11,018’ Red Mountain Pass. Folks mistakenly think it also includes the 48-mile stretch of US 550 from Silverton to Durango, but that’s incorrect.
Anyway, yes, the photo was taken about 15 minutes from the northern end of the Million Dollar Highway (Ouray is about ten minutes from Ridgway). The MDH is a neat road with an interesting history but I don’t think it’s the highlight in this area. For that, I’d recommend:
- The western leg of the San Juan Skyway, which is CO 145 from Telluride to Dolores via 10,246’ Lizard Head Pass
- The Silver Thread Scenic Byway, which is CO 149 from Blue Mesa Reservoir to South Fork via 11,529’ Slumgullion Pass
- The leg of the West Elk Loop which takes you on CO 92 from Blue Mesa Reservoir to Crawford, overlooking the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and the leg which takes you on CO 133 from Paonia to Redstone via 8,793’ McClure Pass.
They’re all great twisty roads with tight hairpins, fast sweepers, stunning scenery and zero tourist traffic.
And if your bike is off-road capable, there are some incredible high passes in the San Juans which require an ADV or high clearance 4WD.
