Snowy Range Road

[LongRanger_imp]

Just returned from a 520-mile ride to Wyoming on the RT. My objective was to ride WY130, also known as Snowy Range Road, while there was still some summer left (the road will close for the winter in about eight weeks). It's very scenic and I highly recommend it if you're ever traveling through northern Colorado / southern Wyoming. Much of the forest has been devastated by beetles but the peaks are still dramatic and imposing, and it's a great road if you like curves. The road tops out at 10,847'. Medicine Bow Peak, in the photo, is 12,018'.

Medicine Bow Peak on Snowy Range Rd:

I used to ride this loop in one day, but I got a late start yesterday and didn't have it in me to knock out miles in the dark, so I stopped for the night in Laramie, WY. The start and finish is the red circle on the route map. On the way north, I crossed 11,306' Berthoud Pass and 9,659' Willow Creek Pass, both on the Continental Divide. On the way home today, I crossed 10,276' Cameron Pass on the way into Ft. Collins, CO. Very little traffic, temps in the high 70's, and not a cloud in the sky. Good stuff.

With nothing to do in Laramie last night, I went into town and bought a ticket to the new Tom Cruise movie, "Mission Impossible: Fall Out." Great action-packed flick if you like motorcycle and helicopter chase scenes. I absolutely could not follow the story line.

In October 1955, United flight #409 from Denver to Salt Lake City was lost when it hit Medicine Bow Peak. All sixty-six people on board were killed. Many pieces of the wreckage still litter the base of the peak today.

So it's perhaps fitting that I brought home a souvenir:

 

[the Ferret]

Very cool LR. Looks/sounds like a great ride. I remember Berthoud pass.. 40 right? Great road.

So how is the Beemer?

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Yep, US40 goes over Berthoud Pass. Good memory!

The RT is a lot of fun. I bought the BMW high comfort seat and lowered the pegs, gearshift, and brake lever, so ergonomically it's all-day comfortable for me. The adjustable windscreen helps, too. The engine thrums right along at speed and the bike handles better than its weight would suggest, but it's a bit of a handful in traffic (I'm simply not accustomed to a top-heavy bike) and the folks who designed the gearbox could learn a thing or three from Honda. Shifting through the gears is uncharacteristically clunky and agricultural. I've peeled off 300 miles without refueling, so it does have some range. It's a nice bike for the open road and plenty roomy for two-up; not so much for local riding. Fits my needs well.

 

[the Ferret]

Sounds like it should serve you well

 

[Offroad]

Great ride report!

I can't wait to get out west again.....I'm going to have to make plans to get there next summer!

Empty Sea can you get off for a week or 2 or 3? Ferret? Stichill?

 

[Cormanus]

Looks just beautiful, LR. The beemer looks pretty good too.

 

[Offroad]

Glad you're enjoying your RT!

I'm sure enjoying my K bike....we need to get together next summer.

Here's mine on the Dragon....pure joy!

 

[Cormanus]

I wish people would wear gloves.

 

[Offroad]

I really liked those touch screen aerostich gloves.but the little threads started fraying after that one trip....Had to return them.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Great report. Love that area but never had the pleasure of riding there.

 

[the Ferret]

Glad you're enjoying your RT!

I'm sure enjoying my K bike....we need to get together next summer.

Here's mine on the Dragon....pure joy!

GREAT PIC offroad!

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Offroad, I'm unavailable next July 15-27, but by all means, let's make plans for another Rockies ride next summer. We can use my place as a base camp again but this time, I suggest we spend a few days in SW Colorado -- there's some wonderful riding in the San Juan mountains, plus we can easily venture into SE Utah, which is spectacular. If this sounds like it could work, I recommend we consider making hotel reservations soon for Ouray $$ or Telluride $$$. These towns are very popular and tend to fill up early. Once you're there, you'll see why.

 

[Stichill]

Nice ride report, LR. Looks like a nice jaunt on the RT.

You did what the magazines seem unable to do for some reason, namely, show a clearly marked route map. I've read so many ride reports in magazines with little or no map. I sit there with a map and try to read the route description through the flowery prose. It's amazing how many of them describe non-existent roads or incomplete routes with major gaps between points.

 

[Offroad]

LongRanger I was looking at some of those hotels....they are $$.....would you recommend one over the other?

Looked like there were two different prices.....higher if you wanted to be able to cancel....I would probably want that option because you never know what might pop up.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I've stayed at three different places in Ouray: River's Edge Lodge, Ouray Chalet Inn, and Matterhorn Motel. They're all about the same and reasonably priced for the area, but they fill up early. My preference would be the REL because it's a block off the main drag (US550) and more peaceful than the other two. For those who don't mind car-camping, the Ouray KOA is excellent (they have cabins, tent sites, and a large teepee you can rent). The Moto-Guzzi Not-a-Rally was held there a few summers ago and everyone seemed to like the place. They hosted a steak dinner for 25-35 of us and it was really impressive.

I've stayed in two places in Telluride. The first was a ski condo in Mountain Village (located mid-mountain at the terminus of the free gondola). The other place was in town at the Camel's Garden Inn. Telluride is an awesome place to spend 2-3 days but accommodations are expensive. It'd be a nice option if you wanted to splurge a bit. We will certainly ride through there on one of the routes I suggest.

There are many other options in the area, including Ridgway, Montrose, Gunnison, Lake City, South Fork, Pagosa Springs, Durango, and Dolores, but if you're coming all the way to SW Colorado for a motorcycling vacation, I think Ouray or Telluride is the place to be.

 

[the_undecider_imp]

Y'all are making me jealous! I wish I could take that much time off for some San Juan Mountain fun. Even worse, my friend just got back from Lake City and got to hear all about that. My family used to vacation in Ouray and we'd bring the dual sports and stay at the Ouray KOA Kabins. A few years ago, my wife and I drove up in the car and I went nearly crazy not having my bike. We stayed ay the Ouray Chalet and it was nice. That town rolls up the sidewalks fairly early, so not a lot of noise from the main drag after 9pm.

 

[Cormanus]

I wish people would wear gloves.

I wrote this after I looked at the picture of offroad on the Dragon. I thought he was not wearing gloves. When I look again he was. Apologies.

Nice ride report, LR. Looks like a nice jaunt on the RT.

You did what the magazines seem unable to do for some reason, namely, show a clearly marked route map. I've read so many ride reports in magazines with little or no map. I sit there with a map and try to read the route description through the flowery prose. It's amazing how many of them describe non-existent roads or incomplete routes with major gaps between points.

With today's technology, it is pretty easy to draw a very precise route map and to make it available on line.