Colorado on a budget...both time and money.
Although there will be no "official" Iron Butt attempts... some days may be close enough to qualify as "Tin"
Day one, the plan is to pitch a tent in Bender's back yard and walk over to the Missouri State Fair for some rest and relaxation after 900 miles on the road.
Day two, after a nice nap I hope to get to the "front range" before dark and pitch my tent in pablo83's yard. The temps should be much cooler here and I can only hope for a good nights sleep after two big days on the road.
Days three through six will hopefully be spent riding a mix of the following passes and camping for free out in the wilderness of Colorado.
Day three will most likely begin like THIS. Taking pavement over Wilkerson and Trout Creek passes to Buena Vista. Then heading up over Cottonwood Pass with a stop at Tin Cup on my way to Crested Butte.
Now here is where my plans become extremely flexible.....time and weather will play a big part in my daily decisions. Since it is acceptable to practice "dispersed camping" in most parts of Colorado I won't be worried too much about getting caught out after dark trying to make it someplace for the night. I do think that I'll do most of my eating in towns so I won't have to worry with keeping my food away from bears and varmints. So I'll always try to grab a bite and fill up with water before heading out across a wilderness area...and I'll never be too far from town in the AM either (I don't usually eat 1st thing in the AM anyway)
Here are a few options I'm considering.
Kebler Pass and loop back through the Black Canyon.
If I don't like the looks of things atop Kebler...I can always take the Ohio Pass down to Gunnison.
From either of those options I'll be faced with the decision of where to go next....towards Ouray via the Owl Creek Pass or to head for Lake City 1st via the Blue Mesa cut-off...or even just down 149 from Gunnison...although that last option is most likely if I'm leaving Lake City in the reverse direction.
Once in the Ouray area I plan to just ride around exploring and enjoying the scenery.
Possible passes I may cross include but are not limited to:
Red Mtn
Ophir Pass
Last Dollar
I hope to have a look at both Black Bear and Imogene but do not plan on crossing them on the Wee-Strom.....just go up above town a bit to get some pics if that's possible.
There looks to be lots of little things (old mining camps) to explore in this area like the road to Gladstone and all along Red Mtn.
Of course I hope to ride the length of the "million dollar highway" between Ouray and Durango.
but...if it looks like I can get up to Engineer Pass from Animas Forks to Lake City I may do that 1st then loop back down to Durango via Pagosa Springs...(vice versa if I chicken out on Engineer)
Another option may be to ride through the canyon on 141 up to Grand Junction, that looks like it'd be a lot of fun! :bom_evilgrin:
Then on my way out of the hills I may ride over Marshall Pass too.
Then I may actually do some Iron Butt distances heading for home...who knows.
I plan to leave on Friday Aug 21st and don't have to be back to work til Sun Aug 30th.
I'm really looking forward to this ride and hope that I can at least get a couple of good pics from it too....The subject matter should definitely be on my side!
Hey!!....if you have any favorites that I've missed...both routes and campsites, please feel free to share them with me! :thumbup:
Although there will be no "official" Iron Butt attempts... some days may be close enough to qualify as "Tin"
Day one, the plan is to pitch a tent in Bender's back yard and walk over to the Missouri State Fair for some rest and relaxation after 900 miles on the road.
Day two, after a nice nap I hope to get to the "front range" before dark and pitch my tent in pablo83's yard. The temps should be much cooler here and I can only hope for a good nights sleep after two big days on the road.
Days three through six will hopefully be spent riding a mix of the following passes and camping for free out in the wilderness of Colorado.
Day three will most likely begin like THIS. Taking pavement over Wilkerson and Trout Creek passes to Buena Vista. Then heading up over Cottonwood Pass with a stop at Tin Cup on my way to Crested Butte.
Now here is where my plans become extremely flexible.....time and weather will play a big part in my daily decisions. Since it is acceptable to practice "dispersed camping" in most parts of Colorado I won't be worried too much about getting caught out after dark trying to make it someplace for the night. I do think that I'll do most of my eating in towns so I won't have to worry with keeping my food away from bears and varmints. So I'll always try to grab a bite and fill up with water before heading out across a wilderness area...and I'll never be too far from town in the AM either (I don't usually eat 1st thing in the AM anyway)
Here are a few options I'm considering.
Kebler Pass and loop back through the Black Canyon.
If I don't like the looks of things atop Kebler...I can always take the Ohio Pass down to Gunnison.
From either of those options I'll be faced with the decision of where to go next....towards Ouray via the Owl Creek Pass or to head for Lake City 1st via the Blue Mesa cut-off...or even just down 149 from Gunnison...although that last option is most likely if I'm leaving Lake City in the reverse direction.
Once in the Ouray area I plan to just ride around exploring and enjoying the scenery.
Possible passes I may cross include but are not limited to:
Red Mtn
Ophir Pass
Last Dollar
I hope to have a look at both Black Bear and Imogene but do not plan on crossing them on the Wee-Strom.....just go up above town a bit to get some pics if that's possible.
There looks to be lots of little things (old mining camps) to explore in this area like the road to Gladstone and all along Red Mtn.
Of course I hope to ride the length of the "million dollar highway" between Ouray and Durango.
but...if it looks like I can get up to Engineer Pass from Animas Forks to Lake City I may do that 1st then loop back down to Durango via Pagosa Springs...(vice versa if I chicken out on Engineer)
Another option may be to ride through the canyon on 141 up to Grand Junction, that looks like it'd be a lot of fun! :bom_evilgrin:
Then on my way out of the hills I may ride over Marshall Pass too.
Then I may actually do some Iron Butt distances heading for home...who knows.
I plan to leave on Friday Aug 21st and don't have to be back to work til Sun Aug 30th.
I'm really looking forward to this ride and hope that I can at least get a couple of good pics from it too....The subject matter should definitely be on my side!
Hey!!....if you have any favorites that I've missed...both routes and campsites, please feel free to share them with me! :thumbup: