hello,
im new here and am planning a trip to colorado this summer with a buddy of mine and was wondering if yall might be able to offer some insight as well as ur experience while riding thru the rocky mountains??

ive decided itll be more cost effective to fly out and rent a bike. planning on using mile high harley in denver.

we will be riding for a full 7 days. cant wait!

thx

 

Welcome to the Forum from Colorado!
Bring a mix of warm and cold weather clothing, as you may experience all 4 seasons in one day. Rain gear as well as it rains in the mountains just about every day. Rocky Mountain National Park is a must ride, Pikes Peak, (toll road), down into the 4 Corners and up through Telluride are all good rides.

 

Peak to Peak Highway

US 36 from Lyons to Estes Park then down Hwy 34 from Estes to Loveland (Big Thompson Canyon)

Rocky Mountain National Park (You can enter through Estes Park)

Hwy 50 West from Pueblo to Canon City as the sun is setting

And while this one is a bit ADD (like me) it had some fun riding and good scenery last time I rode it, about 10 years ago: Hwy 93 from Boulder to Golden; Hwy 6 to I-70, I-70 to 470, 470 to US 85 through Sedalia and it brings you to I-25 at Castle Rock. Its a nice detour that keeps you away from I-25 through Denver proper. I used this route when I would travel from Longmont to Pueblo back in the day.

 

Each year there are several posts made about riding in Colorado. Try to use the Search feature on the screen-width blue bar at the top of the Road Trip page...type in 'Colorado'. You'll get a lot of hits and within an hour you'll know where to ride, what to wear, hotels, etc. BTW, this is a great place to ride and you're going to have a blast. The best advice I can give, without going into great detail, is to plan all your riding off of the I-25 / I-70 corridors. The best riding will be on two-lane highways....and bring a camera.

Ride safe.

 

I'm also planning on spending about five days riding around Colorado this summer on my way back from Sturgis. Can't wait to see the Rockies again. Thanks for the advice here and I'll search for other threads about Colorado.

 

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/south...le-2015-a.html

Might want to look at this. This will get you almost all of the best that Colorado has to offer and great company too.

Bill

 

In addition to searching this forum for Colorado, this thread (at least on my computer) shows similar threads at the bottom. Here's my 2 cents:

Rain gear is a must. You will have wide temperature ranges - pack accordingly. Try to avoid Rocky Mountain Park on the weekend. Some of the best rides in my opinion include: 82 south of Glenwood Springs; Grand Mesa Scenic Byway; 141 headed south of Grand Junction; 550 (million dollar highway) between Ouray and Durango; 62 West of 550 then 145 South to Cortez (goes right by Telluride); 160 over Wolf Creek Pass; 149 between 160 and 50, through Creede and Lake City.

We ride out to Denver most summers and then make a big loop, up through Estes Park, across RMNP on Trail Ridge Road, down to Glenwood Springs, down 133 to near Delta, across Grand Mesa Byway, through Grand Junction, down 141 to 145 to 160 and across to Durango, then either up 550 or 160 to 149 but end up doing that loop one way or the other. Since we ride out, we head back across the corner of New Mexico and then beat it back across the pan handle which, by the way, I would not recommend.

Hope you all stay safe and have a great time. Makes me a little jealous just thinking about it since we probably won't make it out this year.

 

Draw a north to south vertical line thru Denver, everything west of that line is basically motorcycle paradise.
My favorites are, Rocky Mnt NP, Pikes Peak & hwy550 from Montrose to Durango, but there are so many others. Any road with the word "pass" is recommended. Even Interstate 70 thru Eisenhower Tunnel is a great ride.

 

Subscribed. The OL and myself were just discussing a trip to CO if we wind up not going to Sturgis this year. She lived in Arvada for 10 years so she is somewhat familiar with the general areas to go. Must see for me is Estes, Trail Ridge Road, RMNP, Rt550 to Durango. I've also checked out Eagle Rider from Denver and this seems like the way to go. About $1500 for 6 days on an Ultra Classic.

 

When you're riding in the mountains, remember that you will be lucky to average 50 MPH. Keep that in mind when your planning a days ride. Also, it takes a lot more energy handling a bike thru a couple hundred miles of mountain roads than a couple of hundred miles of flatland roads.


Also, drink lots of water.