Riding from Oklahoma City to Colorado
#1
05-12-2009, 05:16 PM
Riding from Oklahoma City to Colorado
Some friends and I are talking about running from OKC up to Colorado. Our plan is to get up there and do some whitewater rafting and seeing the scenery. Here's my question. Is there a place that's better to plan on going, what places should we not miss along the way and instead of hotel stays we're talking about camping -- are there ample camp areas that are biker friendly?
Any help would be great!
Any help would be great!
#2
05-12-2009, 11:01 PM
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Depends on how long you have and what you want to see.
As far as getting here, you can do the panhandle or do the interstate. I go home to Tulsa a couple of times a year but haven't done it on the bike (keep that in mind for what follows). Taking the panhandle route seems slower to me and I find the interstate easier to deal with. Still a 700m/12hr trip by car. If you go the rural route you could cut up to Dodge City and then across the northern route of the Santa Fe Trail into Pueblo. That beats seeing Kansas by interstate.
A long boring trip if you ask me.
I can tell you about rafting around the Arkansas River. If you go thru Pueblo on Hwy 50 and on into Canyon City (past Canyon City is a great riding segment) you will come across rafting companies that will take you thru the Royal Gorge. Pretty tame until you get in the gorge then the fun starts. +1 on this.
If you go on to Buena Vista there are companies that will take you on the upper part of the Arkansas. I've never done but I know boaters that do. They like it.
What to see? Depends on how much time you have. There's tons of things to see and roads to travel. I've been here almost 10yrs and haven't visited everyplace I want to go yet.
The southwest corner has the Million Dollar Highway, Mesa Verde, lots of good roads. The middle section has lots of passes that I love traveling. The northern section has more passes. Lots of mountains to look at once you get past the front range. Ski resorts are fun but start to all look alike after a while.
Even an alligator farm if you want to see one.
Not much in Pueblo to see, Denver is just another big town. Colorado Springs has Pikes Peak & Garden of the Gods. But west of these places you start to climb and the riding gets good.
Here's a good site that will help you get a sense of what there is to see on a bike. http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/
Okie, born and raised, but live in Colorado now.
TH
As far as getting here, you can do the panhandle or do the interstate. I go home to Tulsa a couple of times a year but haven't done it on the bike (keep that in mind for what follows). Taking the panhandle route seems slower to me and I find the interstate easier to deal with. Still a 700m/12hr trip by car. If you go the rural route you could cut up to Dodge City and then across the northern route of the Santa Fe Trail into Pueblo. That beats seeing Kansas by interstate.
A long boring trip if you ask me.
I can tell you about rafting around the Arkansas River. If you go thru Pueblo on Hwy 50 and on into Canyon City (past Canyon City is a great riding segment) you will come across rafting companies that will take you thru the Royal Gorge. Pretty tame until you get in the gorge then the fun starts. +1 on this.
If you go on to Buena Vista there are companies that will take you on the upper part of the Arkansas. I've never done but I know boaters that do. They like it.
What to see? Depends on how much time you have. There's tons of things to see and roads to travel. I've been here almost 10yrs and haven't visited everyplace I want to go yet.
The southwest corner has the Million Dollar Highway, Mesa Verde, lots of good roads. The middle section has lots of passes that I love traveling. The northern section has more passes. Lots of mountains to look at once you get past the front range. Ski resorts are fun but start to all look alike after a while.
Even an alligator farm if you want to see one.
Not much in Pueblo to see, Denver is just another big town. Colorado Springs has Pikes Peak & Garden of the Gods. But west of these places you start to climb and the riding gets good.
Here's a good site that will help you get a sense of what there is to see on a bike. http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/
Okie, born and raised, but live in Colorado now.
TH
#3
05-12-2009, 11:57 PM
#4
05-13-2009, 08:29 AM
Every summer I spend two weeks riding with friends from Denver.
Colorado is a great state to ride in, there is so much to see there.
Here are my favorite rides.
Trail Ridge Road, Mt Evans, and Independance Pass from Leadville over into Aspen.
check out my webpage on Colorado http://virtualhale.com/cruzn/colorado.php
Page also has some good links for weather reports and road closings.
Check out my pictures of the last three years http://virtualhale.com/gallery2 just click on Colorado.
Check out these two articles in Rider Magazine
http://ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?id=2040661 and http://ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?ID=1148779
Colorado is a great state to ride in, there is so much to see there.
Here are my favorite rides.
Trail Ridge Road, Mt Evans, and Independance Pass from Leadville over into Aspen.
check out my webpage on Colorado http://virtualhale.com/cruzn/colorado.php
Page also has some good links for weather reports and road closings.
Check out my pictures of the last three years http://virtualhale.com/gallery2 just click on Colorado.
Check out these two articles in Rider Magazine
http://ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?id=2040661 and http://ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?ID=1148779
Last edited by CruzN; 05-13-2009 at 09:01 AM.
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