Day Trip to the Black Canyon

[dirkterrell]

A couple of years ago I took a day off and went on a relaxing all-day ride. Because of a crazy work schedule last summer, I didn't get to do one last year. Yesterday I decided to head out to see the Black Canyon. When I left the house, civil twilight had just begun. After avoiding a skunk and later, a coyote chasing breakfast across the highway, I pulled over and watched the Sun come up.



Nice scenery in the valley after Kenosha Pass:



Near Buena Vista



At the Curecanti rec area, you see the south end of the canyon:





Then a few more miles up the road, you get to the south entrance of the National Park. Unfortunately, they were repaving the road so I go to wait about 25 minutes in the heat, but at least they didn't charge the entrance fee. My pictures of the canyon simply cannot do justice to what you see with the eye. The walls of the canyon are vertical and reach nearly 3000 feet. For those of you who have ridden PMP, that's about the length of the main straightaway.







I only spent a couple of hours there but there are many hiking trails and you could easily spend the whole day taking in the amazing sights.

This was the original ride plan:



but a huge thunderstorm developed to the southeast behind me as I was coming up 133 to Carbondale. It clearly was not a good idea to head down 82 towards Aspen into the heart of the storm, so I decided to head north to I-70 and slab it back home.



I still got into the outer parts of the storm up until about Gypsum. Going down the tunnel just east of Glenwood Springs, I could see the rain going sideways across the highway. I thought "Oh, boy" and when I exited the tunnel, it felt like a semi hit me. It was good that I was ready for it, because it might have blown me right off the road. It would have been really nasty trying to go over a mountain pass in the central part of the storm. And I-70 out that way is pretty scenic. I mean, it's not like going up I-75 through the middle of Florida.

Despite some rain and annoying crosswinds on the highway, it was a great day of riding. I covered 603 miles in 14 hours or so.

[Bueller]

Nice ride!

[cptschlongenheimer]

<jealous
Thanks for posting though, Dirk! Nice pics.

[aerofaze]

Nice trip report and photos. Thank you!

I've hit a dangerous rainstorm near the Glenwood Canyon tunnel, too. Lightning had started striking the canyon walls above me, though the rain hadn't begun yet. The wild downpour held off just until the moment I emerged from the canyon, and then I had to pull over in Glenwood Springs and wait. It can be crazy out there!!

Based on experience, my favorite part of your route is from Carbondale to Paonia. Too bad CO82 was still stormy.

[Sean]

Great pics, Dirk!
I don't think I've ever been there. It's now on the list of places to stop! Do you take 347 off of 50?

Did you get home around 7:30ish (I don't know the exact time)? I was riding my bicycle south on 95th. And as soon as I crossed Arapahoe, I thought I saw you on your VFR.

[dirkterrell]

Great pics, Dirk!
I don't think I've ever been there. It's now on the list of places to stop! Do you take 347 off of 50?

Yep, that's it. You really can't miss the big sign for the park though. Chatting with a couple from Alabama at one point, they said they thought the view from the north rim was better. The road is dirt the last few miles but it sounded like it was hard-packed so even street bikes shouldn't have any trouble with it. If I had had more time, I would have checked it out.

Did you get home around 7:30ish (I don't know the exact time)? I was riding my bicycle south on 95th. And as soon as I crossed Arapahoe, I thought I saw you on your VFR.

Yep, that was me.

[Devaclis]

Man that is a beautiful ride. Ninja and I were in that area a couple of years ago on an epic all day ride. I really want to go back.

[dirkterrell]

Nice trip report and photos. Thank you!

I've hit a dangerous rainstorm near the Glenwood Canyon tunnel, too. Lightning had started striking the canyon walls above me, though the rain hadn't begun yet. The wild downpour held off just until the moment I emerged from the canyon, and then I had to pull over in Glenwood Springs and wait. It can be crazy out there!!

Yeah, you have to be ready for just about anything, especially late in the afternoon.

Based on experience, my favorite part of your route is from Carbondale to Paonia. Too bad CO82 was still stormy.

Yeah, that was a very pretty section of countryside.

[dirkterrell]

Man that is a beautiful ride. Ninja and I were in that area a couple of years ago on an epic all day ride. I really want to go back.

I'll definitely go back. There were places where I wished I could wave a wand and turn the VFR into the XR for a little while. Sean's probably got the perfect bike for doing this kind of ride.

[spideyrdr]

Some fantastic pictures! Sounds like a good ride.

[dirkterrell]

Yeah, you have to be ready for just about anything, especially late in the afternoon.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the tree that had fallen over and covered the entire righthand lane of I-70 just before I got to Gypsum.

[salsashark]

very nice... looks like a great day trip

[UglyDogRacing]

I need to do a trip like that. It's been too long. Salsa how about you let me borrow that multistrada for a weekend

[salsashark]

Sure... but the security deposit's a monster!

That and I have to get it out of the shop as well

[Ninja2]

Pics are amazing. Thanks for sharing. More amazing, the fact you had time to take them, considering the trip was 603 miles. Sounds like you had a great time.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Good stuff Dirk! Looks like a fun trip.

[asp_125]

Jello-c. Looks like a great ride. I did those roads but have yet to try the north rim of the black canyon yet

[~Barn~]

Awesome ride. If somebody puts something like this together again for this season, PM me or something.

<---- Needs a fleet of different motorcycles.

[Ghost]

<---- Needs a fleet of different motorcycles.

+1

I think 5-10 should cover it...

Still, that's an awesome ride & great pics!

[Bueller]

Awesome ride. If somebody puts something like this together again for this season, PM me or something.

<---- Needs a fleet of different motorcycles.

Yea that's pretty much the ride Bashed does for the Firecracker 5hun

[~Barn~]

Thanks Bueller, I had been reading that thread, but I'll check it out now.

[dirkterrell]

Awesome ride. If somebody puts something like this together again for this season, PM me or something.

<---- Needs a fleet of different motorcycles.

I'll be doing more rides of this type. This one was a "just me" ride on purpose but I'll be happy to do some group rides subject to certain conditions, mainly that I either know you and how you ride or people that I trust vouch for you. (No problem for you Brandon, for example.)

These are all-day, scenery rides with stops for photography, etc., not hauling ass every second on the bike. That's not to say that wicking it up a bit in appropriate spots doesn't happen, but these rides are for going and seeing things. I'm now planning something down south to see the Highway of Legends...

[~Barn~]

These types of rides don't happen too frequently, if you're a 9 to 5'er like most people are. I did a few of these back in the day. One very memorable one with Clickity_Jeff Ninja and Big-J.. others.

Then there were the trips that Gramps and the original "Northies" used to put together. I think I even set one up one time, where we super-slabbed it up to Fort Collins, did the Poudre all the way out to Walden, and then back down the B-Side twisties.

Day trips and dawn-to-dusk stuff like this, are the rides that make or break your whole appreciation for it all.

[VFR]

Nice ride and photo's...Highway of Legends? Looking it up!
Ahh Trinidad, that's a nice haul!