Do you love Colorado mountain roads, but hate the tourist traffic?
Then come with me West to Buena Vista! Black Canyon is a phenominally fun ride and it's far enough away from the major population centers that traffic is light.
This is a short notice - if you would like to come or join me somewhere along the way - please TEXT me at 719-201-9383.
Black Canyon is one of my favorite rides and I'm really bummed this year I haven't gotten to do it yet. Most summers I'll ride this 500 mile round trip ride several times!
Tomorrow (Sunday) I'm taking the bike via trailer from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista, finding somewhere to park, then taking the bike and heading up Independence Pass (Hwy 83).
Route from Buena Vista
https://goo.gl/maps/ND0W3
I'll ride to and through Black Canyon and turn around at Highway 50 and do it again. Get back to the car, load the bike back up and trailer on home, satisfied!
Basically trailering will allow me to cut out 200 boring miles (100 there and back) on the bike and focus on the fun roads.
If you want to trailer with me, I have a 2 bike trailer but you would need to provide your own tie down straps or run to Walmart or the like to buy some. Otherwise, anyone is welcome to meet me in Buena Vista or somewhere along the way.
Pace: "Clovis pace" - Quick, but safe.
Difficulty: 6-7 on a scale of 1-10. More info below.
Exp/Skill level: Not for new riders. Black Canyon has a few surprise corners, two in particular when running South to North (from 50 to Crawford) that often sneak up on riders. They 2 corners are up hill, then a sudden right decreasing radius turn. The two turns are about a mile apart from one another.
Gear required: Full leathers is always recommended. At a minimum you should have helmet, jacket, gloves, boots.
If you elect to ride the whole thing and want to keep the day to 500 miles, you can take highway 50 to Gunnison, instead of doubling back to Aspen with me. Doubling back adds 100 miles versus the full circle route version.
Full "circle" version - https://goo.gl/maps/16Xo8
Highlights and road descriptions:
Independence Pass: Highway 83 -- A very fun mountain pass but also very narrow in some areas. Road condition can range from new pavement to bumpy. Some drop offs.
Highway 133 - McClure Pass - one of the best roads in Colorado in my opinion. 40 miles of sweeping corners with no surprises. Little traffic
Black Canyon - Ranges from sweepers to tighter technical corners - also little traffic.
I plan (hope?) to be on the road heading to BV by 6:30 - 7:00 and typically it's about 90 minutes to get there. All in all I have a little over 600 miles between the car and bike so need to leave early.
Again, please text me if you're coming!719-201-9383.
Clovis
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