Winter Riding Over Kenosha Pass to Jefferson and Tarryall

[sfarson]

Hey, been riding a bunch here in Park County this winter. A few days ago I rode the sweet Uly over nearby 10,001 ft. Kenosha Pass. Temps were in the 30's. But it's a dry cold. Ha! Here's a few images from the scoot, with a ride video at the end.

About halfway along on the driveway...


First pause is on the southside of the pass. About seven years ago I paused here on a bike I miss dearly... an '02 Cyclone M2...


Well, I didn't stand in the exact spot, but the high meadows of South Park are below with the 13,000 ft. sentinels of the Mosquito Range in the distance...


Rode towards the icy and snow cloud topped monarchs, coaxing the Uly to pause for a pic. Actually, I needed more coaxing in the biting wind, and left the bike idling so the heated grips would stay sizzlin!


Now, until 1937 the only motorized access to "The Park" was by narrow gauge train. Here's the Jefferson Depot in 1937 just before the rails were pulled up...


The small community of Jefferson (Pop 15) remains, as does the depot. The power line poles march off into the distance on the old train bed. If in the area on U.S. 285 passing through Jefferson, the caboose serves decent food as you sit outside (my kind of place), and the small country market (unseen) on the other side of the highway is reknown for their fudge...


I rode down nearby County 77 (The Tarryall Road) to let the modern day horse pause next to its four legged kin. I'm keeping those heated grips on!!!


That's 13,822 ft. Mt. Silverheels on the left. It was named after a dance hall lady who looked after miners 150 years ago when they contracted small pox. She wore silver heels...


Ya know, I've been in the area for almost 25 years and not a whole lot has changed. The onboard video here is of the lonely and riding divine Tarryall Road as I head towards South Park and Jefferson. The icy and meandering Tarryall Creek accompanies, as do deep blue skies, craggy rocks, and frozen fields. The whispers of abandoned homesteads and cabins are heard as you fly by.

Tarryall Road to Jefferson - Vid

[FZRguy]

[Swift]

Nice Ulysses. Too bad I can't fit on a Buell comfortably otherwise I might have considered one (being 6'3" has its disadvantages).

[sfarson]

Swift... This is the one for you then! I'm 6'4". It's a roomy thing. Ergos are spot on. It's the smaller XB models (Firebolt, Lightning) that are cozy. The Uly has gobs of torque, and is intrinsic when there are tighter bends in the road. Erik knew a thing or two about this. It shares garage space with a few other nice two wheeled things, and the Uly delivers the goods. Too bad Milwaukee pulled the plug.

[Sarge]

Maybe we should get sfarson to do ALL the BOTM pictures for the calender?

[fasterlaster]

Fantastic photos, that are really expanded by the comments. Thank a bunch for that this am sfarson

[dirkterrell]

Originally Posted by sfarson

The onboard video here is of the lonely and riding divine Tarryall Road as I head towards South Park and Jefferson. The icy and meandering Tarryall Creek accompanies, as do deep blue skies, craggy rocks, and frozen fields. The whispers of abandoned homesteads and cabins are heard as you fly by.

Nice pics, Steve. I rode through there on a day-long ride on the VFR in July '09. It was a nice ride. It got a little sketchy when it turned to mud in spots on the south end near Lake George but overall I really enjoyed it.

Dirk

[usmcab35]

that looks like a nice chilly, but fun ride! great pics.

[salsashark]

great pics.

now I'm bummed even MORE that it snowed again last night after I almost had a straight shot of clean asphalt out of my neighborhood.

[drago52]

yay ulys!

[Swift]

Originally Posted by sfarson

Swift... This is the one for you then! I'm 6'4". It's a roomy thing. Ergos are spot on. It's the smaller XB models (Firebolt, Lightning) that are cozy. The Uly has gobs of torque, and is intrinsic when there are tighter bends in the road. Erik knew a thing or two about this. It shares garage space with a few other nice two wheeled things, and the Uly delivers the goods. Too bad Milwaukee pulled the plug.

Sounds like a blast. I've got my own beasty now though. Might look into one down the road after college.

[sfarson]

Originally Posted by dirkterrell

Nice pics, Steve. I rode through there on a day-long ride on the VFR in July '09. It was a nice ride. It got a little sketchy when it turned to mud in spots on the south end near Lake George but overall I really enjoyed it.

Dirk

Thanks all.

Dirk... Sweet images of Park County 77 or the Tarryall Road. I know where those pics were taken. I almost reached for the 5th gen keys on this ride. There's all kinds of Honda XR/XL journeys branching this Tarryall Road. Fer sure!

[ChrisCBX]

Great pix.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Awesome pics. I'll have to check that area out (in the summer).

[dirkterrell]

Originally Posted by sfarson

Dirk... Sweet images of Park County 77 or the Tarryall Road. I know where those pics were taken. I almost reached for the 5th gen keys on this ride. There's all kinds of Honda XR/XL journeys branching this Tarryall Road. Fer sure!

Yeah, I intended to get down there again this year on the XR but my summer work schedule blew up on me. Hopefully next summer...

Dirk

[longrider]

Great pics!! I rode CR77 this summer and I would have rather had the Uly than my Tuono! Are they ever going to repave it?? I'm glad to hear that the food in Jefferson is good, I was getting hungry and saw the place but it scared me enough to wait until I got to Bailey to eat..

[asp_125]

Great pix augmented by some neat local history. You should submit that to a riding mag.

[bodhizafa]

Sweet ride!

[sfarson]

Originally Posted by longrider

Great pics!! I rode CR77 this summer and I would have rather had the Uly than my Tuono! Are they ever going to repave it?? I'm glad to hear that the food in Jefferson is good, I was getting hungry and saw the place but it scared me enough to wait until I got to Bailey to eat..

lr... The Tarryall Road is about 45 miles in length with about eight miles on each end sweetly paved. It's the broken chip and seal in the middle 28 miles or so that can have you swerving around here and there to dodge the broken chip. The feds and county are teaming up to pave the entire length over the coming 5-10 years, but after paving the eight miles near Jefferson (the vid link above is on this divine section) three years ago, no progress has been made with the economic chill and money redirected towards the refurbishing of nearby Guanella Pass. I hear they are going to restart the re-engineering (correcting some of the poorly designed curves) and paving of this road this summer. The window to do so each year is short... they wait until the permafrost has thawed (May-June), work on the road until the permafrost freezes (Sept or so), then wait until the following summer again. BTW, the feds want this road fixed and are putting up much of the money, because of the massive 2002 Hayman Wildfire, launched on the southern end of this road. They want a better road for safety, access, and evacuation purposes. When this thing is finished it will be a spectacular sporting road.

IMO, the stirring, time-hasn't-changed scenery is worth a trip/ride down this special road, but admittedly, it would be tedious on a sportbike. The grill inside the Jefferson Market (Closed Mon/Tue) is better than at the caboose, though the latter isn't bad. Here's what I've done more than once... grab some food at the Jefferson Market, throw it in the tank/saddle bags, or back pack, then ride south about 30 miles to the Twin Eagle camp/picnic ground where I grab a table right next to the Brook Trout filled Tarryall Creek. Ultra scenic and you might have the place to yourself.

[FZRguy]

Erik will be back with the 1125 when his non-compete expires. I had the pleasure of riding a 1125R for four days in NC. Sweet bike and wish I could have bought one during the fire sale.

[FZRguy]

http://www.erikbuellracing.com/

[FZRguy]

Post up when your book is available, Steve. Gotta check it out.