190 Miles
I like sleeping in a hammock. But I enjoy sleeping in bed even more. With a good night rest, we were ready to hit a big loop. A beautiful crisp morning welcomed two bikes and the riders.
Our first stop was Crested Butte - a cozy little ski town. We visited Rumors coffee house - good coffee and pastry. Somehow coffee tastes a lot better in a town like that. Is it the climate? Is it the atmosphere? Is it the coffee? Or all combined?
We walked up and down the main street visited shops including a shop with interesting sculptures and a cute bear.
After about an hour of hanging out at the town, we head off to tackle CO12. This supposedly is a nice dirt road and I've decided that we need to visit Lake Irwin while we are there.
I LOVED CO12 - probably my second favorite road during this trip after Phantom Canyon. It was easy to ride, well-packed dirt road. I could push NanC a bit and still felt very comfortable. There were plenty of turns that you can have a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.
After CO12, we end up on HWY 133. It is paved. We road toward southwest passing two large mines. (I think they were coal mines.) We arrive in Hotchkiss, CO. We looked for Zach's BBQ for lunch.
We sat down and ordered drinks. Then a local guy named Mike, an FJ-09 rider came to our table and told us all the roads we can take in the region. Many of the road he mentioned we've already ridden and others we were going to ride. He was full of great information. If I were to go back to that area again, I would hire him as a guide!
After great conversation and great food, it was time for us to ride to Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park. We were heading to the north side of the park. It was an easy ride from Hotchkiss including some great dirt road near and throughout the park.
That place is just so amazing. I'm standing right at the edge of the cliff. It is very scary. A gust of wind can take anyone down to the bottom of the canyon.
From there, we get back onto HWY 92. From here to the dam, the road gets REALLY great. My favorite paved road of this trip. Many many many great turns and spit you out at the dam. I parked at the dam, walked down to the lake and had a nice splashing time to cool down.
At this point, we were concerned about our gas situation. We were running on fumes. We took HWY 50 back at our best MPG speed - around 50 mph. Luckily, we made it back to Gunnison. Although I am a AAA premium member and can get 5 GAL of free gas delivered anywhere, I'd rather not sit at the side of a highway and wait an hour.
After a long day of a ride, we hit up Mario's pizza again and goof off in town and found our way back to the Hostel.
I like sleeping in a hammock. But I enjoy sleeping in bed even more. With a good night rest, we were ready to hit a big loop. A beautiful crisp morning welcomed two bikes and the riders.
Our first stop was Crested Butte - a cozy little ski town. We visited Rumors coffee house - good coffee and pastry. Somehow coffee tastes a lot better in a town like that. Is it the climate? Is it the atmosphere? Is it the coffee? Or all combined?
We walked up and down the main street visited shops including a shop with interesting sculptures and a cute bear.
(video coming soon)
I LOVED CO12 - probably my second favorite road during this trip after Phantom Canyon. It was easy to ride, well-packed dirt road. I could push NanC a bit and still felt very comfortable. There were plenty of turns that you can have a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.
After CO12, we end up on HWY 133. It is paved. We road toward southwest passing two large mines. (I think they were coal mines.) We arrive in Hotchkiss, CO. We looked for Zach's BBQ for lunch.
We sat down and ordered drinks. Then a local guy named Mike, an FJ-09 rider came to our table and told us all the roads we can take in the region. Many of the road he mentioned we've already ridden and others we were going to ride. He was full of great information. If I were to go back to that area again, I would hire him as a guide!
After great conversation and great food, it was time for us to ride to Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park. We were heading to the north side of the park. It was an easy ride from Hotchkiss including some great dirt road near and throughout the park.
From there, we get back onto HWY 92. From here to the dam, the road gets REALLY great. My favorite paved road of this trip. Many many many great turns and spit you out at the dam. I parked at the dam, walked down to the lake and had a nice splashing time to cool down.
At this point, we were concerned about our gas situation. We were running on fumes. We took HWY 50 back at our best MPG speed - around 50 mph. Luckily, we made it back to Gunnison. Although I am a AAA premium member and can get 5 GAL of free gas delivered anywhere, I'd rather not sit at the side of a highway and wait an hour.
After a long day of a ride, we hit up Mario's pizza again and goof off in town and found our way back to the Hostel.
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