A total of 3,362 miles with 56 hours and 11 minutes spent moving on the bike. That's an average speed of 60 mph and according to my GPS my top speed was (ahem) 108 mph - there are some really wide open and smooth roads out there in the Southwest!
I started at an elevation of 886 feet here at home and hit 12,095 feet at the top of Independance Pass. Most of the trip happens on the Colorado Plateau at around 7,000 feet. For a flatlander like me that means a lot of huffing and puffing when walking around.
The bike purred like a kitten the whole time, even at speeds well over 90 mph, and I feel much more at home on the bike now.
There are so many great roads that I hit on this trip it's hard to remember which ones stand out. For sure Highway 114 in Colorado just south of Gunnison was a high point with so many twists and turns it was almost like being on a rollercoaster. Hwy 46 in Utah/90 in Colorado was more of a challenge with tight switchbacks and few bumpy areas but a ride everyone should add to their list.
Even Hwy 70 in Utah has some spectacular views...
Leaving Aspen and heading back to the same hotel in Sante Fe. The plan is ride over Independence Pass, loop back toward Gunnison then down to South Fork, over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs then Santa Fe.
Independance Pass
This is a fun ride. The area east of Aspen is as close to heaven as I care to get right now and the climb up to the top of the pass is awsome. The road is lined with Aspen trees and the view down the stepp drop off to the right is so enticing that I have to keep refocusing my eyes back to the narrow winding road. You just don't get views like this back in Texas...
Proof that I was there...
I'll be adding a video of the ride over the pass after I get it cleaned up and uploaded to YouTube.
Bouncing back and forth over the Continental Divide
Looping back toward Gunnison took me back over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass.
The water under my bike was left over from a group of Harley riders I waited on who were taking pic's in front of this sign. I have no idea if it was from one of the bikes or if they were just messy drinkers.
Somewhere along the line I crossed back over the Continental Divide and then came back across again via Wolf Creek Pass. I didn't stop for a sign picture but snapped a couple of shots along the way.
Smoke from New Mexico fires was in the air here...
South Fork wasn't much to write home about but Pagosa Springs seems to have really done a great job of developing the hot springs to make it a 'cool' place to hang out...
After this it was just a sprint to the Buffalo Thunder Hotel at Sante Fe for some food and and sleep.
