I had planned to ride with my NC-Buddy, Larry Hull, this week. But he called me on Tuesday and told me and a riding buddy of his were riding to Saratoga, WY, and were going to spend a couple of nights up there this week. I was invited, but had too much going on this week to do anything other than a one-day ride. So, I left this morning and rode through Ft Collins and then NW on US-287. The first 40 miles is kind of a pain -- heavy traffic on US-34 and I-25, then construction in Fort Collins. But past the intersection with CO-14, traffic lightened up and I got a good rabbit with a tank truck that was running about 7 over the limit. 287 runs between some red rock cliffs on the east and foothills on the west until it gets closer to Wyoming. Then there are canyons and buttes on the east and, off in the distance, the high mountains north of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Just before you get into Wyoming, you run through some forest as you climb up close to 10,000 feet just before Tie Siding, WY. I scooted around the south end of Laramie and then was on WY-130, the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, about 70 miles from one end to the other. West of Laramie, there are long vistas down into a basin which has some lakes that offer some good fishing. It was a steady climb to Centennial, which sits right on the edge of the Medicine Bow National Forest. The road is nicely paved and has sweepers and a couple of sets of hairpins. There are some scenic viewpoints that give a view of Medicine Bow Peak, the highest point in the Snowy Range at 12,013 feet, but it can't be seen from the highway. Sugarloaf Mountain is in the way. I don't think that Sugarloaf is the reason the Snowy Range is called the Snowy Range, but when I was out on the flat east of Centennial, I thought there was still snow on top, but it turns out that it was very light-colored rock, probably something with a lot of quartz that really looked like sugar.
I passed the Medicine Bow Peak overlook just after some folks came back out onto the highway. They were riding cruisers and a couple of them looked like they were relatively new riders. They had the "Please, God, don't make me lean this thing" syndrome. I got around them quickly and then stuck it behind a couple of very experienced cruiser riders who didn't slow me down at all. Past Ryan's Park, I got around them simply because they slowed down. When I got to the intersection with WY-230, I met an ambulance coming fast from Saratoga which turned up the Snowy Range road -- I sure hope it wasn't because one of those new-looking riders rode off the road.
WY-230 tracks along the North Platte River drainage, past Riverside and over the Encampment River. There isn't any flat land out here, but the grades are gradual and there are occasional views of the Snowy Range, some good views of the North Platte, and always mountains on the south west. There are some beautiful old ranches (the Big Creek Ranch is one of my favorites) that show how hard work and persistence can bring long-term stability in an industry that always has ups and downs.
I got to Walden at about 2:30 and ate another good meal at the River Rock Caf?. After lunch, I bought gas at the Shell station after 222.1 miles and headed east toward Cameron Pass, at 10,212 feet. The area east of Walden on 14 had moose re-introduced about 20 years ago and Walden calls itself the "Moose-Watching Capital of Colorado." I've only seen about three in all my trips up and down 14, and, honestly, I've seen more just south of RMNP and just north of Grand Lake.
At the pass, there were lots of hunters talking to the game wardens who had set up there. I don't even know what hunting season it is -- deer? elk? moose? Black powder? Archery?
From the pass down to 287, there wasn't a lot of traffic, but it held us up for about 30 miles during the twistiest sections. Finally, the two trucks at the front let me and the guy in front of me past. He was driving a Subaru and was very familiar with the road, but he decided to let me by, too. So for about 15 miles I had an open road -- right until I came around a corner and found a semi pulling a load of hay. He stayed pretty close to the 45mph speed limit, but slowed down a lot on tighter corners. He missed the opportunity to use "slow traffic pullouts" about five or six times, but the truck that had been stuck behind him before I caught up to them and I finally got around for the last five or six miles to 287.
Then it was Fort Collins, more construction, more traffic, and I-25 with nearly stop-and-go traffic for 7 or 8 miles.
All in all, 351 miles and a great day!
Right to left:
1) East of US-287 looking toward Red Canyon Road which connects with I-80 on the east side of Sherman Summit, the highest point on the Union Pacific RR.
2) US-287 between Virginia Dale, CO, and Tie Siding, WY.
3) WY-130, the Snowy Range Scenic Byway east of the junction with WY-11, which dead-ends at Albany, WY.
4) The Snowy Range from the east side.
5) Heading toward Sugarloaf Mountain behind the non-leaning cruisers.
Just before you get into Wyoming, you run through some forest as you climb up close to 10,000 feet just before Tie Siding, WY. I scooted around the south end of Laramie and then was on WY-130, the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, about 70 miles from one end to the other. West of Laramie, there are long vistas down into a basin which has some lakes that offer some good fishing. It was a steady climb to Centennial, which sits right on the edge of the Medicine Bow National Forest. The road is nicely paved and has sweepers and a couple of sets of hairpins. There are some scenic viewpoints that give a view of Medicine Bow Peak, the highest point in the Snowy Range at 12,013 feet, but it can't be seen from the highway. Sugarloaf Mountain is in the way. I don't think that Sugarloaf is the reason the Snowy Range is called the Snowy Range, but when I was out on the flat east of Centennial, I thought there was still snow on top, but it turns out that it was very light-colored rock, probably something with a lot of quartz that really looked like sugar.
I passed the Medicine Bow Peak overlook just after some folks came back out onto the highway. They were riding cruisers and a couple of them looked like they were relatively new riders. They had the "Please, God, don't make me lean this thing" syndrome. I got around them quickly and then stuck it behind a couple of very experienced cruiser riders who didn't slow me down at all. Past Ryan's Park, I got around them simply because they slowed down. When I got to the intersection with WY-230, I met an ambulance coming fast from Saratoga which turned up the Snowy Range road -- I sure hope it wasn't because one of those new-looking riders rode off the road.
WY-230 tracks along the North Platte River drainage, past Riverside and over the Encampment River. There isn't any flat land out here, but the grades are gradual and there are occasional views of the Snowy Range, some good views of the North Platte, and always mountains on the south west. There are some beautiful old ranches (the Big Creek Ranch is one of my favorites) that show how hard work and persistence can bring long-term stability in an industry that always has ups and downs.
I got to Walden at about 2:30 and ate another good meal at the River Rock Caf?. After lunch, I bought gas at the Shell station after 222.1 miles and headed east toward Cameron Pass, at 10,212 feet. The area east of Walden on 14 had moose re-introduced about 20 years ago and Walden calls itself the "Moose-Watching Capital of Colorado." I've only seen about three in all my trips up and down 14, and, honestly, I've seen more just south of RMNP and just north of Grand Lake.
At the pass, there were lots of hunters talking to the game wardens who had set up there. I don't even know what hunting season it is -- deer? elk? moose? Black powder? Archery?
From the pass down to 287, there wasn't a lot of traffic, but it held us up for about 30 miles during the twistiest sections. Finally, the two trucks at the front let me and the guy in front of me past. He was driving a Subaru and was very familiar with the road, but he decided to let me by, too. So for about 15 miles I had an open road -- right until I came around a corner and found a semi pulling a load of hay. He stayed pretty close to the 45mph speed limit, but slowed down a lot on tighter corners. He missed the opportunity to use "slow traffic pullouts" about five or six times, but the truck that had been stuck behind him before I caught up to them and I finally got around for the last five or six miles to 287.
Then it was Fort Collins, more construction, more traffic, and I-25 with nearly stop-and-go traffic for 7 or 8 miles.
All in all, 351 miles and a great day!
Right to left:
1) East of US-287 looking toward Red Canyon Road which connects with I-80 on the east side of Sherman Summit, the highest point on the Union Pacific RR.
2) US-287 between Virginia Dale, CO, and Tie Siding, WY.
3) WY-130, the Snowy Range Scenic Byway east of the junction with WY-11, which dead-ends at Albany, WY.
4) The Snowy Range from the east side.
5) Heading toward Sugarloaf Mountain behind the non-leaning cruisers.
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