2016 Colorado/Western Rally

[soccer4m]

Mid JUly

HOWDY BONZ and all the Colorado folks,,,,,mid July is great,,, the wedding stuff is over and anywhere you or Jerry think is good is fine as I am clueless about Your area........I will try and drag a few folks along also,,,,bro in law- Tom, Roo, Scott if he is vertical and others to the fine riding area of Colo.. Your last riding routes were cool, especially the "Castle" built by the unique character. Hope all the area xs ers can come.......Mike

[Bonz]

Thanks for the descriptions, Jerry! Pikes Peak is paved all the way to the top and I got a group discount when we showed up last year by paying for all the guys at once so they could let us all through at the same time. And they took care of us on the way down at the brake check station, waved us all through at once.

If I had to choose a venue, it would be the Canon City area. It's easier to make shorter rides into longer ones than to make longer rides short. Hotel accommodations are fairly close to the campground (10-12 minute ride) for those that don't want to tent, and we have better (more) eating options on the whole. With a couple good eating places right across the highway from the campground. Also, the helicopter tour of the Royal Gorge is available and the Park is open again after the rebuilding from the fire a few years ago.

RDMCGUY, awesome stuff for you to offer to do and bring. Everything you said is a welcome addition. Very thoughtful.

RDMCGUY, what do you think? CZ, you got your ears on? Motoman what ya' thinkin'? San Diego Mike what about you and Roo? Scott, are you lurking? JWHughes, where are you in the world right now? All you other hooligans in the Midwest, you wanna pony up and come out this way? XJOK, Bohn, BA80, etc.

[Jerry]

For those not familiar with Colorado...
A Canon City (or nearby) location offers more loop rides and includes the Royal Gorge, Pike's Peak, and Air Force Academy areas to ride in. Not far away are the old mining towns of Cripple Creek and Victor. There are some good rides and many attractions in the area.

I did the Air Force Academy a few years ago and it is worth a stop if you have never been there.

Gunnison / Blue Mesa area is more rural and has fewer attractions but has some excellent scenery by means of some longer rides. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a nice ride as is going south to Lake City and Creede. 2 of the passes on this route are over 11,000 feet. You can also go east into Crested Butte but neither is a loop drive, return the way you came. (Creede route could be a loop drive depending on time and a few other routes can be loops as well.)

Either venue can also get you to Great Sand Dunes park (requires an entrance fee) but would be an all-day trip and unless you are into sand (it is worth a visit!) this may not be many people's cup of tea.

So, long days and mountain scenery = Blue Mesa. Shorter rides and more well-known attractions = Canon City.

I have not ridden the Canon City area in quite a while and would be up for a rally based in that area. Last time I rode Pike's Peak it was still dirt / gravel most of the way and I did it on my Honda CB 450.

[rdmcguy]

I'll be there !

Hello guys ,
Any dates are good for me and I am open to wherever is decided about locations ...
I can trailer a couple of bikes down so we will have a spare for anyone that might need it . Should anyones bike bike need to be retrieved during the festivities We will have truck and trailer ...I can probably scrounge up some firewood and bring coolers too .
My home is open for guests as a rest stop on their way in or out of town also ..
So let's keep this moving forward ...

[Bonz]

In Colorado. . Asking for some opinions, (i.e. "let's get a feel for locations") would love to hear from guys that wanna come from afar. Sorry, probably wasn't clear in the last post.

I have two sites mentioned in the last post, and dates. July 15-18, The Black Canyon of the Gunnison (camp around Montrose/Blue Mesa Reservoir) which started the thread, and also the potential to do another Pikes Peak/Bishops Castle ride with base camp around Canon City.

Chime in guys!

Thoughts?