2017 Colorado/Western Rally

[Bonz]

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Hey guys, have an idea for the 2017 Rally. NOT SET in stone, thinking mid-late July as last year.

What is your feeling on basing a rally out of northern Colorado? Good roads and new scenery for all. I hunt around steamboat springs area every fall, know the roads pretty well in that part of the state and is not so heavily populated as to have crowded roads.

Here's a campsite, other options as well. This one is at a reservoir north of Kremmling, Co. Options for cabins or hotels about 6 miles back into the town of Kremmling. Boat rentals and fishing available too.

http://www.wolfordcampground.com/page.php?17

For example, a couple of loop rides. Other options to change the order of roads, lengthen, etc but this is the general gist.

1) North to steamboat Springs via rabbit ears pass, west toward Hayden, south to Toponas, east back toward campground. 125-ish miles .

2) north to hwy 14, east to Walden, south to Granby, back west to Kremmling and north back to campground. 150-ish miles


Thoughts? I.E. great idea, heck no, etc?

[motoman]

Good location area and options there Howard! I was born in Kremmling.....may wanna check your PM.

[3Phase]

Howard, thanks to the miracle of Google Earth/Maps it looks like a good location and some fun riding!

[Bonz]

Thanks Scott!

The location also offers the ride to Grandlake and then Trail Ridge Road over to Estes Park. That is some sweet ridng as well. Could be a great out and back for one of the rides.

Sounds like we're getting somewhere with this. I'll start checking in at the campground and see what they need once we get a bit more interest from folks.

I wanted to get the word out as soon as I could this year for folks needing to make plans on what they might attend next summer.

[soccer4m]

Count me in, Bonz

Howdy Bonz,,,count me in for the 17' rally there,looks like a cool area. I dont know anything about the area there but a bunch of you do, sooooo countdown begins and prep the 1100 for some cruising, and of course we will attempt to go through Beaver Utah and not have a Bermuda triangle breakdown. Me, Roo and Scott have to break the Hex that place has put on us. Keep the info coming and have a good school year.....Mike in Sun Diego

[rdmcguy]

High plains drifters

Sounds Good Bonz,
Those areas are among my favorite places to visit/camp...
Green Mt.reservoir.The Flat tops , Finger rock ,etc. Berthoud pass and for the piece de' resistance Trail ridge Rd/Estes Park...

[Bonz]

Nice guys, now for some thoughts on dates and length.

Let's plan around the weekend of July 15-16, with arrival day (Thursday or Friday) TBD based on input and departure (Monday or a Tuesday) based on input from folks as well. Or some different combo within that time frame.

Since I live in the state, I don't have a concept of what it's like to ride long distance to a rally. Would attendees prefer to ride three days once they are here or is two days of riding and then departure enough rally time?

Thoughts?

[3Phase]

I dunno, Bonz, it's not 2017 yet. Sometimes I like to do lots of riding, sometimes I don't.

I'm hoping to have Columbo put back together and broken in by next year for LD riding but the XJ is so much fun I want to take it on a decent trip too.

I still have to get the frame welded for the XJ's centerstand and I don't want to disassemble/reassemble the bike on the welder's shop floor. I'm going to pull the engine so I can fix the transmission, add a kicker, and the welder can get at the broken part of the frame. For some reason, I keep finding excuses to ride instead of work on it.

[DeanR]

A nice possibility for next summer! I'm a maybe.

[motoman]

Howdy Bonz,,,count me in for the 17' rally there,looks like a cool area. I dont know anything about the area there but a bunch of you do, sooooo countdown begins and prep the 1100 for some cruising, and of course we will attempt to go through Beaver Utah and not have a Bermuda triangle breakdown. Me, Roo and Scott have to break the Hex that place has put on us. Keep the info coming and have a good school year.....Mike in Sun Diego

Well, you all will just have to pull the clutch and QUIETLY sneak by the Beaver exit while on the interstate.....that spot is definitely jinxed.

[dbbrian]

Little jaunt

I see it can be done from home in less than 24 hours

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Stra...7!2d40.1442881

[Bonz]

Hey dbbrian, thanks for posting up. You can meet up with Chuckster in Chicago and have a riding buddy.

DeanR, good to see you chime in! You could go that way as well and the three of you come on out.

[3Phase]

Double it and add thirty

Important Safety Tip For Travel and Google Maps: Double it and add thirty.

Distances and routes on Google Maps can be somewhat optimistic and the travel time for that distance does not include meals, sleep, bathing, fuel, rest and stretch breaks, sightseeing, or any of those other things humans and machines need on long trips.

Unless you have a co-driver for that 22hr/2,450km (1,522mi) trip, just double it and add thirty. Double the time and add thirty kilometers or miles to whatever that lying Map App tells you:

44hrs - 8hrs to bathe and sleep and 4hrs for food, fuel, SQUIRREL! and breaks = 32 hours in the saddle. If you're not already used to riding that's going to hurt and you'll get to do it again on the way home.

32 hours @ 76kph(47mph) for 2,450km (1,522mi)

Naturally, you might be able to ride faster and cut a few corners here and there to maintain a higher average speed, you can probably ride further each day to cut the travel time too but "stuff" happens so don't plan it that way.

[motoman]

Good and entertaining call there Scott!........definitely more truth than fiction to that!.

[BA80]

Important Safety Tip For Travel and Google Maps: Double it and add thirty.

Distances and routes on Google Maps can be somewhat optimistic and the travel time for that distance does not include meals, sleep, bathing, fuel, rest and stretch breaks, sightseeing, or any of those other things humans and machines need on long trips.

Unless you have a co-driver for that 22hr/2,450km (1,522mi) trip, just double it and add thirty. Double the time and add thirty kilometers or miles to whatever that lying Map App tells you:

44hrs - 8hrs to bathe and sleep and 4hrs for food, fuel, SQUIRREL! and breaks = 32 hours in the saddle. If you're not already used to riding that's going to hurt and you'll get to do it again on the way home.

32 hours @ 76kph(47mph) for 2,450km (1,522mi)

Naturally, you might be able to ride faster and cut a few corners here and there to maintain a higher average speed, you can probably ride further each day to cut the travel time too but "stuff" happens so don't plan it that way.

I've found that under most conditions the best you can average is about 50 MPH all things considered. In other words, if you take your distance and figure an hour for every 50 miles of travel you are going to figure your travel time pretty close.

Now, riding alone I can move faster than in a group and 12-14 hours a day is about as much riding as you want to do so 6 to 800 miles a day is about what can be done comfortably. Speaking from experience.

I like to get most of the distance behind me the first day so the last leg can be leisurely and relatively short so I'm not wiped out for the rally ride the next day.

But, that's just me.