Colorado plans

grantmac

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Planning our next trip to USA.
Colorado, West of Denver, Monument Valley Salt Lake city, anyone got any tips. Want to avoid Eagle Riders so have gone with Colorado Motorcycle Adventures instead.
Arrive Saturday and leave week later so 8 days riding.
 
Planning our next trip to USA.
Colorado, West of Denver, Monument Valley Salt Lake city, anyone got any tips. Want to avoid Eagle Riders so have gone with Colorado Motorcycle Adventures instead.
Arrive Saturday and leave week later so 8 days riding.

Sgt Bilco is the font of all knowledge, I’m sure he’ll be along shortly :thumb
 
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I'd head to Moab and rent a quad/4x4/UTV
 
Planning our next trip to USA.
Colorado, West of Denver, Monument Valley Salt Lake city, anyone got any tips. Want to avoid Eagle Riders so have gone with Colorado Motorcycle Adventures instead.
Arrive Saturday and leave week later so 8 days riding.

Utah - it's one big national park!
 
Bonneville Salt Flats at Wendover on the Utah / Nevada border is only 120 miles West of Salt Lake City. Go...! :rob
 
Planning our next trip to USA.
Colorado, West of Denver, Monument Valley Salt Lake city, anyone got any tips. Want to avoid Eagle Riders so have gone with Colorado Motorcycle Adventures instead.
Arrive Saturday and leave week later so 8 days riding.

What time of year? Late June through August will be nice for most of Colorado but pretty hot in Moab and some of southern Utah. Some of my favorite rides which you could zig zag around on;

Rt 50 from Salida to Montrose.

Off Rt 50 Rt 149 south from Gunnison is nice, there are plenty places to camp as well as lodging in Lake City.

Parallel to 149, to the west, is Rt 550 from Durango to Montrose which is very scenic but can be congested.

Further to the west near Utah is Rt 141 from Grand Junction south to Dove Creek which puts you near Mesa Verde National Park, Cliff Dwellings, Canyons of the Ancients, and just west in Utah Monument Valley.

Near Monument Valley Utah Rt 163 up to 261 to 95 along White Canyon, then up to Hanksville and 24 west to Torrey is scenic and a nice ride.

From Torrey Rt 12 south up to Boulder and continuing to Bryce is really scenic as well as a wonderful road for motorcycles.
 
Here's a quick idea of what you could do in 8 days and it's what I would be doing if I had that time

Sat: Down to Pikes Peak and a run to the top then across to Salida on the 285. Pikes Peak is a slow crawl but worth the effort and teh run into Salida is really good. Salida is a cool town and you can get a decent motel close to the town centre. About 285 miles

Sun: Hwy 50 over Monarch Pass and through Gunnison. Take Hwy 92 north which is a superb ride and one of the best in the area in my opinion. Ride to the second look out point then turn around and come back down. It runs alongside Black Canyon which is stunning. Back on the 50 and go into Black Canyon which is well worth a visit. Head down the 550 through Ouray and into Silverton. The ride from Ouray over the summit and into Silverton is a ride you won't forget for a long time. About 250 miles

Mon: Take the 550 to Durango, this is the Million Dollar Highway. Breakfast in Mancos (the best in the area) before going up the Mesa Grande with ancient Navajo settlements. Across to the four corners monument before heading West on the 160 and turn right on the 191 towards Bluff and heading into Mexican Hat. If you get time, ride the Valley of the Gods just north of Mexican Hat, you must do it. About 250 miles

Tue: Early start into Monument Valley and this way is the best way into the Valley (Forest Gump view). They weren't allowing bikes to ride in the NP last year but the visitors centre is a brilliant place with stunning views. Carry on down to Kayenta then back on the 160 before turning right on the 98/89 all the way through Kanab. At Mt Carmel, turn into Zion which is utterly beautiful. Through the park to the vistors centre then turn around and come back through to Mt Carmel. About 260 miles.

Wed: Early start up the Bryce Canyon which is again stunning. The canyon is an 18 mile ride in and then you have to come back out.Head east on the superb Hwy 12 which has been freshly tarmaced and is a superb ride over the Devils backbone. East on the 24 through Capitol Reef NP where you are really close to the buttes and head to Moab. Jump on the 70 and go past the first Moab junction and come into Moab on the 128 which is a beautiful ride through a canyon. Big day at around 380 miles but worth the effort.

Thur: Brilliant rides around Arches and Canyonlands NP's which are unbelievable. Stay again in Moab which is a really cool little town.

Fri: South on the 191 the east on the 49/90 the left on the spectacular 141 through Gateway. then head across toward Aspen. I would stay just West of Aspen in Carbondale. About 300 miles.

Sat: Beakfast in Aspen and over the 11,000ft Independance Pass back to Denver. About 200 miles.

That would be a brilliant trip.

Remember that you can eat miles in the US as there is little traffic.

Always head out early as you can get everything done and then relax in teh evening.

Get a National Parks pass which covers both bikes and at $80 it will save you loads of $$$$$.
 
Here's a quick idea of what you could do in 8 days and it's what I would be doing if I had that time.......................................................

......................That would be a brilliant trip.

Remember that you can eat miles in the US as there is little traffic.

Always head out early as you can get everything done and then relax in teh evening.

Get a National Parks pass which covers both bikes and at $80 it will save you loads of $$$$$.

Thanks Sgt. Bilco.

Been thinking about next years trip to the States, and this is just what I needed to get me properly started. Lunchtimes at work will now be spent looking for flights, hotels and tweeking the route.

Kaycee
 
Thanks Sgt. Bilco.

Been thinking about next years trip to the States, and this is just what I needed to get me properly started. Lunchtimes at work will now be spent looking for flights, hotels and tweeking the route.

Kaycee

If you need any help mate let me know.
 
Got our trip sorted. A bit shorter then suggested but I can tell you your advice helped me a huge amount!
Day 1 Denver to Gunnison, Day 2 Gunnison to Durango, Day 3 Durango to Monument valley, Day 4 Monument Valley to Moab, Day 5 Moab and surrounding 3 national Parks, Day 6 Moab to Grand Junction, Day 7 Grand Junction to Aspen, Day 8 Aspen back to Denver.
Tip, when travelling to US unless you have a direct flight do you transfer OUTSIDE the US otherwise you have to collect all your luggage and recheck it all in.
I am taking Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Denver direct. Seems like the best option and its direct
 
I can recommend the Red Cliffs Lodge ‘in’ Moab.
It’s actually 20 minutes down the Colorado river from the centre of Moab but the views are stunning.
This was sunrise from inside the room !!

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Arches is stunning . Make sure you walk up to this bugger

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Thanks for the advice......fooking amazing pictures!
Cant wait! that's also why we went for 2 nights in Moab. 3 parks to visit!
 
also got a pretty good deal with Luftwaffe - business class return for £1800, from Amsterdam via Frankfurt.
 
Bit of a long shot but since my wife has planned a trip to Bonneville Speed Week for August this year and as yet we don't have any accommodation in Wendover, does anyone have any connections or leads there?

Having been once before in 2007, I know that there's a great demand for accommodation at that time.
 
Mike,
Go to the Landracing.com forum and post up there.
A lot of the locals in Wendover will post about rooms etc.

HTH
Neil
 
Plenty of motel rooms in Wendover and just get on booking.com to pre book nice an early.

We stopped at Knights Inn last time we were there which was a bit ropey.
 
Just finished my tour of Colorado and Utah with my brother and thoroughly enjoyed it. A few pictures here and I will put more on my own website along with the routes but to give you an idea of what we did. Day 1 - Colorado Motorcycle Adventures and picked up 2 new 2018 1250 GS bikes. Although new, these bikes have already been pretty hard ridden both on and off road. Was a bit disappointed in the condition. Also be careful for the extras including tax. For 8 days we paid $2000 each which to me was a bit steep.
After bike pick up heading south west to Gunnison. Great riding in the latter part over the pass. Gunnison is a great little town to stay at. Day 2 south west again Gunnison to Durango along the ''million dollar highway'' and across Monarch pass. Passing thunderstorms made it pretty interesting at times but on the whole dry. Durango is also a pleasant place to stop.
Day 3 Durango to Monument Valley in Utah. Not really much to say about Monument valley the picture speak for them selves really. We stayed at the View Hotel in the park. Its pricey but the view from your room is breath-taking so worth every penny.
Day 4 Monument valley back up to Moab and then day 5 spent a day riding around Moab and the 3 national parks. You really do need a full day in Moab to see the place, its amazing.
Day 6 Moab up to Grand Junction, day 7 Grand Junction to Aspen and last day Aspen over the Independence pass back to Denver.

Again I know this is brief but more detail I'll be posting on my website and if anyone's interested in reading pm me as I don't want to bore everyone with my own site.
A couple of things you might find interesting: we kept the riding to around 300km per day. This is short for US roads and most of the time we arrived mid afternoon at our next stop. Great thing if you want to take in the scenery along the way or check out the towns and surroundings when you arrive. We passed a couple of Eagle Riders tours who were hammering on for 500 / 600km per day. Not my thing and besides I do all the planning and arrangements myself. A lot cheaper and easy if you give it a try.
Anyway some photos to give you a taster.

Big question now is where to go next year? Any suggestions?? I t has to be US though.
 

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