It was a great day for a ride in the mountains. Five of us, 3 on Concours and 2 on KLR650s met just north of Golden, kicked a few tires, then headed up Coal Creek Canyon road. Plenty of curves, slow movers pulled off, and we rode a fairly relaxed pace allowing plenty of time to enjoy the scenery. Plenty of rocks and trees, cabins, blue skies, and mountain peaks. Near the summit there was an especially great view of the mountains along the Continental Divide with plenty of snow fields still around.

At Peak-to-Peak we turned south, winding our way to the old mining towns (now gambling towns) of Black Hawk and Central City. The plan was to take the new, wide, paved Central City Parkway down to I-25, but leader (who will rename anonymous) took the left instead of the right. Ironically the two KLR650 peeled off to the right toward the Parkway, and were soon joined by one of the Concours. A decision was made to meet at the McDonalds in Idaho Springs so one of the KLRs took off after the two wayward Concours who were on their way down the Virginia Canyon Road, otherwise known as the Oh-My-God Road.

The Parkway of course is four lanes of smooth, paved, sweeping turns. The VCR is 8 miles, with 7 miles of newly maintained hardpack (with hardly any loose gravel at all) and one mile of pavement at the summit. Turns out the only OMG factors were no guard rails and LOTS of exposure. Great views though! The last 1/4 mile into town did have some washboards and loose gravel. The Concours went fairly slowly, holding up the KLR. (But they set a considerate pace later on I-70.)

After meeting up in Idaho Springs we headed up I-70 where one of the KLR riders turned back at Silver Plume so he could get home and take care of some of those beetle-kill trees that are becoming way to common in much of Colorado. At US-6 the rest of us crossed the almost 12,000 foot Loveland Pass, passed by scenic Lake Dillon (full of water this year) on Swan Mountain Road, and made our way to the Breckenridge Brewery for lunch.

We were soon joined by another Concours rider on his way from St. Louis to his home in Washington state. He got the long distance award for sure. After plenty of banter, funny riding stories, and all that, the Concours riders headed back via I-70 and the KLR rider headed back via the dusty, somewhat bumpy route over Boreas Pass.

It was a great day ride. Good company, fun roads, and Rocky Mountain scenery.

- Randy Bishop