Doug's Favorite Day - Ford Creek Crossing

It was hard to tear away from the double summit up Alpe d'Huez of the Tour de France with TJ in the lead, but we needed to get on our way before it got too hot.

Today our ride took us south from Steamboat Springs along Country Road 14 - a beautiful windy road full of cyclists. I vowed to come back to this place and do some road cycling! Soon we were on dirt roads headed to Stagecoach Reservoir. From there we climbed up thru Lynx Pass. It was a gorgeous path with mountains, aspens and pines everywhere. Vacation cabins and trails to the right and left lined the route. The road was smooth and fun to ride. We're gaining confidence on the motorbikes and as we do the riding becomes more fun.

We came out of Lynx Pass, crossed Highway 134, and came to our first obstacle of the day - Ford Rock Creek. The map warned us this creek may be too deep to ford. We got off our bikes and inspected the various points where we might cross. There was one deep part but if we could navigate that, we thought we might be able to get across. While we were contemplating, three other bikers showed up. One of them eyed it briefly, went back to his bike, and road right across, with the water level reaching well above the engine. He just kept a solid throttle and made it across! After that, I thought it might be possible. The other two followed suit and made it across no problem. So then it was my turn. I was a bit nervous but aimed right and then left and successfully crossed with no problem. Doug was last with the 350. He looked like he was the lowest in the water and got quite wet, but Doug made it too. It was a thrilling crossing. I have attached the video below to let you see for yourself.

From there we climbed high above Radium on some narrow trails that were steep up and down, but with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. The descent was quite steep and I geared into first gear and let the engine be my brake. At the bottom we crossed the Colorado River for the first time.

From there we climbed up to Inspiration Point above Gore Canyon, route of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. As we crossed the watershed divide the views down into the valley of the town of Kremmling were fantastic!

Doug on the 350

We descended to Highway 9 and then immediately turned off onto County Road 33 which followed the Colorado. The road was packed and smooth and we cranked it up to 50 mph.

At William Fork Reservoir we turned onto Co. Road 3 which lead us to Arapaho National Forest and Ute Pass.

Off in the distance we could see looming nasty dark clouds and we were headed straight for them. We passed a huge dam off to the right and then, to our good fortune, we turned right, away from the bad weather.

Once we crested the top of Ute Pass at 9,524 feet, we were presented with a stunning view of the Rockies to the south. We descended to the 9 and then cruised 10 miles into Silverthorne.

My friend and neighbor from Arizona, Harry Mathews had planned to join us in Frisco for some riding, but when I reached him to arrange a rendezvous, he informed me it was raining hard on the other side of the divide so he was on his way in the car to meet us. Hard mountain showers were expected the following day so he asked if we cared to come stay with them in Golden. How could we turn down such a nice offer? Besides, I had no desire to ride in the rain. Done that before at the Breck Epic mountain bike race and it was no fun!

So we found a Yamaha dealership in Silverthorne to keep our bikes for a couple of nights, jumped in the car with Harry, and started the beautiful drive thru Loveland Pass and back towards Denver.