High Country Chapter Colorado #422
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High Country Harley-Davidson/Buell
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High Country Chapter Colorado #422 High Country Harley-Davidson/Buell |
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2006 Mount Evans annual chapter ride
Photos by Bill Peterson & Tammie Foster
2nd Annual Mount Evans Ride
Wow, what a great ride this is, twisties the entire way to scenic Mount Evans, 14,150' via Golden Gate Canyon for a total of about 150 miles. Hwy 5, the Mount Evans Highway, the nation's highest paved road and a national forest scenic byway, climbs from Idaho Springs to the boulder-strewn 14,264-foot summit of Mount Evans. This is a great summer ride for a hot day. When the temps are in the 80's and 90's in Longmont/Denver, on top of Mount Evans it can be in the 30's, 40's and/or 50's so make sure take a jacket along. See the route and time table here.
A group of 31 riders and 22 bikes met at the Millennium Hotel on July 23rd. Two groups left towards Golden Gate Canyon, via Hwy 93. Sunday traffic and tight turns kept the pace slow. A very slow lunch (and poor service) at Kermits was definitely forgettable, and we should note not to stop there on a large planned ride again. After a quick gas stop in Idaho Springs, everyone was ready to go. The great views and switch-backs heading south on Hwy 103 was only a hint of scenery to come. Once in Mount Evans Park, the roads narrow, become increasingly steep with numerous sharp switch-back corners.
Mountain goats and bighorn sheep often graze along the ride's upper sections. The introduced goats thrive on Mount Evans, with the herd numbering about sixty. Other above-timberline wildlife includes pikas, marmots, and white-tailed ptarmigan. The ptarmigan changes the color of its plumage to fit the season -- brilliant white in winter and mottled brown in summer.
The view from atop Mount Evans is breathtaking. Visibility on clear days reaches almost two hundred miles. To the west towers Mount Bierstadt's summit pyramid, and beyond stretches the Continental Divide, the nation's backbone that separates the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds. The famed Mount of the Holy Cross and the rounded summits of the Sawatch Range, including 14,431-foot Mount Elbert, Colorado's high point, run across the horizon. South Park, an immense intermontane basin, spreads between snowy ranges to the southwest. Pikes Peak lifts its bulk in the southern sky, framed by the distant Wet Mountains and the jagged ridge of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The high summits of Rocky Mountain National Park loom to the north, while the limitless, tawny prairie stretches east from Denver's glimmering streets to a flat Kansas horizon.
On the way down, we experienced a few sprinkles, and watched lightning strikes just to the north/east of us. Because of thunder/lightning and rain clouds moving along our planned return route (and the late hour), we decided to head back via Hwy 6. The total route of 141 miles of twisting roads, that covered 94 miles as the 'crow flies', gives the roads a twisty index of 1.5 and some of the best scenery in Colorado provided the perfect ride on a warm July day.
Photos by Bill Peterson & Tamnie Foster, 2006
This is the second year of the Annual Mount Evans Ride..
WebMaster's note: This is an excellent ride for a hot day. It may be 90+ degrees in Longmont/Denver area, but at 14,150 feet it will likely be in mid 40 degree area, please dress accordingly.
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