Searching for a day's ride which combines an opportunity to view a famous geologic formation, scenic views of Pikes Peak and perhaps get in some gambling? Well there here's a route you can take to visit, in one day, both the Royal Gorge tourist attraction and the gambling town of Cripple Creek.
I rode this route almost two years ago now but the scenery remains fresh in my mind. The snow capped heights of Pikes Peak when viewed from it's western side; the winding roads leading one away from Cañon City and its nearby Royal Gorge Bridge attractions; the twisting turns one negotiates to get to the town of Cripple Creek. It all makes for a wonderful day of riding, with some technical stretches to get your heart pumping.
Beware the state patrol on US50, that's where I got my first and so far only speeding ticket of my motorcycling career.
The Royal Gorge Park now cost $24 to get in and you can ride your motorcycle over the bridge and perhaps if its not too crowded, take pictures of it while on the bridge. The folks who run the park in which the bridge is located tell me the best times to cross the bridge are before 10AM or after 4PM so plan your ride accordingly. You can also catch the Royal Gorge Train Ride from the train station in Cañon City. It passes underneath the bridge, riding along the river which carved out the Royal Gorge.
After I was done seeing the sights at the Royal Gorge, I started heading back towards Colorado Springs but spotted a blue sign advertising the Gold Belt Tour road pointing North on CO 9 towards Cripple Creek.
I gave in to the urge and headed North on CO 9, passing by increasingly snow-covered terrain(the roads were dry) and less than an hour later I was in Cripple Creek. I reached it after 12:30 PM or so, took some pictures, cruised up and down the main drag looking for some place to eat. It was all Casinos! I am sure there were places to eat within these casinos but did not feel like going into them.
I then headed South on CO 67 by mistake, which took me down some interestingly sanded roads, the gravelly sand made me slow way down as I wove in and out of the curves away from Cripple Creek. Once I realized I was headed South instead of North I got myself pointed back towards US24 where I wanted to go. I then got to "enjoy" the sandy roads again all the way back to town!
I found the right road this time and kept on US67 North till I got to US24.
A view of the backside of Pikes Peak
Once on US24 I went through Woodland Park, and headed up I-25 North. A short stretch later, I took the North Gate road east exit and after a detour, ended up going North on US83 towards Parker. I had divested myself of the jacket liner and overpants at a stop in the Springs and it got quite chilly as it was around 3:30 PM in the afternoon on the way to Franktown. Once I got to Franktown, after riding with the shield all the way up and the heated grips on high, I put the jacket liner back on along with the overpants and was quite toasty all the remainder of the way home.
The GPS says I put in 310 miles on the bike today but there had been a couple of times when the ac adapter hookup had come loose and it had powered off. My mapping software says I covered 330 miles.
A great day's ride, about seven hours of saddle time, I did this ride in late October of 2006, I imagine you could work in this ride this summer without as much snow encountered. Still, beware sandy gravel in the mountain roads, specially in the curves.
Here's the posting from my blog about this ride: 29OCT06
Ride Safe, Ride Aware
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