Even though the weather was a bit dreary the
views of the mountain tops across the valley
were punctuated by sunlight offering
impressive 360 degree views. The sharp drop-
off on either side of the road was vertigo
inducing, we had our first taste of Colorado
mountain passes. We had a ton of fun with the
rocky riding conditions on our descent. As we
approached the town of Leadville we tried to
find some camping but everything was
completely full. We just stayed on the path and
figured things would work themselves out. As
we continued through the San Isabel National
Forest the roads were tight but fast and there
was a fresh looking river at the side of the road.
It didn’t take us long to find a perfect bush
camping spot, right near the river so we had
plenty of water to make dinner and breakfast.
We were settled for the night.
As with most things we do we had no idea what
we were really getting ourselves into. The road
seemed normal enough at first, but gradually
things got rougher as we climbed Weston Pass.
It seemed we were in prime quad country. It
was still muddy and lots of forest but things
were challenging. No more cruising on wide
open roads for us, we were into river crossings
and tight forest trails with large rocks and roots.
It was great fun! I had a small off when I
misjudged a tricky rocky section. I have the
permanent dent in my skid plate to remember
that rock. What was surprising to us was that
once you gain elevation on this route even
when you descends into the valleys, you are
still riding along between 7,000 to 8,000 feet.
As we rode along through one of the flat, more
open areas Alberto took advantage of the
humps in the road to show off his airborne skills
.
Once we were through the forest it was a
different world. We had reached the high
desert of the Buena Vista region. We didn’t
know this existed but we thought it was the
best thing ever. The roads were nice and
flowing, with sand and camber, up and down,
up and down. The roads just snaked through
dry land and with randomly placed large
smooth boulder rock formations along the
slopes. We both vowed to come back as we had
just scratched the surface of the riding that
could be done in this area, plus we haven’t seen
anything like it up in Canada.