Laurie and I rode down in the rain and set up camp. There was a good turnout, so the better campground (with a meeting building) was very nice. Here was the campground the next morning. The morning fog burned off very quickly.
We met several people from the previous year's meet, and a few others from other rides. It was cool checking out the various bikes and the gear. Darren and Wayne (Crazy Australian and Wild Irishman) were headed up Black Bear Pass, so Scott_Rides_Again and I joined them for the mayhem. The ride up the east side was very pretty, easy, and a tad cold (which was nice).
The top of Black Bear Pass was scenic. The last ascent was a little challenging.
At the top, I took a side spur trail and got up a little higher. Unfortunately, I took a different path down and suddenly had a big drop off that caught me by surprise. I had to drag the bike down on its side before I could stand it up and ride it down through some snow to get back to where the guys were waiting.
Two forest service rangers told us that the rest of the descent to Telluride was horrible, very hard, best to turn around. Hmmm... that sounds like either propaganda or a challenge. Off we went. It just got more and more beautiful.
There were several rocky stairs to drop down over, but we managed. As we neared Telluride we came to the hardest part, a steep, rocky, curvy drop next to a waterfall and an old ruined mine. We walked the road for a bit before riding it. It wasn't pretty but we made it. That's Telluride in the valley down there.
After that hard part, there were a few more steps to drop off after the water crossing. As always, it's harder than it looks in photographs.
The zig-zag down into Telluride was fun, but it was a hassle due to the caravan of Jeeps and trucks that were backed up on the sharp turns. Eventually we worked past them all and got into the town. After gas and a snack, we headed for Ophir Pass back toward Silverton. Much easier pass, but still with its challenges. Mostly, it was a lot of loose, sharp rocks that led to the top that would punish those who didn't pay attention. The top of the pass is in a saddle, so not very scenic in itself. It was prettier on the way up and back down. During the return, Darren got wonky and tried to pass Wayne on a curve, and that led to a crash that broke a few parts of his KLR.
Back in Silverton, we did some work on Darren's bike, and he found a welder in town to fix the rest. Laurie had puttered around the area and had attended all the morning and afternoon presentations and demonstrations. We then attended the evening presentations by world travelers. Dinner was very good, too.
The next day, Laurie again sat in on the presentations (trailside first aid, riding clinic, ergonomic adjustment of your bike, explanations about batteries and air filters, etc) while Darren, Wayne, and I took off for Engineer and Cinnamon Passes. Another KLR rider joined us.
From this next photo, Silverton is down that valley and both passes are behind the camera. We again encountered the Jeeps, but only on the lower parts.
After we rode over Cinnamon and down into the opposite valley, we turned around and rode over it again rather than do a big loop through Lake City. Then we headed for Engineer Pass. As is usually the case, the more challenging parts are the least photographed, so all the hard, steep climbs and turns don't get represented well. I managed a few shots, but these were still tame.
This is the top of Engineer Pass. On the colorful peak behind the sign, there is the remains of an old mine trail that goes to the top, but it was blocked off and was so decayed that it was probably impassible. The trail had been avalanched over in a few places. We had seen that trail as we approached, and had anticipated having to ride over it. *whew*
As before, we rode for several miles down the other side then turned around and came over the pass again. It was a hoot, and it was nice to re-ride those roads while they were still fresh in our minds. Less anxiety and more fun.
