Part Three - Crested Butte, CO

Day 1

Our "home' at Crested Butte was the Cristiana Lodge - a European Hostel type lodging with a common area shared by all the guests. The rooms were quite small but since they were only for sleeping it worked out well. The staff baked fresh pastries morning and afternoon.

Crested Butte is the name of the mountain below which the village is built. I was here on a ski vacation around 1980. Back then the streets were unpaved and dogs ran free everywhere. Even in bars and restaurants one would have to step over them to be seated. I guess modern health regulations finally caught up with the little town. Crested Butte in the summer is a bicyclist haven. There are pedal bikes EVERYWHERE and apparently many families come here bringing bikes for everyone in the family. None-the-less, it is an enjoyable if slightly "yuppie" town with plentifull good restaurants and bars.

Okay then. For our first excursion out of Crested Butte we went south with the intent of riding as much of Pearl Pass as possible. We were told that it was still snowed in at the top but we intended to ride to that point then turn around.

There were several fairly deep water crossings enroute  - depends on how much rain of course

Even so, things went pretty well. Most of the road to Pearl Pass was easy riding

Through some beautiful Aspen forests

And with some stunning vistas

But then things started to get a little rocky

Until it reached the point that we just weren't willing to fight it any longer

Even the trip back down was a bit daunting. But we made it back to Cristiana and as we were both pretty beat from 8 days of riding plus the beating we took on Pearl Pass, we took a badly needed afternoon off... had a few cool ones, if you know what I mean.

Day 2

Our plan was to ride CR12 over Kebler Pass then pick up a track the GPS said would take us to Marble alongside CO133. Along the way we took a little side trip to this beautiful high lake.

CO12 is an easy ride through some huge Aspen forests.

Although unpaved, this route could be ridden on a street bike in good weather

So much for our unpaved track north to Marble. Sometimes the GPS is just wrong (or at least out-of-date)

A gourmet lunch of energy bars and peanuts in beautiful, downtown Marble, CO

Dead Horse Mill near Crystal, CO. It's and easy ride to here.

But then things start to get a little harder

And harder still. I'm waiting here for the ATVs to finish creeping up the next grade. It's not possible to ride that slow and stay upright on a motorcycle.

And even more difficult as we enter The Devil's Punchbowl on Schofield Pass also know as FR317

Photos cannot do this justice. It's steep, extremely rocky and has a wall on the right and a drop off on the left

 
This was the most difficult section I have ever ridden in over 50 years of riding motorcycles. In order to not stall on the steps, one had to keep momentum. Too much momentum meant bouncing and loss of control. Even with the DR350's 23 to 1 first gear I was slipping the clutch a lot to prevent stalling. Hairy stuff. If I had this to do over, I would NOT attempt it. Galen said it was a life changing experience for him :-)

And after your climb you get refreshed by crossing this little stream - don't get swept away!!!

However, at the top we were rewarded with some beautiful high meadow riding

And to top off our day, we got to ride for awhile in a downpour just above Crested Butte

The riding around Crested Butte was the most difficult of the 10 days we rode. There is certainly some easier riding in the area, Kebler Pass, Cottonwood Pass and the many miles of unpaved roads around Taylor Lake are good examples of routes that offer beautiful vistas without difficult climbs or surfaces. The ones we chose our last afternoon there, however, we're quite challenging. No doubt that was somewhat due to 10 days of cumulative fatigue. But be forewarned - there is some pretty tuff stuff around there if you go looking for it.