Tour de Colorado

[pjpvi]

Spent two weeks doing a Tour de Colorado. Fun times. Did some 4-wheeling, camping, hiking, biking, seeing some relatives, etc. ….

Not feeling motivated enough to write a detailed report, but some highlights and photos.

It was a bit early to make it over some of the passes we tried.

- Mosquito Pass – closed sign at the bottom, so didn’t even head up.
- Weston Pass – Chose this route since Mosquito Pass wasn’t open yet.
- Hagerman Pass with side trip up to Hagerman Tunnel
- Tincup Pass – Made it to within maybe 200’ of the summit, but too much snow to get there. Quads could squeak by between the snow and ledge, but that was about it. We were bummed to have to go all the way back down and around to get to Crested Butte.
- Independence Pass – Hey, it’s paved, but we did it on the 4th of July so it was fitting.
- Imogene Pass (from Ouray into Telluride) – Always one of my favorites. I hadn’t gone from Ouray into Telluride this way in probably 20+ years. Absolutely stunning scenery.

Biking at elevation in Crested Butte kicked my butt, but some great riding for sure. Got in some bike park type riding in Telluride with the free gondola. Managed to get my kids on their mountain bikes and discovered my 16 year old can out climb me now. That’s exciting and depressing at the same time.

The van did fine. The turbo was acting up for about a week of it, then decided to work fine. It only impacts acceleration from a stop combined with belching black smoke when the turbo vanes stick. Thought I was going to get another turbo rebuild out of it, but seems to be fine now. Gotta love these 6.0 PSD’s.

One thing I discovered on this trip is that the ride is significantly improved on even mild dirt trails if you disconnect the sway bar. I got in the habit of disconnecting one end of the sway bar when I knew I’d be on dirt for an extended period. It really helps smooth the ride out. I did disconnect both ends for Imogene Pass.

A few photos ….







Blocked Trail. Bummer.


































... and best part of the trip, I didn't rip the bikes off of the swing arm or back into any trees!

Phil

[BroncoHauler]

Looks like a GREAT time Phil. Makes me want to leave tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.


Herb

[daveb]

Thanks for showing the pics. I really want to hit that area one of these days.

[Ed in Montana]

Great pictures! Thanks for the trip report.

The Rocky Mountain Columbines are gorgeous.

[saline]

Glad you had a good trip, nice report!

Great to meet you on your the through.

[pjpvi]

The Rocky Mountain Columbines are gorgeous.

Speaking of flowers, there was no shortage on this trip.



Another item to note, there is a particularly grumpy Utah Highway Patrolman on Hwy 70. He originally pulled me over for not using my blinker (I know I did use them, but that's another story). He also gave me a warning for not having mud flaps stating that it is Utah law that over half of your rear tires be covered from the rear. On my return trip I had to sneak back through Utah since I couldn't really find a mud flap solution on the road. Guess I'll have to have a "Goin' to Utah" kit with mud flaps for future trips to Utah.

Phil

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by pjpvi

... He also gave me a warning for not having mud flaps stating that it is Utah law that over half of your rear tires be covered from the rear. On my return trip I had to sneak back through Utah since I couldn't really find a mud flap solution on the road. Guess I'll have to have a "Goin' to Utah" kit with mud flaps for future trips to Utah.

Phil

Well about 90% of Moab vehicles, and about 50% of Utah vehicles would deserve tickets in that case. Hopefully he was just having a bad day.


Herb

[spurious]

Great trip!

I travel through Utah on a regular basics. The last time I was pulled over there it was for tinted windows. It took awhile for Barney Fife to find a reason to stop me, And when he pulled me over he had this great device to measure the tint. My first question was " shouldn't you start at zero". Luckily I drove away with just a warning. Sure leaves a bad taste!