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Another Colorado Ride Report--Got Dirt?

We traveled through Silverton the last day on the way back, The town was wall to wall people. So different now than say 30 years ago. Silverton has gone from a cool old western town to sort of a caricature of itself. Reminds me of the fake western town at Six Flags now.

That makes me very happy that I managed to sneak through quietly during the wee hours of the morning. :D

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I’ll leave you with one more aspen picture, this one taken right at the top of Lime Creek where it intersects 550 south of Silverton. Happy trails.
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Stunning.... :clap:

Scotch Creek Road is a fun one. We did it back in mid July of 2005 when I had my 1150GS. The first mile or so was big sharp rocks. I think they were the remains from where they had been blasting to clear rocks on the uphill side of some of the highways in the area. One of the Vstrom 1000's ripped his metal bash plate apart on them. He and the jeep turned around. The rest of us pressed on and once past those rocks, the road started climbing and climbing. At the time, it did not look like it had seen traffic of any kind in a long time. It was quite wet from water running down it. There were also quite a few fallen trees that we had to go under or over.

One of the smoother sections of the rocks
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Start of the climb we met this 80 something year old dude hiking down that told us it was kind of ugly higher up...
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The view, almost from the top
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The Dakar 650 starter stuck in crank mode and would not disengage!! We had to rip it apart to get to the battery to stop it. It cranked for almost ten minutes before we managed to disconnect it. Even after that, once we got it back together, the bike cranked right over on the first try!

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We eventually went down the East side on Hermosa Park Road and came out on US 550 South of Silverton. It was a blast even on the big bike.
 
Yes, I would ride Scotch Creek on my big bike in a heartbeat. We are planning a dual sport ride up in that area as well, trying to stay off of the major passes and onto the jeep trails less traveled.

On a real dirt bike, the method we use to make jeep trails more interesting is speed. At some point, any trail becomes technical when the speed you are riding intersects with your talent level. We get moving pretty quick on jeep roads like these. Really a lot of fun.

Near the top of Scotch Creek, there was a "wall climb", a vertical section that banked inside around a curve. A couple of us rode it up probably 10 feet up to see whose tire tracks were the highest. These are the things we do to amuse ourselves.:lol2:

Like you said, water runs down the trail, and collects on the uphill side of the erosion bars. On the real dirt bikes, that presents yet another opportunity for fun as well. :rider:


I finally got a chance to give my Husaberg a good going over. First it got a good long bath. It has been parked right like I left if when I got back. I had a bent rear rotor (no wonder I had no pedal) and a bent chain guide. I changed the oil (never went almost 500 miles on an oil change before but it was still clean anyways), changed the chain guide, got the rotor straight enough, and replaced the air filter with a fresh one. Had some play in the rear wheel bearings, so I changed those too. The bike will probably sit as it is just a back up bike to my KTM, but it is ready for another adventure for sure.
 
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It still amazes me how much beating these machines can take and still come back for more.

That country does take its toll...

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It still amazes me how much beating these machines can take and still come back for more.

That country does take its toll...

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I believe that is the rocky chute uphill that I mentioned in my ride report on Calico. We had a heck of a time getting the 690 through that. I was pulling on the front end and Joel was pushing the back end and we finally got it through.

Too bad you can't see how steep it really is.
 
I have one more story to tell about this riding trip and the town of Rico. The area around Rico is supposed to be as geothermally active as any spot in Colorado. I know this because I read it in The National Geographic from 1991 I found at The Mineshaft Inn.

There is a resort nearby in Dunton that I heard had high dollar cottages with private hot springs. We were looking for something a bit more our style--free and rustic. :mrgreen:

I was having bad neck/spine issues (since the trip had spine fusion surgery) and a soak in the hot springs sounded better than good. We found out about a local spot on the Dolores River, got directions, and headed off on our dirt bikes, wearing swim trunks, helmets, and towel around our necks. Pitch black, no moon. :rider:

We found the dirt road, and were looking for a trail that lead down the river bank to the spring. Drove by it and didn't know it. I mean it was dark. Ended up finding some dude in a tent cooking meth instead. We thought the trail was right where he was set up and in an attempt to get away from the situation, we instead ended up tumbling down straight down the river bank into the thickest river willows ever. In our helmets and swim trunks. Dammit. The meth dude was yelling at us trying to figure out who we were. Once he figured out we were idiot dirt bikers looking for a hot spring, and not The Law, he gave us directions and we got back up the bank and found the trail to the hot springs. This time we parked our bikes and walked.

All the adventure was worth it. The hot spring was amazing. 30 yards away runs the Dolores River. We would alternate between 105 degree water and 40 degree water.

Anyway, sometimes common sense is a flower that isn't cultivated in my garden. The flip side is that is makes for a good story.:-P
 
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