Take a Rocky Mountain Tour on a Stunning, High-Altitude Ride

By Dale Coyner
Published on October 23, 2012
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Cover Courtesy Whitehorse Press
Considering taking an unforgetable cross-country journey or vacation ride? This new "big idea" guidebook provides the head start everyone needs to plan fun-filled motorcycle tours through the continental United States and Canada. It focuses on describing the very best roads and expert advice on when to go, what routes to select, must-see attractions and plenty of first-hand lessons learned.

Motorcycle Journeys Through North America (Whitehorse Press, 2012) by Dale Coyner details everything you need to know about a wide range of rides throughout the U.S. and Canada. Coyner writes with detail, setting the scene for the tour of a lifetime. This excerpt is a guide to Colorado and its Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuously paved road in the U.S.

You can purchase this book in the Motorcycle Classics store: Motorcycle Journeys Through North America.

Rocky Mountain Way

This tour around the Rocky Mountains is like a highlight reel of the western U.S. It has everything. Cow towns and cattle drives. Fly fishing in snow-fed waters against the backdrop of monolithic mountains. Ghost towns. High desert and lush mountain forest. Plateaus and canyons. And the region’s best roads that lead you through it all.

Colorado might think about changing its nickname to “The Outdoor State,” because that’s where you’ll find most of its residents. More than in many other states, folks in Colorado engage in many outside activities — hiking, bicycling, mountain climbing, and rafting — the list goes on and on. Spend enough time here and you’ll find yourself drawn into the outdoor lifestyle, too.

This loop focuses on the western two-thirds of the state and features some rides in very remote places. Some include unpaved sections with hard-packed gravel surfaces; however, they aren’t quite like that steep, rutted gravel road leading into the campground where you dropped your bike that cold, rainy night. The few dirt sections included in this route are generally flat and dry and can be ridden comfortably at near-touring speeds.

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