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RALFFERS

Drive from Winter Park, CO to Denver

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I've never driven in the mountains, & looking at the atlas of Colorado it looks "interesting" My brother in-law told me that as long as I go slow I'll be fine - thus not expecting to cover the same amount of distance in the same amount of time that I would driving in Chicago, or any other flat city for that matter.

I'm just trying to figure out what to expect. How bad/dangerous is the route? Can some of the locals chime in?

Thanks! :)
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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Depends on the time of year. No you wont be doing 80 mph on it, and if you are driving a 4 cylinder you might be lucky to get the thing to go 60 on a straight away anywhere up in the mountains at altitude ;)

There are a few turns, but its not horribly dangerous if you don't drive like an idiot ;). It will take more time to get through as there are lots of S curves, that and you might want to stop to enjoy the view... B|

Winter, thats a whole other story.

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

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Depends on the time of year. No you wont be doing 80 mph on it, and if you are driving a 4 cylinder you might be lucky to get the thing to go 60 on a straight away anywhere up in the mountains at altitude [Wink]



I'll make sure to rent a 6 cylinder.
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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I lived in both towns and at one point commuted from Golden to Winter Park, so I think I could drive that route blindfolded! Usually took me an hour to/from Golden, if I remember right, then another 20 minutes into Denver. It's definitely not the worst pass in the world, but I grew up driving in the mountains. If you've only ever driven in Chicago, though, I imagine there could be some definite scariness.

When are you driving this? I think spring is the worst time, because of freak snow storms - it looks clear and dry one minute, and the next, you're in a whiteout. I totaled my car in a 40-car pileup on I-70 driving from Winter Park to Golden late March one year because of that. Summer is a piece of cake, though, and even sometimes in winter it's bone dry.

Beautiful drive, though - if you get hungry, stop at BeauJo's pizza in Idaho Springs. It's right off I-70 and awesome. And look for the buffalo herd right outside Genesee.

Man, now I'm missing Colorado, thanks a lot!! ;)

ps - Just realized google has street view of the whole route, so you can check it out for yourself!

Blue Skies Mag

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***When are you driving this?***

I'll be there from July 31st to August 10th. Will be doing the drive quite a bit; going to/from the wind tunnel & seeing friends.
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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I drove that pass last March, in a blizzard. It was honestly the most scared I have ever been behind the wheel of a car. They should not let people from Texas drive that pass in inclement weather.

I've also towed a 30 foot Airstream travel trailer through that pass, with no trailer brakes. Probably the second most scared I've ever been behind the wheel.

You'll be fine as long as you don't do anything stupid. :P

It's not really that bad if the weather is good, it's more steep than it is twisty, and it's all about managing speed on the downhill grades. I drove it in inclement weather in a little Suzuki rental car, no four wheel drive, nothing. I'm sure the locals wondered why I was going so slow at times as they sped past me in their 4 wheel drive SUV's, but I survived unscathed by being cautious as hell.


"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

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I drove that pass last March, in a blizzard. It was honestly the most scared I have ever been behind the wheel of a car. They should not let people from Texas drive that pass in inclement weather.

I've also towed a 30 foot Airstream travel trailer through that pass, with no trailer brakes. Probably the second most scared I've ever been behind the wheel.

You'll be fine as long as you don't do anything stupid. :P

It's not really that bad if the weather is good, it's more steep than it is twisty, and it's all about managing speed on the downhill grades. I drove it in inclement weather in a little Suzuki rental car, no four wheel drive, nothing. I'm sure the locals wondered why I was going so slow at times as they sped past me in their 4 wheel drive SUV's, but I survived unscathed by being cautious as hell.



There are guardrails, right?...

Just kidding! :ph34r::D:D:D
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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ps - Just realized google has street view of the whole route, so you can check it out for yourself!



I'm looking at it right now - only 34.5 miles is twisty & hilly, the rest is all highway driving. B|
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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Berthoud Pass will be the most exciting part:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=39.820139,-105.743408&spn=0.22071,0.22419&z=12

You can see the hairpin turns on the map. Just watch the signs that give you the speed for the next turn, and brake down to that speed. No big deal.

In the winter, it is always maddening trying to get to WP early in the morning, because there is *always* one out-of-state nimrod crawling through there at 20mph with 25 cars backed up behind him. It is impossible to pass in there.

I drove it once at night in a blinding blizzard.
Now *that* was interesting!:D

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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In the winter, it is always maddening trying to get to WP early in the morning, because there is *always* one out-of-state nimrod crawling through there at 20mph with 25 cars backed up behind him. It is impossible to pass in there.



I'll make sure not to do that. Not sure how people feel about me stopping to take pictures of the scenery though... :D:D:D:ph34r:
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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In the winter, it is always maddening trying to get to WP early in the morning, because there is *always* one out-of-state nimrod crawling through there at 20mph with 25 cars backed up behind him. It is impossible to pass in there.



I'll make sure not to do that. Not sure how people feel about me stopping to take pictures of the scenery though... :D:D:D:ph34r:


Well at least stop in a *parking* area, and not in the middle of the road like the idiot I encountered on Mt Evans Saturday. He parked his truck blocking half of a tight, busy mountain road, so he could take pictures of some mountain goats. I had to swing my bike into the oncoming lane and share it with the oncoming car to get around the fool. I even have it on video.>:(

And also, don't suddenly stop to take in the view on a 12% grade with a 190 lb cyclist following you, (as a fool did to me on Flagstaff Mt a week ago). That makes us really cranky as well.>:(
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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I was kidding dude....I wouldn't be a dick & stop in the middle of the road. I'm surprised [ and happy] to know that there are designated parking areas.

What's the general/average speed limit there? 30?
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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What's the general/average speed limit there? 30?



More like 45 for the straight sections, and dropping as low as 15 on the hairpin turns, (depending on how tight they are). There are a couple righthands turns descending Flagstaff Mt that are so tight it is like doing a u-turn.

You might want to checkout Lookout Mt, (adjacent to Golden), or Flagstaff Mt. (adjacent to Boulder), for some great views overlooking the Front Range. Both have parking areas sprinkled along the road.
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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You might want to checkout Lookout Mt, (adjacent to Golden), or Flagstaff Mt. (adjacent to Boulder), for some great views overlooking the Front Range. Both have parking areas sprinkled along the road.



NICE! B| Thanks for the FYI! :)
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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Both look amazing!... I'm going to have a blast & love driving up & down those mountains! :)

by the way, are those your bike rides?

Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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Both look amazing!... I'm going to have a blast & love driving up & down those mountains! :)

by the way, are those your bike rides?



I've done both many times, but those are not my videos.

I climbed Mt Evans on Saturday.
I took stills on the way up:

http://www.dim.com/~ryoder/MtEvans/

And shot video on the descent.

The road on the top half (State Hwy 5), SUCKS. The surface is covered in cracks, and the asphalt is sunken around the cracks, making it like crossing a thousand little ditches. The handlebar camera mount got slammed around so much I had to cut out a third of the video because the camera was pointing at the ground.

The 2nd half of the descent (Echo Lake to Idaho Springs) was faster and smoother, but the handlebar camera mount still picked up a lot of vibration. The cool thing about this part is that the grade is a constant -6% for 14 miles with gentle curves, so you can cruise at 35-45 w/o touching the brakes.

BTW you haven't suffered until you've ridden a bike from 7500' to 14,000'. Everything was going great until 12,000', then after that I have blurry recollections of constantly stopping to gasp for breath with my head spinning.:S

Can't wait to do it again!:D
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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You drive in Chicago and you're worried about some crap ass mountain stuff? 70 mph on the Edens at rush hour through those tunnels between two semi's. PLEASE. That mountain crap is sissy stuff. Just watch for the 50 ton boulder that falls off the cliff and squashes ya like the leutenant govenor.
U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

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You drive in Chicago and you're worried about some crap ass mountain stuff? 70 mph on the Edens at rush hour through those tunnels between two semi's. PLEASE. That mountain crap is sissy stuff. Just watch for the 50 ton boulder that falls off the cliff and squashes ya like the leutenant govenor.



That's true - 70, 80 is the norm here. You go any slower & you're going to gret honked at hardcore.

All my friends that live out of state think you have to be a crazy & aggressive driver in order to live here... :S

I always get asked by out of towners why I drive "so fast" - to us, 70,80 is not fast, it's normal every day driving.
Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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They should not let people from Texas drive that pass in inclement weather.



Some of us from Texas have no problem driving up there.

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I've also towed a 30 foot Airstream travel trailer through that pass, with no trailer brakes. Probably the second most scared I've ever been behind the wheel.



Now that was stupid:P:D I bet them brakes were hot as hell! At least they have runaway ramps on I 70.
Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

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They should not let people from Texas drive that pass in inclement weather.



Some of us from Texas have no problem driving up there.

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I've also towed a 30 foot Airstream travel trailer through that pass, with no trailer brakes. Probably the second most scared I've ever been behind the wheel.



Yes, they do have runaway ramps on I-70, BUT...if you use them, I hear it screws up your car/truck pretty good. Well, actually it's semis that get damaged when they go up those things, so I assume cars/trucks do as well...? :S

Now that was stupid:P:D I bet them brakes were hot as hell! At least they have runaway ramps on I 70.

Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

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