Doing Guanella Pass, Kenosha Pass, Hoosier Pass, and Loveland Pass in a day
by Aaron Storms
With the fall colors so vivid in Gilpin County and the weather getting a little chill, some of the guys decided that it would be a great idea to take a road trip on the road bikes before the snow falls. John came up with a plan to ride the scenic four mountain passes in a day trip, so Mark, Sam, Tom and I all decided to meet up at Millie’s Café in Central City on Saturday morning for breakfast before heading out on the 180 mile round trip. With temps down to 33 degrees Friday night, it was a bit nippy at first, but with our legs wrapped around a big motor, things warmed up as we headed out the Central City Parkway to I-70 and to Idaho Springs for gas and oil. Once topped off, we headed west to Georgetown, then south up on the winding road to Guanella Pass. With moderate traffic, the pace was slow enough to allow us to gawk around at the sides of the mountain which were lit up with yellows, reds, and greens and a few pocket lakes thrown in for contrast. The top above tree line was cold, but final four miles which were dirt had just been recently paved and the drive down was perfect. Coming down from the pass we ended up at Hwy 285, so stopped to check out the cool metal bike sculptures, the slammed ’49 Dodge pickup, and the old ’32 Ford rat road near Grant. We were tempted by Al’s Pit BBQ, but were still full from breakfast.
Support authors and subscribe to content
Subscribe to read the entire article.
