Day Four – Ft. Collins CO to Central City CO. - Miles: 331
The route today, we knew, was going to be one of the highlights. We got started with breakfast at the Breakfast Club and were eating before 7:00. It was a short ride to Poudre Canyon Rd aka CO 14 where we began the 5,000 foot ascent up to Cameron Pass. The road begins by following the winding Cache La Poudre River which is always a recipe for a good road. We made a stop along the river at the Poudre Park Day Use area where we walked down to the water where on the far side of the river are steep cliffs reaching up very high. We continued on enjoying the road to the point where we really didn't want to stop, but we made another stop at the Joe Wright Reservoir just before reaching the Cameron Pass. This stop was not all that great but we begin our descent and we thought we should get one stop in before Walden. We continued through Walden and began heading south and eventually connected to US 40. We stopped at the Wolford Reservoir overlook walking to the edge of the hill to get a better look. We mostly had the big area to ourselves. We arrived to Kemmerling just before 11:00 having ridden 168 miles, the vast majority of which were fantastic. We stopped at Grand Adventure Brewing for a pint and some chicken wings. The wings were not that great but we were a little hungry so they met our needs. We stayed on US 40 riding into Fraser where we were met with construction and a detour. As we were leaving the town toward Winter Park it began to rain slightly and when we reached Winter Park we stopped and decided to go back to Fraser and stop at Vicious Cycle Brewing which we passed earlier and decide what we wanted to do given the rain. After looking at the radar we decided it would not amount to much so we continued riding and rode over Berthoud Pass. We contemplated stopping but there was a good deal of traffic and the misty conditions made it less than optimal. Once a couple of cars pulled off we had clear sailing in front of us so we continued to Idaho Springs. In Idaho Springs there was a street fair going on and the place was jammed. We found a motorcycle only parking area and decided to have a look see. It was raining a little harder now so we covered the bikes and stopped at Westbound and Down Brewing to use up a little time. It was difficult to get a beer as the place was so crowded and it was 3:30 in the afternoon. So, after a short wait we got back on and headed to Mt. Evans. Fortunately a friend of mine told me about the need for a pass/reservation to ride this road otherwise we would have been out of luck. What makes matters worse is that you have to pick the time you plan to be there and it is only a two-hour window. We made the logistics work and it was a great ride to the top. This is the country's highest paved road. Towards the top there are many switchbacks with no guardrails making the road more of a scenic ride than blasting to the top. Either way it was very good ride. Once we reached the top we walked around some and. took pictures. We stopped for some more pictures on the way down as well pulling off the side of the road. The last several miles of the road to the top had to be repeated on the way out but at Echo Lake we headed east on CO103 and came back to Idaho Springs that way which required some riding on I-70. Once we reached Idaho Springs we skipped the festivities and rode to our destination of Central City. Part of the rationale for choosing Central City was after looking at a distant relative's pictures from the 50s we thought the town looked interesting. We decoded to stay in Blackhawk which is just on the other side of Central City where there were some nice looking newer casinos. Staying at a casino always seems like a good idea but it never ends being that good. Parking was a pain and there weren't many places to eat. We did take some good pictures in Central City to compare to the ones in the 50s. Central City looks to be attempting a comeback of sorts but it still has a good deal of work to do. I think this will be the last time we book a casino as a destination.
