We started our ride Sunday in Fairplay, Colorado at 9,954' and 284 miles later finished our ride in Leadville, Colorado at 10,158'. We intentionally took the long way around to enjoy riding in the Rockies. As the crow flies, only 16 miles separates these two old mining towns.
We took CO 9 north out of Fairplay and soon started climbing up Hoosier Pass at 11,542'. Our approach from south to north is less steep and more sweeping turns compared to the north side which features hairpin turn switchbacks and 8% grades - tons of fun on the BMW!
As we continued north on CO 9, we passed numerous ski houses, signs that we were getting close to Breckenridge - both the town and the ski area. Like many towns in this area, Breckenridge was founded by miners during the 1859 Pike's Peak gold rush. Once the ski area opened in 1961, the town growth exploded and it's packed with tourists all year round.
Until we reached Breck we enjoyed little traffic and zooming along the road. All of that changed over the next few miles as we rode through tourist and ski area central - Frisco and Silverthorne, - at times needing to ride east on I70 for a few miles. This is a gorgeous area but challenging for us to enjoy while riding in a sea of traffic. The one bright spot is the huge Dillon Reservoir created in the 1960's to provide water for Denver and today filled with all types of water sport recreation.
We were thrilled to ride out of the traffic as we continued north on CO 9, taking the long way to our eventual destination of Leadville so that we could enjoy more Colorado riding. Our route took us along the Blue River, a 65 mile long tributary of the Colorado River that is dammed to form the Green Mountain Reservoir that was built between 1938 and 1943.
We crossed the Colorado River just before we reached Kremmling, and then turned north/east onto US40, riding past yet another reservoir - this time the Wolford Mountain Reservoir.
US 40 goes into Steamboat Springs, and along the way we saw numerous signs advertising F.M. Light & Sons western clothing store, established in 1905 and continuing to sell western wear today.
Our route took us over two passes over the Continental Divide. First up was Muddy Pass, at 8,772' one of the lower passes on our trip. There aren't any hairpin switchbacks on either side of the pass, and then just a few miles down the road we rode up Rabbit Ears Pass at 9,426'. We could see the iconic rabbit ears rock formation long before we actually rode up the pass.
We made a quick detour into Steamboat Springs for lunch and then continued south on CO 131 through rolling hills and ranchland.
We then came upon the Colorado River again, this time riding along the river and watching several rafting groups before we crossed at State Bridge. It was getting hot and I kept imagining how cool it would feel to be rafting today.
After crossing the Colorado, we turned south on US 24 which took us into Leadville. Our route today was a large upside-down "U" shape, so now we were headed back into busy traffic as we rode through the ski towns of Beaver Creek and EagleVail. We finally left the traffic behind as we started climbing up Tennessee Pass, reaching 10,424'.
This stretch of US 24th is designed the US 10th Mountain Division Highway to honor this Army division that was the first to train in winter war, starting in 1942. This is also part of the Top of the Rockies scenic byway that over 75 miles connects several old mining towns, traveling through three national forests - all on a highway that is over 9,000' elevation.
One of my favorite parts of this route is the suspension bridge built in 1940 over the Eagle River.
This route has it all: sweeping turns, tight hairpin switchbacks, huge stands of aspens, long views of the valley far below, and snow peaked mountains that rise over 14,000'.
We've ridden this route a few times, but this is our first time staying overnight in Leadville. It's Mike's birthday, and we're planning to celebrate in this still vibrant historic mining town.
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