Princess Yum Yum and the Free Range Rednecks

[BamaPhill]

Man, I'm jealous! :)  Really enjoying the pictures and video.  Thanks for posting!!

[kdtrull]

Just another photo dump.  Sorry, I had no idea where I was most of the time....even in the face of two GPS units.....too much, too fast again.  My biggest mistake was not being more organized.  Sensory input overload.

[Johnny Tobyone]

Beautiful     How many GPS's can a DRZ hold ??

[lazeebum]

Great pictures and ride report. Thank y'all fer makin' me want to hit the road.

[odell2115]

Beautiful     How many GPS's can a DRZ hold ??

Have you met Kyle?  I'm pretty sure one time we camped he had 4 and he still got lost.  Well, since he was leading a group technically not lost.  He's got a GPS mounted for any detour.

[Jwwr]

Adding one more item to the bucket list! Thanks for the inspiration!

[Brian A]

It was a truly fantastic trip.  I plan to chime in some now and then once @Fencejumper09 gets his report going. I rode with David and @Mulley and our friend Dan (from Flagstaff, AZ) the most over the course of the week, And the four of us shared a cabin at Holt's Guest Ranch. Since I spent most of the week with David, I'll comment now and then when he gets his report going.

All that said, we saw all others fairly frequently and stayed with them at the hotels when we were on the three-day loop. Even ran into @odell2115 and his crew at Animas Forks one day.

First time since riding Baja I did a video. I tried to cover all the bases when it comes to what we did and rode. Sadly, I got no video of the harder, rougher, rocky riding, like Napoleon Pass, Tincup Pass and a few other areas that were pretty darned rough. I guess I was too busy trying not to crash to have been bothered with mashing a few buttons to get video. 

Personal amazing accomplishment, for me at least: I rode 6 days in Colorado, some of it pretty rough stuff, and never dropped the DR650 one time. That is a major victory for me. Last time we rode Colorado that was not the case. I left a headlight shroud and a right side cover somewhere on the trail in Colorado during the trip 3 years ago. Also have a dent on each side of the gas tank, compliments of falling over in rough rocky areas. Glad to say we played together much better this trip!

Anyway, here is the video.  Hope you enjoy it and it, along with all the stuff in the Colorado Ride Reports, helps to motivate to plan yourself a trip to enjoy what we got to enjoy. Colorado offers something for EVERYONE, regardless of riding skills.

It's worth the time and money. Every hour and every dollar.

I already want to go back.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wyB4rAkV74

[Fencejumper09]

Fantastic! It was such an amazing trip! To be able to check some boxes off my bucket list before I even turn 35 is amazing! I am really blessed! Hoping to pull the trigger on a new computer to help cut down on the video editing time in the next week!!

[Nice Goat]

Monday, July 23rd
- Showers at Holts were okay except for the constantly changing water temperature
- Breakfast at Taylor Park Trading Post was AWESOME (omelette and waffle bar ... made to order!)
- Fueled up the bikes with ethanol-free
- Took off for Mirror Lake and Tincup Pass
- Mirror Lake was beautiful
- About a mile from Tincup Pass, I dropped my bike on the baby heads.
- We all agreed that Tincup was too much work.
- We were not acclimated to the altitude either.
- Turned around and headed for Union Park and Slaughterhouse Gulch
- Around lunchtime we headed back to Taylor Park Trading Post for lunch
- Decided that we could do better on accommodations and found a place in Gunnison
- Packed up and moved to Gunnison
- Washed clothes, trucks, and bikes and adjusted gear and luggage for the 3-day loop.
- Had dinner and brewskies at High Alpine Brewing Co. in Gunnison

Below was planned route, but we only completed about 40% of it.

[Nice Goat]

Tuesday, July 24th
- We all slept much better this time
- Typical budget-hotel breakfast
- Briefly visited two motorcycle dealers -- Gunnison Motorsports and Sun Sports Unlimited
- Fueled up the bikes and headed east on Hwy 50
- Followed the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route to Lake City
- Traveled through Razor Dome, Cochetopa Canyon, Powderhorn Wilderness, and Los Pinos Pass
- We went miles and miles across prairies and through forests without ever seeing another car ... it felt "free range"
- Saw many free range cows, beavers, and chipmunks also
- Arrived at Silver Spur Hotel in Lake City
- Silver Spur was very basic accommodations.  Okay for me, but wouldn't put the family here.
- Showered and ate a late lunch/early dinner at Packers Saloon (very good)
- We needed to rejet Ken's DRZ but had problems with the carb disassembly
- Ended up fixing the carb through some good ol' fashioned redneck engineering
- Drank beer until about 10pm and went to bed

[yamahamer]

 ??? This thread is like a baddassery overload!  ???

Baddassery may not be a word, but it should be.  ;D

[JBMFT]

??? This thread is like a baddassery overload!  ???

Baddassery may not be a word, but it should be.  ;D

Oh it's a word.

[kdtrull]

[KevinB]

Awesome pics!

It was literally a sensory overload for me...like the first trip to Toys-R-Us for a 5 year old.

[kdtrull]

The value of having someone with the drive, conviction and aptitude to put together and execute a trip like this cannot be overstated.
From the last minute load-out/transport changes, to the places we laid our heads at night (some of which were quite nice), to the very paths upon which I nearly shat myself at times....
everything was pre-planned and/or handily adapted on-the-fly and I was able to knock the old noodle out of gear and just tag along....thanks to one solid dude.
You da man, Old Goat.
Gratitude.

Lotta' thanks to Kevin as well....for dragging my bike and half my junk across the country and back (and about a hundred miles out of your way).  You got some points in the bank too, bro.