Another good day of high mountain trail riding.
Martha is at home in Centennial taking care of some appointments so it was just me today for riding. I rode on Yagi, my 2006 Yamaha TW200 or T-Dub along Lake County Road 30 towards Cinnamon Pass. It turned out to be just shy of 20 miles to get to the summit.
Having ridden the Engineer Pass Road recently, I was able to compare their conditions easily. Engineer Pass Road is much better maintained, and with less loose rock as one nears the summit. Cinnamon Pass' road was rockier and thereby a bit more technical. If you've only got time to do one pass, go for Engineer Pass, much more scenic up at the top!
Some shots on the way to the summit:
Water Crossing!
The ride to the summit proved uneventful, though rocky. Soon, it was time for pictures with the summit sign:
I only had the short lens with me when I discovered this Marmot
Looking back the way I came, from the summit of the pass
Looking towards San Juan County
I laboriously climbed the hill next to the pass summit, to get this shot:
Back on Yagi, I rode a little further into San Juan County but stopped at this point for a shot, not choosing to go further based on the clouds and lighting:
Some shots as I headed back down towards Lake City:
As I neared the main part of Lake County 30, I saw a nice view of American Basin:
I turned Yagi onto the access road to American Basin:
But I didn't get very far, it's snow packed past the water crossing which I didn't try as it was flowing quite swiftly!
So I retraced my way back to camp, stopping only once more to get a shot of what I believe is Red Mountain:
Another day, another pass....
8 comments:
Dom,
Your photography and written documentation of the ride to Cinnamon Pass and down to the American Basin are excellent. Compelling. I've already been harboring a secret desire for a TW200 but when I look at this post, and the one to Engineer Pass, it just gets more intense.
Obviously, there is nothing here in Pennsylvania resembling those landscapes, but we have plenty of rough, dirt and gravel roads to explore. Thousands of miles actually. Enough to keep me busy for the rest of my riding life. I ride them with the Vespa but have often been stopped by mud or water crossing that the scooter just can't handle.
I assume you haul along in the top box at the tools and parts you might need for the most common problems right? Or is it just full of beer?
Since the TW is carbureted, do you have problems at those higher elevations?
Thanks for the kind words and comments Steve. To your questions: the top box indeed carries tools, a tripod and tire inflator. The carburetor feels the effects of less oxygen above 10,000 feet and the engine feels less powerful....all 200 cc of it....so I had to watch it when near idle.
Great pictures! There still is a lot of snow…
Thanks RichardM, yep still some snow and some more forecasted for tonight here in Leadville....
Hi Dom wonderful work and a heck of a job you have. You have done most of the Alpine Loop https://www.colorado.com/articles/colorado-scenic-byway-alpine-loop . Cookie and I have done the loop on our Suzi DR350s, great ride and beautiful scenery and you've captured it well. We preferred and had more fun on Cinnamon, years can make a difference on our back roads and you were much earlier in the season than we were. We left out of Lake City did Cinnamon then Engineer back to LC. If your looking for more Cork Screw is just south of Ouray, it connects back up to the Loop.
Thanks Spat for the comments and info re Corkscrew Pass, it's added to the list next time I'm there. Presently back in Leadville to join up with Patrick and Martha for a few days hopefully.
What a great place to explore. Love following an old dirt road
Indeed Bluekat, so much history in the area.....
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