Travelogue – Out and about in the Rocky Mountains

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Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains
Thorsten Dentges

Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains

Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains

Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains

Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains

37 pictures

Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains
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Striking geopoint near Aspen and a fantastic view at an altitude of almost 3900 meters. Name: American Flag.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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The Cinnamon and Engineer Passes form the so-called “Alpine Loop” near Lake City: 100 kilometers of the most beautiful gravel route.

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The ultra-steep Hancock Pass (3697 m) is accessible by car and motorcycle. If you dare…

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Guest starter Thorsten Dentges collects coveted rating points in the high alpine Taylor Park at a good 4,000 meters.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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The mountain village of Pitkin has 66 inhabitants and is the largest settlement for miles. Everything looks like it did when it was founded in 1879 – okay, there was no satellite dish back then.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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The rally participants find out for themselves which routes they want to drive.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Boulders the size of a medicine ball, steep stone slides – the driver and chassis are shaken up a lot.

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USA
Capital: Washington
Area: 9.63 million km2
Foundation: 1776
Currency: US dollars
Population: 317 million.

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Colorado is considered a top tourist destination in the USA. Rightly so, because the “Mountain State” offers endless possibilities for outdoor activities. A real paradise for endurance travelers.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Recreation Zone: The Curecanti National Recreation Area west of Gunnison.

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Most two-wheelers use two-cylinder travel enduros.

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If you are also planning an adventure, do it between June and September. Outside of the summer months, most of the passes are not passable.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

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At the Adventure Rally there are points for various travel destinations. However, it makes sense to never start alone, …

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… but is assigned to a teammate from the start.

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In addition to the Stars and Stripes, the Colorado flag flies over the Mine Museum in Pitkin.

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You won’t find any asphalt roads in the small town of St. Elmo. Logical that jeeps and …

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… Extremely off-road side-by-side ATVs are the first choice as a means of transport.

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The inhabitants of remote provincial nests often live …

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… from relaxed outdoor tourism and are very relaxed.

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Out and about in the Rocky Mountains by motorcycle.

to travel

Travelogue – On the way in the Rocky Mountains

Travelogue – On the way in the Rocky Mountains
Mountain high

With the motorcycle to where others only boot in mountain boots – that is possible in the Rocky Mountains. As part of the Adventure Rally Rockies Edition, travel endurists can legally get high in mountain air and adventure.

Thorsten Dentges

12/10/2015

It’s amazing where the Americans put their stars and stripes in everywhere. After the Battle of Iwojima in 1945, six soldiers rammed the American flag onto the highest point on the Pacific island. The legendary photo of this moment represents the victory of the “good” over the “bad” Japanese. In 1969, astronaut Buzz Aldrin hoisted the flag on the moon, and millions of Americans were once again filled with pride. Now i am Me, the long-haired bomber from back then. 

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Mountain high

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The one who condemned the United States as a no-go travel destination after first a former western actor and later a wild Texas cowboy in the office of president made mischief around the world. The whole thing in the name of American patriotism, symbolized by a red-white-blue scrap of fabric. And now I stroke this very one. At this moment I love the stars and stripes. Out of breath, exhausted, overjoyed. Because at almost 4000 meters the air is thin. Especially when you have maneuvered a heap of motorcycles weighing almost 150 pounds there.

Green valleys, wildflowers, rivers and dazzling mountain lakes

Over slippery meadows, through scree fields, over terrifyingly steep stone ramps, along towel-narrow mud paths, through scratchy bushes and deep forests, up over serpentines and pull paths that make you dizzy. And right at the top there is only a rocky edge that drops vertically around 200 meters. From up there the view opens up over a landscape as if from another planet. Green valleys, wildflowers, rivers, shimmering mountain lakes, barren rock giants. No streets, no houses. No people. Just peace and nature. And the stars and stripes blow in the wind.

The end of this monumental trailing edge is called the American Flag. This peak in the middle of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado cannot really be compared with Mount Everest in terms of height and difficulty. But as a two-cylinder climber I gasp hard, sit down exhausted and feel like a first-time climber. And that’s why I’m a bit surprised why the American flag is blowing up here in what appears to be nowhere. Sir Edmund Hillary would certainly not have found it so great if he had shown him a sign of civilization on his Everest trip: atschibatschi, only second! My heroic deed illusion fizzled out completely a few minutes later. Engine rattle. Three strange vehicles, similar to a golf cart, reach “my” summit.

After all, we’re driving a rally!

And grandma, grandpa, mom, dad and a crowd of children climb out of these covered quads with picnic baskets, which are also called ROVs (Recreational Off Highway Vehicle). Companions that were designed precisely for this purpose: to bring recreational mountain lovers to the top without strenuous hiking. Great for people who think physical activity is overrated anyway. Incidentally, the funny vehicles are bestsellers in the USA. Like crawling animals, these fully off-road mini-cars, also known as “side by side”, climb every steep and blocked piece.

As difficult as it is to reach American Flag, it at least explains why the stars and stripes were placed here, because countless summiteers replace the old part with a new one. In the “Mountain State” Colorado, American Flag is one of many excursion destinations – for me personally it is now one of the most beautiful motorcycle experiences ever.


Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains


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The ultra-steep Hancock Pass (3697 m) is accessible by car and motorcycle. If you dare …

My team buddy nudges me and hands me an energy bar. I look a little jealous at the fat club sandwiches of the comfort mountaineering family and lift the BMW off the stand. It continues. As beautiful as it is here, we have no time to waste. After all, we’re driving a rally. However, it has about as much to do with a race like the Dakar as American Flag has with Mount Everest. The event is called “Adventure Rally Rockies Edition”, but it could be more aptly described as follows: Scavenger hunt for big boys and girls who like to ride a motorcycle. Preferably travel enduro bikes. Preferably those with two cylinders, because in addition to off-road passages, such as the way up to American Flag, epic country roads form a large part of the route network.

A dream for touring riders too, not just for off-road freaks. On asphalt and on easily manageable dirt roads made of compacted earth, you often pass sights, historically significant places, nice cafes and BBQ sheds as well as striking vantage points that are not as sweaty to reach as the American Flag off-road challenge. Or other elective targets that were categorized with the predicate “Double Black Diamond”, ie “highly demanding”. In the rally or paper chase, the rules of the game (see also the information page) are actually quite simple: drive a lot and collect a lot of points. The playing field is roughly the size of Rhineland-Palatinate or Thuringia. During the day, unwinding kilometers, in the evening sitting comfortably together according to the line in John Denver’s folk hit from the seventies “Rocky Mountain High”: “Friends around the campire and everybody’s high, Rocky Mountain high, Colorado.” second national anthem.

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Many waypoints with the highest degree of difficulty

Around a hundred drivers meet at the campfire, plan the route for the next day within teams of two and share their experiences. As a foreign guest starter, I would also like to take exciting stories back to Germany with me. 

That is why our team builds in as many waypoints as possible with the highest degree of difficulty. The route can be put together individually from around 90 puzzle pieces. This is what makes this event so attractive, which is considered a top event by American adventure riders, i.e. enduro hikers. In the basecamp, the Tamichi Inn in Gunnison, all kinds of drivers come together.


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It makes sense to never start alone at the Adventure Rally.

Klaus, a 47-year-old carpenter from Franconia, has lived in New Mexico for almost 30 years and with his single-cylinder Honda managed 500 of the 700 kilometers to the Adventure Rally exclusively on asphalt-free secondary roads – his little special adventure before the big one, the rally . The two Texan buddies Joe and Daniel, on the other hand, roll their BMW R 1200 GS and Suzuki V-Strom 650 on road tires and are therefore afraid of adventurous off-road activities. Daniel: “Hey, it’s almost 900 miles back home, all parts should stay on the motorcycle.” They regret that they can’t experience the feeling like the native Indians and pioneers of the 19th century, just the Rockies to overcome with the greatest effort. But stopovers with many culinary highlights also make your rather soft route choice an experience.

Meanwhile, our team almost only eats muesli bars instead of a (time-consuming) warm meal. We want to collect points. Climb up bumpy paths, sometimes rumbling uncontrollably down the other side. Drive hundreds of meters knee-deep through the water of a flooded lake shore. Sometimes lying on your side. Also part of our freely selectable adventure. Others win. Faster. Harder ones. Never mind, the winner’s trophy is granted to them in the end. My adventurous experiences will be preserved in a showcase called Kopf and will probably not be dusted off anytime soon. Whereby “adventure” is a flexible term. For some it is a visit to an outhouse, others throw themselves down Niagara Falls in wooden barrels.

Jailhouse Rock instead of Rockie Mountain High

Larry, an engineer from Wisconsin, receives the special prize for the best story at the awards ceremony: Shortly before the start of the rally, he wanted to warm up while cycling on his mountain bike. But the bike was stolen. When Larry filed a complaint with the Gunnison police and gave his personal details, the cops booked him immediately. In the state of Colorado you can smoke marijuana or legally carry a revolver in your glove compartment – but if you miss a court date, even if it was 23 years ago, the judiciary knows no mercy.

So Larry wandered into the burrow until the rather ridiculous divorce matter was resolved (in his favor). Two days of mountain panorama through Swedish curtains, Jailhouse Rock instead of Rockie Mountain High. Definitely an unforgettable adventure too.

Further information


Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains


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Travel time: 7 days, traveled distance: approx. 1000 km.

Colorado is considered a top tourist destination in the USA. Rightly so, because the “Mountain State” offers endless possibilities for outdoor activities. A real paradise for endurance travelers.

getting there

The best place to arrive is Denver / Colorado. Flights from Frankfurt (around 10 hours) start at around 800 euros. From Denver to Gunnison, it’s about four hours by rental vehicle.

Rental machines


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Most of the drivers use two-cylinder travel enduros.

Enduros and touring machines suitable for the Adventure Rally can be found on these websites: 

  • www.houseofmotorrad.com
  • www.coloradomotorcycleadventures.com
  • www.wdsma.com
  • www.tourbikes.com

Availability is limited, so book early enough if you are interested!

Adventure rally


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Boulders the size of a medicine ball, steep stone slides – the driver and chassis are shaken up a lot.

The event is an invention of the American motorcycle magazines Cycle World, Motorcyclist and Dirt Rider. Readers of the magazines – and, on request, also interested German travel endurists – can register for the Rockies Edition and travel to the base camp near Gunnison on an enduro bike. The range of motorcycles is diverse: from series travel enduros (e.g. BMW F 800 GS, BMW R 1200 GS, KTM 990 Adventure, Suzuki V-Strom) to relatively light single-cylinder bikes (Honda XR 400, Kawasaki KLR 650) to Rally conversions. The majority of the participants have two-cylinder machines. At the Adventure Rally, the focus is on tourism. Not a race, but rather a well-organized opportunity to move an adventure bike in a species-appropriate manner.

The rules of the game are straightforward: two participants form a team and receive maps and a road book. Around 90 destinations are listed and categorized. The points can be an interesting section of country road, a lookout point or a tourist attraction. Or a particularly difficult 4×4 route, a scree field, a river passage. Green means: asphalt; Blue: gravel / dirt road; Black: terrain. So-called “Double Black Diamonds” are the most difficult tests and require advanced enduro riding skills. The teams collect points through clever combinations of easy to difficult goals. There are also bonus points for fun activities (taking photos of animals, removing bikes, etc.). The competition lasts two days, but most participants plan additional days to explore the area independently. The next Rockies Edition will take place from July 14th to 17th, 2016. Cost (event, hotel accommodation with breakfast and dinner buffet): from $ 560.

Further information, dates and contact via email to: 

tonia.troncone@bonniercorp.com

On your own


Travelogue - Out and about in the Rocky Mountains


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In addition to the Stars and Stripes, the Colorado flag flies over the Mine Museum in Pitkin.

If you want to experience the Rockies in Colorado in a similar way to this report, you should stay there with your (rental) machine between June and September – outside of summer, most of the passes, some of which are almost 4,000 meters high, are not passable and are often closed. The “Butler Motorcycle Maps”, which are specialized for enduro riders (www.butlermaps.com).

Tip: look for a buddy, never drive alone! There are usually other off-roaders on the paths and trails. In the remote backcountry, fun is quickly over without outside help.

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