Riding in SW Colorado?
 

We are moving to SW Colorado soon and I am looking for any feedback on the riding / riding areas and any potential riding partners.

I don't want to make this sound like dating ad, but...I am a fairly "seasoned" rider (past my racing prime, but still pretty good on a bike) moving from upstate NY where I get out to trail ride fairly often. Also spent ten years in Central Oregon riding one of those orange machines.

I am hoping to find as vibrant of a riding scene in SW Colorado as there was in Central Oregon.

Thanks,
Matthew

I live in Farmington New Mexico and spend at least 5-6 weekends in Southwest Colorado. A couple of resources are:

The San Juan Trail riders (http://www.sanjuantrailriders.org/). They like to hang out around Durango, Echo Basin, Dolores, Stoner Mesa, Rico, and Silverton. Their annual fundraiser ride is on Memorial Day weekend. They are all pretty talented guys/gals. Last year we did this great ride from Silverton, Pine Creek Trail, Lost Creek Trail, Lake City, Engineer pass and back. The trails are pretty epic. Unfortunately the winters are still kind of long.

If the winter gets too long then a lot of people from South West Colorado come down to Farmington or further south to Albuquerque. We have a thread on advrider.com (http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=673503) that we use to coordinate rides. The terrain in Farmington is high desert single-track. The trails are pretty fast and not too technical. There is a lot of great single track with sand wash patches.

I am usually the slowest in the group and ride a 2011 EC 300. There are usually groups going out both Saturday and Sunday year round.

Farmington has a gas gas/sherco/kawaski dealer and a Beta enduro dealer. Durango has KTM dealer and a husaberg dealer. If you want to shop for a husky then you have to make the trip to Albuquerque.

I will post some pictures of the area in subsequent posts.

This is a picture of the top of Pole Creek Trail. This trail was pretty tough. The trail was tighter than a gnat's ass with crops of rocks thrown in. There was a fair amount of creek crossings that were usually technical and complicated by the fact that, because of brush, you could not see the other side of the crossing. I only had the time to take one picture. Video to follow.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1030738.jpg

This is the start to Lost Creek trail. The first part was nice tight single track. The middle was rocky and technical. I think a few members of the group took dirt naps on the Lost Creek portion.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1030736.jpg

We finally made it to lunch.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1030754.jpg

Now that is how a motorbike gang parks.
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...1/P1030759.jpg

Elevation profile.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/.../elevation.jpg

Topo of the fun parts of the trail.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...klostcreek.jpg

Annotated topo of the fun parts of the trail.

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...klostcreek.jpg

Sorry for the thread bomb
 

but I think you will be happy in the area.

Fast forward the first vid like 20 seconds.
http://youtu.be/u_5yEOFSt00

and

http://youtu.be/CKaNIkiNcoQ

Thanks, Pappa J.
With the threat looming of the The Greater Canyonlands National Monument becoming a reality, this is good info for me as well. I'm just across the border from both of you and it's good to know there are still some places to ride (albeit a little further away).

That looks AWESOME!
 

Thank you for your post and for the map with the notes added "Realized I was in over my head, but it was too late"...LMAO..."Decent so steep I accidentally sat on my balls"...funny, and yet I totally understand.

That trail looks and sounds like a ton of fun.

Do I need to get plated in order to enjoy the riding and how difficult is it to get a plate in CO?

Thanks again for all the replies.

I cant wait to get out there and ride,
Matthew

there is also some really good riding in nm.. we had a big group go to tres ritos last year, i had planned on going, but my wife had a gall bladder thing.. some of the guys here go into colorado also.. none are plated

In my experiences in Colorado, plates are generally not needed unless you are riding through major towns. We have an OHV sticker program for $25.25 and the sticker allows you to ride for 1 year on one bike (if you stick it to one bike, that is!) on approved trails and most forest roads. There are literally thousands of miles that are legal to ride in Colorado so get yourself ready! As for plating bikes: It used to be easier to plate a bike than a car (really! when I first moved to my current town in 1997 I saw a 1974 KX-450 riding down a street with a plate on it!! No lie, no exaggeration!) but now it's just "easy" to do...You will have no trouble plating a bike that has DOT tires, head light, brake lights, speedometer/odometer, and an electric horn (the toughest thing to do). The State Police here are very helpful with this!