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Would you ride CO in November?

4K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  jfink 
#1 ·
Greetings my Brothers and Sisters in CO. I am scheduled to come out in November for the second week. I was thinking about packing my gear and renting a bike to ride the peak-to-peak highway. However, I know how the weather is here in the east coast at that time - hit or miss.

For those who know this area, would you plan a ride that high this late in the season? I am not worried about cold - I am prepared. Black ice stops me though.
 
#3 ·
I'm riding through the mountain passes early October to get to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque NM. from Park City, Ut. I'm worried about early October let alone November.
I've done it early October and hit cold but no snow. Cold can be dealt with.
You never know but you are pushing your luck trying that ride in November.
Just my honest thoughts............
You could always go and watch the weather forecasts
 
#5 ·
Resided in Steamboat 8 winters beginning in '06. We'd annually expect our first sizable snow right at Halloween. That's in town. Town is at 6700'. Most passes are at 9000+ with frozen precip & thawing starting about Oct. 1st. The thawing turns to patches of icy sections overnight of course, with early morning rides being the most dangerous as it tends to flow across the highway and re-freeze. I would therefore guess early Nov. is an 80% "no go", but a last minute decision might (?) give you a window if you're extremely lucky.
 
#6 ·
OK. Thanks. What I understand is that November is too late for that altitude (which I assumed). I am trying to get myself invited sooner.
 
#7 ·
Now that I see what the peak to peak actually is, you've a little better chance of making that ride but with the cold and no fall color left, enjoyment factor might be very low. IMHO you're better off in a cage that gives you more options to explore!
 
#8 ·
YES, on a snowmobile... :)

Duane
 
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#9 ·
Black ice is always my main concern. As others have mentioned, things vary quite considerably during the winter months. While Independence Pass and Trail Ridge Road will close for the winter upon a given snowfall, Pikes Peak can open and close through the entire winter season. Sometimes Pikes Peak may be open halfway, some days it might be open to the top. All weather dependent. Along the front range, we can get hit with a foot of snow and you won't see any of if several days later if the weather pops back up. I typically hunt the Second Rifle Season, which is about the third week of October...and I typically will have both warm, dry days and a couple days of snow during that 9 day period.
 
#10 ·
Coming from someone who lives in Colorado....

NO.

I will ride October in some mountain areas but only if there been no weather for the last week or so. If I have to be somewhere, I take the truck regardless of the weather.

After October I hang it up for riding the mountains and keep it to the lower elevations.

In late September of '17, my wife and I took a weekend and went down to Durango. (Took the 4Runner) It was a beautiful sunny day when we left home, 90 miles later it was raining in Ouray. It was snowing in Silverton and there was 5" of white stuff covering the road up on Molas pass... end of September. You just never know what your going to get.
 
#11 ·
Was out in Colorado a few weeks ago with Paul Prince. If Pikes Peak is on your agenda, you won’t be able to ride all the way up to the summit. About 16 miles in all traffic has to park at a shuttle area and take a shuttle up the final 3 mile leg to the summit, which is under reconstruction until 2021. Otherwise it’s a good road. Bought tickets online and got to the gates at 7:30 when they opened, and so had little traffic in front of us. We thought about Mt. Evans, but scratched it after talking to a rider on the Pikes Peak shuttle who had gone up the day before on a Honda VFR 800. He said the first 10 miles or so were fine, but the remainder were painful...deteriorating pavement, frost heaves, cramped dirt pullovers overlooking sheer drop offs, and car traffic that slowed to a crawl or stopped near the summit. Paul’s bike got the red triangle as we got to the shuttle point on Pikes Peak and mine was close to it, so we didn’t want to take that chance again on Mt. Evans.
 
#13 ·
I haven't been up this year, but am surprised they wouldn't let you go all the way up with such an early start. In general, they had been letting the early starters go all the way up, according to what I have heard from others here in Colorado Springs. I did see a plea from the Colorado Springs mayor last month for more donations, as it turns out they are running tens of millions of dollars short in their reconstruction budget. I've seen a lot of activity on the cog rail line...that project is actually running a bit ahead of schedule. That said, I did not like the one trip I took up on the rail and much prefer the driving route.

Evans is always a backed up cluster after Summit Lake all summer long...
 
#12 ·
Two of us rode Trail Ridge Road on 1200 GS's around Oct 4, 2016. Probably won't do that again! Calm and nice when entering at the bottom and stormy conditions with black ice at the top near the visitors station. 18 degrees F and windy with blowing snow. Met a few Snow Plows and Park Service trucks but no other motorcycles. Below is one of the clips of that trip.

 
#14 ·
Here some historical data from someone you ACTUALLY live and ride close to peak-to-peak highway ;)

November 2015 last ride to peak to peak: the 14th and 15th
November 2016: 8th, 14th, 25th
November-December 2017: 13th, 22nd, 26th and 10th of December group ride peak-to-peak!
November 2018: no dates with dry roads (high altitude)

So, bottom line: you can have a few good days in November!

October is much better BUT if you really want to come in November you can still ride beautiful roads at lower altitude.
My favorite from Longmont is : Longmont - Carter Lake - Green Ridge Reservoir - Masonville - Horsetooth Reservoir -Etc
Or Longmont - Lyons - Estes Park (and maybe a short ride inside RMNP) - Glen Heaven - Drake - Loveland

Good luck!
 
#17 ·
And even if you are lucky enough to have a week of clear roads and clear weather, you are likely to have very cold conditions. Years ago, in late October, I rode over Vail Pass and then Loveland Pass (before Eisenhower) to visit my ailing mother in Denver. I was poor and my truck would not have made it. I was told it was -17 at the top of Loveland. I had on a ski parka, snow machine gloves and pants, but it was so cold that when i stopped in Georgetown for gas, I could barely get my hands separated from the handlebars. The engine was so cold, I actually put my bare hands on the cylinders. I think, even with today's electrics, the riding just wouldn't be enjoyable.
 
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