I haven’t been on a motorcycle in a month. And I haven’t been on the 954RR even longer than that. The plan for today was to ride a road I haven't been on yet, Left Hand Canyon Road, a great motorcycle road west of Boulder.
CJ took this one on 18E at the Pinewood Reservoir
The weather was nice at 9AM when CJ and I met for the ride. From my place in Loveland we headed southwest toward Carter Lake. There was a road out here too that I haven’t been on yet called Pole Hill Rd, or 18E. This road climbs a small mountain, the road is very twisty but short. The pavement ends at the Pinewood Reservoir, so we turned around there and took 18E back east and then turned south on 31 which goes past Carter Lake. We turned on a few side roads around Carter Lake looking for good photo opportunities before continuing toward Longmont via some pretty straight and boring country roads.
18E aka Pole Hill Rd - very nice
Above pictures are from 18E and 31 near Carter Lake
954RR and SV taking a break at Carter Lake
Once we got to highway 66 we rode west through Lyons and turned southwest on highway 7, this road has some amazing sweepers. From 7 we turned south on to highway 72, which is part of the Peak-to-Peak scenic highway system. By the time we got to Nederland it was time for lunch. We decided to eat at the Whistler’s Café on highway 119.
Parked in front of Whistler’s Café in Nederland
Whistler’s Café on highway 119 in Nederland
Having breakfast for lunch
After lunch we took 119 east in to Boulder, then rode north on highway 36 and took a left on to Left Hand Canyon. Left Hand Canyon Road was a fantastic road with many awesome curves and great pavement. We enjoyed this road so much, that when we got to Ward, we turned around and rode Left Hand Canyon back down. Then we headed back north through Longmont again, but this time we took 287 to Loveland.
CJ on Left Hand canyon Road near Ward
Left Hand Canyon Road
Some snow on the shoulder on Left Hand Canyon Road
Left Hand Canyon Road
Today was a great day for a ride, although it was pretty chilly at higher elevations. And now that I’ve been on Left Hand Canyon, it has been added to my top 10 front range motorcycle roads.
18E and 31 near Carter Lake in Loveland
From Lyons to Nederland via highway 7 and 72
Nederland to Boulder via highway 119
Left Hand Canyon Road
My entire route was 171 miles
3 comments:
Are there any IT jobs in Colorado? I wanna move there right now ;-) I'm not joking, I really do. I love your pictures and write ups :-)
George F,
The economy is weak and it took me a very long time to get a job in Colorado. I'm in Marketing, so I don't know about IT. Tons of people moving here so there is lots of competition.
Thanks for a great write up! I'm planning a two week trip right through that area next June. This really helps the day dreaming until then.
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