I'm looking for a good way to ride from Denver area to San Franisco, then back but from a more northern route, probably northern Calif. to Denver I'll be coming from St. Paul, MN. to Denver, easy, but I haven't ridden any west of Denver.
My Friend is turning 50 during the trip and him and I are riding our cycles, me on a FJR and Dan on his BMWR1150R. Are wifes are flying St. Paul/Mpls to San Fran and we are planning on meeting them there 3-4- days after leaving on bikes from home.
We plan to rent a car for a few days and go to see the wine country, get a little sideways, check out the big Redwoods, etc.... we have a week to do stuff with our wifes...
Any "must see" stuff guys??????
Thanks , ZZZZZZZZ
I'm hopelessly incompetent w/posting please don't let this be a 2nd post! :-(
Team,
So, other than being five years late in responding, hope you don't mind if I respond as I just completed this route not two days ago (8/10)
I'll give you a list of cities and you can preview them in your Garmin. There are a lot of cities and towns so you may wish to edit them to avoid being sidetracked but at least you'll get a detailed route.
From Denver, 72W to 119 South. These two roads are just drive off the road beautiful and a great start to a trip that is listed as 1,759 miles (30 hours). I had more time than money so I tried to be as indirect as possible (I would have written circuitous but I'm not sure how to spell it!). I don't have a map handy so I can't give you the exact routes but if you enter the city names into Google maps or other mapping software, they will come up. 119 N/S from Central City on the south to Estes Park on the north was incredibly fun! You go through a neat little town called Nederland (sp?). The roads are very twisty
I had help from locals along the way who were very generous, i.e. I asked, "what about this route?" and they would suggest an alternative, esp. when I told them I like the twisties.
CO Cities and Towns to follow:
Denver, Rocky, Pinecliffe (these are all on CO 72.)
Rollinsville, Apex, and Central City (now you are on CO 119 south)
After you depart Central City, continue on CO 119 until you find I-70. Take I-70 w-bound until you find CO 40.
Winter Park (this was the first major town after I started on CO 40). This too was incredibly fun and twisty
Granby
Kremmling (check out the Moose Cafe for a meal, just great)
I took CO 9 south here for a good excuse to find more two lane roads! This is more of a 'fast sweeper' road than 'twisty'. It is a fine road driving by 'Green Mtn. Reservoir')
Silverthorne
Dillon (just a marker, no need to go here, just a pt. to get on I-70 w-bound.)
Wolcott (turn off I-70 here and take CO 131 north to State Bridge.
Important Warning: there 'looks' to be a road between Kremmling and State Bridge but it is not fit for radial tires, according to locals. They told me you could take a 4x4 across it (name? number?) but it is quite long, bumby, and not FJR-ready! For this reason I took CO 9 south and I-70 west via Dillon and Wolcott.
State Bridge
Bond
Toponas
Yampa
Oak Creek (instead of going due north to Steamboat Springs, a local told me to take "20 Mile Road" to avoid Steamboat and I'm glad I did, just a wonderful little road) that will take you just west of Steamboat where you t-bone CO 40. I can't remember if this is CR-27, CR-33 or what. It is just a nice, twisty, north/northwest that t-bones west of Steamboat)
Hayden (CO 40)
Craig (CO 40)
Maybell (CO 40)
Dinosaur (overnighted at the Terrace Motel in Dinosaur. It was $50 which I thought high, similar roadside motels of this 'caliber' were $35-$40.
Utah:
Vernal (UT 40)
Roosevelt (UT 40)
Duchesne (UT 40)
Heber City (I-15 South)
Payson (I-15 South)
Eureka (now you are on UT 6)
Delta (either UT 6 or UT 50 Maybe 6/50?)
I purposefully avoided I-15 N to Salt Lake City as there was a nasty storm in Aug '10. Plus, a local truck driver told me to take I-15 S to UT 6/50 west, fantastic advice and I'm glad I did.
Nevada
Ely (took NV 50 to get here. Departing the next morning I tool NV 50 eastbound to pick up UT 93 South)
Panaca
Ash Springs
Tonopah
Coaldale
I decided to take this more indirect southern route, NV 93, on the eastern part of the state as it is a scenic highway, a green-dotted road on the atlas. Others have posted about NV 50 and I'm sure this is great as well. Labeled as the "Lonliest Road", NV 50, a local told me that NV 93 from Major Springs, NV at the intersection of 93 and 50 (not a town really, just a gas station in a valley between two fantastic mtn. ranges) going towards Toponah, NV is even more remote! It was hard to believe but there was just nothing out there! Quick aside: 25-30 miles on both sides of Major Springs are fantastic twisty roads. You can't miss them on this map, have fun!
I felt NV 93 south and NV 6 west, to Tonopah, NV, was far more remote than NV 50 and with far fewer services than NV 50. This route also allowed me to travel on the east side of "Area 51" along NV 375, aka "Extraterrestrial Highway". When I first entered it, a sign said, "no services, 150 miles". Incredible, no?
California:
Crossing CA you are still on NV/CA 6. Be on the lookout for CA 120. Wow! Just a fun little road that twists and turns like you can't believe! Plus, CA 120 has about 5 miles of roller-coaster-worthy dips. And dips they are! You race up one and hope the road comes back down straight ahead as otherwise you think you would be on a racetrack otherwise! Be careful for gravel in the curves, there is a lot and the curves are super tight.
From CA 120 westbound, look for CA 395 northbound. I "think" this goes right into the Sonoran Pass but I don't recall for sure. The town below are in the correct order but I can't remember the road #'s for sure.
Lee Mining
Bridgeport
Dardanelle
Sonora
San Andreas
Lockeford
Rio Vista
San Francisco (via the Bay Bridge)
Sonora was the western starting pt. for the Sonoran Pass. You'll see posts on this road in other area. Be warned: it is extremely technical with many switchbacks, turns, twists, and elevation drops! Read: it is a boat load of fun!
I was in Lee Mining, CA, just south of Bridgeport when I struck up a conv. with a local who told me about the Sonoran Pass. I'm extremely grateful as it was one of the best roads I've even been on!
After Sonora, CA, I just sort of followed my nose into SF. By that time, the twisties were done as I was in, I think, the Central Valley. Beautiful farmland and vineyards.
Be sure to check the roads ahead of time for news of closure etc. I hope you enjoy this route if you ever take it, or parts of it!
All best,
Cy S.