Colorado: West Creek to Flourissant, Cripple Creek shelf rd

[Ajaxthedog89]

On May 6, 2006 a buddy on a GS1200 and myslef on a Wee went down 67 from Sedalia and then instead of just going through to Woodland Park we took a cutoff to West Creek. On most maps it looks like there is a dirt road that goes from there to Flourissant. There is, but...the middle section of the road was pretty wiped out. Anyway, get off 67 at West Creek and proceed south. After a few houses there is a right turn onto a road marked 64 and a sign that says so many miles to Flourissant, take that road. I think this changes along the route to CR73. Be warned though there are a few parts that are not for the meek. A few miles into it you are in an area that was burned out in the Buffalo Creek fire years ago and the road is washed away in several sections with a pretty good sized stream flowing through it. We had to drop off a couple of 2 foot embankments into the stream to cross it and in one section had to ride about 100 feet up through the stream and up a 3 foot embankment to get back on the road. Very doable for both bikes but it will get your adrenaline pumping. Then the road smoothed out but became muddy. The Wee on fully pumped up Trailwings on a muddy road is a lot like steering a boat, it wallows and I almost went down a few times. It also got really cold, down to 42 degrees and there was some snow on the road in the shady later sections. It was 60 degrees when we started out. At the end of that road you cross 24 and are on CR1 into Flourissant and on to Cripple Creek. Leaving from south out of Cripple Creek on the paved road to Victor there is a right hand turn onto a dirt road known as the Shelf Road. There is a little set of signs when you get on that tell the history of the road. This road had some spectacular elevation and scenery but was not challenging, a car can do it. It was bumpy, narrow, and gravelly dirt but nothing more. At the end of the Road is Canon City, a good place to eat if you get on the main street, not the highway.

A very good ride for a day, from Highlands Ranch the whole thing including one coffee and another eating stop was about 6 hours. We went back from Canon City by 24 to 115 north and then I25. Good ride!