Nimble handling, ample power and light weight make the V-Strom 650 an ideal bike for exploring Colorado?s engaging back roads. (I rented this one at wdsma.com.)
Winter Park may not be a name you associate with summer entertainment, but the Colorado town of that name provides it. While skiers and snowboarders are longing for snow to play on, motorcyclists can entertain themselves on the region?s curvy roads.
With a Suzuki V-Strom 650 rented from Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures (wdsma.com), I?m set to explore the mountains, valleys and high plains west of Denver.
Riding north from Winter Park at sunrise I?m glad this Wee Strom has heated grips. Though it?s mid-July, it?s only in the 40s.
At Windy Gap Reservoir a right onto State Route 125 takes me into the valley formed by Willow Creek. Though the sun is warming the mountain peaks, I stay cold in the shady valley. On this lonely road I encounter only one other motor vehicle all the way to Rand. Ranch entrances, like this one at Willow Creek Ranch near Rand, Colorado, make great photo ops, but don?t go beyond unless you?re invited.
A couple miles farther on, I take a left onto County Road 28, a maintained dirt road through wide-open ranchland that offers big-sky views of the snowcapped Rockies. (You don?t really need an adventure bike for roads like this, but stones will likely ding a pure street bike?s paint or chrome.)
To my left I notice several large white birds on a lake. At first I peg them for egrets, but on se...