Among many natural wonders, Colorado is well known for the Alpine loop, featuring some of the highest mountain passes in the USA. But there’s more to explore than Engineer and Cinnamon Pass in the area! Riding our small but unstoppable dual sport bikes, we managed to go over all the rougher passes around Ouray and Silverton.
The arrival of the Honda CRF450L opened a new range of opportunities for adventurous riders eager to explore the American wilderness without dealing with 600 pound ADV bikes. Yet, since a gas engine loses about 36% of power at 12,000 ft due to the rarefaction of oxygen in altitude, would the small 450s be up to the challenge? Not the kind to let this crucial question go unanswered, we managed to fit two stock CRF450Ls and one HVA 701 in a Ford F-150 and drive from Southern California to Colorado to check the alpine capabilities of our little red dual sports. Countless hours of highway driving and a few bags of M&M’s later, we reached the little town of Ouray and its colorful buildings.
With less than 2% of visitors from abroad, Ouray is like a hidden gem in the San Juan Mountains. Here you’ll find almost exclusively outdoor people ranging from hikers and MTB riders to ATV and Jeep lovers. The motorcycle enthusiasts were welcomed, and we noticed that nobody paid attention to our bikes while we mounted IMS 3-gallon tanks, wider Seat Concepts seats, and large Mosko Moto Reckless 40L bags on our 450s in the middle of our motel parking lot. Even better, for our first dinner in town we spent most of our time talking about dirt bikes with our waiter.
The first morning, waking up before the sun, we warmed up with a few miles on the Million dollar highway. The Dunlop D606 tires let us enjoy the tight corners of this narrow highway while the Alpinestars Andes Pro jackets and pants kept our bodies warm. The vertiginous drop-offs were a bit intimidating, and despite the comfort of our seats, we tightened the buttocks. The first trails, worn up by 4WDs, are bumpy and hard-packed, which let us appreciate the stability of the CRFs chassis. Jumping from one corner to the other, using every opportunity to wheelie over the boulders, we needed less than 15 minutes to reach Corkscrew Pass. The view on the surrounding red summits was absolutely stunning. We almost had to pinch ourselves to be sure we were not still dreaming! The colors were surreal, and if the ride had to end here, it would already be worth the drive up to Colorado! Fortunately, there was more to see. The bikes dove down a steep trail and we saw our first gold mine remains, spread all over a gorgeous valley. Again, we couldn’t help but stop and soak up the scenery. Going up again, we started to feel the elevation taking a toll on our engine’s horsepower. The throttle responsiveness was more linear, but the lightweight bikes made the ride still enjoyable. We overtook a few Jeeps in the steep and rocky sections to Hurricane pass. These four-wheelers were so slow it was painful to watch! Laughing under our SM10 helmets, we reached California pass in no time and stopped to fully admire its stunning turquoise lake. There was nobody around, the sky was so blue it almost looked fake, and some patches of snow, which resisted the summer’s daring sun, gave a clue about our elevation. It was our first snack stop over 12 thousand feet, and it felt really good! Going down another valley, following a lazy torrent through green pastures, we reached Animas Fork, where old mining facilities resist the test of time. From here, we reached the famous Alpine Loop, which consists of Engineer and Cinnamon Pass. Since we planned to go back to Ouray, we opted to try Engineer first. The climb was a bit rocky on a narrow trail, but there was nothing to challenge the suspension of our dirt-bike-based dual sports. Reaching the top, with all vents of our jackets and pants fully opened, we all stopped the engines, removed our helmets and stayed still, stunned by the 360° panoramic view. Wherever we turned our head, there were sharp and colorful summits to admire.
Engineer Pass should be renamed Photographer Pass since it’s almost impossible to resist the temptation to take pictures here. We all smiled like kids at a birthday party, while opening an insulated steel water bottle for what would probably be our highest and best coffee of all time! Heading down to reach civilization would prove a bit more difficult. Going through Mineral Creek, we had to fight our way through a gnarly mineral landscape, with trails dug on the mountainside and full of rolling rocks. Here, any mistake can cost you a big crash or, worse, a drop over the vertical cliff. Cautious at first, we raised the pace and started to feel pretty confident until two young local riders on motocross bikes passed us like rockets. Undoubtedly, our decades of experience didn’t weigh much against local knowledge of the tracks and the impetuousness of youth! Well, nobody was there to witness the humiliating lesson, and we kept it to ourselves when talking to other riders at the Ouray’s unique gas station!
The next day, our muscles still stiff from both a lack of hydration and the unusual amount of workload we had in our first loop, we planned to raise the bar and to climb Imogene Pass. Indeed, some riders we met the previous evening confessed that they couldn’t make it with their DRZ400s and DR650s loaded with bags. According to them, the last steep climb was way too much for their bikes, which was exactly the kind of challenge we were looking for. The first part of the trail was indeed a bit technical but fun, with some river crossings and many line choices under the trees. Surprisingly, reaching the tree line, the ride got easier. The big remaining patches of snow made the trail narrow at times, but the path was well cleaned up. There were a few stunning vista points on the way, fortunately with no other rider or driver in sight. We enjoyed the moment before continuing the climb. We then caught up with a few four-wheelers crawling at a pathetic 2mph before reaching the last section of the Pass. Here, you can play it two ways: going in extreme-enduro mode and choosing to go over the big boulders that you’ll encounter every fifty yards, or being careful and picking the by-pass lines. The CRFs couldn’t deny their racing genes and obviously, we took all the most difficult lines, hitting the rocks as we would do with trial bikes. That was physically demanding but so much fun! However, the rider of the 701, fighting with the height and the extra weight of his bike, didn’t enjoy this section as much as we did. He still managed to take most of our lines, but it was a workout. Reaching the top, the two red bikes were still the center of attention and three KTM riders on two-stroke enduros asked us questions. We let them try our 450s and we were pleased to see that our dual sport bikes seemed to impress these hard-core Colorado riders, even if they were loaded with bags full of gear! Equally impressive was Imogene Pass’ elevation of 13,114 ft. That’s higher than Mount Fuji, and our little Japanese bikes climbed it with such ease that it was almost frustrating!
Where do you need to go to make these engines stall? Going down, there were a couple loose screes to cross but nothing to prevent us from enjoying the scenery. The town of Telluride was hosting a film festival, which made it difficult to find a place to park, yet we got a drink and a burger before heading back to Ouray. Cruising with no vibration at 65mph on the highway, with all the comfort of our wide Seat Concepts seats, we ended the day on an easy note, reaching town with still some energy left for a big beer party at the local brewery.
For our last day in the area, since Ouray was sold out, we had no choice but to sleep in the historical city of Silverton. It allowed us to go through two new passes: Black Bear Pass from Ouray to Telluride, then Ophir Pass to Silverton. The infamous Black Bear was the ultimate test to which the bravest of Jeep drivers must measure themselves; this was not reassuring and we started the climb early in the morning with a little apprehension. Seeing the color dots of the two other riders on the screen of our Trail Tech Voyager Pro equipped with buddy tracking sensors was reassuring, as we knew we were not alone on the mountain! Mention of 1,000 ft drop-offs and step gaps was on our mind as we rode carefully. Reaching the actual pass was surprisingly easy and we felt almost disappointed by the lack of challenge. Going back down in the valley, the trails got more technical with every hundred feet of elevation loss.
Rolling rocks, steep gaps, tight corners; there were enough difficulties to keep a good rider pretty busy. We finally reached the most iconic part of this trail, where the cliff opened on a stunning view of Telluride a few thousand feet below. The terrain was really messy, with rocky steps made slippery by the rain. We understood why 4X4 aficionados get an adrenaline shot while driving this section! On two wheels, the margin of error increased considerably and we enjoyed the ride on the rocks, before throwing our tiny bikes on the inside line of each of the ten following switchbacks. This section would have been scary on a big adventure bike, but on a dual-sport, it couldn’t have been more fun! Back in Telluride, there was no shortage of small cafes to take a drink, waiting for the rain to stop before saddling up toward Ophir Pass. After crossing the small town of Ophir, we found ourselves on a very narrow but pretty straight path. It would have been a super easy ride if the trail had not been covered by billions of small stones. On this unstable surface, stopping was not an option and momentum was key. The smallest bikes shined once again and while we stopped and snapped a few pictures on the go, we witnessed the attempts of a few riders on big adventure motorcycles. They all made it eventually, but with more sweat than fun.
The landscape was magnificent, sometimes making it hard to focus on the trail. It’s no wonder why Colorado is called the “colorful state!” Going down on the other side was uneventful. The weather was still great and even though we could have reached Silverton via the highway, we opted for a detour via Cinnamon Pass. This was the opportunity to go through some of the previous Passes, that we rediscovered with even more pleasure. Back to Silverton, our stay at the historic Teller House for the price of an anonymous motel made us feel special. Climbing the old stairs with our boots, like cowboys coming back home after months in the wilderness, we almost expected to see John Wayne in the lobby. The old steam locomotive of the Durango to Silverton line whistling three times added to the illusion with perfect timing and we couldn’t help but laugh!
We finally fell on our beds, tired but happy. These three days were so rich in sensations that we felt like we were on the road for weeks. There were too many memories and colors to know where to start the story when we called friends and family back home, but there was something we were all sure about: To fully enjoy these giant mountains, small bikes are the best choice; the David and Goliath story never seemed so true!
