Tuesday Experience - Million Dollar highway

Tuesday Experience - Million Dollar highway

We wake up to a nice bright, sunny day but it's crisp. The bikes are ready, but we need caffeine. That mission leads us to the local gas bar since there isn't too much else open, either due to time of season or bankruptcy. I guess it's tough to etch a living in a part time town. We heard in Silverton, that in the off season, restaurant owners in a town will meet to determine which month each business gets and the rest close down until it's their month. Not a lot of Porsches in the drive ways (unless you own a mine).

Today, we are off to the famous Million dollar highway. Each of us have heard of that roadway, but none of us really know what to expect when we get there. The ride starts off nicely through the Wolf mountain, were we pull over to inspect a helicopter sitting in the ski lodge parking lot. Tom and Jeff engage the pilot in a conversation while the rest of us attend to the things you do during a rest stop; adjust equipment, take photos, water the bushes. I wish my brain was turned on because then I would have realized that I left my Kriega water pack back at the rail lodge.

The next section of road, to Durango, was just like touring in Northern Ontario, only with spectacular mountains in the background. The million dollar highway starts about 20 miles out of Durango, just like any other mountain highway. It only lives up to it's reputation just before Silverton, where the road is carved out of the side of the mountain. The terrain is so steep, that the road follows the river cuts, resulting in very sharp curves in a V formation where the tops of the V provide an opportunity to fly into eternity as just reward for making a mistake. In this ride, the winds were blowing down the valley, picking up speed and then rushing up the river cut, which turned that section into a wind tunnel. While the curve was a safe curve (since there was hard stuff if you went wide), the wind pushed each of us across the lanes - another adrenaline rush. The rest of the road was another awe inspiring ride with views of mountain plateaus surrounded by snow peaks, one, more spectacular than the next. Dave, Josh and Tom were doing the angel flight on their bikes (Jeff and I are chickens) at the sight.
Silverton is right in the middle of the ride and we stopped to rest and hydrate. This is over 10,000 feet altitude and one feels it with a light head and dry mouth. We check out the local tourist center, which is located in the former home of a rich local miner (large and elaborate) and try to imaging what life was like in the town at it's heyday, when it was pulling silver out of the ground by the ton. The black and white photos showed miners at work in what would be deemed unacceptable safety conditions in this era. We decide to stay and explore Silverton and only drive as far as Ouray.
I know this place from the adventure blogs and can see the offroad trail in my imagination - got to see it for real, so I beg off the town visit for a quick offroad. The boys understand my need for dirt and agree - even though solo is not a good idea at this time of the year due to snow and terrain. I take off to the hills and start passing the actual mine artifacts that were on the black and white photos in the travel center, including the arial tramway that carried ore from the mountain veins to the rail cars. These buckets also served as transportation for the miners, who were pictured hanging off the buckets, one leg in the air, no safety harnesses, hundreds of feet over the river valley below. The road is in good condition since it serves a camping area and a few lodges. The ruins provide several opportunities to get photos of the bike near ruins, which will feed an adventure forum, dedicated to that purpose. The road eventually takes me to my objective; the trail head to cinnamon pass. This pass is low enough that I could make it and stay out of the snow, but it's taken 35 minutes to get here and I am concerned that the guys are finished their town exploring adventure and will start to worry about why I am taking so long, so I take a few pictures of the bike on the trail and then turn around for the blast back. The trail is a bit technical, steep and narrow so it takes a bit of arm wrestling with the bike to turn it around - I still have full touring gear weighing close to 100 lbs, and the exertion leaves me breathless at altitude. Another reminder why a flatlander shouldn't go into the mountains alone.

Back in town, I can't find the guys. Turns out, that they were having so much fun that they weren't done. We have a soup and coffee in the local restaurant, and chat it up with the proprietor and his wife. It's clear that she is the boss and cook, and she tells us the secret of her soup - a native Indian corn product (I will get the name) that has the texture of spetzle dumplings, with that unique corn taste.

We were a little disappointed with the Million Dollar highway since the first section was only a little more interesting than the other spectacular mountain roads, so we set off on the section to Ouray hoping for better. The lady at the restaurant told us to be careful about tourists on the next section, driving in the opposite lane because they are terrified about the massive dropoff that is literally at the side of the highway. It's a narrow road both lanes, white line, and then drop to eternity.

With heightened expectations, we head up the road. When we round the turn to the "good" section, we are greeted with a road that cuts through a semi tunnel, carved out of the mountain to accommodate the cars - that's what we are talking about. The ride down is on the safe side - by the mountain so we know we need to do this ride again going up. The road cuts through the mountain with a few mild twisties. Later, Dave, as a birthday present, would hit 100 mph on the uphill stretch, with a level of exhilaration that drugs could never buy.

Ouray looks like a Swiss town, snuggled in the notch of a valley with the river that formed the valley flowing through the middle of town. We find an Inn right with a room facing the river which provides the soothing white noise that lulls us to sleep that night. Another successful day.

On Wednesday, Josh and I get up early to a day with low clouds and rain. It was our day to explore a mountain road that leads high into the peaks. Little did we know that at altitude, that rain turned into snow. More about that adventure in the next post.