Suggested Routes

[B(rice) Rocket]

So im planning my first long distance ride this summer. 5 states, roughly 1300 miles, 20+ hours of road time, good ol' stuff like that. The plan is as follows:

OKC north on I-35 all the way up to Salina, Kansas. From Salina hang a left and go west on I-70 into Colorado until I branch off to HW 24 at Limon, Colorado down to Colorado Springs and stay there for a day at the halfway point.  From there south on I-25 into New Mexico. Now the original plan was to stay going south until around Las Vegas where I'd jump on HW 84 to I-40 which I would take into Amarillo, Texas and back to OKC. BUT i saw somewhere on here that HW 64 in NM was a nice ride so i ammended the plan to exit I-25 at Raton, NM and hold 64 into Clayton->Dalhart->Channing->Vega then hit I-40 into Amarillo towards home.

So my question to you guys who know the area is: which would be better for NM, 64 or my original plan? I'm really not concerned about mileage as long as i keep the basic circular route as planned, i just wanna see the sights and nice roads while I'm on my vacation.  Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks guys!

[Orson]

It would be a shame to take I-25 south and miss some great roads towards the west.

CO-149 from Gunnison thru Creede and on to South Fork is a magnificent motorcycling road.

From there you can head south to Pagosa Springs and take Hwy 84 on into Northern New Mexico  

Catch NM-64 heading east then take time to ride the Enchanted Circle around the Taos area.

[cruisin]

For me personally, I prefer to stay off the Interstates and take in sights & local flavor of the small towns that you go through on the smaller roads.  The attached route is what I might do; but without knowing your level of experience or type of bike or riding preference, this is just a wild suggestion based on what I like.  The roads out in Colorado are way more fun if you stay a loooooooooong way off the slab.  And, if you are into nice bed & breakfasts; I highly recommend The Jewel of the Canyons in Canon City. Lyn and Wendy are great hosts and Wendy is an outstanding cook.  Probably the most enjoyable B&B we've ever stayed in.  Then that road from La Veta to Trinidad is CO-12 and is absolutely one of the most fun and most beautiful drives I've ever made.

OOPS!! I forgot to change part of the route before saving it.  In the Tx Panhandle, I would definitely opt for going all the way into Guymon and then taking 270 to Woodward or turn east just north of Nara Visa, NM and take TX FM 767 into Channing then SR354 to Four Way, FM1913 to Lake Meredith,  then FM3395 to the north end of the dam.  From there the most fun road is FM687 into Stinnett and then head south on SR207 into Borger where you will find some of the best chili and chicken reallanos money can buy at Lorene's Mexican Restaurant.  From Borger, the best way (most fun) to go would be to head to Pampa on US152 then take US 60 into Canadian and up to Woodward from there.  That's definitely going to add some miles to your trip but they will be fun, twisty roads compared to the straight and extremely boring Interstates.

[cruisin]

Here is a revised version that I think would be a whole lot more fun than blasting along on Interstates.  (approx. 1500 miles.)  That can be shaved from 1500 to around 1225 by going from Raton to Dalhart through Sugarite State Park and then going due east from Wheeler on SR152 until you hit I-40 at Elk City.

[B(rice) Rocket]

Both of you guys' suggestions sound pretty cool. I will definitetly work those destinations and routes in there! Gotta make my first big trip one to remember!
I really wanna hit Manitou Springs in Colorado (vacationed there once and loved it).  This has me REALLY exited! Any other suggestions from anyone else are still welcome! Gonna be dreamin about this tonight....

[cruisin]

So im planning my first long distance ride this summer. 5 states, roughly 1300 miles, 20+ hours of road time, good ol' stuff like that. The plan is as follows: . . .

. . .  to Salina, Kansas. From Salina hang a left and go west on I-70 into Colorado until I branch off to HW 24 at Limon, Colorado down to Colorado Springs and stay there for a day . . . plan to exit I-25 at Raton, NM and hold 64 into Clayton->Dalhart->Channing->Vega then hit I-40 into Amarillo towards home. . . .

Watching you plan your trip reminds me of my first "long" road trip.  My best friend and I planned for several months over the fall & winter from 1970 to 1971.  We had Honda CB350s (mine was a '68 his a '69).  To make a long story short, we had every detail of our route planned for about 1000-mile trip from Panhandle, Tx to Colorado Springs and back including some side trips.  A couple of really cool places we visited were the Air Force Academy and Pike's Peak.  Yeppers, we climbed Pike's on August 4, 1971 right in the middle of a group of much larger bikes -- we thought it was the coolest thing that a 17 and 18-year old could do.

There are two things I regret from that trip though.  One was that we didn't take nearly enough pictures and two, that we didn't venture too far off our pre-planned route and stayed close to the big four lane roads.  We had plenty of time to have done more, but just didn't do it.  All that said, take time to capture the memories in pictures and don't be afraid to change your plan as you go along.

One last thing; my friend's father gave us a bit of advice just before we blasted off; "just remember, you'll see more at 55mph than you will at 70."  That was pretty good advice and we did just that most of the time.

[scarecrow]

Oh do try to make a detour to Black Mesa in the Okie panhandle. That's where Robber's Roost was. It's where the William Coe gang and Black Jack Ketchum hung out, real wild west outlaw country. I traveled that area on a Kaw KLR 650 in '08. It really is something to see. If you go there stop in Kenton and ask them about this mystery, an old west town facade on a narrow paved road that curves around the east side of the mesa. It's out in the middle of nowhere ???...


 
Highway 456 (turns into 325 in Oklahoma) between Folsom, NM and Kenton is one of the best rides in the country in my opinion and a real thrill at night.

[FJRmgm]

There are two things I regret from that trip though.  One was that we didn't take nearly enough pictures and two, that we didn't venture too far off our pre-planned route and stayed close to the big four lane roads.  We had plenty of time to have done more, but just didn't do it.  All that said, take time to capture the memories in pictures and don't be afraid to change your plan as you go along.

+1 to this - get off the main road and you will find lots of adventure, along with less traffic and more stuff to see.

[sprocket]

You gotta get off the interstate. Your gonna completely miss Colorado. I-25 shows you nothing of Colorado!

Unless of course if you got "County"with you....interstate is about his max and maintain 55 MPH!

[cruisin]

OK, I was surfing around old threads I posted in and ran across this one.  Did you make that ride?  Tell us about it and post up a few pictures.