route recommendations

[SANTA]

i will be riding down through billings, but then i have to decide about routing from there to gunnison, alt 1 is follow highway hwy 90/25 through casper, cheyenne, denver to gunnison, or go the back way alt2, red lodge, beartooth, cody, lander rawlins, rifle and aspen...

my concern with the stretch south of cody is traffic and speed limits, my first day target would put me into lander late, after nearly 1400km, and i really want to enjoy the trip,

 

so how is the traffic on the back route, and other recommendations, and what about motel in lander?

 

no reindeer on this trip so the autopilot feature would be disabled and i actually have to be concious...

[PhillyFlash]

Take the back way. There shouldn't be a problem with traffic, unless you choose to enter Yellowstone.

[DouglasR]

You're talking my backyard and hometown here, Santa! If you bypass Red Lodge, Beartooth Highway, Sunlight Basin, Cody, etc. in favor of The Slab we'll have to excommunicate you. Sorry, them's just the facts.

 

Seriously, I hate The Slab and I-25 through Wyoming and the Colorado Front Range is the worst of it I've ever been on. From Billings to Lander is about 280 miles the most direct way, add about 50 miles if you come over the Beartooths and through the Sunlight Basin, some of the finest riding in Wyoming:

 

 

 

 

 

That's why the UnRally two years ago was held in Cody, yummy roads everywhere! If you transit Yellowstone, it will slow you down, but the other highways are typically almost devoid of traffic and there really isn't too big a worry about the police pestering you as long as you keep it under 75 mph.

 

When will you be coming through Lander, my fair "city"??

 

I'm going to ride to the Unrally from Lander, leaving Saturday June 17th early. I'll head out via Highway 28 over South Pass, hit Hwy 191 and turn south to Rock Springs, then on to Flaming Gorge, Dutch John, Vernal, UT and probably head down past Dinosaur National Monument to Rangely, then south to hit I-70 west of Grand Junction. From there I have to head west and south to Moab where I'll be meeting some friends Saturday night. We plan to tour Canyonlands and Arches Sunday, then head to Durango via Mesa Verde National Park Monday. Tuesday we'll ride to Gunnison via Silverton, Ouray and Montrose.

 

Give a shout if you'll be in Lander before I leave the 17th, maybe we can ride a ways together! If you need route suggestions just ask!

 

Doug

[SANTA]

thanks for the suggestions, i will be leaving S'toon on monday 19th am and was hoping to get to lander later that day,

 

PS: the beartooth was closed last year, has it been reopened?

[PhillyFlash]

They opened the Beartooth quicker than I thought they would. It's one of the nicest roads around. The fact that 3/4ths of the way through the Beartooth you can turn onto the Chief Joseph Highway to Cody is just icing on the cake.

[TNT]

PS: the beartooth was closed last year, has it been reopened?

Look here at Beartooth.

[PhillyFlash]

An incredibly fast clearing and reopening. This is one of the best roads in America.

[DouglasR]

I was riding over Beartooth Pass two summers ago on July 4th waving at skiers on the snowfields. Can't do that just anywhere!

 

The Pass actually re-opened late last Fall for about a month before snow closed it. They had a pretty fair snow year up there this Winter, so hopefully the quick repairs they did will hold and we won't see a repeat of all the mudslides that wiped it out last Spring.

 

Yellowstone got some phenomenal snow this year too, here's a few shots of a bike ride I took May 16th, still over eight to ten feet standing along the roads in some places. YNP was under "heavy snow warnings" all last weekend... The roads are dry, but when you ride at those elevations with snowpack all around it can still be pretty cool!

 

 

 

 

I guess I'll be in Moab when you come through Lander, Santa, too bad! You've got to have a burger and beer at this place, right on Main Street:

 

 

Best burgers in town, and they serve Snake River Brewing beer that's brewed locally, or you can get a Guiness on tap, yummy!

 

Ride safely, if you have route questions out of Lander give a shout! My favorite is South Pass and Highway 191 via Flaming Gorge, I think it's much prettier than the Rawlins -> Baggs -> Craig etc. route, but probably longer for you.

 

Doug

[SANTA]

south pass and highway 191 is a bit out of the way but i might be tempted to run that way ont he return trip. Are southpass and 191 paved?

[DouglasR]

Absolutely! We've had asphalt here in Wyoming for about the past ten years or so, it's really neat stuff.

 

Highway 28 over South Pass is excellent, then 191 from Rock Springs and over the Uinta Mountains to vernal is just outstanding. My friend Wayne and I rode that last year on the way to Spring Torrey, at a "spirited" clip. It's gorgeous all the way from Rock Springs to Vernal, and the switchbacks down the south flank of the Uintas into Vernal are WAY fun!

 

Here are a couple more photos of the route to get your juices flowing!

 

Red Canyon above Lander on South Pass:

 

 

South Pass with Wind River Mountains north of the highway:

 

 

Flaming Gorge area:

 

 

 

 

We crossed the Uintas pretty late PM, had hundreds of deer jumping out at us like popcorn in a popper. We also had two cow elk run alongside us for several hundred yards, it was nifty! Sorry, no photos of the Vernal side, but it's fun!

 

Ride safe!

[Amac]

I have to say, those are some spectacular pictures, and look nothing like the "Wyoming" I saw crossing the southern part of the state on I80 during last summer's saddlesore ride. That was sort of like riding on the surface of the moon...except that it was blowing like stink the whole way across.

[DouglasR]

I have to say, those are some spectacular pictures, and look nothing like the "Wyoming" I saw crossing the southern part of the state on I80 during last summer's saddlesore ride. That was sort of like riding on the surface of the moon...except that it was blowing like stink the whole way across.

 

Interstate 80 through Wyoming is the crappiest highway I've ever had the displeasure to spend time on. It follows the mainline Union Pacific Railroad route, which was placed where it is precisely because it's flat, straight and boring. Railroads follow easy grades, and the I-80 corridor is the easiest through Wyoming. I've read that I-80 has a higher density of tractor-trailer rig traffic than any other highway in the system, and I believe it. It runs from coast-to-coast, so drivers don't even have to think about routes, just get on and go until you get to the end.

 

I stay off I-80 whether I'm in a car or on the bike, there are so many other options that are prettier, safer and more entertaining to ride.

 

Just my opinion - you see a lot of bikes on that stretch of road in Summer! I guess that leaves less traffic on all the fun roads, huh?

 

Doug

[mrzoom]

Paving??Did they ever get Muddy Gap north of Rawlings finished?? I hit that 2 years ago after a "little rain" and just before I got to the turn a semi ahead completely submurged his tires in a "little depression" His front bumper was under too pushing a wake ahead. I took to the soft shoulder and made the turn but had to stop and clean the red mud from the front wheel and the c--p out of my suit!

I love Wyo. Mostly good roads and fun times.

Ride safe.