In August 2013 Sideshow and I took our DRZ’s to SW colorado.  Here is some info on our trip and a repository of info that can be used for future planning.

Media

Videos:

Engineer Pass

Engineer Pass – Climbing eastbound through the clouds.  The 5 minute mark is where we emerge from the cloud and look into the sun.

Engineer Pass – Climbing westbound a day after the video above.  The terrain on this side of the pass is much easier.

Corkscrew Gulch

Corkscrew Gulch – Heading up towards Hurricane Pass.

Black Bear Pass

Compilation of all video’s from Black Bear Pass

Black Bear Pass Steps – “You don’t have to be crazy to do this road but it helps.”  This section of steps is one of the rare moments where instead of being excited to see if I can do it, I wish the section was actually over.

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Resources:

Here is a conglomeration of resources used for planning the trip:

Motorcycling Colorado by Steve Farson – This book is more geared toward the street bike rider but it does contain some dual sport information.

National Geographic Trails Illustraited Maps – These maps are super detailed and show highways, jeep trails, single track and hiking only trails so you can really plan a great ride and know how to get out when some of the single track gets too tough – it happens!  The maps are also very durable made from a heavy duty paper that is water resistant.  The link takes you to an overview map, use the numbers on the overview to purchase the maps.  You can buy direct from Nat Geo, or other vendors, I bought some from Amazon then bought more while on the trip in Montrose, CO’s local Department of Interior.

Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route (COBDR) – I downloaded the tracks from this website, but also purchased the print version of the COBDR map and the General Colorado map by Butler Maps.  They are the same high quality material as the Nat Geo maps and well worth the money.

David Castler’s Website – A nearly comprehensive and detailed account of roads in SW Colorado.  IMHO he tends to exaggerate the difficulty of the trails though.

IntrepidXJ’s Website – Although a Jeep guy, he has many of the famous tracks for dual sport riders also in KML and GPX format.  I used many of his tracks for planning my own routes combined with the COBDR and Nat Geo maps.

LittleWan’s Ride report.  Lots of good info in here from California to Colorado.

Tips:

If you can find a track in Google Earth and want to get it into Mapsource or Basecamp – Use GPSBabble to convert from KLM to GPX.