Rocky Mountain Rally - Interested parties speak up!

[justjoe]

A few folks have been kicking around the idea of doing a Rocky Mountain Rally in 2020. I loved the idea when I first heard it raised and want to gauge interest in doing it again. But there are some issues in regard to the timing of events. I contacted the Gunnison County Chamber of Commerce to discuss events planned and some of the issues with holding a motorcycle-related event in the area. Here are some thoughts, let me know what you think.

July - This is their peak month for events. The first week they have a fourth of July parade in Crested Butte that attracts about 10k people and a hot air balloon rally. This could affect hotels in Gunnison. The second week of July is the rodeo which is a major attraction and does affect not only hotels but dining, etc. The third and fourth weeks of July continue to see an influx of tourists, but no major events.

June - This year they still had snow in the higher elevations in June. They saw a mudslide on one of the passes that closed it down for several weeks just recently(Cinnamon I believe she said). Weather is never predictable, but this year June was worse than previous years due to the amount of snowfall. Will it be the same in 2020?

August - August is late for me and I cannot pull that off. Wife and kids go back to school, a nonstarter but if that is best for everyone else then so be it.

My thoughts at this point, shoot arrival in Gunnison Thursday, July 2nd and leaving Sunday, July 5th. We could schedule our rooms early (but they will have to be reserved far in advance). This gives those who are traveling for the MOA the weekend before time to get down to Colorado (about 1000 miles in the most direct route and five days). For those of us who want to do the TAT or another week of riding, this gives us another week and possibly better weather at higher elevations.

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Before I go hog wild and start putting something together I'd like to know.

[802Mike]

Possibly
I hope to be able to get out west soon.

[Kneedragger]

I'm definitely interested... somewhat flexible on dates, but early July sounds somewhat difficult for lodging and meals... maybe toward the end of July??

[cabnfvr]

Doesn't look like we'll make it for 2020 but for anyone that's never been to the Rockies, go !!! Just one note, a GS is too big and heavy for most passes out there. Engineer, Ophir and Cinnamon are OK though. (WITH the right tires!!) Beeeeeutiful country !

[Lee]

Not sure.
We are thinking of meeting the RS group in Gunnison the 2nd week of September, but I guess there's no reason we can't go to Colorado twice in one year
I would think July 4th weekend to be tough to get lodging, especially if you don't book way ahead.

[justjoe]

No sure.
We are thinking of meeting the RS group in Gunnison the 2nd week of September, but I guess there's no reason we can't go to Colorado twice in one year
I would think July 4th weekend to be tough to get lodging, especially if you don't book way ahead.

From what the lady at the Chamber said, anytime in July will be hard to secure lodging if you don't book early. July 4th will be busy in Crested Butte with 10k visitors. Surely that would spill over to Gunnison. But anytime in July is going to face increased numbers. Her recommendation is to book early for anything scheduled in July.

[cabnfvr]

From what the lady at the Chamber said, anytime in July will be hard to secure lodging if you don't book early. July 4th will be busy in Crested Butte with 10k visitors. Surely that would spill over to Gunnison. But anytime in July is going to face increased numbers. Her recommendation is to book early for anything scheduled in July.

Any thoughts to June 30 - July 3rd? Arriving on a Tuesday and leaving Friday would help easterners with travel and would miss most of the July 4th crowd. Just thinking out loud.

[Bmorganjr]

[Pittsdriverwes]

I've been watching the conditions in Colorado very closely this summer. We are going to ride the COBDR from Durango up to around Steamboat, then turn around and ride the CDR back south into New Mexico before returning to Durango. This is going to be an ADV ride through many of the high passes. We originally scheduled it for the 3rd week in July but as the time approached, a number of the high passes were still buried under an insane amount of snow and the road crews where warning that some may not open at all this year. Cottonwood Pass just opened on 8/12 and even though some of these passes were listed as open, that doesn't mean they wouldn't be hard to cross with a lot of slick snow melt and some pretty dangerous water crossings. We rescheduled our ADV ride for mid-September which is hopefully before the leaf peeper season but also slowing down for lots of 4x4 traffic. Now, all of that is relevant for anyone sporting a set of knobby tires that wants to check off some of the Alpine loop and other high passes. I think if that's your jam, then scheduling anything before late July could be a crap shoot. On the other hand, if you're on a twisty road safari on sporty/touring bikes, then even with the horrible late snow packs and avalanches, nearly everything looked to be clear by late June. There was a couple of 8 million lb boulders that fell on the road and closed it until they blasted it to smithereens but other than that, it seemed all good.

If you're thinking of basing out of Gunnison, that's a bit farther north of where the worst snow packs lingered in the San Juans. I love that area and if you've never ridden down 149 through Powderhorn you owe it to yourself to see a slice of heaven on earth. If I go missing off the grid someday, this is likely where I could be found.

There's a lot of good information about seasonal weather and snowpacks on ADVRider in the regional Rockies Forum.

I'll try to post up a ride report here sometime in late September for our Continental Divide adventure. They'll be four of us on KTM 690 Enduro Rs hauling camping gear for a week long excursion into them thar hills.

[MattB]

Any thoughts to June 30 - July 3rd? Arriving on a Tuesday and leaving Friday would help easterners with travel and would miss most of the July 4th crowd. Just thinking out loud.

I'm far from being a committed soul, but I definitely like that this would save me a vacation day with Friday being the observed holiday.

[aviator]

I would love to go, but way too early for me. My daughter would love it, she has said so so many times, that she would like to go back to CO and ride.

[K1DUDE]

I would go!

[aviator]

I would go!

Of course you would. We are comin to see you.

[955i]

I am interested, but,I'm retired and have a terribly busy schedule. It is hard to say what I will be doing a year from now. Going to Colorado might be just the ticket!

[McFly]

I had a ball the two times I attended. Would love to do it again and maybe a little offroad too.

[beech]

If you guys commit, sounds like the July 4th weekend would be great fun. Go to the parade, meet people and go riding. All it takes is make your reservations in the next month or so. I have my room reservation in Great Falls for next year already. Easier to cancel than to try and get into a full motel. This is just a comment on how to pull it off, I'm not interested in two rallys in a row, too much time on the road for this old fart.