The engine came to life while it was still dark before dawn. I rolled onto the empty street, with Colorado Springs just starting to wake up behind me and the Sangre de Cristo peaks outlined in the distance. The day ahead meant 750 miles of summer in the Rockies, riding a classic Colorado motorcycle route, and every mile would show me something new.
This route runs from Colorado Springs through Florence, Westcliffe, Fort Garland, Angel Fire, Taos, Chama, Antonito, and back north on Highway 285 to Denver. It crosses two states and several distinct ecosystems in one continuous arc.
I rode alone on my 2023 BMW F900XR. In mid-June, the days are long, valleys are green, storms move quickly, and wildlife is active. This ride brought all of that: sharp wind, changing light, and the feeling that summer was happening everywhere around me…