Brian’s bucket list has long included motorcycling to the top of Mount Evans in Colorado.

At 14,130 feet – reached via 28 miles of narrow, curving road that climbs 7,000 feet to the summit – Mount Evans is 20 feet higher and surprisingly less frequented than the more popular nearby Pikes Peak.

Colorado’s highest byway happens to be the highest paved road in North America. And as you would expect, the views up to Mount Evans are breathtaking, with alpine lakes, massive granite walls and strands of twisted, ancient bristlecone pine. Keep your eyes peeled for the marmots, mountain goats and bighorn sheep that call the mountain home.

https://www.colorado.com/byways/mount-evans

As with any mountain adventure, the weather can be completely unpredictable. I was thrilled to see bright blue skies as we rode our motorcycles over for our timed entry reservation (the easiest way to make these is using the Recreation.gov app).

This motorcycle trip was our first big one of the year and I wasn’t feeling confident enough on Hilde (my BMW F650CS) to ride her through the steep switchbacks. Instead, we parked my bike at the entrance lot and I rode two-up with Brian to the top.

Our first stop was the Dos Chappell Nature Center, which had good reminders about the importance of staying on trails and allowing the slow-growing alpine flora to thrive. I was interested to learn more about the Bristlecone pine native to this area (fun fact: its sister species, native to Utah and Nevada, is among the longest-lived life forms on Earth!).

Overall the road was in decent condition, but near Summit Lake there were some crazy sections replete with massive potholes, buckling pavement, and streams of water across the road that had Brian driving as slowly and carefully as possible.

Motorcycle PSA: In addition, the oncoming traffic was NOT great at driving a reasonable speed or staying on their side of the narrow road. This was particularly problematic around the hairpin turns where you have to keep up speed on a bike – you cannot come to a stop in the middle of a tight curve or you risk laying the bike down. I watched a woman on a Harley almost lose it when a car crossed left of center around a really tight curve – she managed to put a foot down, give it a ton of gas, and make it around the turn. Her partner laid into the driver and they were both fuming and shaken when they reached the summit.

I felt really good about my decision to be a passenger instead of driver on the way up. Brian is an attentive, talented, and highly experienced motorcyclist, and I was able to actually enjoy looking at the landscape on our ride to and from the summit while helping him keep an eye on other vehicles and the road ahead.

After we parked, changed into our hiking shoes, and took some pictures with the summit sign we set off on the nearby trail to the rocky summit just above the parking area.

The views of the surrounding area were incredible – I couldn’t believe we had such a clear day for our trip!

There was still a ton of snow on the trail so we slipped and slided about half-way to the top before I decided to enjoy the views from the safety of a clear ledge.

Brian wanted to climb the rocky scramble to the very top and did – there were quite a few people up there and one was nice enough to take his picture. He was also able to take a photo of one of the marmots that was also enjoying the view from the top!

A highlight of our visit was seeing several mountain goats that were roaming up and down the rocky cliffs near the summit!

A number of friends have given us grief over still owning a camera with nice lens when cell phone cameras have gotten so sophisticated. While that’s true and we’re able to take great photos with our phones, they simply don’t have the high-end zoom necessary for wildlife photography.

I will continue to take our camera on trips when I know we’ll be outdoors and watching for wildlife so we can capture decent photos from a safe and appropriate distance!

I’m so glad we were able to check motorcycling Mount Evans off of Brian’s bucket list during our recent loop through the Colorado Rockies.

It’s a beautiful area, and I’m sure we’ll be back to hike and explore more of it soon.