Albuquerque north to Western Express in Salida

[OldDogBC]

Good Evening,

Route planning continues for a 2015 Coast to Coast. I'm looking for feedback about connecting the proposed Route 66 to the Western Express / Trans Am. I'd like to ride north out of Albuquerque through Santa Fe, Alamosa, etc and end up connecting at Colorado Hwy 50 outside Salida. From there I'll head east to connect to the Trans Am in Pueblo.

Any feedback on riding that section (mostly Hwy 285)?

Thanks for any information you may have.
 

[John Nelson]

Take CO-17 north from Alamosa rather than US 285. The pavement isn't quite as good, but the traffic volume is way less.

[OldDogBC]

Thanks John. I have driven 285 but it was before I was looking at it from a riding perspective. That is an amazing valley and should be a great connector. Hopefully I'll hit clear weather. Those views are amazing.

[John Nelson]

If you want, you can stop at some of the bizarre tourist attractions in the San Luis Valley between Alamosa and Salida, including the aligator farm (http://www.coloradogators.com/) and the UFO watchtower (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16782). They are both right on CO-17. Or, if you want to deviate 20 miles to the east, you can visit Great Sand Dunes National Park. Be sure to have a baked potato in the valley--they are delicious. There are 59,000 acres of potatoes growing there. I ate three in one sitting when I rode through there last year.