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Colorado 165 Going West Out of Colorado City
One of the nicer motorcycle rides in south-central Colorado is CO 165. This road runs west from I-25 at Colorado City, through Rye, terminating at its juncture with CO 96. From there on CO 96, east takes you to Pueblo, and west takes you to Westcliffe. This is a road with a lot of curves, a lot of up and down, a lot of beautiful scenery, and not a lot of traffic. What’s not to like? There are some campgrounds along here but none that are particularly motorcycle-friendly. Your best bet if you’re determined is Ophir Campground, just at the base of the corkscrew you see on the map just to the right and above Deer Peak. There’s also one totally unique attraction along this road: Bishop Castle. There’s nothing quite like Bishop Castle, and you’ve got to see it to believe it. You might think it is a building, but you’d be wrong. It is officially a sculpture. A really big sculpture, complete with dragons, a moat, turrets, and a lot more.  
Take a look. Click the shot at left to see it larger. You can walk around in it and on it, and you can climb to the very top, if you’ve got the guts. It’s all at your own risk, and you have to sign a waiver to that effect beforehand. That's what the “officially not a building” business is all about. The other shot is from up in one of the towers. Here are some more shots from along this route. The sequence here runs west from Colorado City. The first shot is just past Rye and the second is from the hill that Bishop Castle sits on, looking back the way we came. 
 The rest of these now are headed north and west from Bishop Castle. As usual, click the thumbnails to view larger images. 
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