It is easy to miss, because it looks like gently rolling ranchland, but it is a real watershed, sending creeks north toward the South Platte and south toward the Arkansas. The elevation is around 6,000 feet and above, the soil is sandy, and the ponderosa pine forest that covers part of it is called Black Forest, a name that comes from the dark colour of the trees from a distance.
This is quiet riding country, with undulating roads through open grassland, pine woods and large-lot homes with horses. The surfaces are generally good, traffic is moderate, and the views stretch to the long white line of the Rockies, with Pikes Peak rising above the rest on clear days, a good thirty miles or more to the south-west. The wind is often strong, thunderstorms build over the divide in summer, and the weather can change from warm to cold in minutes, so layers are useful.
Local history has a certain rough charm. Ranchers settled the divide in the late nineteenth century, and the old stagecoach roads and railroad grades still shape the lanes. In 2013 a wildfire burned part of the Black Forest, and the scars and the regrowth are visible in places, a reminder of how dry the ground can be. Deer, coyotes and wild turkeys are common, and the evenings can bring a sunset that colours the whole sky.
The Pinery is a community of about ten thousand people, with fuel and shops in the neighbouring towns of Parker and Castle Rock. Pikes Peak, the real destination of the ride, lies further south, and its toll highway climbs to over fourteen thousand feet. Riders usually pass through here on the way, filling up before the mountains, and a pause for coffee at a small cafe in Parker or Elizabeth is a good habit. April through October is the main season, with September especially pleasant.