Focus on Eastern Colorado
When the boundaries of what would become the state of Kansas were being decided, it was considered that the western border of the state might be set as far as the Rocky Mountains. But, there was really no advantage in that--there were few people out there and the cost of administrating that extra territory would have been prohibitive.
So, the western border was established as 25 degrees west of Washington, which we now know better as 102° 03' 02" from the Greenwich Prime Meridian.
This is the point where Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado meet. It's a hilly area (these things being relative), and as it has never been farmed, gives you a good idea what the land west of here once looked like.
A couple hundred miles due south is the point were Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado meet.
This nearby land is flat, and has been plowed and planted with only indifferent success (the region is the heart of the dust bowl).
Riding to the west, the ground slowly climbs in elevation, but you'd hardly notice the difference from one mile to the next. But, in time, you only have to look see those mountains, and that makes all the difference.
The agricultural history is one of dry farming and then irrigation-by-canal and then center-pivot irrigation where a seeming endless supply of water is available. Where once sheep could hardly survive, you can see vast corn fields.
People have always lived here, of course.
Sand Creek
In 1864 six-hundred-fifty cavalrymen (Colorado Volunteers) attacked a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho who had been assured that they were in a safe spot and were flying the American flag. Of the two hundred killed, two-thirds were women and children. In most cases, these many conflicts with the Plains Indians were called "battles"; but, that was never the case with Sand Creek; this was always known to be different.
The location is now national historic site.
To ride in Eastern Colorado is to experience solitude and quiet. There are just a few roads that take virtually all the cross-state traffic, and then there are all the rest.
Over time, the important transcontinental lines have shifted north or south towards easier crossings of the Rocky Mountains. Some rails are still here, and Amtrak still runs the old La Junta-to-Trinidad line even though that line is sometimes mentioned for abandonment.
Look at the towns...
Almost all reflect the optimism of the late 1880s through the end of the first world war. The large brick buildings were not built to meet the current need, they were built because people foresaw that they would be necessary in the future.
Agate, Colorado
Amherst, Colorado
Arapahoe, Colorado
Brandon, Colorado
Bristol, Colorado
Campo, Colorado
Cheraw, Colorado
Cheyenne Wells, Colorado
Eads, Colorado
Galatea, Colorado
Haswell, Colorado
Haxtun, Colorado
Holly, Colorado
Holyoke, Colorado
Julesburg, Colorado.
Kim, Colorado
Kit Carson, Colorado
La Junta, Colorado
Limon, Colorado
New Raymer, Colorado
Pritchett, Colorado
Seibert, Colorado
Springfield, Colorado
Stoneham, Colorado
Towner, Colorado
Two Buttes, Colorado
Vona, Colorado
Walsh, Colorado
Wild Horse, Colorado
Wiley, Colorado
Roads are straight and follow section lines--those theoretical lines on a map that have no reference to the land. It isn't everywhere that a road can be created based on a theoretical line on a sheet of paper.
If you only sit on your motorcycle and drone down the road, you'll likely find Eastern Colorado to be a miserable place. Miserable. You need to get off the larger roads, turn off the engine, walk around one of the towns. Pay attention; you don't hear anything.
There's a strip of land about two-hundred miles wide that runs up the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. There are very few cities, and most towns that are still there are not prosperous. But, it's a part of America that is little changed from what it always has been.
You won't wear out the edges of your tires, but if you take the time to look around, you'll find an appreciation for what it is.