Passes & Canyons Blog

Please excuse the self-indulgence but I’m really pleased and want to share this. Cue the fireworks.

I just want to announce that this month, March 2008, is the first time in its history that this Passes and Canyons, Motorcycle Touring in Colorado website has exceeded 3,000 unique visitors in the space of one month.

Now, that’s not a big deal for a lot of sites. Heck, if Google got only 3,000 visitors in one second they’d probably be checking their systems to see what was wrong. But I’m not Google. I put this site up about two and one-half years ago and I’ve been pleased to watch its growth. Traffic generally trends upward from January through July and then trends downward from August through December. Then the cycle starts all over again.

What that means is that this is only the beginning. Although it has already — thanks to you, by the way — set a new record this month, the trend suggests it will continue to set a new record each month for the next three or four months.

The bottom line here is very simple: I’ve put an enormous amount of work into this site and it just makes me feel good to see that that effort is appreciated. Thanks to all of you for making this possible.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcyclist are all bound together by a brotherhood tie through their love of the sport, and what difference does it make what make of machine he rides as long as he belongs to the clan. – Walter Davidson 1920

Here’s something you don’t often see. There was an article in Wednesday’s (3-26-08) New York Times about a bunch of new motorcycles being released. Apparently the article is reprinted from AutoWeek because you can read it on their website. Or read it on the NYT site and get the tables and photos.

Titled “Posh Bikes Rev Up Amid Slowdown,” the gist of the article is summed up in the lead paragraph:

Get set for an invasion of high-end motorcycles–just as the economy is heading into a possible recession.

The article continues, saying:

Manufacturers are rolling out a troop of powerful, opulent, feature-laden machines at prices that would have seemed outlandish for something on two wheels just a few years ago. Several motorcycles that recently went on sale or are expected in dealerships this spring cost between $15,000 and $40,000, more than a Mercedes-Benz C-Classs sedan.

While at first seeming to raise a red flag about pricey new bikes at a time when the economy is hitting a reef, the article then goes on to discuss the reasons why motorcycle sales may be recession-proof. These include the statistics about the aging riding population, with more money and more time to ride, as well as the idea that even people of average means can afford a higher-end bike, as opposed to the flashier, higher-priced cars.

Models discussed in the article include the Ducati Desmosedici, BMW HP2 Sport, Victory Vision Tour Premium, Harley-Davidson Rocker C, Honda Gold Wing Airbag, and MV Agusta F4-R 312.

Biker Quote for Today

If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.

If you ride with buddies — and who doesn’t? — I cannot over-stress the importance of making sure that everyone understands the principles your group will follow on rides.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. My buddies John and Bill and I have been riding together for nearly 20 years. We take week-long summer trips and go on various other rides over the year. We have had the good fortune not to have had any accidents along the way. Barely. That’s the issue.

We very nearly did have a serious accident on one of our early rides. I was in the lead, with Bill behind me, and John behind him. We were coming up a road that was snaking up a mountainside and I saw ahead of us a pull-out on the left with a terrific view of the valley below us. I slowed down as I considered stopping, and just as I decided that I would pull over Bill went shooting past me on my left. If I had made my decision to pull over half a second sooner he would have T-boned me and who knows how bad the injuries might have been.

So essentially, what I’m saying is that the most serious danger we have ever encountered was not at the hands of some inattentive driver, but at our own hands. There’s no excuse for that.

Every group needs to have signs and signals, and use them. The first and most obvious one is to signal your turns and look before turning. That applies to anyone on the road and should be so obvious as to not need mentioning, but I didn’t do either that day.

Other good things to have agreed-on signals for are gravel or other obstacles on the road, and reminding someone to turn off their turn signal. Indicating you want to make a stop is another obvious one.

What about the less obvious? For example, when it was just the three of us we all understood that when passing through a town we would stay bunched close so that everyone would make it through any traffic lights. It was up to the leader to judge before going through whether the others would have time to make it. Now that we ride with a bigger group I don’t think we’ve had this discussion with the other guys. Consequently, we end up getting all disjointed and needing to pull over and wait. Sometimes, with a larger group, that’s just inevitable. But not always. It’s guaranteed, though, if the last guy is half a block behind the next guy. Stay close.

It should be understood, too, that when making a turn at a crossroads, you wait until you’re sure the guy behind you has seen which way you’re going.

What else? I’m sure there are more things to discuss and agree on. The main thing is to raise the subject and then make sure everyone is on the same page. It will make your rides safer and help avoid stupid delays and hassles. Do it!

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t lead the pack if you don’t know where you’re going.

I don’t travel for business a lot, but when I do I try to mix business with pleasure. If I can, I try to arrange it so I can be there over the weekend. Then I’ll arrange to rent a motorcycle. What better way to see a different part of the country than where you usually ride.

Here’s a tip I learned the hard way. I got sent to Nashville a few years ago, and it was only for a day, but I set it up for a Friday. I flew in Thursday night, went to work on Friday, and then, of course, I picked up the tab for my lodging on Friday and Saturday nights, rather than return to Denver.

Saturday morning I went to a nearby Harley dealership where I had reserved a bike and picked up my Road King. I had brought my leather jacket but they had told me when I made the reservation that they could provide me with a helmet and a rain suit. So I didn’t bring my own. Well, it turned out that the only helmets they had were open face. OK, no big deal, in fact, maybe nice. More open and airy, you know.

Well, not so nice. Unfortunately it was a rainy day. The open face helmet meant my face got very wet and my glasses were constantly covered with water droplets, making it hard to see. On top of that, when I pulled out the rain suit they had given me it turned out to be a one-size-big-enough-for-anyone unit. I could get into it, and it kept me dry, but you could have gotten two more of me in there as well.

Lesson learned: Take your own gear. It may be a bother on the airplane but you’ll be glad you did.

Biker Quote for Today

If you don’t ride in the rain, you don’t ride.

Do you remember Second Creek Raceway? You know, it was out a little east of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a little west of where Denver International Airport now is.

If you do remember it you’re probably aware that it is closed now. It seems they built housing developments nearby and the poor homeowners couldn’t abide the noise from the racetrack. Never mind that the racetrack was there long before their houses were. Of course, there’s an airport nearby, too. Maybe they’ll try to get that closed.

Well, here’s the good news. Second Creek is on the verge of doing a phoenix gig and rising from the ashes. The new name will be High Plains Raceway and it is out on US 36 about 17 miles east of Byers.

You can find out all about it here.

This new raceway is a joint effort among the folks who ran Second Creek, various clubs (mostly racecar clubs) that used Second Creek, and some corporate sponsors who presumably have some sort of interest in the business end of it. They’re conducting a fund-raising campaign, have about $2.3 million so far, and need $3 million.

They also have all the necessary permits in hand and “we are fast approaching the funding required to begin construction.”

The site is more than eight times the size of Second Creek so it should be a pretty nice facility. I don’t know if you have ever done a “track day” where you get to ride on a racetrack, with not fears of oil or gravel and no inattentive SUV drivers to contend with, but if you haven’t you should. Done in conjunction with some training on better riding they can benefit just about anyone.

Stay tuned. I’ll keep you up to date on the progress, and the opening, and then any motorcycle events held out there. Heck, you might even want to go out for the car races. This stuff can really be fun.

Biker Quote for Today

Never trade the thrills of living for the security of existence.

Do you have wheels on your motorcycle like those on my Honda CB750 Custom, that make it almost impossible to connect an air hose to them? Here’s what I’m talking about.

Now, back when this bike was made I think most air hoses just had those simple, round heads that would fit in just about anywhere. Nowadays, however, the norm is any of several varieties, none of which you can squeeze into a space like this and get a good connection. You can understand that this makes it difficult when you see that you’re a little low on air. And of course we all know that riding with low air pressure just chews up your tires in a big hurry.

What to do? Well, I finally came up with an answer as to what to do. I was at one of the local bike shops and saw this thing that caught my eye. It’s a little valve-stem extender that slips easily into your pocket.

This thing is great. You just screw the big end onto your valve stem and then connect the air hose to small end. There’s a cap that screws on when you’re not using it to keep it clean. Nothing to it. This little baby cost me $10 but checking on the web I found them selling two for $10.

When I saw this I asked what may have been a silly question, but if I asked it you may be asking, too. The question was, will these things throw your wheel off balance? The salesman said no, you don’t leave it on all the time. You just put it on when you need to use it and then remove it. That way you only need one. If you left it on all the time you’d need two. Besides, if you left it on all the time and it wasn’t secure enough it could work its way off and you’d lose it.

So there you have it. Maybe this little baby will be as useful to you as it is to me.

Biker quote for today:

Keep your bike in good repair: Motorcycle boots are NOT comfortable for walking.