Passes & Canyons Blog

I’d been hearing rumors about this but finally confirmed it just a few minutes ago. The Elephant Ride over Guanella Pass from Grant to Georgetown is on for this weekend.

Mind you, this is no ordinary ride. First off, Guanella Pass is covered in snow and has not been plowed. Second, most of these guys are going to be camping at Grant the night before. Is that tough enough for you?

And who are these crazies? Why the Adventure Riders. You may recall that I have mentioned this group on a number of occasions. They’re the ones who did a fund-raising ride to support a group the provides medical care to remote areas in Africa.

I doubt I’ll be able to make it up there on Sunday but if any of you guys reads this and wants to send me some photos and a report I’d love to hear from you and pass it all along.

Have a blast you guys.

Biker Quote for Today

I refuse to tiptoe thru life only to arrive safely at death.

So we enjoyed the motorcycle show and swap meet this weekend at the National Western Complex–once we were able to park and go in. Parking really was an issue, though.

We met up at a nearby restaurant and then cruised over to the show. First we tried to follow the seemingly obvious route, only to find ourselves stuck in a total traffic freeze. After sitting through several light cycles without moving we pulled out and turned into the neighborhood, knowing there was nowhere to park there, but at least it would give us a chance to rethink.

One of the guys said he was pretty sure that if we had taken the frontage road in front of the complex we’d come to motorcycle parking, so we tried that. Sure enough, there it was, but it was full. All the other parking lots in the area, of course, cost $8 and up per bike. That just didn’t sit well with us.

I knew that there was a huge parking lot over on the other side of the Coliseum so I led the way over there. That lot was $8, too, so I went on around to the back side of the Coliseum. There we stopped and conversed. Finally resolved that we were just going to have to bite the bullet and pay up, I led on around on a route I thought would take us back to the road. Instead, it took us . . . into the parking lot.

We looked around, thinking “Jeez, we’re in the parking lot.” So we parked. And no one came and asked us for money so we headed for the show.

A long line outside was daunting, but it moved quickly, so we were soon inside. Along with what seemed like every biker in a five-state area. There certainly were colors from groups from far and wide. And lots of people. A lot more than we remembered from other years we’ve gone.

So we wandered around and looked at a lot of bikes. On some the artwork was amazing. A few others you had to wonder why the owner thought this was cool. And then there were acres of booths selling everything from used engines to leather and chrome goods to just about anything in any way associated with motorcycles. I managed not to spend any money but we can’t all make that claim.

We didn’t stick around for the wet T-shirt contest this year. Friggs summed it up saying that the last time he went to a wet T-shirt contest they told him he was too old, too fat, and too short. He said he asked how tall you have to be to compete.

It was a good show and a great day to go for a ride. Then Sunday surprised us being warm and clear again so I got out again today. What a great weekend!

Biker Quote for Today

We, the few, the proud, the motorcyclists of the world, refuse to sit down in comfort, insulated from the environment, and run the gauntlet of life with a front row seat. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.