Passes & Canyons Blog

Maybe this old Indian will show up at High Country Harley-Davidson on Saturday.

This could be fun. High Country Harley-Davidson is hosting Ride-In Vintage Bike Show this coming Saturday.

Their promo says it is, “your chance to show off that great old bike you’ve been working on all winter long. We’re looking for pre-1980s vintage bikes that you can ride to the show on April 13th. Whether you’ve got a museum-quality bike or an everyday rider, we want you to bring it in. All makes and models are welcome, not just Harleys. And if you don’t own a vintage bike, but want to have a good time, come on in and see the dozens of great vintage, retro, and antique bikes that’ll be on display in our parking lot. This is a non-judged, free registration event.”

And here’s the blurb off their website: Vintage Ride-In Bike Show

April 13, 2013 10 am to 2 pm
Open House
Get those museum pieces out of your garage and out to High Country for our first Vintage Bike Show. All makes and models welcome. The only rule is that it must be old, preferably 70s and earlier. No registration is necessary. Just come on out!

So color me interested. If the weather is good this might be something Dan and Alan and I could ride up to. FYI, in case you don’t know, High Country is in Frederick, which is up I-25 off the Dacono exit at CO 52. In fact, while they theoretically are in Frederick, they are in fact just south of the interchange on the west side of I-25.

Maybe I’ll see you there.

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Biker Quote for Today

See, your bike made you dinner. All it has to do now is fetch you a beer, and then you won’t even need a wife.

They may not be macho but scooters are fun.

Man, why don’t I just have unlimited wealth so I can buy anything I want? I’ve talked a lot here about wanting a dual-sport bike but I think I’ve also mentioned that I want a scooter.

Hey, I’m not some macho guy who wouldn’t be caught dead on a scooter. They’re fun and simple and I want one. I just want something I can hop on to run off to the grocery store or the post office or the bank–without having to put all this gear on and go through the hassle of rolling one of the bikes out.

Sure I’d still put on a helmet but going out on one of my big motorcycles takes me 5-10 minutes getting ready, depending on the time of year. I want to just hop on and go.

So I’m kind of jealous. Awhile ago Randy, one of the OFMC guys, let us all know he had come by a scooter for free. I don’t recall the details; something like an aunt won it in a raffle but had no use for it so she gave it to him.

Now just the other day Charley asked me if I had a battery charger because Danielle, his girlfriend, had a scooter in her garage and they figured they’d see if they could get it started. It seems her old boyfriend left it behind when he moved out and doesn’t want it. Why doesn’t somebody give me a scooter?

Well I am making money these days, what with this regular job and all, so I’m looking really hard at buying one. But I also want a dual-sport bike, and if I spend money on the scooter that’s money I won’t have for the dual-sport. Oh, these decisions.

But, you know, what I’d really like is one of those electric scooters. Then the dirt cheap cost of operation goes almost to free and you’re not messing with gas and plugs and oil and all that.

Anyway, I’ve been checking craigslist. Maybe some day soon I’ll have news.

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Bah, anyone can drag their elbow on the pavement at 90 mph.

It's going to be time to start riding to work soon.

Hot diggity, the days are getting warmer–and longer–and riding to work is once again going to be an option. Actually, where I work now, out west of Union on Alameda, there are a couple hard-core BMW guys who already are riding most days.

Of course, I haven’t met them yet, so who knows if maybe they just live 2 miles away. For me it is a 22-mile ride if I take the direct route, or about 26 miles if I take the route with less traffic. You can ignore a lot if you’re only going a few miles.

I don’t like taking the more direct route because that puts me in the thick of commuter traffic, with a lot of stop and go. That’s murder on your clutch wrist. Plus it’s dangerous. I went this same route several years ago when I was working out in the same general area and there was more than one occasion when I was on a bike and someone decided to pull into the next lane without looking to see if anyone–me–might be there who they could not see in their mirror.

The fact is, though, I’m going to be a bit torn in another month or so. The W line for the RTD’s light rail system is set to open April 26 and that will enable me to get on the train very close to home and ride all they way out to 2nd and Union. I’ll need to get on a bus from there but the bus stops right outside our office building. Why battle traffic at all when you don’t need to?

But I will want to ride at least some days. So I guess I won’t be getting a monthly pass. Those things cost enough that if you don’t use them every day you don’t save any money. I guess I’ll just get the book of passes that save you some money and ride the bike some days, ride the light rail some days, and maybe even drive my car some days–maybe not.

Of course that’s the other thing. Right now there is a bottleneck on I-25 where Santa Fe feeds into it, but that project looks like it should be finished in two or three months. Once they get all those north and south lanes open I’m hoping the jam-ups that are there pretty much every day will go away, and then even taking that route by car may be a lot better. Might even go that way on the bike, if it improves a lot.

Till then, though, I’m just looking for it to be nice enough that I won’t have to dress as if it was winter just because I’m leaving home at 7:45 a.m. Then maybe I’ll finally meet those beemer guys.

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Don’t just look at it – Ride the bloody thing!