Passes & Canyons Blog

ABATE of Colorado hasn’t given up on the badly crippled Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program yet, despite its being twisted out of shape by the bureaucrats charged with running it.

ABATE State Coordinator Terry Howard told me Sunday that “the program is a mess.” She said they have cut reimbursements for riders seeking training and the person charged with overseeing the program has been burdened with so much paperwork that they don’t have time for any quality assurance visits that are the key to ensuring that the program functions as intended.

In discussion with Sen. Lois Tochtrop, a close ally of ABATE, the idea of lobbying for removal of the $2 per year fee that each of us pay when we renew our plates was dropped because that would mean no program at all. Of course, I thought killing the program was about the point Terry had gotten to in her thinking but I guess she’s not ready to give up.

Instead, the plan now is to work with the legislature to try to mandate how the money is spent. According to Terry, the folks at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) are saying the 15 percent of the dollars that are now allocated for administration are not enough to do what is needed. The bill that ABATE hopes to have introduced by Democrat Tochtrop in the Senate and by a Republican member in the House would mandate 20 percent of the money go for administration, just 10 percent for motorcycle awareness programs, and the other 70 percent for rider training cost deferral.

Of course, the whole point of the MOST program from the start was to make it less expensive for new riders to take training classes, thereby–hopefully–resulting in better riders and fewer motorcycle fatalities on Colorado roads. But the way things have gotten twisted, very little of the money now goes for that purpose, which is why the people who have always backed the program are so upset. CDOT wants to use almost all the money for motorcycle awareness programs. Never mind that similar programs for people in cars and trucks do not get paid for by extra fees on car and truck license renewals.

What’s going to happen? Who knows. Stay tuned. But Terry hasn’t given up hope.

“We’ll fix it one way or another,” she assured me.

Biker Quote for Today

The most dangerous times on a bike are the first month when you don’t know what you’re doing, and the fourth month when you think you do. — Bill

Sunday was such a gorgeous day I had to ride. The only question: where?

It was clear I wasn’t going to the mountains. Last week’s ride convinced me that I won’t be heading up in elevation till things warm up again next year. So I got to thinking about the Black Forest area, down toward Colorado Springs. I’ve never explored that area, and wasn’t even sure there were many paved roads down there, so it seemed like as good a time as any to find out.

Blasting down on I-25 I planned to get off at Monument but came upon an exit just north of there that I had never taken. This was exit 163, labeled County Line Road, Palmer Lake. Time to explore. I headed east. West would have taken me to Palmer Lake and I’ve been there plenty of times.

I couldn’t really tell but looking just now at Google Maps I see this entire area is heavily built up, with roads and homes covering the entire area. It’s hilly with a lot of woods. I just headed east and once I came over a ridge the trees ended and so did the development. It was mostly just grazing land from there until I hit CO 83, which comes up out of the Springs, through Franktown and Parker and back into Denver. At the highway I continued east because I could see a lot more hills and woods up ahead.

By the way, this road is also called the Palmer Divide Road, so it must be up pretty high, but on such a great fall day it was just as warm and nice as you could ask for.

I was only able to go a few more miles through the trees when I came over another ridge and not only did the trees peter out, so did the pavement. You can see that in the photo above, with the asphalt ending right where that road heads off to the right. This is exactly the sort of thing I bought the V-Strom for but I really wanted to ride the Concours this day so that meant turning around.

I guess I really need to plan things out more carefully. Last week I took the V-Strom on a ride that would have been better suited to the Connie. This time it was the reverse. I’ll figure it all out some day.

The other thing I keep telling myself I should do–but never remember when it matters–is to look at the map before I go out. I often come to a place where I think, “hey, that looks like an interesting road, I wonder where it goes,” but except when I’m in my most adventurous mode I am reluctant to find myself in a spot where I only hope there is a connecting road up ahead or else have to turn around. I wouldn’t have to follow a predesignated route, but it would be good to know that if I go this direction long enough I will come to some road that will get me out of here.

Anyway, I turned around and headed back to 83 and turned north and just cruised on home. Not as much of an exploration as I had hoped. But now at least I’ve looked at the map and I know I want to go back on the Suzuki and keep going on that road, off onto the gravel. You see, after a few turns you go north just a short distance and then the road runs along Kiowa Creek, up toward Elbert. That looks like a nice ride. I’m gonna go check it out.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are better than men/women because motorcycles don’t care if you are late.

This post has been updated as of January 2022.

There’s no way I can keep up with the magazines I subscribe to when I’m working a full-time job–which I am now–so I’m always way behind. I just read the May issue of American Motorcyclist and was very interested to find a cover piece about a tour outfit here in Colorado. Got to check these guys out.

It’s an operation named Exit Tours M/C and it took some reading and some looking at their website to figure out that–at least as far as I can tell–they are a nonprofit organization that puts on three or more rides a year. Not that they’re a bunch of do-gooders; my take is that folks from three motor sports dealerships in the Buena Vista area put this thing together to offer these rides and they presumably benefit by sales of gear and bikes. Nevertheless, as a nonprofit, their prices for their tours are pretty reasonable.

As a nonprofit, or club, annual membership is now $425. For this membership fee you get one club ride per year at no additional cost and then second and subsequent rides are $299. Also, family members can come on ride at the discounted price of $249.

Here’s what Mike Brown, the honcho of the group, had to say about the outfit:

Attempting to define our Niche.

• Club Rides for Adventure, Dual Sport motorcycles and plated dirt bikes.
• Club Rides in the Heart of the Rockies, Northern New Mexico, Central California and the Las Vegas Valley Loop.
• Any competent motorcycle enthusiast can join the club without an invitation, and come enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded enthusiasts.
• Our Club rides are for competent Riders. We do not offer training, classes or play games.
• Exit Tours club rides start and stage on private property, and either loop back to the staging area or travel to an overnight destination with luggage portage. We portage your gear so you may ride unencumbered.
• Most Club rides include camping and some meals.
• Our club rides are not ‘guided’, we use Ride With GPS which is cell phone compatible and easy to use and understand.
• Ride With GPS works without a cell signal.
• Club membership includes Ride With Membership for said event(s).
• You must have either a cell phone or GPS unit to navigate our routes. A mount and a way to charge said phone or unit.

Back to our Niche of riders:

• Competent Riders who want to share the camaraderie of riding and camping, bonfires and bench racing.
• But don’t know where to ride or how to tie trails together for a cohesive ride in outstanding, often remote locales.
• Exit Tours sets up camping and meals, bonfires, supplies a T shirt and porta potties.
• The Club supplies GPS tracks mapped by our local experts.
• Multiple Loops for A&B riders and some C loops with GPS tracks of your choice for Dual Sport & ADV rides.
• Trail rides and exclusive Adventure rides are generally one route, but we do not encourage riding in large groups.
• We generally do not suggest riding in groups larger than 6 riders.
• We do not cater to ADV riders who like to ride alone or carry all their camping gear.
• Generally club ADV riders will transport their motorcycle in a truck to save their tires for the dirt.
• We do not tailor our routes to smaller foo foo Dual sport motorcycles. Most Club Dual Sport Routes are challenging, with as little pavement as possible, and best ridden on Plated Dirt Bikes or 250 to 700cc Factory Dual Sport Models.
• If you like challenging 2 track and singletrack you will love Exit Tours Dual Sport Routes.
• The Adventure loops use more dirt roads and jeep trails, some paved passes and are Adventure bike friendly.
• Club Trail rides are just that. Trailrides with as little pavement as possible. Using pavement only to access amenities and lodging or camping locales.
• On all our rides we encourage the use of the Buddy System. Team up with others who have mutual talent and desires for the ride. How often to stop to rest, take photos…
• Buddies wait at intersections until the next rider acknowledges they are coming the correct direction, and if buddies get lost or don’t show up, go back to the last place they saw each other.
• With the multiple loops on offer, generally Exit Tours Club Rides do not have sweep riders.

So this is just an FYI. If you or anyone you know is looking for this sort of thing, guess what, here it is. Maybe next year I’ll try to wangle a free trip in exchange for writing about it. You’ll see it here if I do.

Biker Quote for Today

Serious. Just like that scene from the matrix, except the chick was me and the ducati was a klr. — DirtyDog

OK, I admit it, I am just as curious as anyone else to see an area I’m familiar with after disaster has struck it. I had been thinking for a while that I’d like to see the aftermath of flooding in Boulder Canyon, and that didn’t seem like an unreasonable thing to do considering that they got the canyon completely open again pretty quickly.

It was Saturday and I got on the V-Strom to go have a look. It was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, and I figured I wouldn’t need the electric vest. I don’t yet have a hook-up for the vest on the V-Strom, so if I wanted to use the vest I would have needed to have taken a different bike. I wanted to ride the V-Strom.

Blasting out 285 it started getting chilly with the high-speed breeze but I knew I was only going to be going fast for a short while. It also started getting quite windy. I turned north on C-470 and cruised up through Golden and onto Rocky Flats on CO 93. I had decided I would run up Coal Creek Canyon and catch the Peak-to-Peak to Nederland and then come down Boulder Canyon to Boulder. Didn’t happen.

As I turned off 93 at the road to Coal Creek Canyon there was a sign flashing that said “Highway 72 closed to Blue Mountain.” Say what? Where the heck is Blue Mountain? Is that a mountain, a town, a road, . . . ? So I decided to ignore the sign.

There was obviously something going on because all along the road there was a pipeline that had been laid aboveground–presumably temporary–carrying who knows what into the canyon. And there were trucks. And then there was that roadblock in the photo above. Figuring on pleading that I had no idea where the road was blocked to because I don’t know where Blue Mountain is, I went past the roadblock.

Not far beyond, however, there was another roadblock, this one manned by a state trooper. No skipping past this one. The guy I spoke to said Coal Creek got a lot worse flood damage than Boulder Canyon or several others. Really? I told him honestly that I had had no idea that was the case. And I said I guessed I’d take a different route.

So back to 93 and on up to Boulder I went. From there I headed up Boulder Canyon, figuring to just run up to Nederland and then back down. It was right near the mouth of the canyon that I saw some evident flood damage and repair. At about five bends the water wanted to go straight and when the bank interfered it ate away the bank. And the road. But fill had been brought in, the banks restored, new pavement laid, and a temporary guard rail set up. In truth, it was not all that bad and not all that big a deal.

I thought surely there must be worse upstream, but as I continued up the canyon I came upon a bunch of small houses and buildings right next to the water that appeared completely undamaged. How could that be? I would have thought they would have been swept away if there was serious flooding. Best I can tell, the creek was raging but the banks were enough to contain it for the most part. And it must have only gotten concentrated down near the mouth of the canyon, maybe from adjoining canyons adding their flow to the total. In other words, nothing at all like what happened in the Big Thompson.

By now the sun had gone into heavy clouds, the wind was whistling down the canyon, and the temperature was dropping as I climbed. I was wishing I had my electric vest and thinking maybe I wouldn’t go all the way to Nederland. Then traffic came to a complete stop. We all sat there for quite a while as probably 200 vehicles came by the other direction. Obviously there was something big up ahead that forced everyone to take turns using a single lane. That must be what I want to see, I thought.

Eventually we started moving and less than a mile further on we came to the delay: a traffic accident that was in the final stages of getting cleaned up. Wonderful. And now I had to keep going and oh me, what a long line of traffic was backed up heading down the canyon. When I finally reached a place where I could turn around and get into the line I was a long way past the accident site. And we didn’t move for 10 minutes or more. Maybe 15. You better believe I wished while sitting there that I had my electric vest.

Finally we started to move, went past the accident site where things were completely cleaned up, and crept en masse back down to Boulder. And then I headed home. Back in Boulder the sun was shining and the temperature was a lot higher than up in the canyon. I guess this was not a day to plan a ride in the hills.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when you make your passengers sit behind you in the rear seat instead of beside you.

I was asked to put in a plug for this and I will because it seems like a good thing.

Allstate, an insurance company that would love to have your business, is holding a competition to select five motorcycle safety initiatives to receive $5,000 to help them become reality. They got nearly 300 submissions and have narrowed it down to what they consider the top 15. Now they want you and me to vote on the ones we want to see get the money.

Of course the immediate question is, what are the proposals? I went and looked.

One is called “Support Your Local Bike Mechanic.” I’m not sure where that name came from but what the guy is proposing is to have four events, one per month during prime riding season, to bring together riders and vendors, with a safety theme and presentation for each: rider safety and awareness; safety riding apparel; basic proper motorcycle maintenance; and safe group riding. The $5,000 would be split equally between the events to cover costs including music, food, etc.

You get the picture. Others include:

• A look twice, save a life billboard campaign by the parents of a young rider who died in a crash.
• Taking cars and bikes to schools and doing presentations on safety.
• Distribute small stickers with the image of a motorcyclist to paste on your car mirror to remind you to look for motorcycles.
• Another billboard campaign also including brochures and organizing safety and awareness runs.
• Conduct a test with blue roadside delineator stickers, rather than white. The guy says white looks too much like deer eyes in the dark.
• Public service announcements and rallies to bring the biker and non-biker communities together.
• Create, implement and administer a Teen and Young Adult Safe Riding Campaign.
• Produce and distribute materials for driver’s ed courses promoting motorcycle awareness.
• Pay for schwag to be handed out that reminds drivers to watch for motorcycles.
• Help to fund an extensive motorcycle safety effort.
• Create an instructional aid that identifies the sections of helmets most likely to sustain damage during a crash.
• Produce and distribute “Look twice, save a life” yard signs for bikers to put in their yards.
• Promote a game called “Count Motorcycles, The Motorcycle Awareness Game.”
• Create a website to serve as the hub for skill-building awareness and enjoyment in the motorcycling community.

There they are. You can go vote for your favorite at the link I provided above, or if that won’t get you there for some reason the indirect route is to go to Allstate’s Facebook page (http://facebook.com/allstatemotorcycle), click on the Allstate Good Ride Grant button toward the right, and then click “View Finalists” on the next screen. And, oh yeah, this voting ends at the end of October.

Biker Quote for Today

Go soothingly on the greasy mud, for therein lies the skid demon.

A fellow down the street has been riding a Harley for, I don’t know, a year? Maybe two. But now the bike is for sale. Wonder why?

So we were out for a walk Saturday and one of the guys living in this house was out on the porch smoking. “Why are you selling the Harley?” I asked. I don’t know these guys, I don’t know who owns it, but I figured this was sufficient to kick off a discussion. It did.

“It’s my buddy’s. Yeah, it’s for sale.”

“Why?”

“He’s got no one to ride with. It’s no fun riding alone.”

And we continued walking.

Wow. No fun riding alone. That is so wrong, and such a sad reason to quit riding.

OK, so first, this is a young single guy and his idea of having a motorcycle is probably to go for an occasional cruise with a bunch of friends and hit a few bars. I can see how that doesn’t work if you don’t have someone to ride with. It’s not about the riding, it’s about the socializing.

So does he really not care about the actual riding? Because if he does it’s not that hard to find people to ride with, and then to make friends with others who ride. First off, there are plenty of organized rides he could go to. And then there are clubs. After all, the guy has a Harley–all he would have to do is go on some of the rides by the HOG group sponsored by the dealer he bought the bike from. He’d meet plenty of other riders there. Lots of socializing.

But you know me, I have to take exception to the whole idea that riding alone is no fun. Sure, I like riding with friends, but when you get down to it, I probably enjoy riding alone the best. People think of freedom when they think of motorcycles and there is no freedom like being on your own. You go where you want to go, stop when you want to stop, do whatever it is you–you–want to do.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been riding with the OFMC and I’ve seen something I wanted to stop for but didn’t because I didn’t want to interrupt the ride. The more people in your group the longer it takes to get rolling again. And then I have regretted again and again not having stopped. No, riding with the guys has its pluses but it definitely has its minuses as well.

I could ramble on and on with this particular topic but I won’t. If you never ride alone, maybe you should try it. Isn’t simply riding the bike fun?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
AIMExpo will debut in Orlando Oct. 16-20

Biker Quote for Today

To ride or not to ride? That is a stupid question.

Part of this relates to the simple fact that Alaska is the only U.S. state I’ve never been to. Then, to not only go to Alaska but ride around there on a motorcycle is, in my mind, about the ultimate.

So the boys at Butler Maps have been there and they’ve really done that in a big way. And then they sent me the map so I could drool.

One thing you notice right away looking at the map is that a large portion of the state is left out, essentially the entire western portion of the state. I understand that, though. Working as I do at the National Park Service (when we’re working, which we’re not as of this writing thanks to the government shutdown), I am aware that while there are several national parks and other federal lands over there, they are only accessible by air or water. There would probably be a whole lot more routes on this map if that were not the case.

And I should also add that the map does give you a lot of routes in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory as well–no extra cost! Basically, it shows you some roads to get to Alaska from the Seattle area, as well as some side trips along the way.

Another thing that can be deceptive at first is that unlike so many other Butler maps, there are not a lot of big stretches of yellow-highlighted roads. Those are the best, so you want to see a lot of yellow on your map. But then if you think about it you realize that this is Alaska. It’s huge. And it’s on the same size map as, say, Colorado. So those numerous little yellow squiggles actually encompass hundreds and hundreds of miles of choice motorcycle roads. And connecting the yellow squiggles are a lot of red squiggles, which are the merely great rather than stupendous roads. And oh man, is there a lot of red!

Frankly, I’ve never heard of Haines, a little way south of Skagway, but the biggest single stretch of yellow is the Haines Highway that runs northwest from that town. Now you’ve really got my interest. That’s one of the very best thing about these Butler maps. They tell you where the good stuff is.

On the back side of the map there’s a lot more information. Enlarged maps show sections highlighted on the overall map. If you’re riding a dual-sport or adventure motorcycle to/in Alaska you’ll want to pay particular attention to the Dual Sport Adventure Roads Reference Guides that are included with several sections. Not only are these routes pointed out, there are some tips that are very useful.

For instance, on the Elliot Highway/Steese Highway section it tells you you had better have at least 161 miles worth of gas or you’re going to be in trouble. On the Dalton Highway you need 250 miles worth of fuel.

• Road to Rampart: This road has many stream crossings and marshy bogs. It is more appropriate for 4x4s but doable on a bike if you want a challenge.
• Alascom Road: Another short but stunning out and back ride. Treat yourself to 360 degree views.
• Grogg Creek Road: A ride up Grogg Creek Road is a great lesson in stream crossing.

OK, now it’s time to commence dreaming. And now my dreams can be a lot more specific. I think that makes them more likely to come true, doesn’t it?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
AIMExpo will debut in Orlando Oct. 16-20

Biker Quote for Today

Get lost to find yourself.

All right, we had some snow, a hard frost, and now the weather has warmed back up. This is Indian summer, and yesterday (Sunday) was an absolutely perfect day for a ride in the hills. I figured I’d ride the Honda, partly because it gets the least use of my three bikes but also because those tires are getting old and ought to be replaced. Let’s wear them out!

I headed out to Morrison, where the bikes were thick as flies on something rotten, and cruised on up Bear Creek Road to Evergreen. Evergreen was the same as Morrison, bikes everywhere you looked. I wasn’t the only one who concluded it was a perfect day to ride. A time and temperature clock in Evergreen read 61 degrees and you couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.

I turned north on Evergreen Parkway to the left turn onto Squaw Pass Road. I was wanting to either find some fall color or see how far away we were from having the aspen leaves turn golden. I had seen a little color coming up the canyon but it seemed I needed to go higher. But the higher I went all I saw was aspen tress with their leaves already gone or else just brown. I’ve heard that moisture can affect the change of color so maybe we’re just not going to get a gorgeous fall this year.

Cruising up Squaw Pass Road I still didn’t see much color, but I did see some major work on the road. A lengthy stretch was brand new asphalt, so new it isn’t even striped yet. I had one particular spot in mind where I wanted to stop and shoot a picture but when I got there they were working on the road, despite it being Sunday. In fact, they were laying asphalt at the exact spot I planned to stop at the moment I got there so I kept going and got the shot above a little further down the road.

I didn’t go all the way over and down to Idaho Springs because I didn’t want to get stuck in the Sunday afternoon mess on I-70 coming back to town. Instead, I went on a ways and then turned back. That way I saw the road in both directions and can give you this report in case you’re up there soon.

The road work starts once you enter Clear Creek County. The road surface is smooth and perfect, unstriped as I said, but also with no shoulder in place yet. What that means is that if you wanted to pull off you’d be looking at a sheer drop-off from the asphalt of four to six inches. Not too many people are going to want to try that.

Going west, which puts you in the north lane, the lane is clear and perfect. Heading back east however, in the south lane, there is still some snow and ice on the road. Off the road, in the shadows, there was a good bit of snow. While the road has been cleared, there were just a few small patches where not all the snow was cleared off the pavement. Plus, there are some spots where melting snow flows onto the pavement and then freezes. When I came over around 2 p.m. this was mostly melted and the road was just wet, but earlier or later in the day it could be a different story. And there was still some ice in a couple spots even at that time.

I’m presuming this is indicative of other roads in the high country at this point. If this government shutdown continues and I continue to not be working I plan to check out a few more in the next few days. Hey, it’s a great opportunity to ride and it gives me something to write about here. I will make the point, by the way, that while Congress is planning to pay federal workers for their time off from work, I am not a federal employee, I’m a contractor. For me it’s unpaid time off. But I still get to go out and ride during this perfect weather.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
AIMExpo will debut in Orlando Oct. 16-20

Biker Quote for Today

Two roads diverged in a wood, and / I took the one less traveled by, and / now where the hell am I?