Passes & Canyons Blog

Yeah, even if you're riding one of these babies you can learn something that will be helpful.

I got an email the other day from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) announcing the release of their latest tip sheet and I thought, “Oh good, I can do a blog post about this.”

I don’t know, maybe when you’ve been riding for a lot of years it’s just hard for anything new to come your way. I went and looked at this “Pretend You Are Invisible” tip sheet and while it’s all good information, there wasn’t anything on it I hadn’t seen before.

You know, wear bright clothing, have your headlight on, pretend you’re invisible. That last one isn’t hard to do because effectively we are invisible out there. If you don’t ride like you’re invisible you’re just asking for it.

So that was kind of a disappointment, but the email also noted that the MSF has previously released various other tip sheets so I figured I’d go check them out. There was one in particular, “Preventing Motorcycle Theft,” that I found kind of surprising in how many tips in so many situations that they offered. The tips ranged from “If traveling with other riders, lock motorcycles together when not in use,” to “Be careful about giving out private information on where you live, work, or play.” But more than that, they also had tips on what to do when you’re pulling the bike on a trailer and guarding against theft when you’re selling the bike. This was more the kind of thing I was hoping to see in the first one.

So what else do they have? Well, here’s the list, with links:
“Should You Ride A Motorcycle?”
“If You Ride A Motorcycle”
“T-CLOCS” Pre-Ride Inspection Checklist
“Ten Things All Car & Truck Drivers Should Know About Motorcycles”
“Riding With A Passenger”
“Group Riding”
“Alcohol Awareness”

Hopefully everyone can find something relevant in among those tips sheets. You know, if you ever stop learning you might as well be dead.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride like you want to get up and do it again tomorrow.

Here's where Jewell ends.

The weather gods have smiled on us for the most part this winter, providing numerous days when motorcycle riding is not only possible, but demanded. Not this most recent Sunday, but the one before, was one of those days. How could I possibly say no?

Of course, as I mentioned previously, I had ridden to work on Friday, which served as my first February ride on my V-Strom. That was a pretty basic ride, just out Hampden to Kipling, north on Kipling, and then a bit of a zig-zag to the office. The reverse on the return.

Saturday dawned warm (or so I hear) but by the time I was up and out a serious chill had set in. I took my chances and figured I’d ride on Sunday. I knew that had the potential to be a big mistake but in this case the weatherman proved right.

So here it was Sunday and I had a Honda and a Kawasaki needing to be ridden. One of the really tough questions I have to ask myself again and again over the winter is where to ride to. The mountains are out because I’ve found through experience that no matter how nice it is down here on the plains, up there the temperatures will be at least 15 degrees lower and there will be ice in the shadows. On the other hand, just cruising across the prairie is not exactly exciting.

I find it works best if I can come up with a theme or a destination–something other than just wandering. (Although there is a lot to be said for just wandering some times!)

Heading out first on the Honda I settled on going out east on one of the main roads to see just how far I could get before it petered out. Partially by accident, that street happened to be Jewell. East I went, and further east. The amazing thing for me was that as I kept going further and further out, there were subdivisions out there. Who in the world lives that far out? And why? I got out to Powhaton Road and there were houses out there! To each his own, but boy, that’s not my own.

So anyway, just past Powhaton the pavement finally did come to an end. I was on the Honda, though, and while it’s not a dual-sport bike, it is an old go-nearly-anywhere bike. I figured if the gravel wasn’t too bad I’d see how much further I could get.

It turned out the gravel was great. It seemed to have been heavily treated with magnesium chloride and was a good, hard, stable surface, so I kept going. Which ultimately brought me to Watkins Road. I had heard that Watkins Road had been paved fairly recently but I had never been on it, but there I was, at a T-intersection (see photo) and that was the road I had to take. I knew going north would just lead me to Watkins so I headed south. Time to explore.

Not that there was much to explore down that way. I rode a few miles and hit another T-intersection, Quincy Avenue. I turned west and headed back into town. I had found where Jewell went to and Quincy would be a ride for another day. Looking at the map it doesn’t really look like it goes much of anywhere either, but through some twisting and turning I guess you can make it out to Byers. Another day.

One thing of note, however, is that heading west on Quincy I ran across quite a few motorcycles heading east. Wonder where they were going?

Back home I got on the Kawasaki and headed out again. This time I jumped on I-25 going south and quickly decided to get off at the Castle Pines exit and see where that took me. Castle Pines is kind of an amazing place. For one thing, there’s more than one “house” in that area that can appropriately be described as a castle. We’re talking homes where the monthly mortgage payment might easily be more than I make in a year. Kind of incomprehensible.

That road actually doesn’t go very far, however, before it hits Daniels Park Road. I knew at that point that going north would just take me into Highlands Ranch and back to C-470 and I didn’t want to do that so I went south. That brought me out to U.S. 85 of course and I turned right, to head up through Sedalia. By now I was seeing many, many bikes. It was a gorgeous day and this road is a popular motorcycling road year-round. No surprise there.

What was a surprise was when I got to Sedalia and rather than the crowd of bikes at the Sedalia Grill that I expected, there were only one car and two bikes in the parking lot. Did that place close? I didn’t stop to inquire but boy, was that a strange sight. In the meantime, there were probably more bikes than cars on U.S. 85, going both directions.

From there it was just up to C-470, east to I-25, and home. I had just spent the better part of the afternoon out cruising and felt pretty satisfied. Is it any surprise that I love living in Colorado?

Biker Quote for Today

One of the beautiful things about riding solo is the quality of the social experience.

The Auritech earplugs I've been trying out.

I would hate to be the guy in charge of marketing for the folks making/selling Auritech earplugs. These earplugs may be the very best on the market for all I know but that marketing guy has his job cut out for him making that fact–presuming it is one–obvious to the buying public.

Like me.

OK, start from the beginning.

Back in about November of last year I was contacted to see if I’d like to try out these super-duper high-tech earplugs and then write about them. Of course I said yes. The line on these things was that they effectively dampen the loud, harmful noises while allowing you to hear conversation and important things such as traffic noises that warn you of potential hazards. Or, to put it in their words, “although the Auritech’s ceramic filter does allow you to hear conversation clearly as well as be aware of surrounding traffic noise, the presence of the ear plug will dampen this slightly as all of the sound is compressed into the earplug itself. However, this should not reduce this sound too much as the filter itself is tuned to more specific low and high end frequencies to cut out excessive and damaging engine and wind noise.” What more could you ask for in a pair of earplugs?

So I’ve been wearing them every time I’ve been riding the last couple months and I’m finally ready to make my report. This is one of the toughest product reviews I’ve ever done because as much as I want to praise them and recommend that you get some, I just can’t. And it’s not because they’re a shoddy product. It’s because I just can’t tell–I just don’t have the ability to tell–if they meet the manufacturer claims or not. Which is why I say I’m glad I’m not the marketing director for the company.

Here’s what I can tell you, the tests I did and the results, such as they were.

First off, when you take them out of the package they seem very cool, very high-tech. (Not to mention that the metal container they come in is great all by itself!) They’re of a fairly typical earplug configuration (see photo) except that there is a rigid stem down the middle with, I believe, a noise filter in it. This stem makes it easy to put them in and take them out, and it is my assumption that it also is the key to letting you hear what you want to hear clearly.

Inserted, and then with a helmet on, they are very comfortable. No complaints there at all. But then I had to wonder, were they blocking much noise at all? I could hear just about anything just fine. It wouldn’t be until I took them out and saw how much louder things were that it became clear they were indeed blocking a good bit of noise. So far, so good.

What I couldn’t tell was whether they were doing what they were supposed to in blocking the bad noise while letting the good noise in. Maybe if I had the proper lab instruments, but I don’t.

I pondered this dilemma for a long time, making a point to keep wearing them every time I rode. (I also wore them just walking around the house to see what I might find.) Finally I concluded I needed to take a different approach. How about a comparison of the Auritech earplugs to the every-day foam earplugs I normally wear?

So that’s what I did. I put one of each in my ears and took off. Initially I had the foam in my left ear and the Auritech in my right and it was pretty obvious that I was getting a lot more noise in my right ear. No jumping to conclusions, though, so I stopped and swapped them. Once again, there was more noise in my right ear, though not as much.

Now, this led to a couple hypotheses. One, my hearing is better in my right ear than in my left. I’ve never been aware of that, but it could be. Two, the right side of my helmet is somehow noisier than the left. Who knows. Probably more likely the first option.

But what seemed pretty definite was that the foam earplug blocked more noise overall than the Auritech earplug. Did it block the more harmful frequencies as well or better? You would need the lab equipment to answer that question.

So then the question, as I saw it, got to the heart of the Auritech claim, that it was easier to hear in a conversation. Do I generally have trouble hearing someone I’m talking to when I have the foam plugs in? Because if I don’t, why would I spend a whole bunch more to buy high-tech earplugs when the cheapo drugstore kind is no problem in the first place.

That is the case, by the way. I don’t have trouble hearing people speak when I’m wearing the foam guys. So for me at least, Auritech seems to be offering a solution in search of a problem. And that’s why I can’t recommend them.

Now, if your answer to that basic question is different than mine, these might be exactly what you’re looking for. And maybe for a whole lot of people that is the case and there’s a big market out there. I’m just not in it.

Well, there you have it. As I said, I’ve struggled for some time now with writing this because I wanted very much to love them and sing their praises, but for me at least there just doesn’t seem to be any point. Then again, maybe they are just as great as they claim to be and I just don’t have the ability to perceive those things that prove it. Can you tell I’m frustrated?

One more time: I’m really, really glad I’m not the guy in charge of selling these earplugs.

Biker Quote for Today

Always take the long route!

No, it wasn't this cold on Friday, but it sure wasn't warm.

On Sunday we finally got the warmth we had been promised but denied on Friday and Saturday. What a glorious day to be out on the bike.

Meanwhile, believing the weather forecast, I rode to work on Friday without wearing all my warmest gear.

Of course I wore my heated vest. If you don’t wear anything else, the vest is essential. If your core body is warm you can tolerate a little coolness in the extremities. I’m not saying it’s pleasant to have your fingertips pinched by the cold but having your torso bathed in wonderful warmth is just that . . . wonderful.

So I didn’t wear my electric gloves and yes, my fingers were a bit nipped by the time I got all the way out to Lakewood. But my biggest mistake was in footwear. I just didn’t feel like walking around in boots all day and I figured, hey, it’s supposed to get up to 60 today–I’ll just wear shoes. Of course, getting up to 60 (which it didn’t) and being 60 at 8 a.m. when I’m heading to work are two entirely different things.

When was the last time you said to yourself, “I’m pretty warm and comfortable all over except my ankles are freezing!”

Boy, and they were, too. Boots aren’t electric but they don’t have to be. All they have to do is keep the cold wind off that part of your body.

So yeah, we all get stupid some times, don’t we? You never outgrow it. You learn by experience and maybe you never do THAT again but then you do something else. And you get to learn by experience again, only this time it’s something a little different that you’ve learned and then you never do THAT again. But there’s always another THAT.

Maybe I need a winter variation on ATGATT (all the gear, all the time). How about ATHGWIC? (Hey, that’s catchy, isn’t it?) That would stand for “all the heated gear whenever it’s cold.” Except in my case I might want to add DFB (don’t forget boots). ATHGWICDFB. Oh, now we’re really catchy. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

Let’s try again.

WEWIC. That would be “wear electrics when it’s cold.”

Or maybe ATHGATW (all the heated gear all the winter). Do I have to add AB for “and boots” (ATHGABATW)?

OK, I give up. Whoever came up with ATGATT did a terrific job; I’m not going to match that. Who knows, maybe just remembering those cold ankles will be all the reminder I need. In fact, I’m sure it will. Until the next time I get stupid.

Biker Quote for Today

In the grand scheme of things, what’s it matter? Forget it! Let’s ride.

Can you tell these folks aren't in Nebraska?

If you live in Colorado there’s a good chance you occasionally ride in Utah and Nebraska, east and west of us. This current legislative session they’ve both had some potentially good bills introduced that have to do with motorcycles, but it doesn’t look like anything will make it into law.

In Utah they have a bill that would allow lane-splitting. Lane-splitting is when bikes go down the road between cars when the cars are stopped or slowed way down in traffic jams. California is the only U.S. state that currently allows this, and it works fine there. More than that, the rest of the world does it and it works fine all over the world. Go to Paris or Rome or just about any place of your choosing and see how well it works. Why do we have to be the dummies who think there’s something wrong with this?

Well, Utah is going to stay a dummy. According to a story in the Deseret News, “Several members of the House Transportation Committee said they had safety concerns about HB281, and they voted 7-1 to table the measure until more study is done.” Can you say “dead”? Why this euphemism about “tabled”? Well the guy who introduced it–a Republican I will note–said he’ll reintroduce it next session. Till then . . .

Over in Nebraska they’ve been kicking around the idea of repealing their helmet law. I don’t care how stupid you might think anyone is to ride without a helmet, I simply believe it should be the rider’s choice. I always wear a helmet these days (not true in my younger days) and so this law would have no effect on me, but I just don’t think it’s the government’s place to forcing us to be “safe.” Why don’t they outlaw using cell phones when you’re driving? They’d save more lives that way, if that was truly what they cared about. Of course they’d save even more lives if they just outlawed motor vehicles. You know what they say: If it saves even just one life . . . !

So will you be able to ride lidless in Nebraska soon? Not likely. As in, fat chance.

They do apparently have the votes to make it happen, if it could just come to a vote. But guess what? The opponents are filibustering it. Who cares what the majority wants, if we can keep it from coming to a vote the minority rules! I couldn’t have been more pleased when the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid changed the filibuster rules there. The Republicans screamed bloody murder but you better believe they’ll be overjoyed for what Harry has done the next time they’re in the majority.

But hey, it’s just like baseball: There’s always next year.

Biker Quote for Today

“The motorcycle, being poorly designed for both flight and marine operation, sustained significant external and internal damage,” police noted.

My three bikes: Suzuki V-Strom, Honda CB750 Custom, Kawasaki Concours.

There’s an interesting thread on a forum I belong to and I’ll pass some of the comments along here. The question raised at the start was this: How many bikes do you own? Different bikes for different types of riding or just one bike to do it all?

Now, anyone who knows me and/or reads this blog knows I have three myself: a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom, a really fun street bike; a 1999 Kawasaki Concours, a terrific highway bike; and a 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650, which is the only one that’s really good off the pavement. So my answer is different bikes for different types of riding.

Here are some other folks’ comments.

Jeff: I want to believe “one bike can do it all”, but I love too many of them so I rationalize owning more than one. Currently that is a 2012 Honda NC700X and recently sold a BMW 1150RT and a Moto Guzzi V11 EV. I’ve owned over 20 bikes in the past 9 years and can say I have enjoyed all of them. Yes dear, I promise to listen to you and become more practical in the future

Barry: 1. Piaggio MP3 500 for my inner city commute. 2. Triumph Sprint ST for long distance touring. 3. Had an Aprilia Mana GT for commuting/touring and it was totalled in an accident.

Anthony: 1500 Nomad for touring, commuting (I live in a small town, so no heavy traffic), and general purpose riding. I have owned cars with less capacity for carrying groceries etc. GS550 for classic and vintage events, or just when I feel like riding something a bit more nimble. My Dad’s 1927 BSA and sidecar for spannering and wiping up pools of oil. One day it will actually work again (engine is being rebuilt by a specialist), so it will be used for vintage rallies and weekend jaunts for lunch at local wineries, that sort of thing. If I had to have only one bike, I think I would struggle! If I was able to have more, well, where would it end?

David: When you look at riding from MX to Track (Sport) to Touring there really is no one bike that can do it all. I love the hard fast tight woods single track as much as I love riding 500 to 1,000 miles in a day or hitting the race track for a day. I have to have different bikes to handle the riding I do.

Randy: I used to have a “wego” goldwing and a “mego” Valkyrie but now I do it all with a Weestrom.

Axe: If you have the room, once you own them, it doesn’t cost much to keep besides a little insurance. Space became my issue, plus time to ride them all every now and then. I have about a 1.5 mile drive to work, and machines work best when they’re used often. (From Ken: I’ve said much the same thing many times, minus the 1.5 mile drive to work. I just don’t get rid of the old one when I get a new one. This next guy kind of sums that up.)

Hiram: I have several bikes. I have accumulated them more because I liked them more than I could sell them for and I just decided to keep them because of the value I placed in them myself.
1998 VFR 800 Simply an awesome bike for all types of road riding. Great in the twisties and comfortable enough on longer rides. It now sits more than it should and acts a loaner to other friends on longer trips.
2005 KTM 525 MXC, what more can be said, simply the best machine for the off road job.
2000 KX 500 two stroke, if it had the magic button, I wouldn’t have the KTM. Awesome bike, usually a dirt bike or dune loaner to my buddies.
2008 Kawasawki Concours, wasn’t the bike of the year for nothing, simply as much fun as a sport tour can be. There may be better bikes, but not better.
2012 Aprilia 1200 Dorsoduro, admittedly a moment of weakness. Poor gas mileage, no real storage even for short rides BUT!!!, get on it and go for a spin and the smile factor is off the charts. Simply fun, fun. Power wheelies through four gears and I only know htat because I haven’t tried it in 5th or 6th.

Kurt: The Gold Wing is for distance touring and winter riding. The BMW S1000RR is for huge fun and the race track. The Ninja 300 is for a whole different kind of fun than the S1000RR on the street and track. And my wife rides a Can Am Spyder RS-S.

Dominick: Have a Hayabusa next to a 05 harley deuce. It’s my Jekyll and Hyde.

This may be a self-selecting group but there were at least a few who said they ride only one.

Paul: I had ten bikes but slowly sold them off but just kept my favorite one my 1980 Honda CB900 Custom.

Peter: I have one; a W650. It’s what I love and what I ride. I would hate to have more than I need and have to decide.

Stefan sums it up for me: You need at least 3 bikes to enjoy all of it.

I have to agree. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a wonderful time on just one or just two before I got the third. Now it’s just even better.

Biker Quote for Today

Every bike I ever had was the best bike I ever had, when I had it.

Biker Link for Today

https://americanlegendrider.com/

Yeah, these guys know how to do it.

Have you scared yourself recently? On your bike, I mean?

I’m happy to say I haven’t–recently–but that doesn’t mean I haven’t scared myself to death a few times over the years. I think the improvement comes with a lot of experience, plus, taking some rider training courses didn’t hurt me, either.

I don’t think there’s anything that scares me more than getting leaned over in a curve and seeing an unavoidable patch of gravel, and then feeling that rear tire slip. There’s nothing to do at that point except ride it through, and fortunately that’s generally what happens. In less than a heartbeat you’re through the gravel and your tire hooks up with the pavement again. Whew!

Carrying too much speed into the curve is another situation where that adrenaline pump can kick in big time. It probably happens most often when you think you’ve got the speed judged well but then the curve gets progressively tighter and all of a sudden, oh my god, hang on! The saving grace there, if you have the guts, is that your bike and tires are capable of a lot more than what you generally call on them for. If you don’t do something foolish, such as deliberately laying it down, you can usually ride it through.

In later years I’ve taken to practicing leaning as far off the bike as I have the courage to, to the inside of the curve. The more you move your weight in that direction the more you are able to stand the bike up, and the more upright the bike is the more traction you have. You see the racers do it all the time but who among the rest of us schlubs has the guts to drag a knee? Not me, but I still practice it as much as I can so that if the need arises some day I will have as much going for me as possible.

The trouble is, though, that sometimes you can be doing everything right but you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was one time I was coming north on Federal and was stopping at a red light at Alameda. Taking it easy, no big deal, when all of a sudden the bike started going sideways. I hadn’t seen anything but apparently someone had leaked some oil on the road right there.

I threw out my leg and braced it and my foot hit the ground hard. It was just enough to bounce me back over the other way, at which point I threw that leg out and braced it and hit hard. That bounced me back the other way again and kept me upright and I was able to save the situation. Holy crap. It happened so fast, was over so quickly, and all I could do was thank my lucky stars and my reflexes. It’s probably also a good thing I was on a smaller bike, my CB750 Custom, or else there’s no way I could have stopped the fall. And that bike’s not light, just over 500 pounds, but at least it’s not 800 pounds or more like a lot of the bigger bikes these days.

Yeah, I haven’t been scared in quite a while. I do think it’s mostly because I’m a better rider, but I know some of it has to be luck. The fact that I may draw a short straw some day isn’t going to stop me from riding. But more and more I think it has kept me from riding stupid.

Biker Quote for Today

Nine mile skid on a ten mile ride. Hot as a pistol but cool inside.

Another year of MTN visits and hosting has kicked off for us.

I’ve talked about the Motorcycle Travel Network (MTN) previously but this time I want to flat out promote it. I’m not getting paid or anything, it’s just an organization that I strongly support and hope that a lot more people will join.

I mentioned it last week, saying we were going to have our first guests of the year this weekend just ended. Robin and Glenda came out from Lawrence, Kansas, and spent Friday and Saturday nights with us. As has been the case with everyone we have hosted, we really liked them and enjoyed having them here. Our one regret in this case would be that we didn’t have enough time to spend with them. They were tired from driving all day so on Friday night they went to bed fairly early. Then Saturday night we had plans for the evening and by the time we got home they were in bed. And they were up and gone before we got up on Sunday–they wanted to get home in time for the Super Bowl.

So what’s the deal with the MTN? It’s a group that you join and then when you travel you contact other members and arrange to stay with them instead of in a hotel or motel. Or they contact you about staying with you when they’re traveling in your area. The cost to join is $40 for one year, $60 for two years, or $120 for five years. What you pay (or receive) is a “gratuity” of $15 per night for one person, plus $5 per night for each additional person.

That means that Robin and Glenda paid $40 to stay two nights here in Denver and they had a comfortable room and bed. And rather than staring at the TV in some motel room in the evening they had other folks who share their passion for motorcycles to talk with, swap stories, and just generally have a good time with. Also, usually, the host(s) provide breakfast for their guests but Robin and Glenda had other plans for breakfast so we never fed them. We would have been happy to do so, and we generally invite our guests to have dinner with us, too, but that didn’t work out that way this time either.

Of course, Judy and I have stayed with other MTN people when we’ve been the traveling pair. We have stayed in some incredibly nice homes and met some wonderful people. Plus, we have saved a bundle of money and had locals who ride to direct us to some of the better roads in the area. How could you not love this situation?

Trust me, I understand the reluctance someone may feel about taking total strangers into their home, or staying with total strangers in their home. My first experience was as a guest of a couple in Utah. As I drew near their town I started fretting. What if I met them and we had a total personality clash right from the start, and then I was stuck for a long evening and night? What if they were super religious (which I’m not) and insisted that I participate in their devotional practices? What if . . .? The list goes on and on.

But you know what? They weren’t. It didn’t happen. They were just regular people, they were super nice, I had a great time, and I’ve been sold on the whole thing ever since. Then, the first time we were the hosts, I think Judy had some qualms but that particular couple was so much fun that we were very sorry indeed to see them go. She was sold.

At this point we’ve stayed with MTN folks in Minnesota, Michigan, and Florida, while I on my own have stayed with folks in Utah, Arizona, and Nebraska. Robin and Glenda told us they stayed with a whole lot of MTN folks in Canada and Alaska when they rode their Harleys to Alaska. Folks who have stayed with us have been from Nebraska, Germany, Montana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and a bunch of other places I can’t call to mind at the moment. And you don’t have to be on your bike; all you have to be is a member.

Which brings me to the point of why I’m doing this plug for the group. I may have had a vague sense of this but Robin stated it flat out, that it appears to him that the Motorcycle Travel Network is dying out. Some people don’t renew their memberships and not a lot of new people join. And yet, for those of us who are members, and who host other members and stay with other members in their homes, it’s such a great thing. Don’t let this die out! It’s such a great thing!

So what are your travel plans this year? If you’d rather stay with friends than in a motel, you really should consider this. They may not be your friends yet, but chances are excellent they will be by the time you leave. And who doesn’t enjoy making new friends?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle Wit and Wisdom, #30

Biker Quote for Today

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. — Aldous Huxley