Passes & Canyons Blog

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