Passes & Canyons Blog

Nothing like a little moisture to liven up your day on the bike.

You may have noticed we’ve been having rain lately. I do ride in the rain but lately I’ve seen some people who are much more hard-core than I am.

I rode to work one day recently when rain was predicted and sure enough, about 20 minutes before I was planning to leave it was coming down in buckets. I had brought my rain gear in off the bike so I was prepared to head out in the downpour if necessary.

To my good fortune, by the time I did leave the rain had stopped. I still suited up because I knew that with water on the street I’d still be getting wet.

What really surprised me on that ride home was how many other people on bikes I saw. And what really surprised me was how many of them were the cruiser types with no helmets and no rain gear. I mean, unless all these folks headed out as I had, right after the downpour stopped, they must have been riding in the rain. I’ve ridden in the rain with no helmet; I don’t like it. It stings! Those little drops are like needles. And no rain gear? Yeah, I’ve gotten soaked before, even got a bit of hypothermia one time, but that’s why I own and use a good rain suit. As I say, if you’re going to get out and ride with no helmet and no rain suit you’re a lot more hard core than I am.

I’ve also seem some people who weren’t as hard core, but they at least were out in it, though some looked miserable.

The one that really caught my eye, though–and boy do I wish I could have shot a picture–was a couple on a sport bike. Not sure what the bike was; I was looking at them. It was pouring and he had no helmet and just a regular riding jacket. She had no helmet, just a winter coat that looked soaked, and a huge backpack strapped on her back, also soaked.

Were they really happy to be out riding? Or was he in for some serious crap once they got where they were headed, about “I’m never riding with you again unless . . .”?

You know what I like? I like a jacket that seals snugly at the (high) collar, a helmet that comes down below the top of the collar, serious rain jacket and pants, rubber booties, and waterproof mittens that allow me to slip my gloved hands inside. A nice full fairing helps, too. I can ride all day with all that stuff because I’m warm and dry.

Apparently some people are OK with less. To them I just say, “Wow. You are hard core.”

Biker Quote for Today

Not knowing where you are going is part of the adventure!

Dan getting ready for a ride.

Marijuana tourism is a very real thing that has hit Colorado since pot was legalized, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that someone is now offering motorcycle tours hitting the high spots (I didn’t really intend that pun) of the industry.

And wouldn’t you know it, that enterprising person is my friend Dan Patino who runs Go 2 Motorcycle Tours. I’ve remarked before that Dan is one of the most entrepreneurial people I know and here he goes again.

Dan wrote me the following email:

Ken,
interested in doing a story on a overnight tour I will be offering? It is the only one like it in the world. I will be the first motorcycle touring company embracing the Marijuana industry. I will be offering a overnight tour that visits dispensaries, and the world’s first legal Cannabis Club in Nederland. Overnight stay in Nederland with a shuttle to the club. I am about to post the info on FB then my website. My emphasis is to show a openness to the industry but also a responsible motorcycle operating. No guest will be operating under the influence but may wish to consume on the overnight.

Of course I had to say “tell me more.”

Dan’s reply:

I posted it on my FB page. I assume this click will let you view it. I want to emphasize a few things. One the reason, uniqueness of the tour, and responsibility.

The reason is the demand for visitors to want to visit and see a legal operation industry. Like ClubNed they get calls from all over the world inquiring about their operation and the industry here in Colorado. ClubNed is the only legal cannabis club in the world in operation.

Now the Uniqueness being Go2moto now the only touring company highlighting the industry in a private tour via motorcycle. To the only Cannabis club in the world.

Responsibility, upmost concern because we don’t ride under the influence. Like all tours, we don’t allow consumption of alcohol or and drug while operating a motorcycle. I get it. Cannabis tour via motorcycle, red flag! Like visiting Coors it can be done! Pictures, and knowledge of the industry is the focus of the tour. However the overnight stay in Nederland would give those an option to consume after the riding is done. A shuttle or a short walk will get those back and forth to their lodging, so no operation of bikes will be allowed until the following day. Specific on pricing will be available on upon request this being a private group tour. Prices depend on size of the group of riders.

Just from my experience talking with people from outside Colorado, I have no question there is a lot of interest in this legal marijuana thing. Dan may be on to something here. This is going to be very interesting to watch.

Biker Quote for Today

I have a fever, and the only prescription is more moto.

David puts on his chaps before taking off.

David from Ohio stayed with us last week, another Motorcycle Travel Network member passing through. By the time he got home he had been out for three weeks. Not an excessively long trip, but I guess for him it had been a long ride.

David has recently developed some unfortunate health issues and he was on a bucket-list ride. He had taken old Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. His take on it was different than any I had heard before.

What he found particularly striking about that route is how old and worn out so many of the buildings were. Route 66 was once a happening place and then the interstate took over and the old route faded. All these motels and restaurants that did booming business in their hey-day were now rotting hulks.

What must people from other countries think about the U.S., he wondered, when they come here to ride this road and see all this decrepitude? He talked about how someone referred to some of these places as “ruins” and how he had always thought about ruins in the sense of Roman ruins or Greek ruins. But these absolutely were ruins, just from a much more recent era.

He said following the old route was pretty difficult at times, which doesn’t surprise me. I did an article a few years ago about an outfit that leads a Route 66 ride every year and the main guy told me that in some places the official route changed as many as five times. Each year he would vary things by taking different segments.

At other times, said David, the old road ran right alongside the new road and he figured out he could cut short some of the longer, more boring stretches by taking the new road. He’d still be seeing the exact same things and passing through the exact same countryside. Is that cheating? Some games you don’t really have to play by someone else’s rules, you get to make up your own. Especially if you’re riding alone.

One of David’s biggest disappointments about this ride was also interesting. He was passing through Springfield, Illinois, and stopped at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. This is a several-block area of old Springfield that has Lincoln’s home and all his neighbors’ homes just as they were when he lived there. An interesting coincidence here is that I was set to work on that park unit the very next day in my job at the National Park Service.

So what disappointed him is that he really wanted to see the actual original Gettysburg Address. And it wasn’t on display. They told him it is very fragile and is only available for viewing for short periods each year. I don’t remember exactly but they may also have told him that when it is on display it is not on display there, but somewhere else.

The next morning David rolled on across Kansas headed for another MTN stop out that way. We’ve become something of a route. Michel, our last MTN guest, headed out for that same Kansas stop after leaving us. And those Kansas folks have stayed with us previously. Everybody says the same thing: The Motorcycle Travel Network seems to be getting smaller and smaller. It may eventually sputter out. What a shame that will be if it happens.

Biker Quote for Today

Drive?! Why?! Cars have too many wheels… just makes me feel… awkwardly stable… I’ll ride thank you!