Passes & Canyons Blog

On the road with the OFMC in 2008.

I did what I said, I just made the decisions for next year’s OFMC motorcycle trip and told the guys where we’re going. They think it’s a great plan. Fine.

And I think it’s going to be a good trip. We’ll be going some places the group has never gone before and with any luck we won’t roast in southern New Mexico in July. I suggested we move the date to a cooler time but nobody else agreed with me. Don’t complain if it gets hot, OK?

We’ll start out headed for Lake San Isabel. The lodge there has numerous cabins large enough to accommodate all of us so that will be an inexpensive night. And it’s a nice place.

Next day we’ll head on to Angel Fire, New Mexico. There are not a lot of options there so we’re pretty much stuck with the Lodge at Angel Fire.

Then on to Ruidoso, and this stop encompasses several things that are mandatory on any OFMC trip. We’ll stay at an Indian casino where there is gambling, we’ll stay two days and play golf one of those days, and it’s posh. I’m not into posh but the rest of the guys have gotten pretty snooty over the years and they like this kind of thing. I can live with it.

From there we go to Silver City and this is much more my style. We’ll be staying in one of the old, but nicely renovated, hotels downtown. Downtown Silver City is a lively, funky place with a lot of artist types. This will be nice.

Then there’s no really good option so I chose Gallup. When John and Bill and I stayed there one night many years ago, when it was just us three on the trip, we ended up in a totally skanky place because the only other options were mucho expensivo. Fortunately, over the years they have built several much nicer, run-of-the-mill chain motels so we can at least stay at a decent place without forking over our childrens’ inheritance.

Next will be Ouray. Ouray is my favorite small town in Colorado and somehow the group has never stayed there. I’m looking forward to that one. Of course, this is very near where John lives–John who is an original member of the OFMC but who has given up riding due to health reasons. So maybe John will drive on down and join us for a night.

From there we head home, going only as far as Buena Vista. Somehow we have never stayed in Buena Vista before, either, so this will be a first.

And then on home. And maybe for the 2018 trip I won’t be sick and end up cutting my ride short after the second night, the way I was forced to do this year. That was a total bummer. I’m looking for 2018 to be better–a lot better.

Biker Quote for Today

Some do drugs, some drink bottles; we solve our problems with wide open throttles.

The OFMC takes a break alongside the road.

It’s that time of year when, for the last however many years, John has emailed us his plan for next year’s OFMC trip. When you have a large group going you can’t just roll into town and expect to find rooms, and you can’t wait to the last minute to make reservations. So John has generally sent out the plan in November or December, with assignments as to who makes reservations in what town.

Well, John’s health issues have led him to sell his bike and so, if the OFMC is to continue its 29-year tradition then someone else has to step up to do the planning. I stepped up.

Have I ever mentioned how John so very frequently griped about people not reading his emails and not answering questions he needed answers to before he could proceed with planning? It took me less than a week to fully appreciate the reasons for his irritation.

Judy and I came to understand long ago through our jobs or other outside involvements that for the most part, people just don’t read email. If you send an email asking four or five questions you are almost guaranteed to receive replies–if you receive replies–speaking to the first question. The other questions do not exist.

We’ve tried various strategies. Number the questions, and then say in the email that there are X number of questions and please answer them all. Send only very brief emails with only one question. Whatever else you can think of.

So this year the guys in the OFMC agreed that we might be interested in taking two trips, the usual week-long trip that guys with jobs are limited to, plus a longer trip for those with more time.

Now then, here I am trying to develop some plans and wondering whether to plan two trips or one, when to plan each of them for, and where to go. I sent the guys a note asking about five questions. In the week following I received two replies, and in each case the person responding spoke to exactly one of those questions. Finally a week later I did get a reply from Friggs, who actually answered all questions. And even he didn’t read all of my email and so one of his answers was based on a mistake in understanding.

So I’m doing what John always did, which always annoyed me: I’m making all the decisions myself. I’ll present them with a done deal. From now on I guess this is my trip.

Biker Quote for Today

Always go with the choice that scares you the most. Take the road that has more curves, because these are the choices that are going to require the most from you. Never stop challenging yourself.

Stopped at a more open space coming down Coal Creek Canyon.

I took another potentially “last ride in the hills for 2017” yesterday. The weather was so nice, and I knew the roads were clear, so what else could I do?

While it was very warm in the city, as soon as I turned up Clear Creek Canyon, with the deep shade cast by the steep canyon walls, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. That’s OK, I had my electric vest on and had finally found my misplaced winter gloves, the ones with a Thinsulate lining. I was cool but not uncomfortable.

Cruising up the canyon, however, it soon also got quite windy. When the wind comes howling down a canyon it can really turn into a blow but this was moderate, though gusty. At one point I passed a guy on a Harley heading down the canyon and I was convinced it was Bill. Bill lives right off CO 93 and runs up to Black Hawk to gamble frequently and this guy was dressed like Bill dresses, had the same open-face helmet, and even looked for all the world like Bill. We waved.

Reaching Black Hawk I stopped for a belated lunch and texted Bill. No, he and his wife were busy planting tulip bulbs they had just brought back with them from a trip to Holland.

With a free lunch in my belly and a little extra pocket money, courtesy of the Lodge Casino–thank you very much–I got back on the bike. And I noticed immediately that the temperature had dropped while I was inside. Plus, I was going to be climbing for a while. Thank goodness for the electric vest.

Getting further up on the Peak-to-Peak I was as last in the sunshine, though the wind was whipping. Initially I had considered going all the way to Nederland and the Boulder Canyon road but had long ago ruled that out. And at the higher elevation it was colder and I was now reconsidering my plan to cruise over to the Coal Creek Canyon road to head down. But I’ve been up and down the Golden Gate Canyon road so often lately that I really, really wanted to do a different route. So I blew on past the Golden Gate turn-off when I got to it.

It seems I wasn’t the only motorcyclist who had the idea that this was a day for the hills. This was mid-day on Wednesday but there were still a good many bikers up there.

And it got colder. By the time I reached the turn-off for Coal Creek Canyon my fingertips were getting numb. Thank goodness for the electric vest! And now I could start losing elevation, although I still had to climb up to Wondervu. Would that road be icy? There was melted snow running across the road in numerous places along the Peak-to-Peak and sooner or later that snowmelt would definitely be turning to ice.

But the road was OK and I got over the hump at Wondervu and headed down. And it was really nice to be going down Coal Creek for a change. And despite the cold it was, still, a great day to be out riding.

So I came down to CO 93 and turned south. Of course, this road between Boulder and Golden is notorious for high winds and on this day it lived up to its reputation. I rode close to the right side of the road to give myself all the room possible whenever the gusts would try to push me into the northbound lane. I came through the west side of Golden and past the Taj Mahal then turned south to get on C-470.

It was when I had just crossed over I-70 and the southbound lanes were converging that the most powerful gust of the day blasted me relentlessly across my lane and into the lane on my left. Fight it though I might, resistance was futile and I had only a split second to check my mirror to see that while the car behind me to my left was close, there was room for me in front of him. If he’d been 10 feet closer it would have been hairy.

And oh yeah, it was right after this that it occurred to me that my fingers were no longer cold.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. Chalk up one more ride in the hills for 2017. Will this one be the last? We’ll see. I’ve got all winter to ride the prairie.

Biker Quote for Today

If you don’t like motorcycles then you probably won’t like me, and I’m OK with that.

Where Monarch Boulevard ends–for now.

I turned south on Quebec from Belleview, figuring I’d cruise down toward Daniels Park. It occurred to me I’d never much been south on Quebec south of Arapahoe Road so it would be interesting to take it further. Then I thought, “Where does this road go, anyway? Where does it end?” So I decided to find out.

Turns out Quebec goes a lot further. Past C-470, which I knew, but even on past where University Boulevard has bent east and become Lincoln Avenue. Is this going to take me all the way to Daniels Park?

But then a little further, when it hits McArthur Ranch Road (a road I’m totally unfamiliar with) it changes suddenly and is now Monarch Boulevard. And keeps going. From here we’re no longer going straight, but instead curving all over and the further we go the more it curves, even heading due east for awhile. Are we going all the way to Castle Pines Parkway? That’s the road that runs west from I-25 to Daniels Park.

Yes we hit Castle Pines. And Monarch was still heading south. Holy smokes, where does this road go?

Not much further, as it turned out. Yet.

Monarch curved around a bit through a neighborhood and then ended abruptly at the dead end in the photo above. But a sign nearby announced that soon it will be extended into the new Lagae Ranch area now filled with bulldozers shoving dirt around, which you can see beyond the sign.

So I found the end. I headed back to Castle Pines Parkway and went east to I-25 and then wondered where that road goes as it continues east past the interstate. Well, let’s find out.

I think I’d been on this road before, though. It arcs northeastward first above and then in front of the relatively new Rueter-Hess Reservoir, and the road itself became Hess Road apparently just on the other side of I-25. Hess Road, I knew, comes out on Parker Road a little south of the town of Parker.

But I got there and saw Hess continuing east and wondered, “Where does this road go?” I guess I’ll find out.

Hess itself does not go far at all. It almost immediately intersects with Hilltop Road and I knew where that went. It bends south and then east until it hits a north-south road that runs down to Elizabeth.

I didn’t want to go that far and just have to come back so I took the first turn I found, which led me into The Pinery. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in The Pinery but it is labyrinthine and easy to get lost in. But I knew that Pinery Parkway will take you back to 83 so I just meandered around until I hit that road and took it out of the development.

Now I was back on 83 and there was nothing to do but head north and home.

I call that a good ride. I love exploring and finding out where roads go. I’m one of those riders who doesn’t pick a destination but instead, just picks a directions and goes. And I never seem to run out of roads that make me ask that question: Where does this road go?

Biker Quote for Today

Four wheels may get you there, but two wheels will make the journey memorable.

Yeah, I felt like an idiot.

Of course when you do something really bone-headed you’re sure to have a large audience. I searched the web for some stories riders have told of their most embarrassing moments, and they are presented below. Up above in that photo is one of mine. On that particular day I could not for the life of me simply rock my Concours up on its center stand. Fortunately, the people in front of whom I embarrassed myself were the ones who then helped me get it back up.

By the way, a number of these stories come from folks in New Zealand, thus the odd–for us–language used at times.

• Pulling out of Croucher st onto Queen st, right outside the Star and Garter, hit neutral, revved to max, smashed it into second gear and the front wheel took off skywards leaving me hanging off the back heading into oncoming traffic. Much excitement from all the drinkers at the windows. Ignominious.
• 1986, Stylin it up hangin off the Benelli doing a very good Freddie Spencer imitation trying to impress a chick. Dropped it and as I slid down the road looking back thinking I may get some sympathetic concern, was horrified to see that she hadn’t even noticed.
• 3.05 pm one busy afternoon outside high school I gave the bike a solid kick to get her running and a big handful of revs to make sure everyone had noticed me. I proceeded to give it plenty of revs and subsequently dropped the clutch to find I’d left the lock on the front wheel and dropped the bike in front of all my mates. They still take pleasure in reminding me about it 15+ years later.
  (Reply on this forum: Hard luck mate. I had a similar minor fall in a forest once but luckily there was nobody around to see or hear me fall, so did it even happen….I think not.
• One of my better ones with an audience was going full tilt on my pushie past the girls college in Blenheim, eyes left at all the skirt on the tennis courts. Straight into the back of a parked car. Got me plenty of attention, although not quite the kind I had in mind.
• One fine day @ the Paeroa races, I’d had a good day watching the racing & hopped on the bike to head home with the then G/F. She jumped on the back, I let out the clutch & the Disc lock stopped us dead. I managed to hold the bike kinda up, but she fell off the side & onto the grass. Of course I managed to do this with a LOT of other people that we knew around. My popularity went to zero in an instant :)
• I have a sticker on my helmet that says “turn the gas on stupid”. It was given to me last year at bike week after trying to get the bike started in the middle of a crowd of 300 at Hooters. Damn near ran the battery down trying to get it started-with the pet**** on “off”. When I realized what was going on, I dismounted and made a big show of checking all the mechanicals, battery, etc.(fully knowing what I had done). Got back on and miraculously the bike started. I’m guessing that of the 300 people, 150 thought I was an awesome mechanic and the other 150 knew exactly what happened. Couldn’t fool my bro’s though. 30 minutes later at the next stop, I had my new helmet sticker.
• I was leaving the local biker bar and I figured I would be real cool and take off kind of hard so everyone would hear my nice sounding exhaust. It would have been much cooler if I had buckled my helmet so I didn’t have to go back and get it out of the middle of the street.
• I was washing the bike one day and Penny decided to help, so she grabbed the Armorall and started to shine up the seat. A couple of friends stopped by and wanted to go for a ride. Well you guessed it, Just as we were pulling out of the driveway I dropped the clutch and off went my wife right in the middle of the street.. The only thing that got hurt was her pride and now she never ever puts ANYTHING on the seat besides her butt.
• This was back when I was young and stupid (I’m not young anymore). There were a bunch of us who used to ride dirt bikes up near the lake not too far from my house. Usually after a day of riding we would have a fire by the lake and drink some beers. Of course every now and then one of us would get on the bike and do some donuts or a wheelie, or something stupid. Well my famous trick was to ride toward the edge of the lake, where it was about a 5 foot drop to the water which was about 10 feet deep right there, and just before I got to the edge I would lock the back brake, skid sideways, and then jump on the throttle doing a 1/2 donut about a foot from the lake. Yep, you guessed it. Got just a little too close one time and went right over the edge. Both the bike and I hit the water making a big splash and of course getting a big cheer. I went back the next day with a truck and pulled the bike out, which believe it or not ran just fine after it all dried out. For years I was known as “Splash.”
• I had just bought my brand new Vulcan 2000. I picked it up at the dealer and rode it home ahead of my wife. I decided to go around the block before she got home and had to stop at the top of the hill. The street had just been paved and had a lot of asphault gravels on it. Soooo….. my foot slides out and the bike goes down, I jammed my leg under it to keep the tank from getting dinged and was pinned. I had to yell for my neighbor to come out and help me get the bike back up. This is one heavy bike! I then pulled onto the carport and got off…..kickstand still up, rider pinned face first against the wall. Luckily, all before the wife got home.
• Ok I too have had a moment in which I went to move my wife’s bike which was setting in front of a bunch of bikers. As soon as I let out on the clutch I went down. Now that wasn’t bad enough, so I jumped up and looked around to see if anyone saw that…..they did. So I started the bike up again and did the very same thing, this time breaking off one of my wife’s mirror’s……….Moral of the story ……Don’t forget to remove the front brake lock stupid!!
• Well years ago, before I married I met this girl at a rally who wasn’t really into the bike scene just the party atmosphere. Got to talking about how difficult it must be for bikers to pick a one-nite-stand,and make the most of it…..well I decided to demonstrate how it could actually be done on a bike, my cunning little plan almost worked until things got a wee bit hot, the stand flipped,bike fell over, end of one-night-stand.Embarrassing wasn’t the word, and of course being half-tanked I told my best mate……needless to say he did not tell a single person at the well packed rally, he just told the lead singer of the band, who decided to share the information with everyone.

Biker Quote for Today

God made some girls perfect; the rest she put in cars.

Yeah, we did things differently way back then.

Do you ever ride stoned? I mean, hey, we can talk about these things. Marijuana is legal in Colorado. (Riding stoned is not!!)

We used to, some of us in the OFMC. A long time ago. Boy, you better believe we don’t any more. And I really don’t think it’s so much because we realized that riding impaired is stupid. I think it happened because we just got to where we couldn’t imagine riding stoned. “I can’t ride–I’m freaking high!”

But we used to. At least John and I. John had this thing where we’d head out in the morning but stop pretty soon, usually both to “drain the unit” and so John could pull out his pipe. Bill didn’t generally partake, but would on the rare occasion.

And then we’d get back on the bikes and head off again. It was not a problem. We never had a crash or any other issues.

Then I remember one time we were headed up to Encampment, Wyoming, and were in the Snowy Range and stopped at an alpine lake. Friggs surprised us by pulling out some weed that he told us his ladyfriend had confiscated from her son. Of course we were happy to toke at the kid’s expense, but a short time later I realized that wow, I was really stoned. And I wasn’t exactly enthused to get back on the bike.

But I did and we went on and all was fine. For me, I think that was the point where smoking and riding didn’t seem like such a good idea any more. I can’t speak for John on where it hit him but I do know that nowadays he just doesn’t even consider riding stoned, either. (Of course, John just sold his bike, so he’s not riding at all now.)

So am I saying it’s really cool to get high and ride, and you should just ignore all the “Ride Sober” warnings you see? Heck no, riding high is stupid. I know that now. Just like I know now that riding without a helmet is stupid, but I used to do that. Used to ride without eye protection. Just how stupid can you get?

I see this as proof that society does make progress. Or at least it can at times. I’m not anything close to the only one who used to do all these things. People learn. People change. Public attitudes change. It’s really not appropriate to judge ideas from an era long ago on the basis of current thinking, although a lot of people do. That doesn’t mean some of these ideas were any less wrong then than they are now, but they were prevalent and accepted. We’ve gotten smarter. Now they’re not accepted. But they were then.

Is there a point I’m making here? I had to ask myself that question. Maybe this: You had an excuse before; maybe not a good one but an excuse nonetheless. You don’t have any excuse now. Get with the century. Welcome to this century.

Biker Quote for Today

Bikers don’t go gray, we turn chrome.

Do yourself a favor and do a track day.

Have you ever wished you could get out on your motorcycle and just let her rip? No worry about speeding tickets. No worry about hitting that pocket of gravel as you carve that turn. No worry about that idiot cager who’s just about to pull out in front of you at the intersection.

That’s why God invented race tracks.

The really cool thing is that race tracks are not just for the pros. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of days when race tracks sit idle and you’d better believe the people running them welcome additional users. The perfect scenario is for your riding club to hire the track for a day, bring in a couple riding instructors to give pointers and offer critique, and then each of you pay your share of the cost to go ride the track for a day. Alternatively, sometimes the tracks themselves set it up and provide the instructors. Then all you have to do is sign up and pay.

The Concours Owners Group that I have intermittently belonged to organized a track day at one point and I jumped at the chance. The day was set up in segments, alternating classroom instruction and parking lot practice with track time. They divided us up into three groups based on skill level. I knew I wasn’t in the top tier but I sure didn’t want to think of myself as bottom tier, so I went for the middle. My thinking seemed to predominate, so there were more than could be accommodated in the middle, but I was not one of the ones forced to join the lower group.

My group started in the classroom, and in many ways it was very much like the Experienced Rider Course (ERC) sanctioned by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, just omitting the portions on looking out for other traffic. They talked about braking before entering the turn, late apexing, where you go deep into the turn before initiating a sharp turn, and other such techniques.

Then we moved out into the parking lot. We practiced swerving, turning our heads to look as far into the curve as possible, standing the bike up before braking, and modulating braking to achieve maximum stopping power without skidding. Then it was time for the track. Hot dang!

As each group took to the track, the instructors also mounted up and rode with us. Singling out each rider individually, at times they would ride behind and observe your technique, and at other times they might pull ahead and motion for you to follow them as they demonstrated what you should do.

It turned out you really couldn’t blast your way down the track at warp speed because the straightaway was not long enough to reach that speed before you needed to start backing off. And no, there were no worries of gravel in the curves but there was one spot coming into a curve where an asphalt patch was much softer than the area around it and, of course, target fixation lead me to hit that spot consistently. One of those times my rear wheel would have slid out from under me in a low-side get-off but I planted my left foot well enough to recover and stay up.

I also found that my riding ego was a bit puffed up. While I had not wanted to be relegated to the low-skill group, I was the slowest rider in the middle group. Everyone else kept passing me, and I never passed anyone. Time for a little humility.

After lunch we repeated the circuit, with the added input of the instructors’ critique of our earlier riding. We each now had a better understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, and what we needed to work on. But the track day is only a beginning. Techniques do not become skills unless you continue to practice them. I have, and I believe I’m a better rider because of it, but nothing beats a refresher course once in a while.

Biker Quote for Today

This is a motorcycle rock. Throw the rock into the air. If it hits the ground, go ride.

Motorcycle Link for Today

Heading to Australia? Check out Procycles.

We don’t stop riding because we get old, we get old because we stop riding.

I’ve heard that line for years but now I’m starting to question it. People I know are no longer riding and while age is not the reason in and of itself, the more specific reasons are directly related to age.

John is the perfect example. John had a Cushman scooter when he was a kid but then went years without a bike. Later, when he bought a 750cc Virago he opened the door for a lot. First he took me riding on behind and then before long I bought my own bike, my CB750 Custom. Then Bill got a Shadow and the OFMC was born.

That was a long time ago. Well, John has hung up his spurs. More specifically, he sold the Harley. He’s done riding.

John’s decision is based on health. He has started suffering from esophageal cramps, which basically render him almost comatose. He got hit by one while riding on this year’s OFMC trip. Scary situation. On top of that, he is suffering macular degeneration, which is causing him to lose the vision in the center of his eyes. He sees around the edges but when he looks directly at something it disappears.

This is very sad, and the OFMC will not be the same. This might be John’s motto: When I was younger I was afraid I’d die riding. Now that I’m old and falling apart, I’m afraid I won’t.

Then there’s Dan. With Dan it was more direct–he suffered a stroke. More than a year later he’s still struggling to perform everyday functions; riding a motorcycle is out of the question, and the bike was sold long ago.

Mind you, this is a guy who used to routinely ride more than 30,000 miles every year. Dan had a decal on his bike that showed a map of the 48 states with the label, “My riding area.” He meant it. But now he doesn’t ride. So very sad, and so unfair. He had seemed to be in great health until one day he wasn’t.

This might have been Dan’s motto: Young riders pick a destination and go. Old riders pick a direction and go.

I know a bunch of other guys who used to ride but don’t any more but for them it was a decision; in some cases the dad decision, as in “I have a child and he needs a father–I’m giving up the bike.” Maybe in later years they will be back.

What this has meant for the OFMC is that this year there were only 6 riders on the trip. Not long ago we had had 10-11.

So don’t take it for granted. Get out there and ride every chance you get. And I’m going to take seriously the motto Roy told us he has subscribed to all his life. Roy just turned 86 but he’s as spry and active as someone 40 years younger. Here’s his take on life: Does as much as you can for as long as you can.

Yeah, what he said.

Biker Quote for Today

Hop on your steel horse and go find your soul in the wind.