Passes & Canyons Blog

One thing that really struck me in the short time I spent at last weekend’s MRF Meeting of the Minds was how paranoid so many of these folks seemed. Of course, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone is not out to get you. And I guess when you spend your days fighting actual efforts to put limits on your passion it’s easy to slip into that paranoid mindset. Anyway, “. . . a lot of people trying to take away our freedoms” was a common refrain.

I found it interesting when Megan Ekstrom was speaking on the issues the MRF is focused on that she–as many do–expects the Democrats to regain control of the U.S. House in the upcoming election, and so the hope is that in the following lame duck session the Republicans will push through a lot of legislation in a hurry. And among those bills are some that the MRF is working for.

T-shirts are a standard among motorcyclists so it’s no surprise that there were plenty with interesting and/or amusing messages:
• Freedom Ain’t Quiet
• You Ride Free Because of Me
• St. Urgis, Patron Saint of Motorcyclists (OK, this was me, with the shirt I had made, with my trademarked brand)
• #IRideIVote, with three choices–Democrat, Republican, Motorcyclist–with the checkmark on Motorcyclist
• The wide variety of designs and logos of many different state ABATE organizations

Biker Quote for Today

There may be more to life than motorcycles, but not to my life!

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation had its annual Meeting of the Minds this past weekend in Denver. As ABATE of Colorado was the host for the conference I went over to do whatever volunteer work I could but on being told that all was in hand I only sat in on a couple sessions and then left. After all, I had not paid to register, plus the opening session touched on most of the issues to be discussed.

The MRF, in case you are not familiar, is a national organization working for motorcyclist rights, or MRO. As such, they, along with the American Motorcyclist Association, are among the primary lobbyists in Washington, D.C. working on these issues.

In the Friday morning session, Megan Ekstrom, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Relations, touched briefly on six topics the MRF is primarily focused on for the coming year. The fact that these issues have been in the MRF focus for some time gives an idea of how this work requires slow, continued effort before success is achieved.

• Autonomous Vehicles: You’d have to be living in a cave not to know that self-driving cars are coming our way, and it is crucial that the programmers who determine how these things detect and avoid people and objects include motorcycles in their algorithms. That would seem obvious but it can only be good to have someone making sure that happens.

• Profiling: Is it legitimate for police or the state patrol to set up motorcycle-only stops to check registration, licensing, etc.? If you’re stopping all traffic to check for these things then fine, go ahead. But stopping only bikers? Most of us don’t think so. The MRF is working at the national level to have this outlawed, while local, state organizations carry the battle forward on the state level.

• RPM Act: The Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act clarifies that it is legal under federal law to modify the emissions system of a motor vehicle that is converted for race-use-only. This would seem obvious. If it is OK to build racing vehicles that do not meet emissions standards, how can it not be OK to take an existing vehicle and turn it into a racer? Megan said the MRF has hopes that this legislation will pass this year yet, and if not, next year appears hopeful.

• Motorcycle Advisory Council: According to Mark Gardiner on Revzilla, “The MAC’s a 10-person committee made up of traffic engineers and road-safety specialists — an advisory body brought together to provide information, advice, and recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on ‘matters related to motorcyclist safety… and the implementation of noteworthy practices of highway infrastructure related improvements that will result in positive impacts on motorcyclist safety.'”

The issue, said Megan, is that of the 10, only 1 represents motorcyclists, although many of the others are themselves motorcyclists. The greater issue here is not entirely clear to me.

• Ethanol: As the Environmental Protection Agency pushes for higher percentages of ethanol in gasoline, motorcycles are at risk. Older bikes, especially, can be harmed by too much ethanol in the gas. While you could suggest that any alert rider can be careful not to use high-ethanol gas, some folks argue that that possibility should be forestalled so as to protect those who are unaware. And while I’m pretty aware, I recognize that there are people out there who don’t pay as much attention as I do. So I’m supportive of these efforts.

• Infrastructure Modernization: Similar to the RPM Act, it would seem obvious that as roads and infrastructure are built and improved, motorcycles are taken into consideration in the planning. But just trusting that to happen would be foolish. We need to keep an eye on things and ensure that what is so obvious to us is also clear in the minds of those doing the planning. “Oh gosh, that never occurred to us,” is not something we want to hear.

So. You may not belong to the AMA, the MRF, ABATE, or any other of these organizations. But be aware that you benefit from their efforts.

Biker Quote for Today

Love is all you need . . . oh, and a motorcycle.

When I’ve gone on motorcycle trips, that is just what they have been: motorcycle trips.

Until this summer when Judy and I went with a mixed group on a trip to British Columbia and elsewhere. On this trip, in addition to four motorcycles we had two Slingshots and one Porsche. This may have been the first of many.

First off, it wasn’t at all an issue. I’ve always figured it would be awkward with a car along because motorcycles can stop in a lot of places where a car could not. But that’s really not an issue if you recognize this is something that might happen at times but meanwhile everyone knows where we’re headed and can get there on their own.

Secondly, it can be incredibly convenient to have a car at times. Such as when Jungle’s Interceptor died in British Columbia. Because Terry was there with her Porsche it was easy to load Jungle and his bags into the car and drive on ahead to the nearest town with a motorcycle dealership. And then because we had another friend joining us for a few days–in a car–we were able to continue the trip while the bike sat awaiting repair. And finally, Willie was able to ride with Terry while Jungle rode her bike on the trip home.

I then went immediately from getting home from this trip to heading out on the OFMC 2018 trip, and on the fifth or sixth day of that trip Friggs crashed his bike. This spooked him because he had no idea why he crashed and he told us in a day or two that he had decided to give up riding.

However, this came at the point where we were joined by John, one of the original three OFMC members, who has given up riding for health reasons. John said he had considered coming along with us in his truck but didn’t think that sounded all that appealing, all by himself in the truck. If Friggs would like to join him in the truck, perhaps both of them will be back with us next year. And Friggs thought that sounded great.

So all of a sudden, motorcycle trips are no longer looking like just a bunch of guys on motorcycles. And I guess I’m OK with that. But I swear I’ll stay on two wheels to the very end.

Biker Quote for Today

A bad day just makes an evening ride feel that much better.

I ride my motorcycles all year round, but it’s not that hard because I live in Colorado. We always have a lot of warm days no matter what month it is so I just pick and choose when I’ll ride. But what about if you live some place way north, such as Duluth, Minnesota? My map shows me that Duluth is about 100 miles south of the Canadian border, and right on the shore of Lake Superior. Or perhaps more significantly, about 450 miles north of Denver.

And what if, living in Duluth, you were to ride to work all winter long, not just the occasional warm day? I’m not talking just sub-freezing days, I’m talking sub-zero days. Well, they did it.

They who?

They, in this case, as a bunch of employees of Aerostich, a company well know in motorcycling circles as manufacturers of riding suits, jackets, pants, and other items. And the company is headquartered in Duluth. What a natural marketing pitch, to use their own products and then ride all winter.

But wait, there’s more. All this riding was done on a Zero electric motorcycle. Now, common sense tells us that batteries don’t work so well in really, really cold environments. Will a Zero even run in sub-zero weather?

So anyway, Aerostich and Zero got together and decided to do a test. Test the Aerostich riding gear and the Zero motorcycle against the really cold weather of northern Minnesota. And then they released a book telling about the experience. That book is Zero Below Zero: Electric Motorcycle Everyday Commuting All Winter in Duluth Minnesota. Alan picked this book up somewhere and thought–rightly–that I might be interested in giving it a read. I would definitely recommend it to you–it’s pretty interesting.

First off, they made a bunch of mods on the bike, a Zero FX, such as embedding studs in the tires to give traction on icy streets. Aerostich also created a custom heated jacket for the Zero battery, but then the practice was to park it outside all the time. Sure, keeping it in your garage would be reasonable, but they wanted to push the thing, so park it outside–always.

How did it go? They did it. They rode the thing all winter, through snow and over ice and in weather far colder than any I’ve ever ridden in. And they loved it.

OK, I could make this post twice as long by going into a lot of detail and quoting from the book, but I’ll decline that temptation. If you want to know more, read the book. It only costs $10. And yes, it’s great marketing for both companies but consider, if these companies’ products made this possible and enjoyable, perhaps their products deserve recognition. I know I’m intrigued with this Aerostich “Warmbib” that several of the riders said they loved.

Now, this book is not going to inspire me to ride in all weather because I don’t have studs in my tires, nor do I anticipate putting any in. But it’s good to know that I really could if I wanted to. Pretty cool.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s always Ride O’Clock.

For once on this trip we did not need or want to get an early start, so we got to sleep in a little. Our ride for the day was to be short and we were still hanging with John. It was cool departing but Dennis pulled over within 10 miles to shed a layer, and it quickly got warm.

It was a quick ride to Montrose, then east on U.S. 50. This is a nice ride, with hills and curves, and comes over Blue Mesa Summit to the Blue Mesa Reservoir. We then rode the rest of the way into Gunnison and stopped for lunch.

The weather changed dramatically while we ate. Leaving Gunnison the sky was very threatening and the winds were whipping. I suggested we should try to outrun the weather. Whether or not that was Bill’s intention, he took off and rode hard and fast up the valley. Meanwhile the wind beat on us with malice, with dust so thick at times we could hardly see and gusts shoving me several feet to the right on a number of occasions. This was the only time on this trip I wished I was on the Concours. Those extra 200 pounds would have provided welcome stability.

Whether we outran the weather or just got lucky, by the time we got to the mountain the extreme winds were past but then it got gusty going up the mountain. It also got cold. We blasted up and near the top of Monarch Pass the wind kicked up substantially again and at times it was not one bit of fun. We got over the top and kept on pushing hard but now it was the weather ahead that looked really bad. There was serious wet up ahead. After a stop at Poncha Springs, however, it appeared the wet had already made its way east of our route. I put on my rain jacket for the warmth but it was not needed for dryness. Winds buffeted us at times as we made our way north on U.S. 285 to Buena Vista—our day’s destination—but all in all it was a good ride.

Next day it was homeward bound. The last day’s ride home is almost always anticlimactic. With just 120 miles to go there was no need to hurry; all we felt we needed to do was get home before the afternoon rains began. It was cool so we wondered how warmly we needed to dress but we were getting gas on the outskirts of town so the ride there would give us some idea. And yes, we put on more layers.

Then it was off toward Fairplay and once again the sky was threatening. What’s more, the temperature was dropping. That 35 miles to Fairplay was a chiller! I didn’t know if Dennis, in the lead, was planning to stop there for more warmth but I definitely was. Fortunately, Dennis pulled over at the first opportunity and we all bundled up. It was cold!

Taking off again, Dennis noted that there was probably no reason to stop again. So we rode on to Conifer and he dropped off, then on down to where 285 hits C-470, at which point I went straight and the other guys turned north. My last few miles through the city were now pretty warm but not enough to prompt me to stop and peel off layers. At home I quickly shed the warm gear and sighed a happy smile to be home, with intentions of staying there, after three weeks on the road.

Biker Quote for Today

Sorry, I’m busy. I have to ride my bike.

We took off from Silver City this morning in the cool and made good time. We went through some nice farming and ranching land and then got into the Apache National Forest and went up and down and winding around through some beautiful country. And it stayed cool. Early in the day we stopped at a tiny little place and found they had ice cream so 10 a.m. was ice cream hour on this day.

Then we continued north and ran into more chip seal. This road was not all twisty like the one the day before but the chip seal went much longer. It’s about 38 miles from Apache Creek to Quemado and we hit the chip seal after about 5 miles. This was where the work was going on where the overlay was the freshest. It got progressively better–more embedded with less loose stuff–as we went along and toward Quemado it had even been swept, although none of it had been striped yet. I explained that while planning the route I had consulted Chipseal.gov to find where all the work was planned so I could route us through as much as possible (wink). Dennis noted that I had done a fine job in that regard.

By lunch, though, it was hot and the land was still nice but not as nice. These New Mexico highways have 55 mph speed limits and, in the lead, I generally ran at about 65. But later in the day, on a highway with zero traffic, I kicked it up to 75-80 just to burn through these very straight miles. We reached Gallup and found our hotel and kicked back with some beers.

Friggs was feeling amazingly good this morning, considering his crash yesterday. He had expected at least a sore shoulder but didn’t even have that. It’s pretty amazing. The one really telling image though is his helmet. This top quality, expensive helmet is absolute trash, though he will wear it home. All you need to do is look at the side of the helmet and then think about the side of his face and there is nothing at all to be said. No words can ever say as much as that image.

Leaving Gallup the next day we had a long, straight, relatively uninteresting ride north to Shiprock. Yes there are some big rocks around here sticking up hundreds of feet from flat ground but the area is mostly flat and very brown and barren. Then east to Aztec and north to Durango. It gets prettier as soon as you get into Colorado and I was surprised to find that it is only 33 miles from Aztec to Durango.

North out of Durango it gets dramatically beautiful quickly. Up to Silverton over Molas Pass and then to Ouray over Red Mountain Pass. The Million Dollar Highway. There was construction in places on U.S. 550, so at times it was pretty slow going. Of course, if you were behind Friggs—which I was—it was all slow going. After his crash the other day, Friggs is spooked and not at all confident on the mountain curves.

Then there were the idiots. We got behind a tanker truck over Red Mountain Pass and traffic piled up behind us. We’re not crazy, nor did we have any reason to rush, so no problem. But several idiots sped past us and then proceeded to pass the truck on blind curves with double yellow lines. If someone had been coming the other way there would have been slaughter. It was only luck that kept everyone alive. What is wrong with people?

Reaching Ouray, our day’s destination, we found our motel and awaited the arrival of OFMC co-founder John, who was missing his first ride in our 30-year history. Health issues have forced John to give up riding but he lives just a few miles north of Ouray so he came to join us for the night. The first thing Friggs did when John arrived was to tell him about his crash and how he has decided to give up riding after we get home. This was the first time Friggs had stated such an intention, though I had wondered if he was having thoughts of that sort.

In discussion, however, John mentioned that he had thought about continuing to come along, in his truck, but didn’t think driving alone was all that appealing. But if Friggs would like to ride with him then by golly, the two of them could be right back with the group again next year. Friggs jumped at that suggestion so that may well be the way we go next year.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles: more spacious than a car.

We left Ruidoso early to take advantage of the cool and made good time down the mountain, to Alamogordo, and across the White Sands valley to Las Cruces. Then we turned north on I-25. I toyed with proposing to the guys that we go the 36 miles south and cross the border into Mexico, just to do it, but I didn’t. I realized later that none of us had our passports so we couldn’t have done it anyway. Years ago, on the eighth OFMC trip, Bill and John and I crossed into Canada for about an hour, just so we could say we did. Nevertheless, Las Cruces for me was about 1,500 miles south of where I had been in Canada, on a bike, just nine days earlier.

We got off I-25 at Caballo and headed west through Hillsboro on New Mexico 152 to ride “The Snake,” New Mexico’s answer to the “Tail of the Dragon.” But before we even started to climb we ran into a chip seal in progress. We actually waited on the pilot car on a surface that had only been spread with gravel earlier that morning.

The chip seal went all the way to the top of Emory Pass, probably two-thirds of the fun, twisty road we came to ride. The fun quotient was radically reduced. We made the ride slowly and carefully and I was so glad I was on the V-Strom. I can’t imagine how unpleasant it would have been on the Concours.

We stopped at the view area at the top of the pass and then started down the other side on the good, clean asphalt. I was in the lead and a short while later I was not seeing Bill behind me. I slowed and Bill caught up but he had his turn signal on so I pulled over in a good pull-out. He told me he had not seen the others behind him for too long, so we waited there a few minutes for them.

After about five minutes we headed back, fearing we were going to come around a bend and see something we were really hoping not to see. And the further we backtracked the more our apprehension grew.

Finally there was Friggs headed the other way and he gave us the OK signal. We kept going until Dennis and Brett also passed and we turned around. Obviously we were hoping to find them all stopped somewhere waiting for us and we did, in the same pull-out where we had first stopped.

Friggs had crashed. He was OK, a little skinned up with ruined shirt and pants and boots. Probably looking at a very sore shoulder tomorrow. He had been down-shifting as he headed into a curve and in the blink of an eye he was on the ground. He had no idea why. Dennis had been ahead of him and thought he heard a bang. When Friggs did not immediately come around the curve after him he turned right around. As Dennis rounded the curve he saw Frigg’s bike laying in the middle of the road and Friggs dragging himself out of the road.

The two of them tried without success to stand the bike up but a guy in a car stopped and the three of them got it up. This was just when Brett reached the scene after turning back.

So, only cosmetic damage to the bike and nothing significant with Friggs. But what a scare! This is the first time in the 30 years the OFMC has been taking these trips that someone has gone down. Sure, we’ve dropped bikes but we’ve never had a crash.

The rest of the ride in to Silver City was uneventful but oh, man, we sure had a lot to talk about over brews at the end of the road on this day.

Biker Quote for Today

Sometimes adventure isn’t fun while it’s happening — Mark Tuttle

Leaving Angel Fire, we got an early start to beat the heat, and cruising down New Mexico 434 was sweet with the extremely narrow—barely more than one lane—and very twisty and sometimes amazingly steep sections. But the state is “improving” this road so it may not be so sweet for long. Go ride it soon–it’s a nice road.

We reached Las Vegas (New Mexico) and it was getting warm. A quick jog on I-25, then off on U.S. 84 and just start burning miles. At times, for no discernible reason, the speed limit drops for long stretches from 65 to 55. But all the traffic was screaming past us so we did 70, too.

Lots of drivers were absolutely blasting, passing us and continuing at 90 to 100. And one guy in a big pick-up hauled past us but not in time to get all the way past when another car approached from the other direction. He could have pulled in between two of us but he chose to stay in the oncoming lane and forced the guy coming to swerve onto the shoulder. Insane.

By the time we were getting within 100 miles of the day’s destination, Ruidoso, the temperature was hitting 100. So glad we started riding when the temp was about 60.

At a gas stop at Vaughn we were approached by a group of Christian Motorcyclists Association folks, who were doing their thing and asked to do a blessing of our bikes. I stood off to the side and when one of them approached me I said, “I’m not a Christian.” He said, “That don’t matter,” and I replied, “It does to me.”

We got into Ruidoso and I was leading the group to our hotel and as I came to an angular intersection, on a slope, I had my head turned way, way to the left to look for traffic and just dropped the V-Strom right there. Now, all the guys were there to help me lift it right back up, and there was no damage at all, so it was essentially a non-event. But it was annoying. That’s twice now in just a couple days I’ve dropped that bike. Still, if that’s the worst that happens on this trip I can live with that.

And then we arrived at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, and as we were checking in they brought us complimentary margaritas. On this blazing hot day that was truly a nice touch.

There was no travel the next day. We stayed two nights in Ruidoso and played golf and gambled and I hit the biggest win of my life–$280 on a single 60-cent spin. I’ll take it, thank you. This was the first day in 18 days that I did not get on a motorcycle.

Biker Quote for Today

Some will walk through the Pearly Gates and some will ride.