Passes & Canyons Blog

Wednesday morning and I went by the Original Pancake House again and this time the other folks from the RMMRC were there. It turned out the last time that the ride had been canceled because pretty nearly everyone who normally goes on these impromptu rides was gone on a ride to Alabama. I just didn’t get the notice of the cancellation because it was put out via the group’s recently added Meet-Up group, of which I was not yet a member.

I’m a member now. And it turns out that apparently this Meet-Up thing is a good recruiting tool. There were several other guys who are not RMMRC members who came via Meet-Up, and who may now become members. In this particular case, let’s hear it for social media.

The ride this day, the decision was made, was to go up through Evergreen, across Evergreen Parkway to I-70, to Georgetown and over Guanella Pass. Just an easy 140 or so mile jaunt. There were nine of us on a bunch of BMWs, a couple Concourses, a Gold Wing, and a V-Strom 1000.

Figuring it might be chilly in the morning, and would definitely be cool up on top of the pass, I wore my newest mesh jacket with a fleece vest underneath. I was right about the morning chill but by the time we got out of town I was very warm and looking forward to higher altitude. It definitely was cool up on the pass so my thinking was good.

Riding with a bunch of guys you’ve mostly never ridden with there is always the question of how well you will do together. At breakfast I sat next to the guy on the V-Strom (can’t remember his name) and he told me of another Meet-Up group he had ridden with where in his opinion the ride leader was a bit crazy and at times he found that ride scary. Yeah, you’ve just got to ride your own ride.

This group went together well, though. After a lot of shuffling and getting separated in city traffic we regrouped out by Morrison and headed up the hill. Everyone just naturally arranged in staggered formation and nobody was crowding anybody. A good riding group.

Guanella was a good ride. There had been talk about encountering snow on the road up high but it was completely dry. Be aware, however, if you’re heading up there soon, that there is considerable gravel in some of the hairpin curves. I took those at about 5 mph.

There were a good number of bikes on the road over the pass, so other people had the same idea we did. It was definitely a good day to ride.

The only thing I thought was a bit lacking was that when we got to the top of the pass we paused to regroup but then just kept riding. It seems to me that the top of a pass generally calls for stopping and getting off and looking around a bit, stretching your legs. Certainly I could have gotten off my bike and walked up to the ride leader and suggested we do that, and I didn’t, so I can’t blame him. But it just felt a bit gratuitous to me to not stop a bit. I mean, I like to ride, but I like to make stops, too.

So then it was down the other side, picking up US 285 at Grant, and on back into town. (Where I roasted with that fleece vest on!) And we scattered and went our separate ways.

Biker Quote for Today

“I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating; the BMW GS handles in ways a two-story building was never meant to.” — AZ_ADV Rider

I was casting about for a topic for this post and I thought about motorcycle poetry. Was there something like that out there?

Turns out there definitely is. In fact there is even a Wikipedia page titled “Biker poetry.” According to whoever put up this page, “Biker poetry is a movement of poetry that grew out of the predominantly American lifestyle of the Biker and Motorcycle clubs following World War II.” Turns out there are even “notable biker poets.” I’ll let you explore those on your own if you’re interested.

So I started out doing a search for “motorcycle poetry.” That returned only, oh, about 22.5 million links. Really?

The top of the pile was allpoetry.com. This very broad site breaks out into subject matter and https://allpoetry.com/poems/about/motorcycle is where I ended up. Here’s a sampling of the titles.

• 2 wheel death machine
• Two Wheels To Heaven
• The ride
• Parade of Dog Voices
• Well, that’s what I gave you a key for, isn’t it
• Wear A Helmet
• Motorcycle Madness

There are a lot more. Are they any good?

I will say this: If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I close each post with a “Biker Quote for Today.” Reading through these poems I picked up a few lines that will be gracing that feature sooner or later.

But is the poetry good? Well, I would have to say, in my opinion, not much of it. No Pulitzer Prize winners here. But some of it is interesting, and the variety of subject matter is interesting as well.

For instance, that one I listed above, Parade of Dog Voices. The idea is of a biker going down the road and dogs in the yards he/she passes barking at the passing bike. Parade of Dog Voices–get it?

So anyway, if you’re interested to see what else is out there here are a few more links.

Hello Poetry (https://hellopoetry.com/words/motorcycle/)
Poetry Soup (https://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/short/motorcycle)
Poetry By Chuck (https://www.charlesallenjohnson.com/motorcyclepoetry.htm)
Triumph Rat (https://www.triumphrat.net/biker-hang-out/179739-best-motorcycle-poetry.html)

Biker Quote for Today

A poem is a verbal artifact which must be as skillfully and solidly constructed as a table or a motorcycle. — W H Auden

Be careful if you’re riding your motorcycle in Mississippi. The most current numbers show that state as the one with the highest number of motorcycle deaths per rider in the country: 14.22 deaths per 1,000.

Colorado is right in the middle of the pack, at number 27: 5.42 deaths per 1,000. Is that crazy or what? Mississippi has three times the fatalities Colorado does. What’s going on down there?

These figures come courtesy of QuoteWizard Insurance News, an arm (I presume) of Lending Tree. You can find the complete list at https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/dangerous-states-for-motorcycles.

The safest state is Montana, with only 0.75 deaths per 1,000. Presumably that is due to the wide open spaces up there. Still, that means the Colorado fatality rate is about seven times as high as Montana’s. Is there something else they’re doing right?

I decided to take a look at fatality rates vs. helmet laws. Is there any correlation?

First I looked at states where helmets are required for everyone.

State / Deaths per 1,000
Alabama / 7.04
California / 6.28
Georgia / 6.82
Louisiana / 8.45
Massachusetts / 3.02
Mississippi / 14.22
Missouri / 8.75
Nebraska / 4.84
Nevada / 7.10
New Jersey / 5.43
New York / 3.70
North Carolina / 9.32
Oregon / 3.99
Tennessee / 8.07
Vermont / 4.20
Virginia / 6.03
Washington (state) / 3.46
West Virginia / 4.29

Only three states have no helmet law at all.

Illinois / 4.85
Iowa / 2.47
New Hampshire / 1.90

OK, so this is only a very cursory look. Who knows what other factors come into play. But I find it interesting that in those states with universal helmet requirements the fatality rates are all over the board, from the very worst (Mississippi) to one of the very best (Massachusetts). Meanwhile, two of the three states with no helmet laws have better fatality rates than even Massachusetts.

Don’t ask me what lessons to draw from this but I would definitely say these numbers show that anyone who thinks requiring helmets is a silver bullet cure for motorcycle fatalities is deluding themselves. Anyone care to offer their thoughts on all this?

Biker Quote for Today

It’s just like a video game that has… the element of danger. — Kenny Roberts

I wrote for Examiner.com for eight years but they went out of business and took everything down from the web. A lot of stuff I wrote–I think–was good and is still relevant. That’s what these Examiner Resurrections are.

For two days last week my wife, Judy, and I rented a motorcycle so we could do some riding in British Columbia while we were there on vacation. Renting is something I’m sure a lot of people have considered so I figure I’ll go through the pros and cons and how these things play out in the real world.

Our first decision was who to rent from. We identified two outfits, Cycle BC and EagleRider, although I see now that there were other options. While EagleRider charged more per day for the kind of bike we wanted than Cycle BC, I knew we could get one day free from EagleRider on my birthday, which coincidentally fell during the time we would be there. Plus, Cycle BC offered only 300 km per day and 20 cents per additional km, whereas EagleRider was unlimited km. Cycle BC offers a variety of bikes, while EagleRider only offers Harleys in its Vancouver office.

The Cons
Then we found the true cost. I haven’t had the chance to check this but I believe it is because we were in Canada. Taxes were incredibly high. On the $199 one-day rental (with the second day free) we paid taxes of about $100. Add to that the insurance we purchased and our two-day rental came to more than $350–and that’s with one day free! Yikes!

Oh well, we were determined to do this so we gulped and made the commitment. Of course, from that point forward there was no cancellation allowed. If medical reasons dictated a delay we would have up to one year to use what we had paid for, but no refunds.

We arrived to pick up the bike and the manager, Stephen, was very good. He had the Electra Glide Classic all prepped and ready for us and offered to leave the GPS unit on it at no extra charge if we desired. We figured what the heck, and were later glad we did because it definitely helped us getting around in Vancouver.

Before setting out, Stephen and I went over the bike carefully looking for any damage. I found it a bit unnerving that he made note of several very minor scratches that I could hardly see. If that was the kind of attention he paid to even those things that would generally be considered normal wear and tear, would he ding us seriously for any new nicks when we brought it back. I mean, rocks do get kicked up and cause tiny scrapes, but that’s life on the highway. And he gave us a sheet where all the charges related to different damages were spelled out in detail. Plus, he noted that the crash bars up front were unscratched, indicating this bike had never been dropped.

For the next two days it was never far from my thoughts that an already expensive rental could cost us a whole lot more if anything happened. And the insurance we paid for didn’t exactly put me at ease. For $18 per day we could have bought insurance that carried a $2,000 deductible but we paid $24 per day for insurance with a $1,000 deductible. That meant that theoretically our two-day rental could still end up costing us as much $1,350 in total. Ouch!

And it’s not as if I never came close to dropping that very heavy bike. I did come very close. One time in particular on some deeper than expected gravel in a turn-out along the highway I could hardly believe I got the thing stopped and we were still upright. There I was carrying what I consider the most precious cargo there is (Judy) and I’m sure it was only adrenaline that enabled me to keep it up. Afterward she patted my arm in recognition of the difficulty and all I could say was, “That wasn’t fun.”

The Pros
On the positive side, when we turned the bike in Stephen didn’t do the meticulous examination he had done before. He merely gave it a quick once-over and said “No damage.” And that was that. Of course, I hadn’t dropped it, and the only damage there could have been was, as I said, the normal wear and tear.

More importantly, we got to spend two days riding around in the awesome beauty of British Columbia on a motorcycle. We drove some of these same roads later in the car we rented and I was acutely aware of how constricted my vision was. There’s just no comparison between a TV sort of view and a total 360-degree view of everything.

And it was fun. That’s why we all ride, isn’t it? Because we enjoy it so very much? Take away the few less-than-wonderful moments and we had a great time. It’s the sort of thing you just can’t do on your own bike if your time is limited. Sure, it would have been great to have taken several weeks, ridden out, ridden around, and ridden home. And someday maybe we’ll do that. But if you don’t have that time you can still do the riding around part, it will just cost you a bit.

So if you can afford the bucks, renting can be a good option. Just plan on paying some serious bucks. And next time, we’re going to go with something lighter than an Electra Glide, even if the passenger accommodations aren’t as cushy. Of course, that’s another benefit of renting. You can try a bike out and see if it’s right for you or not. The Electra Glide is definitely off my list for good.

Biker Quote for Today

Your wits and senses fade after a long day in the saddle. On the freeway you don’t really need either, but on a two lane the wage of sin is wadding your skeleton through the grill of a Kenworth.

At least the last time I went on a ride that wasn’t it had a simple explanation. I went to take part in the Old Bike Ride and found nobody there. I got back home and checked and found I had gone on the wrong day. Doh!

Yesterday, however, I made plans to go with the RMMRC to breakfast and then on what they call an “impromptu” ride. The idea is to meet at the Original Pancake House, have breakfast, and then decide where to go. Breakfast at 8, ride at 9.

So I got to the pancake house about 8:05 and was puzzled not to see any bikes in the parking lot. Perhaps I’m the first to arrive. I went in and asked the hostess if there were some motorcycle guys there–we’re easy to spot, you know–and she said no, but you can look around. I did and there was no one.

I hung around awhile. Nothing. The hostess suggested perhaps I had the wrong location. I was at 8000 E. Belleview and there is another at 5700 S. University. I didn’t think I was at the wrong place but no one was showing up here and that place was only 10 minutes away and I had time. So I headed on over.

Got to 5700 S. University and nada. Not one bike. So now I’m thinking maybe I was the only one figuring on breakfast so I headed back to the first place, still with enough time to get there before 9.

Back at 8000 E. Belleview–nada. What the hey? I was hungry–I hadn’t had breakfast–so I just came home. Of course the first thing I did was to check to make sure I hadn’t gone on the wrong day, as I had before. Nope. And it was definitely the Belleview location.

So where the heck were the other guys? I still don’t know.

Biker Quote for Today

We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re going!

If I have one motorcycle that has plenty of storage space it is the V-Strom, especially now. I just put on a tank bag.

The V-Strom already has a pair of really large Givi side bags. These things are so big that when I travel one-up I don’t even need to worry about packing, I just throw stuff in and never get them more than half full.

Nevertheless, awhile ago I added a top case on the back. What that enables me to do is leave the side bags off most of the time while still giving me cargo room. I mean, who needs to be riding around with those huge, empty side bags all the time?

Now the tank bag takes that a step further, adding a lot of convenience in storing smaller items such as a camera or gloves or such.

I had no idea how this tank bag was supposed to attach and I don’t recall that there were instructions, which now strikes me as somewhat odd. But it is made by Wolfman, and I knew that Ron Coleman, who rents V-Stroms and equips most of his bikes with Wolfman bags would be able to help me out. So I headed up to Boulder for assistance. I mean, heck, what more excuse do you need for a ride on what proved to be a beautiful spring day?

It turned out to be super simple. If I had known what to do I could have done it myself easily. One of the things that confused me was that the bag came with four identical straps, but for some reason I’m sure makes sense to Wolfman, they were laced together in the package. I looked at that funny thing and had no idea how you would put that to use. Answer: you separate the pieces and hook each one up separately. Doh!

So all it took was to loop each strap around a bar at each end of the gas tank, slip on the snaps, and presto–tank bag mounted. Heck, I thought we were going to need to raise the tank so as to feed the straps under it. This was so much easier than I expected.

Not that I headed home right away. It seems Ron and Jacque recently took a three-week trip to Vietnam where they rented motorcycles and hired guides and did some serious touring of that country. And of course Ron had all sorts of stories to tell and photos to show me.

Anyway, thanks for the help, Ron.

Biker Quote for Today

Go soothingly on the grease mud as there lurks the Skid Demon.

If I remember correctly, the first time I dropped a motorcycle it wasn’t actually even me doing the dropping. I was still learning how to park a bike properly and this was a lesson. I rode over on my Honda CB750 Custom to where John was watching his son’s soccer game and I just parked in the lot. When I came back it was laying on its side. Wind, I guess? Beats me, I never really knew. But it bent the brake lever and when we tried to bend it back the thing snapped.

There was another time when I didn’t do the dropping, either. I parked my Kawasaki Concours in the only place I could find and I was nervous about the angle. The Connie stands up pretty straight even on level ground and this was not level. I came back and found it on its side. I hate that. Now in a situation like that I would use the center stand.

But what about when YOU actually drop the bike? It usually seems to happen in a parking lot. You’re padding along on the bike to park it and you let it get away from you. Who hasn’t done that? I don’t see any hands raised.

I’m sure I did it at least a couple times in the early days and it was just like I said, in a parking lot. Really glad to have the guys there to help me get it back up.

Then when the Concours was new I had the most unnerving drop I’ve ever had. The Connie is tall and I was still learning to be comfortable on a bike that high. Judy and I had ridden out to Eldorado Springs to hike a bit in the park there. The parking lot was gravel so when we were leaving I told her to wait until I got it turned around–I was not at all confident on this bike in this situation.

So I fired it up and started to try to ride a tight 180 . . . and failed miserably. Down went the bike. Fortunately several guys rushed over to help me get it back up but I was really shaken. My low confidence was down to zero. But we had to get home so with my heart pounding and butterflies in my stomach I got back on and told Judy to get on. And I was never so glad to get home.

And there are other stories, such as the time last year when the OFMC came into Ruidoso and at a sharply angled intersection on a downhill slope I was turning my head far to the left to look for traffic and just put the Suzuki V-Strom down. Or the time I was parking the Kawi at work at the National Park Service and just totally failed as I tried to rock it up onto its center stand (that photo above).

What can you say? Stuff happens, and usually when it does you feel more than a little bit stupid. But we all do it. I’ve helped the other guys pick up their bikes more than once. Heck, Bill and I helped John pick his Shadow up twice in one day. I’m just glad the only time I’ve ever gone down on the bike while in motion we were only going about 5 miles per hour. And that was the fault of that dang dog. And yeah, it took a little courage to get back on the bike after that one, too. But again, we were way out there and had to get home. You’ve just gotta do it.

Biker Quote for Today

There are worse ways to die than on a motorcycle. All the better ways are boring.

I was in surgery prep (nothing life-threatening) when I got the text from Bill that he and Dennis were going to ride up to Black Hawk for lunch in two days. At first I figured I’d have to miss the ride but then I figured what the heck, I’d go along but I’d have to be in my car. I’ve written before about cars and motorcycles traveling together and now it was my turn to be behind the wheel.

So we met at the Starbucks out by Bill’s, our usual gathering spot these days, and headed on up. I took the third spot figuring that would provide them with the extra protection from the crazies in cars who might want to drive right on their butts. The whole way up the hill I was very conscious of driving the way I would want someone to drive who was behind me on my bike. I kept a good distance and made sure to brake early, knowing their brakes were much better than mine.

All in all it was uneventful. Which in cases like this is always good.

But before we took off we had a bit of a diversion. Pulling into the Starbucks parking lot I spied that odd vehicle you see in the photo there. I parked, said hi to Bill–Dennis wasn’t there yet–and said let’s walk on over and look at this machine.

It turned out the guy driving it (Grant was his name) was in it and he got out and was happy to show it off and tell us all about it. Made by a company called Electra Meccanica, the model is the Solo, which by no surprise seats one person. It is a three-wheeler like the Can-Am Spyder and the Polaris Slingshot. It has two wheels in front and one big, car-type wheel in back.

The difference here is that the Solo is enclosed, like a car. And it is electric-powered. Grant said the Solo he was in gets about 100 miles on a charge but the newer models that are to be released soon will get up to 150 miles on a charge.

Anyway, I’m not going to go into this in depth here. I told Grant I have this website and blog and that I’d like to do a blog post about the vehicle. He said sure, you bet, would you like to get together sometime and discuss it extensively and take it for a spin at that time? I think you can guess I said yes indeed, I would like that very much.

So I’m not going into it much here because I intend to go into it much more fully later. This is just a heads-up. Stay tuned.

Biker Quote for Today

The difference between racing and track days, is shooting bullets versus throwing them.