Passes & Canyons Blog

It’s December 31 right now so it could be a tiny bit early to lock in my 2020 mileage but it’s unlikely I’ll be going anywhere today, so here goes.

Every year I tally up the miles I put on each of my three motorcycles and on my car. Once again, as has been the case for a long time, I put more miles on the bikes than I did on the car.

Obviously this has been an unusual year and my car mileage really shows it. I only drove my car 1,979 miles in 2020. That’s amazing. In comparison, I rode the Concours alone for 2,977 miles. I also put 1,026 on the CB750 and 1,046 on the V-Strom. That’s a total of 5,049 miles on the bikes–more than two and one-half times the miles I put on the car.

While 5,049 miles on the bikes may not seem like much it is in fact more than I did the previous year. In 2019 I only rode 4,777 miles. In last year’s post where I tallied all this I set a goal for myself to ride 10,000 miles. Clearly that didn’t happen. Pretty much nobody got out and around as much as they had planned to in 2020, and I’m certainly no exception.

The one really big difference this year is that for the first time since 2010 I rode the Honda more than 1,000 miles. This was not an accident or by chance. I’ve mostly neglected that bike for a long time and I told myself in 2020 I was going to make a point to ride it more. I guess I succeeded on that goal.

So what goals to set for 2021? That’s easy. Ride a lot more. And with vaccines on the way that should be an easy goal to meet. The RMMRC had what looked like a terrific ride set up, up the Great River Road from St. Charles, MO, to the source of the Mississippi in Minnesota. That ride didn’t happen in 2020 but it is now planned for 2021. I definitely intend to go on that one.

The OFMC did take its trip in 2020 and I’m now planning the 2021 trip. And maybe 2021 will be the year I finally do the article I proposed to Rider magazine three years ago. I’m sure Mark Tuttle has forgotten I ever pitched that story to him but I’m confident he’ll accept it if I ever get it to him. But first I have to do the ride.

So here’s looking to 2021 to be a much better year. And let’s hit that 10,000 mark this time.

Biker Quote for Today

Some bikers never realize how anti-social they are until there’s a pandemic and their life doesn’t really change that much.

December 24 was very warm and the ice had finally melted off our street so I wanted to take the Kawi for a spin. I geared up, rolled the bike out and started it, and when it was warmed up I got on and headed out.

I got about 10 feet out of our driveway. Then the engine died. I started it again and tried to move forward and it died again. I tried a number of times. Finally I rolled it backward to where I could go forward into the driveway, revved it up, and managed to get right back where I had started from a few minutes earlier. What the heck is the matter?

I’ve been riding this bike for 21 years now and I’ve got experience with it. This seemed similar to something I had encountered a long time ago. You have to understand the Reserve lever on this bike. It has three positions: On, Reserve, and Prime. Normally you run on On, flip to Reserve when necessary, and I have never really known what you would use Prime for. But I know what happens if you move that lever to Prime. It drips gas into the cylinder and if the bike is not running it will continue to drip and that gas will seep past the valves into the oil pan. Motorcycles do not run well when you have gas mixed with the oil.

Yes I know that from experience. And this seemed to be acting very much the same way it did when I inadvertently left the lever in the Prime position. So how to confirm this diagnosis? Change the oil. That’s a major pain on this bike because you have to remove some of the bodywork to do it. Guess how I spent a big chunk of my day on December 24.

Of course it wasn’t all that straightforward. Things have to go wrong, don’t they.

I had wondered since I had the bike in for a tune-up whether my mechanic had put too much oil in. Looking at the sight glass all I had ever been able to see was black. The Concours is supposed to take a little less than one gallon of oil so I knew if what I drained out was too much to fit into a gallon jug that there was an issue. But that could happen either from over-filling or gas dripping in with the oil. Not sure which it was but I definitely couldn’t get it all into a one-gallon jug. And once it was drained I could see into the sight glass–it was no longer just black.

So I put new oil in, checking repeatedly as I poured to see when the sight glass showed it was enough. But I must not have looked soon enough; it always looked the same and I kept pouring oil in. When I concluded this had to be too much I looked hard at the sight glass and concluded that it was full of clear, clean oil. I had put too much in.

I needed to drain some out, but I didn’t want to drain it all and I didn’t have anything clean of the right size to catch it all. So I got a glass jar and tried to drain some into the jar without spilling a whole bunch. I was not successful. It didn’t all pour out but I had really big mess on my hands. Things have to go wrong, don’t they?

At this point I was sure I had drained enough but the sight glass still showed full. So I started the bike and ran it for about 30 seconds and then let it settle. Hallelujah, it was right where it needed to be, and I could clearly see the oil level.

Then I cleaned up this entire mess. Finally I started the bike. It started and ran beautifully. I got on and eased out of the driveway. It ran beautifully. I went just around the block and it ran great so I parked it. That’s all the riding I did that day.

So I guess I must have screwed up. I knew the bike was nearing Reserve last time I rode it so I must have turned that lever the wrong way. And while I already knew what happens when you do that, I’ve just had my memory refreshed.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you have a heater in your garage so you can work on your bike(s) when it’s cold.

Riding hasn’t been much of an option lately, which sets me to reminiscing. Like back to when first John, then I, then Bill got our first motorcycles.

Mind you, Bill and John had had scooters when they were in junior high, which gave way to cars in high school. I would have had a scooter, too, but my Mom wouldn’t let me. I’ve told that story more than once. But these were the first real motorcycles any of us ever had.

It happened largely by chance. It’s been so many years that my memory is weak on the particulars but one way or another, John knew some guy who had a 750 Virago he needed to get rid of and he offered it to John at a price that was too good to pass up.

So one day John shows up at my door on this motorcycle. Hop on, let’s go for a ride. What a revelation! One of the first things I noticed was the smells. You weren’t closed up in some box, you were out in the open and if you went past some place with odors you smelled them. This is new.

And then there were the microclimates you are normally totally unaware of. What sticks in my memory was riding at night up north on Lowell and we went down into the dip of a small stream. Quickly down and back up but it had to be nearly 10 degrees cooler down in the dip. Who knew?

And then there was the whole concept of riding. When John and I went riding we didn’t generally have anywhere we actually wanted to go. We’d just pick a destination because that was an excuse to go ride.

So it wasn’t long and I was thinking really hard about getting my own bike. Of course John was all in favor of that. And back then there was a little shop just a few blocks from my house where they sold mostly used bikes and did repairs. John and I went over there and there were three bikes I found interesting. One was a Honda CB750 C, another was a Honda CB750 K, and I can’t remember the third. I was concerned that these were all a bit big for inexperienced me but John assured me that if I bought a small bike now, in just a few months I would be dissatisfied with it and want a bigger one. Better to get the bigger one now. Of course he was right.

So I bought the CB750 C, but John had to ride it to my house because I didn’t have a license or learner’s permit and I had never had any lessons on riding. Every other motorcycle I had ridden previously–many years earlier–had been no bigger than 305cc.

I got my learner’s permit and John and I went riding. No training, just go do it. Apparently I did so successfully. I have little memory of my learning period. Then I had to get my regular license. John had the advantage that he had kept his motorcycle accreditation current on his driver’s license all these years but I had to take the test. And the only bike I had to take the test on was my 750. I’ve told that story before, too, but suffice it to say that, on the second try, I passed the riding test on my big bike. I don’t think many people do that.

Now we were really cooking. But there was one thing missing. Bill watched wistfully as his two buddies went out having fun. It didn’t take long and Bill announced to us that he had bought a brand new Honda Shadow. He was joining the club. Now we were set. The OFMC was coming into being.

Biker Quote for Today

Life is too short to let dreams sit idle. Make every day count.

I thought the RMMRC had decided to suspend all group rides until the peak of the virus had passed so I was surprised to get an email from the Meetup page about a ride two Wednesdays ago. So I went riding.

It was no big deal, just another run out to Patty Ann’s in Kiowa for brunch. But on a nice day Patty Ann’s is a good place to gather. They have a large patio out back where we can sit not too close together in the open air. And they have really good food.

We were surprised when we got there to see that they have installed tents to shelter you from the weather and to maintain separation between different parties. That didn’t really suit us, though. First off, it was a little cool and we wanted the sun. Secondly, whereas a family might sit together in one tent, close to each other but no one else, we wanted to maintain distance amongst ourselves. So we moved two tables out into an open area to meet our wishes. And then of course we moved them back before we left.

So the RMMRC is going through some realignment these days. Robert, this year’s president, has moved to Panama so that spot needed filling. Robert was also one of the most active organizers of rides so other people need to step up.

Roy, one of the founders of the club, takes a personal interest in seeing it continue so he has personally taken to urging greater involvement of other members, which definitely means he has turned some of his focus on me. Every time we talk he urges me to offer any ideas for rides that I might have. And I do have an idea I intend to offer.

In the case of this ride he threw out the question of who wanted to lead. As he scanned the group his eyes lit on me and he said, “How about you, Ken?” Bob, who often leads, said he would do it but he only knows one boring route. I said I knew a different road. So I lead the ride down to Kiowa. It was a simple route, just out Parker Road (CO 83) to Bayou Gulch Road, just south of the south entrance to the Pinery, which leads to Flintwood Road, which we took south to CO 86 and then east to Kiowa.

Then on the way back we didn’t want to take the same route in reverse so someone suggested we go back to just past Flintwood, like about 100 feet past Flintwood, and take that road, Deerfield Road, to Russellville Road to CO 83. Somehow I got designated to lead again, so I did.

In all there was nothing at all extraordinary about this day’s ride. But it was a heck of a nice day to be out on a motorcycle and clearly the transition to new leadership is underway for the RMMRC. I’m happy to do my part.

Biker Quote for Today

Just one more motorcycle . . . I promise.

There was a wise crack going around some time ago about a particularly grisly motorcyclist death where people were saying, “Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet.” That’s pretty much where this latest thing from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) fits in.

I saw this report, with the title “NTSB calls on states to mandate motorcycle helmets in wake of deadly New Hampshire crash involving impaired West Springfield truck driver” and it’s the same sort of thing. It appears a drunken driver of a pick-up pulling a flat-bed trailer crossed into the oncoming lane and killed seven motorcyclists.

So what does the NTSB do? After investigating they issue a report calling for mandatory helmet laws in every state. Like that totally makes sense.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in wearing a helmet and always do. However, I also believe in leaving it to the rider to decide. I just don’t think this is the kind of thing government should be dictating. As it was, 12 of the 18 riders in this group were wearing helmets. And the article states that, “NTSB investigators could not conclusively determine the effectiveness of the helmets used by riders in the New Hampshire crash. But the board still voted to recommend that states review and implement motorcycle helmet laws.”

I translate that as “probably most of these people would have died anyway but let’s use this tragedy to push our point of view.” Or, thank goodness some of those dead people were wearing helmets.

The NTSB chairman, Robert Sumwalt, is quoted pulling out the old canard that “someone’s right to ride without a helmet ends at my wallet.” The report says, “NTSB staff and board members also emphasized the societal costs of motorcycle fatalities, citing nearly $9 billion combined in medical costs, lost productivity, EMS services, insurance administrative costs, property damage and workplace losses that may have been avoided in 2017 through universal helmet mandates.”

That argument totally ignores the fact that there are countless things that each and every one of us do that contribute to those same costs, from eating unhealthy food to not exercising to just plain walking down the street. You might get hit by a bus where the driver had a heart attack and the bus veered off onto the sidewalk you were on! Taking that walk was an avoidable behavior that resulted in your injury! Maybe you should have been wearing a helmet when you took that walk.

I say back off. It’s called life.

Biker Quote for Today

They say stress kills. Well, I found the cure. Ride motorcycles.

The Progressive International Motorcycle Show (PIMS) will be held in Denver this year, albeit moved to June and held outdoors. This is going to be vastly different from other PIMS events and it could be pretty much fun.

The show will actually kick off in Denver, June 18-20, before moving on to places like Chicago, Nashville, and Atlanta. Originally scheduled in Denver for January, adaptation to the Covid-19 problem led the organizers to move things outdoors. This meant waiting for warmer weather. So June here.

Being outside in warm weather is going to open up a lot of possibilities that were not really options inside during the winter. This will include demo rides on the street, off-road demo rides, and stunt shows or races. Of course you’ll have the booths selling stuff and as in at least the last few years there will also be e-bicycles and the PIMS Discover The Ride opportunity for people who have never ridden to experience what it’s like.

Here’s the blurb from their website:

After 5 years in the making, the Progressive® International Motorcycle Shows is venturing outdoors to create the most immersive powersports event yet ­– IMS Outdoors, a tour of events across the United States, launching in Summer 2021.

The Progressive® IMS Outdoors invites riders and prospective riders of all ages and abilities out for a weekend to engage with powersports culture and explore related lifestyles in a festival-like atmosphere. Attendees will be able to ride 2 and 4-wheel vehicles, shop premier brands, watch entertainment and even camp overnight (in select cities); preparing them for more riding and adventures with family and friends.

Popular IMS attractions including, the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show, IMS Vintage Garage, Discover The Ride and Adventure Out among others will be back for your enjoyment for the new IMS Outdoors events.

What they’re not telling us yet is where this will all happen. Last year was the first time the show came to Denver, at least in a long time, and it was held downtown at the convention center. That doesn’t seem to be the case this year, but where? We’ll see, and I’ll pass that info along as soon as I get it.

Biker Quote for Today

Once the love for a motorcycle is discovered there is no putting out the fire.

I’m not sure why this has been on my mind lately, but it has so I figured I’d write about it.

I had an experience with airport security in Oakland, California, back in 2010 that still makes me shake my head. But some background is in order.

Back then I was writing for Examiner.com, a site that no longer exists, as their “National Motorcycle Examiner.” As such, a lot of terrific opportunities came my way. One was an invitation from EagleRider to go on a week-long, all expenses paid (except getting there and back) motorcycle tour of California, from L.A. up the coast, inland to Yosemite National Park, and then to San Francisco. You better believe I accepted.

Now, like most people, I hate to check bags when flying, preferring to squeeze everything I’ll need into a carry-on bag. That means I couldn’t take a lot and my bag was pretty full. No big deal.

So we did the tour and had a great time and I wrote a bunch about it for Examiner and other publications I wrote for back then, including of course this blog. We ended the tour in San Francisco and after saying my good-byes I went across the bay to visit a friend who lives in Oakland. To fly home I went to the Oakland airport.

By this time I had a problem, however. EagleRider and a bunch of the places we visited had loaded us up with a ton of swag. I had a mesh EagleRider motorcycle jacket, about a dozen t-shirts, eight jumbo bags of beef jerky, and I can’t remember what else. Recall that my small bag was already full when I came out here. Where was I going to put all this stuff?

I really didn’t want to pay to check a second bag but I had the idea to take clothes out of the bag, put everything else in, and whatever clothes didn’t fit in the bag I would wear. This meant I had on about six t-shirts and whatever else it took. This was summer so it was warm but over all this I put on the jacket. Yes I was warm but I got it all handled.

So I went to the airport and I guess security thought I was a bit odd. They didn’t say anything but they searched my bag thoroughly and ran the wand over me very deliberately. It was clear I was getting special treatment but not only that, they were being very hostile. I made some non-hostile remark and the woman basically told me to keep my mouth shut or things were going to get a lot worse.

Of course I was not a hijacker and I was no threat at all and finally they reluctantly allowed me on the plane. But the thing that has always bugged me was this: How about, maybe, they just ask me why I’m wearing all this stuff? I’m not saying take my explanation and just pass me on through. Go ahead and check me out thoroughly. But was the hostility really necessary? Just ask a simple question, hear my simple answer, and go ahead and do your job. No, I guess that’s too much to ask.

One amusing thing did happen immediately after this, however. As I got on the plane one of the other passengers saw my jacket and asked if I was with that group he saw two days earlier crossing the Richmond-San Rafael bridge. Yes! That was us, and he was there too, just at that moment. How funny.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles make me happy. You, not so much.

I’m writing this on Sunday and there is an article in today’s Denver Post that really caught my eye. Maybe you read it, if you subscribe, but it seems most people don’t these days so I figure it’s worth pointing out. The article is titled “Smart cruise control comes to motorcycles.” (It’s actually reprinted from the New York Times.)

According to this article, both BMW and Ducati are introducing this system on bikes. The system controls throttle and braking.

No surprise to any of us, the challenges of creating something of this sort for motorcycles is vastly different from creating the same for cars. As the article notes, “because motorcycles don’t have automatic transmissions, they could stall or even fall over if the technology were allowed to bring them to a complete stop.” So these systems only work if you’re going more than 20 mph.

The systems use radar sensors to keep track of vehicles ahead of you. Mainly they will latch onto a vehicle in front of you and match your speed to that. If there is no vehicle ahead of you it will cruise at whatever speed you set it for, up to 100 mph.

The systems are only programmed to pay attention to vehicles in your lane moving in the same direction. If you’re at an intersection and someone pulls out in front of you it will not register, so hit your own brakes!

According to the article, the project manager at Ducati said the system “is a convenience system, not a safety system; it is there to enhance comfort during highway travels.”

Obviously, the fact that motorcycles lean makes for big differences than systems for cars. BMW’s director of product development is quoted saying that “the system must be able to detect cars and other motorcycles while it is leaned over.” When you’re leaned over above certain speeds both systems will slow you down, with Ducati pushing that point all the way to 50 degrees of lean.

So that’s just a brief overview. If you’re interested I would definitely recommend you read the whole article.

Biker Quote for Today

I Googled my symptoms . . . turns out I just needed to go ride.