Passes & Canyons Blog

It turns out that I have drawn from this Adventure Rider thread more recently than I remembered. Oh well, there’s a lot more where this came from. The idea is, what stupid questions have people asked you when you’re on your bike and stop somewhere? Here are some of them.

• Who makes Triumph? (I get this one a lot at gas stations).
• Stupid woman: “Motorcycles are dangerous!”
  Me: “Don’t you mean ‘riding motorcycles is dangerous’?”
  SW: “Yes.”
  Me: “Most people die in bed. So, where do you sleep?”
• In ’64 my buddy and I rolled up to the ranger’s hut at the Wildrose Station entrance to Death Valley on a pair of Vespa 125s on our way from San Jose to the Grand Canyon. Hard to mistake those Vespas – floor board / fairing front end with “VESPA” in big letters. The ranger leans out and comments,
  “Hondas, huh? How do they take the hills?”
• Got the Classic again last week.
  Nitwit “What is that?”
  Me “KTM 950 Adventure”
  Nitwit “Who makes it?”
  Me “KTM”
  Nitwit “Oh Its a Kawasaki”
  Me “Uhm,,,,,, Yeah”
  Pulled my helmet on and rode away laughing
• Stopped at a stop light in ATGATT. Crotch Rocket Guy pulls up next to me in T-shirt, shorts, and sneaks.
  CRG: “Planning on falling down?”
  Me: “Nope. Planning on getting up if I do.”
• Had a girl ask me not long ago how I was able to get my pipes such a pretty blue color!
• Riding to work each day in winter, other employees getting out of their cars in the parking lot without coats or jackets would ask me, “Aren’t you cold?”
  Nope, I’m the one with the warm coat.
• The receptionist has asked me if it’s hard to keep the motorcycle upright and if I can go as fast as a car.
• I stopped at a deli the other day and this woman looked at my jacket & boots and asked me if I was going skiing.
• A guy walks up from the rear of the bike and asks “How far of a trip are you on this time” I am less than 5 miles from the house, no luggage, tank bag, or anything strapped down on the tail rack, and I have Indiana plates on the bike in Indiana.
• Does that jacket make you hot?
  Nawww… but my wife thinks it does.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you own more black T-shirts then underwear.

Yeah, we’ve all been asked that question. Or else told by others, despite their dearth of experience, that motorcycles are dangerous.

Well sure, there is some danger but it’s not as if cars are totally safe, and yet these same people think nothing of driving.

But yes, we all know that riding motorcycles comes with its own unique dangers and we need to ride carefully. Despite all our care, however, sometimes bad things do happen. For instance, I have personally known two people who have lost a leg in a motorcycle crash. One is Randy, in the photo above. His loss didn’t stop him from riding.

The other was a guy named Warren. This goes way back, and it really leads me to my topic today.

I have told the story many times about how I was all hot to get a motorcycle when I turned 15, the legal age where I lived at that time. I saved my money and when I hit the age and had the money I announced that I was going to do this and only then did my mother say, “No you’re not. You’ll never own a motorcycle as long as you’re living under my roof.” Totally crushing my dreams.

What I find interesting is that no one has ever asked the question, well, assuming that you moved out of your parents’ house at some point, why did you not get your first motorcycle until the age of 38?

There were a number of reasons, really. For one thing I was extremely poor. By choice, mind you, but poor nevertheless. I got out of school and had no desire to get a job and go to work five days a week, 40 hours a week. So for a number of years I cycled through numerous low-paying part-time jobs that I worked just enough to pay the rent and eat. Heck, I never even owned a car until I was 25, and then I bought one for $250. And I only did that because by then I was living in Denver and hitchhiking, my main mode of transportation, was so abysmally bad in Denver. I couldn’t even hold some crap job if I couldn’t reliably get to it. So I bought a car.

But eventually I did get into working full-time for longer than a couple months here and there, and I even bought better cars. But no motorcycles. Why not?

This is where Warren comes in. I met Warren when I was a senior in high school. He was friends with a friend of mine so the three of us spent a good bit of time together. And Warren was cool. And he rode a motorcycle. Doubly cool.

But then I left town, only coming back to visit. And one time I came back and my buddy told me Warren had been in a crash on his bike and he had lost a leg. Yow! That really hit me. It didn’t stop me from riding someone else’s motorcycle any time I got the chance but it threw serious cold water on my desire to own a bike, at least for quite a while. It wasn’t until more than 15 year later that John got his Virago and started taking me for rides on behind that I got revved up about bikes again and finally bought my own.

So yeah, I know bikes can be dangerous. I totally understand that. But I also know you can ride safely, and I have taken numerous rider training courses to ensure that I do so. I just wish John had gotten that Virago a lot sooner.

Biker Quote for Today

Why am I wearing leathers? I’m just riding to the office.

For the first time in quite a while I have added a new page to the Passes and Canyons: Motorcycle Touring in Colorado website. The new page focuses on the numerous good motorcycle roads that lead to Cripple Creek, and I have named it “Roads to Cripple Creek.”

I don’t add many pages to the site these days because I’ve basically got it built out. It’s not like the roads in Colorado change all that often. I did add a new page for Guanella Pass when they finally paved that road all the way. But that’s not a common occurrence.

I first started thinking about Cripple Creek when I read somewhere that the high point of the road coming into town from the north, from Divide, is considered Tenderfoot Pass. If it’s a pass, I figured, I ought to have it on the site. But it’s kind of iffy as a pass. There is some more or less official registry of geographic place names in the U.S. and Tenderfoot Pass is not included on this list. And as many times as I have been over that road I never thought of it as a pass.

But then I got to thinking. While the road out of the north does have some good twists and turns, and goes up and down, and has some terrific views in places, it’s really probably not the nicest motorcycle road to get to Cripple Creek. There are others I would rate higher. So how about a page focusing on all of them. That’s what I did.

The other paved road into town is generally considered the back way, coming up in a roundabout manner from U.S. 50 a bit to the west of the Royal Gorge. If you’ve never been on this road you really need to do it. It has some terrific twists and lots of changes in elevation. Definitely better than the main road.

Then there are two gravel roads, both along old railroad beds. One comes directly into Cripple Creek, and that’s the Shelf Road, which comes north out of Canon City. Then the Phantom Canyon Road comes north from U.S. 50 a little to the east of Canon City and runs up to Victor, which is just a few miles east of Cripple Creek. Both of these are really nice, scenic road and are ride-able on street bikes as long as your bike is OK on decent gravel. For instance, I would not hesitate to take my Honda CB750 on them, but I would never consider riding them on my Kawasaki Concours. And of course, my Suzuki V-Strom loves that kind of stuff.

The page is not yet complete; I still need to add photos of these four roads. I have some already and just need to add them. For the others I’m going to have to go ride these roads again and get some shots. Oh the horrible burdens I bear!

Biker Quote for Today

The ride keeps me sane. I would like to call it my church.

The RMMRC had an actual get-together in the flesh recently to map out some rides for the upcoming warm months. Anyone with an interest ought to consider coming along.

The RMMRC is now using the Meet-Up site as its home, and actually, as I write this, additional rides are being added.

First, and by the time you read this it will be in progress, is a Death Valley Rondevous. OK, so Mike, who set up this event, doesn’t know how to spell rendezvous; you get that in these days of media open to everyone. We’ll ignore it. This is actually a bit odd as a group ride in that the plan is for anyone interested to get out to Death Valley on their own and meet up there. Here’s how it is described:

Plan to meet at the Ranch at Death Valley – Inside the Park, whichever way you choose to get there. I am planning with several club members to ride 3 days there, leaving Saturday April 17. Will not make firm plans until the week prior, and will adjust the dates if it looks impossible to travel. Most likely will ride to Blanding and Kanab for overnight stays on back roads with as many twisties as possible. You are welcome to come along, and/or choose a different daily route, as you wish.

Undecided for return trip at this time. Probably south via Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, South Rim Grand Canyon, and Pagosa Springs. Something like that. Again, weather determinant.

Flexibility, personal capability, and responsibility to take care of self and others is required. Ride at your own pace and discretion – always.

The next event on the agenda is a ride out to the St. Francis Vintage Motorcycle Museum in St. Francis, Kansas. This is a one-day, out and back ride. Looking at around 375 miles altogether.

Then comes a short day ride in the foothills, followed by a run out to High Plains Raceway for some motorcycle races. Then there will be an overnight ride out to Alliance, Nebraska, to Carhenge. If you’ve never been to Carhenge you need to go. This is a scale replica of Stonehenge, built out of old cars. The OFMC just chanced upon it many years ago when we stopped in the shade of some trees. Someone stepped back in the trees to take a leak and saw something bizarre over on the other side. We were totally blown away.

The whole scene has totally changed since then. The grove of trees is gone and it has been substantially commercialized, but it’s still a mind-blower.

So that’s just a few of the many rides coming up. The RMMRC made the decision a couple years ago to say let’s forget about all this club stuff with meetings and officers and all that. Let’s just ride. If that’s the kind of club you would find interesting you should come along on some of these.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when the only destinations are sunrise and sunset.

Gosh, it was only 10 years ago that I put up a blog post with this very same news: The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame is moving.

Back then they had just moved into a building in front of Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson. Well, they’re at it again.

The move this time is to downtown Colorado Springs, to a place referred to as the City Works Eatery complex. The address is 19 N. Tejon Street. Right at this moment the old site is closed and the new one has not yet opened. The old space was bigger than the old, old space, but the new space will be even bigger. That’s a good thing because the spot in front of PPHD was pretty dang crowded.

According to an article about the move in Colorado Rider News, the folks running it are intending to draw a larger crowd in the new space. Up till now the museum has been adjacent to bike shops and thus drew primarily a biker clientele only. Now they want to reach the broader community.

Back in the day, Jerry Manka was the ever-present face of the museum, and quite a guy to talk with as you checked out the motorcycles on display. Sadly, Jerry passed some years ago but the institution goes on.

By the way, the museum is free to visit. Of course they accept donations to help them keep going but there is no admission fee.

So I don’t know about you but I’m definitely going to be very interested in checking out the new site once they open. And of course I’ll be shooting some photos and will tell you all about it.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you have more locks on your bike than you do your house.

I was on a ride with the RMMRC last week and, as has often been the case, Bob was in the lead. And then, as has often been the case, Bob did a couple things that I have wondered about. It dawned on me then what he was doing in one case but not the other, so at a stop I asked him about both.

The first question was one I’ve mentioned here before. I normally think of the leader of a group that is riding in staggered formation being in the left part of the traffic lane. The second person staggers to the right and the rest go back and forth. But on multi-lane highways Bob consistently positions himself, as the lead rider, to the right side of the lane. Why? I asked him.

I had my theory but it was wrong. I was thinking that if we were in the far left lane that he put himself on the right side of the lane so as to better see, in his mirror, traffic behind in the next lane over. Nope. He said he does it because he figures it’s safer when he’s passing someone in the next lane over. That they are more likely to see him in their mirrors if he is closer in to them.

There is some sense to that. The fact is that most people do not have their mirrors pushed out far enough, so the closer in line you are with their car the more likely they are to see you. Still, is that the best position? Bob said he didn’t know, that was just his presumption.

I did a little searching and came up with a different answer. In this article, for example, they argue that you’re better off in the left portion of the lane because that gives you more room to maneuver: “It’s best to stay out the side closest to the nearest vehicle. For example, while you ride in the far-left lane, you should stay to the left side of that lane. This gives you added protection and room to react if a car in the adjacent lane starts to creep over.”

So that’s not necessarily the indisputable answer but it is a different idea to also consider. But anyway, that’s why Bob does it. Question answered.

The other is a really interesting idea. There have been times, strictly on two-lane roads, when Bob has moved over into the center of the oncoming lane and just cruised there. I had always assumed he was doing that so he could better see the riders back at the tail end of the group. This time it dawned on me what he was up to, and he confirmed my conjecture.

We had gotten behind a very slow-moving vehicle, some piece of construction equipment. He and a couple others passed when they could but the rest had to wait. Bob moved into the oncoming lane. It dawned on me: by placing himself there he was making it absolutely clear to those behind that there was no oncoming traffic at that moment. If there was, he sure as heck would not be there; the fact that he was there was intended as a sign that it was safe for the others to pass, even if they couldn’t see what was up ahead. Brilliant!

So. You learn something new every day. Or at least you should try to.

Biker Quote for Today

100 Reasons not to date a motorcyclist: There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness.

With temperatures getting into the 80s it was inevitable that the RMMRC would be taking a ride. Sure enough, I got the call from Roy. We’d be heading up toward Woodland Park.

Now, at first I thought he had said Winter Park and I was thinking that was pretty ambitious this early in the year. Then it hit me that, oh no, he must have said Woodland Park. Sure enough.

So there were six of us who gathered Monday morning, four BMWs, a Honda, and me on my V-Strom. We took off out Parker Road and down to Colorado Springs on CO 83, a short jaunt on I-25 before getting off and cruising through Garden of the Gods, and then west on U.S. 24. I hoped we would stop at least briefly at Garden of the Gods because I really would have liked to have gotten a picture there of the rocks with the bikes in the foreground. But we didn’t.

The destination this day was not Woodland Park, as might have been expected, but Green Mountain Falls. So where the heck is Green Mountain Falls? Who has ever even heard of Green Mountain Falls?

Turns out, it is right off U.S. 24, along a road that runs parallel to the highway. If you’re on 24 and you see the Rocky Top Motel & Campground you’re passing by Green Mountain Falls right now.

It’s worth a stop. We ate at The Pantry and it’s a really nice place. They have a lot of outdoor seating, which on this gorgeous warm day was just what we wanted, and the food was darn good. I have a suspicion we’ll be going back to this place in the future.

After lunch we continued on to Woodland Park and turned north on CO 67 up through Deckers to Pine and caught U.S. 285 at Pine Junction, then turned toward home. Along the way there were two things of note.

First, I was very interested to see that there are finally young trees popping up all over where that big Hayman Fire burned such a large area some years ago. I was starting to wonder if the area would ever turn green again but the young trees are now finally getting big enough that you can see them from the road. Nice.

And second, no surprise at this time of year but something to be aware of, there was a lot of gravel on the road, particularly north of Deckers. Ride carefully.

One thing we did not encounter was snow. Not just not on the road but almost none to be seen anywhere except a little bit in some deeper shadows. Winter is over.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if your trailer has more miles on it than your bike.

Yes! It’s on! I finally have a top bag on my Kawasaki Concours.

Tom, who designed and built the rack for me to mount this bag on the bike, gave me a call a few days ago to say he had it ready. I rode out to his place and he put it on and voila! There she is!

I had been really naive in contacting Tom to do this for me. My mechanic, Joel, had mentioned that he had a friend with a Concours like mine who had built a rack for his own bike. Not really thinking it through, I figured he could just do the exact same thing again to help me out. What I didn’t consider was that the bags were different, and therefore required different mounting equipment. Essentially, Tom had to come up with an entirely new and different design than what he had used to mount his own bag.

Let’s just say that I was pretty generous in recompensing him for his time and effort. Plus I made sure to tell him sincerely how very much I appreciated what he did for me. Everyone likes to have their efforts appreciated and recognized, right? And I truly, truly appreciated Tom’s efforts.

If you look at the bracket it at first seems to be a simple four piece crosshatch design. What you don’t see is that he used different material on the back cross-member so it would elevate the back and give it just the right pitch. Also, for the same reason, the two pieces coming front to back were bent upward just the right amount. Really great work. Thank you so much, Tom.

So, as you can see, this design definitely puts the weight of the bag on the bikes rear fender bodywork. I had been concerned that doing this might be a bad thing, either because the bodywork might break under the weight or the shift in balance would affect the steering. That concern was mostly allayed after I spoke with two people–Tom being one of them–who had put racks on their Concoures with no ill effects. I just figure if it is usually mostly empty, leaving room for helmet and jacket when I stop, the only time there will be excessive weight is when the bike is not moving. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway.

So Yahoo! I can’t wait to show up at the next ride and have my buddies gather around saying, oh look what Ken put on his bike. I’m pleased.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if all your leathers match.