Passes & Canyons Blog

Conspicuity: the quality or state of being conspicuous

One of the really big issues when you ride motorcycles is being seen. We all know how this goes. How many times have we heard drivers who caused, or nearly caused, crashes with motorcycles say “I didn’t see him.”

They’re not lying. I myself have twice been in situations where I nearly caused an accident with a biker because I did not see him. So there are two things we all need to do: make yourself as visible as possible and then ride as if you’re invisible.

In the RMMRC there are a good many people who make a point to wear the eye-catching bright yellow or orange vests that go on over your riding jacket. Roy, the club’s safety director, has spoken to me more than twice about my black helmet and black jacket. Roy always rides sweep and he has told me that as he looks ahead he can see this rider and that rider but that I frequently blend into the scenery. Now, I do have reflectors on the sidebags of my Concours and a couple of my helmets but I guess that really doesn’t amount to much. I put more focus on riding defensively, as if I were invisible, as I said.

And so far that has worked out pretty well for me. The closest encounters I have had have generally involved people changing lanes without turning to actually look to see if there was someone in the lane they wanted to shift to. If you’re–even just for an instant–in their blind spot, and they don’t look, nothing you wear will make them see you. I pay a lot of attention to that sort of thing.

So I found it interesting riding with the RMMRC on the Colorado Cruise, hanging out in the rear of the group, that many of these guys in their fluorescent vests were barely visible, at least from behind. Why? Because they had dark top bags and such rising up behind them that almost totally blocked my view of their bright vests.

And who was the most visible of all? It was Susan, a very short lady on a small bike whose white helmet and fluorescent-striped jacket stood out vividly. And the funny thing was that Susan told me she preferred to be in the middle of the pack because she was afraid, being so small, that it was too easy for people not to see her. But in fact, nobody was more visible than her. And of course, she didn’t have bags stacked up behind her.

So who knows, maybe I ought to get another jacket, this one with blazing yellow stripes or something. Like I don’t have enough jackets. We’ll see.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if your only three piece suit is a leather jacket, leather vest and chaps.

We were riding up on the Peak-to-Peak Saturday. Think about that. It was December 4 and we were up in the hills. That tells you everything you need to know about the weather we’ve had so far in this late fall. Generally by this time of year those roads are either icy or treacherous with sand and gravel.

Not that there was no sand–we encountered a fair bit of that coming down through Golden Gate Canyon. But that was the only sand we ever saw and there was no ice at all. How could there by ice? The day-time highs have continued to be in the 60s.

The only thing that surprised me when I received the notice of the ride, an RMMRC ride, was that it hadn’t come sooner. You can’t have this kind of great weather and not have rides getting planned.

There were nine of us who took off from a 7-Eleven in Golden. We headed north on CO 93 toward Boulder but then skirted around the city to the east, following Marshall Drive to Cherryvale Road and north, then Baseline Road further east to 75th St. and north on 75th to Niwot. Then Niwot Road and Neva Road took us west to US 36, which took us north to Lyons. Time for lunch.

After lunch we tried to go up South St. Vrain Drive (CO 7) to the Peak-to-Peak but it was closed for construction. So we headed back south on US 36 to Lefthand Canyon Drive. That road brought us to the Peak-to-Peak at Ward.

It had been warm down in front of the foothills but now up higher I was very glad to have my electric vest. I had dressed warmly because I didn’t trust it would be warm the whole ride and that was a good thing on my part.

We headed south on the Peak-to-Peak, through Nederland, and on to CO 46, down Golden Gate Canyon. This was where we encountered the only sand of the whole ride. Most of the time it was right in the middle of our lane, although sometimes there would be two lines of it and you’d need to be careful to stay in between them. The worst was in a really tight turn but again, if you stayed in the track you were OK. So be advised if you head up that way. This is not the road that hot-shots on sport bikes should go blasting down any time soon.

Once we were back at CO 93 in Golden it was every man for himself and we scattered quickly. Great day for a ride.

Biker Quote for Today

Whenever I ride my motorcycle I always keep an excess of hay with me. I use hay to increase the horsepower of my bike!

In the early days of the OFMC we were notorious for the lateness of our starts. We’d sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, and maybe get on the road by 10. Or 11.

Not any more. First of all, none of us sleep that late these days. My normal time to get up is in the 7 to 7:30 range. Dennis and Bill are both early risers who are up long before me. Now about the latest we get going is 9. But that’s still not really what you could call morning riding–that’s already mid-day riding.

When I went with the RMMRC on the Colorado Cruise we had to get an actual early start one day because the road south out of Ouray was going to be closed for construction at 7:30 up near the top of Red Mountain Pass, and would not reopen until lunch time. To play it safe we were rolling out of Ouray about 6:45. That’s early morning riding.

And it’s so nice! Now, in this case it was cold, and I could have done without that. But it was so beautiful! We all see the sunset most days but many people–including me–rarely see the sunrise.

The world at sunrise can be an enchanted place. The colors, perhaps the sparkling of dew, the smells, and more.

I’ve ridden all over Colorado many times and I don’t have many specific memories of particular stretches of road–except a few morning rides.

I was heading to Arizona Bike Week one year and I camped for the night somewhere east of Mesa Verde along US 160. I woke up with the sun and got going and enchanting really is the right word. Cool, fresh, delicious, and a wide open road with almost no traffic.

Another time we spent the night in Monticello, Utah, and it rained early in the morning. We got an early start very soon after the rain stopped and again, enchantment. And this time the color was really brought out by the wet, as were the smells. Have you really smelled sagebrush? You generally won’t on a hot, dusty afternoon but on a cool, wet morning it’s overwhelming.

Then there was another time, also on US 160, between Fort Garland and La Veta, going over La Veta Pass. You don’t want to hurry; you just want to cruise and savor it all. And with almost no traffic you can.

I’m just not that much of a morning person to do this sort of thing all the time, but when circumstances put me into that situation I’m never sorry. Try it. You might find that you love it.

Biker Quote for Today

In the motorcycle safety course they tell you that target fixation is bad, where your eyes are looking is where you usually end up. Must be why I keep running over female joggers.