Passes & Canyons Blog

Primo parking for motorcycles at Mount Rainier.

Yes, Judy and I were up on Mount Rainier just a couple weeks ago; no, we weren’t on a bike. Not that it wasn’t very much in my thoughts. And there were plenty of people who were there on their bikes. Astride a motorcycle has got to be the best way to see this mountain. But of course, that’s true of just about any mountain, isn’t it?

Whatever. I just wanted to pass along some of what I observed regarding bikes and the mountain.

The roads up and around Mount Rainier are just what you would suppose: rising and falling, twisting and turning, with a lot of great views. This is one way a bike would be best. Some of the best views are from places where there is nowhere for a car to stop. But a motorcycle can slip into tiny spaces and be perfectly safe and out of traffic.

And when you get up to the best places, with a car you run into what has become the norm at many of the nicest parks: crowding and nowhere to park. Not a problem with a motorcycle. The entire lot may be full but they have motorcycle parking in the choicest spots and it is never so full you can’t get one more bike in there.

The photo above was taken at the Paradise area, which is the number one spot on the hill. We were creeping along into the parking area with people going all the way down one lane, back another, and then down a third trying to find a place for a car. While we waited our turn for this a guy came in on a bike, drove right past us all, and parked without any problem at all. Envious? You bet.

Everywhere we went on this trip there were lots of bikes. The mountains, the seashores, the cities. And that’s another advantage the bikes have. We took the ferry from Port Angeles, Washington, over to Victoria, British Columbia, and as we waited to board, the arriving ferry poured out its contents. And who came racing out first? The motorcycles, of course. Those guys go right to the head of the line, get on the ferry first, and then are first off.

And we ran into a rally on the Olympic peninsula. We spent three nights at Pacific Beach and there were a surprising number of bikes there. One of those days we drove down to Ocean Shores and holy smokes, there were bikes everywhere. Sure enough, a rally. Our whole time in the Pacific Northwest we saw almost entirely bikers who were fully geared up, which makes sense. You should always be ready for rain. But these rally goers were the exception. They were dressed just like your usual Harley folks anywhere else in the country. And hey, there wasn’t any rain, so they were cool.

I’ve been all over the west on a motorcycle with the exception of Oregon and Washington. Some day I’m going to rectify that omission.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride without a destination and you’ll finally see what freedom can be.

Taking a break on an RMMRC ride.

I don’t want to give the impression that this blog is primarily focused on the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC), but the fact is the group has figured in most of my recent posts. I expect to get back to a more normal rotation of subjects now but there’s one big factor in this: the RMMRC does a lot of rides.

If you’re going to join a motorcycle club it’s not abnormal to assume you are doing so because you want folks to go riding with. And from what I hear, in a lot of cases that simply isn’t the case. They get together, have meetings, do some social events, but do they go riding a lot? A whole lot? In many cases, no. With the RMMRC the answer is a resounding yes. And I go on a lot of them. That alone means I’ll always write about the group frequently.

Before Covid it was a standing thing that every (other? my memory is not clear) Wednesday we’d get together for breakfast and then go ride somewhere. If someone came with an idea for where to ride that was great. If not, we’d figure something out. Then Covid hit and going to restaurants was not an option.

Well folks, the weekly breakfast ride is back. In discussion at the July meeting a good core of the group decided to just start doing this every week again. Bruce suggested a breakfast place near him, the Full House Sports Bar and Grill, at 4272 South Broadway in Englewood. He told us they had a really nice early bird breakfast for just $5 and then we could just take off from there. (A quick note: yes, this is a bar but it’s just accepted that none of us are going to be doing any drinking at this time.)

So the following Wednesday that’s just what we did. Now, the bartender was embarrassed to have to tell us that just as of that day the early bird special had gone up to $7 but that’s still a bargain. Plus they have a surprisingly large menu with other interesting options.

Then the next week we ended up meeting somewhere else on Thursday rather than Wednesday. I’m not sure what that’s about and as I’m writing this I’m not certain that the day or eatery are set or not. But the point is, it is a weekly thing and all you really need to do is consult the website to find out when and where. Then come and have breakfast and go riding. If you do, I’ll see you there.

Of course, the group also does a bunch of longer rides as well. The east coast and west coast are frequent destinations. So if you are really looking to do some riding, come. Join us.

Biker Quote for Today

Turn on your own thunder.

With the RMMRC on top of Independence Pass.

I’ve discussed the camaraderie of riding motorcycles a number of times recently and then events prompt additional thoughts.

As I’ve said, I was struck on this recent RMMRC Great River Road ride by how little social interaction there was among the group once we got to out stop for the night. That surprised me and initially I thought it was just the contrast with the OFMC, where we spend all the time doing stuff together till it’s time to turn in.

But then the morning we took the ride up Coal Creek and then over Douglas Mountain Drive we got together beforehand for breakfast. And at breakfast it occurred to me that this is where there is always a lot of camaraderie–before the ride. Then, a week later when we did the ride up Golden Gate Canyon and then over Squaw Pass Roy called me to tell me several guys were meeting at his house to ride out to Golden. The plan was kickstands up at 9:45 but they were leaving Roy’s at 8:30. Why so early?

It dawned on me that getting there early and hanging out is . . . drumroll . . . camaraderie.

So there’s plenty of camaraderie in the RMMRC–at least on the day rides. Either before the ride or in the middle if we stop for lunch. But it’s a whole different dynamic on long runs, or at least on the one long run I’ve done with the group.

The key came to me at lunch on this day when talk turned to a long ride some of the guys are thinking about for August. They want to do a trip to Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge. There and all the way home in eight days. Eight days. Oh my gosh, that’s a lot of hard riding. And that’s the key.

If you get up early each morning so you can burn up hundreds and hundreds of miles, you get to your day’s destination, have dinner, and people are ready to go to bed. With the OFMC we don’t do these long days, we often reach our destination as early as 2 or 3 p.m. and we’re not exhausted. This gives us time and energy to swim in the motel pool, stroll around and find an ice cream shop, have a beer or two, then have dinner, and kick back with another beer.

Now, Judy and I are planning a trip to the Pacific Northwest in the next few weeks so I definitely won’t be going along on a ride right back to Oregon soon after we get home. But I can just see how this whole thing will play out. They’ll get up early, ride hard and long, and hang it up early. On the whole trip. All the camaraderie will come at the meals–not in the evening.

Now I’m totally convinced that if I want to do any RMMRC rides on the terms I prefer I’m going to have to be the one to organize them, and I’m going to have to make the point to anyone interested that this is a different kind of ride. And in the meantime I’ll just stick to doing day rides. We have a really good time on the day rides.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you complained about the “smell and fumes” near the back of your last group ride.