Archive for June, 2026

Making The Most Of The Ride Home

Thursday, June 18th, 2026


At a pull-out going up Independence Pass.

Day 5 was the last day of our RMMRC 5-day Utah ride. It could have been a quick blast east on I-70 but there was no way we were going to do that. Heck, we were in Basalt, which is right next door to Aspen, which is the gateway to . . . Independence Pass. One of Colorado’s real gems. Which direction do you suppose we went?

We heard from a cabinetmaker staying at our hotel that the morning commute into Aspen is killer. Because no one who does any of the hard work in Aspen can afford to live in Aspen. But either because we started a little later in the morning–9 a.m.–or because it was Saturday, we had no issue with traffic. That’s a win.

There’s no way in the world they’ll ever be able to build a bypass around Aspen so we had to go right through the middle of town. Not a win, but that’s life. Then we were out in the open, heading up the pass. And there was very little traffic this early in the day. That’s a win.

There are a couple places along the road going up the west side of Independence where it narrows down to one lane. I was riding sweep and as we came around a bend in one of these one-lane stretches I joked on the intercom that we should stop here for a group picture. Gene, in the lead, said OK. I came around the bend then and saw there was a pull-out right there and everyone was pulling in. Had to laugh about that one.

Of course, then as we left the pull-out I forgot to plug my electric vest back in so it was going to be a cold ride up to the summit. Dang. I knew it was totally unsafe to try to plug that thing in while riding but I still considered it. I thought if I secured the the female connector between my leg and the tank that maybe, on a straighter stretch, I might be able to insert the male connector. The opportunity came and I made a feeble attempt but clearly it was not going to work, and I was not willing to risk my life to avoid being cold for half an hour. When we stopped at the top I made absolutely certain to plug in before we headed down.

That was a good thing, because on the east side of the pass there was a ferocious wind blowing and that wind was cold! It didn’t really get warm until we were almost to Buena Vista. But oh hey, Independence Pass was its usual gorgeous self. What a nice ride.

We didn’t stop in Buena Vista. Too early for lunch and a couple guys had said they did not plan to do a lunch stop. Usually about the time we get onto US 285 headed back down the hill it’s time for the group to dissolve as the horses head back to the stable. Amazingly, this time that did not happen.

Dave and Lindsay told us as we made our final stop at Johnson Village that they intended to peel off on US 24 at Antero Junction, where you come down the hill into South Park. They did and then Tom and Gene and I stayed together all the rest of the way into town. The two of them finally got separated from me coming across town when I caught a red light they got through. Then it was home and this really good trip came to an end.

Biker Quote for Today

The road is a mirror; it reflects who I truly am.

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There It Is–How Do We Get There?

Monday, June 15th, 2026


Stopped on McClure Pass Summit

The fourth day of this 5-day Utah ride brought us back into Colorado. We were continuing south out of Moab, down US 191 to where Utah 46 splits off to the east to cross the base of the La Sal mountains into far southwestern Colorado. If you’ve never taken this road you are missing a really sweet one. The decline into Paradox Valley is magnificent.

First, though, I had to get all screwed up. I left the motel ahead of the others telling Dave I would stop at the first gas station out of town on the right. There is no gas station going out of town on the right. I ended up doubling back as the other guys came past me heading out of town and I had to do a U-turn and hit the road without having all my riding gear on properly. What a pain that was.

So we got into Colorado and reached Naturita and had two options: go left up to Gateway and then out to US 50 north of Delta or go right down to Placerville and over to Ridgway, then north on US 550 to approach Delta from the south. The north route takes you along the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway and is a terrific ride. The south route is very pretty and a good bit shorter. We went south.

There’s not much in Placerville but we wanted a pit stop so we pulled in. The only store in town had no public facilities but a note on the door saying there was a park two blocks north where there were restrooms. We never knew that. And what a nice little park. Now we know.

Reaching Ridgway we were planning to stop for lunch but we got into town and it was jammed. A festival going on. OK, we’ll go on to Montrose.

But first, going north out of Ridgway, Lindsay had an idea. The turn-off to Owl Creek Pass is right outside of Ridgway and he wanted to show us something. Some rich dude had built an amazing house just up the road a ways. But Lindsay, this road is gravel. I was on a dual-sport but the others were not. Are they really that interested?

We went a distance and they were not. Through the communicators Tom and Gene said we’re going back. Lindsay was out of communications distance so I passed the word along. We never saw that house. Not all ideas are actually good ideas.

We lunched in Montrose, went north to Delta, and turned east on Colorado 92, picked up Colorado 133 at Hotchkiss and up and over McClure Pass. I was glad to see McClure. My lunch had been unexpectedly large and I had eaten it all. Heading for Delta I started getting drowsy and the whole was to Hotchkiss and Paonia I was struggling to keep my eyes open. The curves on McClure woke me up. Just what I needed!

If you’re familiar with Aspen you know the Maroon Bells. McClure Pass shows you the back side of the Maroon Bells. Nice ride.

Down to Carbondale and then we needed to take Colorado 82 toward Aspen, though we were stopping today in Basalt.

I was never familiar with the old Basalt but it’s a certainty that it looked nothing like current-day Basalt. Basically an extension of Aspen. I noticed one young woman in particular who was truly decked out in Aspen chic attire. Whatever floats your boat.

Finding our motel was the challenge of the day. We could see it. We could get about 100 feet from it. But there was all this construction going on and there didn’t seem to be any way to get to it. Crazy. Finally we ducked down what looked like an alley and got there. Crazy.

Biker Quote for Today

I ride to feel alive, not just to reach a destination.

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The Ride So Nice We Did It Twice

Thursday, June 11th, 2026


This stretch through the slickrock was really the only place I could confidently say I recognized from the day before.

I was skeptical of Tom’s route planning for this 5-day RMMRC Utah ride when I saw that he had us backtracking on Day Three every mile we had ridden on Day Two plus some. And really, if that was what we did it would have been less than wonderful, although only to an extent.

But we pulled out a map and put our heads together and came up with a somewhat different route where we backtracked on the really good part but took a different route rather than the less interesting part.

The thing was, we were going over one of the very best roads in Utah on Day Two and you know you’ve heard it said that a road looks completely different going the other way. Well, it’s true. We went back through all this terrific country and if we had ridden it yesterday you could have fooled me.

So we had left Green River and ridden to where Utah 24 runs south to Hanksville, then followed 24 west to Torrey. It was the part from Torrey that was fabulous. Of course doing it the other direction would be fabulous, too. And it was. But rather than turn east to Hanksville we went west, up to Loa, and then took Utah 72 over Hogan Pass and then down to I-70 on the other side.

This was a very nice road that I had ridden last year coming home from the RMMRC trip where I got sick and had to abandon the trip. And I had forgotten that all the way up and down over that pass it was just sweeper after sweeper. Perfect motorcycle road, except that this year there were several sections interlaced with masses of pretty fresh tar snakes. It wasn’t hot, so they weren’t soft and oozy but I know I still slipped a couple times and they made the ride incredibly bumpy. Fortunately it was just sections, not the entire stretch of road.

Of course, that gave us even more of I-70 to ride but this particular stretch is actually pretty scenic. One of the best places to stop–only available if you are eastbound–is the Spotted Wolf Canyon View Area. And we did stop. Plus, we only had to go a few miles east past Green River to reach Crescent Junction, where we turned south on US 191 to Moab. The road south to Moab was not anywhere near as busy as it could have been so that part of the ride was nice and went quickly.

And then Moab. I remember when this was a small town. We used to take camping trips over there, to Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. That was 40 years ago. I don’t think there’s a single commercial building in Moab that was there 40 years ago that is still standing. I miss the old Moab.

Anyway, it wasn’t as crowded as I expected so I guess it was OK staying there. I generally avoid Moab these days.

And tomorrow we’re heading back into Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you try to look like a biker.

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No One To Blame But Me

Monday, June 8th, 2026


On the Utah trip.

I was undecided before we took off on this recent RMMRC Utah trip whether to wear my leather jacket or the mesh. I figured it could be hot in Utah but first we had to get there and that meant the Colorado high country. So I decided to call Tom, who was the organizer of this trip, and ask him what he thought.

Tom said he was wearing his mesh jacket. I was still a bit skeptical but decided that was the way I would go.

What a bad decision. Look at it this way. It’s still spring. Utah gets warm sooner than Colorado but it’s still spring. Don’t dress for summer in Utah, and especially in Colorado, if it’s not summer. And sure, I followed Tom’s suggestion, but the decision was all still mine so I don’t blame him. Heck, I know for a fact that he got cold, too.

On the day we left it was chilly in the early morning. That should have been my first warning heading out to the meet-up spot that I should put on my electric vest before heading up the hill, just to be safe. Did I do that? No. Did it get cold going up? You bet. By the time we reached the tunnel my fingertips were going numb and I was truly cold. Then, as I noted before, I knew I’d never get warm at least until we reached Vail.

When we stopped for lunch in West Glenwood Springs I finally put on my electric vest and plugged that baby in. That, and lower elevation, finally got me warm. So the next day, heading out from Green River, Utah, with a good wind blowing already, I had the sense to start the day with the vest on and plugged in. Man, did I need it. But even still, some of the high spots we passed it was so cold–and this was Utah–that again my fingertips were going numb. But thank goodness for the vest.

The third day I was finally really getting the idea. I wore everything from the day before and also an extra-warmth base-layer pair of long underwear. It was still cold but I now had on everything other than my rain suit that could keep me warm. Actually, putting on the rain suit would have been a good idea because it would have blocked the wind and it was really the cold wind that made the most difference. But on this day we also went lower than any other part of the trip and it actually got hot. I did not object.

The fourth day I expected it to finally get a bit warmer so I left off the base-layer longies and that would have been OK except that in a somewhat confused start to the day’s ride I managed to not have my vest plugged in or even zipped up. I knew there was no way I could safely plug that thing in while moving, but I tried anyway. No way. Better alive and cold than dead. When we finally made a stop I made darn sure to get that thing plugged in and zipped up.

Finally on the fifth day I had it all together and was as warm as could be expected. But the point is, it was still cold. It was still springtime in Colorado and we were in the high country. What idiot goes riding in the high country in the spring wearing summer gear?

I hope I don’t ever do it again but I know myself well enough to not swear it will never happen. You try to learn from experience but you only sometimes succeed.

Biker Quote for Today

Interstates undeniably allow us to make good time, but I question if they make time good. And making time good is why I ride motorcycles — Eric Trow

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One Of Utah’s Best Roads

Thursday, June 4th, 2026

On Day Two of this 5-day Utah trip we finally got off on the good stuff. We had fiddled with our communicators the night before so now we have four of our five connected but Dave was the odd man out. Unfortunately that was his lot for the whole trip.


Waiting at the Capitol Reef Visitors Center.

We headed just a few miles further west on I-70 and then took the turn-off for Utah 24 heading down to Hanksville. This is a long stretch of open country, but hey, it’s Utah, and in my opinion Utah is the most beautiful state in the US.

The issue was the wind, though. And dealing with a blasting wind proved to be an issue for this entire trip.

From Hanksville the road turned more westerly and got a lot more interesting, at a much more sedate pace than the day before. All the way to Torrey we were kicking back and enjoying the ever-changing scenery, and man, there’s a lot of scenery in Utah. We were in canyons, up over hills, and we passed through Capitol Reef National Park.

Lindsay told us he intended to stop and get some photos along the way so we shouldn’t be concerned if he was not there at some point. And as he said, he did drop off, Gene with him. The idea was that they would catch up to us at our next stop.

As the rest of us cruised along we passed a lot of pretty spots to pull over and I suggested to Tom that we pull into one of these and wait for them. Tom said he figured the visitor center would be a good place to wait. It was right alongside the road and we could all use the amenities. Sounds good.

We reached the visitor center and were lucky enough to get the most prominent, most visible spot in the whole parking lot so we relaxed and kept an eye out for Lindsay and Gene. After awhile here they came down the road . . . and passed right by without either one of them so much as turning their head to look in the direction of this bustling place. Oh well, maybe we’ll see them in Torrey or else we’ll see them in Panguitch, our stop for the night.

We took off and at Torrey we needed to turn south on Utah 12, which splits off before you get into the town. Just to be safe we rode into Torrey but didn’t see Gene and Lindsay so we turned around and took the road south.

After all the great country we had already been through you wouldn’t think it could get much better. You would be wrong. Utah 12 has got to be one of the very best roads in Utah, and that’s saying a lot because Utah has a lot of fabulous roads.

First you go up over some very high hills with fabulous views off to the left. Then you get down to Boulder and go down and the terrain changes radically. You run down into canyons and then up again, there’s multi-colored rock all around, then you come up through the slick rock and wind your way up and over another high plateau. Finally you reach Escalante. We stopped in Escalante for lunch.

The gorgeous country does not stop at Escalante. From there we went on, still following Utah 12, up over another high spot, and then down, and then up again coming in Bryce Canyon National Park. Here the color of the hills reminded me of a Dreamcicle, those white and orange ice cream bars on sticks. The road doesn’t take you into the main area of the park, you just pass by that, but then it goes down into Red Canyon, where now everywhere you look it’s red.

Finally the road came out to meet US 89, where we turned north to Panguitch.

It would be a couple more hours before Lindsay and Gene showed up. They had missed the turn onto Utah 12 at Torrey and went quite a long way before stopping to consult the map. At that point they could have continued forward and gotten to Panguitch quicker, but they didn’t want to miss Utah 12 so they backtracked the whole way.

What a great day. What a great ride. You gotta love Utah.

Biker Quote for Today

I’ve come to conclusion that the most time consuming activity bikers engage in is finding neutral.

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Off To Utah On 5-Day Ride

Monday, June 1st, 2026


Stopped to catch a view in Utah.

Five of us with the RMMRC headed to Utah last week on a 5-day ride. On the BMWs were Dave, Lindsay, and Tom. Gene was on his Yamaha and I was on my Suzuki.

We met out at the Phillips 66 in Morrison and the first order of business was to link our communicators. We failed and headed out with only two linked, Tom riding lead and Gene riding sweep. It was a chilly morning destined to get a lot colder before it got warm.

Our destination on Day One was Green River, Utah, which is about 330 miles. We were doing it all on I-70, just to get there. We ran up from Morrison past Red Rocks, got on I-70, and blasted west.

The first point of interest came at the foot of Floyd Hill. At that spot I-70 comes down a steep incline and then makes a hard turn left into Clear Creek Canyon. That hard left makes the turn a bit of a hazard. The state has been working for a couple years now to straighten out the bend and generally improve that stretch of road but all that has been visible all this time has been some earth-moving as they cut into the hillside a bit.

That has changed. Down at the bottom you now see tall pillars with a short slab of what will be highway indicating the route of the new flyover they’re putting in. Around the bend you see more pillars indicating that they are raising the highway leading to the curve and you can see where the lane will go right through a notch they have cut in the hillside. Very interesting.

We climbed on up toward the Eisenhower Tunnel and by now my fingers were getting numb and I was cursing my failure to wear my electric vest. I had it with me but it wasn’t doing me any good in my bag. We got through the tunnel and headed down to Silverthorne and as it didn’t get much warmer down there I knew I was going to be cold all the way to Vail.

Up from Silverthorne, past Frisco, past Copper Mountain, and up Vail Pass. Just over the top of Vail we encountered more major highway construction. Apparently they are widening the road on that side and there is already a high median barrier in place. However, we were heading west on the eastbound side of that new barrier because they’re just in the process of building the highway on the westbound side. Also, up at the top of Vail Pass, there was a brand new rest area to replace the old one that has been closed for a couple years. Your tax dollars at work. Probably good expenditures.

Tom was setting an aggressive pace the whole way and after we got down and through Vail he bumped it up another notch. We stopped for lunch in West Glenwood and headed on toward Grand Junction. We had discussed where we would need to get gas and we all agreed we could make it to Fruita. But at this blistering pace–80 to 90–my gas mileage was suffering badly. We got into Debeque Canyon and I was down to just one bar on my fuel gauge and it was flashing red. I had no helmet communications but Gene, just behind me, did and I waved him up. I pointed to my gas tank and he got the idea. He told Tom I needed to stop for gas so Tom pulled off at Palisade. I really don’t think I would have made it to Fruita.

Off we went again and once we got into Utah we were truly blasting. That stretch of I-70 has an 80 mph speed limit and we were going the obligatory 5 to 10 mph faster–or more. And the wind was blasting us in the face. Google says from Palisade to Green River is 113 miles. My fuel gauge was showing three bars of five when we got there. Normally I get about 140 on my first two bars.

So now we were in Utah. The slog portion of the trip was over. Tomorrow the real fun begins.

Biker Quote for Today

The bike is an extension of my being; we ride as one.

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