Passes & Canyons Blog

I recently got wind of a concerning situation. It seems the restaurant that houses the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum, in Colorado Springs, has closed. Considering that the museum is in the building and you get to it by walking through the restaurant and then upstairs, you have to wonder what this portends for the museum.

Their website doesn’t say anything at all about it, but their Facebook page does say a little. And what they do say is this:

We are OPEN once again to the public!
Our hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am – 5pm
19 N. Tejon Street – 2nd floor – Downtown Colorado Springs
THANK YOU for your support and patience as we work thru the closure of the Tejon Eatery. As always, admission is FREE!

The restaurant in question is/was the Tejon Eatery and Bar. In the news article in the Colorado Springs Gazette it said that the restaurant owner said the museum will remain open for now but that doesn’t tell us anything about the future. The two owners, Sam and Kathy Guadagnoli, opened and ran the place but Sam, who was a big motorcycle buff, died in September. The restaurant is said to never have been profitable.

I emailed whoever runs their website asking for further information and I’ll update if I hear anything new.

Later–OK, I did hear back from Pam Wear, Secretary/Treasurer of the museum, and here is what she said:

Hello Ken,
The restaurant closed with no notice in October. Yes, it did affect our operation. We are now open Thursday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and will be adding as the situation evolves.
The Museum has been open since 1992, we will continue. We are actually seeing quite a few visitors!
Thank you!

Biker Quote for Today

You’re the coolest old guy I know. You must pick up a TON of chicks at the nursing home with that bike.

I rode down to Colorado Springs the other day with members of the RMMRC to visit the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum in its new location in downtown CS. Oddly enough, after we got to the Springs and had lunch the rest of the group decided to skip the museum and just head back to Denver. I was not party to that discussion so I’m unclear on the reason but there was no way I was not going to the museum. So I went alone.

The first trick in visiting the museum was finding it. It used to be in an outbuilding on the site of Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson, up at the north end of town. I’m not sure, but maybe then they moved inside the dealership, and then just recently into this new space at 19 N Tejon Street. Finding Pikes Peak H-D was easy; finding the new site a bit harder. The main thing is, it’s inside a restaurant, or group of restaurants. This is the Tejon Eatery, which appears to be maybe sort of a food court with a variety of restaurants–I’m just not clear on all this.

But the point is, while there are signs outside, they’re small and if I had not had the address I would probably not have spotted them. So, with uncertainty, I stepped inside and asked the hostess right inside about the motorcycle museum. She said yes, just go straight that way, make a right turn, and then go up the stairs. I got to the back portion of the building and there, among tables for diners, was a staircase heading up under a row of motorcycles to another dining area. Up on top I turned 180 degrees and there was the museum. This was the weirdest setting for a museum I’ve ever seen but hey, whatever works.

In the little building outside Pikes Peak H-D the museum had been insanely crowded. There was no question they needed more space. While there is more space in the new site, the bikes are still in most cases packed closely together. At least visitors have more room to move around.

And goodness, do they have motorcycles. Lots of vintage Harleys and Indians plus a whole bunch of really odd, seemingly one-off bikes. Plus, they have displays all over the walls of photos, old posters and advertisements, and all kinds of memorabilia. Also, to add to the retro feel of the place, they have an old-style soda fountain in the back of the museum area.

Thinking that it might make sense to plan another RMMRC trip down and then just come here to eat I asked the “soda jerk” and he explained that he just serves ice cream. OK, you could still have lunch somewhere else then come here and get ice cream and tour the museum.

“What are your hours?” I asked.

“We’re open right now,” he replied. OK.

“But on a normal day, when are you open?” I asked. He didn’t seem to understand my question and offered no answer. OK. Maybe that’s not such a good idea.

So I don’t know about the soda fountain, but the museum’s hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 11am to 8pm, and Sunday, 11am to 4pm. Admission is free.

Bottom line, if you’re into looking at a lot of antique and vintage motorcycles, as well as a lot of associated memorabilia, you won’t be disappointed. And frankly, it’s kind of small so you may not end up spending a whole lot of time there, so I’m not sure it’s worth a special trip to the Springs just for that purpose. Or, depending on your own interests, it might be. I just know I sure as heck had no intention of going all the way down there and not going to the museum.

Biker Quote for Today

A policeman pulled me over on his motorcycle. I don’t know why, I told him I was only borrowing it for 5 minutes.

I got a notification from Jerry Pokorny of an event that might be interesting if you’d be inclined to head up to Steamboat Springs in a couple weeks. It’s called the Premier & Classic Weekend.

So what is this Premier & Classic Weekend? Well, for starters, the AHRMA is the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. Which is to say, this is a group that stages vintage motorcycle races. You can fill in the rest.

This event will be held at the Jenny Ranch, outside Steamboat, at 37850 Routt County Road 45. It starts on Friday, June 4, and runs through the weekend. There will be a dual-sport ride on Friday, vintage trial racing on Saturday, and premier and classic scrambles on Sunday. If you just want to watch, admission is $10 per day. If you want to bring your old bike and participate, entry fees are $30 or $40 depending on the event. If you want to stay the weekend, there are local accommodations or you can camp on the ranch for $10 per night. A catered dinner is available on Saturday night for $15 per person.

So what’s actually going to be going on, besides the chance to see some very cool motorcycles in action? Let’s take trials. Per the AHRMA website:

Observed trials is a very significant part of historic motorcycle competition. It began as a wintertime sport for European enthusiasts, who tested themselves by tracing ancient Roman roads. These riders negotiated various obstacles along the way, all of which gave test to both man and machine. As the “gentleman’s sport” developed, such obstacles became more specific, and more challenging. From the 1980s until today, the obstacles presented to trials competitors have been inconceivable for most motorcycle riders.

AHRMA’s observed trials goal is to provide its members a safe, historically accurate environment to showcase and experience vintage machinery. The key to this enjoyment is the observed sections. From the 1950s into the ‘70s, sections were mainly composed of wide-open areas of challenging terrain, with the rider’s choice of line determining his/her success. Observed sections reminiscent of this era are critical in AHRMA’s representation of classic observed trials. With period-accurate sections, machines will remain true to their original concept, and the techniques required to ride them will do the same, enhancing the entire vintage trials scene. The trials-riding experience will undoubtedly result in good friends, good rides and good fun.

So. Could be a fun weekend. Will I be there? No, I’ll be in some state about a thousand miles to the east on that weekend. But you might consider it. If you do, and you want to send me some photos and a report I’ll be glad to publish them. Thanks.

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t ride my bike to win races, not do I ride to get places. I ride to escape this world. I ride to find peace with myself. I ride to feel free and I ride to feel strong.

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.

This experience was a real highlight, so I’m happy to run this as an Examiner Resurrection.

“Grab this grip with your left hand and never let go.”

I figured that first bit of instruction was the most important of all. Especially when ignoring it could result in my hitting the pavement at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

I was going for a ride on a racing sidecar.

If you watch sidecar racers scream around the curves, often with the passenger hanging much of their body out of the car and inches from the ground, your first impulse is to say “Those guys are crazy.” Well, crazy or not, I wanted a piece of it and I was going to get it.

I went to the Bonneville Vintage GP and Concours last week with antique motorcycles on my mind but was quickly caught up in the excitement surrounding the sidecars that were also there racing, both vintage and Formula 1 and Formula 2. And as luck would have it, the sidecar guys love to take other folks on what they call “taxi rides” for a couple laps of the track. Where do I sign up?

So Rick Murray, with Team RGM, who would be taking me for a ride in his rig, was explaining to me what I should, and most importantly, should not do. As you move around from left to right to center, the right hand moves from grip to grip. But the left hand never moves from its grip. A lot of the rest I was told was forgotten as soon as we got out on the track but I did remember this.

Then Christine Blunck, with Subculture Racing, walked me through the entire track, showing me how to roll on my legs from left to center, where to brace my feet as I moved right, and what move to make on each turn in the track. She noted that sidecar passengers at times wish they were monkeys so they would have that tail, that fifth hand, to grab on with.

Wearing my own helmet and gloves and a borrowed leather suit, I was mounted and we were ready to roll out on the track. There would be one other taxi rider on the sidecar ahead of us. Let’s go.

Around the track we looped, through turns with evocative names such as “Gotcha,” “Mabey Y’ll Makit,” “Agony,” and “Ecstasy.” If I remembered anything Christine had told me about each turn it became moot as I quickly lost track of where we even were on the course. Initial thoughts of shifting left to right and back to left were dashed at the realization that, oh yeah, sometimes you have two lefts in a row, or two rights in a row. Guess I’d better pay attention to the track.

But even then it got confusing. I’d be figuring that I needed to be going right and I’d look ahead and the guy in the car in front of us was going left. Who was correct and who was confused? I know I was confused even if I was correct.

Of course, in all honesty, it didn’t matter if I screwed up. We were not going at full race speeds and Rick told me he could run the whole course at that speed with no problem regardless of what I did. And afterward I asked him if I screwed up and he just said, sort of noncommitally, that “You did fine.”

So we did the first lap and were well into the second when I heard the engine rev and felt us picking up speed. I knew Rick was opening it up to give me a taste of real race speeds and I hung on tight to enjoy the sensation. I have no doubt that my own personal land speed record was set at that moment.

Then we swept again through the clubhouse turn and into the pit lane and off the track to a stop. I stood up and realized I was breathing hard, not to mention feeling like I’d just had a work out. And I’m sure I was smiling. Here’s your leathers back, and thank you for the pin that reads, “I rode a racing sidecar.” Thank you, thank you, thank you. When can I do this again?

Biker Quote for Today

I have no interest in living a balanced life. I want a life of adventure.

The Antique Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA) is holding a get-together in Black Hawk this week so what more excuse did I need to take a ride up in the hills? Besides, we’re setting new heat records down here in Denver so a little cooler air can only be welcome. Of course, considering the event, I rode my 1980 CB750. It may not be an antique but it sure ain’t some spring chicken.

Bill and I rode to Black Hawk two Saturdays ago and the road up Clear Creek Canyon had a sign warning of road work and grooved pavement, so we took a different route. That sign was gone so I headed up Clear Creek.

As expected, there was a good bit of excellent, brand new asphalt and there wasn’t a lot of traffic. In fact, after awhile it got odd how little traffic there was, and then there was suddenly an endless stream of vehicles bumper to bumper. I (correctly) deduced there must still be some road work up ahead and at least one spot where the road is down to one lane. Fortunately I got there just as the throng in front of me started to move so all I had to do was slow down and keep cruising.

The gathering place for the AMCA was the 10th floor parking garage at the Ameristar Casino. Who ever heard of a 10th floor parking garage. But in fact it’s just a parking garage and you go all the way up to the top, at the 10th floor. I knew the group had a ride planned for the day and I didn’t expect many bikes at mid-day and again I was correct, but there were some, such as those in that photo above.

I only stayed around long enough to give the Ameristar some cash–just because they’re such nice folks, you know?–and then headed toward the Golden Gate Canyon road to head back down. There were way too many trucks in Clear Creek Canyon. I considered going down via Coal Creek Canyon but while I was in Black Hawk the wind kicked up quite a bit so I went with Golden Gate Canyon.

Good choice. There was nobody at all on this road. That is, there were just a few vehicles going the other way but I didn’t see any at all going my way until I was almost all the way down, at around Mount Galbraith Park.

So it’s not that I was trying to go fast but I bet I made it down that road in record time, for me at least. There was just nothing and nobody to slow me down. I went zipping along, straightening out the curves, and just generally having a really fun time. Just the kind of thing motorcycling is all about.

About halfway down, however, I started feeling the heat again. It was cool up high but hot and getting hotter down low. Thank goodness for my mesh jacket.

Then I had one more interesting encounter on my way home. Getting off 6th Avenue onto southbound I-25 traffic was backed up way more than I could see any reason for at this time of day, so it was stop and go. Except there was one guy on a Suzuki sportbike in the lane to my right who was refusing to so much as dab a foot. I might have been able to do that, too, but I wasn’t inclined to do the work. And it is work.

You have to simultaneously rev the engine so gyroscopic force keeps you and the bike upright while feathering the clutch and modulating the brakes so you go slowly, slowly, slowly. You’re always monitoring the gap in front of you as it shrinks and widens. It takes concentration and it is work. I just did the stop and start thing, riding most of the time with my feet just skimming the pavement. But I was enjoying watching him, and in all the time I could watch him he never once dabbed.

Good riding, dude!

Biker Quote for Today

Meditation doesn’t mean you have to sit still.