Passes & Canyons Blog

Guess what I got in the mail yesterday: That ExpressToll bill in the photo above. The very thing I’ve been talking about here recently.

Funny thing is, though, as far as I knew I had not used any lanes that I should be charged for. So I called the number on the bill and asked WTF? Now it all comes even clearer.

You know that HOV lane going from downtown up north along I-25 and then onto the Boulder Turnpike? The one that you’ve used for many years if you had two or more people in your car or if you were on your motorcycle? It’s not free anymore.

Well, it is free, but only if you have a transponder. Otherwise you get billed through the mail, just as I did.

I don’t know if they have been putting information out about these changes but they sure need to. Maybe there are ads on TV; I wouldn’t know because I don’t watch TV. But I haven’t seen anything in the newspaper, and I haven’t received any information in the mail. Or maybe I did get something in the mail but reading it left me totally unclear on the whole thing–I’m not certain.

Actually, I think sending you the bill is intended to be their primary method of educating the public. When I called, the very helpful woman explained that they are authorized to waive the fee the first time–which she did–and she then explained it all to me in detail.

In the car you get the transponder, which is an electronic device (I guess), that you attach to your windshield at, around, or maybe to your rear view mirror. You have to manually set it to either toll or HOV. Then if it is set to toll and you use any of the HOV lanes or express lanes you get charged. That charge comes off the initial $35 fee you pay when you get the transponder, which is payment in advance. Once you’ve used up the $35 your credit card is automatically billed for the new payment in advance. You also actually pay $15 for the transponder, which is a non-refundable charge. You’re buying it.

If you have two or more in your car, you set the transponder to HOV and use the lanes and that’s that. No charge. Let’s be clear here: if you’re on a toll road, such as E-470, you still pay the tolls. But if you’re in an HOV lane there is no charge.

For motorcycles, the thing is still called a transponder but it’s a different object. It adheres to the top of your headlight. Will I have to buy one for each of my three bikes, I asked? No, for motorcycles they give you the transponder for no charge. And you could not get just one and switch it to the bike you’re on today because each is registered to a specific vehicle, and we absolutely know they have cameras to capture your license number. But if they’re free that doesn’t matter.

Bottom line, however, is that you MUST open an account, give them your credit card number to draw payments from, and attach the transponder to your vehicle. Otherwise you will be charged for using the HOV lane even if you’re on a motorcycle. Of course, this is one of the issues ABATE is trying to work out. Federal law says motorcycles can use HOV lanes at no charge. Does this violate that law? And what about out-of-state riders who use the HOV lane with no idea that they are supposed to have a transponder? Sure, they’ll get their fee waived the first time but what if you come to Colorado for a week and use the HOV lanes numerous times? Maybe there will be some update on this at my ABATE District 10 meeting this Sunday but I won’t be there to hear about it. I’ll have to follow up later.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding my motorcycle around L.A. is like my own video game. But unlike many folks at the wheel, I am occupied with getting where I’m going and keeping myself safe. Most people are applying makeup, texting, and checking out the beauty in the next car. — Hugh Laurie

I wrote about the issues motorcyclists face with the new express lanes being built around town and there were a few things I was unclear on. This piqued Alan’s interest so he dug further and sent me more info. Here’s what he learned.

Well you sparked my interest in this subject, so I called ExpressToll this morning and confirmed/found out the following:

If you have a transponder on your bike:
1. You will be charged toll fees on E-470
2. You will NOT be charged toll fees on I-25 and US 36 express lanes.

If you do NOT have a transponder on your bike:
1. You will be charged the higher toll fee for not having a transponder on E-470
2. You will be charged the toll fee on I-25 and US 36 even though you are a motorcycle. The bill will be mailed to your address through a DMV check of the license.

There are no special rules or “grace” provisions for out of state bikes that do not have a transponder.

This addresses what I said about out-of-state bikers who may pass through and think they can use the HOV lanes at no charge. Wrong. But that just doesn’t seem to jibe with federal law. We’ll see.

I also mentioned that I had called it quits with Examiner.com, that they had finally just pushed me too far and I told them I would never again do any work for them. Well, a few days later, under the subject line “Termination of Examiner Status,” I got this little note from them:

Thank you for your participation as an Examiner on Examiner.com. We regret to inform you that we are terminating your status as an Examiner, effective immediately. Your account has been deactivated. We appreciate the time, effort and consideration you put into this work, but we feel that your content is not the right fit for Examiner.com at this time.

Gosh, it’s a little late to be firing someone who has already quit. So I sent them this last note and never want anything to do with them again.

I kissed you guys good-bye already. Good riddance. You ought to try to learn how to run a real company.

Working for Examiner as their National Motorcycle Examiner was a really good gig for awhile but I’ve never worked for anyone so inept and so prone to do exactly the wrong thing. I’m so pleased to uncomplicate my life just a bit more.

Biker Quote for Today

Murphy’s Motorcycle Laws: 7. You will never suffer a punctured tire on the road until you leave the repair kit at home.

If you ever question whether some sort of group that stands up for motorcyclists is needed, here’s a situation that should answer that question for you.

Part of the discussion yesterday at my ABATE District 10 meeting was on the rules surrounding use of new express lanes and HOV lanes in the Denver area. ABATE is working with the state to try to work out the fairest, most reasonable way for motorcycles to be part of this structure.

For starters, we ought to keep in mind that under federal law, motorcycles are entitled to use HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes. Thus, if you are going up I-25 from downtown at the right time of day you can use the HOV lane. But how do the new express lanes along US 36 up to Boulder work?

Judy and I drove up to Boulder recently and wondered exactly that. It was not at all clear to us whether, because there were two of us in the car, we could use the new express lanes at no charge or would we get a bill in the mail. (Quick note: by 2017 use of the HOV lanes will require at least three people in your car.) If you’re wondering the same thing, here are links to ExpressToll and the express lanes sites. You may find some answers there.

But there are issues. I’m not totally clear on all this myself so understand that I may be getting some of this wrong, but here’s my understanding. First off, if it’s a toll road, such as E-470, everyone pays a toll. That’s the simple part. But apparently, if you intend to use the express lanes up the Boulder turnpike it is free for cars with two or more people or for motorcycles but only if you first create an account with ExpressToll. This requires a payment of $35 that is intended to be payment in advance for any tolls you do incur. But if you’re on a motorcycle you will never incur any tolls so they will basically just hold your money.

Does that sound a little foolish? ABATE thinks so and is trying to get it changed so motorcycles just simply don’t need any of that. Plus you have the very real issue that if people from elsewhere, whether it be Grand Junction or Ohio, ride through Denver on their motorcycles, they may think it’s OK to use the express/HOV lanes and find themselves receiving bills for having done so. Plus, it may be that they will be billed double because it takes someone human to look at the pictures to determine that it was in fact a motorcycle, and that human element adds to the cost. What? This is where I’m truly unclear on it so take this with a grain of salt.

The point is, apparently if you do not have the little UPC code or whatever taped across the top of your headlight for the cameras to read you will be charged for using the HOV lane despite the fact that you are on a motorcycle. But that would seem to go against federal dictates that motorcycles can use HOV lanes freely. Perhaps you’ll want to be contacting your elected representatives to let them know about this issue and your position on it. Meanwhile, that’s exactly what ABATE is doing.

Biker Quote for Today

Murphy’s Motorcycle Laws: 6. Nothing is harder to start than a used motorcycle being shown to a prospective buyer.

Anyone who travels on their motorcycle knows you inevitably end up meeting and talking with a lot of people, primarily about motorcycles. This last OFMC trip was no different with the exception that an awful lot of that talk focused on just one bike: the new Indian Roadmaster that Dennis was riding.

Some people–like me–buy a motorcycle and hang onto it. If you buy a new one you’re adding to the stable, not replacing bikes. Others–like Dennis–get new bikes every year or two and never have more than one bike at a time. A couple years ago Dennis got a new Harley and I figured this was a bike he would keep for longer than most. Wrong.

Awhile back we all got an email with a photo attached: Dennis with his new Indian.

Dennis had recently received a small inheritance and he decided to go whole hog and get this bike. What sold him on it was the seat height. He’s pretty short so it has been amusing to see him on his tip-toes on his old Gold Wing and the last two Harleys he has had. The seat height on the Indian is only 26 inches. How totally amazing to see him straddling the bike with his feet planted flat on the ground, and even a little bend in his knees. Yes, he’s very happy with it.

This trip was the first time any of us got to see this new bike. And everywhere we went, this was the bike people were asking us about. It was almost comical. Inevitably, someone would be surveying the bunch of bikes, commenting on how nice they all looked, and then they would focus in on one particular bike. The same one every time.

“How does that Indian ride?” would be the question, or something like that.

“Hey Dennis, someone’s asking about your bike,” became a common call.

And Dennis was always more than pleased to tell them all about it.

He does figure that this is the bike he will hold onto for a long time. Indians are too expensive for him to just be buying a new one every couple years. And where else will he find a big cruiser like this with a seat that low?

I really think Harley and the others are missing the boat. If Indian can make a bike with a 26-inch seat height, why can’t others? There are plenty of other short guys out there, and a world full of women even shorter. Maybe this will finally get some wheels turning in some corporate minds.

Biker Quote for Today

Owning a motorcycle is not a matter of life or death. It’s much more important than that.

We rode the Beartooth. Kevin and Jeff were appropriately impressed. Spent the night in Cooke City so we could go up early in the morning, which is always a good plan. And that brought us down to Red Lodge with plenty of day left.

We headed out of town going north and then west. And there is extreme heat all over the west. I’m really enjoying on this trip that I’m on my V-Strom because these guys go off the pavement numerous times each day. On this particular one we were blasting along and Jeff suddenly hit his brakes, signaled a left turn, and we turned down a fishing access gravel road to soak t-shirts and cooling vests. That sort of thing does not happen with the OFMC.

We reached I-90 and needed to blast west about 70 miles on it so blast we did to get it over with. Then it was north again before connecting with a state road going west. Down a river valley and we came to Townsend, Montana. There’s a big lake here with numerous campgrounds around it but none well marked. We camped in a free campground with minimal amenities but at least we did have trains. All night long. Blowing their horns to let you know they were there.

Come morning we cruised into Helena and hit some shops to find things that had been lost. Then up and over a good sized hill and took another northward state highway to avoid doing 70 miles of interstate to Missoula.

Lunch in Missoula and then it was on up over Lolo Pass. I had last been up that pass, to Lolo hot springs, back in 1977 or 1978. The hot springs were natural and no one else was there. Now it’s a business. Sad but no surprise.

Going over the top of Lolo, however, we were all tickled to see a sign that read “Winding road next 99 miles.” We cruised down along the Lochsa River for that many miles, although not all at once. About 70 miles down we turned up the Selway River and found another nice, free campground. And this one did not have a train.

In the morning we went back to the Lochsa and on the rest of the 99 miles and then rode a lot of hours more on various winding roads down river valleys. This is Idaho and Idaho has a plentiful supply of motorcycle roads.

Jeff lives outside Boise so we made it on to his house, which is why I have wi-fi again, and tomorrow we’ll part company with him. But Kevin and I still have two days plus to get back to our homes in Colorado. So this ride is not over.

Biker Quote for Today

A touring bike is whatever you have in the garage when you want to go somewhere.

SB 15-286 to eliminate the Colorado Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program has been killed.

The bill, introduced in the Senate by Jerry Sonnenberg (R), was passed on May 5 and was introduced in the House by Lori Saine (R) and Jovan Melton (D). Bipartisan sponsorship did not prevent it from being sent to the House Finance Committee where it was “postponed indefinitely,” legislative verbiage for “killed.”

While I’m trying to help interested readers be informed about this bill and what is happening, I’m really just doing my best to learn about it, too. Someone who is a lot more knowledgeable about it than me is Matt Wessels, which is one of the reasons I agreed to have him join me in posting on this blog. Matt is working on a deep, broad series on the whole business surrounding MOST but for the meantime he filled me in a bit on some of the background here.

Matt pointed out a number of things. For instance, while I reported a few days ago that this bill, if it had passed, would have created something of a monopoly in Colorado for the Lee Parks Total Control rider training curriculum, “The MOST program has only ever had the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) curriculum approved as a curriculum which results in an endorsement from DOR (the Colorado Department of Revenue). When the MOST program was created, there was another curriculum, offered by the State of Oregon, which MSF lobbied not to include the Oregon curriculum in the MOST bill, so they could have a monopoly in Colorado. It worked and there was an agreement struck between CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation)/MOST and MSF. There are many curricula out there, some better suited to Colorado riders than MSF. Lee Parks’ is one of them. Oregon and Idaho also have very good curricula.”

So it’s not as if the state has been exactly neutral in the past.

Matt continued: “Under the new bill, no curriculum would be “approved,” since SMSA doesn’t approve curricula, which means it would be interpreted that all curricula are OK as the standard isn’t defined. It would be a free-for-all. This means, any curriculum could be taught, and any vendor could teach, without any standards or quality assurance. The risk of the bill is in the lack of regulation, and the risk that provides to the new student who wouldn’t know which vendor is teaching the right thing or not. It’s also a direct attack on MSF, which has had the monopoly and foothold in Colorado for so long, in their push to become the national curriculum. They’ve done this in other states as well. They have board members on the MIC (Motorcycle Industry Council) board, and are working with motorcycle vendors and seller to become a monopoly and secure their curriculum, their product as the end all, be all. It WOULD hurt Harley, as they have their Rider’s Edge training program, which has special provision through MOST to be taught, and does not comply with NHTSA, as they teach on 500cc motos, not 250cc as required by NHTSA.”

So OK, it’s a pretty complicated situation. For now at least it’s on hold. The bill failed. But I think we can count on seeing this kind of thing in the next legislative session. We can only hope that the next bill will be better written.

Biker Quote for Today

Safety is a cheap and effective insurance policy.

I’ve been digging into this story of Senate Bill 15-286 and it’s getting curiouser and curiouser. I spoke today with Dave Tolbert, who runs the Motorcycle Training Academy. Dave has been very busy all day talking to legislators and other operators of training outfits, all of it focused on this bill.

The word on this bill, mentioned by Robert Frank in the notice from him I ran here, and reiterated by Dave, is that Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg introduced this bill on behalf of ABATE and T3RG. Very interesting if that’s the case considering I belong to ABATE and go to meetings and I sure hadn’t heard anything about this.

While the original bill didn’t say this, amendments late on Friday night added wording to this effect: The bill repeals the motorcycle operator safety training program and instead requires the department of revenue to issue a motorcycle endorsement to an applicant who:

* Provides proof of completion of a motorcycle training program; and
* Attests that the program used the curriculum established by the National Association of State Motorcycle Safety Administrators.

Dave explained this to me. Many of you may be familiar with Lee Parks and his Total Control program. Parks is, in Dave’s term, a “curriculum vendor.” He offers a fully developed curriculum for rider training and markets or franchises it across the country.

So according to Dave, Lee Parks asked the State Motorcycle Safety Administrators (SMSA) organization, “Can you verify that my curriculum meets the NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) model standards?” These standards were only recently introduced.

“SMSA had never done that before,” said Dave, “they’re not an accrediting agency, but they said, OK, sure, we can evaluate that. And now Lee Parks is the only curriculum vendor who has sent his program to SMSA because the rest of the vendors say, ‘well they’re not an accrediting agency. Why would we send it to them?’ So he is the only vendor who has curriculum that SMSA says has met the national model standards.”

Look back at that second bullet in the amendment to this bill: Attests that the program used the curriculum established by the National Association of State Motorcycle Safety Administrators.

In other words, if a student rider wants to take a course and get accreditation so he or she doesn’t have to pass the driving part of the licensing test, the only curriculum vendor whose program would meet that standard is Lee Parks. Currently, most rider training courses in the state use the curriculum offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, a competitor of Lee Parks. All the MSF training in Colorado would lose the ability to offer students automatic exemption when they went to get licensed.

Can you understand that Dave Tolbert and a lot of other outfits around the state are in a tizzy?

But what about ABATE? The ABATE training is MSF based. Why would that group support this?

As I say, curiouser and curiouser. I hope to have more information soon.

Another Biker Quote for Today

Accidents hurt — safety doesn’t.

For two and one-half years I’ve had our backs in the national parks, but that ends as of Friday.

As an editor with the National Park Service I have been in a position to crucially reword documents when they have spoken about how motorcycle noise is totally obnoxious and something needing to be eliminated. I have made it my personal job to change that wording to read something like “the noise of loud motorcycles” or “noise from loud vehicles.” The point being that, despite the general public perception, only some motorcycles are loud, not all of them. And noise from loud cars and trucks is just as objectionable as noise from loud motorcycles.

But my gig will wrap up on Friday, May 1, and after that there is no one who will be watching out for us in that way. So here’s an idea: how about if motorcyclists make it a point not to annoy the public, especially in the parks, with loud noise?

The National Park Service even has a page on their website about this issue. “Motorcycle Riding in the National Parks” only seems lukewarm as it is in regard to bikes, stating that “riding a motorcycle through a national park can be an acceptable way to experience our nation’s natural and cultural heritage.” You see that? “. . . can be an acceptable way . . .” That kind of gives the connotation that they’d really rather not have us there but if we’re not totally obnoxious they’ll tolerate us. And the site adds, “Over the past ten years, complaints from visitors concerning excessive noise from motorcycles have been increasing.” By the way, my editing duties do not extend to the website.

Now, lest those of us who don’t have Harleys with extra loud aftermarket pipes get too smug, let me point out that engine noise is not the only issue. If you have a sound system that blasts out music that you can hear when riding, that can be pretty unwelcome, too. Aside from bothering people, it bothers animals: “Noise can adversely impact wildlife by reducing the area over which they can communicate and listen for potential prey or predators. Natural sounds are also important to park visitors, 90 percent of whom say enjoying the sounds of nature is one of the top reasons they visit parks.”

So here is the NPS recommendation for riding your bike in the parks.

Ride Respectfully

1. Obey speed limits.
2. Avoid traveling in large groups.
3. Avoid excessive acceleration or revving of the engine.
4. Turn your engine off instead of idling.
5. Use horns only when necessary for safety.
6. Turn down radios or use a headset.
7. Be extra sensitive near campgrounds, lodging, and visitor centers.
8. Operate your motorcycle as quietly as possible to minimize disturbance to wildlife and other park resources and respect the experience of other visitors.

Biker Quote for Today

Happiness isn’t around the corner, it is the corner.