Passes & Canyons Blog

When my parents moved into a well-to-do development in South Carolina about 18 years ago I remarked that perhaps I’d ride my bike down to visit them there. They informed me that motorcycles were not allowed in this gated community. Of course I was indignant. The reason was noise, but as usual the community had not attacked the actual problem — noise — they had attacked what their preconceived notions focused on. That is, motorcycles.

Never mind that plenty of cars, trucks, delivery vans, and lawnmowers make a lot more noise than my 1999 Kawasaki Concours or my 1980 Honda CB750 Custom.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who found this offensive, and while change takes time, change does occur. A few years passed and my father, who was the editor of the homeowner’s association newsletter, sent me a copy of the latest issue featuring a story about half of dozen residents who had ridden their bikes on a 5,000 mile journey. No Hell’s Angels, these retired engineers, accountants, lawyers, etc. And the community was pleased to see their neighbors having such a good time.

We just got back from there — Keowee Key, on Lake Keowee, outside Clemson, SC — yesterday. We went down for Christmas with Mom and the rest of the family. As my wife and I walked around one day I was pleased to notice a motorcycle in an open garage. Then the best of all was as we were leaving yesterday for the airport. Just as we were passing through the exit gate four leather-clad riders came up on their big cruisers and passed unheeded through the entrance gate. Things do get better.

I know this is a little early but I just want to remind everyone that in 2007 Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day is set for July 18.

You are familiar with Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day, aren’t you? If not you should be. Here’s your chance.

On one day each year all motorcyclists are encouraged to ride their bikes to work. The idea is to get as many of us out there at the same time in order to make everyone else aware of how many of us there are. Also to make it clear that we are there and folks in cars and trucks need to drive as if we are there. Because we are. I don’t need to go into a discussion of the bazillion times every one of us has had to dodge someone who didn’t realize we were there.

So anyway, I’ll be mentioning this again several times as the day draws closer. In the meantime, you can find out all about this national event at the website: www.ridetowork.org.

Ride safely. Ride.

The days are truly gone when anyone riding a motorcycle was assumed to be a bad dude who you wanted to avoid. We all know this already anyway, and Hollister and the bad old days are very much in the past. Still, it is amusing where bikers show up these days.

For example, in the Business section of the Sunday Denver Post, in an article reprinted from Barron’s magazine, there was an article about how Duke Energy is spinning off a natural gas outfit. What does that have to do with motorcycles? Beats the heck out of me, but here’s what they said:

The split-up is the brainchild of Duke’s chairman, Paul Anderson, 61, a no-nonsense motorcycle enthusiast.

That’s it. Nothing else about bikes or riding in the article. What really makes this amusing is that long ago, when I was a newspaper reporter and editor, it was a given that you did not give particular information about a person unless it was central to the story. The prime example was that you did not identify someone by race unless race was part of the story. You would not say “John Jones, a black man, was honored for his contribution to the community.” You would, of course, say, “The alleged rapist was identified as a white man about 5 foot 9 and 190 pounds with a scar on his left cheek.”

So what does Paul Anderson’s passion for motorcycles have to do with the rest of this story? As I said, beats the heck out of me. But hey! We’re everywhere.

I really tip my helmet to the folks who rode their motorcycles in the 21st Annual Toy Run to The Children’s Hospital yesterday. It wasn’t just that it was cold. There is snow and ice on the streets, too. I admit I wasn’t planning on going on the ride anyway, but if I had been there’s no way I could have gotten out of my neighborhood.

This is the season for opportunism. When you have the opportunity you better take it or you’re likely to regret it. I make it a point to ride both my bikes at least once every single month of the year, and there are times when that has had me out in some pretty cold weather. I have an electric vest and I’m not afraid to use it. I also have thinsulate-lined gloves. And I don’t hesitate to put on seven layers of warmth. But here in Colorado you generally have decent opportunities to ride pretty regularly, if you just take advantage of them.

People who don’t live here really don’t understand about the weather here. My wife told me of a couple guys she had business dealings with who, finding themselves in Colorado in ski season and with time available, decided to hit the slopes. They were down in Denver and the sun was shining and it was comfortable so they left half their warm clothes in the hotel room. Bad choice. Go up another 4,000 feet in elevation and a warm 45 degree day in Denver turns into about a 10 degree day in the mountains, with strong winds.

At this time of year I’ve learned that if it’s Saturday, 30 degrees, and the roads are clear, I’d better go ride. Chances are it will get nicer, but if you don’t go now you have no one to blame but yourself when the clouds come in an hour later and the temperature drops 20 degrees. Or you figure you’ll ride tomorrow and overnight a foot of snow comes down.

Nope, you’ve got to do it when you can. No rain checks. What the heck, that’s why you bought the bike isn’t it?

I got an email from Randy Ohno with a link to his photo blog. His trip this summer, the most current photos on the blog, took him through nine western US states as well as Alberta and British Columbia. Randy lives in BC and has done a lot of riding in the northwestern US and western Canada and his photo blog shows a lot of where he’s been. You may want to check it out at
http://honda599.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php.

It was Randy who wrote asking the question about how he should expect his bike to run at high altitude, which I addressed in this weblog posting. Here’s his report on his experience:

Colorado and the Durango, Aspen area was impressive with its high mountain passes. I managed to make it through Independence Pass and found my bike worked well, but like my breathing laboured slightly at idle.

So thanks for touching back in Randy. And thanks for the look at your photos.

One of the big events in motorcycling recently has to do with one of the smallest bikes. Honda recently announced that it has sold more than 50 million of its 49 cc Super Cub bikes. This bike was introduced in 1958 and is still in production.

For me, the bike has meaning because it was the first bike I ever dreamed of owning. Back in the early 1960s I was living in Nebraska and in those days you could ride a motorcycle at the age of 15. I believe it was in 1963 that Honda came out with the advertising campaign that said “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” I still remember the brochure, with the shiny red and cream-colored bikes on a white seamless backdrop and young, happy people riding without helmets, without eye-protection–you know, the way it was back then. Up to then the biker image had been defined by Marlon Brando, James Dean, and the excessive partying that went on at Hollister, CA, and was then over-inflated by the media. Honda set out to turn that image around, showing that everyday, clean-cut folks rode bikes, too.

As I turned 14 I desperately wanted a bike, and the “Honda 50,” which was the only name I ever knew it by–none of this “Cub” business–was the least expensive and therefore most accessible bike around. It cost $300 new at the time. I had a paper route and I announced that over the next year I was going to save my money and when I was 15 I was going to buy a Honda 50. I saved scrupulously and by the time my 15th birthday rolled around I had $300 in the bank and I was ready. I announced my intentions and then, to my horror, my mother finally spoke.

“You’ll never own a motorcycle as long as you live in my house,” was what she said.

“But, but, but . . .” I protested, “I’ve been saying for the last year that I was going to get this bike when I turned 15 and I’ve saved my money. You never objected before!”

True enough, but the fact was that she would not budge. And all my dreams came crashing down. Years went by and I got sidetracked away from bikes so that even after I was no longer living in her house I didn’t get one. Finally, though, I did. And the way I did it at least balanced the scales a bit.

I was unemployed at the time. My reserves were running low and I didn’t know how I was going to make the mortgage payment. I finally decided I needed to ask my parents for a loan. They were happy to oblige but then I decided to take some of the loaned cash and buy a bike, instead of using it for the purposes stated when I borrowed it. So I paid $900 for a 10-year old Honda CB750 Custom with 19,500 miles on it. It wasn’t until years later that I told them where I got the money to buy that bike.

I still have that bike and I ride it plenty. Back in 1999 I also bought a new Kawasaki Concours so I split my time between the two. But it was that Honda 50, the Super Cub if you will, that I once craved more than anything in the world. And at 50 million sold, there must be a lot of other people out there who have found it appealing as well. Congratulations Honda.