Passes & Canyons Blog

Riding a motorcycle is not like driving a car. Have you noticed that?

For instance, no one ever mentions to you how they headed out in their car and discovered it was a lot warmer or cooler than they expected and therefore they were way too hot or way too cool. They just took care of it with the AC or the heater and didn’t give it another thought.

Not so those of us on two wheels. And there is no more likely time to get that surprise than at the changing of the seasons, like right now.

Until this week, the last several times I’ve been out on my bikes I have consistently underestimated how chilly it was going to be. I’m not stupid, though, and I have a few years of experience under my belt, so I was carrying along the warmer gear to compensate.

And riding in cool weather is pretty energizing. The term “cool, brisk fall days” speaks to a reality. It’s very cool (yes, double meaning) actually.

Then there was last Tuesday. The forecast was for one more warm day followed by serious, serious cold. As in a low of 14 degrees. That’s cold! I figured I’d better take advantage so off I went on the Concours. The thermometer said 75 so, after being surprised by the cool recently, I overdressed for the warmth. You can always remove layers.

Boy did I overdress. To the point where I was roasting. So I stopped and shed a layer, right? No, that would have been too easy, too intelligent.

I wanted a convenient place to stop. And it’s amazing how when you want something specific you never seem to find it. At any time I could have turned off onto a side street, stopped and de-layered, and turned around and gotten back on the main road. But that would not have been convenient.

I finally remembered that my jacket has vents so I opened the ones in front, and that helped some. I groped in back but could not locate the rear vents or that would have helped even more.

So finally I ended up back home and oh golly, how glad I was to rip some layers off.

As I said, you never hear stories like this from people driving cars, do you. But I’ll bet that nearly every one of you could tell some similar story about riding your motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle is not like driving a car.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding motorcycles helps clear the cobwebs from my mind; if I ride long enough I get to kill some of the spiders.

As I mentioned last week, I got a free pair of earplugs to try out and review. They come from a company called Big Ear.

First thing you need to understand is that the plugs they gave me are their bottom of the line, which sell for $85. For some reason they just weren’t inclined to give me a pair of their top of the line, $2,150 ear plugs. Go figure. I thought you loved me!

This is all to say, of course, that they have a wide range of offerings. The low end is the solid plugs that just simply block noise. Plus, these are pretty rigid. For $109 you can get the same but in softer, more comfortable acrylic, and for $169 you can get even softer silicone. Just from wearing these I’d probably be inclined to pay a little more for the acrylic.

Stepping up, you get the filtered plugs. These start at $150 and as the name implies, you get noise reduction but only certain wavelengths are filtered out so you can talk and hear normally but the loud, bad stuff if blocked.

If you want to go big they have the hunter varieties where it selectively filters out the sound of your gun but allows you to hear leaves rustling and footsteps, etc. out there in the woods. These go as high as $1,050.

If you’re a swimmer they have aquatic plugs that are biased toward keeping water out of your ears, blocking sound, or playing music while you swim. (Who does that? Nobody I know.)

Many people do like to listen to music while riding their motorcycles, however, and Big Ear has that covered. These have cords and/or Bluetooth to connect to your cellphone. These go as high as $1,496.

And then the top of the line does everything: music, Bluetooth, sound reduction, filtering, and top of the line sound quality.

So I showed up at Avalanche Harley-Davidson, where Pete and Sandi MacLachlan had their booth set up and they fitted me on the spot. Only the very bottom of the line, like I got, are made right there; the rest have to be fitted and then sent to the factory to be made.

They inserted a foam block in my ears, attached with threads for extraction, to limit how far in the molding material could go. Then the silicone was pumped in and while it hardened they shaped the exterior a bit. Once the silicone was set it was all extracted and allowed to set further. With some buffing and trimming and grinding away of extraneous matter, plus some sealant coating, the result was a pair of finished earplugs.

And the big question: how do they do?

The first test I gave them was not on the bike. We have a VitaMix blender at home that, when turned up to top speed, is like a jet engine. It is so loud we wear a pair of noise-blocking headphones when we use it. So I tried making a smoothie using my new Big Ear earplugs. And it was pretty comparable to the headphones. Which means they block a lot of noise.

With that fact established I could only think of one other thing to test and that was comfort. So I went for a ride. Would they be comfortable for an extended period?

Here the answer was a little more ambiguous. For whatever reason, the one in my left ear was more noticeable than the one in my right ear. It may be that it was a snugger fit because I also noticed I got a bit of wind noise in my right ear but not in my left. But that snugger fit was also harder to ignore. I was barely aware on the right but very aware on the left. That’s why I say if I was going to buy these things I would probably pay the extra for the softer units.

But they fit under the helmet perfectly. I’ve worn ear plugs that protruded and got jostled by the helmet when I was putting it on and that is not going to happen with these.

If you care about your hearing you really ought to protect it. Judy and I both have some degree of hearing loss and the failure to hear and understand each other clearly is what leads to most of our moments of friction. There are numerous sources of good earplugs out there and I know that Big Ear is only one of them. Whatever brand you choose, I would strongly urge you to use something.

Biker Quote for Today

Warning: Objects seen in mirror are disappearing rapidly.

After coming all the way through the Colorado Senate, the Colorado House has killed the bill that would have made it illegal for drivers to dial or text with their phones while driving. The vote, on Tuesday, was 11-0 in the House Judiciary Committee.

Senate sponsor, Lois Court, said she is not done with this measure and it will return next session.

The American Civil Liberties Union was one of the chief opponents of the bill. The ACLU argued that “all the studies tell us that banning their use or imposing high fines on their use doesn’t stop the use.” Denise Maes, Public Policy Director for the ACLU, also expressed concern that the law could be used as a cover for racial profiling.

No, banning and imposing fines would not stop people from using their phones but I have to believe it would at least reduce their use. Laws against murder do not stop all instances of murder but you better believe it happens a lot less frequently than it would if it were legal. As for racial profiling, Colorado is not known as having a high incidence of that, unlike some other cities we could name. But if a bad cop wants to do it he or she always knows some law they can use. It’s not like this would have been the only one they could turn to.

So this was a very sad day. Drivers need to hang up their damn phones and drive.

In the meantime, there is other activity of interest at the Capitol.

Per Stump: “SB19-144 (Motorcyclists and Malfunctioning Traffic Signals) passed through 2nd and 3rd readings in the House chambers this week with one small amendment at 3rd reading to correct a “grammatical” error. Of course, that meant it had to go back to the Senate for concurrence on the House amendment, which was easily handled this week also. So now it goes to the Governor for his signature.”

Biker Quote for Today

Fake bikers have an image to maintain. The real bikers just don’t give a damn.

Usually, for strong supporters of a piece of legislation, amendments mean a less favorable bill. That is not the case in the Colorado legislature with the proposed Senate Bill 144, known as the dead red bill. This bill is intended to address the issues motorcyclists face when traffic signals do not recognize their presence.

Currently state law says that you must wait for two cycles of the light before you can run the red. The catch-22, of course, is that if it doesn’t recognize your presence the light is not going to cycle so you can sit there forever. A revision was proposed that requires you to sit and wait for two minutes, at which time you are free to run the red.

Well, in the hearing on Tuesday the Colorado Municipal League objected to that wording. Their representative explained that they had spoken with law enforcement folks and the two minute requirement was deemed unenforceable. Then an amazing thing happened. The League, the Colorado Department of Transportation, and the Colorado State Patrol got together and concluded the best language was simply to say that the motorcyclist should treat the light as they would a 4-way stop. Come to a complete stop, wait until it is safe, and then proceed.

Wow! How absolutely logical! And the great thing is that this amended bill was approved by the committee unanimously. With any luck it might make its way out of the Senate over to the House by the end of this week. Don’t you love it when government works!?

Distracted Driving
Also of interest at the capitol on Tuesday, the distracted driving bill that would make it a primary offense to be holding an electronic communications device in your hand while driving–talking on your cellphone–also moved ahead, this time with some amendments. In order to win approval the bill was watered down a little more than it already had been in terms of the penalties.

Rather than a $300 fine for the first offense, the first offense would be set at $50, second at $150, and third at $300. Opponents working for these reductions made the argument that it works better to establish incentives rather than punishments. As Stump said in response, gosh, not incurring a $300 fine would seem like a pretty darn good incentive. And it doesn’t cost a penny to not use your phone while you’re driving.

Nevertheless, legislation is often a matter of baby steps. The most important things here are that using your phone while driving would become a primary offense, meaning the cops can stop you for that reason alone, and it would no longer be necessary to prove you were texting, which the current law against texting while driving requires. All it requires is that the cop sees you with your phone in your hand.

I guess considering that people now text or call with no fear of repercussions it makes sense to give them a break-in period with low fines. Then, once everyone knows that this is no longer permitted, perhaps fines can be increased, if indeed that is shown to promote compliance. Regardless, if we can get at least a significant percentage of drivers to hang up their dang phones while driving it will make the roads a lot safer for us and for them, too.

Biker Quote for Today

Never sell a motorcycle – it is a part of you. Just buy more.

I spoke last week about the planned hearing on the latest dead red bill being on Tuesday, but due to weather(?) or whatever, it did not happen and was rescheduled for same time, same place this week. That is to say, 2 p.m. Tuesday in room 352. So if you have a chance to show up in support, that would be a good thing.

Beyond that, I’m just going to make it easy for myself by again pasting in Stump’s report.

Today is the 72nd day of the 72nd Colorado General Assembly and 197 Senate Bills and 250 House Bills have been introduced. SB-012 (Use of Mobile Electronic Devices While Driving) has passed the 2nd and 3rd readings in the Senate. As soon as it’s assigned to a House committee
(and it might not be the H-T&LG) I’ll send out an action alert with contact information so we can contact the committee members and ask for their support on the bill. There have been a couple amendments passed, so the Engrossed version is different than the introduced version.

You can read the latest version at: http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2019A/bills/2019a_012_eng.pdf

The title has been changed, so the entire engrossed version is double underlined indicating Senate Amendments. The big change is lowering of the fines and points, which basically had to be done to pass the bill. It’s still a good bill though and hopefully will make our roads safer.
SB-144 (Dead-Red Bill) is scheduled for S-T&E Committee hearing on Tuesday, 3/19, at 2:00 PM. There will be an amendment introduced to delete the “wait for 2 minutes” but add in “the signal doesn’t recognize a motorcycle” so it allows the rider discretion on when to proceed.

There are also a couple other bills I’m keeping a close eye on: SB-175 and HB-1221. SB-175 (Serious Bodily Injury Vulnerable Road User Penalties) is scheduled for a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Monday, 3/18. This bill would increase the penalty for causing serious
bodily injury to vulnerable road users and motorcycles are on the list. You can read it at: http://leg.colorado.gov/bill-search?field_sessions=57701&sort_bef_combine=field_bill_number%20ASC&search_api_views_fulltext=SB19-175&field_chamber=2&field_bill_type=75.

HB-1221 (Regulation of Electric Scooters) is also on my radar, which includes EPAMD. It’s scheduled for a H-T&LG Hearing on Tuesday, 3/19. More info later.

OK, so I’m interested in this regulation of electric scooters thing Stump noted. But it occurs to me, is the proposal related to those little stand-up things, like Lime, or in regard to the scooters that we’ve had forever, only powered by electricity? I suspect it is the former so that would not be of all that much interest to motorcyclists. We’ll see.

Biker Quote for Today

With cars’ air conditioning, kids, radio, mobile phone, etc. they just don’t hear you. The only ones that hear you are the ones you tick off.

Some motorcyclists who die in crashes do so while wearing helmets, while others do so without helmets. This led Bruce Downs to the question, how many of those fatally injured actually die of head wounds?

The heart of this question was exemplified by a photo that was making the rounds several years ago, of a motorcyclist in such an horrific crash that he was cut in two. Someone made the remark, “Good thing he was wearing a helmet.”

So Bruce was asking the question and he was in a good position to come up with an answer. Bruce is State Coordinator for ABATE of Colorado and he raised this question at a MOSAB meeting. MOSAB is the Motorcycle Operator Safety Advisory Board, which is made up of representatives from rider organizations, the Colorado State Patrol, and others. When Bruce asked this question, he tells us, the representative from the state patrol said that he, too, would like an answer to that question. “And you’re going to get it for us, aren’t you,” he said to Bruce.

Now, you or I might not be able to corral the assistance such an endeavor might need but with the weight of MOSAB and the state patrol on his side Bruce was able to do so. I’m not sure who he worked with on this but three simple questions were decided upon, which were put up on Survey Monkey, and they then contacted 11 county coroner offices around Colorado, asking that every time the office deals with a motorcycle fatality that someone answer the three survey questions.

One question was, was this a single vehicle crash or were there more vehicles involved? Second, was the deceased wearing a helmet? Third was, was a head injury the cause of death?

In one county the coroner declined to participate, saying that in every motorcycle fatality he sees the death is due to multiple blunt force trauma. That is to say, it’s impossible to say conclusively what the rider died of because there were so many different, severe injuries that you just can’t isolate one in particular. If he/she didn’t die of this then he/she still would have died of that.

Among those coroners who did agree to participate, however, results have been coming in. And guess what? In approximately 80 percent of the fatalities reported–evenly divided between helmeted and helmetless–the cause of death was given as multiple blunt force trauma. (Bruce didn’t specify what the other 20 percent were; I ought to ask him that.)

Where this leads him, Bruce told us, and what he was planning to tell MOSAB the following day, was that regardless of what some people might wish to be the case, helmets are not that big a factor in saving lives. What would be a big factor in saving lives would be to reduce the number of crashes. And what will make that happen is educating drivers and riders, getting drivers off their cellphones while they’re driving, and so many other factors that will add up. But to anyone who thinks a helmet law would be all the answer needed, he says get over it.

“If you want to continue with the rhetoric you’re not going to get where you want to go. It’s not a short fix, it’s a long fix but you’ve got to get started.”

The reason this all matters is that the Colorado State Patrol has been given explicit direction to reduce highway fatalities. The people running that effort want real answers and it’s this kind of data collection that will help provide those answers.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you get hit by a car, break your leg, then tell the nice police officer, “I’m fine I can ride home.”

Sen. Lois Court had done her work well. When the Colorado Senate transportation committee first took up her bill to make hand use of portable communication devices illegal there had been some doubts and reservations from committee members. At that time she asked that the bill be laid over so she could work with members to tweak it to satisfy their concerns.

On Thursday, February 14, the bill came back up. This time there were no major issues and first her amendment was passed and then the overall bill was also passed, unanimously. It now goes to the Senate appropriations committee, where it will be studied to determine whether it would be likely to have fiscal impacts for the state. That is not considered likely. Presuming passage out of the appropriations committee it will go to the full Senate for consideration. There is always the possibility of further amendments being made on the floor.

Opening her discussion of the amendment, Court described the subject of distracted driving as “an issue that has moved forward in the public eye.”

As revised, the bill would allow drivers to touch their device in order to activate or deactivate features. This would include changing radio stations, which was one issue that a senator had raised earlier. The offense–holding a cell phone in your hand while driving–now be a Class A traffic infraction, which is a lesser charge than previously defined. The first offense would carry a possible fine of $50 and two points on your license. Second offense would carry a $150 fine and loss of four points, with third offense carrying a $300 fine and loss of four points.

Texting while driving, already illegal in Colorado, would remain a more serious offense. However, a wording change would no longer make it necessary for law enforcement officers to allege reckless driving in addition to texting. That is, texting in and of itself would be the offense.

We will continue following this bill as it moves to the full Senate.

Update: I just got this note from Stump:
I looked at the Fiscal Note for SB19-012. It shows a cost of $20,000 the first year to reprogram the computers, but an income of over $50,000 the next 2 years for fines. I think it will pass through the Senate Appropriations Committee, but I’ll send out contact info shortly so we can ask for their support.

Biker Quote for Today

Something that sounded like ripping metal shredded the deadly quiet. The inaudible bass smoothed into a low, steady hum. Outside, a low, mechanical growl rumbled closer and closer. Darius caught his breath. He knew that sound, and it wasn’t magic. It was a motorcycle.” — Laura Oliva

On Thursday this week SB-12 will be back up in committee for consideration after some changes have been made by its sponsor, Sen. Lois Court, to make it more palatable for several committee members. If you can make it down to the capitol to support this bill it would be a good thing. Rather than try to reword what Stump has already put together, I am just going to copy/paste his entire message here.

Tuesday, 2/5 – Info from Senator Court on where the Committee members are on this Bill:
• Winter, Priola, Scott should be convincible.
• I think we have Donovan, and Foote.
• Hisey and Pettersen are probably lost causes.

Still a good idea to contact all of them . . .maybe more convincing communications to Winter, Priola & Scott (and I’d still try to sway Hisey and Pettersen).

Wednesday, 2/6 – If we don’t get either Winter or Scott and Hisey and Pettersen are solid no’s then we only have Donovan, Foote, and Priola which won’t get us there. We need HUGE push on Winter and Scott.

Senator Court met with Senator Faith Winter (Chair of the Transportation Committee) and a few other stakeholders to negotiate these revisions. The plan is to present this revised language to the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb 14, upon adjournment, which is usually around 9:45 – 10:00 am. Conference Room 352.

A few comments about the revised language:
There are two different fines proposed:
• Texting will still incur a $300 fine/4 points. Will still be a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense. “Careless driving” phrase will be deleted.
• Just having the device in your hand may incur a $50/2 pt. fine first offense; second offense will incur a $150/4 pt. fine; third offense will incur a $300/4 pt. fine. Offense changed to Class A traffic Infraction (vs a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense).
• You must be legally parked or at rest in a shoulder lane to use the electronic mobile device lawfully. (Stopped at a stoplight or Stop sign is not legally parked or at rest).

Let me know if you have any questions/comments after reading thru the revisions. Another amendment that will be presented is that under 18, full ban of electronic mobile devices while driving.

When contacting the Committee members, Senator Court has recommended some thoughts below. Please feel free to put these in your own words . . . we just want to be sure the Committee knows that Senator Court, and us as stakeholders, have been willing to compromise and work with the Committee to get this Bill passed. Please ask your stakeholders to reach out to all Committee members again before Feb 14. It sounds like a few Committee members are still undecided, and we’ll need 4 Yes votes to keep this Bill alive.

Here’s some suggested wording:
To Senator Faith Winter: Thank you for considering the compromise we worked out with you and other stakeholders.

To Senators Kevin Priola and Ray Scott: Thank you for considering the compromise we worked out with Senator Winter and other stakeholders.

To the other Committee members: We believe that holding a phone while driving puts everyone on the road at risk, but especially motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities. While we agree that texting is even more dangerous we hope you’ll help us in the Transportation Committee by moving SB 12 forward when you hear it again on Feb. 14. We know Sen. Court listened carefully to the suggestions your Committee members requested, and we feel that the strike below bill now in front of you will be extremely helpful in combating the danger of distracted driving on Colorado’s roads.

Thank you again for your consideration……(name and address)

S-T&E Committee Members:
Senator Faith Winter, Chair of the Committee
faith.winter.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4863

Senator Brittany Pettersen, Vice Chair of the Committee
brittany.pettersen.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4859

Senator Kerry Donovan
kerry.donovan.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4871

Senator Mike Foote
Mike.foote.senate@state.co.us
303-866-5291

Senator Dennis Hisey
Dennis.hisey.senate@state.co.us
302-866-4877

Senator Kevin Priola
kpriola@gmail.com
303-866-4855

Senator Ray Scott
ray.scott.senate@state.co.us
303-866-3077

Thanks to Susan Dane for her input and all the work she is doing on this bill.

Biker Quote for Today

Nothing shouts out “Celebrity!” as loudly as being a biker in desperate need of a shave, a haircut and clean clothes. — Foster Kinn