Passes & Canyons Blog

I was up and out the door early on Friday as I wanted to get to the top of Pikes Peak no later than 9:30. That was when the participants of the Sisters Centennial Motorcycle Ride were planning their group photo at the top so I knew I’d find them there at that time. The high temperature for the day was supposed to be in the mid-90s but I wore my electric vest and took a couple extra layers. I don’t care if it’s the middle of summer–which it is–when you get up that high it’s going to be chilly.

I blasted south on I-25 and the closer I got to Colorado Springs the cooler it got, so that I was thinking even then of flipping the vest on. Then I realized I was getting near the top of the Palmer Divide and of course it was getting cooler, but would be warming up again very soon. It was pretty amazing to look ahead where Pikes Peak was in plain sight and to think how in just an hour I would be up on top of that thing.

Well, not really. I needed to stop and get gas and it turned out that an hour later I was just starting up the mountain. But I was still on schedule.

Traffic was light early in the day and the couple cars in front of me very obligingly pulled out of my way so I could cruise at motorcycle speed, rather than follow them at frightened flatland cager speed. It was a beautiful morning and it was a joy climbing that hill.

About two-thirds of the way up there’s a place where they have a cafe and gift shop and a mandatory brake check for the folks coming down to make sure they’re not overheating their brakes. A bunch of bikes were pulled off there and a guy in a motorcycle jacket waved me over. Turned out it was Ziggie, another friend of Alisa’s who I had met some years ago and half expected to see on this day.

What Ziggie had to tell me was that going to the top at that point was iffy. They were still plowing off the snow that had fallen during the night. That’s right. This was July 15 and it snowed last night. It does that in the mountains.

Just about then Alisa showed up with word that things were now pretty clear. So I headed on up. The closer I got to the top, the more the road was still wet, with piles of snow off on the side of the road, but no iciness. And the top of the mountain was still coated with a dusting of snow, looking very beautiful. At the top it was a good thing there was gravel because otherwise it would have been a mud pit, as you can see in that photo above.

So it was kind of fun. There were a bunch of people up on top who I’ve come to know over the years and there were hugs and howdys to pass around. The one disappointment I had was that I had planned to film the ride up and down with my GoPro camera but when I went to set it up on top of my helmet, down at the bottom, I found that I had forgotten to bring the bracket that connects between the camera and the mount on the helmet. Oh well, that means I’m going to need to take another ride up Pikes Peak sometime this summer. Yeah, I know, please don’t throw me in that briar patch.

After awhile I headed on down, to head home. Coming down on I-25 I had noticed just north of Monument some hills rising up with some bare rocks showing that I had never paid attention to before. I figured I’d get off at Monument on the way home, go up through Palmer Lake, and see if I could get closer to those outcroppings along the road that goes to Larkspur. But no, I passed south of them heading out of Monument before I even reached Palmer Lake. Now I’m curious to find out how to get to them. Exploring to be done.

And then on the road to Larkspur the weather hit! I had seen foreboding clouds but was guessing I could run just ahead of the rain. And I did, except for just a few drops, but out on that road the wind suddenly started screaming like a banshee! I was leaned over almost at a 45-degree angle just to keep from being blown off the road. I’ve been in wind before but it’s been a very long time since I’ve been in wind like that.

I got back to I-25 and the wind had died considerably, and then by the time I was north of Castle Rock it was just a normal sunny summer day. And I was home by 12:30. I’ve been to the mountaintop and I still have the better part of the day to do other things. Works for me.

Biker Quote for Today

“People aren’t comfortable with a woman who looks very masculine or rides a motorcycle.” – Pam Grier

Right at this moment there is big deal motorcycle ride crossing the country. The Sisters’ Centennial Motorcycle Ride is to mark the 100th anniversary of the ride made by two sisters, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, “the first women to cross the continental United States, each on her own motorcycle.” Serious math tells us this was 1916.

This modern ride started on July 3, in New York, and will end in San Francisco on July 23. And they’ll be coming through Colorado July 15-17. Their stop for two nights will be in Colorado Springs, with a side trip up Pikes Peak on July 15, or July 16 in case of bad weather.

So the reason I find this particularly interesting is that it has been organized by Alisa Clickenger, who I have known for a number of years now. And I’m doing this “Wow” kind of thing I think most people do when someone they know does something you never would have imagined them doing.

I first met Alisa in 2009 when she was a participant in the Adventure for the Cures “Dirty Dozen” ride that preceded the International Women and Motorcycling conference in Keystone. I was doing the full-time motorcycle freelance journalist thing at the time and I was covering the ride and the conference. I had gotten to know some of the women on that ride and most of my attention had focused on them and then I chanced to talk to Alisa. She didn’t try to hide a bit of hurt at being overlooked, considering that–she told me–she had made a point to reach out to me. Which I had let slip by.

So we spoke at length and as it turns out, she is the one person in that group who I have had the most ongoing connection with.

First I did a piece on her as demo ride leader for BMW. She had plenty of interesting stories to tell about that. Then she took off on a ride to the southern tip of South America and I followed her (journalistically) the whole way, largely by Skype, which enabled us to talk from wherever she was for free. And by the way, she didn’t get quite all the way there. But that was a heck of an adventure for a woman riding solo.

Meanwhile, Alisa had journalistic aspirations of her own. She and I have traded job tips over the years, of the sort like “Hey, this magazine is looking for stories that sound right up your alley.”

Well, the last time I sent her a tip she replied that she was much too busy to pursue this now–she had this ride thing she was planning that was taking all her time.

That was pretty surprising–ambitious!–by itself but then I started seeing endorsements and reports and support statements coming from a lot of sources. It wasn’t just happening, it was becoming a big deal.

And now I’m seeing pieces about it on places like CBS and a whole range of newspapers across the country. Wow. I knew her when.

So good for you Alisa. I’m thinking when you and your group go up Pikes Peak on July 15 I want to be up on top to greet you. But it’s going to be a surprise unless you read this blog post.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding motorcycles is like taking drugs . . . Bikes should come with a warning label that reads “Warning: Riding a motorcycle is addictive. It will change your life forever.”

Bill contacted us all to ask if we wanted to ride up to Central City for brunch Saturday. Who could say no to that?

I selected the Honda and we met up out in Golden. Cruising up Clear Creek Canyon was a dream–we somehow found ourselves with no one at all in front of us almost the entire way up. Hey guys, time to cruise!

The deal, as always, was to have brunch in a casino and then do a little gambling. The OFMC guys love to gamble, especially Bill, who is almost always a winner. That’s why our summer trip each year always includes a stop in a gambling town.

So we ate and played some slots for awhile and then it was time to head on. I pushed the starter button on the Honda and it cranked over with vigor but just kept on cranking. I hate that.

I tried again and the same thing. I knew it couldn’t possibly be running low on gas–and I opened the tank to confirm this–but I went ahead and threw the lever over to Reserve. Again it didn’t start.

Bill suggested I roll it down the ramp in the parking structure we were in to jump it but I tried once again and it finally caught. Yes!!

We headed out. And we pulled out of the parking garage into a light rain. Bill was in the lead and he turned the corner, went down the block and turned the next corner, and pulled right back into the garage we had just pulled out of. Now, this was the kind of light rain that I figured to just ride through so I was surprised at this move. Their talk quickly explained it to me, though.

These are guys who like to always have their machines sparkling clean. A few raindrops, a little wet thrown up from the road, translates into a lot of time rubbing and spiffing up the bike. As for me, I try, with only partial success, to make a point of cleaning each of my bikes at least every couple years.

Five minutes later the rain was gone but the road was wet. I’m guessing the guys had some cleaning to do when they got home. We headed over toward the Golden Gate Canyon road to come back down and all of a sudden it was a lot cooler than on the ride up. A bit of rain will do that to the air temperature. No matter, I knew it would warm up as we headed downhill.

Except it took a lot longer to get warm than I had expected. I had another layer in my bag but had figured I wouldn’t need it. You never really learn, do you? How many times have you made that mistake? More than a couple I’m willing to bet.

In fact, heading down we were catching up with the rain. Now it was looking like we were going to run right back into it, but just then we reached the turn-off to Golden Gate State Park and the road hooked away to the south and away from the clouds. And it finally started to get warm.

Back down to 93 and we split up and went our separate ways. I stopped and got gas just to be sure. My 5.5-gallon tank only took 2.9 gallons. There was no way I was low on gas. Why did it not want to start? I hope this was just a fleeting thing and is totally forgotten in a short while. But I’ll be holding my breath the next time I ride that bike.

Biker Quote for Today

The reason the front tire lasts so much longer is that it spends less time on the ground.

Judy is more into hiking than I am, and I’m more into riding motorcycles than she is. But we both enjoy both so what she often suggests is that we get on a bike and ride out to some place where we can take a hike.

She suggested that on Sunday but I countered with a proposal catering to another of her interests: geology. Judy has always had an interest in geology and recently took a geology of Colorado class. So now it’s a given that we’ll be seeing more of that sort of thing, and hopefully much of that will be by motorcycle.

Anyway, I suggested we ride out to that cut where I-70 goes through the hogback just west of town. There are all these strata of rocks exposed as they’ve been tilted up onto a slope and the area has signs offering interpretation and a path to walk along and see the strata. And then as long as we were both out there, we could also go to Dinosaur Ridge and see the fossils.

Now, the Dinosaur Ridge preserve is really what used to just be West Alameda Parkway as it ran across the hogback. I remember driving over that many years ago but somewhere along the line they shut down the road and made it a route for pedestrians and bicyclists only. And they built a visitor center and museum, as well as a gift shop and cafe.

So that’s where we headed.

Dinosaur Ridge was the first we came to so we stopped and hiked on up the hill. There’s one place in particular where this whole slab of rock, tilted steeply, shows quite a few amazingly clear dinosaur footprints. I had no idea, driving on that road years ago, that these were there. Up over the crest and down on the other side there are also dinosaur bones. We figured we’d go there after the I-70 Geological Point of Interest.

Going north from the Dinosaur Ridge visitor center you can take Rooney Road and that runs right past Thunder Valley Motocross Park. Judy had never been on Rooney Road so we went that way. It’s always pretty dang cool seeing those guys taking big air up over the whoops at Thunder Valley. I told Judy if I had a dirt bike I’d definitely be spending some of my time there at Thunder Valley.

“So why don’t you?” she asked.

“Because I don’t have a dirt bike.”

Oh, right. No, I don’t think my V-Strom would be the right bike for a track like that.

Anyway, on to the I-70 cut. First we pulled in to the area on the south side of the highway. Walking up the trail we were surprised to find it buried inches deep in dirt/mud with numerous rocks of all sizes laying where they came to rest after tumbling off the exposed cut. And there were no interpretative signs, though there were some stone pedestals that appeared to once have held signs. The whole area has just apparently been abandoned. And about 20 feet from the end of the trail there was barbed wire drawn across with a sign saying to keep out because beyond this point it is a firing range for law enforcement. And we could hear the pop, pop, pop of gunfire.

OK, so we could see that there are interpretive signs on the trail along the north side of the cut. We headed over there.

Sad to say, as we walked along the north side we found the signs totally wrecked by vandals. As the passed the fourth totally obliterated sign Judy remarked that she hoped the jerks were lazy. What she meant was that maybe they wouldn’t have taken the trouble to destroy all of them. And she was right. Starting with the fifth one, they were all in pretty good shape. What is happening with these is that the hill is sliding down on them and covering them over. On several the stone pedestals are completely covered and the dirt is encroaching on the signs themselves. This is the kind of thing you get when you don’t give the government the money to maintain the facilities it is charged with maintaining.

But the walks on both sides were interesting, and the interpretation added to that by explaining what it was we were seeing. If you’ve ever thought about stopping there you should.

By this time we were both getting hungry so we skipped the other side of Dinosaur Ridge and rode on into Morrison, with the patio at the Morrison Inn in mind. As I eyed a stretch of bikes in front of the restaurant a guy stepped out and waved his arms to indicate that no, I shouldn’t park that Japanese bike here with all these Harleys. It was in fun and we both smiled. But I parked down the street.

We enjoyed some food and refreshment, listened to a little live music, and then headed home. Storm clouds were threatening seriously, but we made it home dry. It was a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Biker Quote for Today

I’d rather push a Yamaha than ride a Harley.

I had never heard of Motorcycle Explorer magazine until Alan forwarded me a link. Apparently they’ve been putting this out for awhile; this is issue 11. And this May 2016 issue features a story about a ride a couple folks did of the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route.

So I was just looking through the magazine (it’s online only, and free as far as I can tell–I didn’t have to pay of join or anything to see it) and here was this feature article. Heck, I thought it was just a cool mag; I didn’t know it had local content. And it’s a 23-page piece with a lot of gorgeous pictures.

But here’s the kicker. On about the 22nd page there is a video. As they say on the page, “You don’t get this in a print mag ;)” And it’s a five-minute video they pair of riders put together from presumably GoPro footage they shot on the ride. Talk about getting a feel for the ride and almost being there!

So I really do recommend you go to the magazine and read it and look at the pictures but I’m going to cheat a little and give you the video right here. It’s on YouTube, after all.

Now, here’s another interesting thing. I went to this magazine on the web and got to this month’s issue. I wanted to get to a home page where I could see other issues. What I came upon was a web publishing platform that people can use to publish their online magazines. It allows you to peruse apparently every magazine published on their platform. There are categories and one category is motorcycles.

And boy oh boy, are there a lot of motorcycle magazines out there online! I see things like Louisiana Biker, On The Pegs, Ministry of Superbike, Trials & Enduro News, and a whole lot more, including a bunch of local Thunder Roads pubs. Very cool.

OK, I just did some more poking around and yes, Motorcycle Explorer is free and you can even subscribe. That’s probably true of the others as well. It’s gotten a lot harder making money with a magazine these days but once you put it together it’s sure a lot easier to get it out there to an audience of the whole world. Happy reading.

Biker Quote for Today

The road less traveled is a road worth riding.

I came away from seeing “A Story Worth Living” Thursday night with decidedly mixed feelings. I had put up a blog post telling people about it and then, as it turned out, it really wasn’t a motorcycle movie. It was a movie that had motorcycles in it, but they were not the main thing.

Ostensibly this was a film about a bunch of guys who had little or no dirt riding experience taking some 800cc BMWs on some gnarly roads. But in fact that was not really the story, that was just the setting. The story was really about what the name gets at: a story worth living. It’s about doing things in your life that give you a story to tell, and to learn from, and not just meandering through life with no direction or purpose. Clearly that’s a much deeper, broader focus but when you’ve come expecting to see a motorcycle movie and you find yourself listening to philosophical discussions of things not particularly related to motorcycles it can be a disappointment.

To attest to that, people started leaving about mid-way through the show. Just a few here and there, but then at the end there is a lengthy talk portion, and by lengthy I mean 20-30 minutes. That’s when people started leaving in droves. We stayed to the end and by then the theatre was nearly empty.

So I said I had mixed feelings. That’s because some parts of it were very good while other parts I could have done without. There was way too much philosophy of the psychobabble variety. I don’t think many of us were there to be introspective. I’m not religious, so I could easily have forgone the Jesus portions. And if there had been more riding and less discussion that would have been very good.

And that’s the thing. The riding portions were great. The photography was terrific. I was wondering much of the time how they got the stellar aerial shots and was glad toward the end when they talked about the use of drones for the aerials. Very cool. And a lot of the other camera work was also very good.

Because it was shot in Colorado I was wondering all the time where they were. In particular, there was one shot they used a couple times, and which had been used in the trailer I had viewed beforehand, that I looked at and said, that has got to be where the Cinnamon Pass and Engineer Pass roads come together. I’ve never ridden Engineer but I have ridden Cinnamon, and I could swear I recognized that spot. In the discussion later on they talked more about where they were and from what I gathered I was correct.

Then they talked about riding the Shelf Road, down between Canon City and Cripple Creek, and that confirmed my suspicions as well. Most of the rest looked awfully familiar but just could not be placed. I would have liked it if they had said more often, “OK, today we’re going through this area” or something of that sort.

So I’d give it a 3 on a 5-point scale. I think for many of us who were there, if we had had a better idea what it was actually about it would have been better. But to come expecting one thing and find it’s something else was just not a pleasant surprise.

Biker Quote for Today

You only live once–don’t leave it covered in the garage.

Alan sent me a note with a link to this movie, and after watching the trailer I decided I definitely want to see it. You may be interested, too.

The movie is A Story Worth Living. Here’s how BMW Motorrad International describes it:

When John Eldredge and his three sons planned an eight-day, 1,600 kilometre adventure ride across the scenic roads and trails of Colorado, U.S.A., their first stumbling block was a distinct lack of off-road riding experience. The next step was to acquire the required bikes. With the details sorted, their adventure of a lifetime swiftly became the start of a lifetime of adventure.

OK, that’s fine but is it really all that good? Who knows. All I have is the trailer, which you ought to watch, but which I’ll describe a little.

These guys got their inspiration from that Ewan Mcgregor thing, “Long Way Round.” So they decided they wanted to do something like that. Only problem was they had no dirt riding experience. As one of the guys said, “I am wildly unprepared for this.”

This, in this case, is a ride through Colorado, presumably–I am guessing–on the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route. Or something like it. And they’re a bit scared that something bad could happen. And apparently something did. I assume no one died.

So what I really wonder is, how do you go about filming a trip like this, making it into a professional quality movie, and then getting it booked into a variety of theaters for a one-showing special engagement? However it works, they did, and it is showing this Thursday night at these theaters in Colorado.

I’ve got my tickets for the Greenwood Plaza 12. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Biker Quote for Today

The brave don’t live forever . . . the cautious don’t live at all.

That title dates this old Examiner post: back in 2008 when the Democratic National Convention came to Denver. It’s still a great ride.

You ride motorcycles. And you’re coming to Colorado for the Democratic National Convention. There has to be a way to combine the two.

No problem. All you need is one day and a motorcycle. I’ve got the route and I can direct you to the folks who have the bikes.

(Big hint for the two-wheels challenged: This route makes a great ride in a car, too.)

Need to rent a bike? Check out these rentals:

Colorado Tourbike Rentals and Sales
Eagle Rider of Denver
Mile High Harley-Davidson

There are others. These are just the ones with websites. For others and their phone numbers, see this listing (Definitely see this listing–the info above is very incomplete–KB, 2016).

OK. Now you’ve got a bike, where do you go?

Funny you should ask. I just happen to have a terrific route mapped out for you. The starting point is in Golden. I won’t try to tell you how to get there because I don’t know where you’re coming from. Ask the folks you rent from how to get to Golden. It’s west of Denver, at the foot of the mountains.

You’ll be going up high so be sure to bring warm clothes. It can snow any day of the year at 14,000 feet. And plan on taking most of the day. It may only be 250 miles but you’ll be moving at a very leisurely pace.

The road you want going out of Golden is U.S. 6. Check the map. This road heads up Clear Creek Canyon so you’re immediately into some beautiful, winding roads. Take Clear Creek up to the turnoff to Blackhawk, which is CO 119. This puts you on what is called the Peak to Peak Highway. It’s actually pieces of several highways so just remember you want to continue north until you reach Estes Park.

From Blackhawk, CO 119 winds north along high ridges to Nederland. At Nederland you continue north on CO 72, which ends at the intersection with CO 7. Right would take you to Lyons. Left takes you to Estes Park. Go left.

At Estes Park you want to catch westbound U.S. 34. If you’ve been enjoying yourself already — and you should have been — get ready for the really good stuff. You’re headed up over Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge is the highest through road in the United States. Eight miles of this road is above 11,000 feet. Take your time; there’s a lot to see.

Coming down off Trail Ridge you reach Grand Lake. This is a really nice little mountain town and worth a stop. Lunch perhaps. Then continue on 34 to Granby, where you’ll pick up U.S. 40 eastbound. A few miles and you’ll reach Winter Park and then start the ascent over Berthoud Pass. This is another good one.

Just past Empire you will meet I-70. Go east a few miles to Idaho Springs and get off at the second exit, for CO 103. You’re now on your way to Squaw Pass, but we have a little diversion for you before you get to the pass.

As you wind your way up the pass you’ll pass a lake and then see the turnoff for CO 5. This road, the highest paved road in the U.s., takes you to the top of Mount Evans, one of Colorado’s 14ers. (Those are mountains over 14,000 feet.) There is a $3 fee for motorcycles. It’s worth it. Don’t be in a hurry. You can’t pass on this road. You want to take it slow. Otherwise you have no business being here.

When you reach the parking area at the top you’ll still have about 150 feet to climb on foot to get to the peak. After that it’s all the way back down and you know, roads look totally different going the other direction so it’s like you get a two-for-one deal.

Back at CO 103 again, continue east to Bergen Park and CO 74. Follow this to I-70 and take the road east back to Denver. It’s perfectly acceptable to smile a lot as you return your rental.

Biker Quote for Today

Two wheels, one engine, no limits.