Passes & Canyons Blog

Forest fires in Routt County, up around Steamboat Springs, have cast a haze over the Front Range and Denver. I decided on Wednesday to take a ride up into the hills to see what it’s like up there. As you can see from the photo above, taken along the Squaw Pass road, the Colorado Rockies at this point look very much like the Smoky Mountains out in Virginia. Which just goes to show how well-named the Smokies are.

I headed west out on Hampden, through Morrison, up the canyon to Evergreen, Evergreen Parkway to Bergen Park to the turn-off to Squaw Pass. Yes, it was hazy but what a beautiful day to be riding in the mountains.

Heading up the Squaw Pass road I found that the apparent theme for the day was large vehicles coming the other way encroaching into my lane coming around curves. I rode very defensively. At first I was looking for just a place to get a photo where instead of mountains in the background, as per normal, there was only haze. Then I came on the overlook with the view back toward Evergreen. That’s where I got this shot. I was not the only one stopped there to get pictures.

I continued on past Echo Lake and was headed toward Idaho Springs, when, not having been watching my rearview mirror, I was startled when a couple guys on big adventure bikes and another on a big BMW touring bike suddenly blasted past me. Wow, what are you guys in such a big hurry about? It’s a day to just cruise in the hills.

So I got to Idaho Springs, jumped on the interstate just long enough to reach the exit for the Central City Parkway, and headed to Central City. Stopped for lunch and then down through Black Hawk, over to US 6, and down through Clear Creek Canyon to Golden. Then home. What a nice day’s ride.

Biker Quote for Today

There are seven days in the week and “someday” isn’t one of them.

It strikes me as odd realizing this but I’m pretty sure that with all the various Motorcycle Travel Network guests we have hosted, I had never before gone riding with any of them. Until this past weekend.

Carolyn called about mid-week to ask if we were able to host her for two or three days beginning either Friday or Saturday. She was in Spearfish, SD, at the time and headed our way to go on to Colorado Springs for a Women on Wheels event there. And she also asked if it would be possible for us to go for a ride with her, showing her some of our favorite places to ride. OK, it’s a plan!

She got in on Saturday later in the day and on Sunday, with Judy not joining us, we headed out, her on her 950cc Star cruiser and me on my Concours. We went out Hampden/US 285 to C-470 and north. I wavered all this time as to whether we should go up Clear Creek Canyon or something else. I figured she would enjoy Clear Creek but I wondered how busy it was. This was, after all, the Fourth of July weekend.

So we got to US 6, Clear Creek Canyon, and made the turn. We had gone about 100 yards and came to a stop and it was clear that traffic ahead of us was not even moving. We quickly did a U-turn and headed back, turned north again, and took the Golden Gate Canyon road up to the Peak to Peak Highway. I was afraid it might be busy, too, but it was fine.

Originally my plan was to go to Estes Park for lunch before heading back but thinking about the holiday I decided instead to turn east down the South St. Vrain to Lyons. While that’s a very scenic canyon, there was very little traffic. All the traffic, we could see when we reached Lyons, was going up to Estes via the North St. Vrain. And coming down it, too. Terrible, terrible traffic.

So from Lyons we headed south on US 36 to Boulder, crossed through Boulder on Broadway, and continued south and back to Golden. Then I got the idea to go up Lookout Mountain. Carolyn is sort of from Ohio, sort of from South Carolina, and the tight turns on the Lookout Mountain road were a bit challenging for her but, with the exception of the first one, she managed to stay on her side of the line.

We enjoyed the view from up at Buffalo Bill’s grave and then continued on that road over to I-70/US 40. No reason to get on I-70 with US 40 right there so we rode it down to where the road down to Morrison crosses under the interstate and took that road to Morrison. Then east to pick up C-470, US 285/Hampden, and home. Total 171 miles and a really nice ride up in the cool on a very hot day.

Biker Quote for Today

Forget glass slippers, this princess wears motorcycle boots.

Saturday was my first day on a bike up in the hills this year. I was not alone.

I headed out with a group of five others from the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club, three Gold Wings, two Kawis (including mine), and one Ducati. Pretty soon, though, Donnie got impatient with the traffic and blasted off on his own, leaving five of us.

We headed out on Parker Road, CO 83, all the way down to Colorado Springs. That part of the ride itself was pretty interesting because I realized it had been a long, long time since I’ve gone all the way to the Springs on that road. I had forgotten how beautifully Pikes Peak rises up in front of you as you get down south. I was seriously wishing I had my camera with me to get a shot of the rider in front of me set off against the mountain.

Oh, and I want to mention that by this point we had already seen many dozens of other riders. This was a day to be out on the bikes.

Reaching the Springs we jumped on I-25 briefly until we reached the exit for US 24, which goes up through Manitou Springs, past Pikes Peak, to Woodland Park. Here again I was struck with the realization that I had not been up this road in this direction in many years. I know I came down it somewhat recently but all roads look different when you’re going the other way. So it was almost like going down a road I’d never been on, especially coming into Woodland Park.

Normally my experience of Woodland Park is to come in on CO 67 from Deckers and turn west when I hit US 24. So there’s that whole portion of Woodland Park east of CO 67 that I almost never see. Holy smokes, there’s a whole town there.

The whole deal with these RMMRC impromptu rides is generally “Ride to eat, eat to ride,” so we stopped for lunch in Woodland Park. Ross, who was leading on his Ducati, pulled into a bank parking lot. I thought that was odd, that the bank might object, but he said he parks there all the time. And considering how huge this lot is, it’s hard to see how the bank could object too strenuously.

We had lunch at the Ute Inn. The service was slow but I still recommend it because the food was definitely good. I enjoyed what I had but I looked enviously at what some of the other guys had, too.

After lunch we headed up CO 67 through Deckers and on to Pine and US 285. Then back to Denver on that road. This was my first time in the hills this year and I guess I knew it could get chilly but I didn’t wear the electric vest. I could have used it, though it was not very chilly without it. Still, it was nice to get back to lower elevations and warmth.

And oh, everywhere we went in the hills there were hordes of bikers, too. Seemed like everyone was out. I guess winter is definitely over. Time to start putting some real miles on the bikes.

Biker Quote for Today

There exists a set of people who believe 2 > 4.

Riding your motorcycle on old Route 66 from coast to coast. Retracing the route of the old Victory Highway. Nostalgia has never been more in vogue than it is right now for bikers exploring this country’s vanishing old highways.

The problem with many of these higher profile rides, such as Route 66, is that to do them end to end you need a lot more time than most people have. But hey, everyone’s doing Route 66 these days, in whole or in part. Why follow the crowds?

The fact of the matter is, before everything got all depersonalized with route numbers, highways had names. And there were a lot of highways, some that you may be familiar with and many that you’ve probably never heard of.

For instance, growing up in Lincoln, NE, I was well acquainted with Cornhusker Highway. Not because it was a clearly defined highway that started somewhere and ended somewhere else, but just because it was the name of a particular road.

Likewise, living in and around St. Louis I was familiar with Kingshighway. Was there a story behind that name? You bet. Did I know a thing about it? No way.

But now we have the Internet. And one of the greatest things about the Internet is that many, many people put a lot of time and effort into putting up a wealth of information about whatever is of interest to them.

It’s not surprising, then, that someone has put up a site with details about old highways all over the country. Dave Schul has built a North American Auto Trails site where you can learn about more highways than you probably knew existed. Interested in the Black and Yellow Trail? This road runs between Chicago and Yellowstone National Park. The site doesn’t have a lot of information about it but it shows the towns that it passed through and gives links to sites where you can learn more. It’s a starting point for your own exploration.

How about the Detroit Lincoln Denver Highway? Just as the name suggests, this old road ran from Detroit to Denver, passing through Lincoln.

And then there’s my old acquaintance, the Cornhusker Highway. Turns out this road ran from Sioux City to Oklahoma City. I never knew that. It was always just that road up on the north side of town.

Then there were the smaller highways, confined to just one or two states. For example, the Mayo Trail was a route that just ran between Ashland and Jenkins, KY. Is it still there? What does it look like today? Are there any surviving road signs or monuments along the route? This stuff can be very cool to investigate and explore, and it can add an interesting element to your rides.

There are a lot of other, related sites out there. I ran across one focusing solely on the old highways in Colorado, which I definitely plan to explore. In fact, I spent three days last week out doing exactly that. Now I’ve ridden parts of old US 6 that probably don’t see 10 vehicles a week.

Try it. You just might get addicted.

(Note: Dave Schul’s site does not appear to be there anymore. Fortunately, all these pages are preserved–for now–by “The Wayback Machine,” which is an internet archive.)

Biker Quote for Today

I ride so I don’t choke people.

How warm has it been this February? Well, for starters, riding across the Cherry Creek Dam I see that there is very little ice on the reservoir. It’s mostly open water. I’ve never seen that before. Not in February.

So I’m starting to get a feel for these impromptu RMMRC rides: Any time the forecast is for a gorgeous day (at least in the middle of winter) you can count on someone planning a ride. The forecast for Tuesday was 75 degrees. Sure enough, there was a group going out.

Five of us met up: Maynard on his Kawasaki ZRX 1200, Roy and Bob on their beemers, Pat on his Concours 14, and me on my V-Strom. We headed east out Quincy, which becomes County Road 30, to the Kiowa-Bennett Road and north to U.S. 36. Then east to Byers. We stopped for lunch at the Country Burger cafe.

This is apparently a frequent stop for these guys; the guy running the place said welcome, haven’t seen you for a couple months, and knew exactly what Roy takes in his coffee (honey). So we ate and talked about riding and upcoming rides. Roy is leading the ride to the Barber Motorcycle Museum, which I’m considering going on, and I voiced my concerns about several very long days.

Roy assured me it isn’t bad, that they start very early and then take several extended breaks during the day. I know that’s the best way to cover a lot of miles. I’m still undecided about going.

Meanwhile, the guy at the cafe was very gregarious and likes to talk about motorcycles. He doesn’t ride but he works the track out at High Plains Raceway just east of Byers. He told us about seeing a couple riders go down wearing these inflatable jackets that are triggered when you separate from the bike. Very effective, he said. High-speed get-offs and no injury.

The coolest thing, though, was while sitting there eating, facing toward the window, I happened to spot a bald eagle cruising by outside. Absolutely no question what it was, it was totally identifiable. Who knew they had bald eagles in Byers?

After lunch we backtracked as far as Quincy and the Kiowa-Bennett Road but then we continued south to Kiowa, then west to Franktown, and finally back into Denver. Just a nice ride-to-eat, eat-to-ride day out on a balmy February day.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when you recognize your friends by the sound of their exhaust.

Yes, I know I’ve written quite a lot recently about the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club but I’m doing so one more time. There should be other topics coming along after.

What I want to do, however, is go through the list of planned rides the group has coming up this year. I know I talked about potential rides awhile back but the list of actual rides was just released recently. Here it is.

Big Bend National Park, Texas Ride — departs April 6 and returns April 14

Forney Transportation Museum — day ride on April 15

Pilgrimage to Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Via the Ozarks and Mississippi Delta! — departs April 29 and returns May 7

North Central New Mexico Ride — departs May 24 and returns May 28

Pie Ride — just what it sounds like, on June 3

Kit Carson Carousel / Burlington, CO — day ride on June 10 to see this very old-style carousel

Mesa Verde National Park — departs June 16 and returns June 18

45th BMW MOA International Rally – Salt Lake City, Utah — departs July 11 and returns July 16 — not just for BMW riders

Wind River Canyon / Beartooth Highway — departs July 21 and returns July 23

3rd Annual Mountains of Ice Cream Ride — again, just what it sounds like, a day ride on August 5

Gateway Auto Museum & Black Canyon — departs August 19 and returns August 21

Eastern Canada Tour — departs August 24 and returns September 4 — this is the big one; these dates are only for part of the trip

St. Francis Motorcycle Museum – First Annual Rally — a day ride to a new rally, on September 2

14th Annual KTM ADVENTURE Rider Rally – Crested Butte, CO — September 15 to September 17 — another not-just-for-KTM event

Roy’s Mystery Ride — a truly fun day ride on October 7

Fall Colors in the Ozarks — departs October 21 and returns October 27

So OK, I don’t know about you but there are a bunch of rides there that sound pretty darn good to me. We’ll see which ones I actually make it on. It’s going to be an interesting year of riding.

Biker Quote for Today

When life gets complicated, I ride.