Archive for the ‘Colorado motorcycle rides’ Category

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Finding The Good Side Trips

Thursday, August 4th, 2016
Looking out over the canyonlands

The view from up high on our side trip.

We stayed two nights at the Buffalo Thunder resort northwest of Santa Fe, with golf the main attraction on the day we didn’t ride. I was looking forward to playing my once a year game but not being tuned to this sort of thing I did not have a collared shirt. They would have been happy to sell me one for $80 but to pay that absurd price just so I could pay $110 to golf was just a no-go for me. Not gonna happen. So I had a pleasant day on my own.

Heading out the next day the forecast was for rain so we opted to go the direct way to Durango, rather than the indirect way via Bandelier National Park and Los Alamos. It’s still a nice ride either way. We went up to Chama and took US 84 up to Pagosa Springs. From there it was just a blast westward on US 160 to Durango. We spent the night there in a hotel close to downtown, which was nice considering the last time we stayed in Durango we were much further from downtown and missed the last bus. So we walked a long way home after a full night of carousing. Not gonna happen this time. Oh, and yeah: it was amazing how many others there were on bikes staying at this hotel. I guess I ought to add it to the Motels and Hotels page on this website.

From Durango we were headed to Moab. After continuing west on US 160 we took US 491 north out of Cortez and crossed the state line west of Dove Creek, headed toward Monticello. We stopped for lunch in Monticello and I was looking at the map. Specifically a Butler map of Utah. And it showed some color on a road that headed straight west out of town and then arced north and back east to where it reconnected with US 191, which was the direct route to Moab. I figured it would only add about 15 miles to our trip but it was a road we had never been on and we were in no hurry.

John thought it looked good, but he had tied one on a bit the night before and I think he was a bit hung over. He preferred to get to Moab as quickly as he could. A couple of the other guys were not interested either. Dennis was, provided it had no gravel. Dennis has ridden more than any of us but he won’t touch a bit of gravel. He doesn’t want to ding up his very expensive Indian.

So we started asking the locals. Looking at the map I was confident it was all paved but we asked. Bill asked one woman behind the counter whose first word when he asked if she knew the roads around there pretty well was “No.” I tuned out and joined Dennis, who was talking to the cashier. She told us it was definitely paved so that seemed good. We went back to the bikes and Bill told us the other woman had said the road was not paved. I reminded him of her “No” but now Dennis was antsy. We were right outside the public library so he went in there to get a third opinion. He came back smiling, saying they said absolutely, it was paved all the way.

I was glad Dennis was up for this because I doubt Bill or Friggs would have come with me if he hadn’t. So the four of us took the side trip.

What a nice road! This was North Creek Road, which climbed into the hills and looped around until it connected with Utah 211. It turned out when we got there that Utah 211 is the main road you take to get to the south end of Canyonlands National Park. We’ve been on that road many times. Of course it’s paved.

But before we got there it went up high to where we had a fabulous view over the entire canyon area. We could see Dead Horse Point and numerous other landmarks. And on this blazing hot day we were high enough that it was actually cool. Those other guys really missed out.

Then we had to descend and it got hot again. Really, really hot. We pulled into Moab and the temperature was about 108. Get checked in, get a quick shower, and head for the pool! Why in the world do we go to these hot places in July? That’s part of another discussion I’ll go into later.

Biker Quote for Today

Keep calm and take a back road.

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Feeling The Cool

Thursday, July 21st, 2016
Motorcycles in a mountain town

Cruising through a mountain town.

Just for the record, it takes 45 minutes for me to get from my house to the King Soopers along US 285 in Aspen Park, which people often refer to as Conifer.

So who really cares about that? Well, I kind of do, because when the OFMC takes off for places this is often our gathering spot. Dennis lives up in the hills and there is no reason for him to come down to town just to turn around and ride back up. So we head up the hill and meet him–and each other–there.

We’ll be doing that tomorrow as we set out on this year’s OFMC trip.

Anyway, we’re supposed to meet there around 10 a.m. and I never want to be the guy holding up everyone else. Now, I’m not anal enough to have made the ride just to see how long it took, but the other day I did do the ride partially to see how long it took. If there hadn’t been another reason I would not have done it; I’d just leave plenty early to be sure I’d be on time.

But it was hot. And I wanted to ride. So the only thing that made sense was to ride up into the hills where the temperature gets lower the higher you go. When you’re just itching for a ride, any destination, no matter how meaningless, is all you need. Hey, I know! I’ll ride up to Aspen Park and see how long it takes!

And then from there it really doesn’t matter where I go because I’m up in the hills.

So I cruised around a bit. Went over to Evergreen and yes, that place was loaded with people and bikes and cars the way it usually is on a Saturday, which this was. If you’ve never been through Evergreen on a beautiful weekend day, let me tell you it’s a spectacle. Lots of motorcycles. And I ended up later in Morrison; same thing. Tons and tons of motorcycles on a beautiful Saturday.

And the best thing of all, it wasn’t blazing hot. How do people live in places where they can’t just scoot off to some place nicer at the drop of a hat? There’s a reason I live in Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t wait for life, ride to meet it.

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To The Mountaintop

Monday, July 18th, 2016
Sisters Ride On Pikes Peak

The group photo; last night's snow left the mountaintop a sea of mud.

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

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Alisa And The Sisters Ride

Monday, July 4th, 2016
Sisters' Centennial Motorcycle Ride

Who knew Alisa would go out and create something like this?!

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.”

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Brunch With The Boys

Thursday, June 30th, 2016
Getting on the motorcycles.

Gearing up before leaving the casino.

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.

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Ride to Rocks

Monday, June 13th, 2016
I-70 Geological Point of Interest

Just to the left of the cut through the rocks you can see Thunder Valley Motocross Park--but only kinda, at least in this picture.

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.

I-70 Geological Point of Interest

Judy is reading a sign that is being buried by the hillside sliding down over it.

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.

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