Passes & Canyons Blog

Here’s an out-of-the-ordinary sort of situation that just occurred.

Running the Passes and Canyons website as I do, I frequently receive emails from people with questions about routes or lodging or motorcycle rentals or whatever. But recently I got a totally different request. Here it is:

Hi Ken – I was reading through some of your site and was interested in knowing if you knew anyone in this area offers rides in this area? I drove up Mt. Evans with friends in the car the other day and noticed all the motor bikes heading up. It looked like a great way to see some of the magnificent drives around here. Thanks, Daphne

After ascertaining that Daphne was interested in finding someone to take her for a ride, not to rent her a motorcycle, I considered offering to do it myself. Hey, I’m self-employed, earning money any way I can, why not? Well, the why not was the thought that if I did arrange a business deal with her where she hired me to take her for a ride and something bad happened, I could be screwed.

So then I thought of Ron Coleman, who runs Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures. Ron is someone I know, who advertises on this site, and I figured he is set up with liability waivers and all that stuff, so he would be a good possibility, if he was interested.

Long story short, I got this follow-up email from Daphne just a few minutes ago:

Hi Ken – I just wanted to let you know that Ron Coleman did take me out for a scenic ride yesterday and it was wonderful! It goes without saying, what a nice guy Ron is, but I also found him quite interesting and fun to be with. I really enjoyed the opportunity to be able to take a ride while here in Colorado, the experience was great and the scenery incredible!

Thank you for your help in putting us together!

Sincerely, Daphne

So how cool is that? It’s one of the things I enjoy about doing this website: helping people in whatever way I can. Daphne, you made my day.

Biker Quote for Today

Everything looks better from the inside of a motorcycle helmet.

I have a recollection that I may have been up on Pikes Peak about 35 years ago. Otherwise, I know I was up there 50 years ago. Suffice it to say, when I rode my Concours up to the top on Friday it may as well have been the first time. Oh my god, what a road!

Last week was race week for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, a race with cars, trucks, motorcycles, quads, sidecars, and a few divisions that have peculiar names because, well, probably because no one knows what to call that vehicle. Tuesday was sign-in and tech inspection, followed by three days of practice, and then Saturday was free before the race on Sunday.

I ran down to Colorado Springs on Tuesday to meet up with the racers I had made contact with via the Adventure Riders forum, and to get my press credentials. I went down again on Friday to talk to my contacts about their experiences in practice and hopes for the race, and to go to the top of the mountain myself. Then Sunday I went down one more time for the race.

Let me tell you, you have to ride that mountain yourself to really understand how incredible it is what these racers do. From the starting line to the top is 12.2 miles, and it took me about 30 minutes to cover that distance. Granted I was behind a couple cars with tourists who thought the 10 mph posted speeds on some of the switchbacks were excessively high. I ended up shifting down to first gear a few times when I would rather have stayed in second.

But it’s not like I was grumbling about them holding me back. I would probably only have shaved a couple minutes off that time on my own. So consider this: The top racers were shooting to make this run in under 10 minutes for the first time ever. That is to say, they would have needed to average 73 miles an hour the whole way up. Yikes! There is no portion of that road I want to take at 73 mph period, much less average that speed the entire way up.

Now, the 10-minute barrier wasn’t broken, so the record remains all of 10:01.41. And the fastest time this year was 10:11.49. Oh yeah, that guy was going slow!

So the race was fun and very interesting but the real trip was the mountain. If you’re coming to ride in Colorado you have got to ride to the top of Pikes Peak. Yeah, there’s a $12 fee per person but it’s worth it. And while the road used to be only half paved, there are now just two remaining stretches of dirt and the rest is asphalt. Paving is to be completed in 2012. So if you want to ride it while there’s some dirt left you’d better come soon. Or if you’d rather avoid the dirt you only need wait a couple more years.

For myself, I would have welcomed a dual sport bike on that gravel, but I did it OK on the Connie. And I’ve ridden over high passes before many times but I wondered if going up on a bike with carbs would be an issue by the time I got to 14,110 feet. No problem. It ran just fine. Remember though, I’m tuned for Denver elevation already, so if you’re tuned for sea level it could be a different matter. But I didn’t see anyone who was having any trouble.

Of course I’ll be adding Pikes Peak to the Passes and Canyons website. Hey, I’ve got the photos and the info now, and all I need is the time to get it done. I’ll let you know when it’s up. Till then, you can check out these pictures.

Biker Quote for Today

Accelerate until you see God, then BRAKE! –Kevin Schwantz

I guess maybe it wasn’t particularly intuitive that Monkey Gripper was the name for a motorcycle touring company, while Go 2 Motorcycle Tours makes that abundantly clear. This is just a heads-up that my friend Dan Patino has changed his business name and created a whole new website.

Regular readers of this blog may recall me speaking of Dan and Monkey Gripper last year as the guy who helped plan the Dirty Dozen Adventure for the Cures ride. On that ride, 12 women who were not experienced dirt riders were taken on a seven-day ride through the mountains of Colorado on some roads they found more than a bit challenging. The event was a fundraiser for breast- and ovarian-cancer research.

I mentioned then, too, that Dan had asked me to work with him as an additional guide on his tours, but the economy was so lousy last year that for Dan and others there was virtually no business. This year is looking up already, and he has tours scheduled and has again asked me to help out. You bet I said yes. He even has my picture and bio up on the new site already. Hot diggety! I’m looking forward to this.

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Does your motorcycle have two wheels, three, or four?

Biker Quote for Today

Adventure is what happens when you thought you were going to have a good time.

These next few weeks are shaping up to be some of the busiest I’ve ever had, all relating to riding motorcycles. Let me give you an idea of what’s in store.

Today I take off on a two-day ride to shoot photos for a story I’m working on for Rider magazine. I did this ride once last fall but then found out my camera didn’t shoot in high enough resolution to meet their needs so I’ll do it again with my new camera.

Then next week I’m taking off for a four or five day ride with my friend John. We’re heading for New Mexico, hoping to spend some time there before the blazing hot weather hits.

On June 12, Judy and I are heading for the Black Hills on vacation. This will coincide, not by accident, with the Cushman Club of America’s 2010 national rally in Sturgis, SD. Their theme this year is “Come play where the big boys play,” and the visuals of Sturgis engulfed in scooters will be just too good to miss.

The following week I’ve been planning to do some coverage of the run-up to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, culminating with the race itself on June 27. I’ve been connecting with contestants so I can cover that event through the eyes of someone actually involved.

While I absolutely will do some hill climb coverage, I received a call today from the editor of a motorcycle sport touring magazine asking me to go with him to Taos that same week for the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association’s annual gathering. If I can manage to squeeze it in I guess I’ll try to run down to Taos in the middle of the week.

Then there’s other stuff like the Hoka Hey Challenge and the latest Motomarathon event that, if I do any reporting on them, will have to be done secondhand. Hey, I’m only one guy.

So what have you got going on in June? I hope you’re going to get out and have some fun, too. Get on that bike and ride!

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My first Victory rides: The cruisers

Biker Quote for Today

Life is an adventure, and I refuse to live a boring one.

I know I’m a bit behind the times but I still don’t have a GPS unit. I know a lot of people do, and I have been asked several times if the maps on the Passes and Canyons site are available in GPS. Up till now I’ve had to say no.

Well, the answer now is “Yes.” Thanks go to Gord Ripley, who has been using the site to plan his Colorado trip. He plotted the routes for the rides I’ve highlighted on the site and then sent me his GPS file. You can download it here.

Now, it won’t look like this map here; I just put that up for illustration purposes. Fact is, I can’t really say what it will look like because I don’t do GPS. But I suspect that for those of you who do, you know all about it so I’m not going to worry about it.

I really want to thank Gord for this. I have always welcomed any efforts you folks out there make to make this a better site for everyone using it. And I’ll take this opportunity to put in a plug for riding stories. If you make a trip to Colorado and have a great time, send me an email telling me about it and I’ll post it on the Riding Stories page. And if you’ll tell me about the places you stayed, good, bad, or indifferent, I’ll put that info up on the Motels and Hotels page. That way other people can benefit from your experience.

Thanks.

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Biker Quote for Today

Be a biker–kick start your day.

You’ve probably seen on the news that a rockslide has closed Glenwood Canyon, and repairs will take quite awhile. The latest news is that they do hope to get two lanes open as soon as today.

What this means for anyone traveling I-70 between Debeque and Glenwood Springs in the next couple months will be facing delays, assuming they can get through at all. This is not generally a good thing.

But let’s look on the bright side. It may be interstate but Glenwood Canyon is a stretch of road that I include on this website as well worth riding if you’re coming to Colorado on your motorcycle. The problem is that you’re on the interstate and through most of the canyon you can’t stop to get a good look at the gorgeous rock walls or shoot pictures.

Well, now maybe you’ll be able to. Consider this image. You’ve got thousands of cars all bottle-necked at one spot, and the driving is stop and go as you move east through the canyon. The slowdown for westbound traffic will mostly be just before you enter the canyon, so that may not work as well for you.

But if you’re eastbound you could find yourself creeping through the canyon. And that will give you lots of time to take a good look and I’ll bet you can even get some shots.

I definitely want to go over there during this period just to test out this theory. I’ve been frustrated for years over my inability to get photos that really do the canyon justice. Maybe this is my chance. I’ll let you know how it goes, and if I do get those great shots I want I’ll definitely be posting them on the site.

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MotoAdventureGal halfway to goal, but running out of time

Biker Quote for Today

From hell hot days to cold blue skies, thru moonless nights with headlight eyes.

Eight months ago I went up Taylor Canyon and over Cottonwood Pass shooting pictures and gathering information to put these places up on the Passes and Canyons, Motorcycle Touring in Colorado website. Taylor Canyon is a beautiful canyon, with lots of good motorcycle-accessible camping spots. Cottonwood Pass is only paved on the east side but the gravel road is passable on the west. Both deserved to be on the site.

I’ve been busy. But I finally got it done. Here are some photos from these places.

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SuperSkin helmet touted as lifesaver

Biker Quote for Today

To me, the best kind of trips are the ones you planned on the way, allowed yourself to change, and maybe didn’t end up where you expected.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had that much fun. I did the Elephant Ride this past weekend and there is no question I will be going to more of these Adventure Rider events.

I mentioned before that I had been invited to ride monkey with Dom Chang on his Ural sidecar rig and that made a huge difference. To participate rather than observe was a big, big difference.

But as much as I liked getting to ride, it was really the party the night before that I enjoyed the most. For 30 years my friends and I used to go winter camping in March. They’ve all wussed out on me at this point, and our annual camping trip came to an end about 5 years ago. For the hard-core riders of the Elephant Ride, the event really starts the night before. Some people camp, others have campers, but standing out around the blazing fire while the frigid wind blew, talking about motorcycles and a lot of other things, drinking and (in some cases) getting way too drunk–it was just like old times. I absolutely loved it!

Yes, it was cold crawling in the sleeping bag, and even worse getting out of the bag in the middle of the night to offload some of the beer, but I just loved it.

Oh, and hey, we did ride motorcycles way up Guanella Pass. Most of us didn’t make it all the way up, and nobody made it over to Georgetown. No matter, we tried, and that’s more than about 5 billion other people on this planet can say.

Here’s a shot of the Urals as they arrived in a squadron.

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Elephant Ride assails snowy mountain pass on motorcycles

Biker Quote for Today

I’m old enough to know better, but young enough to do it all again!