Passes & Canyons Blog

Independence Pass is a natural destination when your starting point is Avon.

Day Two of STAR 2012 and I went riding, along with just about everybody else here. “Here” is Avon, where the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA) is holding its annual rendezvous, with STAR standing for “Sport Touring Association Rendezvous.” This is the 30th year for the event.

Approximately 400 people from across the country are here and these folks came to ride. None of this strolling down main street checking out booths of farkles or black leather, or doing some hardcore drinking at bars with semi-naked waitresses. No, this is not Sturgis. Heck, there’s hardly any leather to be seen here. It’s all textile, and most of these folks are serious ATGATT people.

And what they came here for is to ride. Hang around the headquarters hotel in the day and there aren’t too many people there. The garage where the bikes are parked is nearly empty. Come evening, though, it’s social hour and time to compare notes on the day’s ride.

Come here alone, not knowing anyone, as I did, and it’s easy to find someone to ride with. Just walk around and start talking to people, ask where they’re headed, and if it sounds good, just say, “Hey, do you mind if I come with you?” I don’t think anybody says no. Though you do want to make sure the group is into your style of riding. Considering that many of these people came a long way in a short period of time, that gives you a hint that some are into hard, fast riding. If that’s not your style, keep looking.

STAR 2012 goes on until Thursday, though I won’t be here for all of it. Now, if I had come 1,000 miles I’m sure I would stay, but when it was only an easy 100 miles to get here, you’re not as committed. But it’s sure nice to get away into the mountains for a few days.

Note: If you are a real person and wish to leave a comment, let me apologize for making that temporarily impossible. These damn comment spammers are swarming in such numbers that I just turned commenting off. But if you’re a real person and want to leave a real comment, send me an email and I’ll make it happen for you. I always appreciate real comments; I just get really fed up with the spammers.

Biker Quote for Today

I have no idea where we are, but at least it’s getting dark.

Along the Switzerland Trail.

It was blazing hot on the prairie Tuesday but could not have been a more perfect day to be riding in the mountains. Fortunately, I was riding in the mountains.

Meeting up with Ron Coleman, of Western Dual Sport Motorcycles Adventures, we took off on a couple of the bikes he has for rent. Ron was on his BMW F800GS and I was on his Suzuki DR 650. Ron also rents out five Suzuki 650 V-Stroms and one 1000 V-Strom.

I’m still not the most experienced dual-sport rider so I was glad to have a decent gravel road, going up Sunshine Canyon, to get accustomed to the gravel. In the meantime, it was extremely interesting to see this area and how it has changed since the devastating fire that swept through here two years ago, especially in light of how hazy the sky was due to the High Park fire still burning a bit to the north.

About the time I felt reasonably comfortable on the gravel we turned off onto a segment of the Switzerland Trail and oh boy, I felt like a total beginner again. I didn’t push myself to keep right on Ron’s tail but I’d have to say I was pushing harder than I should have been. At one point I hit a patch of loose stones about the size of bricks and lost control. I careened to one side, certain I was going to crash, but corrected, only to over-correct, and careen off in the other direction, certain once again that I was going down.

After about five of those backs and forths I miraculously managed to get stabilized and was still upright. At about that time I was thinking how, as much as I want a dual-sport bike so I can explore the gravel roads that are so plentiful in Colorado, I really don’t have an interest in doing these really rough ones. It just wasn’t fun!

So we rode on and it was a beautiful day to be out in the woods, up in the hills, and I didn’t have any more close calls. After awhile we turned back and this time I was in the lead because I wanted to shoot some photos and wanted to be in a position to stop and get set up before Ron rode on into the shots. This was when I saw it really had been a ride-your-own-ride situation. Taking it nice and easy because I was focused on looking for a spot to shoot, I had no trouble at all on that rough road. And that was pleasant because that told me I can ride off onto these tougher roads as long as do it at my pace.

Back at the main road we crossed it and followed the trail on the other side to a place called Mt. Alto. This is a spot where a hotel once stood, though all that remains of it now is the stone fireplace. It’s a vary nice spot, though, and there are now picnic benches for people who want to come up and use the place.

After lunch in Nederland we got on the Peak-to-Peak Highway to Rollinsville and then headed up toward Rollins Pass. This dirt road we were on was one of the best I have ever seen. It goes up to the Moffett Tunnel, so maybe the railroad maintains it, I don’t know. But it was so good I wouldn’t hesitate to take my Concours on it and that’s really saying something.

About a mile from the tunnel, though, we took a sharp right turn and headed up the much rougher Rollins Pass road. I was over this road once, more than 30 years ago, in a jeep but had no recollection of it at all. It was kind of rough. But you know what, by this time I was feeling much more confident on the rough stuff so we just cruised along. Contrary to my thoughts from the morning, I was perfectly happy to be on some rough stuff. A challenge is a good thing, and when you meet that challenge successfully you feel good.

We didn’t go all the way to the top but it was a good ride and some good scenery. Then it was time to head back down and scoot back to Boulder.

Cool and comfortable as it had been up in the hills, it was blazing hot down in Boulder, really emphasizing how nice it had been to be riding up somewhere higher all day. Yeah, for Ron and me it was business. This is what we do. Dang, someone has to do it so I guess we’re both pretty happy that those someones are us.

Biker Quote for Today

Sometimes wheelies happen.

The OFMC rides Skyline Drive.

I mentioned recently that I had entered the photo above in a contest EagleRider is having and now, of the 63 photos entered, they have selected 20 for the run-off. My photo is one of those 20 and I would appreciate your votes.

Here’s the scoop. EagleRider, the groundbreaking company that opened up the concept of motorcycle rentals, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. They ran this contest asking people to offer photos for their 20 Years on the Highway contest, with the winner to receive an all-expense-paid trip for two to Los Angeles for the celebration.

The winner will be decided by votes. The way I see it, at this point it becomes a matter of who can work their social network the best. Each person can vote once a day, every day from now until midnight on June 29. To see the finalist photos, go here and scroll through the entries. Whichever one you like the most, click the “Like” link. Of course, I’d be very pleased if you vote for my photo but if you like something else better you really should vote for it.

Then, bookmark the link and go back every day until June 29 and vote again. Please be advised that the page loads a bit slowly, so be patient. Thanks.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Call made to push Congress on motorcycle-only stops

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when you almost crash your car in a turn because you were trying to counter-steer and lean rather than turn the wheel.

A map showing where Alderfer Three Sisters Open Space Park is in relation to Evergreen.

Judy wanted to do something different over the holiday weekend so I asked her what she had in mind. She said she wanted to take a motorcycle ride to somewhere where we could hike and have a picnic. Sounded good to me so I did some research.

What many people may not be aware of is that Jefferson Country has a sizeable number of open space parks in the mountains. We’ve been to a few but there are a lot of them we’ve never seen, so that seemed like the smart bet.

And it was. I ended up selecting Alderfer/Three Sisters Park, which is up by Evergreen. We headed out U.S. 285 and then north on C-470 to the Morrison exit, through Morrison and up to Evergreen. At Evergreen we took the County Road 73 fork south about half a mile and turned west on Buffalo Park Road. Then it was just over a mile to the park.

The three sisters are three knobs of rock sticking up from a ridge. There is a fourth set apart from the others and it is called the brother, so you’ve got three sisters and a brother. You can hike up and around them all of course the view is great. So we did. And up near the top of the sisters we ate our lunch.

Then we hiked back down, got on the bike and rejoined County Road 73, continuing south to the intersection of North Turkey Creek Road, which we took down to me U.S. 285, and then back down to the flatlands. Altogether, nothing spectacular but a really nice way to spend an afternoon.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Bullet points sum up sessions at Overland Expo

Biker Quote for Today

Never getting lost is fascist.

I knew I had missed my turn when I saw Shiprock up ahead on my right.

I’m home after six days on the road and while I enjoyed the Overland Expo, the object of this journey, it could not be more clear that my favorite parts were the two day ride down to Flagstaff and the two day return trip.

The best parts of those days were the mornings. Each day I woke with the sun, rolled out of my sleeping bag, packed and broke camp, and got on the bike. And there I was, riding through forest and mountains with the day just beginning, with colors so vibrant–it was heaven.

This morning I started the day in a campground about midway between Creede and South Fork. I don’t know the elevation of the campground but South Fork is about 8,100, so the campground was higher. It was cold! Plus, the campground was in a spot where the canyon walls keep the sun off it until probably 9 a.m. I put on my long johns, plugged in my electric vest and turned it on, and hoped my hands didn’t freeze.

But it was glorious! It was so beautiful and I was right there in it all. The morning after my first night camping was the same, though not so cold. I had ridden from Denver to just a little east of Mancos and stayed in a campground there. Next morning I headed out and could not get over how beautiful it was and how happy I was not to be waking up in the city and heading for an office somewhere.

At Mormon Lake, in Arizona, the Overland Expo was good, I sat in on a number of good sessions that gave me more confidence if I ever find myself needing to change a tire on my bike and other useful things like that. And waking up there was nice, too, surrounded as we were in trees and hills. But it wasn’t the same as the morning I left and was out riding through it all. The beautiful morning light. The cold, crisp air. The deer that stood in the road and looked at me as I approached, only to scamper away as the sound of a car coming the other direction persuaded them it was time to go. It all came back to one thought: This is why I ride a motorcycle.

Trite as the phrase has become, it just doesn’t get any better than this.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Anticipating adventure at the Overland Expo

Biker Quote for Today

I have no idea where we are, but at least it’s getting dark.

Bikes lined up at the Overland Expo

It has probably been 20 years since the last time I rode from Denver to Durango in one day. My recollection of that trip was an exhausting ride that was not a lot of fun. I was just trying to burn up the miles so I could catch up with John and Bill, who had left several days ahead of me because my bike was still in pieces in a cursed shop that fortuitously is no longer in existence.

I did that ride again Wednesday, except this time I went beyond Durango. The first time I was on my 1980 Honda CB750 Custom; this time I was on my 1999 Kawasaki Concours. There is a difference. The Connie is a much better highway bike, it cruises comfortably at a much higher speed, and I also wasn’t stressed out by being held up for days and being totally pissed at those jerks in the shop. In short, it wasn’t a bad ride at all, and I could have kept going, though I was glad to stop.

As I mentioned previously, I’m now down at the Overland Expo, at Mormon Lake, southeast of Flagstaff. This is an event for people who are into adventure travel, both two wheels and more, and the two-wheel portion is getting much bigger each year. If Sturgis is the place to see more Harleys than you’ve ever seen in one place, this is the place to see my BMW GSs than anywhere else, plus various other adventure bikes.

I came to this thing last year, down in Amado, AZ, but it was an afterthought tacked onto my main trip, which was to Arizona Bike Week, in Scottsdale. I only got to spend one day at the Expo then and came away feeling I had wasted my time at Bike Week and missed out on a lot at the Expo. So here I am again.

I truly am not an adventure rider type, I have no desire to ride a bike around the world, but it is so amazing listening to these speakers who tell and show pictures of their incredible journeys.

You learn all sorts of new terms. Here’s one: human dip-stick. That’s when you have to ford a river on your bike and you want two people, one to ride the bike and one to walk ahead. If the person in front, the human dip-stick, drops out of sight, you know you want to change course or else be prepared for some serious riding. Yow! I might have considered that when I was 20 but at this point I’m just not interested. But hearing other people’s stories is pretty dang interesting. And this place is full of those stories.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Heading overland to the Overland Expo

Biker Quote for Today

Full face helmets: Because you can’t get laid with dead gnats on your teeth.