Passes & Canyons Blog

For the first couple years that I was working on this website the focus was entirely on paved roads. I didn’t have any off-road experience, plus there was plenty to keep me busy just putting up info on the paved roads, so I didn’t touch the gravel.

Then I got an email from Larry Matkovich, who runs Larry’s Custom Cycle in Canon City, suggesting I add some info on gravel roads (“dirty” roads as he called them) and he offered to provide me the scoop on some, along with a rating system he had devised. Thus was born the Dirt Roads and Side Trips page on the site.

The very first dirt road Larry introduced me to was the Shelf Road, which runs north out of Canon City to Cripple Creek. And although I’ve had it listed on the site for probably three years now, I had never been on it. Until yesterday.

I’m here to tell you, this is a good ride. Using the system he devised, Larry rated this road a 2, “Doable but not recommended for sport bikes, full dressers, some cruisers especially 2-up.” I might be a little more generous, maybe giving it a 1, “Fair gravel road, a bit more skill required, but OK for all bikes.”

Either way, it is a little rough in some places, with a good bit of washboard, but it’s doable. It’s better on a dual-sport, but if you’re on a street bike you can just take your time and ride around the potholes. Kind of like my friend Janet Linn does when she goes over mountain passes on her Ninja.

And boy, yesterday, with the fall colors, it was a beauty, as you can see in the photo. The weather is getting dicier so any of this kind of riding you intend to do you’d better do soon. Yesterday was a good one. It may be the best we’ll see for awhile. Hope you were out riding.

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Biker Quote for Today

Go ahead . . . Get married, have kids, drive a van. LOL.

I just want to pass this along. If you have older two-stroke motocross bikes and you’re in or near Colorado, there is a movie in production that may want to use your bike. And you might get in the movie yourself.

Here’s the particulars, as passed along to me by Jerry Pokorny, with the British Motorcycle Association of Colorado. It comes from a guy who goes by Whiskyman, but I guess you’d need to reply to Jerry at jerry_pokorny@msn.com.

I have been in communications with the producer of some budget movies who is now filming a production dealing with a human interest angle on a motocross racer theme.

Production is here in Colorado at Thunder Mountain in Lakewood and another site a short distance away so it’s in our backyard.

To help him out, he has asked me to try and help him find two different bikes – as follows:

Early ’90s vintage 2-stroke motocross bike in very clean to mint condition. The bike will mainly be used as static prop and only ridden for 2 laps around the motocross track by a professional stunt double in the production so it won’t be harmed in any way. It will be used in 2 scenes to be shot in Early June. No limit on displacement or brand was specified so let me know what you have in your collection that you would be willing to make available for a couple of days. The producer is going to offer the owner of the bike a small walk-on part related to the movie main characters race team in support of the “works rider” (principal actor in this production). There is no other compensation but the ego trip of having your bike and possibly you in a movie – now how cool is that?

The other need is for a few mid to late 1980s vintage 80 cc 2-stroke motocross bikes to be used in a scene with the producer’s main character YZ – 80 as “other competitors bikes.” This will be shot in late June or July. No walk-on part for this but you will still have bragging rights on having your bike in a movie………..

Ok, let’s hear from you as soon as possible. Let me know what you have (make, model, displacement, year) and if possible send a photo. I will help screen candidates and forward the best options to the producers for his consideration.

This sounds like a heck of a lot of fun so please respond at your earliest convenience!

Ride fast, life is short

Whiskyman

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When in doubt, throttle out.

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

Hot diggity, I’ve been waiting for this. Come Saturday I’m going to finally get the opportunity to test ride some Zero electric motorcycles.

I first started trying a couple months ago to set something up so I could see what these new-fangled electrics are like. Well, the day is nearly here. And you can bet I’ll have plenty to say afterward. Stay tuned.

I’m counting on getting to ride all four of the 2010 models, but that may depend on how many other people are there with the same intentions. Zero currently sells these four:

• Zero MX is a motocross bike, set up for the track and for jumps
• Zero X is a dirt bike, for trails and technical stuff
• Zero S is a street bike
• Zero DS is a dual sport bike

The one thing I’m wondering about is if we’ll get a chance to actually ride the dirt-oriented bikes in dirt. This event is taking place at a parking lot and if all we get to do is ride the dirt bikes around on the pavement that won’t be truly satisfying. Who knows. I guess I will come Saturday. And you will soon afterward.

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Loud pipes risk rights!

I’ve never heard of U.S. Highland, have you? Apparently they make motorcycles engines and now they’re planning to make motorcycles–a lot of them–in the near future. This photo is one of their promotional shots, of the Desert-X.

What I’m able to learn is that this is a Swedish company that moved to the U.S. two years ago. They set up shop in Oklahoma, in the town of Mounds. I’ve never heard of Mounds, either.

The company currently has 30 employees but says it will be hiring 300 when it goes into production. They plan to build both street and off-road bikes, although it is expected that making motors for other companies will remain a large part of their business.

At a time when other manufacturers are struggling it’s good to see someone with bright hopes for the future. Let’s wish them success.

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Get yourself to the hills and be uplifted, assuming you’ve got some good knobbies.

Who is crazy enough to ride their motorcycles up over a high Colorado mountain pass at a time when the pass is closed by deep snow? Why, the Adventure Riders, of course. They’ll be doing it this weekend and while I’m not riding, I do plan to be there as a witness to the event.

The group will gather Saturday night in Grant, along U.S. 285, and camp out or take advantage of the local accommodations. Saturday night is party time. Then on Sunday they’ll head up over Guanella Pass to Georgetown, or at least as far as they can get.

This photo gives you an idea of what it’s like. I grabbed the shot from an AVRider post by a guy who goes as “Geek” and I don’t yet have his permission but I’m contacting him to ask for his OK.

The folks making the ride generally ride smaller dirt bikes set up with studs in the tires, just like ice racers, or on sidecar rigs (Urals generally), other three wheelers, or Rokons. Rokons, in case you’re not familiar with them, are very wide tire motorcycles designed to plow through mud or snow and just generally be a four-wheel-drive sort of two-wheeler.

I do know that Dom Chang, the Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner, who I’ve written about before, is planning on doing this run on his Ural sidecar rig. I don’t know any of the others but that should change soon.

Oh, and one other consideration. The weather forecast for the next three days is clear, but snow is predicted on Sunday. Could be fun.

Update: Geek gave me the OK for using his picture, and I spoke to Dom and I’m going to be riding with him in his Ural, so I won’t be just a spectator after all. Hot dog!

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There are 2 kinds of people in this world. Those who ride motorcycles and those who want to ride motorcycles.