Passes & Canyons Blog

Redlegs went down on his bike recently and came out in pretty good shape, with only a separated shoulder. He attributes it to ATGATT. That stands for All The Gear, All The Time.

I’ll back up just a moment to explain that Redlegs is a fellow motorcycle blogger who I have never met but have communicated with a number of times via email and comments we have posted on each others’ blogs. We may actually have literally rubbed shoulders recently at the Top Gun event but didn’t know it until we saw that we had each been there and written about it.

So in another overlap, we both went up to Frisco to the Concours Owners Group rally recently, though I went on Monday and he went on Friday. My trip was fine. For Redlegs, however, things were not so fine. Approaching the Eisenhower Tunnel, he hit some black ice and went down, at high speed. Ouch.

Redlegs says he always does the ATGATT thing, and right now he’s pretty darn happy about that. I have to admit, I don’t. Certainly I understand that if you go down you’re going to be extremely happy to have been wearing every bit of protective gear you own. And referring to another voice, Mark Tuttle Jr., editor of Rider magazine, says in his July 2008 column, “Take it from someone who has left his share of skin on the pavement–you don’t want to.”

I understand this. I believe these guys. So why don’t I do it? And obviously I’m not alone in not doing it. Why do so many of us ignore what we know is good advice?

I’ll be honest. A part of me has never gotten beyond my youthful conviction that I’m immortal and really bad things just won’t happen to me. For another thing, I’ve been riding for about 19 years now and the only time I ever went down on one of my bikes was going down a gravel road at about 5 miles per hour when a big dog walked out from between two parked cars, right into my path. In a slow motion split second I nailed my front brakes, realized they weren’t going to be enough, and touched the rears. Down instantly. But other than a bruised shoulder I was unhurt and my passenger was also unhurt. And we were not wearing helmets, but that was OK because our heads didn’t hit the ground.

The fact is, I like riding without a helmet. First of all, it’s extremely pleasant, and is a large part of what I find so enjoyable about riding. Secondly, when I do wear the helmet it gets very uncomfortable, even painful, when I wear it for a long time. Now, regarding this latter point, it may be that I just need a different helmet. But I’ve had a number of helmets over the years and the same has been true for all of them. They hurt my head. That said, I always wear a helmet in winter, I usually wear one when I’m riding on the interstate, and at other times it just depends on the weather and how I feel.

As for other gear, like leather jacket and chaps and gloves, I wear them depending on the ride and the weather. I wear the jacket and gloves the most, quite a lot of the time. The chaps I primarily wear in winter, when I judge that the possibility for a spill is greater and when the extra warmth they provide is welcome. I have a good pair of boots and I wear them on long rides but if I’m just hopping on the bike to go to the gym I don’t bother.

I’m pretty sure there are a lot of guys like me. ATGATT is a great concept but we just don’t see it as realistic. So I’ve worked out my compromise. In bad weather I wear it all. The odds are just more heavily weighted toward a mishap in bad weather. When I’m just trying to get somewhere and make time, I wear most of it, particularly the helmet and jacket. At times like that, the enjoyment is not the primary focus of the trip so I just hunker down and go. When it’s cold I wear all of it. That’s simple; it keeps me warm. The fact that it would protect me in a spill is secondary, though not unimportant.

But when it’s a beautiful summer day and we’re out on a lonely two-lane road just taking it easy and enjoying the ride, I’m sorry, I don’t want to wear a helmet. I judge that the danger is slight and it’s just worth it to me to take that small chance. And remember: Last year about 42 percent of motorcyclists killed in accidents were not wearing helmets. That means that 58 percent were wearing helmets and they were killed anyway. Sometimes you just play the odds. Yes, sometimes you lose. But I think this Biker Quote for Today sums it up for me pretty nicely.

Biker Quote for Today

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting HOLY CRAP!

Cold and rainy today, with patches of fog. What a great day to ride! Seriously.

Of course Bill had no idea what the weather would be a week ago when he proposed that we do one of our occasional rides up to Blackhawk for breakfast. It has been warm and sunny lately, so we assumed it would be a nice day. I rolled the bike out and looked at the sky and wondered if I should call to see if anyone would show up. But I figured surely someone would be there so we would join them.

Judy asked me what she needed to wear and I told her I was just putting on a flannel shirt over my t-shirt under my leather jacket, so she dressed similarly. We took off and hadn’t gone very far when I started to doubt my judgment. It was darn chilly! Oh well, it was morning and surely it would warm up as the day progressed.

We got to the meeting spot and found only Bill and Jason out for the ride today. Dennis is in Indianapolis for the Indy 500, Johnathon had a graduation he was going to, and John was using his same old excuse about being 250 miles away in Montrose. Wuss. Can’t remember why Friggs wasn’t there.

We headed on up Clear Creek Canyon and the sky was threatening but nothing else. Going a bit slower up the canyon it wasn’t as chilly but Judy and I both were wishing we had our electric vests. Judy was also wishing for long underwear. I was just glad to be on the Concours with its full fairing.

Leaving the canyon and getting onto the Peak to Peak Highway it started looking like it might clear up. That reminded me of when I lived in Golden and worked in Idaho Springs, and on some days I would drive out of a rain or snow storm up the mountain into the sunshine. Then after spending the day in the sun I would drive back down into the same storm I left behind. Not today.

We reached Blackhawk and cruised on to Central City to the Red Dolly, a small casino with good breakfast at very good prices–our standard stop. Had a great breakfast, warmed up, Bill and Jason gave the machines some money, and it was time to head back down. We stepped outside and it was raining. No big deal; we’ve got the gear. And this was Judy’s first opportunity to try out her new rain gear.

Suited up, we headed back down into Blackhawk, got back on the Peak to Peak, and continued north to the turn-off to Golden Gate Canyon. One of the nice things about this whole area is that there are multiple canyons and you can take your pick of which one to go up and which one to take down. They’re all beautiful and twisty.

Today they had a different kind of beauty than we normally see. Besides the rain, we were in and out of low-lying clouds, aka: fog. I know that Judy, having no responsibility for ensuring that we stayed on the road, was more able to appreciate the beauty than I was, but I was not unappreciative.

With the wet pavement, the on and off rain, and the on and off fog, we took it fairly slow. That, plus the rain gear, meant the ride down was quite a bit warmer than the ride up. And with the good rain gear we were perfectly dry and comfortable.

Then we were down out of the canyon, back on CO 93, and we headed over to Bill and Thais’s new house close by to see it for the first time. Some hot chocolate to warm us up again and we headed on home.

This was not the ride we anticipated but at least partially for that reason it was probably a more memorable ride. Despite being a little less well-prepared than we could have been, we have no regrets whatsoever. It was a great ride. What a great day for a ride!

Biker Quote for Today

It takes more love to share the saddle than it does to share the bed.

Barry from Alabama responded to that last post about hypothermia, asking about the weather in the fall when the aspens are turning color. Let’s talk about that.

The aspen trees in Colorado turn a brilliant gold in September, for the most part. It varies depending on elevation; the higher areas turn before the lower areas. As you can see in this photo, here there are some trees that have already shed their leaves, others are still golden, and yet, in the foreground, there are still green leaves.

September is a great time to be riding in Colorado, but you have to understand that the weather is unpredictable, especially in the high country. You can have the most gorgeous days imaginable or you can get caught in a snowstorm. It’s not at all uncommon to have both in the same day. An 11,000-foot pass is going to be cold even in July and August. You can get snowed on on top of Mount Evans any day of the year. Plus, at that time of year, even if the weather is sunny and warm during the day you have to count on it getting darn chilly as soon as the sun goes down. Therefore, it’s essential to be prepared.

Referring back to the hypothermia posting, you’ll want to be sure to bring any electrics you have: vest, heated grips, whatever. You’ll use them and be glad you have them. Dress in layers; you can always take something off but you can’t put it on if you don’t have it with you. If you’re getting cold, don’t be too macho to stop frequently and warm up.

Here’s an example of what you might encounter. Our OFMC group usually takes its trip in July or August but a few years ago we decided to go in September. We headed out of Denver the first day, up US 285, and then south on CO 126 and CO 67 toward Woodland Park. It turned cold and wet and we soon had our rain suits on. We got to Woodland Park and headed down US 24 toward Colorado Springs in sleet. From Colorado Springs we headed southwest down CO 115 to Penrose and then took US 50 on to Salida, where we stopped for the night. By the time we got to Penrose we had peeled off the rain suits and rode in warm sunshine the rest of the day. A typical day in Colorado.

I suppose I could ramble on, but what’s the point? You get the picture. I’ll address Barry’s other questions in the next couple posts.

Biker Quote for Today

Saddlebags can never hold everything you want, but they CAN hold everything you need.

Continuing something of a theme I’ve been developing this week, I want to talk now about hypothermia. As in getting really, really cold in an unsafe manner.

Hypothermia: An abnormally low body temperature, often caused by prolonged exposure to cold.

I wrote a on Monday about my day riding Motorcycle Lead for a bicycle race. The wind started blowing and the temperature dropped and it started to snow. By the time I got off the bike I started to shake and shiver uncontrollably. That was the beginning of hypothermia. Then on Wednesday I wrote about fairings and how they do so much to keep you warm. This was not planned but I might as well round out the discussion.

The first time I got a taste of hypothermia was on one of the earliest rides I did with my buddies John and Bill in our group that we call the Old Farts Motorcycle Club. We had been down in New Mexico and were headed back into Colorado when we got caught in a cloudburst. We didn’t have rain suits back then, we just got wet. At the time it didn’t seem like such a big deal. In Colorado it is common to have brief rain showers, and then the sun comes out and all is fine. We didn’t get drenched or anything, and we just kept riding.

Awhile later we reached Alamosa and, stopping at the first traffic light in town, agreed unanimously that we really wanted to find a coffee shop before we did anything else. We were cold.

We got to a coffee shop and ordered a pot of coffee and started shivering and shaking. A lot. A whole lot. Over the course of the next hour or so we probably drank eight pots of coffee but just kept shivering. Somewhere along the line we realized that this was hypothermia. We had gotten wet, but the wind dried us out when the rain stopped, but with the moisture it also extracted a dangerous amount of our body heat.

Hypothermia can be dangerous. It can cause you to become mentally confused, which can lead to dangerous or deadly mistakes when riding a motorcycle. It’s not a good thing.

So what should a motorcyclist do to avoid hypothermia, and what do you do if it happens anyway? First off, don’t drink coffee. Hot coffee may seem like just the ticket but you would do a lot better to drink hot cocoa or have a bowl of hot soup. Something with calories. Of course, if coffee is the only warm thing around, as was the case for me at the bicycle races, do what you’ve got to do. Wrapping up in a blanket or sleeping bag is a very good thing, too. If the hypothermia is serious you should not hesitate to call for emergency medical care.

It’s better to avoid hypothermia in the first place. The first line of defense is the proper gear. Carry a good rain suit and don’t delay too long in putting it on. Use your electric vest if you have one. Heated grips would be good. I swear by the fairing on my Concours, and the windshield on the CB750. Wear plenty of layers. Stop frequently and get warm in a convenience store/gas station, cafe, or rest stop. Wear synthetics or wools that don’t hold the moisture in direct contact with you skin. Avoid alcohol if you’re going out somewhere where you’re likely to get cold.

Mostly it’s just common sense: stay warm in whatever way you can. Don’t be an idiot. It’s better to arrive late, or call off the ride, than never arrive again.

Biker Quote for Today

Never be afraid to slow down.

I’m going to state my preference right up front: I wouldn’t have a bike without a windshield or fairing. My Honda CB750 Custom has a windshield and my Kawasaki Concours has a full fairing. I love them.

Most of my friends don’t have either. We’ve swapped bikes at times and they’ll comment how nice it was not to have all that buffeting, but they don’t add windshields to their own bikes. I, on the other hand, am always relieved to get back on my own bike and out of that blast. There have been times, riding without a helmet, when I’ve been nearly blinded by the way the wind made my eyes water. How do you guys do this?

I especially appreciate a fairing when I ride in the winter. Oftentimes I’ll take both my bikes out for a spin back-to-back on a nice winter day, and it’s amazing the difference between that fairing and the windshield. How much colder would it be without either?

Don’t get me wrong, I have winter gear. I have thinsulate-lined gloves and an electric vest, full leathers, and a good helmet. Heavy, knee-high motorcycle boots help, too. It still gets cold. But at least some of the wind is blocked.

Of course in summer the cold is not an issue. But the wind sure is. I spent some time in California awhile back, riding a bike with no windshield and wearing a helmet, as per the law there. After riding all day my neck would be aching from struggling all day as the wind tore at my open-face helmet. I’m sorry, that is not fun.

So OK, I know a lot of you are saying I’m a big wussy. Go ahead and say it. But what I’d really like you to do is tell me why you prefer to ride without. I just don’t get it but I know way too many guys who prefer not to have a windshield or fairing. For some it’s an image thing–they just prefer the look of their bike without. Me, I’m not into image; I’m into comfort.

So what are the other reasons? Help me understand, OK? Because right now I just don’t.

In all the years I’ve had it I have never appreciated my electric vest more than I did Saturday, when I spent two hours in the lead of a bicycle race. To recap from my posting last week, I signed on to be a Motorcycle Lead for some bicycle races out at the little town of Deer Trail, about 50 miles east of Denver. As it turned out, it almost didn’t happen.

Saturday morning was chilly but sunny and I was prepared because the forecast was for possible rain or snow. I put on long underwear, my heavy boots, my electric vest, and plenty of layers. The cruise out to Deer Trail was extremely pleasant, and I felt like I would have loved to just keep on going, not stopping until I was somewhere in Kansas or Nebraska. I appreciated the Concours’s full fairing, too, because I knew my comfort had a lot to do with the protection it offered.

Arriving at the staging area for the races, they quickly outfitted me with a radio and told me what I would be doing. I headed for my bike and had not even gotten there when, over the radio, they called me back. On returning I was told they did not need me and other people needed the radio. Did I mind? “Not at all?” I asked. “Oh good, well thanks for coming,” she replied. “No,” I said, “that was a question. You don’t need me at all?”

Well, it turned out, they could always use Marshalls, where my job would be to just ride in front of the pack and be visible so motorists would recognize that a bike race was coming. Funny, that was what I thought I had signed on for. So I hustled off to the starting line and very quickly we were underway.

The course initially followed the frontage road along I-70, going out 8 miles to the Lowland exit and turning around, then turning around again in Deer Trail and right back out the frontage road, this time 12 miles to the Agate exit. From there it was back to Deer Trail again, through town and over to the other side of I-70 and out a ways, then a turn onto a county road, out 7 miles, and then return to the finish line. About 60 miles in all.

The first leg out was pretty brisk and I rode along at about 30-35 mph, with my eye constantly on the mirror. I had been warned to keep an eye on the riders because you never knew when someone would make a break and I needed to stay far enough ahead that they couldn’t draft off of me. Occasionally I was surprised to see how all of a sudden a small group of riders was indeed rapidly catching up with me, and I had to throttle up quickly to pull further ahead.

Turning around at Lowland and heading back, the entire situation changed. Suddenly we were facing a strong headwind, and it was cold. Obviously we had had the advantage of a good tailwind on the way out but now the tables were turned. For the 8 miles back to Deer Trail I had to get the knack of going very slowly. If I went 20 mph I would get too far ahead. I downshifted and worked at staying at about 15 mph, occasionally pulling in the clutch and coasting down to less than 10 mph, but even so there were times when I just pulled to a stop in the middle of the road and sat there and waited.

Then we got back to Deer Trail and turned around again, and once again it was a fairly high-speed ride the 12 miles out to Agate. By the time we got to Agate I was really in the lead of just a small group of riders who had left the rest of the pack pretty far behind. We turned around and once again the blast hit us in the face and once again it was a very slow ride back.

Nevertheless, by this time we were passing the lagging riders from the race that started out on this same course 15 minutes before our group. It was no problem when it was just one or two riders but I wondered how this would be managed when we came up on a large pack of riders to be passed. No problem, though, they know the routine. Perhaps alerted by my presence, the pack edged to the right to make way, I zipped past, and the lead riders behind me pumped up their speed and blasted past.

By the time we reached Deer Trail again there were only three riders behind me, and a support vehicle right behind them. We passed through town and over to the other side of the highway and out the county road. At this point we were moving directly perpendicular to the wind, and it was brutal. On top of that, it was starting to blow snow. Even these top riders, who had now ridden more than 40 miles already, could only manage about 15 mph, although on a couple downhills I once again had to goose the throttle to stay out in front.

At this point I was ever more thankful for my electric vest but I was still getting pretty darn cold. On top of that, with the side-wind, my fairing was not doing a lot of good and the body work on the Concours was acting like a sail, making it hard for me to stay on the road, especially at 15 mph or less. Some of the bicyclists were actually being blown off the road.

Half way out to the last turnaround point, there were only two racers behind me. We turned and headed back in and as we drew nearer to the finish line these two guys, who had now ridden more than 50 miles in horrible conditions, started to sprint. I crossed the finish line at 30 mph with them right behind me and I just kept on going, straight back to the staging area and relative warmth.

Then a funny thing happened. As long as I was on the bike with the electric vest providing heat I was cold but not horribly so. As soon as I got off the bike and no longer had the vest to provide heat, I started to shake and shiver horribly. I know that feeling, I’ve experienced it before: hypothermia. Lunch was waiting, hot coffee, but no heat in the building. I know coffee is not a good thing to drink for hypothermia but it was all they had. So I ate and drank and shivered for about 45 minutes.

While I ate I talked with another guy who was one of the referees, who did his work on a motorcycle, too. He had a full Aerostitch suit, electric vest, heated grips, and all on his BMW, and he was just as cold as I was. He said he’d been doing this for years and this was the kind of day he dreaded. He was just glad it was snow and not rain, because you get a lot wetter in the rain.

When asked if I would be working the afternoon races I politely declined. Too cold! I collected my check and headed to the nearest convenience store and went inside where it was warm and got a big cup of hot cocoa. Finally when I was no longer shaking I got back on the bike and headed home, passing through intermittent snowfall along the way. At home I took a hot shower for about half an hour.

So the question is, will I work the second race that I initially signed up for, in Hugo in about a month? I can’t really say at this point. I could use the money, and the weather ought to be a lot nicer. We’ll just have to see.

Biker Quote for Today

Good coffee should be indistinguishable from 50 weight motor oil.

I got the obligatory newspaper clipping from my mother the other day. You know, the one that talks about how motorcycle deaths are up at the same time that some states are relaxing their helmet laws.

Let’s face it, moms are just being moms when they send these things. They would rather you didn’t ride at all because “it’s too dangerous” but if you’re going to ride “you’d better wear your helmet every time.” They also tend to believe strongly that all states should mandate wearing helmets all the time.

I disagree. I do wear my helmets (I have several) a lot of the time. But there are times when I do not, and I would argue that I know more about the risk I am taking than someone who has never been on a motorcycle in their lives. I’m also a registered Libertarian, so obviously I believe the government has no business telling me I have to wear a helmet.

So let’s look at the information this particular article presents. It came from the Gannett News Service so presumably it appeared in a number of papers, maybe yours.

I’ll give them credit, it talks about deaths rising on the basis of per 1,000 riders. So many such articles say simply that deaths are up, but fail to mention that the number of riders is up as well. And if deaths per thousand riders are increasing then that is definitely of concern to us.

My issue is with the interpretations that people put on the statistics. They’re much too simplistic. Helmets are not some miracle cure for motorcycle fatalities. For example, the article states that “About 42 percent of riders killed were not wearing helmets.” What that means then is that 58 percent were wearing helmets — and they were killed anyway. It also implies that some percentage of those helmetless riders who were killed would have been killed even if they had been wearing a helmet. To me that says the cause of the accident should be more the focus than the gear the rider was wearing.

Another factor noted is the increase in the age of the average rider. Decreasing physical dexterity and slower reaction times are listed as the suspects.

Then it goes on to say that “Half of motorcyclists killed between 2002 and 2006 lost control and crashed without colliding with another vehicle.” This is what I’m talking about above. How did these accidents occur? Surely some involved other vehicles that may well have been the cause but were not involved in any contact. But in other cases, what we are talking about is rider error. This calls for better training but, again, has nothing to do with the gear the rider is wearing.

The article goes on to say that southern states have higher death rates, and they attribute that to the longer riding season. More time on the road equals more opportunity for accidents. That makes sense.

Then it talks about how the National Transportation Safety Board has taken the unprecedented action of unanimously recommending that all states mandate helmets at all times. Their justification for this is that “Medical and other costs for unhelmeted riders involved in crashes are staggering.” OK, then how about this: Let’s require all drivers and passengers in cars to wear helmets. There are a heck of a lot more of them getting into accidents and surely the costs are mega-staggering. Race car drivers wear helmets. Why shouldn’t mom and pop and the kiddies? Of course I’m sure they intend to imply that motorcyclists who do wear helmets and get in accidents cost the system nothing. That is what they’re saying, isn’t it?

And then finally, at the very bottom of this 51-inch article, they mention that, oh by the way, the two states with no helmet laws of any kind, Iowa and New Hampshire, have death rates of 3.5 and 3.0 per 1,000 respectively. Meanwhile, for example, Mississippi and Maryland, which require all riders to wear helmets all the time, have death rates of 20 and 12 per 1,000 respectively. Of course these numbers are discounted, and are explained away saying that in New Hampshire the riding season is short and in Iowa the ground is flat and visibility is good.

So thanks for caring Mom, I love you, too. But I’ll continue to make my own decisions and I’ll continue to belong to the American Motorcyclist Association and support their efforts to protect our right to decide.

Biker Quote for Today

Gray-haired riders don’t get that way from pure luck.

This may not be a big deal for most motorcyclists, but I just got highway pegs on my Kawasaki Concours. So why is it a big deal for me?

Because for many, many years there were none available. The fact that you can finally get highway pegs for a Concours is thanks to Murph, not Kawasaki. Who is Murph? Murph is a guy who has taken it upon himself to create and market a wide variety of accessories specifically for the Concours. With the first highway pegs he created for the bike you had to cut a hole through your body work, which a lot of guys did, but others were reluctant to do.

But Murph kept at it and now he has come out with a set that requires cutting through a bit of plastic underneath the body work (out of sight) but not the body work itself. You mount the main bolt to the spot where the radiator bolt normally resides, and then a bracket goes sideways from that spot and pokes out one of the vent slots on the fairing. That’s where you attach the pegs.

Now, I’m pretty handy with a wrench, but trying to get clear on what I needed to do to install these things had me bothered. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go it alone. The local chapter of the Concours Owners Group, which I recently rejoined, has a yearly tradition of meeting at Rick Hall’s place up the South St. Vrain Canyon for Wrench and Retch. Folks ride on up to Rick’s and help each other out with the work they need to do on their Connies. Steve, whose last name I didn’t get, has a 1999 Concours, same as mine, and has the same pegs, so he helped me install mine. Rick supplies the tools and the workshop. Rick also cooks up a big pot of chili each year for after the wrenching is all done.

So finally! Now I can go out on these long trips we take each year and I’ll have a way to reposition my legs. Heck, I used them on the way home. From Rick’s I went on up the St. Vrain to the Peak to Peak Highway and on home that way. It was about 75 miles and my legs were ready for some shifting long before I got home. And by gum, they work! Thanks Murph.

Biker Quote for Today

Always replace the cheapest parts first.