Passes & Canyons Blog

I need a new helmet. I still have one decent helmet but my best one, a Shoei, gave its life for me on June 29 and needs to be replaced. So while I was at Performance Cycle last week I looked, with the assistance of Stevie, at helmets. I hadn’t planned to but hey, I was there.

According to Stevie the best helmets are made by Shoei and Arai. I was interested to look at the Arai because I know the Shoei but don’t really know anything about the Arai.

The one thing that caught my eye immediately is that they specify whether their helmets are intended for people with rounder heads or people whose heads are more oval in shape. This is fabulous. When I started riding I had two Bieffe helmets and both of them were incredibly uncomfortable. Painful. That was a big part of why, in my early days, I mostly rode without a helmet; wearing the helmet I had hurt.

It was only when I needed a new helmet in the middle of the RMMRC’s Great River Road trip in 2022 that I came to understand. I was talking with a guy in a shop and he explained it to me. If you buy a helmet for a round head it is going to press hard into your forehead. That’s why you need an oval helmet.

Now Stevie, at Performance, was fully aware of this. That’s good in a salesman. And he said the Shoei was actually a compromise between the two extremes, while the Arai was an all-out oval. I tried on the Arai and I was not as pleased as I expected to be with the way it felt. It felt super snug. Stevie checked, having me push the helmet all the way one direction and then inserting his fingers between the helmet and my head and he said the fit was actually quite good. And maybe once I would wear it a while the padding would adjust to the shape of my head and feel good.

But then there is the price. The Arai runs about $200 more than the Shoei, and the Shoei is not cheap. We’re talking $650 and $450 respectively. It would be hard for me to pay that extra $200 for something that doesn’t feel especially comfortable. And maybe my head really is more midway between round and oval.

I think I’m going to get the Shoei. It’s the RF-SR model. Basic but a very good helmet. There’s a limited color selection so I guess I’ll go with white this time (my old one was black) for the increased visibility. And maybe I’ll put a bunch of colorful decals on it.

Biker Quote for Today

Adrenaline is my fuel; adventure is my destination.

I’ve known ever since that crash occurred on June 29 that I was going to need to buy some new gear. A new helmet at the very least, considering that the one I was wearing had done its job and needed to be retired. To that end, I visited Performance Cycle on Wednesday. My initial intent was to look at riding suits but I ended up looking at a lot more.

I’ve got several particulars I’m looking for in a riding suit. First, I want something highly visible, so black is out. With what’s available in the stores now that seems to narrow it down to gray or gray with some neon yellow trim. OK, I can live with that. Besides, I’m figuring on wearing a high-viz mesh vest over it all so that should be the more important factor.

I also want pants and a jacket that can be connected as one unit, at least as much as possible. Apparently that means zipping them together just in the back. Fine, that will do. And I want something with an inner liner for winter warmth.

Waterproof is another criterion. Here’s where it starts getting tricky. I recently read about how suits that keep you dry can also end up trapping moisture inside and that doesn’t sound good at all. Gore-Tex looks like the answer because it supposedly keeps moisture out but “breathes” so sweat can get out. I need to find that stuff I read before to see what the issue was.

I also want zippers that will not fail. The Rev-It! riding pants I have now have silicone(?) zippers in the vents and one of them has completely failed. It is stuck open–not the best in winter. Also, the main zipper came undone a while ago and it was very hard to get it back together and functional. The Rev-It! pants I looked at no longer use that silicone zipper and I would hope the metal zippers are better. But that would be a reason I might go with a different brand.

All that said, I identified several possibilities: the Klim Carlsbad suit, the Alpinestars Bogota suit, and the Rev-It! Sand 5 H2O. They’re all roughly the same price, around $1,000 total for the two pieces. Now I want to investigate all three to see what reviewers and users have had to say about their plusses and minuses. If you have any experience or recommendations on any of these please pass your thoughts along.

I also looked at helmets, glove liners, and warm base layers. Stevie, the Performance Cycle guy who assisted me, was very helpful and gave me all kinds of things to consider and choose between. I’ll get into those items next time.

Biker Quote for Today

“Riding a motorcycle is a tribute, a tip of the helmet as it were, to our rugged ancestors who challenge us through the dust of centuries, proof that we have succumbed to the safety nets of civilization.” — Foster Kinn

How great it was to take off on my V-Strom on Monday after getting the all-clear from my neurosurgeon! I had wondered if I would feel unsteady or uncertain but it was just like they say about riding a bicycle–you never forget and it just comes back naturally.

I didn’t have a whole lot of time because I have a piano lesson every Monday at 2:30 and it was nearly noon when we got home from the doc’s. I needed to have lunch and to put up that quick blog post announcing my return. I wanted to go somewhere where I could get a good photo to go with this post so I figured if I headed down to Daniels Park I could get the shot and get to Chad’s in time for my lesson.

The day was a little cooler, in the low 60s, so I dressed warmly and wore my electric vest. That was more than I needed as I headed south but I have found previously that Daniels is about 1,000 feet higher than home and that difference means several degrees cooler. I got near the park and there was a lot of road construction going on so I had to take a detour. No problem, I know my way around here quite well at this point.

Got to the park and stopped for a photo. Yeah, it was darn chilly. Up on this high point I could see to the west and there were storm clouds moving in and it looked like it might already be raining over the foothills. Not a problem, I had my rain suit with me. I also wondered if the chill might just be the cold front moving in.

Needing to get to Chad’s I now headed north and no, it’s not just the front, it still got warmer as I continued north. But I was darn glad to have my heated vest. Meanwhile, the bike was running great and I was feeling great. So good to be back on the bike!

Following my crash I had mentioned to Judy that I intended to spend some money on some new, really good (read: expensive) riding gear. Back in August, around my birthday, Judy asked me if I would like a new riding suit as a birthday gift. I told her let’s not do that just at this time. I really didn’t want her to ask why but she did so I told her how at that moment I was feeling some hesitation and uncertainty about getting back on the bike. I think that’s a fairly normal reaction after you go through what I did. That image of that car headed right at me sticks with me. Well, it occurred to me just recently that all that reluctance and hesitation had just vanished. When my neurosurgeon asked if I was giving up riding motorcycles I told him no way, as soon as I get home from here I’m taking off for a ride.

I got to Chad’s just a few minutes late but not much. After the lesson I came out to the bike and it was spitting rain. Now the front had made it all the way into town. I put on my rain jacket and took off. Even with the jacket stopping the wind it was chilly so I flipped on the vest again. I love that thing. I made it on home without really getting wet and that was my ride for Monday. Soon after I got home it poured. Now I’m going to be watching the weather closely and I plan to get out a lot in the next week or two. I missed the whole summer; I will not miss the fall.

Biker Quote for Today

“The man hunched over his motorcycle can focus only on the present instant of his flight; he is caught in a fragment of time cut off from both the past and the future; he is wrenched from the continuity of time; he is outside time; in other words he is in a state of ecstasy. In that state he is unaware of his age, his wife, his children, his worries, and so he has no fear, because the source of fear is in the future, and a person freed of the future has nothing to fear.” – Milan Kundera

My apologies to anyone reading this who is not in the Denver area; this is a local event only.

You may recall I have written about Octane Alley, an area up on the 2800 block of Walnut Street where there is a tight concentration of motorcycle shops. Erico Motorsports is the original shop to open up there, long before the area got redeveloped and gentrified.

Perhaps because it was necessary to draw customers up to that then-unlikely part of town, Erico has always been a little different, taking uncommon steps to bring folks in. That process continues with the establishment of a small park-like area next door where Erico has been promoting community events.

As one of those community events, this Friday, October 17, “@sofarDenver is transforming Erico Motorsports into an intimate live music venue. Expect an unforgettable night of local artists, great vibes, and a little mystery because you won’t know who’s playing until they hit the stage!”

Doors open for this event at 7:30 with the show slated to begin at 8. The music will continue for up to three hours.

Here’s the rest of the info.

BYOB: Feel free to bring your own drinks, including alcohol. Remember to pack your own cups or bottle openers.

Snacks Welcome: Small snacks are permitted to keep you fueled during the show.

Seating: Mostly floor seating or standing —bring cushions or blankets for added comfort.

Parking: Limited spaces may be available in our lot; public parking available throughout the streets.

Tickets: Secure your spot now and use our exclusive friends & family discount code: ERICO at checkout to receive 20% off!

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind experience—grab your tickets today and join us for an evening where motorcycles and music collide!

Sounds like it could be fun. Judy and I have been trying to catch more live music lately so we might go–can’t say for sure just yet. Maybe this will be right up your (octane) alley.

Biker Quote for Today

If you want to live a happy life, don’t teach your wife how to ride a motorcycle.

I could never be a lawyer in court because those guys need to hear something and immediately have the response. I’m the kind of guy who likes to hear an argument and then think about it a bit before responding. Sometimes I need to think a lot before I’m ready.

I think some of that comes into play when I’m getting ready to go on a motorcycle ride. Specifically, in the few days before the RMMRC headed out on this overnight Meeker/Craig ride it had been blazing hot. 100 degrees and more. Shall we say that bringing plenty of warm clothing was not high on my radar?

But it should have been, because the day we left was quite cool and the forecast was for several more cool days. Nope, I’m still focused on the blazing heat.

So I wore my mesh jacket, though I did bring the liner. I did not bring my electric vest, though I did bring a fleece vest. I did not bring my heated gloves. Why would I? It’s hot!

But it wasn’t. I was chilly when I got to the meeting spot, and thought about the fact that we were going to be going up, but I was determined to ignore reality. Apparently. By the time we were up to Idaho Springs I was wishing I had put more layers on back at the start.

Fortunately, one of the guys had some tire pressure issue–these bikes with all their gadgetry–so we stopped in front of the Guanella Ranch, just past Empire. I quickly put on everything else I had. We took off and it was definitely darn chilly going over Berthoud Pass but bearable. And for the rest of the ride to Craig I was cold. Fortunately it warmed up a bit as we dropped down to Meeker.

In the morning I started out with everything I had, and I was darn chilly again. Then we got down to Wolcott and I-70 and made a stop in Edwards for gas. Here I finally did the one thing I had not done, I put on my rain jacket to stop the wind. What a huge difference that made! I was actually fairly comfortable for the first time on this trip.

And I was glad I had it because the temperature dropped as we headed up to Leadville, and it was also looking like rain. We had lunch and left Leadville in a light rain, all of us decked out in full rain gear. At least I was warm.

We finally hit actual rain around Conifer but after that it got warm. I could have stopped to strip the rain gear off but was taking no chances, and fortunately it was not blazing hot crossing town. Sometimes it is and then you want nothing more than to get that dang rain suit off.

Will I ever learn? Probably not. If I could somehow search this blog for every time I mention being ill-prepared for the weather I’m sure it would be a long list. And I never, ever gave any thought to being a litigation attorney.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding any motorcycle is like meditating with your hair on fire.

I’m sure some folks in cars reached their destinations with stories of crazy motorcyclists they had seen that day. That day being the day the other RMMRC riders and I made the trip home from Meeker/Craig.

As we headed up Tennessee Pass, toward Leadville, there were a lot of curves, but of the eight of us, seven were linked in on our Cardos. So you come up on some slow traffic and one or two guys are able to pass, but then there’s a blind curve . . . and these crazy bikers kept passing! We had eyes around the bend.

“Keep coming; all clear.” That’s all you need to know until you hear “Traffic coming!” Then you wait while a car or two goes by the other direction and then there’s the “All clear.”

If you don’t understand what is happening you’re certain these guys are nuts.

So let’s get back to the start. Gene and I were the last to arrive at the launch point the day before so we did not have time to get our Cardos linked to the group, but we ended up linked to each other. Just a residual effect from a previous trip, I presume. Come the second morning, however, we all had time and we got everyone linked in one group. This was a first for this group, to have so many on at once.

And it was kind of fun. I like the solitude of being just me in my head while riding as much as anyone but this is a bunch of guys I know well and we could just chat. It was nice. Plus it makes it a lot easier if you need a pit stop.

I’m still not especially familiar with the operation of this thing. The first day I could talk to Gene but I was also getting music and a lot of static. We stopped in Granby for a break and gas and then the music was really coming in loud and clear. What the hey? I started fiddling around with my unit and finally figured out the music Gene was playing was not slopping over to me, this was my own music, some radio station. And all the static I had been hearing was from the radio being set on a frequency where there was no signal. Pretty basic, but if you haven’t read the instruction manual . . .

Then on the second day, leaving Craig, I could only hear the other guys faintly and they couldn’t hear me at all. So I started fiddling with things again, which is pretty hit and miss when you’re riding. But I hit on the right combination and suddenly I was part of the conversation. Nice.

We got down to Wolcott, made the run on I-70 to Meeker, and started up Tennessee Pass. And you already know what happened on that stretch.

It was good, too because we could point things out to each other, such as side roads. As we came past State Bridge I pointed out the Trough Road, which is very good gravel and goes up to Kremmling. Things like that.

I have wondered if I would find the chatter intrusive, because I do like spending time just in my head while riding. But I think I’m going to be just fine with these communicators.

Biker Quote for Today

Some people will tell you that slow is good–but I’m here to tell you that fast is better. I’ve always believed this, in spite of the trouble it’s caused me.