Passes & Canyons Blog

Eating at Rosie’s on a different ride.

If projected temperatures of the 60s in early February are not an outright invitation to ride I don’t know what is. The RMMRC made plans.

We met up Sunday at 10 a.m. at Performance Cycle with our destination Rosie’s Diner in Monument. A lunch ride.

There’s one trick to fabulous weather in Colorado, however. If it’s not sunny it can be quite a bit different. Saturday also had a warm forecast but it was cloudy and was not nearly as comfortable as it might have been. Sunday at least started out sunny.

I was smart enough this to bring my heated gloves with me. I didn’t think I’d need them so I just stashed them but at least I had them if I needed them. Too many times I have not done this and regretted it.

We started off heading down Quebec to Daniels Park and on to pick up US 85 south of the park. It was only at that point that I turned on my electric vest. I wasn’t cold yet but it was getting cooler and I knew once we were up on the Palmer Divide the temperature would drop.

We scooted over to Sedalia and then resumed going south on Perry Park Road (CO 105). We started seeing a lot of bikes. You always do on that road.

And it got cooler. Still, the road was clear of ice and snow so that’s what matters. Then we got into Palmer Lake and the main road through town was extremely wet from snow melt. I had to wonder if we had come this way a couple hours sooner it would have been ice.

On through Palmer Lake to Monument and lunch. There were four of us on bikes but also three in a car. Two of those are overcoming health issues and could not ride so the third, Roy, drove them all so they wouldn’t entirely miss out. Good. We like these guys and we’re glad they came.

Heading out we split into two twosomes. Bob and Steve retraced the route while Tom and I headed east to pick up CO 83, to head north that way. We were pleased that the wind that had kicked up just as we had arrived at Rosie’s seemed to have abated. Wrong. We reached CO 83 and made a left turn and were instantly blasted by the powerful wind that had until then been at our backs. And a cold wind at that.

We worked our way north and as Parker Road got busier north of Parker we inevitably got separated. No matter. This always happens on the way home. We’re all going to split off somewhere, it doesn’t matter if it happens sooner.

Of course we were by now coming down from the Palmer Divide heights and as we did it got warmer and warmer. Before I got home I had turned my vest off–too warm.

So it was a good day to ride but nowhere near as nice as we had hoped. Oh well, it is February, after all. Be thankful for what you get.

Biker Quote for Today

What’s a motorcyclist’s favorite movie? Gone with the Wind!

This is the stuff I’ve accumulated and I don’t even care for this kind of stuff.

You’ve seen them, I know. The guys with leather vests and jackets festooned with pins and patches. Biker paraphernalia. Some guys just love that stuff.

To each his own, I guess. I’m not that kind of guy. But I am a biker, so this stuff inevitably comes my way nevertheless.

That photo above is all the stuff I could find to pull out and display. There’s an AMA Life Member patch, an ABATE of Colorado District 10 (defunct) patch, a Ride with the 40 patch from when that crew came through some years ago, and an OFMC patch. I do actually have an OFMC patch on one of my leather jackets. That’s the only patch I have on anything.

Of course there are the brass nuts from attending ABATE’s Last Brass Monkey Run each December 31. I only found six but I’m sure I have more somewhere.

Then there are the pins. Time was when every year I would receive a pin each from ABATE and the AMA tallying my years of membership. Finally people got wise at both organizations and asked “Do you wish to receive a pin each year?” I said no. Great idea. Save yourselves money and save me accumulating junk I don’t want.

Some people really get into this stuff, I know. That’s great. For you. I’ll pass, thanks.

Biker Quote for Today

Weekend forecast: Motorcycling with no chance of house cleaning or cooking.

Taking a break along the road in 2010. That’s Pawnee Buttes off on the horizon.

Chicks dig guys on motorcycles, it has been said. And yeah, there’s some truth to that–we all know it. So it’s natural to wonder what encounters or even escapades have been visited upon the OFMC over the years. Well, there have been a few.

First we need to make clear that in the very early days neither Bill nor I were married, so potential did exist. But the fact is that nothing ever happened in those years and then we both got married. Being married changes the dynamic a bit (he said with considerable understatement).

Way back in 1995 Bill had a problem with the stator on his Honda Shadow so John and I left without him. He jury-rigged a fix and later met us in Thermopolis, Wyoming. Meanwhile, that first day, John and I made it to Wheatland and got a room for the night. Being a couple guys out on a fun trip, we had a bite to eat and then hit a nearby bar.

We were just minding our own business when a quite drunk and not at all attractive local woman approached us. We were happy to make conversation but she quickly brought the conversation around to, would the two of us like to head back to her place? OK, didn’t really expect this. Um, no. No thanks. Gosh, thanks for asking. But by golly, she is not forgotten.

In 2003 we spent our only night ever in Aspen. Aspen is super expensive but John found the one reasonably priced place in town. Cool. It was the three of us, Bill, John, and me, and again, we headed for a bar after dinner.

We ended up sitting at the bar right next to a couple women whose tight, taut facial skin told of “work” to banish lines of age. Clearly the well-to-do sort you expect to find in Aspen. We got to chatting with them and they seemed to have some interest in these biker guys they had met, until . . .

At some point I brought up the subject of Hunter Thompson. Besides being an outlandish gonzo journalist, Thompson, a resident of the area, had run for sheriff of Pitkin County. He didn’t win but as I recall he didn’t exactly get crushed at the polls either. I asked the woman next to me if there had ever been an likelihood that he might win.

Her reaction took us totally by surprise. She immediately grew very hostile and acted insulted at the idea that we would think they were stupid enough to vote for such an idiot. Um, excuse me but I was implying nothing and only asking a question. Guess maybe it’s time we move on to some other watering hole.

Then in 2005 we were in Encampment, Wyoming. This was the first day of the trip and it was a pretty short ride to get there so once again (is there a theme developing here?) we were in the only local establishment when a big crowd of bikers on a poker run engulfed the place. We got to talking and partying with the crowd and then at one point a local woman seemed to take a bit of an interest in Bill.

Bill was still single at this point so when she suggested they go for a ride he was happy to oblige. John and I were thinking, OK, Bill’s going to get lucky. But then it wasn’t long before he was back, without her. Turned out, he told us, along the way they spotted a guy who didn’t look friendly. “Oh, oh, that’s my ex-husband,” she told him. So he dropped her off and made a possibly well-advised exit.

In 2010 we didn’t go to Wyoming, we did a trip around Wyoming. By now it was a much bigger group, with sons and friends of sons joining the older guys on the ride. We stopped one night in Big Timber, Montana, where the only thing going at night was the bowling alley. It was a happening night at the bowling alley, with a lot of drinking going on, and after awhile the old guys headed on back to the hotel, leaving the scene to the young guys.

We were in an old hotel of the sort where there were no private facilities; the restrooms were down the hall. Sometime during the night John pulled on his pants and went down the hall to get rid of some beer and heard some odd thumping going on in one of the shower stalls. The next morning he learned it had been Matt–the brother of a friend of a son, on his only ride with the OFMC–and some lady he met at the bar. So for once something actually happened.

Later on that same trip we were in Broadus, Montana, and just hanging out in the parking lot at our motel in the evening. Some woman also staying there was attracted to all these bikers and came over to chat. Very friendly. Turned out she was working. Why anyone would choose to ply that trade in this little wide spot in the road is beyond me. She didn’t find any business among our crowd, although Matt did show some amount of interest. Young guys and testosterone.

So yeah, that’s the sort of wild and crazy life you lead when you’re a stud biker.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when nothing heals like two wheels.

A rest stop on that trip in 2002, just a bit south of Jackpot.

We of the OFMC have always had a soft spot for one really out of the way spot: Jackpot, Nevada.

Jackpot is a wide spot in the road, right on the state line with Idaho, about 50 miles south of Twin Falls. By right on the state line I mean that coming south you cross into Nevada and you’re in the middle of town. I once, back in the days before we always wore helmets, came across the state line figuring I would be fine without a helmet the short distance (100 yards?) to our hotel. (Nevada is a bucket state.) Wrong. A cop flagged me down immediately and said no, I needed to stop short of the state line and put the helmet on. OK, lesson learned.

The OFMC favors Jackpot for a couple reasons. First, it’s a gambling stop, which is mandatory on any trip. Second, it has a surprisingly nice golf course, which is also an OFMC must.

But it can also be a fun place. As with any big casino, Cactus Pete’s has an auditorium where they have shows. It’s not like way out here in this podunk place you’re going to get top headliners but on the other hand, ticket prices are nothing like what they are in Las Vegas.

We were there one time and the show that night was Bowser, the lead singer from the group Sha Na Na. OK, that sounds like fun, let’s do it. Besides, the longer you spend sitting and watching a show the less money you lose at the slots or the tables.

So Bowser was good and we enjoyed his part of the show but I don’t now remember much about it. What we all remember was what they did during intermission: a hula-hoop contest.

By this time the OFMC was a mixed group of the original guys and others of our generation, plus the sons and friends of sons of the older guys. Everyone was egging on anyone who might be willing to get up there on stage and potentially make a fool of themselves and I got up there and so did Johnathon, John’s son.

They started out with three categories: men, women, and kids. Yes, there were kids allowed because it was a show and they just weren’t allowed to drink, of course.

Johnathon was a hot shot and he figured of course he would take the men’s competition and he was dumbstruck when I emerged the winner. Not the first or last time Johnathon has underestimated me. Then the winners of each group faced off.

I don’t remember anything about the winner of the women’s group but there was a young girl who won the kids’ group. And oh my gosh, she skunked us totally.

We got up there and I’m gyrating and trying to keep that hoop up above my waist, struggling mightily, and unsuccessfully and the girl was just very easily, casually, sedately, swinging that puppy around and around. Just to rub it in, she kept going for a good while after the other two of us had lost. And Johnathon was pleased to see me lose so decisively after he had lost to me so badly.

I’ve thought about the whole thing since then and I think I understand how it worked out. This little girl had hips wider than her stomach, whereas we older folks had more belly and less hip. I think it’s just easier to keep the hoop above your hips when you’re shaped that way. I mean it couldn’t just be that she was better at hula hoop than me, could it? No, no. couldn’t be.

Anyway–we always had a good time at Jackpot. Always a favorite stop.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if your saddlebags have a special pocket for your cell phone.

After our stupid joke Bill and I bought a round for the group in a bar in Medicine Bow.

If you ride in a group it’s the generally accepted practice that you are responsible for making sure the guy behind you is still there. And if he’s not you slow down to let him catch up, and if he still doesn’t show maybe you stop and wait. And if he still doesn’t show you go back.

My friend Jungle always says that if you stop you should wait five minutes before going back. If the guy behind is OK, five minutes won’t matter. If he’s dead it won’t matter either.

Now, that’s not to say that the OFMC has always followed this rule. I was heading west on I-70 behind Brett and Randy one time when I had a flat just east of Rifle. I pulled over but I couldn’t get off the bike because the road sloped away and if I put out my kickstand the bike was going to fall to the right. Fine, I’ll just wait here until they come back for me.

Well, they didn’t. After awhile I started waving at any bikers passing on the highway, hoping someone would stop to give me a hand. Several did pass, and seemed like they wanted to stop, but they were going fast and by the time they could have stopped they would have been a quarter mile down the road. But finally a couple did stop, and they started hoofing it back to where I was.

Just at that time a guy in a pick-up came along and he stopped. Do you need help? You bet I do. He helped me hoist the bike up onto the center stand, which is amazingly hard to do when you have a flat tire–not sure why. So by the time the biker couple got there all I could say was thanks a whole lot but I don’t need you any more. But thank you so much.

It turns out that Brett and Randy noticed I was not behind them so they pulled off at Rifle. But the exit goes downhill, to where you can’t see the vehicles passing by above on the highway. After sitting there a few minutes they decided I must have just gone on past them on the highway so they took off again. Wrong. Once I was finally able to rejoin the whole group the next day neither of them said one word, like “Oops” or “Sorry” or anything. Jungle told me, “You need new friends.”

Which brings me back to Bill and Ken’s really bad practical joke.

We were up in Wyoming one time coming down a highway in the middle of nowhere, me riding sweep and Bill just in front of me. We got to a fork and I don’t know how we knew this but we knew that if we took the fork to the right it would rejoin this same road a little further along. The other guys were going to the left. Presumably, considering when this was, Bill must have pulled over at the fork and when I pulled up next to him he suggested that we take this other road and ride fast and be waiting for them up ahead. A fun surprise.

So we peeled off and we got to where the roads rejoined and we sat and waited. And waited. And waited. Oops, you don’t suppose they noticed we weren’t there and are looking for us? Bill headed back on the road they were coming on while I sat at the intersection in case someone came the other way. And of course that’s what it was. They were looking all over for us, riding back the way we had all come and getting very concerned.

Considering how unorganized we were back then, the ploy might have worked except that just a quarter mile past the fork there was a rest area and the group pulled off. It was not hard to realize we were not there. Where are those guys? When did you see them last? They found out when Bill got all the way back to that spot.

They were not happy. They wouldn’t let us live that one down for a long time. What in the world made us think this would be a clever trick?

I do think that after my flat by Rifle everyone in the group really came to understand that you are responsible for keeping an eye on the guy behind you, so we’re not unteachable.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 20. We smell like leather and gasoline.

Brett with his trials bike loaded on behind. He had another bike inside.

A few weeks ago I got the sort of email I haven’t received in quite a long time: a request for accommodations from a member of the Motorcycle Travel Network. Judy and I have been members of the MTN for a long time but it has been years since we hosted another member or stayed with other members at their homes.

The MTN went through some rough times not so long ago. I would pay our annual dues each year and the year would go by with no one contacting us to stay. Finally I let it drop but a couple years ago now I heard they had been revitalized. I checked and was told that former members like us could rejoin with the first year’s fee waived. So of course I signed up again.

And then nothing for nearly a year. Until a few weeks ago when I got a note from Brett. Could we put him up?

Brett is from Cleveland and was headed to Utah with a small (150cc) street bike and a trials bike. He arrived two days ago, on Saturday.

One thing that came back immediately is how with the MTN, the person or people you are hosting or staying with may be strangers but you immediately have things to talk about: motorcycles. What do you ride? Where have you been? Let’s have a look at your bikes. Lots to talk about.

And everyone we’ve met has been great; we’ve had no bad experiences. I know I was a little apprehensive my first time staying with someone, going to this stranger’s house in St. George, Utah, wondering what I would do if we had an immediate personality clash. But it went well and since then we have hosted and been hosted all over the country.

The MTN operates on a simple method. You join, build a profile on the website, and specify if you wish to host, visit, or both. When you stay with someone you pay them a small fee ($20) to cover expenses and they put you up. If you’re riding in that area you now have access to expert, in depth information about the best roads in the area, places you don’t want to miss, and lots more. As hosts you are not required to provide dinner but we always do and every place I’ve ever stayed they fed me as well.

And that’s it. And we have met some great people. There was a couple we stayed with in Fort Myers, Florida, who kept us in stitches with their unending tales of incredible adventures riding all over the world. We had a couple who stayed with us from Lethbridge, Alberta, who enjoyed so much and truly hated to see leave. It has all been good.

Maybe for some people, hosting or staying with strangers is not something you’re comfortable with. But maybe if you try it once or twice you’ll reconsider. If it sounds great you should definitely do it. And the more people who join the better the network gets.

Biker Quote for Today

Did you hear about the mute motorcycle gang? They don’t answer to nobody.

The RMMRC taking a break on a ride several years ago.

For the first 20-some years of my motorcycle riding the only “club” I rode with was the OFMC. And I put that in quotes because we weren’t really any kind of organized club, we were just a group of friends who liked to ride motorcycles. But over the years a lot of the guys gave up riding, and those who didn’t give it up just seemed less interested in doing much of it except for the annual trip.

That’s not me. I generally ride a lot and if I have someone to ride with that’s great, if I don’t I never hesitate to take off on my own.

But it is nice to have a group to ride with, if for no other reason than having group rides set up by numerous people gives you a lot of opportunities and also can take you places you didn’t know were there.

Enter the RMMRC, or Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club. I joined the RMMRC in 2016 and right from the start I suddenly had a lot of great riding opportunities and also was meeting a whole bunch of good guys. Also some women but mostly guys.

Now, I have been a member of ABATE of Colorado for more than 20 years and they do some rides and I’ve been on a few but those are almost entirely the large group, poker run type of rides. And I’m not interested in that kind of thing. So even though I attended monthly meetings for years I never really got to know most of those people and there were plenty who I know on sight but even now don’t know their names.

Not so with the RMMRC. All it takes is to go off on a four-day ride, eat meals together, share motel rooms, and just generally hang out and you learn people’s names and you do get to know them. So I’ve made a bunch of friends and had some really good times.

But things are changing. As opposed to every other summer since I’ve been a member, there have been precious few rides being planned. As a consequence, I haven’t been riding nearly as much as I usually do. And why is this?

I hate to say it but it’s age. The RMMRC has dwindled seriously since I joined. A number of the members have died. Others have just reached the point where they physically cannot ride any more. And now there are several of the really core members who are battling cancers and other serious–and deadly–illnesses and lord knows how long they’ll be with us.

And we’re not getting new members. The only new member I can think of in the last couple years was John. He was a great addition to the group, very enthusiastic and eager to ride a lot. And he is one of those now facing serious health issues.

When I joined I would go to meetings and there would be between 30 and 40 people attending. We would have special rooms of our own at restaurants to hold the meeting. At the August meeting this year there were 8 of us and we were at a couple tables out in the main restaurant. The restaurant was no longer willing to give us a separate room with a dedicated server; we’re just an eight-top.

So I’ve told myself a thousand times that if no one else is organizing rides then I should set some up. But it doesn’t happen. I beat myself over the head for it, saying just do it you idiot, but I don’t obey myself.

Recently we did a joint ride with the local BMW club, which is now headed by Sara and Sean, who used to be RMMRC members. I wondered if this was the beginning of a move to merge the two. But that was a big group on that ride, 30 or more, and again, I really don’t like riding in that big a group. So I soon peeled off on my own. If we do end up merging I’ll give it a shot but I’m not enthusiastic.

Which gets me to the title of this piece. Is this how a club dies? I know Judy is facing a similar situation in a club she belongs to. All the core members are getting old and there are few new, younger members to keep it going. I guess time will tell.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when your butt hurts, your back is killing you, you can t feel your hands or feet, and when your buddy asks you if you want to take a break you look him straight in the eyes and say HELL NO LET’S RIDE!!!!!

A portion of the RMMRC upcoming rides page.

If you’re like me and the your main riding group of buddies (in my case the OFMC) doesn’t do as many rides as you might like to do, joining a public group can solve that issue. For me, that came a number of years ago in the form of the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC). Nowadays I ride a lot more with the RMMRC than I do with the OFMC.

Well, you can, too. At this moment the RMMRC has four multi-day rides planned and posted on the site. Club membership only costs $12 a year and all sign-up is handled through MeetUp.com. Here’s a quick run-through.

2024 BMW National Rally — While officially a BMW rally, in reality all makes are welcome. The RMMRC does this rally most years because so many club members do ride BMWs but it’s really just an excuse to go somewhere. The plan is only to spend about half a day at the actual rally.

The group going will be leaving Denver on Monday, June 10, and returning on Thursday, June 20. Each day’s ride will be in the 300 to 350 mile range.

Colorado Scenic Highways — I’m going to be going on this ride, which leaves on Thursday, June 27 and returns on Sunday, June 30. The three overnight destinations are Crested Butte, Grand Junction, and Durango. Then the only long day’s ride is coming home from Durango.

Glacier & Banff National Parks — This trip will run from Monday, August 5, to Friday, August 16. It’s kind of a skinny loop so that means no actual back-tracking, which is nice. Sometimes on these rides you have little choice but to return on at least some of the roads you went out on. I won’t be going on this ride, partly because it doesn’t work with my schedule and partly because I did a very similar ride a few years ago. About the only place we didn’t get to on that trip that this trip will hit is Calgary. I’m sure it’s going to be a really good ride.

Colorado 4-Corners Tour — This is a 4-day, 3-night tour starting from and returning to Morrison. Total tour is just over 1,000 miles with daily mileage between 250-340 miles. The stops are Walsenberg, Farmington, and Ridgway. Departure is Thursday, September 19, and return is Sunday, September 22.

So hey! Not getting in enough riding? Here’s your chance. You’d be very welcome. What are you waiting for?

Biker Quote for Today

You are not alone bro, your bike is with you.