Archive for the ‘motorcycle clubs’ Category

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Hosting Gary And Gina Via Motorcycle Travel Network

Thursday, September 18th, 2025

Gary and Gina head out for Ogalala, Tuesday’s destination.

Monday to Tuesday this week we had our first Motorcycle Travel Network (MTN) guests in several years, Gary and Gina. They were on their way home to Ontario, Canada, after riding down to the Grand Canyon. Seeing the Grand Canyon has long been one of Gary’s bucket list dreams so they decided the time was now to make that happen. Mission accomplished.

They were on their Gold Wing, pulling a trailer. Almost all their stops on this three-week trip were with either MTN members or members of another, similar travel club, called Evergreen Club. While MTN is targeted at motorcyclists, Evergreen is for anyone as long as you are 50 or older. For both groups you pay $15 for a single or $20 for a couple per night of your stay, to defray your hosts’ expenses. Then there is a yearly membership fee for both clubs.

Gary and Gina were having a great trip, though now that they were heading home it was kind of the horse heading back to the stable feeling. Also, they have had great weather the whole trip but now were anticipating running into some rain. When they left us they were headed to Ogalala, Nebraska, where they had booked one of the few motel stays of their trip.

One of the big things about MTN is that you automatically have your interest in motorcycles in common, so there is an immediate bond. Unlike other MTN guests we have hosted, however, we actually talked very little about motorcycles. And that was fine. It’s just that if you are uncertain about other topics you can always fall back on motorcycles. But we didn’t.

We make a practice, whenever we have MTN guests, to cook a nice dinner and invite our guests to join us. (Always good to issue the invitation before they arrive lest they make a point of getting dinner before arriving.) Apparently that is not the norm, and it is certainly not expected of the hosts, but for us the whole pleasure of hosting is to spend time with our guests. Another thing that is sort of expected is that the hosts will provide local expertise as the guests continue on their way. Gina had a route pretty well mapped out already but I was able to direct them to an alternate route that allowed them to avoid even the brief stint on the interstate that they were expecting to have to do.

Living in Canada as they do, Gary and Gina can’t ride year-round the way we can here in Colorado, so they have to make the most of the summer months. Gina is a dedicated gardener so the irony is not lost on her of how she works to raise all these vegetables and then leaves them there for someone else to harvest and enjoy. We do seem to have had an inordinate number of Canadians among our MTN visitors.

We have no idea now when our next guests will come, or when we will be the visitors again, but this is something we have done for many years now and we have always enjoyed it very much. You might want to check it out.

Biker Quote for Today

As in motorcycling, so in life: Look where you want to go.

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Posted in Honda motorcycles, Motorcycle Accommodations, motorcycle clubs, motorcycle touring | No Comments »

MTN Is Still Out There

Monday, August 25th, 2025

Home page for the Motorcycle Travel Network website.

I got a big surprise Saturday when my phone pinged with a text. It was from the Motorcycle Travel Network (MTN), a couple from near Toronto asking to spend the night here in mid September.

The MTN was something of a precursor to Air BNB and that kind of thing. Motorcyclists join and if you’re traveling you can find other motorcyclists to stay with for a token “expense” fee. Meet people who share your passion and who can direct you to the best roads and places to go in the area. No one knows local like the locals.

Or you open your home to other bikers and the roles are flipped. Judy and I have done both and we have thoroughly enjoyed both. And met some really nice people.

I’ve been a big fan of the MTN for a long time but they had seemed to fizzle out awhile ago. It was run by a couple and then he died. Time passed and there was little if any activity on the site, but then she decided to reinvigorate it and for a year or two it seemed to be back. Then nothing again.

Well now I see that the situation has changed a bit. It used to be to visit or to host you needed to be a paid member. That was about $40 a year the last I checked. Now, however, if you want to visit you need to be a paying member, but if you only want to host there is no membership fee. That’s why even though I haven’t paid in a long time we are still listed as being hosts.

The way this would work for most people would be to be listed and take guests and then only if you’re going on a trip and want to stay with MTN people, at that time you pay to become a member. If you stay one night with some folks you’ll save much more than you would have spent on one night’s lodging and you’re now good for a year.

We have had so much fun with people who have stayed with us and who we have stayed with. And they’re from all over the world. We’ve had a number of Canadians, some Germans, and others I can’t remember where they were from.

Now we have something to look forward to. You can bet I’ll tell you all about their visit afterward.

Biker Quote for Today

Spending a week on bikes in a foreign world is more than a trip; it’s a way to connect with new place, people, and most of all with yourself.

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Posted in Motorcycle Accommodations, motorcycle clubs | 1 Comment »

A Darn Cold Day In June

Thursday, July 24th, 2025

The OFMC at the Grand Canyon, all in rain gear. You really do need to dress for the weather.

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.

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Posted in Biker Issues, Colorado motorcycle rides, motorcycle clubs, Motorcycle Gear | No Comments »

Communicators: The Biker’s Secret Weapon

Monday, July 21st, 2025

A different day’s ride with the RMMRC.

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.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, motorcycle clubs, Motorcycle Gear, motorcycle touring, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | No Comments »

Where Were We? Oh Yeah, Meeker

Thursday, July 10th, 2025


The Twenty-Mile Road. If you’ve never ridden it you should.

Before all this mess with the crash came up I was in the middle of telling about our overnight ride to Meeker. Let’s rejoin this story.

As you may recall, four guys only went as far as Craig while the other four of us went on to Meeker. Bob, who stayed in Craig, had said the run to Meeker was uninteresting and not worth it. As I said in the previous post, he is wrong. I knew from doing it in 2023 with Nick that the road from Meeker to Craig, especially in the early morning, is enchanting.

This year was no disappointment. Bob is just wrong. We got to Craig then, I got gas, and the other guys were about ready to roll. We headed east on US 40 to Hayden and then took the Twenty-Mile Road from right by the power station down to Oak Creek. What a beautiful ride, and still so green at this point. Some of the guys had never been on it and they were blown away.

Riding CO 131 we cruised south through Toponas and State Bridge to the interstate is Wolcott. We made a short hop on I-70 to Edwards for gas and then another short hop to the Minturn exit. From there we headed up Tennessee Pass to Leadville. Lunch in Leadville.

As we were parking it looked like rain, and indeed it did rain while we were in the restaurant. Just a very light dripping when we came out but we all suited up. The sky still looked threatening. On south to Buena Vista we avoided rain, then turned east on US 285.

We stopped again in Fairplay for gas for some, and after that it became pretty much every man for himself, the rush to the stable. We didn’t hit rain but did have wet pavement, with splashing. Then at Bailey we turned up Crow Hill and it had all been roto-milled, with only a little pavement. Kind of nasty. Then pavement again but now some rain.

I was constantly wiping my visor but after awhile I could not get it clear and I thought I was getting mud kicked up onto it. Then I realized it was fogging on the inside so I cracked it and the fog was gone. But now I was getting spray up under the visor. I alternated opening and closing it.

We were all separated at this point and I was only with Alan and Gene as we came into Conifer and it was raining harder. I bailed there and sat at the King Soopers until it cleared, then headed on again. Just a very short time later I came to dry pavement, suggesting we had been at the front of the storm and if I had kept going I would have been out of it in just another mile or two. No matter, I enjoyed the break and then rode all the way home—after that couple miles—on dry pavement with no rain.

Rush hour traffic was really bad so getting across Hampden took a long time. Then I was home. The next day the RMMRC had its monthly meeting and those of us who had been on the ride who attended agreed all around that it was an exceptionally good trip. We need more of those.

Biker Quote for Today

Melancholy is incompatible with motorcycling.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, motorcycle clubs, motorcycle touring, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | 1 Comment »

Getting Sick Of The Guys

Thursday, June 5th, 2025

When you have a group of bikers out on a road trip you end up with some group shots.

Do you ever just really want to get away from the guys you’re hanging out with? Like your riding buddies? Like you’ve been on a trip and while you love the trip you’re really looking forward to getting home so you won’t have to be with these guys for awhile?

I keep a journal and I’ve been reading back through it and there have been a number of times when I have remarked that I was really sick of being with the guys. Now, these are my best and closest friends–excluding my very closest friend, my wife–here in town. (I do have really close friends in other towns.) These are the guys I go camping with, play poker with, meet out for coffee. And after a week on the road with them I’m really sick of them.

Here are some remarks from my journal, circa 1992:

So I got really tired of being with XXXX but it wasn’t like last year when I came home with an active dislike for him. Our relationship really is shallow, to the point where we ran out of things to talk about and sat around bars at night not saying a word. This was a good trip but clearly I would rather have been on one bike with a lady friend.

Wow. Yeah, I guess just because you hang out with someone for a lot of years that doesn’t necessarily mean you are close to them. Doesn’t mean they’re not your friends. They are.

My good friend Jungle told me emphatically a few years ago that I need to get some new friends. But that’s the thing. When it’s these guys who you discovered the wonderfulness of motorcycles with, and they like to ride, you kind of go with the guys who like to ride.

Anyway, I know just from memory–I haven’t gotten that far reading my journal–that on most OFMC trips by the time I got home I was really glad to get away from the others. I always presumed they were equally glad to get away from me. It’s a test of any relationship to be together that much. In the early days we always, the three of us, shared one motel room. We were together all day, and all night.

So it was the desire to find some new riding buddies, people interested in riding more often, that led me to join the RMMRC. I do feel like I’m making friends in this group and like I’m a core member of the group. It’s good to have riding buddies. And maybe in 20 years I won’t personally be any closer to any of these new friends than to my old ones, but I will have been on a whole bunch of really good rides. With people I enjoy being with.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s a dangerous game we’re playing here. Walking the tightrope between nirvana and disaster, with no margin for error. But that’s when things really start to get interesting.

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Posted in motorcycle clubs, motorcycle touring, OFMC, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | No Comments »

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