Passes & Canyons Blog

Utterly, utterly spectacular. I’m talking about the Land’s End Road running off Grand Mesa down toward Whitewater. A week ago I had no idea this road existed. Now I’ve been on it.

I have to acknowledge that this is another instance of Judy and me going on roads that would be fabulous on a dual-sport bike but doing so in her Subaru Forester. Because I still don’t have a dual-sport bike. I’m really, really hoping that by next summer that situation is going to have changed. But in the meantime, we drive these roads and I view them from the motorcyclist’s perspective. And oh man, what a perspective this road offers.

You can go either way on the Land’s End Road but I strongly recommend down. I suspect that climbing you just wouldn’t see it the way you do descending. So to do that, you take CO 65 onto Grand Mesa, either coming from I-70 on the north or from Cedaredge on the south, and catch the well-marked turn-off at about the 31 mile marker. That road heads west to the edge of the mesa, runs along the rim a ways, and then reaches the point where it plunges downward. Oh. My. Gosh.

Up to this point the road alternates between good gravel and pavement. Starting down it is all gravel until you get down off the mesa and get near U.S. 50. But it’s good gravel and I would probably be willing to take my Honda CB750 Custom on it. No way would I take my Kawasaki Concours on it. The Connie hates gravel. On a dual-sport or a dirt bike I’d be in heaven.

If you’ve never seen this road you really owe it to yourself. Heck, go there in your car if nothing else. I just can’t believe I’d never even heard of it till now.

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Biker Quote for Today

You know the sign that says ‘Pavement ends’? I want to see more of those.

My November issue of Rider magazine arrived yesterday. I just set it aside as I always do because I’m way behind on my reading. Then I headed for the gym, taking along the August issue. That’s how far behind I am.

I was on the stationary bicycle reading that August issue when I turned a page. I immediately thought that the main photo looked familiar and as I glanced at another photo I thought it looked familiar, too, and then a third, when I suddenly realized, “Holy crap, it’s my article!” So this article was published three months ago and I just found that out.

Last time Rider published one of my articles Donya Carlson was still there. I know Donya and she emailed me to let me know what issue it was going to be in and also sent me a PDF of the piece as it was laid out so I could check for errors. That was a good thing, because I did find some things needing correcting. I assumed they did that with all articles, but apparently not.

So this piece is titled “Where the Mountains Meet the Sea,” and is about the trip Judy and I took to British Columbia last year. I pitched the piece to Rider and Mark Tuttle, the editor, accepted the idea and later accepted the finished piece for publication. But the last time around it took so long before the piece was published that I didn’t expect this one to run until sometime in 2013.

It all clicks now. I exchanged a few emails with a fellow awhile back who mentioned that he had seen an article of mine in one of the magazines recently. I assumed he was referring to the first piece in Rider, about riding old U.S. 6 across western Colorado. But now I’m betting he had just seen the B.C. piece only days before.

So hey, I’m a little late picking up on this but it’s always a thrill to see your stuff published in a major national magazine. And there’s another one coming up. I just heard the other day from Teri Conrad, the editor of Kawasaki’s magazine Accelerate, that she is including one of my articles in her next issue.

Fun stuff.

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Biker Quote for Today

Life is a journey. So take some trails.

You’d hardly know it from reading this blog but the OFMC took its 24th annual summer trip a couple weeks ago. As always, it was a good one. We’ve never had a bad one.

I’ve already told the story of how it started out with all of the group gathering in Grand Junction, except me, because I had a flat tire and ended up spending the night in Eagle. The following day they all rode on to Marysvale, UT, and after my bike was rideable again I headed there, too. I rolled in around 9 p.m. to finally join the gang.

Up to the point of turning off I-70 to get to Marysvale, the ride was nothing special. I mean, it was interstate. But then heading up that canyon on U.S. 89 was another thing entirely. I’ve never been on that stretch of road before but I’m sure I will be again. Very, very nice. Utah is just gorgeous, you know?

The place we stayed was pretty interesting, too. It’s called the Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort. It’s named for the hills around there. That gives you an idea.

We followed U.S. 89 south through Panguitch and took UT 143 over to Cedar Breaks National Monument, the first in a series of national parks and monuments we visited on this trip. UT 148 took us down to UT 14, which carried us down Cedar Canyon to Cedar City. Then we hopped onto I-15 and blasted down to Mesquite, NV.

After two days of gambling, golf, and sitting in the pool, we backtracked as far as St. George and caught UT 9, which took us to Zion National Park. We hadn’t come to see the park this time so we just passed through on the highway, but that’s a pretty spectacular ride on its own. East of the park we picked up U.S. 89 again and cruised down to Kanab.

Just beyond Kanab, U.S. 89 splits off an Alternate 89, which we followed to Jacob Lake, AZ, which sits at the intersection to the road that runs down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. That was our stop for two nights as rode down into the park on the intervening day. Our first night there it was chilly and rainy so we sat around on the deck of one of our cabins wearing our rain gear. The rooms were too small to get all of us into one and there was no roof over the deck. So it was rain gear.

The ride into the park was especially satisfying for me considering the troubles I had experienced the last time the OFMC came here about 20 years ago. I got to see the sights I didn’t see then and I got to drink that beer on the patio of the Grand Canyon Lodge, overlooking the canyon, that I missed out of back then.

We backtracked from Jacob Lake to Kanab and almost to Panguitch on 89. Just a tip: if you go this way some time, the view headed north, coming down off the plateau that forms the North Rim, is kick ass. We didn’t realize it coming the other way but heading down it was an “Oh my goodness!” moment.

Just south of Panguitch we turned east on UT 12 to Bryce Canyon National Park. Having been there pretty recently, and having been without WiFi for four days, I didn’t go into the park, choosing instead to sit in the Best Western and use their internet connection. The rest of the guys went in. One thing we saw again and again on this trip was the amazing number of foreign–mostly Asian–tourists. They thought we were pretty interesting and in several instances asked to have photos taken with us. That happened again in Bryce, but one of the kids didn’t realize Randy’s exhaust pipes were hot and as everyone crowded together he got a pretty bad burn on his leg. Yeah, he’ll remember that part of his trip for a long time.

From Bryce we continued on 12 to Escalante, Boulder, and up to Torrey. From Torrey, U.S. 24 carried us through Capitol Reef National Park, to Hanksville and up to where we got back on I-70 heading east. A little east of Green River we turned south on U.S. 191, which cruises right along the boundary to Arches National Park on its way to Moab. We took a sidetrip that would have taken us into Canyonlands National Park if we had gone one way, but took us instead to Dead Horse Point State Park. The view there is of the confluence of the Green River and the Colorado River.

After a night in Moab we rode UT 128 along the Colorado River as it continues to form the boundary of Arches, along the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, and back up to I-70. Then it was a blast on I-70 to home. Another OFMC trip in the books.

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Biker Quote for Today

I enjoyed being lost in such a nice place minus the gravel.

An appropriate biker quote at the end of this post would be, “If you don’t ride in the rain, you don’t ride.” I’ve already used that, though, so we’ll just mention it here.

I’ve done a lot of riding in the rain recently, most particularly yesterday. Judy and I had been up in Eagle over the weekend, doing some riding with Willie and Jungle and others as part of a tour they were running. As you may recall, Willie runs Ball O’ String Custom Adventure Tours and when she has only one paying customer on a particular tour, she invites friends along to make a larger, more fun group. Of course we pay our own way.

We went up on Friday, had a couple good days of riding Saturday and Sunday, and then when Monday morning dawned we found the sky grey and dripping. No problem, we have good rain gear.

As we layered the stuff on, I offered Judy my rubber booties because she just had hiking boots, while my riding boots are pretty water-resistant all on their own. Jungle had a pair of neoprene gloves–the stuff they make wet-suits out of–that are too small for him but fit me perfectly, so I also gave Judy my rubber mittens. She stood there like a little kid getting all prepared by Mom to go play in the snow and when we were done there was no way any moisture was going to reach her other than the occasional drops that do get in under your helmet.

We took off and quickly ran into what proved to be the worst of the storm. Just the day before, between Eagle and Vail, we had seen a car that had apparently hydroplaned into the guard rail, and the ruts in the road in the car tire tracks were filled with water. Now here we were on that same stretch of road with those same ruts filled with water again. Yes, I was nervous. I stuck as best I could to the crown of the road but that’s not always possible. I tip my hat to the people who design tires for doing their job well. We had no problems.

Heading up over Vail Pass it was cold and colder. It doesn’t matter that this is August, when you get up over 10,000 feet it’s cooler than at lower elevations. Once we got over the top, though, I felt good knowing that was the worst we would be encountering. The rain continued to just past Georgetown and then the sky cleared a bit. Fortunately, it didn’t actually get warm until we were in the city, or else we’d have been stopping alongside the road to peel all this gear off.

Along the way I couldn’t help but wonder about Tom and Marsha, the paying customers we had been riding with, who I knew were also headed back to Denver. I knew Tom had good rain gear but as far as I was aware, neither of them had much to wear for warmth. Plus, they only had half helmets that Mile High Harley-Davidson had supplied to them. I couldn’t help but suspect the ride was going to be much more unpleasant for them than for us. And I did hear from Willie today that they got there safely but, yes, they got very cold.

So if there’s anyone out there reading this who is planning a riding trip to Colorado, this is why this site has the Good to Know page. It opens with this paragraph:

If you’re coming to ride Colorado’s passes and canyons in the summer you may think you won’t need warm clothing. You would be wrong. With some passes higher than 12,000 feet, it is not unusual to run into temperatures in the 40s even in August. Snow is not out of the question. Be sure to bring all your winter gear: gloves, electric vest, leather chaps, whatever.

Believe it.

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Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you don’t own a rain suit.

I was thinking I’d like to go to the Iron Butt Association’s “InterNational Meet” in Denver next week but I may be late to be getting press credentials. Just too busy these last few weeks. We’ll see.

Regardless, the IBA is going to be meeting here. They came to Denver a couple years ago and apparently liked it so much they’re coming back. I have several friends who are IBA members and I suspect they may be going.

So what do they do at an IBA gathering? Well, since you asked, here’s a listing of at least some of the event:

• Ride the Rockies & Informal Lunch at BeauJeau’s in Idaho Springs
• Route & Ride with the Big Dawgs – Win a paid spot in the 2013 IBR – Routing Competition for the first 50 riders with multiday rally experience – Wednesday August 15th
• Rallying 101 – 3 part seminar for Rally Rookies. Learn rally basics in a real world format hosted by Iron Butt Rally Veterans. Open to 50 first time rallyists. Wednesday August 15th
• — Rally Basics: Routing seminar with IBR Vet Brian Roberts & Rally Photo Tips with IBA Photographer Steve Hobart; Wednesday August 15
• — 10 hour rally with Rallymasters Terry & Lynda Lahman and 1999 IBR winner George Barnes; Thursday August 16, 4am – 1pm
• — Scoring Table Survival Techniques – real world scoring using IBR scorers Thursday August 16, 1-4pm
• Iron Butt Association Scorer Certification Class – Thursday, August 16 9:00 – 11:30 am
• Cop Cones Competition – Friday, August 17, 4:30pm
• Fix A Flat Class – A hands on seminar taught by Brian Roberts, Thursday, August 16, 1-4 pm

Back by popular demand – Great program of spouse activities hosted by Paula Behm

Now, if that all sounds interesting but you’re not registered you may be out of luck. The website says slots are limited and they sell out quickly. Still, if you’re interested in becoming an Iron Butt rider, I’d be willing to be that if you hang out at the Denver Marriott Tech Center you’ll find lots of people more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Heck, maybe I’ll just do that myself. Who needs a press pass?

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Biker Quote for Today

Ride for the soul!

I figured from the outset that by the time yesterday came around, when I had been on the road for 17 days and was headed home, that I would be like a horse headed for the stable. What I didn’t count on was that after a journey of nearly 3,900 miles, I would get stopped for speeding within 50 miles of home. Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.

In all my years of riding, this is the first time I have ever gotten a speeding ticket on a bike. Sure, I’ve had speeding tickets in cars, but never on a bike. I mentioned that to the officer and he laughed saying he had gotten plenty of tickets on his motorcycles when he was younger.

What happened was that I had come across Nebraska and Kansas, coming into Colorado on U.S. 36. Of all the states I’d been through, the only one I didn’t have a map for was Colorado. I was running low on gas and thought for sure there was a town out there called Last Chance. Isn’t there? Figured I’d get gas there. But I reached the Adams County line and passed the hazardous waste facility out there and still no Last Chance.

So without a map, I wasn’t clear on how far it was yet to Byers, where I knew I could get gas. I figured I must be a good ways yet, so I kept blasting. That’s when I passed this Arapahoe County Sheriff vehicle going the other way. I looked in my mirror and saw him pull over and then turn around. When he turned his flashers on I pulled over.

He was a nice enough guy, and I was certainly polite, and I let him know I had been riding for 17 days and was just a few miles from home, hoping he’d cut me a break. No such luck. I asked him how far till I could get gas and he told me Byers was just 15 miles ahead. Fifteen miles? Then the racetrack must be very close by, I said. Oh yes, it’s just up that hill, he said. And sure enough, when I took off again, I crested the hill immediately ahead of me and there was High Plains Raceway. Dang, if I’d know that I really suspect I would have slacked off on my speed a bit, knowing I was so close.

Oh well. It could have been worse. Truth is, I had been going a lot faster not that long before. I’ll take my ticket for going 77 in a 65 zone, rather the 87 or so that it might have been. I understand we need things like speed laws but I still fail to see how anyone was harmed by my going that fast way out there on the prairie with almost zero other traffic.

So one thing I did not do, at the end, was to say “Thank you” to the officer. I know that is a common thing that people do, because they’re trying to be completely polite and respectful to the officer. But that just strikes me as perverse. I acknowledged him and was very pleasant, but I did not say thank you. I really didn’t feel I had anything to thank him for. I really wish I’d never met him. Oh well.

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Making the rounds at Vintage Motorcycle Days

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t mind the slidin’, the crunchin’, or even the sudden impact . . . it’s wakin’ up to the wife bitchin’ that bums me out!

I didn’t ride as much in earlier years as I do now, and I have two motorcycles that I divide my seat time between. At least those are my lame excuses for the fact that I just turned over 50,000 miles on my 1999 Concours. That averages less than 4,000 miles per year, but the last few years I have exceeded 10,000 and am looking at about 13,000 this year.

Or to put it a little differently, I bought new tires last year and am already looking at getting new tires again. Maybe before this trip is over.

So the spot where I turned over 50,000 on the Connie was a pretty nice place. We are in Michigan, and were in the Upper Peninsula (UP) approaching the Mackinac Bridge. As the bridge was coming into sight there was a viewpoint so we pulled off. It was then that I noticed the odometer was at 50000.3. Cool. That’s a shot above with Judy and the bike in the foreground and the bridge in the background.

It has been interesting riding in Wisconsin and Michigan, primarily because the other bikers here don’t seem nearly as inclined to wave in acknowledgement as they do back home. I can’t tell if it’s because they’re almost all on Harleys and we are not or whether they just don’t do that so much around here. I have noted, though, that a lot more people on non-Harleys do tend to wave. Approaching the Mackinac Bridge, though, I also suspect that a lot more of them are non-locals. The bridge and the UP are major tourist attractions.

We did chance upon a sweet motorcycle road once we got across the bridge and down into the Lower Peninsula. We immediately headed west to the coast, picking up MI 119 at Cross Village. Heading south toward Harbor Springs the road is called alternately the Tunnel of Trees and Lakeshore Drive. It hugs the coast.

You might more accurately say this is a motorcycle passenger’s road. The tight, frequent turns keep the rider’s attention totally focused and there is no time at all for sightseeing. Also, because it is barely one and one-half lanes wide, with lots of car traffic coming the other way and no shoulder, there are not that many places to pull off so the rider can enjoy the view.

That didn’t deter the bikers, though. Along with the cars we saw a considerable stream of bikes heading the other way. This is definitely a destination road.

Much of the rest of the time, unfortunately, the riding here is not nearly as interesting as in Colorado. When we ride up and down mountains the views are spectacular and ever changing. In this region you do way too much riding just following straight pavement between rows of trees. You know there is a lot of water, in the form of a lot of lakes and a couple really big lakes, close by, but you often do not see them. They’re over there somewhere.

Oh well. We’re still having a good time and seeing some new places. Today promises to be a nice ride, once again down the western coast of the Lower Peninsula. Now if it will just cool off enough so we’re not drowning in sweat.

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Finding a great Michigan motorcycle road

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when you look for excuses to go to the store to buy a Snickers bar or to the bank just to check the balance . . . several times a day.

Three days of riding across the prairie and I reached Minneapolis. Picked Judy up at the airport and the next day we headed into Wisconsin. Suddenly it was no longer flat, and we were totally struck by the beauty of the landscape. Judy has never been to Wisconsin before and though I lived there for several years, it has been so long I had forgotten.

After a night in Gordon, NE, with some Motorcycle Travel Network people, I had stayed with a high school friend in Sioux Falls, SD. Then I rode on to the Minneapolis area and Judy and I stayed with another Motorcycle Travel Network person. Then it was on into Wisconsin where we are staying a couple days with friends from college. Tomorrow it is on to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where we have a B&B set up.

The roads here are good, well paved, and on a grid, so if you don’t want to stay on a busy highway you just take any turnoff and get on the lesser roads. The amazing thing was how many bicyclists we encountered on some of these lesser roads. Is Wisconsin really a bicyclist’s paradise?

The weather has been hot but dry, though we really notice the humidity. As long as we keep moving the breeze through our mesh jackets keeps us comfortable, but stop for a few minutes or slog through city traffic and it gets hot very quickly. I’ve hardly seen anyone else in jackets–it’s all T-shirts.

Our UCLEAR communicators are working wonderfully. Being able to talk is terrific, and when it comes to following directions, having a navigator who can say “Turn right here” is very helpful. I’ve even found that the communicators work fine if I’m wearing ear plugs so that’s even better.

This is all new ground for us. We’ve never been up here before so it’s adventure time. We like that.

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Boredom totally lacking in ride across the prairie

Biker Quote for Today

“I rode a lot of dirt bikes when I was younger, so I trust the chain and sprockets more than that newfangled voodoo shaft stuff!” –DolphinJohn