Passes & Canyons Blog

The Motomarathon is back in 2010 with four events on its calendar. “The Motomarathon Association,” says founding Route Master John Metzger, “sanctions an annual series of four-day rides over the best roads and most scenic routes in the nation, and now with organized sport-riding tours on both coasts.” Its first season was 2009.

Here is the list of this year’s events.

• Southern California Motomarathon — March 26-29
• New England Motomarathon — May 13-16
• Centopassi Motomarathon — June 25-28
• Colorado Motomarathon — September 17-20

With two inaugural rides last season, only six riders completed all the checkpoints out of nearly 100 participants. “With four events scheduled for 2010, it will be a challenge to nail every check,” said Metzger. “This should result in a national champion to be crowned by the end of the year.”

For more information visit the website or contact John Metzger, 303-641-1062, john@metzger.com.

Ride Safe. Ride Hard. Enjoy the Ride!

This is an update on Jim Campbell’s condition. I reported this on Examiner.com so rather than rewrite just for the sake of making it different I’m just going to copy/paste what I put up there. The photo is by Beth Egan, Jim’s wife.

My phone rang this afternoon and it was Jim Campbell on the line, calling from the Fort Worth hospital where he is still recovering from his horrific crash three weeks ago. Four weeks ago I wrote about how Jim had ridden 30,000 miles in 30 days to raise money for muscular dystrophy.

Jim was very upbeat and said he hopes to be released from the hospital next week. He suffered a broken neck, hip, and pelvis in the crash but feels fortunate.

“Not too many people would have walked away from what I went through,” he said. “I’ll recover fully.”

The accident occurred when traffic in the left-hand lane slowed abruptly. Jim pulled into the median but just after he did the car that had been in front of him did the same, hitting Jim and his Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. This drove Jim into the road divider and, as he said, “I went from 70 to zero in one second.” A hole in his helmet attests to the force of the impact.

“That guy threw a card in my deck that I wasn’t ready to play,” he said.

While so many have been concerned for Jim’s well-being, Jim was feeling bad about his failure to get back in touch with people trying to reach him. The woman he had been working with at the Muscular Dystrophy Association had not heard about his accident until he called her yesterday. Of course she was shocked. And he was calling me to apologize for not returning my emails. Believe me, I told him not to worry about it.

Jim’s wife Beth had this to say on Jim’s 30K for MDA Facebook page: “Jim finally got moved to the PT floor in the hospital. He had a rough 1st day and was in a lot of pain today. Recovery is coming along, slowly but surely. Time and prayers are what Jim needs. Thank you to all who have sent flowers, cards & well wishes our way. We really do appreciate them and all of you.”

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Biker Quote for Today

The rubber parts are supposed to be on the bottom.

Clint Parsons sent me an email awhile back asking about riding conditions in the Denver area toward the end of October. He was going to be making a trip out here and hoped to ride his bike, but wondered about the weather.

    Colorado got some snow

I told Clint, in brief, that October is often the most gorgeous time ever in Colorado but that we can and do get snow sometimes during the month. I also told him it was good he was coming the week before Halloween because we almost always get snow on Halloween.

Well, we had some great days this October but we had snow early and I had Clint in mind as I watched it fall, wondering if he was getting slammed. I was therefore very pleased to receive this report from him.

Ken,

Don’t know if you will remember these e-mails or not, but just wanted to let you know how your advice turned out…

As you predicted Oct was glorious in CO up until about the last week (which happend to be the week before Halloween, which was the week of my trip…..) so on Wed. Oct 21st as it was snowing across CO I headed out. The snow wasn’t going to stick on the roads at least. I-70 across KS was closed so I went across OK into NM and up I-25 on Oct 23rd I made it into Denver. I had hit snow covered ground down around Des Moines NM up through almost Pueblo and again from just south of Fountain Co (Colorado Springs) on up into Denver proper (in town it was gone, but out in the burbs it could still be found).

    Clint Parsons

Sat, Oct 24th was BEAUTIFUL and worth everything I rode through to get there and back!!! in the mid 50’s blue skies and I was in DENVER (and surrounding areas)!

Sun Oct 25th as I headed out it sleeted and snowed on me all the way across E. CO and W. KS to Hays where it stopped and I stayed the night. Mon it was clear and I made it home.

Never had any even questionable roads. Had wet both directions, had cold both directions. But it was a good ride, and that one beautiful day made it worth it.

I appreciated your advice and prognostication prior to the trip, and will keep your e-mail handy for the summer months when I am sure the wife will want me to go again and take her with me, after seeing the pictures. Again, thanks.

Clint

p.s. I have attached a couple of pics just to show I am not just blowing smoke….

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An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.

Two weeks ago I wrote about Jim Campbell, who had just completed at 30-day, 30,000-mile ride on his H-D Screamin’ Eagle Ultra Classic to raise money for muscular dystrophy. Since then I’ve emailed Jim a couple times about telling his story more fully in a book or in additional articles, but I haven’t had a reply.

    Jim Campbell in a Ft. Worth hospital

I found out why about half an hour ago. In an email from Jeff Sirles, Jim’s friend who first told me about his pal’s feat, I was informed that Jim is in the hospital in Ft. Worth. Here’s Jim’s note.

Hi Ken

Thought you may want to know Jim Campbell was in a severe bike wreck in Ft. Worth, Tx over the weekend. He is hospitalized there. Ill spare the details… its all on his 30K for MDA facebook. He needs our support in other ways now. He is a fighter and will live to ride another day. Please let your readers know.

Regards

Jeff Sirles

Oh my gosh.

So I immediately went to the FaceBook page and found this report from Jim’s wife, Beth.

Well, for 30k+ miles Jim rode his Harley w/o an accident but the odds finally caught up to him. On Fri. evening Jim wrecked his cycle on hwy 20 outside of Ft. Worth TX. He was taken by ambulance to Harris Methodist Hospital in Ft. Worth in the ICU unit. He has a broken neck & pelvis. Please keep him in your thoughts & prayers and we’ll update this site with his progress for those who wish to know.
Beth, Jim’s wife

I don’t know what to say other than “Oh my gosh.” To have ridden so far–safely–and then to have this happen . . .

You can track Jim’s progress on the FaceBook page, as I’ll be doing. Best wishes, Jim.

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Dress for the crash–Not the ride!

My timing couldn’t have been better. I called Jim Campbell at home just 10 minutes after he had completed a 30-day, 30,000-mile ride to raise money for muscular dystrophy. He was still unloading the bike, a 2008 Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Ultra Classic.

    Stopped in Wyoming by snow and ice. Photo: Jim Campbell

If that seems impossible to you, there are definitely other doubters. One person commenting on the story I first published on Examiner.com said simply, “I just don’t believe it. He did it for a great cause, but I just don’t believe it is possible to do 1000+ miles a day continuous for 30 days.”

Now, I wasn’t there for it all but I believe Jim. As he said in a rebuttal in the comments, “For all who care..I have all the logs, gas receipts, and signed journal from around the country for the 31 days… I can’t believe that I did it either, and not be ‘taken out’ by a car, or Semi truck…( my biggest worry ).”

Jim’s wife Beth adds in her own comment, “I can tell you firsthand that he DID indeed do all those miles & did them consecutively. It is amazing to me as well and went without sleep a lot, didn’t stop for weather when he probably should have, & in many cases risked life & limb to complete his goal (don’t try this at home kids). He is a very driven guy, to say the least, which is probably one of the reasons I married him.”

He also has the numbers on his odometer and verification from Harley dealers all across the country. I think it’s legit. Not to mention amazing.

I just lucked into this story because a friend of Jim’s discovered my Examiner page and sent me an email saying he had a friend who he thought deserved some publicity. Hey, I’m an ex-newspaper guy. I know a good story when I find it under my nose. I jumped all over it.

There’s no sense in my repeating the story here, it’s all available on Examiner. Here are the links:
Harley rider covers 30K in 30 days for MDA
Tales from the road: 30K in 30 days for MDA
Magic spud and more tales from the road of 30K for MDA Harley rider

And if you want to add your donation to the $20,000 Jim has raised for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, you can donate on his FaceBook page. You can also follow his whole trip there on the FaceBook page.

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danger + survival = fun

The best thing about being the National Motorcycle Examiner for Examiner.com is the doors that are constantly opening for me because of it. One of the odder opportunities to come my way recently was the question, would I like to speak to singer/songwriter Andy Chase. And oh yeah, Andy is a motorcycle lover.

Mind you now, I’d never heard of Andy Chase, of Brookville, which is what he calls himself in his solo project, or Ivy, in which he is part of a threesome that includes the bassist from Fountains of Wayne. I thought it was pretty odd to get this email but, because music is another passion of mine, I figured what the heck. The worst I could do would be waste an hour of my time, and in the meantime, it might turn into something really interesting. Not to mention different. I like different.

So we ended up setting yesterday as the day to talk. The date is significant because Andy’s latest Brookville release came out today and tonight he’ll be in San Francisco playing the first gig in his tour to promote the new album.

Tracy, Andy’s publicist, had suggested in her initial email that she’d be happy to “set up a time to chat with Andy Chase about his bikes, and how the lifestyle affects his art.” OK, I figured, my first question to Andy would be along the lines of, “How does your lifestyle affect your art?” I mean, I’m a motorcycle guy, writing for an audience of motorcyclists. Make me care. Make my readers care.

Andy’s short answer was simply, it doesn’t. OK, think fast Ken, what do you ask now?

Fortunately I thought to ask him if there were any interesting and/or amusing stories to tell from the taping of his video for “Great Mistake,” the first single from this album, “Broken Lights.” Bingo. I was in the money. You can read his amusing tales of the shoot in the Examiner piece, “Talking motorcycles with Brookville’s Andy Chase.”

We talked about riding, too. Andy has a Ducati ST4S, a Moto Guzzi Stone, and a BMW 650 GS. The bike he’s riding in the video is the Guzzi, but don’t spend too much time watching the video to get a good look at. Andy told me they weren’t sure if there would be issues using a recognizable bike in the video so they put the tape together with shots that make it nearly impossible to tell what he is in fact riding.

Although he grew up riding dirt bikes, Andy told me he has gotten into road riding primarily due to the traveling he has done with bands over the years. He’s a New York kid and I guess he didn’t see too much of the country. Once he started seeing the whole U.S. he wanted to see more, and started doing motorcycle touring so he could really see it. The Ducati is his tour bike of choice.

All in all, it was an interesting conversation and it gave me some good material. As a writer, good material is one of the best things you can have. Who knows. Maybe I’ll start doubling as a music critic. I’m already getting emails from his publicist about other acts. Thank you Examiner for opening another door.

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Every time I start thinking the world is all bad, I see some people on motorcycles, it makes me take another look–Steve McQueen

I frequently am asked about routes for motorcyclists planning their trips to Colorado, and I’m always glad to offer critiques and suggestions. I figured I’d go ahead and share this recent request with everyone.

Hey Ken, coming to Colorado Oct 2 to do a 5 day ride.. Any suggested routes? Want to go through Vail and Aspen…thanks for your thoughts!

My response
It appears you’re coming from Michigan, so I’m going to look at this from east to west and back east again. I don’t know if you’ve been here before or this is a first time so I’ll treat it as first time.

One thing you need to bear in mind is that in October it can get pretty cold at higher elevations, and snow is not out of the question. That said, here’s a route you might consider. The two end points are Loveland and Fort Collins, and you could start at either and end up at the other, doesn’t matter. We’ll start from Fort Collins.

Take CO 14 up the Poudre Canyon over Cameron Pass and down into North Park at Walden.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/poudre_canyon_and_cameron_pass.htm
From Walden, stay on CO 14 down to Muddy Gap and then take US 40 over Rabbit Ears Pass.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/rabbit_ears_pass.htm
This takes you to Steamboat Springs, which you might want to visit but if so you’ll then backtrack a couple miles to get to the next road.

Go south out of Steamboat on CO 131 to Toponas and then take CO 134 over Gore Pass to rejoin US 40 and go south a few miles to Kremmling.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/gore_pass.htm

Go south from Kremmling on CO 9 to Silverthorne and pick up I-70 over Vail Pass and down to Vail. I’m guessing you want to stay a night.

Continue west on I-70 a short distance to the Minturn exit and take Tennessee Pass up to Leadville on US 24.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/tennessee_pass.htm

Continue on to the Twin Lakes turn, at CO 82, and go over Independence Pass to Aspen.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/independence_pass.htm

If you’re planning on staying in Aspen this will be a short day.

Stay on CO 82 to Carbondale and then go south on CO 133 over McClure Pass down to Hotchkiss.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/mcclure_pass.htm

Pick up CO 92 to Delta and then US 50 toward Grand Junction. Before you get to GJ, turn off on CO 141 to Gateway and down to Naturita. This is the Unaweep Canyon scenic byway.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/unaweep_canyon.htm

At Naturita, continue on CO 145 to Placerville and on toward Lizard Head Pass. Along the way you’ll want to run into Telluride and maybe spend the night. Then you’ll return to the road and actually go over Lizard Head Pass.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/lizard_head_pass.htm

Take CO 145 down to Cortez, US 160 over to Durango, and then head back north on US 550 over Red Mountain Pass through Silverton to Ouray and Ridgway and Montrose.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/red_mountain_pass.htm

At Montrose go east on US 50 past the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Blue Mountain Reservoir to Gunnison and then past there over Monarch Pass and down to Poncha Springs.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/monarch_pass.htm

Pick up US 285 and follow it north to Fairplay, then take CO 9 over Hoosier Pass to Breckenridge and to Frisco where you rejoin I-70.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/hoosier_pass.htm

Go east on I-70 to the Empire exit and US 40 and then take US 40 over Berthoud Pass and down to Winter Park.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/berthoud_pass.htm

Follow US 40 to Granby and then catch US 34, which takes you through Rocky Mountain National Park and over Trail Ridge Road, down to Estes Park.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/trail_ridge_road.htm

Continue on down US 34 through the Big Thompson Canyon to Loveland.
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/big_thompson_canyon.htm

That ought to just about do it.

Now, there are some places I left out because I’m not sure how much hard riding you might like to do. Take a look at this and if you want to add more let me know and we’ll work it out. But be aware that mountain riding is slower than crossing the plains, and 250 miles in a day can be plenty. Especially as the days get shorter.

Enjoy.

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Get your motor running, head out on the highway

And here I thought I had all the good passes in the Colorado included on this Passes and Canyons website. Wrong. I just did Douglas Pass last week and it’s going to need to be added.

Update: I did, at long last, add this pass to the website. It only took about 13 months to make the time. Here’s the link: Douglas Pass

It’s not that I didn’t know this pass existed, because my buddy John rides that route periodically when the OFMC comes home through Dinosaur. John lives in Montrose so he splits off from the group in Dinosaur and heads down CO 139 home. He has told me there is a pass there but he never really impressed on me that this is a really nice pass.

So anyway, I was headed for the Salt Lake City area last week to cover the Bonneville Vintage GP and Concours and, although it was out of my way, I decided to check out this road. Yeah, I’m a little overdue. This was worth the extra miles. And I got photos and other information so I’ll be adding Douglas Pass to the website as soon as I can make the time.

One other note: I was also looking at Baxter Pass as a possible route but fortunately I had the chance to ask someone at a Colorado visitor center about it and we looked on the web. Baxter Pass runs sort of parallel to Douglas Pass, a little to the west, from Mack up to Vernal, UT, but it is a really bad road that even jeeps have trouble on. Just so you’ll know.

Update 9-24-12: I just got this note from Doug Bulkeley, saying “Just a note to tell you that Sept. 21, 2012, I came over Baxter Pass with a 34′ rv 5th trailer pulled by a 2012 Chevy 2500HD 4X4. Damn GPS said that was the quickest way. 5 hours later I disagree. I wouldn’t mind doing it again with an ATV and a camera. The only good thing was that it was dry. I may be working near Ridgway next summer. Oh, and by the way, I’m 70 years old.”

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I come from the era when you ride for an hour, and then you wrench for three hours, so the idea that you have a machine where you just ride, well, it’s not an alien concept, but I just feel I’m missing part of it.–Jay Leno