Passes & Canyons Blog

I got an email from Anthony asking for some suggestions on a three-day ride across Colorado from Durango into Wyoming. Here’s what I mapped out for him.

From Durango I think it’s a no-brainer to head north on US 550 over Red Mountain Pass to Ouray. That’s one of the nicest stretches of road in all of Colorado. On to Ridgway and then, just a short distance north of Ridgway you could get off on County Road 10 for some gravel roads. Follow it till it meets up with County Road 8, and then CR 860 over to CR 858 up by Silver Jack Reservoir. You’ll go close to Court House Mountain, which is impressive. You’re headed for Owl Creek Pass, so I think there are signs. Then head north on CR 858 all the way to where you hit US 50 at Pleasant Valley. Take US 50 on into Gunnison for the night.

Next day I’d ride north out of Gunnison to Crested Butte and then take the Kebler Pass road (also gravel, but very good gravel) over to CO 133 at Kebler Corner. Take a right and go over McClure Pass and down to Carbondale, then another right on CO 82 to Aspen and on over Independence Pass. Just past Twin Peaks you’ll hit US 24, which you can take on into Leadville for the night.

Next day take US 24 over Tennessee Pass down to Minturn and I-70. Jump briefly on I-70 west to Wolcott and then go north on CO 131, which will take you all the way up to Steamboat Springs, for your third night. The next day, to get into Wyoming, I’d suggest going out by the Steamboat airport and taking CR 129 (some paved, some gravel) all the way up into Wyoming, hitting WY 70 up near Savery. Unless you’re intending to head west it’s then a good ride northeast on WY 70 over to Encampment and Riverside.

From Durango to where you would meet up with WY 70 this looks like about 500 miles spread over three days. That might not sound like a lot but mountain miles are a lot slower than flatland miles. Plus, you’ll want to stop and take it all in probably a bunch of times. I mean, why be in a hurry?

There would be a number of possible alternatives in case this sort of route doesn’t quite jibe with what you’re looking for. If so, feel free to ask me about them and I’ll be glad to give you my thoughts.

Have a great trip.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you need a biker lingo book.

OK, I guess it’s definite. I’m going with the RMMRC on the Great River Road Ride in May.

The river in question is the Mississippi River. The Great River Road is a series of roads that follow the river from New Orleans up to the headwaters in Minnesota. Judy and I took a portion of the road when we were in New Orleans two years ago and found that end of it totally boring. All you did was ride alongside the levee for mile after mile and you’d never even see the river. So forget that.

What we will do is blast in two days hard riding over to meet the Mississippi at St. Charles, MO. Presumably the upstream portion of this route will be much nicer than the downstream portion.

From St. Charles we’ll make stops at Davenport, IA; Red Wing, MN; South Haven, MN; Detroit Lakes, MN; and then Yankton, SD, and McCook, NE, on the way back. The stop in South Haven will be with the sister of one of the riders and we’ll stay two nights so as to have a day off the bikes and relax. Total mileage will be about 2,800. Nine days.

Although it’s not an excessively large group–about nine so far–Charlie, who set it up, has taken the approach of each person riding individually and then all gathering in one place in the evening. Basically, Charlie doesn’t like riding in large groups and I’m with him. So a list is being compiled of a variety of points of interest along the way and the idea is that each person plots out his or her day to make the stops that interest them.

I’m sure many people will be riding together; it’s not like we’ll each and every one of us go in a different direction each day. But I like this idea. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been riding with the OFMC, and even with the RMMRC, when I have wanted to stop somewhere but didn’t because I didn’t want to hold up the whole group. This kind of arrangement suits me just fine.

If this kind of ride interests you I’d suggest you consider coming along. All you have to do is go to the Meet-Up site and join the RMMRC ($12/year) and then you’re in a group that does a lot of riding. As an example, if you’re really into distance riding to exotic places, there’s another ride being planned this summer up to Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territory. That’s a serious ride.

I’m pretty sure I’m not going on that ride but I definitely am going up the river. Oh boy.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 3. We always have helmet hair.

I don’t often post links to videos here but when I do it seems they almost always come to me from Jerry Pokorny. How Jerry finds these I don’t know. Maybe he spends a large part of his life going down the rabbit holes of YouTube.

Whatever. Anyway, this thing is a movie shot pretty crudely in about 1970 about a group of guys on small (300cc?) bikes taking off from Denver and riding down to the Panama Canal. They’re not all adept at handling a motorcycle, at least not in the beginning. Helmets and eye protection are strictly optional, as is clothing at times. Who needs roads–let’s go cross-country.

The thing that’s so crazy about it is that this is how things were back in that time. It’s a world so foreign to us now that it’s a shock to realize this is how it used to be.

Now, it’s on YouTube and it’s broken into six 14-minute segments, plus the final 5-minute finale, so it will take a little of your time but it’s worth it. Enjoy.

Biker Quote for Today

A newlywed man was in the garage working on his motorcycle. His new wife came out of the house and watched him work for a few minutes before saying, “Now that we are married, you should probably sell that motorcycle.”
The man’s face went pale and he looked as if he might throw up.
“Are you okay? Whats the matter?” begged his wife.
He managed to get control of himself. “For a minute there, you sounded like my ex-wife.”
“Your ex-wife?” the woman exclaimed. “You never told me that you were married before!”
“I wasn’t,” he said.

Judy and I had a candlelight dinner the other night and she wondered aloud if eating a baloney sandwich by candlelight would make it special.

That brought to mind a meal John and Bill and I had years ago on one of the early OFMC trips. We were in Utah, planning to spend the night camped at Hall’s Crossing, across from the Bullfrog Marina, on the north shore. In the morning we would take the ferry across and be on our way.

We knew better than to count on food at the marina so we stopped in Blanding at a grocery store and picked up a few things.

We cruised on then to Hall’s Crossing but upon arrival we encountered a problem we hadn’t anticipated. There was a campground and we had no trouble getting a campsite. There was a little store there but by the time we got there it was closed for the day–good for us for foresight. But there was no wood for a fire. None, as in no trees. And no firewood to be bought because the store was closed.

I don’t remember what else we bought but we had hot dogs. How are we going to cook these things?

One thing on hand was sagebrush. But green, growing things don’t generally burn well. So we scrounged around and found just a few dead twigs and some dry grass. We put it all together and had enough to make a fire about the size of your palm.

There were no sticks to impale the hot dogs on so we took turns, holding each end of the dog in our fingers, passing them back and forth over the tiny flame, turning it to cook all sides, and then there was dinner.

Maybe it was cooking over burning sage. Maybe it was just the situation. I mean, everyone knows food cooked over a campfire tastes better than the same thing cooked at home.

Whatever it was, those hot dogs were absolutely delicious. Those were unquestionably the best dogs I have ever eaten.

Thanks for calling that memory to mind, Judy.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 14. If the weather is nice, we’re not home.

I’ve written before about riding with go-fast guys. As I’ve said, I choose to ride my own ride and am not concerned with keeping up with people going faster than I am comfortable with.

That said, I wanted to make note of the one ally that frequently makes the issue of speed moot: traffic. Traffic can be an ally in two ways.

First off, if the guys ahead of you are racing ahead and you’re starting to lose sight of them, there’s nothing like a bunch of cars lined up behind a big RV to get the group back together again. If, like me, you like to cruise at a comfortable speed and enjoy the scenery then poking along in traffic can be a good thing.

Only to an extent, though. I’m just as eager to get past someone going way too slowly as the next guy and getting stuck going super slow with no escape in sight is torture for me just as much as for you. Fortunately my temperament is such that I just accept it, I don’t get all road-ragey. It is what it is and it’s best if you can just accept it. And I am not going to risk my life to pass someone no matter how long I’ve been stuck behind them.

But some people will. And that’s where traffic can again be an ally. If the go-fast guys ahead of you see their opening and blast off–safely or otherwise–but the opening is gone before it’s your turn, then you totally have no concern about losing the other guys ahead in the distance. I’ll see you again when I see you.

This was definitely something I encountered on an RMMRC ride this summer. I was on the Honda and let’s face it, that bike just doesn’t go that fast. It could, but in 1980 when it was built Harley-Davidson was lobbying Congress to ban the hot new bikes coming over from Japan as being dangerously fast. Too dangerously fast. Japan responded by putting rev limiters on bigger bikes to deliberately cripple them. My CB750 Custom has a speedometer that tops out at 85 mph. With 750cc of power it surely would go faster than 85 except for that rev limiter.

So we left Granby headed to Kremmling and the go-fast boys in front of me took off. I tried with some success to keep up but then we got into the canyon just west of Hot Sulphur Springs. We were behind a couple cars but one turned off and there was an opening and they blasted by the remaining one. No way could I get past at that point and then there was no place to pass for quite a while. By then there was nobody to be seen up ahead. I just didn’t worry about it. I poked along at my own speed.

You know what? We all got there. I do like speed at times but it’s just not high on my list of priorities.

Biker Quote for Today

An undertaker always rides his motorcycle slowly and never speeds it. Because he is not an overtaker.

I’m going to do something here I’ve never done before. I’m putting out for the public the link to the OFMC website. For 15 years or for however long I’ve been doing these stories of our rides I have kept this site private, for members only. But I figure now, what the heck.

It’s fairly crude and pretty basic. I created this site at the same time I built the overall Motorcycle Colorado website, but the Motorcycle Colorado site has had a total make-over and the OFMC site has not.

Of course, we started these trips long before I ever imagined the concept of a website. What the heck is an internet? So first thing I had to do was recreate all the earlier trips. And for some trips, despite my best efforts, I have been totally unable to come up with any photographs. So I did the best I could.

The way it’s set up should be pretty self-explanatory. The home page introduces the guys and below is a list of all the trips with links to their pages. The list of the guys is way out of date, too. At this point only Bill and Dennis and I continue doing these trips. Everyone else except Ray has stopped riding, and Ray was never a core member, he just came along a couple times for parts of the rides.

I probably ought to prepare you for the photos from the first trip. We were new at this and had a lot to learn about packing and gear and generally preparing for a ride. So when Bill and John and I stopped for the night at Rifle Gap State Park, and saw there was a stream to go swimming in, we did not have swimsuits. So you’ve got pictures of overweight, middle-aged men in their underwear. I’m sure John would be especially embarrassed to see that I’m making this public. Too bad, John.

Of course, back then I was shooting with a film camera, so all these old images had to be scanned in. You can tell if you go chronologically just when I got my first digital camera.

So it’s been fun. We’ve taken this annual trip 32 times now. And at least a few of us aren’t done yet.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 12. We invite our biker friends over

Since John quit riding I have become the planner for each year’s OFMC trips, and I think I’ve got our route worked out now for 2022. Here’s what I’m thinking.

For quite a few years now the trip has been locked onto the last full week in July. I don’t know how that came to be but for most of the guys that became inviolable. I often suggested that some time other than the maximum heat of the summer might be nice, but nobody else seemed to agree with me.

Guess what? Bill and Dennis have agreed that this year we should go south, and do so later when it’s not so hot.

Where to go? The first part was easy. In 2020 we intended to go into New Mexico but days before we were to leave New Mexico announced it was closing down the state due to Covid. We had to scramble to work out a different route and change our reservations. So this time around I figured we’d just start off the way we planned to in 2020.

That means we will start off riding to Alamosa, and on the second day take the short cruise from there to Espanola, New Mexico. With the OFMC there is always a gambling stop and a golf stop. Espanola fulfills both these requirements because we’ll stay at an Indian casino and resort, with gambling and golf. We’ll be there three nights so one day will be golf and the other will be for a day-ride in the area.

That was the easy part. Where to next?

I know that a highly recommended route is through the hills of south-central New Mexico/Arizona through Alpine, AZ. But how do we get there without taking a lot of interstate? Then I had the flash. We can head south out of Espanola on US 285 to Santa Fe, loop around Santa Fe and then get on I-25 for a while headed toward Albuquerque. But I didn’t want to go through Albuquerque so what if we turn off I-25 at Bernalillo and take the road that goes down the back side of the Sandia Mountains. And we can take the short side trip that takes us to the Sandia Crest, where you get an expansive view of the city laid out at the foot of the mountains.

Continuing south I was looking at taking I-40 west to I-25 and south but, again, that didn’t appeal and I noticed that south of the Sandias were other hills. Hills? Mountains? Not sure. But was there a road on their east heading south? You bet. So we’ll take those roads south to Mountainair and then go west on US 60 and pick up I-25 just a few miles north of Socorro, our stop for that night. OK, this is working.

Heading west out of Socorro on US 60 we’ll make a stop to visit the Very Large Array, a radio-telescope installation that is right off US 60, and is said to be spectacular. Then on to where NM 12 goes southwest from US 60, to US 180, and on to Alpine.

The first part of the next day’s ride will be nice, through the hills but eventually will become a bit of a slog, heading north on US 191 to I-40, east to Gallup, then north on US 491 to Shiprock, then east on US 64 to Farmington. That’s going to be the most tedious ride of the trip.

From Farmington we’ll head up toward Durango but turn east on US 160 before we get to Durango. Through Pagosa Springs, over Wolf Creek Pass, to South Fork, and then CO 149 to Creede. We’ve never stayed in Creede. Could be very nice. I’ve always liked the town.

Our last day will be up over Slumgullion and Spring Creek Passes to Lake City, down to Gunnison, over Cottonwood Pass to Buena Vista, and then home on US 285.

That looks like about 1,400 miles. These guys don’t like really long days so the longest will be about 270 on the way to Farmington. I think we have a plan.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if you grab for your hairbrush before your old lady.

After five years riding with the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC) I recently went on my first extended ride. All the others have just been day rides. Meanwhile, I’ve been going on week-long rides with the OFMC for more than 30 years. I figure a comparison of the two groups might be in order.

Some sharp contrasts come readily to mind. For one, the OFMC has gotten to be just one long ride and at best two day rides each year. Meanwhile, I can’t even count the number of rides I’ve been on with the RMMRC just this year. A lot. That’s why I joined the RMMRC.

Concern about safety is another sharp difference. To come on an RMMRC ride you must wear a helmet, and we always ride in staggered formation. In the OFMC no one is going to tell you you have to wear a helmet, although in later years none of us would even consider riding without one. The early years were a very different story.

As for staggered formation, the OFMC response to that would be “What’s that?” This had been a bit of an issue for awhile, with some of us lobbying for it while others responded with “don’t tell me how to ride.” I resolved the issue for myself by primarily riding sweep. Otherwise, I would try to make sure not to have Randy riding right behind me. Randy seemed to get target fixated on the rear tire of whoever was in front of him, and you’d check your mirror and there he was barely 25 feet right behind you. I was not grief-stricken when Randy chose to stop riding with us.

I have to say, though, that for awhile there was a guy like Randy in the RMMRC. And he was actually worse than Randy, a lot worse. It was suggested to me that maybe he had poor vision and that made sense. And maybe he had Lasik or cataract surgery because he no longer does that. What a relief.

Going on longer rides with the two groups has one very big difference. With the OFMC we know for sure how many will be coming and we divide motel reservations so each of us only needs to make one or two. Then we reserve rooms for the whole group. In the RMMRC it’s every man for himself. So if you’re going to be out for four nights, that’s four reservations each person has to make (unless you’re doubling up with someone else, which only a few people do). The difference here is probably that with the OFMC we’re friends outside of riding and I know that Bill or Dennis is not going to stiff me. With the RMMRC, these are people I see only for rides and with many of them I don’t even know their last names, much less where they live. Not that I would expect to get stiffed if someone decided at the last minute not to come, but it’s the difference between friends and folks you are friendly with.

One thing that seems to be true for both groups is that we mostly avoid talk of politics. There are people of differing opinions in both groups and there is no better way these days to tear a group apart than to get into pointless political arguments.

When it comes to hard riding, the RMMRC is definitely the high-miler club. There are members who are Iron Butt riders and it’s pretty much the norm to blast out 500 miles on the first day of a long ride in order to keep the days within the needs of people who have jobs. All OFMC riders are now retired and nobody is much into long days. A couple years ago I told the guys I could come up with a really nice route if they were willing to do a few long days. They said OK, and we had a nice ride, but afterward they told me they really don’t want to do long (350 miles in this case) days any more. Heck, with the RMMRC just recently we covered 400 miles going from Denver to Grand Junction via a wandering — and extremely scenic — route.

Inserted later: Now that points out one other important difference in the two groups. In the OFMC, if we get cold, we’ll stop and put on more gear. If our legs are getting stiff, we’ll stop and take a break. With the RMMRC it seems that once we get rolling we are going to continue rolling. These guys like to ride, not stop. Of course, with a group of any size, stopping requires time. One or two people can stop quickly and get going again, but with eight people it takes about four times as long. And you don’t cover lots of miles in a day if you’re stopping all the time.

Also, in later years the OFMC has decided we like to take it easy and have at least one non-riding day in the middle of the week. That has become our golf day. So we get to stay two nights in one spot and not have to pack up and head out every single day. I don’t think the RMMRC does anything like that. Maybe I’m wrong; I’ve only been on one long ride and that was just a four-day ride.

And then there’s this difference between the groups: the OFMC is and always has been just guys, while the RMMRC has women members. Not that it makes any noticeable difference.

Of course, the RMMRC has meetings and officers and all that. The OFMC is just a bunch of guys with motorcycles.

What else? That’s all I can think of right now. I enjoy riding with both and I’m glad I have both to ride with.

Biker Quote for Today

Sons of Alzheimer’s: Where’s my bike?