Passes & Canyons Blog

OK. I mentioned way back in February that the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge was coming up this month and the start was yesterday. This a 7,000-mile race from Key West, FL, to Homer, AK, with a winner-take-all prize of $500,000 in Alaskan gold.

The only bikes allowed in this race are Harley-Davidson air-cooled V-twins. The entry fee is $1,000, so the organizers needed at least 500 riders just to pay the winner’s prize. Apparently they got about 750 takers.

I’m going to be following Robert Peterson, of Quebec City, in this race on my Examiner.com page. That arrangement came out of Robert contacting me to inquire about problems riding over Rabbit Ears Pass with a bike tuned to sea level or thereabouts. It creates some issues for me because Bob’s Facebook page on the race is in French. Presumably he’s French Canadian. But I have a cell phone number where I can reach his support team–and hopefully him, at least on occasion–and everyone on the other end of the line speaks English.

So the race got off to a difficult start yesterday, at least for a few riders. It’s hard to get it clear from the news reports but at least four, and maybe five, bikes crashed at approximately the same place around Immokalee, FL. It would appear there was some sort of hazard at that spot, else why would so many bikes crash in multiple crashes in just one spot? Who knows. But Bob wasn’t one of them.

An interesting thing about this event is the skepticism. The idea of awarding a $500,000 purse to the winner does sound extreme. One person commenting on my first Examiner story had this to say:

It’s interesting that by the rules, no prize need be awarded now. According to the rules they do not need to pay the winner if ANYONE gets in an accident or gets a ticket. There have already been several accidents as of this afternoon so it is entirely possible the riders will continue on for naught. Another disturbing point is that one of the “charities” targeted for funds is the Red Cloud Foundation whose relationship to Hoka Hey co-founder Big Jim “Chief” Red Cloud is unclear.

And I read in a H-D forum a comment by one guy who said he’ll believe it all when the money actually is given to the winner. I guess we’ll see.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Quebec City’s Robert Peterson sole(?) Canadian in Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge

Biker Quote for Today

Harley-Davidson® motorcycles: Impeding the normal flow of traffic for over 100 years.

Mark your calendar. Monday, June 21, is a day to ride. Ride your motorcycle or scooter to work, or just ride it somewhere. This is national Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day and we want to startle people with how many of us there are.

I mention this thing every year, and I don’t want to beat a dead horse here, but there’s always someone who is hearing about it for the first time. So I’ll just recap.

We want to make people aware that we are there, and that they need to be watching for us. We also want lawmakers to recognize how many of us there are, so in case they want to slip by some legislation that would damage our interests, they’ll think twice. Beyond that, here’s an earlier post on the event, from a previous year. The gist has not changed.

So come on. I know it’s a dirty job to have to ride your motorcycle, but man up! Someone’s gotta do it and it might as well be you.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Cushman Rough Riders tackle the Black Hills

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles: Because cars lean the wrong way.

We’re combining business and pleasure and have come to Sturgis, SD, on vacation coinciding with the Cushman Club of America‘s annual rally. They have come here this year to “Play with the big boys play.”

What is surprising is how much some of these little boys look like the big boys. While it is surely no surprise for the aficianados, the rest of us are probably unaware of what some people do with these little scooters. There are all kinds of custom machines that look amazingly like Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They even have modified engines that sound a lot like Harleys and provide as much power as you could possibly want on something with 10-inch tires.

Sturgis is very welcoming of the rally. As the mayor pointed out to us, where else can you hold this sort of event and have ample facilities and a mindset where, close off Main Street one day to all but scooter traffic? Sure, you bet! Plus, during the big bike rally, there is a tower on Main Street where you can get great shots of the thousands of bikes everywhere, but you have to pay to go up on the tower. As one of the concessions to attract other events, the tower will be there today but there’s no fee to go up and shoot your shots.

The big group picture will be at 3 p.m. today and there should be more than 1,000 Cushmans engulfing the street. Then tomorrow, about 120 of the more intrepid scooterists will take a cruise through the Black Hills. I’m told there is one spot where you can see down four levels of pig-tail bridges and you should be able to get a photo showing scooters on each bridge simultaneously. I’ll be hoping to get that shot.

Jeff Bartheld, the rally organizer, hopes to be able to set me up to ride monkey in an Indian sidecar rig so I can get some great shots of the ride. Just hoping the Indian runs; as of yesterday that was not a sure thing.

So it’s going to be fun, plus a bit of work. Then, after I send off the articles I’m committed to on Wednesday, I’ll be on vacation, as Judy, my wife, is already. Hey, the Black Hills are gorgeous at this time of year. Now if it will just stop raining.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Cushmans come to play where the big boys play: Sturgis

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t mind riding in the rain and I don’t mind riding in the cold. But cold rain makes my makeup run.

These next few weeks are shaping up to be some of the busiest I’ve ever had, all relating to riding motorcycles. Let me give you an idea of what’s in store.

Today I take off on a two-day ride to shoot photos for a story I’m working on for Rider magazine. I did this ride once last fall but then found out my camera didn’t shoot in high enough resolution to meet their needs so I’ll do it again with my new camera.

Then next week I’m taking off for a four or five day ride with my friend John. We’re heading for New Mexico, hoping to spend some time there before the blazing hot weather hits.

On June 12, Judy and I are heading for the Black Hills on vacation. This will coincide, not by accident, with the Cushman Club of America’s 2010 national rally in Sturgis, SD. Their theme this year is “Come play where the big boys play,” and the visuals of Sturgis engulfed in scooters will be just too good to miss.

The following week I’ve been planning to do some coverage of the run-up to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, culminating with the race itself on June 27. I’ve been connecting with contestants so I can cover that event through the eyes of someone actually involved.

While I absolutely will do some hill climb coverage, I received a call today from the editor of a motorcycle sport touring magazine asking me to go with him to Taos that same week for the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association’s annual gathering. If I can manage to squeeze it in I guess I’ll try to run down to Taos in the middle of the week.

Then there’s other stuff like the Hoka Hey Challenge and the latest Motomarathon event that, if I do any reporting on them, will have to be done secondhand. Hey, I’m only one guy.

So what have you got going on in June? I hope you’re going to get out and have some fun, too. Get on that bike and ride!

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
My first Victory rides: The cruisers

Biker Quote for Today

Life is an adventure, and I refuse to live a boring one.

A very busy weekend, what with all the motorcycle riding I had to do. This is a dirty job and . . . oh yeah, you probably don’t want to hear it. OK, it’s a sweet job.

On Saturday, as I said I would, I went to test ride Zero electric motorcycles. Local Zero rep Chuck Pratt and a bunch of folks from the home office were on hand with a variety of bikes, offering test rides to all comers.

It was an absurdly windy day and there was no dirt to test ride the dirt bikes in, but it was still enough to get a feel for what an electric motorcycle is like. After being reassured that the thing really is running, as you sit there without holding a clutch in, squeezing brakes, or anything else, you twist the throttle and by golly you take off!

I’ll be giving a full report on Examiner.com about the Zeros, and I’ll come back here and link to that report once it’s up, but there’s one extremely interesting thing I want to share with you here. If you live in Colorado, you can have a Zero S (street) or DS (dual sport) for an incredible price.

They are listed at about $10,000 but thanks to state and federal tax credits for purchases of electric vehicles, a Colorado resident can ride off with one for only $5,100. That’s mostly thanks to the Colorado tax credit, which is the largest offered anywhere in the country. If I had room to park a third bike, and a normal job that actually paid real money, I’d be a fish on the line for them to reel in. You might want to consider it.

Old Bike Ride 8

Sunday was a whole other gig. Working through Norton Colorado, a group of local Norton owners, Bob Ohman put together this eighth annual ride of old bikes. The loosely structured–and completely unenforced, as far as I could tell, but who cares?–rules were you needed to be riding a bike at least 25 years old or be at least 65 years old yourself. I rode my 1980 Honda CB750 Custom.

This was a ride the way things used to be before lawsuit-happy Americans ruined things for themselves and others: no riding fee, no liability waiver–just come and join the gang and go for nice ride on a terrific day for riding. And there were Ducatis, Hondas, Nortons, BSAs, Yamahas, Harleys, at least one Laverda, and a bunch of others. Oh yeah, an Indian or two.

Heading out, the first thing we did was ride to the top of Lookout Mountain and then stop near Buffalo Bill’s grave for more schmoozing and ogling of old iron. Then back down the hill and up Clear Creek Canyon to the Peak to Peak Highway, and north to the Millsite Inn, outside of Ward, a popular biker stop.

After lunch and more ogling it was pick-your-own-route back to Golden and regroup, or head on home. Other than being more chilly than expected up on the Peak to Peak, we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to ride and it was a lot of fun. Last Sunday in May; put it on your calendar for next year.

Biker Quote for Today

I may be a poor rider, but my bike sure is SLOW.

I’ve been to the Sturgis rally for a few days but the Laughlin River Run is the first big motorcycle rally that I’ve gone to for the entire rally. Here are a couple thoughts on the event, as well as a vignette.

Money and Friends

If you really want to have a good time at a rally you had better bring a ton of money and come with your buddies. I stayed one night, at the beginning of the rally, at a hotel on the strip and it was cheap. The next night I needed to find other quarters because the $30 rate I paid went up to $160. That was why I brought my tent and sleeping bag.

Of course most people come with friends, so they can split that $160 per night five, six, seven, maybe eight ways. That’s a crowd in a room but people do it. And then you have buddies to cruise around with. Being by myself, I met some people and talked with some, but much of the time it was a matter of figuring out what to do with myself. It helped each day to have some objective. One day it was getting a new battery in my bike. Another it was finding a new place to stay. On still another it was doing my laundry. That’s right. When it comes to motorcycle rallies, I’m one wild, partying animal.

Laughlin in April

When we’ve been in Laughlin previously it was summer and at that point heat was spelled L-A-U-G-H-L-I-N. Why would anyone come to Laughlin in July when you can come in April and actually enjoy the weather? Unlike other times, I could walk around for hours and be perfectly comfortable.

More than that, April seems like a really good time to travel in the Southwest altogether. Far away from the rally on my way home I’ve been surprised with the number of motorcyclists traveling in groups who are obviously out on a trip, and not to Laughlin. What a great time to do it! You miss the peak of the tourist season and you don’t roast. The OFMC considered going to Texas last summer, but I raised the issue of heat in Texas in July. This is the time to do those trips.

Money for Nothing

Of course there were vendors all over Laughlin, Bullhead City, and even along the roads in the area set up to sell bikers anything under the sun. Late in the day Saturday I ran across a group of young entrepreneurs who I believe were making a killing.

These young guys, probably in their late teens, were at this point giving away bottled water. Free. Great, I took a bottle. You need to drink water when you’re in Laughlin, even in April. So I walked on and twisted the cap off and it just came right off. No ripping sound as the seal was broken. And I got to thinking.

You don’t suppose those kids collected a whole bunch of empty water bottles, rinsed them out, and refilled them to sell at the rally do you? Well, why the heck not? The product is free to you, there’s a huge market, and in a few hours you’ve made some real cash. I figure they had sold out most of what they had, they were feeling flush, and they figured there was no point in hanging around to sell the last few bottles. Give them away and let’s split.

By the way, I’m not squeamish so I went ahead and drank the water and I’m still alive and healthy.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Crime report: Biker revs motorcycle engine, makes noise at Laughlin River Run

Biker Quote for Today

Keep thy eye on the tach and thine ears on the engine lest thy whirlybits seek communion with the sun.

OK, I’m a pretty rugged guy, and I don’t mind sleeping on the ground or in less than comfortable conditions. But I met my match here in Laughlin, where I came to report on the Laughlin River Run.

Let’s face it, motorcycle rallies are expensive events. If you have buddies with you to split the hotel room rate that is quadruple what it normally is you can get by. Alone, as I am, you figure out something different. I figured I would camp.

Getting on the Web I found an RV park that offered “dry camping” for $10 per person per night. Great! I can do that. Well, I had no idea that “dry camping” is a known term for RVers who understand it means a place to park the rig with no electric or water hook-ups. And in this case, it meant a piece of dirt scraped semi-level by a bulldozer, with nothing but dirt and rocks.

OK, I’m game, I figured I’d give it a try. Of course, the wind was blowing like a banshee and by the time I got the tent up everything I had, especially the inside of the tent, was covered in a quarter inch of dirt. I’m talking serious filth.

So I slept there my first night and actually slept well, but the dirt was too much for me so I grabbed a motel room for $30 for the next night, the last night before the rates went up to $160.

Where to sleep the next day and the rest of the rally? Hmmm.

Well, as luck would have it, I found out about a state park just south of Laughlin and went to check it out. It’s beautiful! And the campground is gorgeous. And they had lots of spaces. I checked in and that’s my new home. The pictures will give you a bit of an idea of the difference between my first camping site and the new one. I don’t mind a little dirt but when you’re talking a heck of a lot of dirt, even I rebel.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Laughlin River Run 2010: Forget Laughlin, the action is in Oatman

Biker Quote for Today

The best alarm clock is sunshine on chrome.

Biker Quote for Today

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a flat tire and dead battery.

So I put this quote at the beginning of this post, rather than at the end where it would normally go. Logic probably tells you there’s a reason for that, and it’s not too hard a guess.

There I was yesterday, ready to ride off to the Laughlin River Run, all geared up, and I pushed the starter button and the bike wouldn’t start. What’s with this timing?

Clearly the battery was dead, so I needed to charge. I recently bought a connector so I can hook my batter up to the charger without having to dig to the battery, so this seemed like the perfect time to set it up. Disconnecting the cables I found significant corrosion on the negative post and I’m sure that was my problem. So I charged for an hour and took off, bringing the charger with me just in case.

My only possible concern crossing western Colorado on I-70 was the two passes I needed to cross and sure enough, on Vail Pass the road was wet but not icy. Earlier or later in the day and it could have been ice, and that would have been treacherous. As it was, I made good time and arrived in Grand Junction around 6:30.

This photo, by the way, is of a road in the area where I’m headed now. Today I ride to the end of I-70 and turn south on I-15 to Cedar City, where I have arranged accommodations with a member of the Motorcycle Travel Network. This will be my first experience with this situation. I had also hoped to stay in Kanab, UT, on my way home with an MTN member but they are going to be gone, to a BMW rally in Moab.

So it’s on to Laughlin.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Laughlin River Run welcomes spring in the West