Archive for the ‘Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club’ Category

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Pre-Riding Comes Through Again

Monday, June 29th, 2026


It seems the worst of the flooding damage was on the road that is part of my planned route.

I wrote about pre-riding a route you plan to lead a group ride on just a few weeks ago. Well, it seems there’s a very good reason not to do that pre-ride too far in advance. Conditions change.

We just got back from two weeks in Alaska. We flew from Juneau to Seattle and needed to change planes in Seattle. We found right away that our flight was delayed a bit more than an hour. As it turned out, the plane to Denver was coming from Denver and they were delayed more than an hour from taking off. It seems there was a bit of a weather event. We never did learn much about it because it was all over by the time we did get home.

We’ve been home a week now and it occurred to me that if I intend to lead this ride that I’ve been planning since before I got hit head-on exactly one year ago, this is really when I should do it. I was leaning toward posting the ride on the RMMRC site Saturday and meanwhile I was catching up on all the emails that piled up while I was gone.

Surprise, surprise! I came across a new item saying there was extensive flooding in Evergreen and Kittredge, connected to the tornado that shut down the airport. Roads were completely blocked. And my route for this ride goes right through Evergreen and Kittredge. I figured Sunday I’d better take a ride up there and check it out before posting the ride.

So I did. As I headed up Colorado 74 out of Morrison I thought I ought to see a warning sign if the road was closed ahead, and there was no such sign. That’s positive. You go through Idledale before you reach Kittredge and there was a sign just outside of Idledale but I didn’t see it in time to read it, so no help. But that said to be cautious.

I got into Kittredge and the first thing I noticed was that the restaurant I planned to stop at for lunch on this ride seemed to be closed. It is right beside the creek so that was foreboding. I’d have to check on that. Then I got to the west end of Kittredge and where the creek crosses under the road it was obvious what had happened. There was an area to the side where a lot of logs and stumps were piled up, obviously from a clean-up effort, and the bridge abutment still had a lot of the same packed against it. But the road was open, albeit with a good bit of gravel remaining.


It appears they will be reopened in time for us.

On to Evergreen. Everything looked pretty good in Evergreen, though when I reached the fork where one way goes north and the other south, my route being south, I made that turn and it was clear they were not done cleaning up from flooding right there. But it was not bad. On south about a tenth of a mile and you get to the turn-off up Little Cub Creek Road–my route–and then the flooding became extremely evident.

Mostly it was where the stream had come out of its banks and left gravel–a lot of gravel–on the road. Then a little further along I came to a spot where at first I thought the road had been carried away altogether. I turned around and stopped to shoot that picture above. On closer inspection I could see that the adjoining road had been nearly washed away and all that rock and soil was covering the road I was on. It’s all passable but don’t try screaming down this road on a motorcycle. No problem as long as you know what to expect.

At this point I headed back the way I came and in Kittredge I stopped to check out the restaurant. They had a sign on the door saying that due to the flooding they were closed over the weekend but would reopen right away.

OK, I guess I can lead this ride. Now I just have to get it posted.

Biker Quote for Today

Cause one day you are gonna say that today was bumping. We’re living on the edge and my motorcycle’s speeding. It is what it is and this is how I’m feeling. — Charles Smith

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Communicators–Nice If We Knew How To Use Them

Monday, June 22nd, 2026


My Cardo communicator on my helmet.

I did this Utah ride with the RMMRC guys and I was looking forward to having us all connected via our Cardo communicators. I told myself that before I left on this trip I ought to pull mine out and charge it and also refresh myself on how to operate it. I did charge it but I did not refresh. You know, someone else will be the main guy and he will know how to do it and all that.

Yeah, right. I got over to Morrison, where we were assembling, in plenty of time to get connected, and everyone there was asking, “How do we connect these things?” Oh great. I had the user guide on my phone so I called it up and was looking at it but it seems the process is open to interpretation. Does this mean this, or does it mean that?

We only managed to get Tom and Gene connected so Tom was leading the ride and Gene rode sweep. It’ll do. We’ll get this all figured out tonight in Green River. Meanwhile, during the course of the day I needed to let Tom know I needed a gas stop so I used old fashioned hand gestures to give the word to Gene to pass up to Tom. Hey, it worked.

That evening in Lindsay’s suite (he didn’t request it; they just gave it to him) we were sitting there with the door open so anyone walking down the hall could glance in and see these weird guys sitting around wearing motorcycle helmets. There were five of us and with some effort we finally got four connected, but the fifth just was not happening. I was the fifth. I didn’t like that situation.

We decided to try again from the start and once again we only got four connected. This time I was in but Dave was out. Dave did not like that situation.

But we were out of ideas so for this whole ride Dave was not in communication while all the rest of us were. Probably more than anyone else, I empathized with him deeply. That could have been me. But not deeply enough to offer to swap communicators with him.

Since getting home I have re-read the user guide again and I think I do understand what our issue was. We really need to get this figured out. Like, maybe get together to get it done before we’re actually leaving on the trip.

Biker Quote for Today

Bikers don’t need a crowd; we ride alone but together.

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Making The Most Of The Ride Home

Thursday, June 18th, 2026


At a pull-out going up Independence Pass.

Day 5 was the last day of our RMMRC 5-day Utah ride. It could have been a quick blast east on I-70 but there was no way we were going to do that. Heck, we were in Basalt, which is right next door to Aspen, which is the gateway to . . . Independence Pass. One of Colorado’s real gems. Which direction do you suppose we went?

We heard from a cabinetmaker staying at our hotel that the morning commute into Aspen is killer. Because no one who does any of the hard work in Aspen can afford to live in Aspen. But either because we started a little later in the morning–9 a.m.–or because it was Saturday, we had no issue with traffic. That’s a win.

There’s no way in the world they’ll ever be able to build a bypass around Aspen so we had to go right through the middle of town. Not a win, but that’s life. Then we were out in the open, heading up the pass. And there was very little traffic this early in the day. That’s a win.

There are a couple places along the road going up the west side of Independence where it narrows down to one lane. I was riding sweep and as we came around a bend in one of these one-lane stretches I joked on the intercom that we should stop here for a group picture. Gene, in the lead, said OK. I came around the bend then and saw there was a pull-out right there and everyone was pulling in. Had to laugh about that one.

Of course, then as we left the pull-out I forgot to plug my electric vest back in so it was going to be a cold ride up to the summit. Dang. I knew it was totally unsafe to try to plug that thing in while riding but I still considered it. I thought if I secured the the female connector between my leg and the tank that maybe, on a straighter stretch, I might be able to insert the male connector. The opportunity came and I made a feeble attempt but clearly it was not going to work, and I was not willing to risk my life to avoid being cold for half an hour. When we stopped at the top I made absolutely certain to plug in before we headed down.

That was a good thing, because on the east side of the pass there was a ferocious wind blowing and that wind was cold! It didn’t really get warm until we were almost to Buena Vista. But oh hey, Independence Pass was its usual gorgeous self. What a nice ride.

We didn’t stop in Buena Vista. Too early for lunch and a couple guys had said they did not plan to do a lunch stop. Usually about the time we get onto US 285 headed back down the hill it’s time for the group to dissolve as the horses head back to the stable. Amazingly, this time that did not happen.

Dave and Lindsay told us as we made our final stop at Johnson Village that they intended to peel off on US 24 at Antero Junction, where you come down the hill into South Park. They did and then Tom and Gene and I stayed together all the rest of the way into town. The two of them finally got separated from me coming across town when I caught a red light they got through. Then it was home and this really good trip came to an end.

Biker Quote for Today

The road is a mirror; it reflects who I truly am.

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There It Is–How Do We Get There?

Monday, June 15th, 2026


Stopped on McClure Pass Summit

The fourth day of this 5-day Utah ride brought us back into Colorado. We were continuing south out of Moab, down US 191 to where Utah 46 splits off to the east to cross the base of the La Sal mountains into far southwestern Colorado. If you’ve never taken this road you are missing a really sweet one. The decline into Paradox Valley is magnificent.

First, though, I had to get all screwed up. I left the motel ahead of the others telling Dave I would stop at the first gas station out of town on the right. There is no gas station going out of town on the right. I ended up doubling back as the other guys came past me heading out of town and I had to do a U-turn and hit the road without having all my riding gear on properly. What a pain that was.

So we got into Colorado and reached Naturita and had two options: go left up to Gateway and then out to US 50 north of Delta or go right down to Placerville and over to Ridgway, then north on US 550 to approach Delta from the south. The north route takes you along the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway and is a terrific ride. The south route is very pretty and a good bit shorter. We went south.

There’s not much in Placerville but we wanted a pit stop so we pulled in. The only store in town had no public facilities but a note on the door saying there was a park two blocks north where there were restrooms. We never knew that. And what a nice little park. Now we know.

Reaching Ridgway we were planning to stop for lunch but we got into town and it was jammed. A festival going on. OK, we’ll go on to Montrose.

But first, going north out of Ridgway, Lindsay had an idea. The turn-off to Owl Creek Pass is right outside of Ridgway and he wanted to show us something. Some rich dude had built an amazing house just up the road a ways. But Lindsay, this road is gravel. I was on a dual-sport but the others were not. Are they really that interested?

We went a distance and they were not. Through the communicators Tom and Gene said we’re going back. Lindsay was out of communications distance so I passed the word along. We never saw that house. Not all ideas are actually good ideas.

We lunched in Montrose, went north to Delta, and turned east on Colorado 92, picked up Colorado 133 at Hotchkiss and up and over McClure Pass. I was glad to see McClure. My lunch had been unexpectedly large and I had eaten it all. Heading for Delta I started getting drowsy and the whole was to Hotchkiss and Paonia I was struggling to keep my eyes open. The curves on McClure woke me up. Just what I needed!

If you’re familiar with Aspen you know the Maroon Bells. McClure Pass shows you the back side of the Maroon Bells. Nice ride.

Down to Carbondale and then we needed to take Colorado 82 toward Aspen, though we were stopping today in Basalt.

I was never familiar with the old Basalt but it’s a certainty that it looked nothing like current-day Basalt. Basically an extension of Aspen. I noticed one young woman in particular who was truly decked out in Aspen chic attire. Whatever floats your boat.

Finding our motel was the challenge of the day. We could see it. We could get about 100 feet from it. But there was all this construction going on and there didn’t seem to be any way to get to it. Crazy. Finally we ducked down what looked like an alley and got there. Crazy.

Biker Quote for Today

I ride to feel alive, not just to reach a destination.

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The Ride So Nice We Did It Twice

Thursday, June 11th, 2026


This stretch through the slickrock was really the only place I could confidently say I recognized from the day before.

I was skeptical of Tom’s route planning for this 5-day RMMRC Utah ride when I saw that he had us backtracking on Day Three every mile we had ridden on Day Two plus some. And really, if that was what we did it would have been less than wonderful, although only to an extent.

But we pulled out a map and put our heads together and came up with a somewhat different route where we backtracked on the really good part but took a different route rather than the less interesting part.

The thing was, we were going over one of the very best roads in Utah on Day Two and you know you’ve heard it said that a road looks completely different going the other way. Well, it’s true. We went back through all this terrific country and if we had ridden it yesterday you could have fooled me.

So we had left Green River and ridden to where Utah 24 runs south to Hanksville, then followed 24 west to Torrey. It was the part from Torrey that was fabulous. Of course doing it the other direction would be fabulous, too. And it was. But rather than turn east to Hanksville we went west, up to Loa, and then took Utah 72 over Hogan Pass and then down to I-70 on the other side.

This was a very nice road that I had ridden last year coming home from the RMMRC trip where I got sick and had to abandon the trip. And I had forgotten that all the way up and down over that pass it was just sweeper after sweeper. Perfect motorcycle road, except that this year there were several sections interlaced with masses of pretty fresh tar snakes. It wasn’t hot, so they weren’t soft and oozy but I know I still slipped a couple times and they made the ride incredibly bumpy. Fortunately it was just sections, not the entire stretch of road.

Of course, that gave us even more of I-70 to ride but this particular stretch is actually pretty scenic. One of the best places to stop–only available if you are eastbound–is the Spotted Wolf Canyon View Area. And we did stop. Plus, we only had to go a few miles east past Green River to reach Crescent Junction, where we turned south on US 191 to Moab. The road south to Moab was not anywhere near as busy as it could have been so that part of the ride was nice and went quickly.

And then Moab. I remember when this was a small town. We used to take camping trips over there, to Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. That was 40 years ago. I don’t think there’s a single commercial building in Moab that was there 40 years ago that is still standing. I miss the old Moab.

Anyway, it wasn’t as crowded as I expected so I guess it was OK staying there. I generally avoid Moab these days.

And tomorrow we’re heading back into Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you try to look like a biker.

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No One To Blame But Me

Monday, June 8th, 2026


On the Utah trip.

I was undecided before we took off on this recent RMMRC Utah trip whether to wear my leather jacket or the mesh. I figured it could be hot in Utah but first we had to get there and that meant the Colorado high country. So I decided to call Tom, who was the organizer of this trip, and ask him what he thought.

Tom said he was wearing his mesh jacket. I was still a bit skeptical but decided that was the way I would go.

What a bad decision. Look at it this way. It’s still spring. Utah gets warm sooner than Colorado but it’s still spring. Don’t dress for summer in Utah, and especially in Colorado, if it’s not summer. And sure, I followed Tom’s suggestion, but the decision was all still mine so I don’t blame him. Heck, I know for a fact that he got cold, too.

On the day we left it was chilly in the early morning. That should have been my first warning heading out to the meet-up spot that I should put on my electric vest before heading up the hill, just to be safe. Did I do that? No. Did it get cold going up? You bet. By the time we reached the tunnel my fingertips were going numb and I was truly cold. Then, as I noted before, I knew I’d never get warm at least until we reached Vail.

When we stopped for lunch in West Glenwood Springs I finally put on my electric vest and plugged that baby in. That, and lower elevation, finally got me warm. So the next day, heading out from Green River, Utah, with a good wind blowing already, I had the sense to start the day with the vest on and plugged in. Man, did I need it. But even still, some of the high spots we passed it was so cold–and this was Utah–that again my fingertips were going numb. But thank goodness for the vest.

The third day I was finally really getting the idea. I wore everything from the day before and also an extra-warmth base-layer pair of long underwear. It was still cold but I now had on everything other than my rain suit that could keep me warm. Actually, putting on the rain suit would have been a good idea because it would have blocked the wind and it was really the cold wind that made the most difference. But on this day we also went lower than any other part of the trip and it actually got hot. I did not object.

The fourth day I expected it to finally get a bit warmer so I left off the base-layer longies and that would have been OK except that in a somewhat confused start to the day’s ride I managed to not have my vest plugged in or even zipped up. I knew there was no way I could safely plug that thing in while moving, but I tried anyway. No way. Better alive and cold than dead. When we finally made a stop I made darn sure to get that thing plugged in and zipped up.

Finally on the fifth day I had it all together and was as warm as could be expected. But the point is, it was still cold. It was still springtime in Colorado and we were in the high country. What idiot goes riding in the high country in the spring wearing summer gear?

I hope I don’t ever do it again but I know myself well enough to not swear it will never happen. You try to learn from experience but you only sometimes succeed.

Biker Quote for Today

Interstates undeniably allow us to make good time, but I question if they make time good. And making time good is why I ride motorcycles — Eric Trow

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