Passes & Canyons Blog

Red Mountain Pass was going to close for construction at 8:30 a.m. so we agreed to play it safe and leave Ouray at 7 a.m. You could call that an excess of caution, and Ralf did, saying he planned to leave at 8 and maybe we would still be in Silverton having breakfast when he got there. We were and he did.

This was day three of the Colorado Cruise, my first multi-day ride with the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC).

It was not as cold in Ouray at 7 a.m. as we all expected but we were already at 7,800 feet and the top of Red Mountain Pass is 11,000 feet. I blessed myself for having brought my electric vest and cursed myself for not digging out the liner for my mesh jacket. It was somewhere at home.

We started up the pass and it got cold in a hurry. The sun was up somewhere but with the mountains we sure couldn’t see–or feel–it. By the time we got to the top my fingers were ice cubes and the rest of me was not far behind. I really couldn’t feel the warmth from my vest except I know that without it I would have been totally frozen. I anticipated warmer air as we descended.

But Silverton is still 9,300 feet up there so you can be excused for not noticing much more warmth. Finally we were coming to a bend where I could see sunshine but as we came around it we suddenly had the blazing sun, barely above the horizon, smack in our faces, almost totally blinding us. And then we were back in the shadows.

We got to Silverton and stopped first for gas. My tank bag on the V-Strom covers the gas cap and there are two clasps that need to be undone to access it. For a couple minutes my fingers were too numb to open the clasps. And then it was only with difficulty that I inserted the key to open the gas cap. Give me some coffee and some breakfast!

Not so easily done. Every restaurant in this country seems, at this time, to be short of staff. Posted hours mean nothing; they open when they open. We could find only one open restaurant in Silverton and they had a 90-minute wait. We settled for coffee and pastries at an open coffee shop. And Ralf showed up.

Back on the bikes, we headed toward Durango but Bob knew a better route. About 20 miles south of Silverton we turned off onto County Road 250, took a couple of sharp turns, and stopped at a bridge over a good-sized stream. This was Baker’s Bridge and Bob explained that it was the place where, in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Butch and Sundance landed after they jumped off a cliff into the river below. Now, it wasn’t where they jumped from, but this is a movie and they filmed the jumping somewhere and the landing somewhere else. This was the somewhere else.

We then stayed on 250 as it ran along the hillside of the valley leading down to Durango. Coming into Durango we turned onto North College Drive, still on the hill skirting the town, and finally coming out on CO 3 at the south end of town before getting onto US 160 eastbound. We totally missed all the mess and congestion that is Durango. What a great route! And it was very pretty, too.

So we headed east on US 160 over to Pagosa Springs. We stopped for lunch in Pagosa but again found it hard to find a nice restaurant that was open and didn’t have more than an hour to wait. Finally we just split up with some going to a nicer place and others going to fast food joint. And Charley and Karen went off to their daughter’s house.

We had agreed to meet up again on top of Wolf Creek Pass but that didn’t happen. Nobody was interested in waiting who knows how long at the top of the pass when they’d rather be riding. So our group rode on down to South Fork where we stopped for gas. Then we turned north on CO 149 up over Slumgullion and Spring Creek Passes. Starting down Slumgullion we caught up with some riders and — surprise! — they were part of our group. They had passed us while we were getting gas.

On through Lake City and down to the Blue Mesa Reservoir and to Gunnison. That was a long day’s ride. Good to reach the end.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you’re a HOG member and think you’re an outlaw.

Dave and I loaded up and rode across the street to join the rest of the RMMRC group on our four-day ride the second morning. While I parked, Dave disappeared. After a few minutes it occurred to me and I asked Susan if they had all already gotten gas. She said yes and I realized that was probably where Dave had gone. I figured I’d better do so, too.

I filled up and used the facilities one last time and as I came out I saw a group of bikers heading down Horizon Drive toward the westbound I-70 ramp and then realized it was my group. They were leaving without me. I guess I should have said something to someone other than Susan about getting gas.

I hopped on and blasted away to catch up but this is a fast group of riders so that didn’t happen at all quickly. Meanwhile I considered the situation. I recalled some discussion of riding Colorado National Monument. Our ultimate destination this day was Ouray so it would make the most sense if you’re going to ride the monument to start on the Fruita end. But they might not; could I get to the exit to the other end before I lose sight of anyone? Regardless, I figured if I didn’t find them I would ride the ride I considered nicest, which would be to go to Fruita, ride the monument, and then meet them all at lunch down in Gateway.

Just as I got to the exit to the non-Fruita entrance to the monument I caught a glimpse of riders ahead on the interstate so I figured that was them and I cranked the throttle even harder. Just as they were exiting at Fruita I pulled up alongside Charley, who was riding sweep with his wife Karen on behind. Charley waved me on ahead of him and I was back with the group.

We rode the monument, stopping a couple times so Ralf, a hydro-geologist, could give us a little education on plate tectonics and uplift and erosion. Ralf is very knowledgeable so these were interesting presentations.

Leaving the monument we headed down US 50 to Whitewater, where we turned west on CO 141 toward Gateway and the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway. The Paradox Grille in Gateway is excellent, but also on our agenda was the Gateway Auto Museum. I’ve been to Gateway numerous times, eaten at the Paradox several times, but I had never been in the museum. Let me tell you it’s worth it. They have some amazing cars in there.

The road to Gateway is very nice but the road south from there to Naturita is spectacular. If you are familiar with the canyon country of Utah, this is a small area where the canyons crossed the state line and made their way into Colorado. Beautiful country and a beautiful ride.

We stayed on CO 145 until Placerville and then took CO 62 on to Ridgway. From there it’s just a few miles south on US 550 to Ouray. Coming into town we saw signs warning that 550 over Red Mountain Pass would be closed for construction beginning at 8:30 a.m. the next day. Oh, oh. We’re going to have to get an early start. And it’s going to be cold.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if you set at least one mirror, if not both, to reflect yourself.

Who knew it was 400 miles to Grand Junction from Denver? Or that it would take more than nine hours? We all know shortcuts; here we’re talking about longcuts.

I took off a week and a half ago with eight others from the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC) on a four-day Colorado Cruise ride and that was our first day. This is not a group that just rides out to the local bar; this is a group for people who really want to ride.

Nine of us on eight bikes left Morrison at 9 a.m., heading up along Bear Creek to Evergreen, cutting over toward I-70 on Evergreen Parkway, and then taking Jefferson County Road 65 from Bergen Park over to old US 40 alongside I-70, and finally down to where that road meets old US 6 coming up out of Clear Creek Canyon. Then we had no choice but to get on the interstate for a few miles.

We got off I-70 to go over Loveland Pass, down the other side and onto the Shadow Mountain Road to go around that reservoir, over to Frisco and back on the slab. Then off again at Copper Mountain to go up Fremont Pass to Leadville, where we stopped for lunch.

After lunch we headed down to Twin Lakes and turned up over Independence Pass. That brought us down to Carbondale but no way were we interested in continuing to Glenwood Springs on I-70; we turned south and went up over McClure Pass and down to Paonia. That put us on CO 92 heading west but at the tiny town of Austin we took a shortcut north to connect with CO 65 at Orchard City, on through Cedaredge and over the Grand Mesa.

Our day was getting long at this point but the folks in the lead are go-fast guys and there was no traffic so we probably crossed the Grand Mesa in record time, coming on down finally to I-70 and blasting on into Grand Junction as the rain started falling. Just as we reached the shelter of the motel entryway the skies opened up briefly and then we had a terrific rainbow.

And that’s how you cover 400 miles on a trip the map says is about 250 miles. Our ride was a lot prettier than the interstate, a lot more twisty, and we got up high where the leaves were already turning. A beautiful day to ride. A very auspicious start to the trip.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you buy your 3-year old niece a Harley-Davidson t-shirt.

I’ll get to the answer first. I asked last week if anyone actually uses the RSS code in the sidebar and I got an answer. Yes. There are at least some people who still do, and the code apparently is still working. So I won’t be deleting it. Good to know.

If there is one thing motorcyclists recognize when they see it it’s a good day for riding. Saturday was one of those days and we were out in force.

The RMMRC did a ride and it was finally not in the high 90s temperature-wise. Then we went up in the hills and it was downright cool. How welcome that felt!

Starting out from the Phillips 66 in Morrison, a dozen of us, broken initially into two groups, crossed over past Red Rocks to Golden and then headed up Clear Creek Canyon. Through the vagaries of traffic we ended up in one group in spite of ourselves as we made our way up to Idaho Springs and lunch. One of the older members of the group remarked at lunch that he believed that was the first time he ever rode up Clear Creek but I find that too hard to believe. You don’t live in Denver for decades and never go up that canyon. Especially if you’re a motorcyclist.

One thing I found puzzling in the group I started out in was that the leader, who was not Bob, acted very Bob-like in that he took the lead position in the right side of the lane. I know Bob does that, and I finally got an explanation from him as to why, but here we go again with someone else. Isn’t it the norm that the leader takes the left position? Not for everyone, apparently.

Leaving Idaho Springs we gave up on breaking into groups and just headed out en masse. We ran up and over Squaw Pass. Although I’ve done Squaw Pass many times, I rarely go west to east, which is what this was, so it was pretty interesting. I’ve heard it said that going the other way on the same road is like taking an entirely different road and there is some truth to that. That kind of doubles your options so things don’t get too same old, same old.

Reaching the Evergreen Parkway near Bergen Park we split, with some heading south to Evergreen and the rest of us jogging north to the turn-off to Kerr Gulch. That is so much nicer than fighting the traffic in Evergreen. Then Idledale, and back to Morrison, and each in his own direction. Nothing special about the day, other than it was a really nice day to ride and everyone recognized it.

Biker Quote for Today

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour.

I was on a ride with the RMMRC last week and, as has often been the case, Bob was in the lead. And then, as has often been the case, Bob did a couple things that I have wondered about. It dawned on me then what he was doing in one case but not the other, so at a stop I asked him about both.

The first question was one I’ve mentioned here before. I normally think of the leader of a group that is riding in staggered formation being in the left part of the traffic lane. The second person staggers to the right and the rest go back and forth. But on multi-lane highways Bob consistently positions himself, as the lead rider, to the right side of the lane. Why? I asked him.

I had my theory but it was wrong. I was thinking that if we were in the far left lane that he put himself on the right side of the lane so as to better see, in his mirror, traffic behind in the next lane over. Nope. He said he does it because he figures it’s safer when he’s passing someone in the next lane over. That they are more likely to see him in their mirrors if he is closer in to them.

There is some sense to that. The fact is that most people do not have their mirrors pushed out far enough, so the closer in line you are with their car the more likely they are to see you. Still, is that the best position? Bob said he didn’t know, that was just his presumption.

I did a little searching and came up with a different answer. In this article, for example, they argue that you’re better off in the left portion of the lane because that gives you more room to maneuver: “It’s best to stay out the side closest to the nearest vehicle. For example, while you ride in the far-left lane, you should stay to the left side of that lane. This gives you added protection and room to react if a car in the adjacent lane starts to creep over.”

So that’s not necessarily the indisputable answer but it is a different idea to also consider. But anyway, that’s why Bob does it. Question answered.

The other is a really interesting idea. There have been times, strictly on two-lane roads, when Bob has moved over into the center of the oncoming lane and just cruised there. I had always assumed he was doing that so he could better see the riders back at the tail end of the group. This time it dawned on me what he was up to, and he confirmed my conjecture.

We had gotten behind a very slow-moving vehicle, some piece of construction equipment. He and a couple others passed when they could but the rest had to wait. Bob moved into the oncoming lane. It dawned on me: by placing himself there he was making it absolutely clear to those behind that there was no oncoming traffic at that moment. If there was, he sure as heck would not be there; the fact that he was there was intended as a sign that it was safe for the others to pass, even if they couldn’t see what was up ahead. Brilliant!

So. You learn something new every day. Or at least you should try to.

Biker Quote for Today

100 Reasons not to date a motorcyclist: There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness.

With temperatures getting into the 80s it was inevitable that the RMMRC would be taking a ride. Sure enough, I got the call from Roy. We’d be heading up toward Woodland Park.

Now, at first I thought he had said Winter Park and I was thinking that was pretty ambitious this early in the year. Then it hit me that, oh no, he must have said Woodland Park. Sure enough.

So there were six of us who gathered Monday morning, four BMWs, a Honda, and me on my V-Strom. We took off out Parker Road and down to Colorado Springs on CO 83, a short jaunt on I-25 before getting off and cruising through Garden of the Gods, and then west on U.S. 24. I hoped we would stop at least briefly at Garden of the Gods because I really would have liked to have gotten a picture there of the rocks with the bikes in the foreground. But we didn’t.

The destination this day was not Woodland Park, as might have been expected, but Green Mountain Falls. So where the heck is Green Mountain Falls? Who has ever even heard of Green Mountain Falls?

Turns out, it is right off U.S. 24, along a road that runs parallel to the highway. If you’re on 24 and you see the Rocky Top Motel & Campground you’re passing by Green Mountain Falls right now.

It’s worth a stop. We ate at The Pantry and it’s a really nice place. They have a lot of outdoor seating, which on this gorgeous warm day was just what we wanted, and the food was darn good. I have a suspicion we’ll be going back to this place in the future.

After lunch we continued on to Woodland Park and turned north on CO 67 up through Deckers to Pine and caught U.S. 285 at Pine Junction, then turned toward home. Along the way there were two things of note.

First, I was very interested to see that there are finally young trees popping up all over where that big Hayman Fire burned such a large area some years ago. I was starting to wonder if the area would ever turn green again but the young trees are now finally getting big enough that you can see them from the road. Nice.

And second, no surprise at this time of year but something to be aware of, there was a lot of gravel on the road, particularly north of Deckers. Ride carefully.

One thing we did not encounter was snow. Not just not on the road but almost none to be seen anywhere except a little bit in some deeper shadows. Winter is over.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if your trailer has more miles on it than your bike.

The RMMRC rode up to Bruce’s in Severance a few weeks ago and while there we got in a conversation with our waitress.

It turns out she and her guy ride motorcycles and they were planning a trip in a couple weeks, going to Florida to visit family. While there they planned to rent a bike and cruise over to Daytona for Daytona Bike Week. But, oh man, the regular rental places were in full mercenary mode.

In addition to the usual high price of about $175 a day, they wanted more because it was Bike Week and they knew they could get it. As in an extra $500. It was kind of like when I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We got there a week before the official start to the event and ate every morning inexpensively at this particular restaurant. One morning we showed up and there was a new menu with all the same items but double the price. We asked why and the waitress told us, “Oh, that’s our carnival menu.”

No surprise then that these folks were not inclined to pay that much. She’s working in a restaurant in Severance, for Pete’s sake, they’re not wealthy. But they found an alternative: Riders Share.

I’ve written recently about Riders Share but I have never used the service or known anyone who has. But there she was. And presumably it worked out well for them. They had some nice cruiser bike lined up and as I recall it was going to cost them just around $100 a day for five days, with insurance included. You can’t beat that with a stick.

I’ve always found this concept interesting and seductive. I have three motorcycles. Why not make a little extra cash by renting them out on occasion? But that’s where you get into issues.

For instance, I have a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom. It’s an old bike, and not worth a whole lot. But hey! It’s the first motorcycle I ever bought. It was a dream come true, and I still love that bike. Sure, insurance would cover the financial loss if something happened to it but this bike is irreplaceable. It has so much emotion tied up in it. Exactly how horrible would I feel if someone else smashed it beyond redemption?

Well, what about my 1999 Kawasaki Concours? I don’t have the emotional attachment to this bike that I do with the Honda. And from time to time I have seen basically identical bikes in excellent condition for sale for essentially peanuts. The same is true for my 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650. I love the bike but it could be replaced.

So for me it now gets to the question of what’s the point? There were a lot of years when I was scraping by and a bit of extra cash now and then would have been extremely helpful. But I’m retired now, and I’m doing fine financially. As I have said many times, if I needed more money I would not have retired. So no, I don’t think I’ll be listing my bikes for rent.

On the other hand, I do like having a bike to ride when I go somewhere, but I really don’t like the high prices the big companies charge. Something like Riders Share seems to me to be the perfect way to go. By the way, there is another company doing the same thing, called Twisted Road. If you’re planning a trip and want a bike to ride you might think seriously about checking out what is available on both these sites. I sure would.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are not all about speed. It is a feeling, and emotion, but also my therapy.

Don’t get me wrong, I like riding out to Patty Ann’s in Kiowa for breakfast but the RMMRC has been going there an awful lot since the weather got cold and the mountain roads got icy. So it was nice on Tuesday–a beautiful, warm March day–to go somewhere else.

That somewhere else was Bruce’s, up in Severance. So, where the heck is Severance you might ask. If you figure that Windsor is just about in the middle of the Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley triangle, Severance is just a bit northeast of Windsor. Which is to say, a little east-southeast of Fort Collins. OK, glad we got that settled. Here’s a map.

Now, one of the big reasons the RMMRC doesn’t go north of Denver a lot is that most of us are on the south side and getting through or around the city is no fun. But Bob led us onto I-225 north, up Pena Boulevard and off at Tower Road, which wasn’t too painful. From Tower Road we turned west on 120th and then north on Sable into Brighton. Then north on Weld County Road 27 to Fort Lupton, west on CO 42, then a whole bunch of lefts and rights that took us to Severance.

Severance isn’t much of a town, and Bruce’s seems to be the happening place. We sat out on their semi-enclosed patio and had a really good lunch. Apparently the food is known to be pretty darn good there, although none of us indulged in their specialty, which is rocky mountain oysters. I had the Buffalo chicken sandwich and it was very good.

After lunch we had a lot of choices on how to get home but Bob had a good plan in mind. The real question, again, is how to avoid all the nasty city traffic. What we did was go straight west out of Severance, which took us into Fort Collins but out of town on the road that runs up to Horsetooth Reservoir. That brought us around to Masonville, where we headed south to meet US 34 as it heads up toward Estes Park. We only jogged right then left to get on the road up past Carter Lake and then back onto the flatlands.

Some small county roads and some zig-zagging brought us south around Longmont, down to Niwot, and then more of same brought us past the east end of Boulder, across US 36 on Cherryvale Road, and then south on CO 93 to Morrison, at which point everyone went their own separate ways.

This was a really terrific day of riding–new roads, a new place to eat, and a heck of a good job avoiding the worst traffic areas. Heck, we may have to go north more often. I mean, I’m thinking about Jerry D’s in Dacono . . .

Biker Quote for Today

Challenge yourself daily! Ride the mountains! Hug the curves! Live free!