Archive for the ‘Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club’ Category

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Escaping The Heat

Thursday, July 28th, 2022

A rider on Squaw Pass.

When the temperatures are consistently in the high 90s there is one thing you can do to escape: take a motorcycle ride in the mountains. We did.

The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC) tries to have rides going on nearly every week. The week before we did the Peak-to-Peak and the canyons running down from it. This time we overlapped that route but tended more to the south.

Six of us met in Golden and headed up Golden Gate Canyon. The temps heading up weren’t cool but it sure wasn’t 95 either. One note, there is a stretch with quite a bit of sand on the road. Be careful.

We reached the Peak-to-Peak and headed south to Black Hawk, then turned up toward Central City. We passed through Central City and took Central City Parkway over to I-70. Now it was pretty darn comfortable.

At I-70 we hopped over to Idaho Springs where we stopped for lunch. The place we were heading for was no longer in business so we went downtown. The place we had in mind there had no indoor seating but had one big table with a big umbrella outside. The heat outside would have been intolerable but the umbrella made all the difference. A couple thousand feet of elevation helped a lot, too.

From Idaho Springs we headed up and over Squaw Pass. Now we got some real elevation and some cloud cover, too. Nice.

The Squaw Pass road is one of those that separates the aggressive riders from the not-so-much guys. It has a lot of twists and turns and a lot of very tight turns, often posted at 15 or 20 mph. I was perfectly having them blast ahead just as fast as they liked. I’m in no hurry.

Back down to Evergreen Parkway and a right toward Evergreen, and then we skirted around the town via Meadow Drive. If you aren’t familiar with avoiding downtown by using Meadow Drive you ought to look it up. I can’t believe I went so many years and never knew about it.

Then we headed down to Kittredge but turned up Myers Gulch Road, which becomes Parmalee Gulch Road, bringing us out onto US 285. That just allowed us to stay in the hills a little bit longer.

And then we came down out of the hills expecting to get hit by a blast of heat but instead, as soon as we rolled out onto the flatlands we hit a rain shower. Not enough to get soaked, just enough to cool things off. I was on the Concours, which has a great fairing, so I hardly got wet at all. And the rain kept up until we got nearly to Federal. From there it was just a short cruise the rest of the way home and what little wet I had picked up just had time to evaporate–read: cool me off–by the time I was home.

I love it when everything goes in your favor.

Biker Quote for Today

The joy of riding a motorcycle is out of this world. The thrill of riding in the hills and mountains is an opiatic addiction.

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An Interesting Route Combination

Monday, July 25th, 2022

Our route.

I did a ride a couple weeks ago with the RMMRC and while none of the roads were new to me, the particular sequence was and it was an interesting route. I had known the gist of the ride beforehand but when I tried to figure out what Gray, the leader, had in mind I was way off. That map above shows the route but it can’t zoom to show you the detail.

We met first at the Full House Sports Bar and Grill for breakfast, then rode out to Golden, where we picked up a few more riders. Then we headed north on CO 93 to where we turned up Coal Creek Canyon, CO 72.

It was a great day to ride, with the weather cool enough in the morning that I wore my sweatshirt under my mesh jacket and was chilly. But with the heat we’ve been having, it was a welcome chilliness. Gaining elevation heading up Coal Creek it got even cooler and it did not get warmer as the day progressed.

We reached the Peak-to-Peak just south of Nederland and turned south. This in itself was interesting because almost any time I go up Coal Creek Canyon I turn north toward Nederland. We took the Peak-to-Peak down to Golden Gate Canyon and turned down that road.

Here’s where it gets interesting. We didn’t take Golden Gate all the way back down to CO93, we made the sharp left turn to go up Robinson Hill Road (CR69) and up into that area, where we met Douglas Mountain Drive (CR60), which took us down the really steep road where we again met the Peak-to-Peak, this time south of Black Hawk. This is a great road and if you haven’t been on it you owe it to yourself to ride it. Also, of note, at the top of the steep downhill there is a sign “Pavement Ends” and it used to do that. Since last year, however, since I was on it last, they’ve done some paving so the only portion that is not completely paved are a couple tights corners. Who knows why they didn’t pave those. But if you don’t like riding off the pavement, have no fear–this is a good road for a street bike.

We jogged left the very short distance to where old US 6 peels off from the Peak-to-Peak and heads up toward Idaho Springs. Where the road meets I-70 we took the old US 40 route up alongside I-70, which itself is a really nice climb. Over the top of Floyd Hill and down to the overpass across the slab onto CR65, which winds its way around to Bergen Park. There we jumped on Evergreen Parkway briefly, toward I-70, and turned down Kerr Gulch Road (CR23).

That brought us out just outside of Kittredge and we turned left down Bear Creek Canyon to Morrison. A really nice ride. And, by the way, it did finally get warm, making that cool morning all the more appreciated.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you dream of owning a Harley dealership.

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Ride In Two Groups To Make Everyone Happy

Thursday, July 14th, 2022

This was our ultimate destination, the point where the Mississippi River flows out of Lake Itasca and begins its journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

I’ve spoken a lot in my narrative of the RMMRC‘s Great River Road ride about the conflicting preferences of different riders. Some of our guys want to just get out there and burn up the miles. They don’t want to stop until it’s time for gas.

Others of us, and I am definitely in this group, prefer to take a more relaxed approach, with more frequent stops just to stretch our legs, rest our butts, and maybe stop to spend some time at a few points of interest.

The answer here seems obvious to me: we need to break into two groups so everyone can ride the sort of ride they prefer.

We had originally planned to do this ride in two groups simply because there were going to be enough of us it made sense not to ride in one large pack. But then as the departure date drew near several people had cause to drop out, so the morning of the ride the decision was made to go as one group.

I submit that even if we were looking at one group of three and another of five, that is what we should have done. And on any future multi-day ride I do with the RMMRC I will strongly argue for just that.

As it was, on this ride there were three of us who made our desires known to stop more frequently. Probably we should have just informed the others that we were going to be our own separate group and just do it. But we hadn’t really had the discussions and thought it through that far.

Yes, at one point Bob replied to our calls for a shorter leg by saying that anyone who wanted to peel off from the group at any time is free to do so, and I did. But I really think that’s a bit disingenuous. One aspect of riding in a group is the feeling of safety in numbers. If you break down, you have someone there to help you out. If one person just takes off on their own and then that person has problems, there’s no one to assist.

Now, in my case, that was not an issue. I’m accustomed to riding alone. I like riding alone, and I feel that I’m prepared to deal with issues if they arise. But not everyone is like me. Some people who might wish to have a different ride could easily be reluctant to venture out all by themselves.

Two groups makes sense to me. Or, I’ve thought that maybe I ought to set up a ride that caters to my style of riding. Rather than blast across eastern Colorado and all of Kansas and Missouri in just two days, do it in three. A number of years ago I rode Friggs’s bike out to St. Louis for him and I know I took at least three days, maybe four. I had a fun, relaxing ride. I’ve ridden several 500-mile days and fun and relaxing are two adjectives I would not use to describe them. And if it’s not fun, why are you doing it?

And yes, if I do set up this sort of ride I’ll make a point of suggesting to anyone who is more in the Iron Butt mindset that they should go ahead, we’ll see them at the end of the day.

Biker Quote for Today

Bikers are the happiest people when they have their boots on the pegs, their ass in the seat, and nothing but the rumble of pipes in their ears.

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The St. Francis Motorcycle Museum

Monday, July 11th, 2022

Kent opened early to let me in to see the museum.

When I split off from the rest of the RMMRC group doing the Great River Road ride, on our final day headed for home, to check out the St. Francis Motorcycle Museum in St. Francis, Kansas, I didn’t expect to get to go in. But I got lucky–Kent was already in for the morning and he saw me and opened the door.

After Kent showed me some of the highlights of the museum I spotted one thing in particular I was looking for and led him to that. This was just a couple sheets of paper tacked on a bulletin board and hanging on the wall, telling about the “famed” motorcycle racer Roy Blakeney. Of course, this is the Roy who had been riding sweep on our whole trip. He said oh yes, they know Roy well, was that who I was with, too bad he didn’t stop in, too.

Then he showed me the “vault,” a room in the center of the building where the most valuable bikes are kept locked in when they’re not open. These, he said, are mainly one-of-a-kind bikes that you won’t see anywhere else. So here’s a bunch of photos of some of the bikes the museum has on display.

I don’t know what this is.

I think everyone knows what this is.

Gotta be a replica.

Now we’re into the rare ones.

Ever seen this one before?

More one-of-a-kinds.

And even more.

That’s a nice looking bike.

And then, back out on the floor, another strange one I have no idea of what it is.

So there you go. If you’re ever in the vicinity of St. Francis, Kansas, I’d recommend you stop in. You can’t go wrong.

Biker Quote for Today

Yes I’m addicted to my bike because it’s way better than being addicted to fake love.

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Last Leg Of The Ride

Thursday, July 7th, 2022

One of a number of very hot motorcycles at the St. Francis Motorcycle Museum.

From McCook, Nebraska, on to Denver was the last leg of our Great River Road ride. It’s about 260 miles and most of the folks were just ready to get home.

There was some discussion of stopping in St. Francis, Kansas, at the St. Francis Motorcycle Museum. It was right on our route and I for one had never been there, though I had heard about it and was interested.

Not gonna happen, was what Tom said. He pointed out that we had on several occasions on this trip discussed stopping at various points of interest but nothing ever came of it. For instance, we had discussed spending some time in Hannibal, Missouri, visiting sites related to Mark Twain. Didn’t happen. Stopping along the Mississippi River at a dam and lock to see the lock in action. Didn’t happen. There may have been others, I don’t remember.

Then someone else pointed out that as early as we were hitting the road, by the time we reached St. Francis the museum would not yet be open. So that was settled, presumably.

We left our motel singly and in groups with the idea to stop at the nearby gas station and fill up. Pulling out from the motel there were two exits and while one had a free shot to go left on the road, the other required you to do a U-turn around the median. I ran over to the straight shot exit but Roy went out the other. Then, as I got ready to pull out after he made the U-turn, he went into the turn and dropped the bike right onto the very end of the median structure. Oh crap.

I quickly shifted to neutral and put the side stand down and ran out to offer assistance. Roy was unhurt, and the bike was undamaged so we got him back upright and he took off, with me close behind. So that was the fourth time on this trip that someone had had a mishap. We’re not doing so good here guys.

We got gas and headed out. Nothing much in the way of scenery along here, this is just Kansas and Nebraska.

But by the time we got to St. Francis, about 87 miles, I was ready to take a break. Plus, I wanted to at least check out the museum as much as I could even if it wasn’t open. So when I saw a sign pointing to downtown announcing the museum I waved toodle-oo to the group and turned.

From what I hear, their ride on home was uneventful, although Roy told me that he got home, moved his car out of the garage so he could get his bike in, and the coil on the bike failed. Right there at home. The most convenient inconvenience you can ask for.

I pulled up in front of the museum and parked, noticing the “Closed” sign on the door. I took a quick look up and down the street at the town, and when I turned to the museum again there was a guy in the window waving to attract my attention and when he saw that I saw him he took the “Closed” sign and flipped it over to say “Open.” This was Kent.

Kent and Scott are the two guys who mostly run the museum and he told me they always try to accommodate riders who come through and want to see the museum, even outside of regular hours. He pointed out that the sign on the door has their phone numbers so you can call and if they’re able to do so they will come open the place for you. They figure that if you’re traveling and you want to stop it may not always be those regular hours but they want to accommodate you. Nice people. I’ll do my whole next post on the museum.

So I got the break I wanted, used the rest room, saw the museum, and had a nice visit. And then I was ready to ride again.

I’m sure the other guys stopped at least once to get gas on their way home but I was now riding alone. And I made three stops. One was for gas but the other two were because I was getting drowsy and just plain wanted to stretch my legs a bit. This is the way I like to travel.

Altogether, my odometer showed I had ridden 3,150 miles on this trip. On a ten day trip, with one day off from riding, that comes out to exactly 350 miles a day. Sure was nice to have that one day off in the middle of it. And it was nice to be home, too.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 11. We drive the same way we ride.

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Keep The Group Together

Thursday, June 30th, 2022

A typical OFMC evening after a day’s ride.

The one participant on this RMMRC Great River Road ride who I have not mentioned previously was Phil, Tom’s cousin from Ohio who rode out and met us in St. Charles, Missouri, and rode with us a few days. The reason I bring him up now is that at one point he spoke about how a group he rides with back home have a rule that if you’re going on a group ride you ride with the group, you eat with the group, and you stay at the group hotel.

I’m not normally the sort who takes to demands of conformity like that but I see their point. And I see it a lot more clearly now after this ride.

The part about riding with the group is the one place where I diverge. This ride was set up to be a ride-your-own-ride kind of thing, with people going their own ways as long as you know where to end up at the end of the day. In reality only a couple of us did that at all but I like doing it that way.

As for lodging and eating, I get it a lot more. Because I was slow in signing up for this ride I was stuck trying to find someone to room with. I ended up tying in with Tom for most of the trip but for the nights when Phil would be with us I ended up rooming with Charley. Not a problem.

Except that Tom, originally not having a roommate, had opted to make his reservations at different motels that were less expensive than the group motel. With me to split the cost it would not have made a lot of difference but alone it would have amounted to some significant cash.

The result of this, though, was that we’d ride all day and then they’d go to their motel and we’d go to ours. And they usually were not particularly close to each other. So we frequently did not eat dinner with those guys.

What that meant was that we ended up missing out on any end-of-day camaraderie that is a big part of doing a group ride.

And then the last night out, in McCook, Nebraska, we did have the same hotel because the one the group had intended on staying at was being remodeled and they had had to change their plans. So what happened?

Well, first, we couldn’t agree on where to eat. Tom and I aren’t keen on chain places if there are one-off local places available. And fast food is OK for lunch but not dinner. And there was a nice local place not far but it was hard to persuade the others to go there rather than the Wendy’s across the street. And once they agreed another voice spoke up saying Wendy’s was his destination. So they all went there while Tom and I went elsewhere.

We all got back to the motel at the same time but what happened? Everyone just went to their rooms and that was that. No hanging out in someone’s room, in the lobby, or at a nearby bar. Just good-night.

What I’m accustomed to with the OFMC is that even if we split up for dinner we still get together afterward and have some beers. Out by the pool, in someone’s room, in the parking lot–somewhere.

Is this what we had been missing all those nights? Nothing? Except for dinner, of course.

So yeah, I get it with Phil’s group saying the group stays together. I can see I’m going to need to have some conversations with some people before I go on another long ride with the RMMRC. Surely there are at least some other guys who are in tune with my inclinations.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: You can ride a motorcycle as long as you want and it won’t get sore.

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