Archive for the ‘Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club’ Category

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The Wisdom Of Pre-Riding

Monday, May 4th, 2026


Riding in the hills.

I’ve had this particular day ride in mind for the RMMRC since before my year’s riding got disrupted last year by my crash on the CB750. Now with the weather getting better and better I figured it’s time. But I also figured it would be a good idea to do the ride myself again first in case any of the roads are torn up or who knows what.

Sunday was warm but cloudy, while the forecast for the coming week was for cooler with rain (we should hope!). Sunday would be my day.

As I usually do when I’m heading this direction I went west on Belleview with thoughts of turning south on Santa Fe. But this was exactly what I was doing when I got hit head-on so I’m still a bit shy of that intersection. Instead, I went under Santa Fe, on to Lowell and then south on Lowell. South of Bowles, Lowell becomes South Platte Canyon Road and that would take me down to C-470. Lowell/South Platte Canyon is a much nicer, far less busy road than Santa Fe anyway so why not?

At C-470 I got on the slab just to the next exit, Wadsworth, and then off and south to the first right turn, Deer Creek Canyon Road. I headed on west into the foothills and was soon being followed by two other riders, none of us with the other. But I turned off Deer Creek Canyon Road onto South Deer Creek Road while they went straight.

South Deer Creek Road goes up that canyon about as far as it can and then starts climbing the side of the canyon, up and over. Lots of switchbacks and slow going. For me at least. Up in the switchbacks I encountered a group of sportbike riders blasting down the other direction. Hey guys, there’s a bit of gravel in the corners here–really? They were followed, at varying gaps, by four more guys who weren’t so gung-ho to scream down this particular bit of road.

I got on up and over and started down, then came to Oehlmann Park Road, which goes up and over another big hill. That was my route and here the turns were tighter, calling for a lot of simultaneous braking and throttle, and there was more sand and gravel. Just take it easy.

Up and over that one and then down to South Turkey Creek Road. I turned right, toward Tiny Town, but then went left at Twin Forks, under US 285, and just a short distance up Turkey Creek Canyon before my next right turn.

Here was why it was good to pre-ride this route: I screwed up. While my brain was saying don’t take the first right, pass it by and take the next one, I went ahead and turned at the first one. Idiot. This was Starlight Drive and all it is is a loop up into a residential area. So that put me right back on Turkey Creek Canyon Road. I went a quarter mile further and made the correct turn, onto High Drive. I won’t make that mistake when I’m leading the group, thanks to having made it now.

Once again it was up and over, along the way passing a deer standing right next to the road. Good reminder; this is deer country. Be aware.

This brought me down into the outskirts of Evergreen, I passed through Evergreen, on down to Kittredge, where I stopped at the place I’m figuring on taking the group for lunch. I needed to make sure what days and what hours it is open and it’s good to have that nailed down. On the last RMMRC ride I went on, up to Estes Park, our destination was a restaurant that is not open on the day of the week that we were there. Oops. I’m not making that mistake.

So I headed on down Bear Creek Canyon to Morrison, south to pick up US 285 going east, and this would be where I normally say “and from there on home” but in this case the story is not finished.

I came across on 285 and was approaching Lowell and smelled burning rubber. Of course my first thought was, is that me? In just an instant I knew it was not, as there was a car pulled over right ahead with smoke pouring out of a wheel well. And then I spotted the tread from that tire, which obviously had come off, still rolling until it rammed into the back end of the stopped car. Like, this just happened a few seconds ago! That was one of the weirdest things I’ve seen in a long time.

And with that, I then cruised on home.

Biker Quote for Today

If you start thinking about a shortcut, you’ll end up taking it. — Walter Colebatch

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | 1 Comment »

Utah Ride In May

Monday, April 20th, 2026


The OFMC going down a canyon in Utah.

Riding season is getting into full swing–are you ready for your first long ride of the year?

I am. I’ll be joining other members of the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC) in late May for what the organizer, Tom, has dubbed the Utah Scenic Ride. You’re welcome to join us and I hope you do. Here’s the itinerary.

We’ll be leaving on Tuesday, May 26, from the Phillips 66 station at Morrison at 9 a.m. That’s kick stands up at 9 a.m. In this group we really do leave at the appointed time.

The first day is going to be the longest ride, 343 miles, to Green River, Utah, but that’s all interstate so it’s totally doable without too much stress. I know I hate really long days, but this is a ride I’ve done several times.

While as far as interstate goes, there’s not much nicer slab than going through Colorado, but the fun really starts on the second day. We’ll take Utah 24 down through Hanksville, to Torrey, passing through Capitol Reef National Park. Then down Utah 12 to Escalante and through Bryce Canyon National Park to US 89, then up to Panguitch.

On Thursday we’ll take 89 north to Utah 62 to Loa, then to I-70 and east to US 191, and south to Moab. The next day will be further south on 191, to La Sal Junction, then east on Utah 46/Colorado 90 to Ridgway, US 550 north to Delta, east on Colorado 133 over McClure Pass and on to Carbondale.

The final day will be Colorado 82 over Independence Pass to Buena Vista, then home on US 285. A total of approximately 1,318 miles arriving home on Saturday, May 30.

Should be a really good ride. Utah in May is great. I’m ready.

Biker Quote for Today

Speeding along an open road on my motorcycle, flanked by the great outdoors, the engine hums and the noise in my mind disappears. — Judith Roberts

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Posted in motorcycle touring, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club, Suggested Rides | No Comments »

Earliest Ever First Ride In The Hills

Thursday, March 19th, 2026


Stopped along the Peak-to-Peak.

With Denver looking at record highs it was a certainty that the RMMRC would be doing a ride. I was going to go, then I wasn’t, and then I did. I’ll tell you that story later.

The high for Wednesday was supposed to be in the 80s. In March! I still dressed warmly because you never know how much cooler it will be at higher elevations.

The plan was to ride up to the Peak-to-Peak highway, to Estes Park for lunch. I headed out and it was still a bit cool so I turned on the electric vest. When I got out to C-470 by Morrison the winds were extreme. The presence of the foothills and the hogback blocks and rechannels the wind and sometimes out there it gets fierce. It was fierce Wednesday morning. I knew, though, that once we got into the canyon we’d be more protected.

Six of us gathered at the Conoco in Golden, with one more expected. He didn’t show and we left at the designated time. This group is serious about departing when we say we intend to. We went up Golden Gate Canyon to get to the Peak-to-Peak.

Golden Gate Canyon was lousy with sand. It may have been the worst I’ve ever seen. But we got up to the Peak-to-Peak and it was completely clean. Mike, who was leading the ride, had spoken before we left about potential hazards. Sand and gravel, possibly black ice but more likely not, with probable wet corners. Of course deer. He was right. There was no ice or snow near the road but melting snow off the road drained across in places.

The wind had abated in the canyon and up on the Peak-to-Peak it was just normal. It really is that wall of rock of the foothills and the hogback. Nice. Didn’t really want to have to deal with that all the way to Estes.

It was definitely cooler in the high country and I was glad I dressed warmly. But it was a beautiful day and except for the bare deciduous trees you might have thought it was summer.

We stopped at the road down to Jamestown to say good-bye to one rider. Guess he had other things to do. Then on to Estes.

The place we intended to have lunch was not open on Wednesdays. Oops. We’ll go somewhere else. We needed to do a U-turn and while I’m normally quite good at that, sometimes my coordination is off. It was off and I dropped the bike. Dang. I was unhurt but as I rode off to where we had chosen to go I realized my left foot peg had broken off. Have you ever ridden having to free-shift? Normally you just rock your foot up on the peg to upshift but now I had to grope to find the lever and flip it up or down. But I found I could rest my foot on the portion of the bracket that did not break off.

Just as we were parking who should ride up but Gray, the guy who hadn’t shown up at the meeting place. He had gotten the time wrong, so he just came up on his own. It was just by chance that he found us. So we were back to six.

After lunch Bruce took a look at my absent peg and suggested we might move the buddy peg up to the front. He got the buddy peg off but it is not identical to the main peg and didn’t quite fit. With some jerry-rigging and duct tape, though, he worked out a kludge and I had a workable peg again. Thanks Bruce.

We started back, with plans to go down Coal Creek Canyon rather than Golden Gate Canyon, which we had come up on. Along the way we got behind a slow-moving car. Mike, who was leading, is a go-fast guy, so of course he passed. So did the rest of us, except Gray, who was in the rear. I kept watching but though he had plenty of opportunities to pass he never did. Guess he was happy just cruising on his own. So now we were five again.

We had only seen a couple riders on our way to Estes but coming back there were a lot of them out. Who’s going to pass up such a nice day?

I feared Coal Creek Canyon would be just as bad with sand as Golden Gate but in fact it was just as clear as the Peak-to-Peak. What’s with Golden Gate?

We got down to CO 93 along the foothills and the hogback and mercifully the winds had abated. And boy was it getting warm. I unzipped my jacket and my sweatshirt under it. Tipped my visor up to get more airflow through my helmet.

People started peeling off and eventually I was by myself and made my way home. When I got there Judy informed me she had taken the cats to the vet herself. Big oops! I had totally forgotten I was supposed to do that.

Biker Quote for Today

“It’s all part of my spirituality, as the wind softly kisses my face, and the world travels beneath me.” — Jess “Chief” Brynjulson

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | 3 Comments »

Avoiding Parker Road Entirely

Thursday, February 26th, 2026

The weather on Tuesday was fabulous and I would have ridden but Roy called to say there would be an RMMRC ride out to Kiowa, to Patty Ann’s, on Wednesday, so I changed my plans.

Google Maps already has this new Chambers Road  extension even though it has just opened.

On Wednesday, along with three other guys from the RMMRC, we met up at Performance Cycle and headed south. Dave was leading and he took a common route, heading south on Clinton, then Inverness Drive West, to where we got on Liberty Boulevard, which loops around the south end of Centennial Airport. Then south on Peoria to Ridgegate Parkway where we headed east to Chambers, and then south.

It was then that the surprise came. We came up to Hess Road and the extension past Hess, which they had been working on for some time, was now open and we went straight. I had assumed this was going to be just an entrance into the new housing development that was going up there but boy was I wrong!

A full-blown four-lane semi-expressway now continues south from Hess, and then Chambers bends around to the southeast, crosses Crowfoot Valley Road (which runs diagonally between Parker and Castle Rock), and becomes Bayou Gulch Road, which I knew connected with Parker Road (CO 83) south of the Pinery.

Holy smokes! This newly opened stretch is in fact kind of a beltway through the southeastern part of the metro area that now allows you to get out town without going anywhere near Parker Road except where you cross it on Bayou Gulch Road. This is fabulous!

As I said, Dave was leading and he lives out there just off of Bayou Gulch Road on the east side of Parker Road, and he knew all about this for some time, I guess. He said they had been eagerly awaiting its opening and they are so glad it finally is. Wow, so am I.

So the rest of the ride was good. As we often do, we took Bayou Gulch on to where it hits Flintwood Road and then took that south to CO 86, then east to Kiowa. Had a good breakfast at Patty Ann’s–as always–and then headed back via the same route so I got to see it again and get a better idea of this new road.

I like this. I can tell I’m going to be riding this road a lot in the future.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding a motorcycle is like living life in high definition.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | 1 Comment »

A New Toy For The Tool Kit

Monday, February 16th, 2026

This compact air compressor will now be a regular item I carry with me.

Someone brought a bunch of gear from a former member to last month’s RMMRC meeting and I managed to snag something that could be useful.

This thing is a Pittsburgh Automotive air compressor that is small enough to fit into the top bag or one of the side bags on the V-Strom just to be there when needed. Nice.

The one thing it did not have with it was any way to connect it to the battery on the bike. It has one of those connectors that you plug into what used to be called the cigarette lighter in a car, but my bike does not have one of those. I needed to go to some auto supply place to find one.

But then I was at the Colorado Motorcycle Expo a couple weeks ago and as I was walking around in an area where there were vendors set up tables filled with parts it occurred to me that someone might have what I needed. Sure enough, I found a pigtail with the right kind of plug and it was $5. I was happy to hand the guy the five.

I could just go ahead and connect it to the battery now, as I have with the connector for my electric vest, but I won’t do that. For one thing, if I do end up getting a second bike that would leave me with only the one bike ready when this thing might be needed.

No, I’ll just stick it in the top bag and let it ride around with me everywhere I go. Hopefully I’ll never need it, but if I do, or someone else needs it, it will be there.

Biker Quote for Today

A world of endless roads is calling. Get out and ride them. — Eric Trow

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Posted in Motorcycle Gear, motorcycle problems, Motorcycle repair, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

Terrific Early November Ride

Monday, November 3rd, 2025

Stopped briefly at Tiny Town. It was such a warm day I shed a layer here.

With temps in the 70s there was no question of riding or not, it was just: Where to?

There comes a time each year when you can simply no longer go into the hills but at the moment Denver is a few days away from setting a new record for the latest first snow of the season. I figured I’d take advantage of it.

That only narrowed the question somewhat. But I guess I’m a bit stubborn. When I took off on my fateful ride on June 29 it was my intention to go over the route I intended to lead the RMMRC on soon after. On my first ride after the crash, but before surgery, I rode to the place on that planned route where the crash occurred. Now, on only my third ride since the crash I wanted to do what I set out to do that day. Who knows, if the weather holds I might yet lead that ride in the next week or two.

The day was warm, skies were blue, and I headed out. Great day to be on the bike. I went down to Belleview and turned west. When I came to Santa Fe, where the crash had occurred, I could have gone south on Santa Fe as I intended that day, but the thought of getting into that left turn lane and just sitting there again somehow did not appeal to me so I continued west on Belleview. At Lowell I turned south.

At Mineral I turned west again to Wadsworth and then south. Stopped at a red light at Ken Caryl Avenue I saw on the other side, headed north of Wadsworth, a guy on a Honda about as old as my bike. No jacket, no gloves, no helmet. OK, I hope you got home safely and do so again and again.

South of C-470 I made the right turn to go up Deer Creek Canyon. Lots of guys on bikes but many, many people on bicycles. That kind of day. I’m not a go-fast kind of guy so I took my time winding up the canyon on Deer Creek Canyon Road and then made the left onto South Deer Creek Road. This road winds around and climbs, ultimately coming out to US 285 at Conifer, changing names a couple times along the way.

After a short while I spotted three guys on Harleys behind me. I figured I was slowing them down but I had no inclination to speed up because, for one thing, this stretch was newly repaved and there was a good bit of loose gravel on the road, especially on the curves. They’re just going to have to be patient. They were, but the first open stretch we got to they blasted past. And in just another couple minutes two guys on Beemers came blasting past me too. Have fun; I’m just not in a hurry.

I wasn’t headed to Conifer; I turned north at Oehlmann Park Road. This road goes up and over a hill with a lot of homes, with terrific views in some places. Steep road going up and going down on the other side. Great riding. I’d hate to live there in the winter.

It comes out on the other side at South Turkey Creek Road, which runs parallel to US 285 between Tiny Town and just east of Conifer. I turned toward Tiny Town. A bit before Tiny Town there is a place where you can go left onto North Turkey Creek Road. That’s my route for this planned ride but for this day I decided I’d had enough and continued on to Tiny Town, got on US 285, and headed home. It’s supposed to cool off Monday but then be warm again all week. I figure I’ll just come back and do the second half in a few days.

You’ve got to love this weather. And considering that I missed the whole summer you can believe I am.

Biker Quote for Today

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

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, motorcycle clubs, Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club | 1 Comment »

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