Passes & Canyons Blog

Weaving in and out won’t do you any good when there’s no chance you’ll ever get ahead of the guy in front–somewhere way up there.

Judy and I have a really nice shawl that was given to us as a wedding present by one of her nieces. Kate wove it herself. Thank you Kate.

Yeah, weaving on a loom is a great thing. On the road, in and out of traffic, not so much. This is one of the things people in cars hate about motorcyclists, the way some people blast along in and out, in and out.

When I first got my first bike I was pretty much a novice. My friend John was much more experienced. John had one particularly good piece of advice for me. He told me the more you change lanes the greater your risk of bad results. Just pick a lane and stay there, he told me. That way the guy in front of you becomes aware there is a motorcycle behind him and the guy behind you becomes aware there is a motorcycle in front of him. Your chances of something bad happening diminish substantially.

The other thing is that all that weaving and trying to get some advantage usually amounts to little or nothing at all. I’m not an aggressive driver so I have watched other people over the years and I see one thing again and again. Some guy blasts past me–car or bike–weaving in and out and then when we come to the next red light there he is right next to or immediately in front of me. You accomplished nothing, dude.

I saw this sort of thing in action just recently, on this latest RMMRC ride. After lunch at Rosie’s in Monument, Tom and I headed east to catch CO 83 back into town. As traffic got heavier closer to town it became pointless to try to stay together, especially since we were headed home and Tom and I do not live together.

But then Tom started doing some weaving, racing ahead, trying to get some advantage over the rest of the traffic. I was unconcerned and just said to myself, “See you later Tom.” And then there we were at Parker Road and Orchard and I rolled right up behind Tom. Just as if we had never gotten separated.

How utterly pointless. The way I see it, the only thing these folks gain is more time to sit idling at a red light. No thanks, I’ll just take it easy and I’ll bet I’ll get there just as quickly as you do.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycling is like sex. When it’s great it’s great. When it’s bad it’s still great.

The legislature is back in session and it is time once again to protect what is ours. In this case it’s rider safety training money we pay in.

And the 2025 legislative session begins. The first order of business of interest to motorcyclists is the bill calling for the Colorado MOST (Motorcycle Operator Safety Training) program to be sunset.

This bill will be discussed on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee. If you wish to contact any committee members here are their names and email addresses:
Sen. Winter (Chair)–faith.winter.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. Cutter (Vice Chair)–lisa.cutter.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. Catlin–marc.catlin.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. Exum–tony.exum.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. Hinrichsen–nick.hinrichsen.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. Mullica–kyle.mullica.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. B. Pelton–byron.pelton.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. Simpson–cleave.simpson.senate@coleg.gov
Sen. Sullivan–tom.sullivan.senate@coleg.gov

This bill would shut down the MOST program for nine years. Meanwhile, the money we–nobody but us motorcyclists–paid in would be dumped into the state’s general fund. No way, dude. That’s our money. I say go ahead and shut down MOST if you feel it out to be shut down, but before it goes spend that money as intended. And call a halt to the extra fees we pay each year with our motorcycle registrations and any time we renew our driver’s licenses.

Clearly the worst-case scenario would be that they take our money, end the program, but continue the fees. If you’re interested in seeing to it that that doesn’t happen maybe you ought to show up for this hearing. I’ll be there. And of course afterward I’ll let you know what happened, in case you’re not there.

Biker Quote for Today

No matter how slow you go you’re still lapping everyone on the couch.

OK, watch this video. Then come back.

Who are these jerks? What the hell do they think they’re doing? I mean, they planned this. They got together, removed their license plates, and then went on this spree. What kind of dips–t does something like that? And this is right here in Denver. That intersection is Colfax and York.

I guess I have nothing more to say.

Biker Quote for Today

What do you call a Harley Davidson with no tires? A groundhog.

When people and vehicles share the very narrow street like this you better believe everyone is careful and nobody drives recklessly.

We just spent five days in Barcelona (Spain) and as always, I observed the traffic scene–i.e., the two-wheeled type–closely. I’ll tell you two things: No non-California city in the US is ready for this scene, and it is then a good thing that no such city will soon be experiencing this.

Barcelona streets are packed with traffic so vehicles frequently move slowly and even when they move fast they are slow by our norms. And because traffic moves so slowly, the filtering and lane-splitting are constant.

We took a cab one day. The right-hand curb lanes on busy streets are reserved for buses and taxis so those types of vehicles can make better time. Of course motorcycles use that lane a lot. And apparently they’re allowed to, either officially or unofficially.

Let me make a side note here. In Europe they tend to use the word “motorbike” and that’s actually probably a better word for them. The highly dominant two-wheeler is the step-through scooter, like the Vespas of old. There are also real motorcycles but anything over 500cc is rare. Baggers are non-existent.

But you also have plenthy of the stand-up scooters that have become popular, plus lots of power-assisted bicycles–ebikes. And of course plain old people-powered bicycles and skateboards. All of these, for our purposes, can be grouped under the term “motorbikes.”

OK, back to the narrative. I was saying we took a cab.

The one problem with taking the right-hand cab and bus lane is that both of these conveyances are prone to making stops. And when they do you can end up sitting a while before they move again.

The obvious thing to do is go around them but that means merging into the next lane and on our cab ride, as the cab would start to insinuate its way in, the motorbikes behind the cab would dart into the opening and block the cab out of the space it had created. We missed getting through red light cycles a couple times for exactly that reason.

Our cab driver stayed totally cool, showing no frustration or aggravation. I’m sure because he deals with this all day every day. And he was vigilantly watchful for these scooters and all.

How do you suppose a typical American driver is likely to respond to something like this? Rhetorical question. We know the answer.

So no, no non-California city in the US is ready for this but it’s not going to happen anywhere any time soon. In Europe motorbikes are everywhere by the thousands. Until Americans take up two-wheeled travel in those kinds of numbers that kind of scene cannot develop. And hopefully, as it will happen gradually–if it ever does–we’ll all have time to adapt to it just as gradually. Until it feels normal.

How crazy would that be?

Biker Quote for Today

Why did the motorcycle stay at home? It was two-tired.

Those scuff marks show you exactly where Friggs’s face would have been ripped open.

The OFMC has never been as thoroughly safety-minded as the RMMRC but we’re human, we’re interested in preserving our own skins. So for 35 years we have ridden safely, with the worst crash being the one Friggs had in 2018 down in New Mexico. Very uncharacteristically, he had chosen that day to ride without his jacket but after going down his jeans were torn, his shirt was torn, and otherwise he was barely bruised. Amazingly.

The one thing that was badly damaged was his helmet. If you ever think a helmet is unneeded, just take a look at a helmet that has been through a serious crash. Then think about what that head underneath would have been like without it.

Now sure, everyone has dropped their bike in a parking lot or that sort of thing. Nobody’s gotten hurt. In all these years no one other than Friggs has ever gone down, which probably makes us one heck of a fortunate bunch. But we have had some close calls.

Probably the closest, the one that most likely could have led to death, was Dennis up in the Black Hills in 2014. We were staying several days in Hill City, doing day rides, and we were out on one of the many great roads up there and stopped at an intersection of two highways. We did whatever needed doing and were getting geared up and back on the bikes.

We were on one side of the road but needed to go the other way so I pulled out across the road onto the shoulder on the other side, facing the other direction. Dennis was the next to get ready. Now, you have to understand, Dennis is short. He had all the other guys between him and the road so he couldn’t really see up the road. There were also all these Harleys making a heck of a racket so he couldn’t hear anything either. He started across the road to join me.

What Dennis could not see, but all the rest of us did, was the semi coming right toward him. I know I was screaming but what good does that do? He couldn’t hear me. The others were screaming, too, and then there was the screeching of the brakes on that big truck. Did I mention that Dennis is also hard of hearing?

He got about halfway across the road and looked to his left and saw this truck screeching up toward him. His heart must have stopped for a moment. Fortunately the trucker was able to stop in time but for a moment it looked like the worst was about to happen. We didn’t ever want to see something like that again.

But then apparently it happened again, and this time it was me. I say “apparently” because I was totally oblivious to it all. I knew nothing until the guys told me later.

This was in 2023 up in the far northwest corner of Wyoming. I was leading and we were looking for a place for lunch. We came up on a restaurant but I couldn’t tell if it was open until I was past it. The other guys pulled over. I pulled over to turn around and go back. What they tell me is that as I pulled back onto the highway there was a car coming fast that I pulled right in front of. And that guy braked really hard. Yikes! I don’t see how that could have happened. It’s not like I don’t look both ways before pulling out, you know. But I got to the parking lot and Bill and Dennis both started yelling wildly and I had to ask what they were so excited about. Really? That happened? Big oops.

Then later on this same trip Bill had his moment but it was not of his doing. We were now in Idaho cruising down this highway with me in the lead, then Bill, then Dennis. A car passed me going the other way and then turned left right in front of Bill. You know the story. Fortunately, Bill avoided crashing into the guy. I’m convinced that it had to do with Dennis’s lights.

Dennis wants to be seen, so he has super bright lights that I say can be seen from space. Well, Bill’s stock headlight is really not very bright at all. I ride in front of him a lot and I know this. My suspicion is that the guy in the car absolutely saw Dennis’s lights but did not see Bill’s weak beam at all. He had plenty of time to turn in front of Dennis. Only problem is that Bill was there. I told Bill he needs brighter lights but he pooh-poohed that. Fine, it’s your life.

Other than that we’ve had the usual close calls. Like this year when we were heading into Buena Vista and a car going the other way decided to pass someone on a blind curve–just as I was coming around the curve from the other direction. Bill and I both pulled onto the shoulder to get out of that idiot’s way.

That kind of stuff is routine, unfortunately. But all in all it’s pretty amazing how well we’ve done over the years. We do care about our own skin.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you wear a full-face helmet; you wear a helmet; you wear earplugs. (Who the heck compiled this list? I’m sorry I have to take exception.)

Whoever wrote this piece just doesn’t understand.

I’ll take a break from recounting the latest OFMC trip today because this is timely and really flagrant.

Lane filtering becomes legal in Colorado this week, on August 7. As a surprise to no one, I picked up several articles addressing this change and “informing” the readers of what it means. I put “informing” in quotes because all three pieces I saw, including one from the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), were clearly written by someone who does not ride motorcycles and who fails to understand the entire procedure. More importantly, they were just flat wrong.

Because the other articles seem to have been written based on what CSP put out I’ll go right to the source.

“The rider must pass on the left and not enter the oncoming traffic lane.”

What’s wrong here? Picture this. You have two lanes of traffic going each way and you are a rider in the left lane. You “must pass on the left”? I don’t think so. That would have you partially encroaching on the oncoming lane of traffic, which is strictly prohibited. Your only choice is to pass between the two lanes of traffic going your direction, which in this case would mean passing on the right. Either that or else if you’re in the left lane you are not permitted to filter. I’m pretty sure that’s not what is intended.

What the law actually says is this: A PERSON OVERTAKING OR PASSING PURSUANT TO THIS SUBSECTION (3)(b) SHALL NOT OVERTAKE OR PASS:
(A) ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER;
(B) To THE RIGHT OF A VEHICLE IN THE FARTHEST RIGHT-HAND LANE IF THE HIGHWAY IS NOT LIMITED ACCESS
(C) IN A LANE OF TRAFFIC MOVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.

So that pretty much stipulates that you have to filter between lanes going your direction.

The CSP piece also said this: “The lane must be wide enough to fit the vehicle and motorcycle while passing.”

Now, not very many lanes anywhere are wide enough to allow a car and a motorcycle to fit comfortably side by side. The motorcycle needs to ride down the stripe separating the lanes. The law states filtering is permitted if “THE DRIVER OF THE TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE IS ON A ROAD WITH LANES WIDE ENOUGH TO PASS SAFELY.”

Notes the plural there: “lanes.” And nothing about staying in the same lane as the car you’re passing.

I think part of the confusion may come from the wording of the law where it says “THE DRIVER OF A TWO-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE MAY OVERTAKE OR
PASS ANOTHER MOTOR VEHICLE IN THE SAME LANE AS THE MOTORCYCLE IF . . .” Maybe whoever wrote this piece read it to mean you can pass another vehicle only if you stay in the same lane that it is in, when in fact it should be read that you can pass another vehicle THAT IS in the lane you are in but you don’t have to stay completely in that one lane in doing so. A significant difference of meaning. So the law could have been written a bit more clearly.

So anyway, reading through the law again I spotted one thing this time that I did not notice previously. This is item B in the list above. “SHALL NOT OVERTAKE OR PASS: (B) To THE RIGHT OF A VEHICLE IN THE FARTHEST RIGHT-HAND LANE IF THE HIGHWAY IS NOT LIMITED ACCESS.”

“If the highway is not limited access.” Does this mean that they are specifically allowing you to overtake or pass on the right of the vehicle in the farthest right lane if the highway IS limited access? As in, if you’re on the interstate you can pass on the shoulder? It had not been my understanding that that was the intention of the Legislature but that does seem to be the logical reading of that rule.

At the same time, it also says this: “(III) A PERSON OVERTAKING OR PASSING PURSUANT TO THIS SUBSECTION (3)(b) SHALL NOT OVERTAKE OR PASS: (A) ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER;”

This seems contradictory. If anyone can clarify this for me I would appreciate it.

I think there are some kinks here. I suspect that there are going to be some amendments needed. But get ready because filtering will be here this week.

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t love the people driving fast, that’s the reason why I overtake them.