Passes & Canyons Blog

It’s already April 21 and I still hadn’t ridden the V-Strom this month so that was a sure bet for today with an RMMRC ride planned. This was going to be a little different; we were just heading up to Black Hawk for lunch at one of the casinos. That’s actually more like an OFMC outing than the RMMRC.

My first order of business when I got to the gas station in Morrison where we meet was to get gas. And, I believe, for the first time in my life I paid more than $4 per gallon for gas. $4.05.9 to be exact. Yow! But you know, I’d happily pay more if that meant that Russian oil was unwanted and that would help stop Russian aggression in Ukraine.

I know some people claim Joe Biden is responsible for the hike in gas prices, not Vladimir Putin, but I call BS on that. I’m a registered Independent voter, not a Republican or a Democrat, so I call BS on anyone who deserves it. If gas prices were stable around the world but soaring in the U.S. that would be one thing, but they’re not. They’re up everywhere. Is Joe responsible for higher gas prices in Australia? In France? In Japan? OK, that’s way more politics than I normally get into here.

So there were only five of us riding this day. Bob was leading and he said he would figure out some side roads to take. I had some thoughts about his route but he proved me completely wrong. We headed up Bear Creek to Kittredge and took Kerr Gulch over to meet up with Evergreen Parkway just on the south side of I-70, cut across the highway and then followed old U.S. 40 on up Floyd Hill and down to where we hit U.S. 6 heading down Clear Creek Canyon. Then we caught the Peak to Peak Highway to Black Hawk.

Bob’s plan was the buffet at this casino but when we saw that it cost $20 there were three of us who demurred. I personally never like buffets because as a fairly small person I can usually fill up easily at any restaurant for far less than the buffet cost. Plus, I really wasn’t hungry. So I went and played some slot machines while Roy and Bruce went to the casino’s other eatery and Bob and Maynard did the buffet. Yes I gave the casino the same $20 I would have paid for the buffet but at least I had the chance to go home with more than I came with and besides, I wasn’t hungry.

The predicted high for today was in the high 70s but I had been cautious and had worn a sweatshirt and my electric vest. I had been glad to have them on the ride up as it was still cool in the morning. Leaving Black Hawk I was thinking more about getting back into town and it being hot, so I just put on the vest but stashed the sweatshirt. That proved a wise move, as even later in the day it was still darn chilly up on the Peak to Peak and even coming down Golden Gate Canyon.

When we reached the flatlands, however, it was definitely warm and I was really glad not to be wearing the sweatshirt.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day for a ride and we were all glad we had taken advantage of it. In a perfectly fitting coincidence, as I made my way home across Hampden I found myself behind a car with a sticker on the back that read “Never let a nice day go to waste.” Perfect. We didn’t.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when you use your dishwasher to clean bike parts.

I always tally up the miles I’ve put on my bikes and car at the end of the year and for the seventh year in a row I put more miles on the bikes than on the car. Not that I put all that many miles on anything this past year.

My total mileage for 2021 on the bikes was 5,419. That breaks down to 1,086 for the Honda CB750, 2,002 for the Kawasaki Concours, and 2,331 for the Suzuki V-Strom. My Hyundai Elantra only got driven a total of 2,494 miles in the year. Can you say “home body”?

I know most of this is due to Covid but it’s funny because I don’t feel like I’ve been all that restricted. Life has really been pretty much normal, with the exception that Judy and I haven’t taken a lot of trips.

Not that we haven’t traveled. We did fly to Kansas City, where we rented a car and drove around in the Midwest. That was a really nice trip. But we didn’t go camping once all year, and we usually go several times. With everyone suffering cabin fever the campgrounds have been swarming and getting a campsite reservation is tough.

And while that was Judy’s only trip for the year, I went on two motorcycle trips, with the OFMC and the RMMRC, and I also went yurt camping with the guys out at Ridgway State Park. It used to be you could go somewhere and rent a cabin but I guess now the big thing is yurts. They have to be cheaper to build so I’m guessing that’s why, but it’s pretty much the same thing.

The main point is that I haven’t exactly been stuck at home. And I did put more miles on the Honda this year than last, and more miles on the car, too. More than twice as many miles on the Suzuki, but fewer on the Kawasaki. And more miles overall on the bikes than the previous year.

So I’d largely call it a good year. Still, I’m hoping 2022 will be better. And I hope it is for you, too.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if there are no wrinkled, faded, creased, or scratched areas on your leathers.

Every year about this time I start looking at what I want to get done before the end of the year. Usually that includes making an effort to turn over one more 1,000-mile point on each bike’s odometer and then any other odd objective I can identify.

Turning over 1,000-mile points is especially easy–or irrelevant–this year. On the Honda CB750 the meter is sitting now at 35,940. Can I put another 60 miles on that bike yet this year. Is the sky blue?

It’s even more of a no-brainer on the Kawasaki Concours. That meter now sits at 73,986. We’re looking at 14 miles. Yeah, I think I’ll manage that.

And then there’s the Suzuki V-Strom. That meter is now reading 38,181. You can either say that one is totally out of reach or you can look at it that I already passed that 1,000-mile mark 181 miles ago. I’ve put a lot of miles on that bike this year so I’m going with the latter interpretation.

This year I do have a different goal for the Honda, however. In the beginning this was my only bike and all the miles I rode were on it. Then I got the Kawi and didn’t ride the Honda as much, and then I got the V-Strom and the time on the Honda went way down. For a whole bunch of years I didn’t even put 1,000 miles a year on that bike. So now that in itself has become an objective.

At the start of this year that bike had 35,048 on the dial. So instead of just putting 60 miles on it yet this year I really want to go at least 108. Still totally doable, I just have to get out and do it. And if this great weather continues that will be easy.

So what else do I want to get done before January 1? Well, often as we head into winter I’m looking at my tires and figuring I need better rubber for the winter. Not this year. Already this year I’ve gotten two new back tires and one new front. All the other rubber is good, lots of deep tread. Tires are no issue.

Plus, they’ve all had oil changes and the Honda and Kawi had overall tune-ups. I guess I’d have to say all three are in pretty darn good shape at this point. That’s kind of a nice way to end the year.

Biker Quote for Today

Biker new year’s resolutions: 1. Ride bikes. 2. Look at bikes. 3. Talk about bikes. 4. Repeat.

Many years ago I bought a junker of a pick-up truck to haul materials for some landscaping I was doing at home. This was not a vehicle you would drive for any other reason. It had been in a crash and the frame was bent, so it was one of those things that look like they’re going sideways down the road. Mostly it sat parked in my garage.

It didn’t take me long to figure out, however, that for what I was paying in insurance on it each year I could save money by paying to have this rock and compost and other stuff delivered. So I sold the truck.

A lot of people who have motorcycles don’t really ride them all that much. If you only ride the bike about 1,000 miles a year but you’re paying $200 for insurance that would come to 20 cents per mile ridden. If you put 10,000 miles on that bike you’re only looking at 2 cents a mile. What if you could get insurance where you pay for the actual mileage you put on the bike?

This is actually an option in some states (Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana). There is a motorcycle insurance company called Voom Insurance that does exactly that. Ron Khirman from Voom contacted me recently asking if I would like to work with them on getting the word out about their company. In exchange for putting up a blog post (this post) they would pay me $50. Check them out, write whatever I feel is appropriate. I said I was interested in their offering but if they were going to pay me I would need to let you, the readers of this blog, know that. “Fine by us,” Ron replied.

So I checked them out. Ron sent me to a link that is presumably a dummy page so I wouldn’t accidentally purchasing insurance that would do me no good–I’m in Colorado and they do not yet operate in Colorado. The first thing that happened was that Norton Antivirus deemed this a dangerous choice and I had to tell it no, I really do want to go to the site. I got no such response when I went to the actual site in the link above. In the meantime I was able to get the information I needed.

For starters, Voom offers three plans at varying price points: Essentials, Popular, and Extended. With Essentials the monthly base rate is $4 and 1 cent per mile. For Popular it is $9 a month and 4 cents per mile. With Extended it is $35 a month and 13 cents per mile. If you go with Popular it adds in comprehensive and collision and going to Extended also includes uninsured, underinsured, and body injury.

Each plan is customizable depending on what coverage you want. For instance, I chose Essentials and used my V-Strom as the bike. It gave me a base rate of $2.10 and a penny per mile. (The last two fees are consistent for all policies.) This includes $25,000 coverage per person, $50,000 coverage per incident, and $20,000 property damage per incident. These coverages meet Colorado’s requirements. If I added comprehensive and collision that went to $7.76 per month and four cents per mile. All the standard choices you always make with insurance were there for your selection.

They also offer the usual deductions for things like having a motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license, taking a rider safety course, and that sort of thing. I have those so I took those deductions.

So how does this work out for me? Would I benefit by paying per mile for my insurance?

Well, last year I rode the V-Strom 1,046 miles. Taking the basic coverage that would work out to $35.66, whereas I now pay GEICO $145.02 per year on that bike. (OK, an update on Dec. 1: I did the math wrong. I think I misread that quote. By my recalculation it would cost me $60.62 per year. That’s still a heck of a savings.) I tried adding my other bikes onto the policy and it didn’t alter the general equation very much. It would seem that I could save a good bit of money going with a policy like this.

I don’t know. Maybe there’s something I’m missing here but this looks like a pretty sweet deal. If it was offered in Colorado I would definitely check it out further. But it isn’t, so for now I won’t. Get back in touch with me then, guys, OK? If any of you readers give this a shot let me know how it turns out. Thanks.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you only took the job to pay for your trip to Sturgis.

I got the V-Strom back from Joel and what a difference!

The chain and sprockets were badly worn and I guess that can contribute to a loss of power but the real factor seems to have been the air filter. You can see in that photo just how bad that was. When I started looking into when I had last had that replaced I was more than a little embarrassed to find the answer was, oh, maybe seven years ago.

I had been out on a four-day Colorado Cruise with the RMMRC about a month ago and really noticed that the bike had trouble going over the higher passes and also in keeping up with the rest of the group on their big, powerful bikes. One night on that trip I did some googling and ran across something that said a worn chain will reduce power, and that was what got me thinking about that.

But when I mentioned it to Joel he said yeah, that might have a tiny impact, but not all that much. That’s when I started thinking about other possibilities. When I hit on the air filter it all made a lot more sense. It’s really hard to give your all when you’re struggling just to breathe.

And did you look at that filter? All those bugs and other debris embedded in it? Not to mention the whole load of dirt! Man, if anyone ever wondered why you need an air filter, just imagine all that crap being sucked into your combustion chamber. Yikes!

So within an hour after Joel dropped the bike back at my place I was out on it seeing how it would run now. Night and day. Joel told me he figured it would have a lot more zip and boy was he right. Plus, with the new chain and sprockets all that slapping I had heard for so long was just gone. Yahoo!

I can’t say enough about having machines that work well. Not to mention having the money to keep them working well. Too well I remember my younger days driving crap cars because that was all I could afford. I don’t miss those days.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if it’s impossible to see out of your car or trucks rear window because of all the Harley stickers.

I can’t even remember how long ago it was that my Concours started giving me trouble, but it seems like it’s been all summer. I packed it off to Joel before the OFMC bike trip but when he brought it back Joel said it still needed more work. But there wasn’t time to do that before the trip.

Once I got back from that trip I ordered the necessary parts and called Joel to let him know they were in hand and I was ready for him to come get the bike again, and this time bring it back really, truly fixed.

Well, Joel brought it back the other day and first I took it on a brief errand run to the wine store and then a few days later I rode it with the RMMRC to Daniels Park. And there was just one word for it: normal.

How wonderful it is for that bike to be operating normally again, finally. Normal is so great.

No more racing at a screaming pace when I pull up to a stop. No more dying as I coast to a stop. No more needing to ride around the neighborhood first to get the bike running halfway smoothly before getting out on the less forgiving main roads.

It was also nice once again to have the feeling of power. I had never noticed a lack of power in my other bikes before but lately I have. On the Colorado Cruise with the RMMRC I was on the V-Strom and for the first time it seemed like it was struggling for power going over the highest passes. That bike is currently with Joel and I hope it feels more back to normal when he brings it back. And then the other day I rode the Honda CB750 with the RMMRC up to Kremmling, and that bike was totally left in the dust by those other bigger bikes. The Connie has the power to keep up with any of these other guys.

Yeah, normal can often be boring. We crave some change, some variety. But when you’ve had a steady diet of not normal, and it hasn’t been fun, it’s amazing how wonderful normal can be. We all know that old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. Right now I’m really hoping to be living in some boring times.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 19. We “need” a bunch of expensive riding gear, usually 2 or 3 of each item.

Most of this website was built more than a few years ago now but it’s never really finished. There is always stuff that needs to be updated and there are always roads I want to pay more attention to. And more and more those roads are unpaved. I mean, let’s face it, I’ve already addressed most of the paved roads in the state that are worthy of attention, but there are lots of unpaved roads, and some of them are fabulous.

One area that has had my attention lately is the area around Cripple Creek. Unlike the pages I’ve built for passes and for canyons, the page I envision for Cripple Creek would focus on all the roads leading to it. Because there are quite a few of them. And there’s not a one of them that’s not interesting or worth riding. But they’re not all paved.

With all this in mind, I headed out last week by myself to refamiliarize myself and to shoot photos to go on this new page. It turned out to be a longer day than I had anticipated, but man did I have a good time.

I headed out of Denver on US 285 as far as the turn-off at Pine Junction, going south on CO 126 through Pine and down to Deckers, where the road becomes CO 67. Up to this point, amazingly, it had been cool enough that I wore a down vest over my t-shirt inside my mesh jacket. I stopped at Deckers to use the john and stretch my legs and I took the vest off now.

CO 67 continues south from Deckers until it reaches Woodland Park and there I turned west on US 24. This took me the short distance to Divide, where I turned south once again on CO 67. Actually, it was CO 67 all the way; US 24 and CO 67 are the same along this stretch.

Heading south on CO 67 is the main road into Cripple Creek and all by itself it is quite scenic. The road rides high and there are numerous view points with nice scenery. And to top it off, as you crest the hill and descend steeply into Cripple Creek you have just gone over Tenderfoot Pass. Not that it’s well marked or anything, but it’s there.

But I didn’t go that route. Just a few miles before Cripple Creek CO 67 does a hard right but if you go straight you’ll be on Teller County Road 81, which goes to Victor. I don’t know why but I’ve always had the idea this road was unpaved, but it isn’t. It’s paved all the way. And, of course, the paved road goes on around to Cripple Creek so it’s a loop.

Victor was where I was to pick up the first of the day’s gravel roads: the Phantom Canyon Road. Coming this direction you actually come to the Phantom Canyon Road before you even get into Victor. I saw the sign for County Road 86 and thought that might be it but went on into town before I stopped to check the map. Sure enough. No matter, it wasn’t more than half a mile.

So I turned down County Road 86 and I had a little trepidation. The truth is, although I’ve had this V-Strom for a number of years now, and I got it specifically to be able to ride off the pavement, I just haven’t done all that much of it. Certainly not as much as I have wanted to do. And at this point, what dirt-riding skills I have developed were a bit rusty.

Not to worry. The road was amazingly smooth. So smooth, in fact, that it appeared it had only recently been graded. That impression was confirmed in a short while when I encountered the road grader at work.

The Phantom Canyon Road used to be a narrow-gauge train route so there were a couple tunnels cut through sheer rock walls and a lot of the road hugs the cliff with canyon way down below–and of course no guard rails and not so wide that two cars can pass comfortably unless one hangs back in wider spot when they see the other one coming. Absolutely fine for motorcycles, though.

Altogether, from Victor to where you hit US 50 east of Canon City it’s about 34 miles. It’s slow going so figure on an hour minimum. And it really is a pretty good road all the way, especially right now. You won’t be disappointed in the scenery.

I stopped in Canon City for lunch and that’s where I’ll leave this today. I’ll pick up the tale next time.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: If your Motorcycle is too soft, you can get different shocks.

Sometimes the best tool for the job is not the one designed for that purpose, but the one – the only one – you have.

Take dual-sport riding, this business of taking a motorcycle down the highway to get somewhere, and then taking that same bike onto the dirt when you reach your destination. Years ago, when motorcycles were less specialized than they are today, riders were far more ready to take their street bikes in the dirt. Nowadays we have dirt bikes and dual-sport bikes, and most street bikes never see more than a short stretch of gravel here and there. Many never see anything but pavement.

I went dual-sporting awhile back in the area around Gunnison. The two Suzuki V-Stroms we were on were provided by my friend Kevin, who used to rent V-Stroms out of Gunnison. And there was a third person with us, Kevin’s wife, Janet, and she was riding her Kawasaki Ninja 500R.

The Ninja is a sportbike, the antithesis of a dual-sport or dirt bike. Whereas the V-Strom has 6 inches of suspension travel in the rear, the Ninja is limited to 3.9 inches. On rough roads those 2 inches make a huge difference. And ground clearance on the Ninja is only 4.9 inches, compared to 6.5 inches on the V-Strom.

We headed out of Gunnison on the highway, went up and over North Cochetopa Pass, and then coming down the other side we turned off on an unpaved county road. It was pretty good gravel, hard packed and stable, and well maintained. The V-Stroms, like any good dual-sport bike, were right at home. And the Ninja just cruised along, too.

As we began to climb up to Carnero Pass things got a bit rougher. There was washboard, a few ruts, and some stretches of badly disturbed surface. The V-Stroms ate it up. The Ninja took it slowly, navigating around the bigger holes, following the smoothest path. Not a problem.

Over the top and down and we followed a ranching canyon to its outlet onto the prairie. The road was once again good hard-packed gravel. Then we turned onto an unpaved county road that was broad and flat . . . and deep in loose gravel.

“That sucked!,” Janet said when we stopped in town. “That mountain road was fine. I had no problem with it. On that flat road I didn’t feel comfortable going above 40. I knew that if I screwed up it would hurt.”

“Deep, loose gravel is hard, I don’t care what you’re riding,” Kevin replied in agreement.

So the rougher, less-maintained road was really better for the Ninja.

“The suspension on the Ninja was fine. I absolutely felt confident on it. I feel very maneuverable on that bike. I can move it anywhere I need it to move to avoid obstacles in the road,” Janet explained.

That said, she added, “I’d rather be on the (paved) road.”

Janet is a serious mountain bike rider, but has only started riding motorcycles in recent years. She chose the Ninja because it was one of the only bikes she could handle considering how short her legs are.

“Now I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I want a dirt bike because I want to start doing all these gnarly roads around in the mountains.’ I want to get up in there without having to be in a car. It just catches me off guard because I didn’t expect motorcycling to get under my skin. And when I ride it gets under my skin. When I’m not riding I’m like, ‘No I don’t want to do that, I want to ride my bicycle.’”

Janet has taken her Ninja over other mountain passes on gravel roads. “It’s the only bike I’ve ever had. If I want to go somewhere it’s the bike I ride.”

It’s just that simple. For Janet, it’s the best tool for the job.

Biker Quote for Today

I need men for some things; riding a motorcycle is not one of them.