Alisa And The Sisters Ride

July 4th, 2016
Sisters' Centennial Motorcycle Ride

Who knew Alisa would go out and create something like this?!

Right at this moment there is big deal motorcycle ride crossing the country. The Sisters’ Centennial Motorcycle Ride is to mark the 100th anniversary of the ride made by two sisters, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, “the first women to cross the continental United States, each on her own motorcycle.” Serious math tells us this was 1916.

This modern ride started on July 3, in New York, and will end in San Francisco on July 23. And they’ll be coming through Colorado July 15-17. Their stop for two nights will be in Colorado Springs, with a side trip up Pikes Peak on July 15, or July 16 in case of bad weather.

So the reason I find this particularly interesting is that it has been organized by Alisa Clickenger, who I have known for a number of years now. And I’m doing this “Wow” kind of thing I think most people do when someone they know does something you never would have imagined them doing.

I first met Alisa in 2009 when she was a participant in the Adventure for the Cures “Dirty Dozen” ride that preceded the International Women and Motorcycling conference in Keystone. I was doing the full-time motorcycle freelance journalist thing at the time and I was covering the ride and the conference. I had gotten to know some of the women on that ride and most of my attention had focused on them and then I chanced to talk to Alisa. She didn’t try to hide a bit of hurt at being overlooked, considering that–she told me–she had made a point to reach out to me. Which I had let slip by.

So we spoke at length and as it turns out, she is the one person in that group who I have had the most ongoing connection with.

First I did a piece on her as demo ride leader for BMW. She had plenty of interesting stories to tell about that. Then she took off on a ride to the southern tip of South America and I followed her (journalistically) the whole way, largely by Skype, which enabled us to talk from wherever she was for free. And by the way, she didn’t get quite all the way there. But that was a heck of an adventure for a woman riding solo.

Meanwhile, Alisa had journalistic aspirations of her own. She and I have traded job tips over the years, of the sort like “Hey, this magazine is looking for stories that sound right up your alley.”

Well, the last time I sent her a tip she replied that she was much too busy to pursue this now–she had this ride thing she was planning that was taking all her time.

That was pretty surprising–ambitious!–by itself but then I started seeing endorsements and reports and support statements coming from a lot of sources. It wasn’t just happening, it was becoming a big deal.

And now I’m seeing pieces about it on places like CBS and a whole range of newspapers across the country. Wow. I knew her when.

So good for you Alisa. I’m thinking when you and your group go up Pikes Peak on July 15 I want to be up on top to greet you. But it’s going to be a surprise unless you read this blog post.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding motorcycles is like taking drugs . . . Bikes should come with a warning label that reads “Warning: Riding a motorcycle is addictive. It will change your life forever.”

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Brunch With The Boys

June 30th, 2016
Getting on the motorcycles.

Gearing up before leaving the casino.

Bill contacted us all to ask if we wanted to ride up to Central City for brunch Saturday. Who could say no to that?

I selected the Honda and we met up out in Golden. Cruising up Clear Creek Canyon was a dream–we somehow found ourselves with no one at all in front of us almost the entire way up. Hey guys, time to cruise!

The deal, as always, was to have brunch in a casino and then do a little gambling. The OFMC guys love to gamble, especially Bill, who is almost always a winner. That’s why our summer trip each year always includes a stop in a gambling town.

So we ate and played some slots for awhile and then it was time to head on. I pushed the starter button on the Honda and it cranked over with vigor but just kept on cranking. I hate that.

I tried again and the same thing. I knew it couldn’t possibly be running low on gas–and I opened the tank to confirm this–but I went ahead and threw the lever over to Reserve. Again it didn’t start.

Bill suggested I roll it down the ramp in the parking structure we were in to jump it but I tried once again and it finally caught. Yes!!

We headed out. And we pulled out of the parking garage into a light rain. Bill was in the lead and he turned the corner, went down the block and turned the next corner, and pulled right back into the garage we had just pulled out of. Now, this was the kind of light rain that I figured to just ride through so I was surprised at this move. Their talk quickly explained it to me, though.

These are guys who like to always have their machines sparkling clean. A few raindrops, a little wet thrown up from the road, translates into a lot of time rubbing and spiffing up the bike. As for me, I try, with only partial success, to make a point of cleaning each of my bikes at least every couple years.

Five minutes later the rain was gone but the road was wet. I’m guessing the guys had some cleaning to do when they got home. We headed over toward the Golden Gate Canyon road to come back down and all of a sudden it was a lot cooler than on the ride up. A bit of rain will do that to the air temperature. No matter, I knew it would warm up as we headed downhill.

Except it took a lot longer to get warm than I had expected. I had another layer in my bag but had figured I wouldn’t need it. You never really learn, do you? How many times have you made that mistake? More than a couple I’m willing to bet.

In fact, heading down we were catching up with the rain. Now it was looking like we were going to run right back into it, but just then we reached the turn-off to Golden Gate State Park and the road hooked away to the south and away from the clouds. And it finally started to get warm.

Back down to 93 and we split up and went our separate ways. I stopped and got gas just to be sure. My 5.5-gallon tank only took 2.9 gallons. There was no way I was low on gas. Why did it not want to start? I hope this was just a fleeting thing and is totally forgotten in a short while. But I’ll be holding my breath the next time I ride that bike.

Biker Quote for Today

The reason the front tire lasts so much longer is that it spends less time on the ground.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, OFMC | No Comments »

More HOV Lane Info

June 27th, 2016
Motorcycles on the interstate

Going up I-25 on your bike? Go ahead and use the HOV lane.

I got a bit more information on the push to exempt motorcycles from needing transponders to ride in HOV lanes without paying fees or having to get a transponder. The intent is clear and undisputed but the problem stems from not getting input from the public when the system was designed.

Carol Downs went with her husband, Bruce, and Stump to see how the systems of cameras and tracking works that enables the new system of toll lanes. Everyone had assumed up to that time that it would be simple to just recognize a motorcycle and send that file to the trash, with no dunning notice sent to the owner of that license plate.

Not so easy, Carol told me. While it easy enough to recognize a motorcycle from the photos, the photos feed through to the people charged with issuing the fee statements from the entire system with no way for them to tell if this rider is in the HOV lane on I-25 or on the E-470 toll road. If you’re on the toll road you have to pay a toll, no matter what kind of vehicle you’re in/on. If you’re in an HOV lane you don’t. But if they can’t tell what road you’re on they can’t just trash your file, unless they are willing to let some riders use the toll lanes for free. And maybe until they get this fixed that is exactly what they should do.

Funny how easy it could have been if there had been public input. ABATE would surely have gone to any hearing and raised the very same issue that was raised after the fact. And the software could have been designed from the very beginning to deal with this situation.

In the meantime, ABATE has been assured that any rider who wrongly receives notice of a fee to be paid can have that fee canceled. And in fact, one rider, who is not an ABATE member, contacted ABATE about this very thing and when ABATE spoke to the tracking company that fee was dropped. Not that the person who called decided to join ABATE to show their support for this kind of action, or even bothered to say thanks, but the group was looking for just that sort of situation in order to push the matter.

And then Larry Montgomery, the ABATE metro region coordinator, told me he deliberately rode his bike in the HOV lane its full length up I-25 just to see if he would get a letter in the mail. To date he has not.

In the meantime, the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise, which operates the tolling system, can’t get started on redesigning their software until they get the go-ahead from the Colorado Department of Transportation. And CDOT is entangled in all sorts of bureaucratic issues so there’s no telling when that will happen. But go ahead, ride in the HOV lanes. And if they send you a fee statement, give them a call and tell them to cancel it.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcyclist: A person willing to take a container of flammable liquid, place it on top of a hot moving engine, and then put the whole lot between their legs.

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Hard Drive Crash; No Post Today

June 24th, 2016

I never miss a post. I have a schedule and I stick with it. But not today.

I’ve been dealing with a hard drive crash and what a mess that is.

Should be back on schedule on Monday. The weather is nice; go ride.

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »

No Change Yet On HOV Lane Use Without Transponder

June 20th, 2016
HOV lane sign

You still need a transponder to ride free in the HOV lane. How quickly will CDOT fix that problem?

You may be wondering why the whole issue of motorcycles currently needing transponders to ride free in HOV lanes has slipped from sight. I certainly was. The last I had heard (and passed along) was that various legislators had taken a big interest in the subject and were applying big pressure on the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to rectify the situation, now.

So when I have a question I ask. I emailed Stump, the legislative liaison for ABATE of Colorado, with this query:

Hey Stump, I’m wondering whatever became of the effort to get this HOV lane thing changed. Last I heard the rep or senator–can’t remember which–was pressing CDOT and/or the company to make immediate changes. Where has that gone? Thanks for the update.

And I promptly received this reply:

Hi Ken,

Bruce and I have been in contact with E470, the agency that monitors the tolls and must make the changes. We actually had a tour of the facility to better understand the entire process. E470 is waiting for the “OK – Go Ahead” from CDOT before they can make the changes. Then it should only take a couple of weeks, per the person who will actually make the computer changes. It’s actually a pretty involved process as we learned form our tour. Bruce has been in contact with the executive director of CDOT inquiring what’s taking so long and we expect another update shortly. I’ll keep you updated. Thanks for your concern.

Stump

Now you know as much as I do. I’m sure we’re all curious how quickly CDOT will move.

Biker Quote for Today

Happiness keeps you sweet, long rides keep you strong, sorrow keeps you human, life keeps you humble, riding keeps you growing. But motorcycles keep you going.

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Kids On Motorcycles–Good Or Bad?

June 16th, 2016
Little girl riding on back of motorcycle.

A bunch of people tried to shame the mother who let her little girl ride.

I happened to see this and thought it was kind of interesting.

It seems a girl of seven was filmed riding on the back of a motorcycle and someone posted the video. Then the stuff hit the fan.

While many people gave it a thumbs-up, others said the mother should be charged with child abuse or something for putting her child at risk like that. They tried to shame her on social media. The mother has responded by organizing a biker parents rally this weekend to promote the idea that “Kids Are Bikers Too.”

We are having a day of fun with our family: blood, bikers, and supporters to spread awareness that KIDS are bikers too. Everyone is welcome to come out and share the love of riding.

The mom, Mallory Torres, initially responded to the attempted shaming with this comment.

Some of you may have seen this picture on Facebook, and some of you may have even seen this in person…This is my 7 year old daughter riding home from school on a motorcycle. Yes. She’s 7, and she’s on a motorcycle. ‘Why?’ Some of you may ask… Because I love my daughter. That’s right… I LOVE MY DAUGHTER and she loves to ride, so I allow her to ride on the back of a motorcycle in full gear with my boyfriend who has 20+ years of experience.

So what do you think of the whole thing? I know that I would have been totally thrilled to get to ride on a motorcycle when I was that age.

At the same time, that image of the two of them on that sportbike makes me a little edgy. If there was a sissy bar of some kind, a backrest, to help keep her on I’d feel a little better about it. I know Judy has not been comfortable on any of my bikes until I got something on there behind her. Or if there were something substantial for the girl to grip, rather than just putting her arms around the boyfriend’s waist.

Clearly I disagree with the folks who would say no child should be allowed on a motorcycle at all. Heck, I think having a kid riding their own bike at five is a great thing at the dirt track or somewhere else where that is appropriate.

Anyway, I just thought the whole thing was interesting and thought you might think so, too.

Biker Quote for Today

If you don’t like motorcycles then you probably won’t like me, and I’m OK with that.

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Posted in Biker Issues | 1 Comment »

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