Ride Videos Up And Down Lookout Mountain

February 22nd, 2016

I’m still experimenting using my new GoPro camera, and with the great weather we’ve been having I’ve been out. The first test I did was a simple ride over the top of Cherry Creek Dam, with the camera mounted on my helmet. Next I decided I wanted to try it with the camera mounted on the fairing of my Concours.

I also wanted to try out the time-lapse function because I can’t believe many people are going to want to watch a 45-minute video going over some pass. But they might watch a 2-minute time-lapse version of that. What would that time-lapse be like? I wanted to find out.

I selected Lookout Mountain. With the camera on the fairing I shot time-lapse going up and regular video coming down. See here for yourself how it turned out:

Time Lapse Going Up

Regular Video Coming Down

So you can see, the time-lapse goes pretty fast. That was shot at one frame every half second and that’s the fastest rate possible. I’d like to have done in something like maybe eight frames per second so it would be a bit smoother and also not such a race to the top. But you work with the technology you’ve got.

I also wasn’t thrilled that much of what you might see in the mountainside view is blocked by the guard rail. I’m thinking the top of the helmet would have been better, to see over the rail. The view, in this case, is mostly down. Going through Glenwood Canyon the fairing might be good because there the view would be mostly up. That’s why I’m experimenting.

Ultimately I’d like to get video going over every pass in the state that I have included on the website, plus every canyon, and add them on those web pages. That means I’m going to have to ride all of them again! What a dirty job. But I’ll do it. That’s just the kind of guy I am.

Biker Quote for Today

Did you hear about the guy who got a motorcycle for his wife? Pretty good swap don’t you think? (OK, this one is going to get me in trouble with my wife. I don’t really agree with the idea but I still thought it was worth a chuckle.)

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides | No Comments »

HOV Lane Bill Advances

February 18th, 2016
Tiger Chandler testifies

Tiger Chandler speaks to the Senate Transportation Committee.

A 4-1 favorable vote bodes well for an effort to resolve the issue of motorcyclists being assessed fees and fines for using high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in Colorado. Federal law mandates that motorcycles are always considered HOV but current practice here requires that you have a transponder on your bike or else you will receive a bill in the mail.

Senate Bill 16-123 was passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee Thursday and will move to the Senate Committee of the Whole. The only no vote, from Sen. Nancy Todd, was cast with the statement that if the bill had only addressed the motorcycle issue it would also have been a yes. As it is, the bill, introduced by Sen. Kevin Lundberg, calls for any vehicle that is permitted in an HOV lane be permitted without being required to have a transponder.

Testimony opposing this bill was based primarily on the practical challenges of using a single lane for HOV, rapid transit (buses), and tolled traffic (HOT). Representatives from the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Boulder/Boulder County, and the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise, which operates the tolling system, expressed concern about loss of revenues to pay for the new lanes on US 36 and suggested if the bill passes the ultimate result will be the elimination of HOV lanes entirely.

Alone among them, Matthew Applebaum, representing the interests of Boulder, suggested that the issue might be resolved by not requiring people signing up for transponders who express no intention of using the toll lanes to make the current $35 deposit to cover any fees incurred. He said the $15 for the transponder would be saved in one trip on the Boulder Turnpike and so did not suggest offering the transponders for free.

Motorcycles already can get transponders for free but they still have to give a credit card or bank account and have the $35 deposit drawn.

Bruce Downs, state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado, argued that even free transponders for motorcycles is not sufficient because it does not eliminate the situation where, for instance, an out-of-state rider might use the HOV lane and find an unpleasant surprise in their mailbox afterward. He said Virginia has addressed this issue by installing cameras that are capable of distinguishing motorcycles and ignoring them.

Deb “Tiger” Chandler, who represents the US Defenders and the Coalition of Independent Riders, asked why the motorcycling community had not been included in discussions leading up to this new system long before it was put into place.

Sen. Lundberg acknowledged that as the bill continues its path through the legislature it is likely that amendments will be made and those amendments could resolve some of the valid concerns of those currently opposing the bill.

This bill is still a long way from becoming a law but the response in the Senate Transportation Committee suggests that motorcyclists can reasonably hope for resolution of the issue that concerns them, even if that resolution is not found in this particular bill.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride as though you are invisible, not invincible.

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Posted in Motorcycle legislation | 1 Comment »

Lane-Splitting Bill Killed

February 17th, 2016
Hearing on lane-splitting

ABATE State Coordinator Bruce Downs speaks to the committee in support of the bill.

Lane-splitting in Colorado met with defeat on Wednesday, though in a way that possibly bodes well for future attempts.

Dying on a 5-8 vote in the Transportation and Energy Committee, House Bill 16-1205, which would have legalized lane-splitting, was noted to be a non-partisan bill but the vote was on party lines just the same. One Republican joined the Democrats in defeating it. But sponsor Gordon Klingenschmitt was please afterward that it had received as many votes as it did. We just have to keep working at it.

Reservations expressed by several of the representatives focused largely on a lack of comprehensive data to back up the existing data that seem to show that lane-splitting is safer than sitting in traffic because it reduces the likelihood of motorcyclists getting rear-ended.

Max Tyler, the committee chairman, argued that California experience with lane-splitting does not equate to Colorado because California has a mandatory helmet law. Another representative, Daneya Esgar, noted that she is “constantly worried” when her mother and the mother’s husband ride, not for what they might do but for what other drivers might do. Faith Winter expressed her concern that lane-splitting would be permitted on roads other than major highways. None of the opponents expressed any willingness to be the first state to officially legalize lane-splitting. Although it is not illegal in California, neither is it officially permitted and a bill to do that has been stalled for a long time.

Dave Hall, of the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), expressed that agency’s opposition to the bill. He, too, suggested CSP would be amenable to the possibility if further evidence could be developed that authoritatively supported the safety claim.

Rep. Klingenschmitt summed up his argument saying this is one of those rare times when liberty and safety are not in conflict. Allowing riders this freedom would also help make them safer, he said. However, this time at least, his argument was not enough.

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Lane-Splitting And HOV Bills To Have Hearings

February 16th, 2016
BSA Motorcycle

Just a gratuitous photo of a cool old bike.

Hearings will be held this week on legislation concerning motorcycle lane-splitting and the need for transponders when motorcycles use HOV lanes.

The hearing on House Bill 16-1205, to allow lane-splitting, will be at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17, in room 0112 at the Capitol. Senate Bill 16-123, on HOV lanes, will be taken up on Thursday in Senate conference room 352 following the Senate’s adjournment, at around 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

HB 16-1205, sponsored by Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt (R), from the Colorado Springs area, reads as follows:

Concerning An Exception To The Prohibitions Against Driving A Motorcycle Around Motor Vehicles Blocking The Lanes Of Traffic Moving In The Same Direction.

Currently, the driver of a motorcycle is prohibited from driving between rows of motor vehicles or overtaking on the right. The bill allows motorcycles to drive between rows of motor vehicles or overtake on the right when traffic is moving at less than 5 miles per hour if:

  • The motor vehicles that the motorcycle is driving around are traveling in the same direction as the motorcycle and at no more than 5 miles per hour;
  • The motorcycle is driven no faster than 15 miles per hour; and
  • The motorcycle does not exceed by more than 10 miles per hour the speed of traffic the motorcycle is passing.

Overtaking on the right is not allowed when a vehicle is using the shoulder.

The Colorado department of transportation may notify the public of these changes.

FYI, this bill does not meet the criteria desired by ABATE of Colorado and because there was no time for the ABATE board to discuss it the group will not be taking a stand for or against it.

The Senate bill is quite brief:

Concerning Free Access For High Occupancy Vehicles To High Occupancy Vehicle And High Occupancy Toll Lanes On State Highways, And, In Connection Therewith, Prohibiting The Department Of Transportation And The High-Performance Transportation Enterprise From Requiring A Vehicle Owner To Use A Switchable Transponder Or Other Device In Order To Travel In A High Occupancy Vehicle On Such A Lane Without Paying A Toll.

The bill prohibits the department of transportation or the high-performance transportation enterprise from requiring a vehicle owner to use a switchable transponder or other device in order to travel in a high occupancy vehicle on either a high occupancy vehicle lane or a high occupancy toll lane on a toll-free basis.

Can’t get much clearer than that. If you’re on a motorcycle and use an HOV lane you don’t need a transponder to freely do what you are legally allowed to do. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Kevin Lundberg, from the Fort Collins area. ABATE will be supporting this one.

I’m planning to be there so I’ll report back on what happens. If you want your voice heard, come down and testify.

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you like to ride by stores with big picture windows so you can admire your reflection.

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Posted in Biker Issues, Motorcycle legislation | 2 Comments »

A Ride Around DIA

February 15th, 2016
motorcycle with DIA and the mountains in the background

That jagged bit of white there is DIA.

Unlike so many of my rides, I had a plan this time. I saw that if I went out to Watkins I could go north on Imboden Road to 120th and thereby go around Denver International Airport. It was an incredibly gorgeous day and that looked like a good plan.

The ride to Watkins was pretty standard. I’ve done this a number of times recently. I-225 to Iliff, which becomes Jewell, to Watkins Road, then north. I was interested to see that even way out that far east, US 36 is also called Colfax Avenue. Take that about half a mile out of town east and you’re at Imboden.

So we’re really out in the country here, OK? There are some old houses scattered around but it’s basically wheat fields and pasture. And there’s no kind of development up ahead. Nevertheless, what do I encounter coming south but a couple of guys on Harleys. Guess they like getting out in the open spaces, too.

I had done a Google street view thing to make sure Imboden was paved but I hadn’t gone far when I saw a sign that read “Pavement ends.” OK. This was part of why I had ridden the V-Strom. And it did end, with a hard, smooth surface with a lot of loose gravel, but then after about a mile the pavement started up again. And I did hit another short stretch of gravel before I reached 120th.

At about 88th I found the spot I was looking for, where I could see the airport terminal with the mountains behind it. So I stopped and shot that picture above.

As warm as it was I had not worn my heated gloves but I did wear my electric vest. Good thing, because I turned it on before I even got to Watkins Road. I was hoping I wasn’t going to be kicking myself about the gloves. When you have a top bag you can just throw stuff into in case you need it, why don’t you do it? I haven’t yet found an answer to that question.

120th is pretty empty way out there, too, but the further west I came the more development there was. I turned south on Tower Road, with C-470 right over there, and had a chance to see all the airport-related development going on up there. Back at Colfax I turned west as far Airport Blvd. and then south. East on Alameda Parkway to Havana so I could stop at CostCo and get gas. That annoying little icon on my instrument cluster had been shouting at me for quite awhile now. The tank holds 5.8 gallons and I put in 5.25 gallons. What was I worried about?!

And on home. I love living in Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

I never lose. I only run out of laps, gas, or time.

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Showing My Ignorance

February 11th, 2016

I went on Tuesday to the hearing on Colorado Senate Bill 16-122 expecting it to be in regard somehow to the Colorado Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program. That’s what you get for assuming.

Broncos fans with their big Lombardi trophy

There was something else going on downtown Tuesday besides this legislative hearing.

All I had to go on was an email from Bruce Downs, state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado, saying the hearing would be happening and he was going to be testifying. I downloaded a copy of the bill and did my best to interpret what it was about. I was completely wrong.

Just as the bill said, it was about conducting audits of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) management of its contracts. So where does this tie in to motorcycles?

After his testimony Bruce explained it to me.

“I had a public forum and I could ding somebody so I did.”

The dinging in this case was in regard to both the MOST program and the requirement that motorcycles have transponders to use HOV lanes. From his statement:

Per the statute there was a limit put on how much could be spent on administration, yet CDOT’s actions indicate they do not feel they have to abide by the law and do not have to be accountable for their actions.

And:

Under federal law a motorcycle is considered an HOV under all conditions but CDOT didn’t seem to care. They wanted their $35 “deposit” for a transponder and if one was obtained three would be no “charge” for us to use the lane. If we did not have a transponder then there would be a fee and a fine. How does having a transponder make a difference if you are an HOV or not? What a double standard.

So while Sen. Randy Baumgardner was interested, with his bill, in greater transparency in CDOT, Bruce wanted to bring other issues to his attention, as well as to the attention of those on this committee. It’s a building block, not a whole building.

Did it do any good? Who knows. Maybe. After going through all the other formalities, rather than vote the bill up or down, Baumgardner asked that it be set aside, presumably for some revision. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes next.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are very useful and have almost annihilated distance and cheap clothes.

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Posted in Biker Issues, Motorcycle legislation | No Comments »

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