OFMC Will Ride the Beartooth This Year

January 15th, 2009

Are you planning your summer trip yet? I know for a fact that a lot of people are because with this website in the early months of its fourth year I see the seasonal ups and downs of the traffic. November is traditionally my slowest month and it picks up in December and then climbs like a mountain goat through July.

On top of the Beartooth Pass

Of course the OFMC is planning a summer trip, and this year we’ve decided to return to the Beartooth. In case you aren’t familiar with one of the greatest motorcycle roads in the U.S., the Beartooth Pass is traversed by U.S. 212 running from Red Lodge, MT, in the east down into Yellowstone National Park on the west some 65 miles distance. Along the way it rides the ridge above timber line for miles and miles.

We’ve done this ride before, but not since 1992. It’s time to go back!

We went west to east before and we want to go east to west this time. Plus, the OFMC has a bunch of new members who weren’t along on the last trip up there.

We’re also doing something new this year. While we had given serious consideration to hitting Jackpot, NV, again, another favorite stop of ours, it didn’t work into the plans. Instead, we’re going to Lava Hot Springs, ID. This is a place John, our map-meister, ran across and looked up and then proposed. It looks very interesting.

The rest of the trip will be focused around these two destinations. We’ll be either stopping at or passing through a lot of the usual places these trips to the northwest take us through. These include Saratoga and Thermopolis, WY; Vernal, UT; Red Lodge and West Yellowstone, MT; and Craig and Steamboat Springs, CO. I’ll map out the route and post it once we get it all nailed down.

Yeah, July seems like a long way off but that just means you get that much longer to dream about the ride. If you’ve never done a week-long ride then start planning and organizing. This is always my single most favorite week of the entire year. What’s holding you back?

Biker Quote for Today

Ride ’til the horizon is behind ya.

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Posted in OFMC, Suggested Rides | No Comments »

My Visit to the National Motor Scooter Show

January 12th, 2009

I’ll tell you right off the bat that this event was far less than I expected it to be. I mean, with a name like National Motor Scooter Show, and the promise of 35 manufacturers represented, I expected something big and glitzy. It wasn’t.

The event was held out at the Adams County Fairgrounds from Friday to Sunday, in conjunction with a holistic crafts fair. That gives you an idea just how small it was.

Vectrix VX-1Let’s give these folks their due, however. This was the first year for the event and most all things of this sort start out small. With any luck, they did well enough that they’ll be back in following years, getting bigger and better.

It was still interesting, however. In particular, I was curious to see the Vectrix VX-1 all-electric, plug-in scooter. I had read about this and was interested to see one. It’s a large scooter, seats two in comfort, and reportedly has a top speed of 62 mph. It was priced below a comparable gas-powered scooter so I’m thinking that if I was in the market for one of these things I’d go with the Vectrix.

Another one I found interesting was made by Schwinn. You know Schwinn, that old bicycle company. I didn’t know they had gone the motorized route. I do know you sure don’t see many Schwinn bicycles around any more. Adapt or die.

There was one motorcycle in among all the scoots, and that was a first for me as well. This was a Hyosung bike, made by a Korean manufacturer who is trying to break into the U.S. market. This particular model was a sport bike but I didn’t get the model.

So. Not a big event but I’m always interested in anything with two wheels and a motor. The more of all of us there are out there on the road the more clout we have in protecting our rights. Get your motor running!

Biker Quote for Today

Whatever it is, it’s better in the wind.

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Posted in Biker Issues | No Comments »

No Rockies Ride for New Zealand Crew This Year

January 8th, 2009

You may recall that I did a whole series of posts awhile back called “New Zealand Rides the Rockies,” mapping out the routes that a bunch of kiwi riders were planning for this summer.

Well, I got an email from Steve, the organizer, the other day and the trip is off for this year. The current global economic debacle is to blame. Steve still hopes to do the trip, but he says it will be 2010 at the earliest.

I sure know how that goes, having been out of work myself for most of 2008, and only recently getting back to work and putting my finances in good order.

Nevertheless, it was interesting how I came to email Steve last week. It seems that Dirk, a biker who read this blog, is planning a riding trip in New Zealand and had been trying to find out about good roads down there. He tried reaching some motorcycle clubs but got no answer so he contacted me, asking to be put in touch with the guys I knew. I did, and Steve replied with his news.

Oh well. We were looking forward to hosting Steve and his buddies, but we’ll be just as happy to see them in 2010, if that works out.

Biker Quote for Today

When life throws me a curve I will lean into it!

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Having a Great Time at the Motorcycle Ice Races

January 5th, 2009

You really can’t believe the way these racers scream around the frozen track until you see them do it. We saw them today and it was great!

My wife, Judy, and I went to the Harry’s Roamers Motorcycle Club ice races at Rainbow Falls Park, which is off CO 67 between Deckers and Woodland Park. A frozen lake provides the track. It was pretty dang cold but the racing was hot! Well, at least some of it.

motorcycle ice racing

You have to figure, with classes ranging from pros to toddlers, not all the racing was hot. But if, like Judy, you swoon over cute kids you would have loved these tiny tots on their tiny bikes. In some cases you could probably run and keep up with the leader, providing you didn’t slip and fall on your butt on the ice.

The top racers, on the other hand, were amazing. They have sheet metal screws drilled into their tires to provide traction and it must really do the job. I haven’t even seen lean angles like that at dirt tracks.

There was a real variety, too. Besides the two-wheelers, there was also three- and four-wheel ATV racing, and also the third-wheel guys. These third wheels were basically motorcycles with a large third wheel set up like an outrigger. And then there were also the guys on two wheels who don’t use studs in their tires. Don’t ask me how they stay up.

The whole thing was a lot of fun, it took much longer to get there from Denver than we expected, and it was biting cold, at least early on. If you go be sure to get an early start and dress very warmly.

The club will be holding four more race days this season, on Jan. 11, Jan. 18, Jan. 25, and Feb. 8. There’s an $8 gate fee, with kids under 12 free. You can buy food and drinks but be prepared to pay very high prices. Better to take something along.

This was a lot of fun. I strongly recommend it. Enjoy.

Biker Quote for Today

Go fast and aim for where the trees aren’t.

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Posted in motorcycle racing | 2 Comments »

2008 Car/Bikes Mileage Almost Equal

January 1st, 2009

I wondered for a long time if I was going to manage to get in more miles on my bikes last year than on my car. Well, it’s January 1, 2009 and I have the answer: Not quite.

My total overall mileage was 9,810 miles. That splits almost equally between two wheels and four wheels, but four wheels ended up with a 132-mile edge. Car: 4,971. Bikes: 4,839.

How does that compare with what I set as goals a year ago? In that regard I’m looking really good. Here’s what I said: “For 2008 I’m going to shoot for 2,500 again on the Kawi, I’ll really push and try to also log 1,000 miles on the Honda, and I will try this time to keep the car to under 11,000.”

In fact, I put 2,265 miles on the Concours and 2,574 miles on the Honda. Clearly I was wildly successful keeping the car under 11,000 considering I only drove it 4,971 miles. Being out of work much of the year made that easy.

So, what about 2009? What goals am I setting?

Well, I’m working again, and this time the job is much closer to home, only 4 miles away. That means that even if I ride a bike much of the time it won’t come out to that many miles. My previous job was 23 miles away.

I’m going to set 5,000 as the low goal for the car, the idea with it being to keep the number down. For the Kawi I’ll shoot for 2,000, and then 1,500 for the CB750. I’ll definitely be taking the Kawi on the OFMC trip this year, so 2,000 should be easy. I’ll need to choose the Honda deliberately on numerous occasions to make 1,500 with it.

I know these aren’t big numbers but hey, I just don’t drive that much. Did you drive less than 10,000 miles last year? I don’t think many people do.

So, have a good year riding and, as always, keep the rubber side down.

Biker Quote for Today

If you ride like there’s no tomorrow, there won’t be.

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And Even More Three-Wheelers

December 29th, 2008

I don’t really have a fixation on trikes these days, but they just seem to be where I am a whole lot lately.

Today I went on the ABATE of Colorado Last Brass Monkey Run, their traditional last ride of the year event. And I even joined, so now I’m an ABATE member. Well, not surprisingly, there were a few trikes in among the hundreds of two-wheelers, but then the really flashy ones showed up. These aren’t necessarily the best photos because the light wasn’t right for what I would have liked to have gotten. But you’ll get an idea of what these things were like.

This first one is one of these guys as he’s arriving, and I only got a grab shot, so missed the front wheel.

motorcycle trikes

Here he is again, where you can see it a bit better.

motorcycle trikes

And here’s one of his buddies. Notice the high-riding passenger.

motorcycle trikes

There was a third but I didn’t get any useable pics of it. Oh well. But then a different three-wheeler showed up. This was the second Can-Am Spyder I’ve seen now. Here she has it in reverse gear, backing into a parking spot.

Can-Am Spyder

Biker Quote for Today

Now go put some miles on that thing!

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Posted in Motorcycles, Rides and Rallies | No Comments »

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