Hot Dang! Concours Owners Group Coming to Colorado

November 23rd, 2007

Oh boy, I’m excited about this one. I own a Kawasaki Concours and I just learned that the Concours Owners Group is holding their annual rally here in Colorado. It’s going to be in Frisco the week of June 2-6. I may have to rejoin the organization.

I joined COG as soon as I bought my Connie in 1999 and went for a few rides but at that point I had other buddies to ride with so I didn’t renew my membership. Now the guy who seems to have been the linch-pin in our group has moved over to the western slope and while we still go for our summer trips, the rest of us don’t get together as much to ride. I had been thinking for awhile of rejoining COG in order to find some new riding buddies.

So anyway, this rally looks like something you really have to make a commitment to. Most rallies take place over the weekend but this one is Monday to Friday. That could be the one thing that stops me from going. I’m a contractor, working on an hourly basis, and when I’m not working I’m not making money. But to be in one place with a couple thousand other folks on Connies is pretty tempting. Plus, they may be offering demo rides on the new Concours 14, the first makeover for this bike in about 18 years. All the moto-mags are calling it one of the best touring bikes you’ll find.

Don’t know at this point what I’ll do but I’m pretty buzzed!

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Posted in Kawasaki, Motorcycles, Rides and Rallies | No Comments »

Dang, I’ve Got Some Riding To Do

October 26th, 2007

Having goals is a good thing to do to ensure that you actually achieve what you set out to achieve. I’ve read various articles about how people who graduated college with goals set for themselves are found, 10 years later, to have achieved much more than grads who did not have goals. The idea is to check back in and see how you’re progressing toward your goals, and then presumably focus more on doing what it will take to get there.

I set a goal for myself here back in January for the number of miles I want to ride this year. Checking in just now I see that I’m not doing bad but I have a ways to go. The good thing is that I wanted to ride my Kawasaki Concours at least 2,500 miles this year and, in fact, I have already ridden it 2,808 miles. I also wanted to limit my car driving to no more than 12,000, and it looks like I’m close to that, hitting just under 11,000 miles so far. I’ll probably go over that a little, especially if we spend Christmas at my brother’s place in Carlsbad, which means driving my car there.

Where I’m really lacking is on my Honda CB750 Custom. I wanted to ride it 2,000 miles this year but so far I’ve only put 350 miles on it. Ouch! I would have to ride it to work pretty nearly every remaining work day this year to reach that number. I don’t think the weather will allow me to do that. But OK, that’s the point of setting goals and checking in periodically. I know now what I have to do. I may not get there but I know the Honda will get the call a lot more than the Kawi in the next couple months. And I guess I’ll ride to work more often. It’s a dirty job but . . .

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The Black Hills Are Not Just For The Rally

September 29th, 2007

For any of you who have been to the Sturgis rally, or have dreamed of going, I’m going to let you in on a secret: The riding in the Black Hills is fabulous, and it’s a lot better without the rally. Sure, everyone ought to go to the rally at least once. It’s an incredible experience and you’ll never see so many motorcycles concentrated in one area anywhere else. But if you’ve gone, and you’ve taken some rides through the Black Hills, you know that it’s a constant stream of bikes in both directions wherever you go. That’s pretty mind-blowing, sort of like a Jew going to Israel and being in the majority for the first time in their life, but do you really like riding in all that traffic?

It’s September 29 and we just got back from the Black Hills. The difference couldn’t be greater. It’s now the off season, so all accommodations are marked down from their high-season norms. We won’t even mention the prices during the rally. It’s now off season, so the roads are practically deserted. It’s just the locals, a few tourists, and actually a good number of bikes. It seems there are a least some bikers who have figured this out. You get to cruise on nearly empty highways, through gorgeous fall foliage, in weather that can only be described as glorious.

We’ll definitely be going back. You should go, too. The fall colors were just past their peak so probably the very best time would be early to mid September. This was one of the best vacations I’ve ever had.

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Sen. Gordon Not Planning Adult Helmet Bill

August 7th, 2007

I mentioned before that I emailed Sen. Ken Gordon to ask about a news report where an ABATE rep said they expect to see a new helmet bill next legislative session. Now I have the response. Ken Gordon said:

The answer is no. I am not planning to do that and I have talked to the people that were involved with this year’s bill and they aren’t either. The rumor is probably the paranoid rumination of someone who imagines something that they don’t like and then assumes that it will happen.

That’s good. Thanks Ken for not getting carried away.

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Posted in Biker Issues, Helmet Laws, Motorcycle Safety | No Comments »

Three Day Trips From Estes Park

July 29th, 2007

I ran across this question on the Delphi motorcycle forum:

Ok, who is a good ride planner? We plan on being at the KOA in Estes Park in a couple of weeks. We have 3 day that we will be riding day trips out of there. Any recommendations? Not looking for a ton of miles, maybe 200-300 per day or less.

Thanks,

J.R.

I posted this reply:

JR–

From Estes Park you will definitely want to take the ride up over Trail Ridge Road. For a 200-mile ride you could go over Trail Ridge, then from Granby to Walden, then take Coloado 14 over Cameron Pass and down through Poudre Canyon to Fort Collins, and then south to Loveland and back up Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park.

Beyond that you’re a bit limited. Unless you go over Trail Ridge again to go in other directions from Granby you’re faced with going back down to the plains or coming back at night over the same roads you left on.

You can go south out of Estes Park along the Peak to Peak Highway, to where you meet US 6, to Idaho Springs, up Squaw Pass, and to the top of Mount Evans. Then backtrack, more or less, or return over Trail Ridge.

Then for your third day you might consider going over Trail Ridge again, from Granby head to Kremmling and Steamboat Springs, over Rabbit Ears Pass. Then south on Colorado 131 either to Toponas and back over Gore Pass to Kremmling and backtrack. Or, continue south from Toponas to Wolcott and pick up I-70 and take it back over Vail Pass and get off at Silverthorne and take Loveland Pass to regain the interstate on the east side of the tunnel. Then back just east of Idaho Springs to get back on the Peak to Peak. But that runs close to 300 miles and a very long day. It’s tough from Estes Park because you’re really limited on where you can go from there.

Anyway, I hope that helps. You can find out a lot more about these roads on my website, www.motorcyclecolorado.com. Have fun.

I’m always happy to help. Anyone else looking for motorcycling information in Colorado, just write. I need to make note here, however, that because of the spam bastards I had to turn comments off on this blog. So to write, send your email to ken at motorcyclecolorado dot com.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Day Rides, Suggested Rides | No Comments »

Let’s See What Sen. Ken Gordon Says He Plans Re. Helmet Laws

July 28th, 2007

I sent an email to Ken Gordon, my state senator, today. I want to know if he really is planning to introduce a helmet law bill to require adults to wear them. He succeeded this past session in passing a law requiring minors to do so. Here’s the text of my message to him:

Ken–
Hello. I am one of your constituents and I ride motorcycles. I have a question for you.

In an article on July 5 in the Rocky Mountain News about the new helmet law for minors, they quoted Terry Howard of ABATE saying “It’s been rumored that they are going to try and introduce a helmet bill for adults next session. . . . (We fully expect our opponents) to introduce an adult helmet law.”

My question: Is this true? Are you planning to introduce a more comprehensive law? I would very much appreciate a direct answer. I don’t want to assume that Terry Howard is right, I would rather hear directly from you about it.

I’ll tell you right now that I would oppose any such law. I wear my helmet at times when I feel it is wise and at other times I do not. I prefer to be the judge of this.

To your argument that bikers hurt while not wearing helmets add to health costs for all I would simply respond, people who eat poorly and eat junk and become overweight incur health costs that drive up the costs for the rest of us. Do you plan to outlaw eating junk food? I mean, seriously: what is the difference? There are a lot more people eating that second donut and getting fat than there are bikers getting hurt not wearing helmets. The health costs are much higher.

I will really, truly appreciate hearing from you on this issue. Thanks.

So now let’s see how he responds. I’ll be sure to post it here. Stay tuned.

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Posted in Biker Issues, Helmet Laws, Motorcycle Gear, Motorcycle Safety | No Comments »

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