Passes & Canyons Blog

While off on this year’s OFMC trip I got a text pretty much out of the blue from Nick, someone I’ve known since I was 16 but who I had only seen twice in the past 50 years. He is, however, a closer friend of my brother, who lives in Grand Junction, and Nick was considering coming out to see Rick. Rick, however, does not ride motorcycles and I do, so Nick thought it would be nice to bring his bike out (from Chicago) and go riding with me. Nick rides a BMW R1250 RS.

So he did. The plan was for him to come first to Denver, from where we would do a few day rides, then go to Junction to hang with Rick for a few days. Then he would come back here and he and I would do a three-day ride.

Nick got in on Sunday and we headed out on Monday. I didn’t want to do anything really long but I didn’t want to short-change him either so I figured it would be a good day’s ride to go up to the Peak-to-Peak and ride to Estes Park, then home down one of the canyons and back south on CO 93.

We headed out of town on Hampden/US 285 and up to Golden and then turned up Clear Creek Canyon. It was a beautiful day up on the Peak-to-Peak and we had a nice cruise. Stopping for lunch in Nederland Nick informed me for the first time that he was really feeling the dryness and that he would like to stop frequently to drink some water. I suggested he drink Gatorade rather than water. This would be a constant issue the whole time we spent riding together.

We got to Estes Park and turned down the road running down the North St. Vrain (US 36), stopping for about the third time this day for road construction. There was a lot of road construction going on. Down in Lyons we pulled over in the town park for a break. By now Nick was telling me he was getting pretty worn out. OK. I had had the impression he was used to going a lot of miles in a day; maybe not. And again, he was dying for water. Why wasn’t I drinking lots of water, was I just used to this climate? That would be a “Yep.”

And then of course we ran into more road construction on US 36 heading south from Lyons to Boulder. At this stop we were right by another guy on a bike and this guy was something to see. Wearing a shirt all open all the way down both sides, he was sun-burned in a major way. You can see the strip down his side in the photo. I wouldn’t have wanted to be him later when that started really hurting!

We went straight through Boulder on Broadway and that was an experience. The north end of Boulder has gone through incredible changes since the last time I was there. It used to be all light industrial and now it’s all condos and apartments. Huge change.

On south on 93 across Rocky Flats and back to Golden. Then back east on Hampden and oh man, it was a blazing hot day and we were going slow in late afternoon traffic and we just roasted–a recurring theme over the next few days. Back at our house Nick said he was just wiped out. OK, I really think you need to be drinking Gatorade. And we’ll see how tomorrow’s ride goes.

Biker Quote for Today

Put the love between your legs and enjoy the ride.

Bill texted asking if we would like to ride up to Black Hawk for lunch and Dennis and I both said yes so we met at the usual place. Bill said he was figuring on going up Golden Gate Canyon so I had a flash. Have you guys ever been on Douglas Mountain Drive, I asked. No, they hadn’t so I led them on this ride.

When I first rode this road, last year, there was a sign at the top that said “Pavement Ends.” That was the case then, but this spring some time they sort of paved almost all of it. The sign is still there but now it’s largely incorrect. I would never had considered taking Bill and Dennis on that road but this newer, more paved road seemed like something they would be OK with.

The thing is, Dennis is very short and it’s a challenge for him to reach down and plant his foot, so he hates gravel.

So we went up from Golden Gate Canyon and dropped down into Clear Creek Canyon on Douglas Mountain Drive. We got to Black Hawk and parked and I asked how they had liked that ride. Anyone else I’ve ever been with on a first ride of this road has raved about how fabulous it was or how totally cool it was or something like that.

Dennis’s response: “It was a bit rough in places.”

Bill’s response: “It was kind of challenging sometimes.”

That’s it. OK.

So just as we came into Black Hawk, as we approached our turn, my bike sputtered a little like it’s needing to go to reserve. The odometer said only 118 miles and this bike (CB750) goes to reserve generally around 140 miles. So I didn’t immediately flip the petcock. Sometimes the warning can be subtle and it was this time. But then it just died. So I flipped the petcock, fired it up again, and pulled into the parking area and shut it back off.

We had lunch and played the machines a bit, which, or course, is what people do in Black Hawk. We ended up leaving with more money than we came with but the cash was not distributed equally. Bill won as usual, but only a little. Dennis had what is for him an extremely good day. And as usual I lost. You just have to think about it as paying by the hour for this particular form of entertainment, with the small possibility you’ll actually get paid rather than be the one paying.

Bill figured to just head back down through Clear Creek Canyon but he warned us there was construction going on and we might have to stop. OK. Then, taking the lead, he pulled into the gas station just down from Black Hawk thinking I might like to fill up. I appreciated his thoughtfulness.

That worked out perfectly then. We came onto a line of traffic stopped in the canyon but had only been there about two minutes when the folks ahead of us started to move. Great. And as we passed the line waiting in the other direction I counted at least 45 cars waiting for us to get clear so they could go the other way. Meanwhile, there were only three cars behind us. Great timing.

And then back in the city, after riding in canyon/mountain comfort, the heat soared and my last 10 miles were scorched. I’m ready for this heat to go away again.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if Jack Daniels makes your list of “most admired people.”

I was heading up Clear Creek Canyon when it started to rain. It was at that moment that it occurred to me that my rain suit was in the bag on the Honda. I was on the Concours. Not going to do me any good now.

No matter, it never rained hard. In fact, it was pretty cool. They were tiny drops and so rather than plummeting to earth they danced on the breeze, hanging semi-suspended. With backlighting from the sun, each individual drop was visible and scattered color around in a zillion mini-rainbows. I had my visor slightly cracked and so the moisture was coming in and wetting me around my mouth, which was also pleasant. Felt good.

It wasn’t long, though, before I was reminded that my number one job at the moment was riding the bike. A sharp curve brought that focus back very abruptly. Oh yeah, first things first.

As I climbed through the canyon I paid attention to the steep rock walls. Many years ago I became jaded, having been through this particular canyon so often that I lost all sense of its beauty. That appreciation has come back to me, however, and with the weather as it was it was particularly beautiful that day.

All along the road there were cars pulled over and people hiking and climbing and generally enjoying the day in the canyon. My focus was spread wide to take it all in. Then I passed into Tunnel 2 and was struck with the abrupt constricting of my focus–the literal reality of tunnel vision. No wide-ranging view, just the road ahead of me. I don’t recall it ever striking me with that force before.

Gaining in elevation as I was, it was getting cooler. This was the first time this fall I have used the electric vest and I was glad to have it on. And this was just a harbinger of the ride I took up Guanella Pass a couple days later. Summer is over. Pretty soon, chilly days like this are going to seem balmy and demand that I ride. Right now I’m just trying to take advantage whenever I can.

Later as I was headed home it occurred to me that I would be just in time to stop and have dinner with the RMMRC. Only one more big ride left this year and the next few meetings will be focused on rides for next year. I had planned to go on a bunch of them this year but family matters conflicted and those rides mostly didn’t happen.

The year is coming to a close and now my sights are on the future. I’m looking forward to a good 2018.

Biker Quote for Today

All I care about is riding . . . and like maybe three people and beer.

Friday was hazy so the temperature never got up to what had been forecast but it was still nice enough I decided it was time to head for the hills.

I make it a point to just stay out of the hills all winter because even when it’s nice down here on the flatlands it can be cold and icy up there. Of course, if you ride on three wheels like Dom Chang then it doesn’t matter. I don’t, so it does.

I took the V-Strom up Clear Creek Canyon and it was a great day to be out. I didn’t wear any electrics because I figured it was warm enough I wouldn’t need them. That has been a mistake at times in the past but I was confident this time. Traffic was light and I didn’t have anybody behind me. I like not having anybody behind me on roads like that. And the people in front of me were making good time, no laggards.

Reaching Black Hawk it was still warm and I had not even seen snow in the shady areas. A little past Black Hawk and that all changed. Now the shady areas on the north-facing slopes had a lot of snow and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. My legs were getting chilly because all I had there was jeans; on top I had layers.

All the way up Clear Creek Canyon and along the Peak-to-Peak the road was completely clear–no ice, no sand. But by the time I got to where the road down through Golden Gate Canyon peels off from the Peak-to-Peak there was snow everywhere (except on the road) and even cooler temps. I was looking forward to heading down.

And then there was sand in several places on the Golden Gate Canyon road. You’re definitely going to want to take it easy if you go up that road any time soon.

But what a great day it was to be riding up in the hills, nevertheless. Did you know the roads up there have a lot of curves? I’ve been riding down on the prairie the last few months and you don’t see near as many of those down here. Wonder why?

It was especially fun, too, being on the V-Strom. That bike is light and agile and you just zip around those curves. My other bikes are both heavier and just don’t have that feel to them. If I was in a place where I could only have one bike I could have the V and be plenty happy. But I’m glad I’m not in that place.

And then I was getting back near out of the canyon and I passed a guy on a Ural sidecar rig going the other way. I can’t help but wonder, was that you, Dom?

Biker Quote for Today

Meditation doesn’t mean you have to sit still.

Cold and rainy today, with patches of fog. What a great day to ride! Seriously.

Of course Bill had no idea what the weather would be a week ago when he proposed that we do one of our occasional rides up to Blackhawk for breakfast. It has been warm and sunny lately, so we assumed it would be a nice day. I rolled the bike out and looked at the sky and wondered if I should call to see if anyone would show up. But I figured surely someone would be there so we would join them.

Judy asked me what she needed to wear and I told her I was just putting on a flannel shirt over my t-shirt under my leather jacket, so she dressed similarly. We took off and hadn’t gone very far when I started to doubt my judgment. It was darn chilly! Oh well, it was morning and surely it would warm up as the day progressed.

We got to the meeting spot and found only Bill and Jason out for the ride today. Dennis is in Indianapolis for the Indy 500, Johnathon had a graduation he was going to, and John was using his same old excuse about being 250 miles away in Montrose. Wuss. Can’t remember why Friggs wasn’t there.

We headed on up Clear Creek Canyon and the sky was threatening but nothing else. Going a bit slower up the canyon it wasn’t as chilly but Judy and I both were wishing we had our electric vests. Judy was also wishing for long underwear. I was just glad to be on the Concours with its full fairing.

Leaving the canyon and getting onto the Peak to Peak Highway it started looking like it might clear up. That reminded me of when I lived in Golden and worked in Idaho Springs, and on some days I would drive out of a rain or snow storm up the mountain into the sunshine. Then after spending the day in the sun I would drive back down into the same storm I left behind. Not today.

We reached Blackhawk and cruised on to Central City to the Red Dolly, a small casino with good breakfast at very good prices–our standard stop. Had a great breakfast, warmed up, Bill and Jason gave the machines some money, and it was time to head back down. We stepped outside and it was raining. No big deal; we’ve got the gear. And this was Judy’s first opportunity to try out her new rain gear.

Suited up, we headed back down into Blackhawk, got back on the Peak to Peak, and continued north to the turn-off to Golden Gate Canyon. One of the nice things about this whole area is that there are multiple canyons and you can take your pick of which one to go up and which one to take down. They’re all beautiful and twisty.

Today they had a different kind of beauty than we normally see. Besides the rain, we were in and out of low-lying clouds, aka: fog. I know that Judy, having no responsibility for ensuring that we stayed on the road, was more able to appreciate the beauty than I was, but I was not unappreciative.

With the wet pavement, the on and off rain, and the on and off fog, we took it fairly slow. That, plus the rain gear, meant the ride down was quite a bit warmer than the ride up. And with the good rain gear we were perfectly dry and comfortable.

Then we were down out of the canyon, back on CO 93, and we headed over to Bill and Thais’s new house close by to see it for the first time. Some hot chocolate to warm us up again and we headed on home.

This was not the ride we anticipated but at least partially for that reason it was probably a more memorable ride. Despite being a little less well-prepared than we could have been, we have no regrets whatsoever. It was a great ride. What a great day for a ride!

Biker Quote for Today

It takes more love to share the saddle than it does to share the bed.