I have some heated motorcycle gear I’ve been given by EXO2 The Heat Inside to test and do a product review on, so I was looking for some cold weather here in August. Not the easiest thing to find, except that in the mountains it gets cold no matter what time of year it is. At least at night, and up real high.

I already had plans to be up in Keystone one evening for the return of the Adventure for the Cures “Dirty Dozen” riders from their seven-day cancer research fundraising ride. Fine, I figured I’d stay as late in the evening as I cared to and then return home over Loveland Pass. At 11,900 feet, especially at 11 p.m. or so, I figured it would be pretty dang chilly–perfect weather for testing the gear.

So it got late and it was time for me to head home and I put on the heated vest and gloves, connected the wires, pulled on my leather jacket and helmet, and set off up the pass.

The gear worked fine. I’ll tell you all about that later, once I have more time to do more testing, but I certainly had no complaints that night. I did have some concerns setting out at night in the mountains that I might encounter deer, because they can be deadly if they run out in front of you and you are unable to avoid them. But none of them showed their faces.

What I did not anticipate was issues of equilibrium. Let me set the scene.

It’s a dark night. Cloudy, so no moon or stars. No electric lights going up over the pass, and no guardrails with their reflectors. On top of that, on the lower stretches of the road up the pass, no horizon. The blackness of the trees and mountains blended totally with the blackness of the sky.

What could I see? White and yellow lines. White and yellow lines that curved and rose and fell, all in relation to . . . nothing. In just a short while this started playing tricks on my equilibrium. Am I leaning or is the road curving? I know I’m leaning because I’m in a curve, but am I leaning too far or is the road rising through the curve? I could not tell. There was no point of reference. It was downright scary.

I got over the pass by going about 15 to 20 miles per hour and being super, super cautious, and I was glad I only encountered one other vehicle along the way. That ride was not fun. I’ll be restricting my gear testing to daylight from now on.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Motorcycle demo rides: FJR 1300, Screaming Eagle Ultra Classic, K1300GT, and more

Biker Quote for Today

I always slow down if my riding buddy in front of me disappears or launches skyward unexpectedly.

Update Aug. 8, 2009

The pass is open again.

Aug. 6, 2009–

Loveland Pass is currently closed due to a gasoline/diesel tanker truck that rolled and caught fire yesterday. The alternate route is I-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel. The Colorado Department of Transportation says that you should “Expect minor delays along I-70 at the tunnel at the top of each hour.”

Trucks hauling hazardous materials, such as gasoline, are routinely routed over the pass. With the pass closed, these loads will pass through the tunnel, but at such times the tunnel is closed to other traffic, thus the delays.

The rollover occurred about one mile below the summit on the Keystone side of the pass.

I will update this notice when the pass reopens. Here’s a shot at the top of the pass, coincidentally showing two tanker trucks crossing the summit.

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Touring Yellowstone on motorcycle

Biker Quote for Today

Everything works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it isn’t the end.

Note to the world: Colorado is open for the season.

That’s right, with today’s opening of Independence Pass and CO 5 to the top of Mount Evans opening tomorrow, all the seasonal roads are open. Even Trail Ridge Road is open, although the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) reports that it is icy in spots.

One note of interest, however, is that US 6 over Loveland Pass is closed at this time. This is not a seasonal road, but CDOT says it is “closed for emergency road repair until further notice.” Apparently they just closed it yesterday. That’s a good thing for me to know because I was planning to head up over that pass in just a couple days.

Here’s a bit more info from CDOT:

U.S. 6 over Loveland Pass is closed due to a culvert failure, about 1 ½ miles east of the summit. Excess water has washed out the bottom of the culvert. Safety considerations will not allow the road to be open to traffic due to a loss of roadway support over the culvert. All traffic will be detoured though the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70. Loveland Pass will remain closed until further notice. The Colorado Department of Transportation will send out more information when it becomes available.

Recent from Denver Motorcycle Examiner
Run For The Wall nearing its destination

Biker Quote for Today

If you don’t make it the first time, back up and try again, only faster!!

Recap: Steve and some buddies are coming from New Zealand in 2009 for some motorcycle touring in Colorado and Utah. This series of posts lays out their proposed routes, with my comments. Your comments are welcome as well.

Day 1

After arriving in Denver the night before, Steve and crew will pick up their rental bikes the next morning from Colorado Tourbike in Aurora and head for Gunnison as their first night’s stop.

The plan is to head out of Denver on US 285, up and over Kenosha Pass, across South Park to Fairplay. That’s a nice ride. The view out over South Park from on top of Kenosha Pass is gorgeous. Crossing South Park is a very pleasant ride, although you do sometimes get strong winds that make it a bit less enjoyable.

From Fairplay they turn north on CO 9, over Hoosier Pass, definitely a good ride. The road comes down through Breckenridge and on to Frisco, where they will pick up I-70. After a quick jaunt west on I-70 to Copper Mountain, their route goes south on CO 91 over Fremont Pass to Leadville. This route is not as scenic as many of the Colorado passes are, but it takes you past the Climax molybdenum mine, which is very interesting, even if it’s not beautiful.

Continuing south from Leadville, they reach Buena Vista and rejoin US 285, which they follow to Poncha Springs. From Poncha Springs, US 50 will take them over Monarch Pass and on to Gunnison. Total distance around 250 miles. Total time, counting getting out of Denver but not counting stops, probably around six hours. Probably plenty for a good first day, considering jet lag and all.

Here’s a small map showing the route. Click this link for a larger map.

Alternate Route

Now, you’ll notice that there are routes marked in two colors. The yellow route is what Steve is proposing. I’m offering the blue route as an alternative. Here’s why.

You’ll notice first of all that the blue route heads straight out I-70. Normally I would be the first to avoid the interstate in favor of the two-lanes but there are several reasons why this might be the exception.

First, it can hard for those of us who have ridden and driven I-70 west out of Denver countless times over many years to recognize this, but compared to the interstate in most other parts of the country, I-70 through the mountains of Colorado is downright spectacular. This road takes you up through the mountain communities of Idaho Springs, Georgetown, and Silver Plume and it ain’t ugly. Attractions along here include the Argo Mill in Idaho Springs and the Georgetown Loop Railroad that runs up from Georgetown to Silver Plume and back.

US 285 out of Denver, on the other hand, is rapidly becoming a freeway on its own. It is now a controlled access divided highway all the way up past Conifer and continuing. It narrows to two lanes eventually, and is a nice ride, but my point is that it’s not just a choice between two lanes or interstate. You’re getting some freeway either way.

The biggest attraction of this alternate route, however, is Loveland Pass. As you continue west on I-70 past Silver Plume you reach the Eisenhower Tunnel, but just before the tunnel is the turnoff to US 6 going up and over Loveland Pass. This is the kind of pass you come to Colorado to ride. It comes down to Dillon on the other side, which, via the tunnel, is about a 20 minute trip. Over the pass is at least an hour but worth it.

From Dillon the blue route stays on I-70 past Copper Mountain, over Vail Pass, down through Vail and on to the turn-off to Minturn. Again, this may be interstate but Vail Pass ain’t ugly either. At Minturn, you would head south on US 24, over Tennessee Pass and on over to Leadville. At that point the blue route rejoins the yellow route. If you’re going to choose between Tennessee Pass and Fremont Pass, my choice would be Tennessee Pass, which is another reason for this recommendation.

So that’s Day 1, with an alternative. Now, Steve’s group is going to be small, probably no more than four. Generally, with a small group like that you will want to stay together. In a larger group, though, such as our OFMC group, which has grown considerably, you might even want to split up, with each person taking the route they find more appealing. You could regroup in Leadville.

OK. Day 2 coming up next.