Passes & Canyons Blog

Now this is kind of amusing. I periodically surf through some online motorcycle forums, reading posts of interest, responding when I have something to add, and sometimes searching for people asking something along the lines of “We’re coming to Colorado. Anyone got suggestions as to what roads we should ride?” When I find those, of course I make some suggestions and I post links to the appropriate pages on my own website.

Well, recently I logged in to one forum I visit and got a message telling me I was banned until March 29. What in the world? I wasn’t aware of having violated any rules or anything. Being banned I couldn’t get in to check for messages, to see why I was banned. So I clicked on a “Contact us” link and sent the guy an email asking what it was all about. Sometime later, receiving no reply, I sent another query. Still no response.

So March 29 arrived and I logged in and, sure enough, there was a private message waiting for me. Here’s what it said:

You have received an infraction at Motorcycle Rider Info.

Reason: Spam
——-
A signature link is cool. Even mentioning site is nice if done right. But a post full of self serving links is plain old spam.
——-

This infraction is worth 50 point(s) and may result in restricted access until it expires. Serious infractions will never expire.

I was a bit annoyed. The message included the text of the so-called spam. Here’s what I had posted:

The intro to this thread is “Recommend places in your area that others would want to see and ride their motorcycles to” so that’s just what I’ll do.

In a word: Colorado.

Make that “Colorado!!!”

OK, I’ll be more specific.

Trail Ridge Road
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/trail_ridge_road.htm

Mount Evans
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/mount_evans.htm

Red Mountain Pass
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/red_mountain_pass.htm

Glenwood Canyon
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/glenwood_canyon.htm

Monarch Pass
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/monarch_pass.htm

That should get you going.

Now, you’ll notice that, as I said in the post, the theme of the thread was “Recommend places in your area that others would want to see and ride their motorcycles to.” Funny, I thought that was exactly what I did. I guess maybe if I had added a sentence or two about each of those rides he might not have been so offended, but I figured that all you had to do was follow the link and get the full scoop.

Obviously I like to invite people to come to this site. I didn’t do all the work and take all the time I have just to look at it myself and admire my handiwork. I set out to make something really useful for people who are planning trips to Colorado on their bikes. And many of you have thanked me for my efforts, which I truly appreciate.

I’m guessing that the guy running the forum thinks I’m just trying to get people to visit so I can make money. I do, after all, have Google ads on the site. But I’ve got news for anyone who thinks I’m getting rich off Google. In the 2-1/2 half years this site has been up, I have not even made enough off the ads to pay for my web hosting. If I was in this thing to make money I would have moved on to greener pastures long ago.

And it’s not as if this guy isn’t out to make some money. He has all sorts of ads all over his site. He even has a message posted urging people to direct others to his site, although he does take care to ask that they not get carried away and cross the line into spam. The really funny thing is that, without having seen this message previously, I had already posted a link to his site on this blog. Back in February I made this post, pointing out a few forums I like to visit. His is the fourth one on the list.

So when I finally found out what my offense was I wrote him a note saying I was sorry if I offended him but that I disagreed about my post being spam. Again, I’ve heard nothing back from him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s a bad guy. A little overzealous perhaps, may have shot from the hip without really analyzing the situation, who knows. I just thought it was a bit ironic, and I thought you might find it an interesting story.

Biker Quote for Today

Never be ashamed to unlearn an old habit.

Note

The spam bastards are hitting this post so I’m turning comments off here only for awhile.

Do you ever visit online motorcycle forums? I have about seven or eight I like to visit periodically. Just recently, for example, I posted a question on a Kawasaki Concours forum asking if anyone had any experience with the speedometer housing issue I discussed in my last post. I also like to introduce people to this MotorcycleColorado site, so I go and search for people asking for touring ideas on upcoming Colorado trips. I try to help them in any way I can, from route planning, to what to wear, to whatever they need to know.

Here are some of the forums I’ve joined. There are a lot more out there. Check out a few.

Adventure Rider – http://www.advrider.com/forums/index.php
HondaBikes.net – http://www.hondabikes.net/forum/
KawasakiMotorcycle.org – http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/kawasaki-motorcycle-forums/
RiderInfo.com – http://www.riderinfo.com/forums/index.php
Motorcycle-usa.com – http://forum.motorcycle-usa.com/

That’ll get you started. Find an interesting thread and have fun.

This is too good not to come back to. I told last time about some flying objects I’ve encountered and the whole topic was raised by a posting I saw on a motorcycle forum. Here’s a link to that forum. You’ll find it just as fascinating and entertaining as I do:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145779

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find:

I would have to say bats. Three of’em so far, #1 hit under the right edge of the bill on my MX helmet. #2 hit me dead center of my full face, almost went down on that one. #3 hit my left mirror then slid down the post and just sit on my hand hanging on for about 1/4 mile before it fell off.

1. an entire pallet of canned Coke in the fast lane when I lived in China.
2. a bale of straw in the fast lane on 287 around NYC at about 70 mph.
3. a front bumper off a 78 T-bird in the middle lane of 287.
4. a guy taking a dump beside the road in WVa. He was in the apex of a real nice curve…
5. another rider… I was working thru traffic, passing buses, etc in the Alps. I thought he saw me, but he didn’t. His helmet caught my hand gaurd on the GS with a slight tap. His eyes were about as big as saucers. I shouldn’t have been in his lane, but I thought he saw me. Assume….. makes an ASS out of U and ME.

I was riding south on I-77 behind a pickup truck when the mattress that was in the bed of the truck flew up and over my head. whew!

1) A live turkey, back roads, Austell, GA. Spun me around but I did not go down.

2) Aluminum Ladder, I-285 Atlanta. Kinda jumped it, should have wrecked but didn’t.

3) A steel nut, about 2 inches in diameter, straight to the chest (thought it stopped my heart it hit so hard) I-285 Atlanta

4) Muffler and attached exhaust pipe, 575 near Canton, GA. No wreck

5) Water melon, I-75 near Valdosta. Almost, and I mean almost but no wreck.

6) Wooden pallet (empty) East/West Connector, Austell, GA. Scared me shitless.

7) A helmet, unstrapped and blew off another rider in front of me, Daytona. No wreck.

8) German Shepherd, near Bo-Bo’s house. No wreck but torn up a guys fresh grass stopping it.

Weirdest I have heard, guy from Earl Smalls Harley Davidson in Marietta, Ga was headed to the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantawith a group of bikes. I-75 south after dark. He hit an upside down wheelbarrow tub that already had the wheels and supports knocked off. Was almost a perfect ramp. Said he was about 8 feet off the ground, got some good distance and landed without crashing. LOTS and LOTS of damage to the bike.

OK. You get the picture. Go check it out!