Passes & Canyons Blog

My only remaining bike, this 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650.

Every year I total up all my motorcycle mileage and compare it to my car mileage, but this year is radically different than any previous year. Two years ago I had three bikes and one car. A year ago I had two bikes and a car. This year I have one bike and a car. Plus, it was a decidedly not-normal year. I knew all mileage was going to be low this year because there was a four-month period when I was under doctor’s orders not to drive.

The last time I put more miles on my car than on my bikes was 2014. Since then I have frequently put more miles on a single bike than on my car. Before I did the math I suspected I might have put more on the car this year. I totaled the V-Strom miles and it came to just 2,605. I checked the car and it had added 2,858 miles in the last 12 months. Dang.

But then I remembered. My Honda CB750 got smashed in June but I rode it at least six times–at least once a month–before that happened. How many miles did I put on it? I don’t know because when I went to visit it in the tow yard I did not think to check the odometer. But at least six rides? Just for a round number I’m going to guess 50 miles each, coming to 300. Add that to the V-Strom miles and you get 2,905. So that just slips past the car’s 2,858. Did it again! I guess.

I’ll tell you one thing, I intend to blast way past that number in 2026. I missed the whole summer riding season last year and I intend to make up for that. And who knows, maybe come this time next year I’ll be listing the mileage on two bikes again. For now that is a total unknown, but it could happen. We’ll see.

Biker Quote for Today

The world is a book, and bikers read the best chapters.

Riding up on Cochetopa Pass.

I kind of outdid myself in the area of low mileage last year. Somewhat to my surprise, I did still put more miles on my motorcycles than I did on my car, but the total of all vehicles was substantially below what in some years I have put on a single bike.

To be specific, I put a total of 3,852 miles on my bikes and 3,102 miles on my car. That’s just a hair under 7,000 miles total. Heck, in 2011 I put 10,004 miles on my Kawasaki Concours. In 2013 I put 9,437 miles on that bike. As recently as 2023 I put 3,866 miles on my V-Strom.

Am I getting to be a big-time homebody? Well, maybe, maybe not. In recent years I had really leaned on the folks at the RMMRC to plan rides and then I’d go along. Those rides have dropped off a lot lately and I need to be the instigator at least on occasion rather than depending on someone else to do the work. I do have a couple day rides in mind for after the weather gets warmer and we can go up in the mountains again.

Also, I would have racked up a bunch more miles if I had been able to go on a multi-day RMMRC ride that I planned to go on, but physical issues just made that impossible. And then the OFMC opted in 2024 for a much shorter ride than in recent years, mostly just staying in Colorado.

Well, the OFMC appears to have run its course so now I also need to turn my planning efforts to a longer ride with the RMMRC. I do have thoughts about that, too–I just need to follow through.

The other thing I’d really like to do is get out for some two- or three-day rides with Judy on behind. The last trip we did together was up to British Columbia but that was years ago. I’m not sure she has even been on a bike in several years. My fault. She’s not going to plan something like that; I need to.

OK Ken, you have your assignment. Now get with it dude!

Biker Quote for Today

Is it time for our post-work motorcycle ride, yet?

From left, the V-Strom, the CB750, and the Concours.

Every year about this time I start looking at what I want to get done before the end of the year. Usually that includes making an effort to turn over one more 1,000-mile point on each bike’s odometer and then any other odd objective I can identify.

Turning over 1,000-mile points is especially easy–or irrelevant–this year. On the Honda CB750 the meter is sitting now at 35,940. Can I put another 60 miles on that bike yet this year. Is the sky blue?

It’s even more of a no-brainer on the Kawasaki Concours. That meter now sits at 73,986. We’re looking at 14 miles. Yeah, I think I’ll manage that.

And then there’s the Suzuki V-Strom. That meter is now reading 38,181. You can either say that one is totally out of reach or you can look at it that I already passed that 1,000-mile mark 181 miles ago. I’ve put a lot of miles on that bike this year so I’m going with the latter interpretation.

This year I do have a different goal for the Honda, however. In the beginning this was my only bike and all the miles I rode were on it. Then I got the Kawi and didn’t ride the Honda as much, and then I got the V-Strom and the time on the Honda went way down. For a whole bunch of years I didn’t even put 1,000 miles a year on that bike. So now that in itself has become an objective.

At the start of this year that bike had 35,048 on the dial. So instead of just putting 60 miles on it yet this year I really want to go at least 108. Still totally doable, I just have to get out and do it. And if this great weather continues that will be easy.

So what else do I want to get done before January 1? Well, often as we head into winter I’m looking at my tires and figuring I need better rubber for the winter. Not this year. Already this year I’ve gotten two new back tires and one new front. All the other rubber is good, lots of deep tread. Tires are no issue.

Plus, they’ve all had oil changes and the Honda and Kawi had overall tune-ups. I guess I’d have to say all three are in pretty darn good shape at this point. That’s kind of a nice way to end the year.

Biker Quote for Today

Biker new year’s resolutions: 1. Ride bikes. 2. Look at bikes. 3. Talk about bikes. 4. Repeat.

Bikes cruising up Cochetopa Pass.

Under the circumstances, I’m surprised I rode and drove more miles in 2017 than in 2016. I think that’s only because 2016 was my lowest mileage year on record. I covered only 6,268 miles in 2016 but made it 8,047 in 2017. And of that 5,043 was on my three bikes. The car got just 3,004.

For the bikes, I rode the Honda 713 miles, the Kawi 2,742, and the Suzuki 1,588. The only thing that surprises me there is the Honda. I made it a point–I thought–to ride that bike as much as possible but I still tallied fewer miles on it than the year before: 713 vs. 901.

I really expected to put a lot more miles on them all in the year. But Judy and I took off on a ride to Alabama where we got snowbound for three days in western Kansas, and that trip got substantially revised. Then I left with the OFMC on our annual trip but after the second night I cut that trip short and rode home because I was sick as I’ve been in years. And then, with my Mom ailing and us taking four separate trips to South Carolina to be with her, that used up a lot of time I had planned on spending in the saddle. As I say, I’m surprised I managed to pass 2016. What was my excuse in 2016?

OK, well fine. What am I going to do in 2018 to get those numbers back up higher?

Of course there will be the OFMC trip. And I promised Mark Tuttle, editor-in-chief at Rider magazine, a piece about riding the Bighorn Mountains. That was a casualty of my Mom’s illness last year but it’s back on the front burner this year.

And once again I’m planning a long ride with the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Rider’s Club, this one to the Pacific Northwest. That should add a good many miles, not to mention be a heck of a trip. And I’m betting this one won’t get snowed out the way the Alabama trip did.

In the meantime, it’s only January 4 and I’ve already been out on two of my bikes this year. That leaves the Suzuki and I’m looking to be out on it tomorrow. I mean, hey! It’s January in Colorado. It’s time to ride!

Biker Quote for Today

Tailgating a car is illegal. Tailgating a motorcycle is premeditated murder.

Get out there and ride that thing!

Did I do a lot of riding in 2016? No. In fact, I think I may have set a personal record for the fewest miles driven/ridden for my entire life.

I always make note of my mileage at the end of each year and this one is really strange. My total mileage on my three bikes AND my car is only 6,268 miles. Holy smokes!

Most of that was on motorcycles. I rode the Honda 901 miles, which is actually the only increase. I rode it 531 miles in 2015.

I rode the Suzuki just 7 miles miles than the Honda: 908. And I put the most on the Kawasaki: 1,952. I only put 2,507 miles on my car, so that’s 3,761 on the bikes.

What the heck kind of a year is it if you only put a little over six grand on your vehicles? Did I just live at home?

Actually, no. In fact I did a lot of traveling. It’s just that most of it was either in my wife’s car or by airplane. We drove to Big Bend way down in Texas. We flew to Spain. We flew to Georgia. We drove to Montana. I did the summer ride with the OFMC. Only that last one put any miles on my vehicles.

Of course the other factor is that I’m working this job for the National Park Service. Again. The difference is that this time I’m working at home, so no commuter miles. That’s a huge factor.

The year 2017 is going to be different. I’m pulling the plug on this National Park Service job at the end of January. And this time I’m done for good; no more call-backs. And I’m going to do a lot of riding. I have ambitious plans for updating the website and a lot of that will involve revisiting a lot of these roads. And I’m going to be doing some rides with the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club. Plus, I intend to take off by myself at least a few times.

Now, if I only put another 2,500 miles on my car I don’t care. In fact, I like that. But if I don’t get at least 10,000 miles on the bikes this year I’m going to be very disappointed. Check in a year from now to see the score.

Biker Quote for Today

The lure of the open road never goes out of style.

The OFMC in Utah.

The miles I covered on my bikes in 2015 totaled more than a 50 percent increase over 2014. That’s a really good thing. And the miles I put on the bikes far surpassed what I put on my car, too, which is another good thing. The only somewhat negative thing about last year is that I still didn’t come close to my best years on the bikes, where in some cases I just simply rode a lot more than I did in 2015, even though 2015 is an increase.

Every year at this time I check and record my mileage and see how the year went. This year’s numbers:

I only put 4,957 miles on my car, which is part of why the bike miles totaled more. That’s down from 7,558 in 2014. On the V-Strom I covered 3,849 miles, which is up from 2,596. For the CB750 it’s actually down, 531 in 2015 vs. 712 in 2014. I wouldn’t have thought that was the case but the numbers don’t lie. And for the Concours it’s 2,121 in 2015 vs. 1,037 in 2014. Total for the bikes: 6,501.

Just to put that in perspective, in 2012 I rode the Concours alone more than that: 6,785 miles. And in 2011 I rode the Concours alone 10,004 miles. Then add miles for the other bikes. But at least I’m back on an upward trend. And I expect those numbers to really surge in 2016. I mean, I have a lot more time to ride now. How could they not increase?

Right now, of course, the weather is the issue, blocking me from my first ride of the year. But the weather is in my favor now. Saturday was warm and sunny. Sunday was warm and sunny. Monday is warm and sunny. I went out on Saturday and inspected the streets around our house and concluded that by Tuesday the snow and ice would be melted sufficiently so I should be able to get out of the neighborhood. I’m really counting on it because the forecast is for more snow starting on Thursday. Let’s get this year started!

Biker Quote for Today

The engine charges the bike’s battery, and the ride recharges my own batteries. — Clement Salvadori