Passes & Canyons Blog

We had the winter solstice the other day, which means winter is officially begun. To me that means it’s time to ride. I don’t ever put my bikes away.

We’ve been having such a mild December so far that I’ve been riding quite a bit. In fact, if I can get in just a few more days on the Honda I may actually manage to get its yearly mileage up over 1,000. I’m already well past the number of miles I put on that bike last year. It has been three years since I’ve managed to get 1,000 on that bike and honestly, I’m not expecting to this year, but if the weather stays good and I’m not too busy with other things I just might.

I knocked off 100 miles on Sunday. It was cool but I started off smart this time, with the electric vest turned on and the heated gloves set at level 2 right from the start. It was very cloudy and that makes a huge difference in how warm it feels but I was very comfortable the whole time.

My plan, such as it was, was to pick up where I left off last time, getting down to Hilltop Road and then south on Flintwood Road to reach CO 86 east of Franktown. I worked my way over to Potomac and then took it a long way south to where it currently hits a T intersection at Hess Road. I say “currently” because they are building some new housing development on the south side of Hess and while not open yet, the road continuing south is already there.

I turned east on Hess, crossed Parker Road, and picked up Hilltop, which eventually angled off to the southeast while Flintwood headed straight south. Approaching CO 86 I had no plans. Right (west) to Franktown and then . . . ? Or left (east) toward and Elizabeth and then . . . ?

I turned east. Cruised out to Elizabeth and then turned south on County Road 17/21. As I was riding along I thought about a road out this way that goes east to who knows where that I’ve thought many times about checking out. Maybe today was that day. I’m not really sure where that road is, however, I just know it when I see it. I know it’s down this way somewhere.

Well, the road I was on bends around and comes out to County Road 25 just maybe half a mile north of Elbert. OK, that road I was thinking of is definitely south of Elbert and I was not going to go all that way today. Oh well. Instead of turning south and going through Elbert I turned north and headed up toward Kiowa.

Coming into Kiowa I was interested to see if there were any bikes I recognized parked outside of Patty Ann’s. If there was I would stop and go in and probably have lunch. But there was only one and I didn’t recognize it so I went on past and turned north on the Kiowa-Bennett Road.

A good ways before you get to Bennett, though, you reach Quincy, which is the only paved road back to town from this area. I stopped for a break at the intersection and then headed back toward town. About the time I reached Parker Road there by Cherry Creek State Park I noticed my left hand was feeling a bit chilly. My heated gloves use batteries and one of the original batteries had died some time ago. I had bought a replacement but now the other original seems to be dying. Gonna need another battery soon.

From Parker it was just a straight shot home. Winter will take its shots at me later but for now I laughed in its face.

Biker Quote for Today

“Where will you go?” asked Cinda. Now, there was a question without a good answer. — Jon Robertson

The weather has been good and I’ve now ridden four days in a row, December 30, December 31, January 1, and January 2. Yay Colorado.

I already mentioned my the rides on the last two days of last year, but then we were on to a new month and as always I intend to ride each of my bikes every month. And at this time of year you can’t count on the weather so if it’s sunny on the first of the month I’m out there.

So I got out on both the Honda and the Suzuki on January 1 but the Kawi is an issue. On December 30 I was finally able to get it in to Rowdy Rocket Garage to get this throttle issue addressed. So now I’m at their mercy in terms of getting the work done and at the mercy of the weather come the time when the work is done. Suppose Mark has it done on January 30 but on January 29 we have two feet of snow? Good-bye January ride on the Kawi.

I thought I had the solution on January 2. When I was out riding the day before I passed by the shop and my bike was still sitting there in the driveway, right by the street. Of course, being New Year’s Day I figured there was no one there working so I couldn’t do anything. But the following day I figured I could go by, pop in and tell Mark I just wanted to take the Kawi for a spin and bring it right back, and ta-da! January ride in the books.

But I went by the next day and now my bike had been moved right up by the door to the shop as if perhaps they are planning to get on it right away. And it’s not the simplest thing maneuvering in that area. So I just rode right on by. Now I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, I saw a good number of other folks out on bikes these last few days. People around here really do get it that if you want to ride at this time of year you have to take your opportunities when they present themselves.

But now the Stock Show is less than a week away, and we all know about Stock Show weather. Brrr.

Biker Quote for Today

Yes dude, I can go faster than you!

I make a point to ride each of my bikes at least once every calendar month, year-round. But so far here in January 2023 I had not been able to get out of the neighborhood because our street was covered in ice.

Last week we had a few warm days and I saw my opportunity approaching. There were patches of exposed asphalt but other big patches of impassable ice. But lanes of asphalt were starting to appear. So I went out with my shovel to give nature a helping hand.

I got out there and was surprised and pleased to see the neighbor three doors down out with an ice breaker busting up the ice in front of his house. We joined forces and after maybe an hour and a half we had carved a passageway most of the way down the block. All I needed was to get to the end of the block because the cross street down there was already clear.

Mick said he had other places he needed to go and I was tired so we weren’t going to do it all right then. He said he would leave his ice breaker leaning against his garage so I could use it. I rested for about an hour and then went back out to finish the job. I was following the path of least resistance so the last stretch I cleared had some curves in it. You can see that in the photo. But I figured I could handle that sort of maneuvering.

The next day, Saturday, was the day. Around noon I got on the V-Strom, fired it up, and headed down the street. It turned out that twisting path was not as easy on the bike as I had expected so I did end up clipping a bit of ice on the tightest corners but I got out and did a short ride. Coming home I took it really slow and managed the pathway but decided to come back with my shovel and clear some more.

That was when I noticed that nature had opened up much of a better route than mine and all I needed to do was scoop away some soft ice that separated that lane from mine. Now I had a good path. I went back and got on the Honda.

I got out on the Honda but didn’t go far. Something just didn’t feel right. It didn’t seem to be running properly. Not wanting to get too far from home in case I had problems, I just rode around a bit close by until the engine was fully warmed and then headed home. I still don’t know what’s going on; I’ll deal with that later.

Then it was time to take the Kawi out. And while it readily turned over, it just did not want to catch. I kept cranking and cranking and cranking and while it did catch at one point, it quickly died. Now what the heck? But I kept trying and it finally did start and keep running. And once I got out on the road it ran beautifully. It was just that trouble starting. I’ll just hope that it was because it hadn’t been run since early December.

So it was a beautiful day to ride, and I saw a bunch of other guys out on their bikes. Judging from the weather forecast this was going to be the last good day to ride for at least another week so lots of people took advantage of it while they had it.

It’s always iffy at this time of year; you take your opportunities when they knock. I may not get out again this month, who knows. But at least all three bikes got a January run, even if they were short.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.

Riding motorcycles in the snow is not a lot of fun (unless you’re doing the annual Elephant Run or going ice racing), so for most of us winter is pretty much down time.

For the hard-core rider, at least those who don’t live where a “cold” day means 40 degrees, this time of year is sort of like doing jail time. What can you do to while away those days until Springtime springs you from your cage (pun intended)? Here are some ideas.

First off, just as farmers use the winter to mend their equipment, so should we. Take the time finally to give that bike a good cleaning. If there are repairs you’ve been putting off, now is the time. Or perhaps, more along the fun route, there are some new enhancements (otherwise known as “geegaws” or “farkles”) that you’ve been wanting to add to your bike. If Santa didn’t bring them to you, or you could play Santa yourself, to yourself. Your bike will thank you.

Of course, there’s no time like now to be planning next summer’s trip. Get out the maps, hit the Internet, and let your imagination run wild. The more you crave a ride the more you’re going to enjoy visions of next summer on the road. Take all the pleasure you can get from it. I know people do this because traffic on this website really spikes right after the first of the year and the pages being visited say “trip planning.”

On occasion you may want to drop by your favorite motorcycle dealership and enjoy the eye candy. Touch those gleaming tanks, sit on a few of those beauties. Again, let your imagination get carried away. The truth is, this may stoke your fever more than assuage it, but that’s still a lot more fun than sitting home moping.

Have you ever watched “On Any Sunday”? Surely you’ve at least heard of it, the motorcyclist-favorite 1971 documentary about racers and racing fans, including Steve McQueen, but have you ever watched it? If the answer is no, you owe it to yourself to do so now. This one will definitely get your motor running. And you can find it for free online.

Finally, there is one option you should never forget when the winter doldrums have you down: Go ride.

OK, sure there are times when you absolutely can’t. Two feet of snow on the ground and streets that are impassable even for four-wheel-drive vehicles will not miraculously open up for a motorcycle. But how often does that happen each winter? Watch the forecast, keep the bike well-charged so you know it will start, and be ready.

Never mind that it’s freezing cold out there–man up! Dress warmly (an electric vest is a wonderful thing) and get out there, if even just for half an hour. You’ll be glad you did, and you know you’ll be telling all your buddies about it. And all the time they’re telling you you’re crazy they’ll have that wistful look in their eye wishing they had done it, too.

Biker Quote for Today

Even as a second commuter vehicle, it knew when to dance into an opening and when to open its joy and race past every standing fool on the road. — tomisb