Passes & Canyons Blog

Out of curiousity I just spent the last 45 minutes searching around on Technorati to see what motorcycle blogs I could find. Gradually I narrowed my search down to the key words “motorcycle touring Colorado,” because that is what this site is all about. What I found is amazing, and distressing as well. In the first 10 pages of results, 100 results, I found five actual blog posts and all the rest were blogspam. And of those five, three were finally found on the 10th page.

Which leads me to the question, how in the world did you find me here? Seriously, if you’re reading this I would very much appreciate your replying and answering that question for me. With 95 percent of “blog” posting that show up on Technorati being spam, it makes searching in the blogosphere nearly useless.

I got an email from Randy Ohno with a link to his photo blog. His trip this summer, the most current photos on the blog, took him through nine western US states as well as Alberta and British Columbia. Randy lives in BC and has done a lot of riding in the northwestern US and western Canada and his photo blog shows a lot of where he’s been. You may want to check it out at
http://honda599.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php.

It was Randy who wrote asking the question about how he should expect his bike to run at high altitude, which I addressed in this weblog posting. Here’s his report on his experience:

Colorado and the Durango, Aspen area was impressive with its high mountain passes. I managed to make it through Independence Pass and found my bike worked well, but like my breathing laboured slightly at idle.

So thanks for touching back in Randy. And thanks for the look at your photos.

We had a family gathering recently at a beautiful spot and I figured if you’re coming to Colorado on vacation you might want to know about this place. Or you may live in Colorado as we do and you’re interested in a new getaway spot. The place is Columbine.

So where the heck is Columbine? Near Steamboat Springs is the short answer. More specifically, you take Elk River Road (County Road 129) north from the west end of Steamboat and wind through some gorgeous country up through Clark to the Hahn’s Peak area. It’s good pavement all the way to the little town of Columbine, where the pavement ends. If you keep going you’ll come out at Savery, WY.

There’s not much at Columbine, which is a good thing. What there is is a little store and a bunch of cabins and you can rent one or all of the cabins depending on the size of your group. They range from primitive, with toilets over there to modern with kitchens, bathrooms, and everything else. Except televisions, which is a good thing, too. Here’s their website so you can check the place out.

There’s a lot to do around Columbine. Two state parks are just minutes away, Steamboat Lake State Park and Pearl Lake State Park, and you can hike to the top of Hahn’s Peak. Or you can ride 30 minutes in and hit Steamboat Springs for dinner and whatever else you fancy. Just be on the look-out for deer as you make the evening ride back to Columbine.

For what it’s worth, this is a totally unsolicited, unpaid recommendation. We liked the place and I think you will, too.

St. Urgis, the Patron Saint of Bikers, made his debut in Sturgis during the rally last week.

St. Urgis was just a hard-partying, bike-riding, regular kind of guy who, in a lapse of judgment, got himself into a deadly situation. What he assumed to be his last thoughts passed through his mind along the lines of “Oh Lord, get me out of this with my skin intact and I’ll do anything you ask.” His proposal was accepted, he was given a halo, and he was instructed to come to the aid of his fellow bikers in need.

There’s a lot more to the story and I’ll be filling in details as time goes by, but for the moment you might want to take a look at the T-shirts that the folks in Sturgis were seeing last week. There are three designs and they’re all available for purchase. I’ll be putting up a website for St. Urgis where you’ll be able to order these and other designs to come later but for now, if you’re interested, they’re $15 and you can order by email at “contact at motorcyclecolorado dot com.”

Design 1
Design 2
Design 3

Tomorrow is the day. The Old Farts Motorcycle Club is going to the Sturgis rally this year and we leave tomorrow. There will be eight of us going this year. This includes the three stalwarts, John, Bill, and Ken; four who have joined us over the years, Friggs, Dennis, Johnathon, and Jason; and one newbie, Brett.

We’ll be heading out Friday afternoon and riding to Guernsey, WY, where we’ll spend the first night. Saturday it’s on to stake claim to our accommodations in Rapid City, where we’ll spend three nights. During that time we’ll be running over to Sturgis, up to Deadwood, and generally cruising the terrific roads of the Black Hills.

Next we’ll head west, with a stop for the night in Gillette. Then on to Saratoga to our favorite lodging there, the Sage and Sand Motel. After one night in Saratoga Johnathon, Jason, and Brett will head back to Denver while the rest of us take a loop trip through the Snowy Range and spend a second night in Saratoga.

Leaving Saratoga we’ll cruise the short distance to Craig, CO, where we have a tee-time set for a bit of golf. No, we don’t carry our clubs with us, that’s what rentals are for. Then on home the next day.

We don’t normally plan out our summer trip with reservations all along the way but this year, traveling in the vicinity of the rally during actual rally week we figured it would be wise. We didn’t used to make any plans, other than the destination for our first day. Then we’d just follow our noses and see where we ended up. Those days are gone, though–that’s part of what the OF part of OFMC is all about.

Look for details on this trip in about 10 days. Sturgis, here we come.

If you’re thinking of riding in the Deckers area you need to be aware that CO 67 south of Deckers to Woodland Park has been closed and will remain closed for several months. This is an area that was hit hard by forest fires a couple years ago, so when we had heavy rains a couple weeks ago the denuded hillsides just slid. The road was totally washed out in several places and will need to be completely rebuilt.

You can still get to Deckers, however–just not from the south. You can come in on CO 67 from Sedalia or along CO 126 from Pine Junction. As a day ride from Denver that loop is not a bad ride at all.

I’ll put up another posting once the road reopens.