Passes & Canyons Blog

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 knew Saturday, January 4, was supposed to be an extremely warm day, the kind that is perfect for motorcycle riding. There was just one problem. Our street was still iced in, especially in several spots where big trees shade the road and protect the ice. Would I be able to get out or would I be totally frustrated watching a terrific riding day slip by?

Thursday and Friday had been moderately warm, in the mid 40s. Saturday was projected to hit 58. By sundown on Friday there was still way too much ice on our street.

I checked it out. If there had been just a spot or two where I would have had to coast over, say, 5 feet of ice, I would have been inclined to do it. But those big trees were leaving areas where it was more like 25 feet of ice, and more than just one. Going out I might have been able to roll on over, with no throttle because it is downhill. But coming back would have meant higher speed or throttle to get back over those spots. I was leery.

So in the early part of the day I went about my normal routine. That includes walking to the gym, around the other side of our block. Coming home I saw that that side of the block was still unpassable. I showered and had lunch and then took a walk down our side of the block to check the ice there.

Holy smokes! The way was totally clear! And it wasn’t just a narrow pathway, a huge wide swath had just opened up. Thank you Mr. Sun! I headed home to gear up.

I chose the V-Strom for my first ride of the year. The ride was nothing of any particular note; I just headed south, and south, and south, until I turned east, and then turned north for home again. But it was a beautiful day. I wore my electric vest but had no need to turn it on. I kept my visor cracked the whole time and my face never came close to getting cold.

And there were a lot of other bikes out. Plenty. Heck, who wouldn’t want to go out on a day like this? I even saw a convertible with the top down.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love living in Colorado? This is why.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than men: If your motorcycle doesn’t look good, you can paint it or get better parts.

I ride my motorcycles all year round, but it’s not that hard because I live in Colorado. We always have a lot of warm days no matter what month it is so I just pick and choose when I’ll ride. But what about if you live some place way north, such as Duluth, Minnesota? My map shows me that Duluth is about 100 miles south of the Canadian border, and right on the shore of Lake Superior. Or perhaps more significantly, about 450 miles north of Denver.

And what if, living in Duluth, you were to ride to work all winter long, not just the occasional warm day? I’m not talking just sub-freezing days, I’m talking sub-zero days. Well, they did it.

They who?

They, in this case, as a bunch of employees of Aerostich, a company well know in motorcycling circles as manufacturers of riding suits, jackets, pants, and other items. And the company is headquartered in Duluth. What a natural marketing pitch, to use their own products and then ride all winter.

But wait, there’s more. All this riding was done on a Zero electric motorcycle. Now, common sense tells us that batteries don’t work so well in really, really cold environments. Will a Zero even run in sub-zero weather?

So anyway, Aerostich and Zero got together and decided to do a test. Test the Aerostich riding gear and the Zero motorcycle against the really cold weather of northern Minnesota. And then they released a book telling about the experience. That book is Zero Below Zero: Electric Motorcycle Everyday Commuting All Winter in Duluth Minnesota. Alan picked this book up somewhere and thought–rightly–that I might be interested in giving it a read. I would definitely recommend it to you–it’s pretty interesting.

First off, they made a bunch of mods on the bike, a Zero FX, such as embedding studs in the tires to give traction on icy streets. Aerostich also created a custom heated jacket for the Zero battery, but then the practice was to park it outside all the time. Sure, keeping it in your garage would be reasonable, but they wanted to push the thing, so park it outside–always.

How did it go? They did it. They rode the thing all winter, through snow and over ice and in weather far colder than any I’ve ever ridden in. And they loved it.

OK, I could make this post twice as long by going into a lot of detail and quoting from the book, but I’ll decline that temptation. If you want to know more, read the book. It only costs $10. And yes, it’s great marketing for both companies but consider, if these companies’ products made this possible and enjoyable, perhaps their products deserve recognition. I know I’m intrigued with this Aerostich “Warmbib” that several of the riders said they loved.

Now, this book is not going to inspire me to ride in all weather because I don’t have studs in my tires, nor do I anticipate putting any in. But it’s good to know that I really could if I wanted to. Pretty cool.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s always Ride O’Clock.