Passes & Canyons Blog

Independence Pass was one place on this trip where even the fast guys went slowly.

I am not a go-fast guy. I’m not an aggressive rider or driver. But I know that many people who ride have a particular enjoyment of speed. I get it. I have ridden fast plenty of times, I just don’t make it a regular part of my ride. There are just moments.

The rest of the time I’m generally happiest just tootling along at an easy pace. That’s one reason why I enjoy riding alone so much, I get to go exactly as fast as I choose, stop exactly when I want to, and get going again exactly when I’m ready to do so.

But when you’re riding with a group you have to make compromises on a lot of these things. And I do, although within limits. I’m very much a “Ride your own ride” kind of guy, and if the guys in front of me are going a lot faster than I’m comfortable with I don’t hesitate to drop back. I know where we’re going. I’ll get there in my own time.

And that’s very much what it’s all about on a lot of the RMMRC rides I go on. I used to refer to Bob and Robert as the Go-Fast Boys. The two of them on matching Gold Wings would often take the lead and if you were going to keep up with them you had better be comfortable cranking up some speed. I generally didn’t.

Robert has moved to Panama now so now it’s Dave and Bob who I think of as the Go-Fast Boys. But there are others. This came very clear on the recent Colorado Cruise, where Ralf led much of the time. Let’s put it this way: Dave considers Ralf a Go-Fast Boy.

Fortunately, there were enough of us on this ride that it was easy to break up into two groups, the fast ones and the others. I generally stuck with the slower group. But not always.

The first day out we covered 400 miles getting from Denver to Grand Junction, so by the time we were crossing Grand Mesa it was late in the day and getting a lot cooler. This didn’t seem like a time to dawdle and we didn’t. The speed limit over Grand Mesa is something like 45 but there was no traffic and we raced over at about 70 mph. Usually I’d have preferred to take my time and enjoy the scenery but this time I was OK going fast.

And while I prefer not to ride someone else’s ride, there can be benefits to pushing yourself at times. I mean, how do you improve your skills if you never challenge yourself?

So on the third day, when we rode from Ouray down to Durango, east to South Fork, and then north to Gunnison, I spent a lot of time at the tail end of the fast boys. And you know what? I did really well and felt very comfortable. For one thing, if everyone in front of you is taking this curve at this speed there’s really no reason to think you need to slow down. Just get in a groove behind the guy in front of you and follow his lead. And for the most part I did. Not entirely, but most of the time.

I can do it. I think I have a lot of skill as a rider. I’m just not an aggressive kind of person. I like going at my own pace.

Biker Quote for Today

What kind of motorcycle has the best sense of humor? Yamahahaha.