Passes & Canyons Blog

There was no rush leaving Gunnison on our last day out. It was a short ride home and we might as well let it warm up a bit. Except for Mark, who slipped out on his own early, just wanting to get home.

Now that Cottonwood Pass has been paved all the way it makes a really good alternative to Monarch Pass. Not only is it shorter, there are still plenty of people who have never been over the new road yet. That was true of at least a couple of our folks so that was the obvious route.

Despite our later start it was still darn chilly heading up Taylor Canyon but oh boy was it beautiful in the morning light and there was almost no traffic. Just nice for a cruise. Still, the further we went, and the higher we went, the colder I got. Thank goodness I had my electric vest.

Just below Taylor Reservoir we stopped because Ralf again wanted to talk about hydro-geological issues. He pulled over right below the dam and talked about the Colorado River Compact. At this point the wind was whipping a good bit so it was very cold standing there. I had the idea to pull out my rain jacket to use as a windbreaker and as I turned back to my bike I saw that Susan had already had the same idea and was pulling on her rain jacket. That made a lot of difference and I kicked myself for not thinking of this a couple days earlier.

We continued on past the reservoir and up the pass. The new road is very nice but I still miss some of the twisting and turning that they straightened out when they redid this road. I guess that’s what they call “progress.”

We stopped at the top and this was in fact our time for good-byes. Heading on down, Susan planned to make a stop in Buena Vista, Ralf was going to be heading down toward Salida, and Charley and Karen had no intention of trying to keep up with the fast guys–Bob and Dave–on US 285 on their double-loaded 650 BMW scooter. That left Bruce and me to play it how we saw it.

Down to Buena Vista, to US 24, to US 285, and east. At first the four of us were together but it didn’t take long for traffic to separate us. But then, thanks to passing lanes, we were back together. This continued until we reached Fairplay and then somewhere between Fairplay and Jefferson Bruce dropped off. Now it was just me, sort of trying to keep with Bob and Dave but not really expecting it to last.

But somehow I did stay with them all the way to Bailey. Making the bend and heading up Crow Hill I figured this would be where the final split occurred. We started up the hill together but soon cars had moved between us and that was the last of it. I would occasionally catch a glimpse of them up ahead but by the time I got to Conifer they were lost in the distance.

Not a problem. After four days in a group I was enjoying being on my own. Rain was threatening, and even dripping a little here and there, but it finally really came down around Conifer. I already had my rain jacket on so I just rode through it and sure enough, it stopped soon. Then on down the hill and into town.

Now of course, I was hot. There’s just no way to avoid hitting one extreme or the other when you’re on a motorcycle. So I got home as quickly as I could and eagerly peeled everything off. Ah! Time to relax. Good ride. Nice trip. Nice to be home.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 31. You’ll have to help us with bike projects, because sometimes it takes three hands.

Red Mountain Pass was going to close for construction at 8:30 a.m. so we agreed to play it safe and leave Ouray at 7 a.m. You could call that an excess of caution, and Ralf did, saying he planned to leave at 8 and maybe we would still be in Silverton having breakfast when he got there. We were and he did.

This was day three of the Colorado Cruise, my first multi-day ride with the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC).

It was not as cold in Ouray at 7 a.m. as we all expected but we were already at 7,800 feet and the top of Red Mountain Pass is 11,000 feet. I blessed myself for having brought my electric vest and cursed myself for not digging out the liner for my mesh jacket. It was somewhere at home.

We started up the pass and it got cold in a hurry. The sun was up somewhere but with the mountains we sure couldn’t see–or feel–it. By the time we got to the top my fingers were ice cubes and the rest of me was not far behind. I really couldn’t feel the warmth from my vest except I know that without it I would have been totally frozen. I anticipated warmer air as we descended.

But Silverton is still 9,300 feet up there so you can be excused for not noticing much more warmth. Finally we were coming to a bend where I could see sunshine but as we came around it we suddenly had the blazing sun, barely above the horizon, smack in our faces, almost totally blinding us. And then we were back in the shadows.

We got to Silverton and stopped first for gas. My tank bag on the V-Strom covers the gas cap and there are two clasps that need to be undone to access it. For a couple minutes my fingers were too numb to open the clasps. And then it was only with difficulty that I inserted the key to open the gas cap. Give me some coffee and some breakfast!

Not so easily done. Every restaurant in this country seems, at this time, to be short of staff. Posted hours mean nothing; they open when they open. We could find only one open restaurant in Silverton and they had a 90-minute wait. We settled for coffee and pastries at an open coffee shop. And Ralf showed up.

Back on the bikes, we headed toward Durango but Bob knew a better route. About 20 miles south of Silverton we turned off onto County Road 250, took a couple of sharp turns, and stopped at a bridge over a good-sized stream. This was Baker’s Bridge and Bob explained that it was the place where, in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Butch and Sundance landed after they jumped off a cliff into the river below. Now, it wasn’t where they jumped from, but this is a movie and they filmed the jumping somewhere and the landing somewhere else. This was the somewhere else.

We then stayed on 250 as it ran along the hillside of the valley leading down to Durango. Coming into Durango we turned onto North College Drive, still on the hill skirting the town, and finally coming out on CO 3 at the south end of town before getting onto US 160 eastbound. We totally missed all the mess and congestion that is Durango. What a great route! And it was very pretty, too.

So we headed east on US 160 over to Pagosa Springs. We stopped for lunch in Pagosa but again found it hard to find a nice restaurant that was open and didn’t have more than an hour to wait. Finally we just split up with some going to a nicer place and others going to fast food joint. And Charley and Karen went off to their daughter’s house.

We had agreed to meet up again on top of Wolf Creek Pass but that didn’t happen. Nobody was interested in waiting who knows how long at the top of the pass when they’d rather be riding. So our group rode on down to South Fork where we stopped for gas. Then we turned north on CO 149 up over Slumgullion and Spring Creek Passes. Starting down Slumgullion we caught up with some riders and — surprise! — they were part of our group. They had passed us while we were getting gas.

On through Lake City and down to the Blue Mesa Reservoir and to Gunnison. That was a long day’s ride. Good to reach the end.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you’re a HOG member and think you’re an outlaw.

Dave and I loaded up and rode across the street to join the rest of the RMMRC group on our four-day ride the second morning. While I parked, Dave disappeared. After a few minutes it occurred to me and I asked Susan if they had all already gotten gas. She said yes and I realized that was probably where Dave had gone. I figured I’d better do so, too.

I filled up and used the facilities one last time and as I came out I saw a group of bikers heading down Horizon Drive toward the westbound I-70 ramp and then realized it was my group. They were leaving without me. I guess I should have said something to someone other than Susan about getting gas.

I hopped on and blasted away to catch up but this is a fast group of riders so that didn’t happen at all quickly. Meanwhile I considered the situation. I recalled some discussion of riding Colorado National Monument. Our ultimate destination this day was Ouray so it would make the most sense if you’re going to ride the monument to start on the Fruita end. But they might not; could I get to the exit to the other end before I lose sight of anyone? Regardless, I figured if I didn’t find them I would ride the ride I considered nicest, which would be to go to Fruita, ride the monument, and then meet them all at lunch down in Gateway.

Just as I got to the exit to the non-Fruita entrance to the monument I caught a glimpse of riders ahead on the interstate so I figured that was them and I cranked the throttle even harder. Just as they were exiting at Fruita I pulled up alongside Charley, who was riding sweep with his wife Karen on behind. Charley waved me on ahead of him and I was back with the group.

We rode the monument, stopping a couple times so Ralf, a hydro-geologist, could give us a little education on plate tectonics and uplift and erosion. Ralf is very knowledgeable so these were interesting presentations.

Leaving the monument we headed down US 50 to Whitewater, where we turned west on CO 141 toward Gateway and the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway. The Paradox Grille in Gateway is excellent, but also on our agenda was the Gateway Auto Museum. I’ve been to Gateway numerous times, eaten at the Paradox several times, but I had never been in the museum. Let me tell you it’s worth it. They have some amazing cars in there.

The road to Gateway is very nice but the road south from there to Naturita is spectacular. If you are familiar with the canyon country of Utah, this is a small area where the canyons crossed the state line and made their way into Colorado. Beautiful country and a beautiful ride.

We stayed on CO 145 until Placerville and then took CO 62 on to Ridgway. From there it’s just a few miles south on US 550 to Ouray. Coming into town we saw signs warning that 550 over Red Mountain Pass would be closed for construction beginning at 8:30 a.m. the next day. Oh, oh. We’re going to have to get an early start. And it’s going to be cold.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if you set at least one mirror, if not both, to reflect yourself.

Who knew it was 400 miles to Grand Junction from Denver? Or that it would take more than nine hours? We all know shortcuts; here we’re talking about longcuts.

I took off a week and a half ago with eight others from the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC) on a four-day Colorado Cruise ride and that was our first day. This is not a group that just rides out to the local bar; this is a group for people who really want to ride.

Nine of us on eight bikes left Morrison at 9 a.m., heading up along Bear Creek to Evergreen, cutting over toward I-70 on Evergreen Parkway, and then taking Jefferson County Road 65 from Bergen Park over to old US 40 alongside I-70, and finally down to where that road meets old US 6 coming up out of Clear Creek Canyon. Then we had no choice but to get on the interstate for a few miles.

We got off I-70 to go over Loveland Pass, down the other side and onto the Shadow Mountain Road to go around that reservoir, over to Frisco and back on the slab. Then off again at Copper Mountain to go up Fremont Pass to Leadville, where we stopped for lunch.

After lunch we headed down to Twin Lakes and turned up over Independence Pass. That brought us down to Carbondale but no way were we interested in continuing to Glenwood Springs on I-70; we turned south and went up over McClure Pass and down to Paonia. That put us on CO 92 heading west but at the tiny town of Austin we took a shortcut north to connect with CO 65 at Orchard City, on through Cedaredge and over the Grand Mesa.

Our day was getting long at this point but the folks in the lead are go-fast guys and there was no traffic so we probably crossed the Grand Mesa in record time, coming on down finally to I-70 and blasting on into Grand Junction as the rain started falling. Just as we reached the shelter of the motel entryway the skies opened up briefly and then we had a terrific rainbow.

And that’s how you cover 400 miles on a trip the map says is about 250 miles. Our ride was a lot prettier than the interstate, a lot more twisty, and we got up high where the leaves were already turning. A beautiful day to ride. A very auspicious start to the trip.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you buy your 3-year old niece a Harley-Davidson t-shirt.

I’ll get to the answer first. I asked last week if anyone actually uses the RSS code in the sidebar and I got an answer. Yes. There are at least some people who still do, and the code apparently is still working. So I won’t be deleting it. Good to know.

If there is one thing motorcyclists recognize when they see it it’s a good day for riding. Saturday was one of those days and we were out in force.

The RMMRC did a ride and it was finally not in the high 90s temperature-wise. Then we went up in the hills and it was downright cool. How welcome that felt!

Starting out from the Phillips 66 in Morrison, a dozen of us, broken initially into two groups, crossed over past Red Rocks to Golden and then headed up Clear Creek Canyon. Through the vagaries of traffic we ended up in one group in spite of ourselves as we made our way up to Idaho Springs and lunch. One of the older members of the group remarked at lunch that he believed that was the first time he ever rode up Clear Creek but I find that too hard to believe. You don’t live in Denver for decades and never go up that canyon. Especially if you’re a motorcyclist.

One thing I found puzzling in the group I started out in was that the leader, who was not Bob, acted very Bob-like in that he took the lead position in the right side of the lane. I know Bob does that, and I finally got an explanation from him as to why, but here we go again with someone else. Isn’t it the norm that the leader takes the left position? Not for everyone, apparently.

Leaving Idaho Springs we gave up on breaking into groups and just headed out en masse. We ran up and over Squaw Pass. Although I’ve done Squaw Pass many times, I rarely go west to east, which is what this was, so it was pretty interesting. I’ve heard it said that going the other way on the same road is like taking an entirely different road and there is some truth to that. That kind of doubles your options so things don’t get too same old, same old.

Reaching the Evergreen Parkway near Bergen Park we split, with some heading south to Evergreen and the rest of us jogging north to the turn-off to Kerr Gulch. That is so much nicer than fighting the traffic in Evergreen. Then Idledale, and back to Morrison, and each in his own direction. Nothing special about the day, other than it was a really nice day to ride and everyone recognized it.

Biker Quote for Today

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour.

The RMMRC rode up to Bruce’s in Severance a few weeks ago and while there we got in a conversation with our waitress.

It turns out she and her guy ride motorcycles and they were planning a trip in a couple weeks, going to Florida to visit family. While there they planned to rent a bike and cruise over to Daytona for Daytona Bike Week. But, oh man, the regular rental places were in full mercenary mode.

In addition to the usual high price of about $175 a day, they wanted more because it was Bike Week and they knew they could get it. As in an extra $500. It was kind of like when I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We got there a week before the official start to the event and ate every morning inexpensively at this particular restaurant. One morning we showed up and there was a new menu with all the same items but double the price. We asked why and the waitress told us, “Oh, that’s our carnival menu.”

No surprise then that these folks were not inclined to pay that much. She’s working in a restaurant in Severance, for Pete’s sake, they’re not wealthy. But they found an alternative: Riders Share.

I’ve written recently about Riders Share but I have never used the service or known anyone who has. But there she was. And presumably it worked out well for them. They had some nice cruiser bike lined up and as I recall it was going to cost them just around $100 a day for five days, with insurance included. You can’t beat that with a stick.

I’ve always found this concept interesting and seductive. I have three motorcycles. Why not make a little extra cash by renting them out on occasion? But that’s where you get into issues.

For instance, I have a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom. It’s an old bike, and not worth a whole lot. But hey! It’s the first motorcycle I ever bought. It was a dream come true, and I still love that bike. Sure, insurance would cover the financial loss if something happened to it but this bike is irreplaceable. It has so much emotion tied up in it. Exactly how horrible would I feel if someone else smashed it beyond redemption?

Well, what about my 1999 Kawasaki Concours? I don’t have the emotional attachment to this bike that I do with the Honda. And from time to time I have seen basically identical bikes in excellent condition for sale for essentially peanuts. The same is true for my 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650. I love the bike but it could be replaced.

So for me it now gets to the question of what’s the point? There were a lot of years when I was scraping by and a bit of extra cash now and then would have been extremely helpful. But I’m retired now, and I’m doing fine financially. As I have said many times, if I needed more money I would not have retired. So no, I don’t think I’ll be listing my bikes for rent.

On the other hand, I do like having a bike to ride when I go somewhere, but I really don’t like the high prices the big companies charge. Something like Riders Share seems to me to be the perfect way to go. By the way, there is another company doing the same thing, called Twisted Road. If you’re planning a trip and want a bike to ride you might think seriously about checking out what is available on both these sites. I sure would.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are not all about speed. It is a feeling, and emotion, but also my therapy.

Don’t get me wrong, I like riding out to Patty Ann’s in Kiowa for breakfast but the RMMRC has been going there an awful lot since the weather got cold and the mountain roads got icy. So it was nice on Tuesday–a beautiful, warm March day–to go somewhere else.

That somewhere else was Bruce’s, up in Severance. So, where the heck is Severance you might ask. If you figure that Windsor is just about in the middle of the Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley triangle, Severance is just a bit northeast of Windsor. Which is to say, a little east-southeast of Fort Collins. OK, glad we got that settled. Here’s a map.

Now, one of the big reasons the RMMRC doesn’t go north of Denver a lot is that most of us are on the south side and getting through or around the city is no fun. But Bob led us onto I-225 north, up Pena Boulevard and off at Tower Road, which wasn’t too painful. From Tower Road we turned west on 120th and then north on Sable into Brighton. Then north on Weld County Road 27 to Fort Lupton, west on CO 42, then a whole bunch of lefts and rights that took us to Severance.

Severance isn’t much of a town, and Bruce’s seems to be the happening place. We sat out on their semi-enclosed patio and had a really good lunch. Apparently the food is known to be pretty darn good there, although none of us indulged in their specialty, which is rocky mountain oysters. I had the Buffalo chicken sandwich and it was very good.

After lunch we had a lot of choices on how to get home but Bob had a good plan in mind. The real question, again, is how to avoid all the nasty city traffic. What we did was go straight west out of Severance, which took us into Fort Collins but out of town on the road that runs up to Horsetooth Reservoir. That brought us around to Masonville, where we headed south to meet US 34 as it heads up toward Estes Park. We only jogged right then left to get on the road up past Carter Lake and then back onto the flatlands.

Some small county roads and some zig-zagging brought us south around Longmont, down to Niwot, and then more of same brought us past the east end of Boulder, across US 36 on Cherryvale Road, and then south on CO 93 to Morrison, at which point everyone went their own separate ways.

This was a really terrific day of riding–new roads, a new place to eat, and a heck of a good job avoiding the worst traffic areas. Heck, we may have to go north more often. I mean, I’m thinking about Jerry D’s in Dacono . . .

Biker Quote for Today

Challenge yourself daily! Ride the mountains! Hug the curves! Live free!

I thought the RMMRC had decided to suspend all group rides until the peak of the virus had passed so I was surprised to get an email from the Meetup page about a ride two Wednesdays ago. So I went riding.

It was no big deal, just another run out to Patty Ann’s in Kiowa for brunch. But on a nice day Patty Ann’s is a good place to gather. They have a large patio out back where we can sit not too close together in the open air. And they have really good food.

We were surprised when we got there to see that they have installed tents to shelter you from the weather and to maintain separation between different parties. That didn’t really suit us, though. First off, it was a little cool and we wanted the sun. Secondly, whereas a family might sit together in one tent, close to each other but no one else, we wanted to maintain distance amongst ourselves. So we moved two tables out into an open area to meet our wishes. And then of course we moved them back before we left.

So the RMMRC is going through some realignment these days. Robert, this year’s president, has moved to Panama so that spot needed filling. Robert was also one of the most active organizers of rides so other people need to step up.

Roy, one of the founders of the club, takes a personal interest in seeing it continue so he has personally taken to urging greater involvement of other members, which definitely means he has turned some of his focus on me. Every time we talk he urges me to offer any ideas for rides that I might have. And I do have an idea I intend to offer.

In the case of this ride he threw out the question of who wanted to lead. As he scanned the group his eyes lit on me and he said, “How about you, Ken?” Bob, who often leads, said he would do it but he only knows one boring route. I said I knew a different road. So I lead the ride down to Kiowa. It was a simple route, just out Parker Road (CO 83) to Bayou Gulch Road, just south of the south entrance to the Pinery, which leads to Flintwood Road, which we took south to CO 86 and then east to Kiowa.

Then on the way back we didn’t want to take the same route in reverse so someone suggested we go back to just past Flintwood, like about 100 feet past Flintwood, and take that road, Deerfield Road, to Russellville Road to CO 83. Somehow I got designated to lead again, so I did.

In all there was nothing at all extraordinary about this day’s ride. But it was a heck of a nice day to be out on a motorcycle and clearly the transition to new leadership is underway for the RMMRC. I’m happy to do my part.

Biker Quote for Today

Just one more motorcycle . . . I promise.