Passes & Canyons Blog

This map (courtesy of Google) shows Bayou Gulch Road running west to Pradera Parkway and on to Crowfoot Valley Road. Bayou Gulch continues north from that junction and meets Crowfoot further to the north.

The Tuesday forecast was for highs in the 60s so I had to ride. You don’t get better February riding days than that. And this time, unlike so many times when I take off, I had an idea where I was going. Kind of.

I was thinking about Parker and Castle Rock and the road that runs directly from one to the other, Crowfoot Valley Road. I was inclined to go clockwise, home to Parker to Castle Rock, but even after all this time I was not clear on where I would turn in Parker to get on Crowfoot. So I figured I’d go counter-clockwise because I know where to pick up this road in Castle Rock. Fine. Let’s go.

I was still uncertain, though, how I wanted to get to Castle Rock. I knew I wanted to come in on US 85 but did I really want to make my way all the way out to Santa Fe and C-470 to pick up 85? Preferably not. So I headed south on Quebec, knowing that would take me to Daniels Park. From Daniels Park I would take Daniels Park Road on south to 85, then left to Castle Rock.

But as I drew near to Daniels Park and Castle Pines Parkway I realized this was another situation just like Crowfoot Valley Road: I knew how to get on the road going north but was not sure where to pick up that same road going south. Maybe I could recognize the intersection. If not, I knew the road (Monarch Boulevard) would take me to Castle Pines Parkway and then I would just go west to Daniels Park Road.

That’s what happened. I passed two intersections that I thought might be what I wanted but I couldn’t be sure. So I stayed on Monarch. Then as I came up to the southern terminus of the road I wanted I decided I would turn onto it and ride it back to where it meets Monarch and then I would take note of landmarks so I would know in the future. Also, probably most importantly, I saw that this was Buffalo Trail. Just remember that name.

So I did Buffalo Trail, noted the landmarks, retraced my steps and then went back to Castle Pines Parkway and did the jog over onto Daniels Park Road. Down to 85 and east to Castle Rock.

I crossed I-25 and went up Founders Parkway and then left onto Crowfoot. Now the question was, where was I going to come out when I got to Parker? But here’s where it got really interesting. As I got close to Parker I saw a sign for Bayou Gulch Road. What? I know Bayou Gulch Road. I’ve ridden it many times with the RMMRC, as one route to get out to Kiowa to Patty Ann’s for breakfast or lunch. Does Bayou Gulch come all the way over to Crowfoot? Something to check out in the future.

But as I got into Parker I came first to Stroh Road–and here Crowfoot became Motsenbocker Road, going north instead of northeast–and a little further on I hit Hess Road. And I knew Motsenbocker heads back west from there. So that’s why I didn’t know where in the central part of Parker you pick up Crowfoot–you don’t. You have to first go west on Hess or Stroh. So that question was answered.

Only now I had a bigger question and there was no time like the present. I went east on Hess to pick up Parker Road and turned south. Bayou Gulch Road runs east from Parker Road along the southern boundary of The Pinery. Does it go east from there, and does it run all the way through to Crowfoot? I had to find out.

Yes it does run west from Parker Road. And yes it does run all the way through to Crowfoot–only not at the moment. Not far from Crowfoot it is currently closed due to construction and they detour you onto Pradera Parkway, a road I had never heard of. And Pradera does go through to Crowfoot.

So now I was retracing my course northeast on Crowfoot and I spotted something else of interest. There was an intersection marked North Pinery Parkway. Does that go all the way through, too? Oh my gosh, there are a bunch of through roads here I never knew existed. Well, no. I didn’t ride it to see but Google Maps shows me now that Pinery Parkway does not go through. So I was not wrong to wonder if Bayou Gulch did.

Anyway, from there I just made my way home after a really nice day out riding and some fun exploring. I love exploring.

Biker Quote for Today

If you never owned a motorcycle you’ll never understand.

The fact is, the OFMC has been pretty much everywhere in Colorado. Here we are at the Black Canyon.

I’m the official trip planner for the OFMC these days and yes, despite Bill’s expressed doubts last time about continuing to do this annual ride, there will be a 2024 OFMC ride. Now I just have to figure out where to.

Bill’s complaint was that the daily mileage was too much—he just doesn’t enjoy pounding out the miles any more. So the idea will be to stay mostly in Colorado, take it easy, and maybe actually visit some of these tourist destinations we have ridden past so many times but never stopped at. But what?

Let’s make a list of tourist attractions.

Hot springs. Yeah, OK, there are plenty of hot springs in Colorado. We could spend a couple days in Glenwood Springs or Pagosa Springs or even Hot Sulphur Springs. Or any of a number of others. But what? We roll into town, check in at our motel, and go to the hot springs for a few hours. We’re not really going to spend another day there are we, particularly in the really small towns like Hot Sulphur Springs. No one has ever expressed any serious interest in hitting hot springs before and I’m pretty sure we don’t want to get to town, not go to the springs that day, go the next day and spend another night there. Nope, the hot springs has just got to be a place we visit the day we arrive.

I suppose we could string together four or five places, all with hot springs, and make that the theme of this trip. Again, are any of us really all that into hot springs? I’m not.

One thing these guys are into is golf. We always do a golf stop on these trips. Maybe this should be a multi-golf-day trip. Play three different courses across the state. That actually could work for them, but ever since I injured my shoulder a few years ago I can no longer play because the pain is extreme. I’m fine with riding along and being ball spotter one day but three? Not so sure. I suppose depending on where we are I could go ride while they spank whitey.

There are steam locomotive trains. I can think of Georgetown, Durango, Chama, Leadville, the Royal Gorge, and a few more. That could work, although I know from experience that these things can also be deadly boring. That makes the route from Durango up to Silverton good because as I understand you can ride the train up and take a bus back—much quicker.

How about white water rafting? I hadn’t thought of that. Worth looking into.

Then beyond the categories are the one-off attractions. Places like Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, Mount Blue Sky (nee Evans), Pikes Peak, the national parks, the Argo Mill in Idaho Springs, Skyline Drive, . . . the list goes on. Big problem: we’ve all been to nearly every one of those, many of them more than once. Plus, with places like Red Rocks, Idaho Springs, Garden of the Gods, you know, hey, we live in Denver. We can go to any of those places any day we want.

One place we haven’t been (as a group) is Mesa Verde. OK, that’s a two-day thing what with arriving and spending the next day seeing the place. That leaves six more days. We’ve also never stopped at Chimney Rock National Monument, primarily because it has only been designated such and open for visitors for a year or two. That would be just a stop of an hour or two on the way to Ignacio, I would assume.

Ignacio. Cortez. Cripple Creek. Black Hawk. Gambling. We could do a gambling ride. We all enjoy that and at least one night at a casino town is a mandatory part of our trips. Should we do more than one? These things can and sometimes do get expensive the longer you are there. Food for thought.

Well yeah, my way of thinking out loud is actually starting to give me some ideas. Maybe I’ll get something figured out soon.

Biker Quote for Today

Buying a bike costs money but time doesn’t.

This is what I’m hoping not to face when my Kawi is ready to come home from the shop.

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!

In Cherry Creek State Park you can wonder, “where’s the city?”

The forecast for Tuesday was for a record high temperature for the date so of course I had to go ride. So did a lot of others; I saw quite a few motorcycles that day.

As so often happens I had no idea where I was going to go. I started heading south on Yosemite and had the idea to cut over to Dayton and take the road through Cherry Creek State Park over to Parker Road and then keep going south on Parker. I paid for a parks pass with my vehicle registration on the V-Strom this year and I figure I need to use it and get my money’s worth.

Of course, the last time I tried to go through the park, coming from the Parker Road side, I couldn’t get through because they appear to be replacing a small bridge. Surely that project was finished by now. Wrong.

The road goes through the park, past a lot of picnic areas and hiking trails, then past the turn-off to the model airfield, where two radio-controlled model planes were in the air. No drones on this day but I suspect this area gets used for drones now more than model airplanes. Then on to the turn-off for the shooting area, where you can take your guns and do target practice.

This was where the road was blocked going through the park. So I went up the short road to the shooting area, expecting to hear gunshots as I drew near, but I didn’t. What I did encounter was the unmistakable odor of weapons being discharged. I hadn’t expected that. And then as I turned around I did hear a few pop-pops of the guns. OK, back out of the park onto Dayton and south.

I went to Orchard and then east, to Peoria and then south to Arapahoe Road. Turned east on Arapahoe and then continued east past Parker Road. I got to wondering where Arapahoe goes as you follow it all the way east. Had I ever done that before? Maybe now is the time.

And go further east it does, on and on and on. I got to thinking that maybe I had been out this way before and that eventually Arapahoe would bend north and cross Smoky Hill Road, and the further out I got the more it looked familiar and I suspected I was right. It crossed under E-470 and eventually came to Powhaton Road, where I recognized that Arapahoe from here just went into the neighborhood across Powhaton and was no longer an arterial. So I turned north on Powhaton.

Powhaton, at least at this moment, is where the city truly ends. I rode north with houses right there on my left and nothing but prairie to my right. At first it was a four-lane road but eventually it narrowed to where it was two lanes without even a shoulder. As I went along I came upon a large, severe-looking building on the east side of the road, all by itself. What is that, I wondered? It looked like a prison. Getting closer I could see the sign out front: Infinity Middle School. OK. I’m sure a lot of the kids at that school would agree with my initial assessment.

Continuing north, Powhaton ends at Quincy. I turned west and was immediately back on familiar turf. I’ve come into town on Quincy many times. So many times, in fact, that this time I decided to do something different. At Chambers I turned north and went up to Hampden and then turned west on that. At least it was a change of scenery. Then I hit Parker, up to I-225, and home. And yes, we did set an all-time high for the day. What a great day to be out riding!

Biker Quote for Today

Twist the throttle and roll on.

I encountered this guy during my stop at the No Name exit in Glenwood Canyon.

Do you look at people who constantly carry a water bottle around and think they’re kind of silly? I know I have. Or maybe you are that person. Sorry, didn’t mean to offend you.

That snarky smiling on my part is from a bygone period of my life. I’ve learned a bit since then. Experience is a great teacher.

What I’m getting at here is that it really is important to stay hydrated. Maybe not so much when you’re just hanging around the office in the air conditioning but when it’s summer and you’re out on your motorcycle and the temperature is hitting the high 90s you really do need the liquids.

I got my first taste of this a bunch of years ago when I was riding old US 6 from Denver to the state line with Utah in preparation for my first article published by Rider magazine. Yeah, it’s really suffering when the research you have to do to make a living requires you to ride long distances on your motorcycle.

It was a hot day and while going through Glenwood Canyon on I-70 (no old US 6 remaining here) I pulled off at the No Name exit to check out just a little bit of old highway accessible right there. The road was shut to traffic so I walked it. By the time I got back to the bike I was not feeling great but I carried a canteen with water and I drank a bit.

Still, by the time I got to Grand Junction I had an abiding thirst that I could not shake. I drank a lot of water and it didn’t matter. Finally I bought a glass of lemonade from some fast food place and after taking one swig I felt so much better I couldn’t believe it. By the time I was half done with the lemonade I was feeling great.

It was at that point that I realized I had been dehydrated. I needed not just water by the electrolytes that are included in things like Gatorade and Powerade. Apparently you get some of that in lemonade, too.

From that point on I have made it a point to travel with that stuff in my bags and I’ve never had a repeat of that situation while traveling. I did have a repeat another time while not traveling, and this one was a lot worse.

I was taking the training to become an MSF-certified rider-coach and again it was a really hot day. We were out on the blacktop for hours and after awhile I started feeling really bad. I got through the day but didn’t do well and nearly flunked out of the course.

More significantly, when I stepped on the scale at home I found that I had lost six pounds. After the class ended I gained those six pounds back in just two days. Again I realized I had been dehydrated. Seriously this time.

Then this summer my friend Nick came out from Chicago to ride and he frequently complained about being just beaten up by all the hard (not at all hard in my opinion) riding we had been doing. And he was drinking a ton of water. I told him he needed to switch to something with electrolytes and he did buy some Gatorade but he didn’t drink much of it, continuing to drink copious amounts of water.

Nick was dehydrated. I’m sure of it. So I no longer mock people who go to lengths to stay hydrated. But I admit I do still think people who are just sitting in a climate-controlled office doing nothing more strenuous than tapping at a keyboard while never letting their water bottle out of their sight are being a bit over-dramatic about it. Who knows, maybe I’m clueless.

Biker Quote for Today

Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you.

Getting ready to ride to Bennett.

The early part of this week has been great riding weather, with bad weather coming soon, so of course I was out taking advantage of it.

On Monday I took the V-Strom out and ran the regular errands I carry out each month. Not a lot of miles so I’ve got to get back out on this one again this month if I want to turn over the next 1,000 on the odometer. I’m still about 70 miles away. Maybe today after I finish this post. The weather is supposed to hit tomorrow.

On Tuesday I went out on the Concours for a longer run. I’m still waiting to get the bike in to Rowdy Rocket Garage to get this vacuum issue fixed so I’m still contending with the fact that the engine races like crazy every time I pull the clutch in to shift. I’ve started figuring out how to adapt to the problem at other times. For instance, if I’m coming to a stop I just let the bike slow down a lot before I finally pull in the clutch and downshift. Normally you would be concerned about stalling but this bike is not going to stall. In fact, much of the time I can let go of the throttle just as if I had cruise control on and the bike just keeps going.

This ride just strengthened my resolve that yes, I am going to sell this bike at some point and replace it with something newer and lighter. It just isn’t all that much fun to ride when I’m constantly having to pay attention to this problem. And yes, once I am finally able to have the problem addressed it will eliminate this negative condition but I’m past that. My mind is made up to move on. I was talking to Bruce yesterday and he was saying just go ahead and sell the bike as it is and take whatever you can get. But I don’t think I could find any buyer at this time of year so I’d like to have it fixed so I can enjoy riding it in the next few months before I sell it. At least if it’s not going to cost too much.

Then on Wednesday the RMMRC took a ride out to Bennett for lunch. I rode the CB750.

There were eight of us on this beautiful, warm, sunny day. We headed out down Parker Road, then east on Quincy and out into the country. There are not a lot of options on roads to take going out where we were headed so we just rode the straight out to where we turned north on County Road 129, jogged east and then north under I-70, and reached our destination, the High Plains Diner. We had never been there before and I was favorably impressed. The food was good–nothing spectacular–at very reasonable prices. I would not hesitate to go there again.

Heading out after the meal we didn’t have a lot of choices. We could go back the way we came or we could go east about a mile and take the Kiowa-Bennett Road south. Heading west without going south didn’t offer any attractive options, although I guess we could have gone east on US 30 to Watkins and then south on Watkins Road. We took the Kiowa-Bennett Road.

Two of us were inclined to go on all the way to Kiowa and then turn west but the other six decided just to go south as far as Quincy and then retrace our route there. So we did, then home. But man, it was a great day to be out on a bike.

Biker Quote for Today

One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.

This is what they’ve been predicting but now the forecast says Friday or Saturday, not Thursday.

The weather reports were all saying three to eight inches of snow in Denver on Thanksgiving Day but Wednesday was another warm, gorgeous Indian summer day. I had to go for a ride.

I skirted around the south side of Cherry Creek State Park, south on Peoria, which became Broncos Parkway, and then south again on Chambers. Chambers just keeps going. It used to be it took me a long time to get out of town going west but going south it didn’t take long. Now the city just goes on and on and on. You get into Parker, which in my memory was a wide spot in the road heading southeast on CO 83 but now is just as large as other suburban cities such as Thornton or Arvada.

I was wondering where Chambers comes out. Was I correct that it ended at Hess Road? One way to find out.

Yes it does, although with all the earth-moving and early construction it looks like it could easily go further in the next year. Or maybe it never will and Hess will be the northern boundary of whatever new subdivision that is being built. Whatever . . . I turned east.

Crossing Parker Road Hess gives way to Hilltop Road and I continued south and east on that. Where Hilltop branches off to the left I continued south on Flintwood. The RMMRC often rides out to Kiowa, to Patty Ann’s, in the winter months but we generally stay on Hilltop, so this was a bit of road I haven’t been on much. Nice for a change.

When I hit CO 86 I turned west, toward Franktown. What is it about Franktown? I cannot count the number of times I have been totally stumped trying to think of the name of that town. I’ve tried a variety of mnemonic devices to help me remember but again and again I find myself approaching and thinking, what the heck is the name of this town I’m coming to? It’s Franktown. Does anybody else have this problem?

At Franktown I turned north on CO 83 but coming into Parker there was a huge back-up. Way up ahead I could see lane closures and because traffic was heavy nobody was moving except at a crawl. Time to bail out. I turned west on Main Street. That was what I had wanted to do anyway because I wanted to continue north on Jordan Road.

So I turned north on Jordan Road. Much less traffic but then, after crossing Lincoln Avenue, I again ran into a snarl. Once again there were lane blockages ahead and everyone was having to move to the left. As I came up on it I saw that a fire truck was parked diagonally, blocking the right-hand traffic lane. Getting closer I saw two totally smashed cars and knew what the issue was. Then I saw a third car, equally smashed, and then — oh my gosh! — a fourth. Somebody did something really, really wrong. And judging from the absolutely totaled condition of all four cars, somebody was headed for the hospital. What a way to spend your Thanksgiving.

For me though, it was a beautiful day to be outside and on a motorcycle. And looking at the sky to the west it was hard to believe that we were supposed to have snow the next day. Well, it is now the next day and there’s not a flake of snow anywhere in evidence. But it’s gray and it’s cold, a good day to stay inside. I definitely did the right thing.

Biker Quote for Today

Fools use four-wheelers, and legends ride on two wheels.

A glorious day to be out on a motorcycle.

We had some really bitter cold days but now we’re into the most beautiful time of year in Colorado, the days of Indian summer. It was October in Denver during my travel year after college that led me to come back here and stay. So what do you do on these glorious days? You ride your motorcycle!

That’s sure what I’ve been doing. I’ve gotten out five times in the last 10 days or so.

One day I set out on the Concours just to see if I might easily adjust to dealing with this throttle issue I’ve been telling about. I took a different turn somewhere than I usually make and found myself . . . I wasn’t quite sure where. Truth is, I like that. I like exploring and finding new routes. So I just kept going and soon came out somewhere where I knew where I was. But I’m not sure I could find my way there again by that route. Fun.

The day memorialized in that photo above was the day I went to Vickery to look again at that Yamaha FJ-09 I’ve been lusting for. After leaving the shop I just headed out on Parker Road and then thought about Cherry Creek State Park, which you can get into directly off of Parker Road.

This park is emblematic of a complaint I have had with Colorado Parks & Wildlife for many years. They sell annual parks passes that are good from January 1 to December 31, and they’re not cheap. But I don’t generally want to go to state parks in January, and by May or June I hate the idea of paying full price for a one-year parks pass that is only good for seven or eight months. Why can’t they make the passes good for one year from date of purchase? Anyway, as a result of this, although I live about two miles from Cherry Creek State Park I have not been to that park in so long I can’t remember. Decades.

Well, starting this year there has been a change. Now, when you renew your vehicle registration, unless you opt out, you also purchase a parks pass for less than what used to be the standard fee. Of course this can get expensive if you have numerous vehicles, as I do. And the passes are linked to the vehicle, so having a pass on your car does you no good if you’re on your motorcycle. Why can’t they just sell a parks pass to me, to use no matter what vehicle I’m in or on?

Anyway, I have opted out of the parks pass for my CB750 and my Concours but paid for it on the car and the V-Strom. On this day I was on the V-Strom. I know! I’ll go in the park!

I had totally forgotten how nice this park is. Especially on a fabulous Indian Summer day, with the reds and browns of fall color everywhere. The main portion of the park is on lower ground than the surrounding area and what that means is that you can get down in there and there is no indication at all that there is a city around you. It was beautiful!

Yeah, there’s a lot of great riding to be done at this time of year. Don’t miss it.

Biker Quote for Today

“When I was 16, everyone else got a car; I got a motorcycle.” — Jason Priestley