Passes & Canyons Blog

After two days of rain it seems our heat wave has been broken. That meant that Wednesday was a great day for a ride. And there were 13 riders who showed up for the RMMRC excursion who seemed to agree.

Heading out early, I felt it wise to wear a sweatshirt under my mesh jacket. I didn’t regret that, and later in the day I was actually wishing I had an additional layer. That’s how cool it was.

We gathered in Morrison and headed up Bear Creek Canyon to and through Evergreen. At the Evergreen reservoir we left the highway and continued on up the canyon on Upper Bear Creek Road to Witter Gulch Road. Then it was up, up, up till we reached the Squaw Pass road. I had to wonder how some of these new guys were doing on this very technical road as they dropped well out of sight behind me, but everyone made it to the top.

From there we turned east down to Evergreen Parkway and got separated by cars along the way. When those eight of us in front got through the traffic signal, the five behind did not. That might not have mattered but we very quickly then turned off Evergreen Parkway at CR65, which runs northwest to cross I-70 and connect with old U.S. 40 just on the eastern downslope of Floyd Hill. Gray, who was leading, had said he would stop at turns so no one would get lost but he didn’t, nor did anyone else. As the last one in the eight I did stop, but I was afraid I would not be particularly visible as the others came along.

My fear was well founded. They came roaring along and went straight on through the intersection, never even noticing me though I was waving to get their attention. I waited a few minutes to see if they had spotted me at least and would come back but no one showed so I slowly headed along, pulling over a couple times to let cars past me. Finally I sped up to try to catch the others.

The first obvious spot for the main group to wait would have been where CR65 hits U.S. 40 but they weren’t there. I deduced that it was more likely that they were heading up Floyd Hill to drop down on the other side into Clear Creek Canyon and U.S. 6. I headed that direction and there at the top they were pulled over waiting. Gene came back and asked me about the others, then passed that info along. Nothing much to now but keep going and figure they knew the destination.

So down we went into the canyon, to where U.S. 6 branches off from the Peak-to-Peak Highway and there we went toward Black Hawk just a short distance before taking the sharp right turn to take us up Douglas Mountain Drive.

This is a terrific road and now that it’s nearly completely paved, though very roughly at points, it should be a must for anyone out for some fun riding. Up and over the top and then we dropped down into Golden Gate Canyon. We turned east to come out at Golden and then on to our lunch spot. No sign there of the other guys so we went on in and got tables. Then five minutes later there they were.

Turns out, they knew they had lost us so they pulled over to confer. Bruce had a pretty good idea of the planned route so he led and they pretty much followed the same route we did. If we had stopped at some point, even for a few minutes, they probably would have caught up with us. So all was well. And what a great day for a ride! And what a good route.

Getting away from the heat was the idea. The heat this summer has been brutal. Judy and I lucked out in taking a two week trip to the Pacific Northwest in the middle of all this. We never expected it when we planned the trip months ago. For two weeks our decision each time we went out was do we need just two layers or do we need three?

But yesterday, as I say, the idea was to get away from the heat. So I got on the Concours and headed for the hills.

Of course, the thing about living in southeast Denver is that to get to the hills you have to ride through the city for 20 minutes. It’s OK as long as you’re moving but when you stop at a traffic light you’re hit by the full glare of the blazing sun and sitting atop scorching hot asphalt that radiates hell back at you.

I finally made it out to Deer Creek Canyon. Of all the canyons leading out of the metro area into the hills, this one is one that I have ridden the least. And it’s really nice, especially at times like this when there was almost zero traffic. Time for a nice cruise.

At Turkey Creek Road I turned left to head up toward Aspen Park. Again, I’ve been on this road more than a couple of times but really not that often. It’s easy to forget how nice some roads are, and a delight to have that fact brought back to you graphically.

From Aspen Park I turned north on CR73, which winds its way up to Evergreen. At this point I was thinking an ice cream stop would be nice. I turned east on CO 74 to cruise through town but didn’t see anything so I didn’t stop. I had been thinking of doing a longer ride but now I was headed back down already so I was even more on the lookout for a reason to stop. I didn’t see one but I did have one of those “is this really going to happen?” moments as I approached the entrance to Red Rocks just outside of Morrison. I was cruising along, plainly visible, and as I approached the intersection the car waiting there started to pull out. Really?

I thumbed for my horn but hit my turn-signal cancel button instead but the guy finally did see me and slammed on his brakes. I didn’t stop in Morrison for ice cream either so I headed on back home. Another 20 minutes or so of cooking at stop lights and then relief. I had ice cream at home.

So what’s this deal with riding in all this heat? I was talking to Roy the other day and asking about what was supposed to have been a regular weekly RMMRC ride every Wednesday morning. It hasn’t been happening. One of the reasons Roy mentioned was that it has been so hot. And I know that before Judy and I went on our trip I had hardly been on any of the bikes because every time I considered it I decided not to . . . because it was so hot.

And that was another thing. Because of that, I hadn’t been on any bike at all in more than a month. And oddly, when that happens I start to forget why I ride. Then I ride again and I say oh yeah, I love this, why haven’t I been doing this more? It’s like a friend told me once about him and his wife. They were at the point where they were having sex just once a month or so but every time they would do it she would remark how she had forgotten how much she enjoys it. His response (to me, at least) was yeah, so maybe if you wouldn’t always forget from one time to the next we could do this more often. But somehow you do start to forget as time goes by.

But, you know, as far as the heat goes, once you get out of the city and into the hills it’s actually pretty darn nice. I think we all need to just bite the bullet and say yes, I’m going to roast for a few minutes, but then it will all get better. And burn some dinosaurs, by god!

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Motorcycles don’t snore.

I don’t want to give the impression that this blog is primarily focused on the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC), but the fact is the group has figured in most of my recent posts. I expect to get back to a more normal rotation of subjects now but there’s one big factor in this: the RMMRC does a lot of rides.

If you’re going to join a motorcycle club it’s not abnormal to assume you are doing so because you want folks to go riding with. And from what I hear, in a lot of cases that simply isn’t the case. They get together, have meetings, do some social events, but do they go riding a lot? A whole lot? In many cases, no. With the RMMRC the answer is a resounding yes. And I go on a lot of them. That alone means I’ll always write about the group frequently.

Before Covid it was a standing thing that every (other? my memory is not clear) Wednesday we’d get together for breakfast and then go ride somewhere. If someone came with an idea for where to ride that was great. If not, we’d figure something out. Then Covid hit and going to restaurants was not an option.

Well folks, the weekly breakfast ride is back. In discussion at the July meeting a good core of the group decided to just start doing this every week again. Bruce suggested a breakfast place near him, the Full House Sports Bar and Grill, at 4272 South Broadway in Englewood. He told us they had a really nice early bird breakfast for just $5 and then we could just take off from there. (A quick note: yes, this is a bar but it’s just accepted that none of us are going to be doing any drinking at this time.)

So the following Wednesday that’s just what we did. Now, the bartender was embarrassed to have to tell us that just as of that day the early bird special had gone up to $7 but that’s still a bargain. Plus they have a surprisingly large menu with other interesting options.

Then the next week we ended up meeting somewhere else on Thursday rather than Wednesday. I’m not sure what that’s about and as I’m writing this I’m not certain that the day or eatery are set or not. But the point is, it is a weekly thing and all you really need to do is consult the website to find out when and where. Then come and have breakfast and go riding. If you do, I’ll see you there.

Of course, the group also does a bunch of longer rides as well. The east coast and west coast are frequent destinations. So if you are really looking to do some riding, come. Join us.

Biker Quote for Today

Turn on your own thunder.

When the temperatures are consistently in the high 90s there is one thing you can do to escape: take a motorcycle ride in the mountains. We did.

The Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Riders Club (RMMRC) tries to have rides going on nearly every week. The week before we did the Peak-to-Peak and the canyons running down from it. This time we overlapped that route but tended more to the south.

Six of us met in Golden and headed up Golden Gate Canyon. The temps heading up weren’t cool but it sure wasn’t 95 either. One note, there is a stretch with quite a bit of sand on the road. Be careful.

We reached the Peak-to-Peak and headed south to Black Hawk, then turned up toward Central City. We passed through Central City and took Central City Parkway over to I-70. Now it was pretty darn comfortable.

At I-70 we hopped over to Idaho Springs where we stopped for lunch. The place we were heading for was no longer in business so we went downtown. The place we had in mind there had no indoor seating but had one big table with a big umbrella outside. The heat outside would have been intolerable but the umbrella made all the difference. A couple thousand feet of elevation helped a lot, too.

From Idaho Springs we headed up and over Squaw Pass. Now we got some real elevation and some cloud cover, too. Nice.

The Squaw Pass road is one of those that separates the aggressive riders from the not-so-much guys. It has a lot of twists and turns and a lot of very tight turns, often posted at 15 or 20 mph. I was perfectly having them blast ahead just as fast as they liked. I’m in no hurry.

Back down to Evergreen Parkway and a right toward Evergreen, and then we skirted around the town via Meadow Drive. If you aren’t familiar with avoiding downtown by using Meadow Drive you ought to look it up. I can’t believe I went so many years and never knew about it.

Then we headed down to Kittredge but turned up Myers Gulch Road, which becomes Parmalee Gulch Road, bringing us out onto US 285. That just allowed us to stay in the hills a little bit longer.

And then we came down out of the hills expecting to get hit by a blast of heat but instead, as soon as we rolled out onto the flatlands we hit a rain shower. Not enough to get soaked, just enough to cool things off. I was on the Concours, which has a great fairing, so I hardly got wet at all. And the rain kept up until we got nearly to Federal. From there it was just a short cruise the rest of the way home and what little wet I had picked up just had time to evaporate–read: cool me off–by the time I was home.

I love it when everything goes in your favor.

Biker Quote for Today

The joy of riding a motorcycle is out of this world. The thrill of riding in the hills and mountains is an opiatic addiction.

I did a ride a couple weeks ago with the RMMRC and while none of the roads were new to me, the particular sequence was and it was an interesting route. I had known the gist of the ride beforehand but when I tried to figure out what Gray, the leader, had in mind I was way off. That map above shows the route but it can’t zoom to show you the detail.

We met first at the Full House Sports Bar and Grill for breakfast, then rode out to Golden, where we picked up a few more riders. Then we headed north on CO 93 to where we turned up Coal Creek Canyon, CO 72.

It was a great day to ride, with the weather cool enough in the morning that I wore my sweatshirt under my mesh jacket and was chilly. But with the heat we’ve been having, it was a welcome chilliness. Gaining elevation heading up Coal Creek it got even cooler and it did not get warmer as the day progressed.

We reached the Peak-to-Peak just south of Nederland and turned south. This in itself was interesting because almost any time I go up Coal Creek Canyon I turn north toward Nederland. We took the Peak-to-Peak down to Golden Gate Canyon and turned down that road.

Here’s where it gets interesting. We didn’t take Golden Gate all the way back down to CO93, we made the sharp left turn to go up Robinson Hill Road (CR69) and up into that area, where we met Douglas Mountain Drive (CR60), which took us down the really steep road where we again met the Peak-to-Peak, this time south of Black Hawk. This is a great road and if you haven’t been on it you owe it to yourself to ride it. Also, of note, at the top of the steep downhill there is a sign “Pavement Ends” and it used to do that. Since last year, however, since I was on it last, they’ve done some paving so the only portion that is not completely paved are a couple tights corners. Who knows why they didn’t pave those. But if you don’t like riding off the pavement, have no fear–this is a good road for a street bike.

We jogged left the very short distance to where old US 6 peels off from the Peak-to-Peak and heads up toward Idaho Springs. Where the road meets I-70 we took the old US 40 route up alongside I-70, which itself is a really nice climb. Over the top of Floyd Hill and down to the overpass across the slab onto CR65, which winds its way around to Bergen Park. There we jumped on Evergreen Parkway briefly, toward I-70, and turned down Kerr Gulch Road (CR23).

That brought us out just outside of Kittredge and we turned left down Bear Creek Canyon to Morrison. A really nice ride. And, by the way, it did finally get warm, making that cool morning all the more appreciated.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you dream of owning a Harley dealership.

It’s already April 21 and I still hadn’t ridden the V-Strom this month so that was a sure bet for today with an RMMRC ride planned. This was going to be a little different; we were just heading up to Black Hawk for lunch at one of the casinos. That’s actually more like an OFMC outing than the RMMRC.

My first order of business when I got to the gas station in Morrison where we meet was to get gas. And, I believe, for the first time in my life I paid more than $4 per gallon for gas. $4.05.9 to be exact. Yow! But you know, I’d happily pay more if that meant that Russian oil was unwanted and that would help stop Russian aggression in Ukraine.

I know some people claim Joe Biden is responsible for the hike in gas prices, not Vladimir Putin, but I call BS on that. I’m a registered Independent voter, not a Republican or a Democrat, so I call BS on anyone who deserves it. If gas prices were stable around the world but soaring in the U.S. that would be one thing, but they’re not. They’re up everywhere. Is Joe responsible for higher gas prices in Australia? In France? In Japan? OK, that’s way more politics than I normally get into here.

So there were only five of us riding this day. Bob was leading and he said he would figure out some side roads to take. I had some thoughts about his route but he proved me completely wrong. We headed up Bear Creek to Kittredge and took Kerr Gulch over to meet up with Evergreen Parkway just on the south side of I-70, cut across the highway and then followed old U.S. 40 on up Floyd Hill and down to where we hit U.S. 6 heading down Clear Creek Canyon. Then we caught the Peak to Peak Highway to Black Hawk.

Bob’s plan was the buffet at this casino but when we saw that it cost $20 there were three of us who demurred. I personally never like buffets because as a fairly small person I can usually fill up easily at any restaurant for far less than the buffet cost. Plus, I really wasn’t hungry. So I went and played some slot machines while Roy and Bruce went to the casino’s other eatery and Bob and Maynard did the buffet. Yes I gave the casino the same $20 I would have paid for the buffet but at least I had the chance to go home with more than I came with and besides, I wasn’t hungry.

The predicted high for today was in the high 70s but I had been cautious and had worn a sweatshirt and my electric vest. I had been glad to have them on the ride up as it was still cool in the morning. Leaving Black Hawk I was thinking more about getting back into town and it being hot, so I just put on the vest but stashed the sweatshirt. That proved a wise move, as even later in the day it was still darn chilly up on the Peak to Peak and even coming down Golden Gate Canyon.

When we reached the flatlands, however, it was definitely warm and I was really glad not to be wearing the sweatshirt.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day for a ride and we were all glad we had taken advantage of it. In a perfectly fitting coincidence, as I made my way home across Hampden I found myself behind a car with a sticker on the back that read “Never let a nice day go to waste.” Perfect. We didn’t.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when you use your dishwasher to clean bike parts.

I got an email from Anthony asking for some suggestions on a three-day ride across Colorado from Durango into Wyoming. Here’s what I mapped out for him.

From Durango I think it’s a no-brainer to head north on US 550 over Red Mountain Pass to Ouray. That’s one of the nicest stretches of road in all of Colorado. On to Ridgway and then, just a short distance north of Ridgway you could get off on County Road 10 for some gravel roads. Follow it till it meets up with County Road 8, and then CR 860 over to CR 858 up by Silver Jack Reservoir. You’ll go close to Court House Mountain, which is impressive. You’re headed for Owl Creek Pass, so I think there are signs. Then head north on CR 858 all the way to where you hit US 50 at Pleasant Valley. Take US 50 on into Gunnison for the night.

Next day I’d ride north out of Gunnison to Crested Butte and then take the Kebler Pass road (also gravel, but very good gravel) over to CO 133 at Kebler Corner. Take a right and go over McClure Pass and down to Carbondale, then another right on CO 82 to Aspen and on over Independence Pass. Just past Twin Peaks you’ll hit US 24, which you can take on into Leadville for the night.

Next day take US 24 over Tennessee Pass down to Minturn and I-70. Jump briefly on I-70 west to Wolcott and then go north on CO 131, which will take you all the way up to Steamboat Springs, for your third night. The next day, to get into Wyoming, I’d suggest going out by the Steamboat airport and taking CR 129 (some paved, some gravel) all the way up into Wyoming, hitting WY 70 up near Savery. Unless you’re intending to head west it’s then a good ride northeast on WY 70 over to Encampment and Riverside.

From Durango to where you would meet up with WY 70 this looks like about 500 miles spread over three days. That might not sound like a lot but mountain miles are a lot slower than flatland miles. Plus, you’ll want to stop and take it all in probably a bunch of times. I mean, why be in a hurry?

There would be a number of possible alternatives in case this sort of route doesn’t quite jibe with what you’re looking for. If so, feel free to ask me about them and I’ll be glad to give you my thoughts.

Have a great trip.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you need a biker lingo book.

The forecast for Sunday had called for highs in the 70s so we were all a bit surprised to find the temperature in the low 40s as we geared up and headed out. Nevertheless, a big group, about 18 or 19 of us, gathered in Morrison for an RMMRC ride up to Lyons for lunch at Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ.

The gas station was a busy place. There were two other motorcycle groups meeting up there as well as a scooter group and a group of Mini Cooper owners. Presumably the gas station gets a fair amount of business from all this because the bunch of us took up nearly every parking place available.

The plan was to take side roads to avoid Boulder itself and then to come back via the Peak-to-Peak Highway. Presumably it was going to be a warm day.

In what was a nearly unimaginable feat, we made it all the way up to Lyons without getting broken into smaller bunches. We started out running up to Golden on C-470 and took CO 93 north over Rocky Flats. Coming down toward Boulder there was low-lying smoke all around thanks to the grass fire burning up near NCAR. But we didn’t really even smell smoke, at least I didn’t.

We skirted around Boulder to the east on Cherryvale Road and worked our way north to Niwot, then turned west on Niwot Road to where it meets up with 93 just south of Lyons. It was only at this point that we got a bit separated, and that was due to a few cars getting intermingled with us. We weren’t really separated, they just joined the group.

I was wearing my electric vest and darn glad of it, but my hands were pretty cold. We got to Smokin’ Dave’s and other people commented about how their hands were numb. Where’s that 70 degrees we’d been promised?

Lunch was good. I’m getting to like Smokin’ Dave’s more and more. And during lunch we discussed the question, do we really want to go higher, to the Peak-to-Peak when it’s this cool down lower. The general feeling seemed against it, plus, the South St. Vrain road that is the most direct way to the Peak-to-Peak continues to be closed. But a check on the weather showed that it was apparently warmer up in Ward than down where we were. Maybe the smoke was blocking the warming sun and the Peak-to-Peak is above the smoke.

Whatever the case, as we were getting ready to leave it was decided to run back down 93 and take Left Hand Canyon up to Ward and the Peak-to-Peak.

This was where I decided to go my own way. We’d been out for a pretty good while and I was more interested in just heading home so I stayed on 93. Going through Boulder with a large group would have been crazy but just a lone rider had no problem. Back down 93 to Morrison and then east on US 285 and home. A good day’s ride.

And then later in the day it really did warm up. Finally.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if you spit out the bug that just flew in your mouth.