Passes & Canyons Blog

You may be wondering why the whole issue of motorcycles currently needing transponders to ride free in HOV lanes has slipped from sight. I certainly was. The last I had heard (and passed along) was that various legislators had taken a big interest in the subject and were applying big pressure on the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to rectify the situation, now.

So when I have a question I ask. I emailed Stump, the legislative liaison for ABATE of Colorado, with this query:

Hey Stump, I’m wondering whatever became of the effort to get this HOV lane thing changed. Last I heard the rep or senator–can’t remember which–was pressing CDOT and/or the company to make immediate changes. Where has that gone? Thanks for the update.

And I promptly received this reply:

Hi Ken,

Bruce and I have been in contact with E470, the agency that monitors the tolls and must make the changes. We actually had a tour of the facility to better understand the entire process. E470 is waiting for the “OK – Go Ahead” from CDOT before they can make the changes. Then it should only take a couple of weeks, per the person who will actually make the computer changes. It’s actually a pretty involved process as we learned form our tour. Bruce has been in contact with the executive director of CDOT inquiring what’s taking so long and we expect another update shortly. I’ll keep you updated. Thanks for your concern.

Stump

Now you know as much as I do. I’m sure we’re all curious how quickly CDOT will move.

Biker Quote for Today

Happiness keeps you sweet, long rides keep you strong, sorrow keeps you human, life keeps you humble, riding keeps you growing. But motorcycles keep you going.

I happened to see this and thought it was kind of interesting.

It seems a girl of seven was filmed riding on the back of a motorcycle and someone posted the video. Then the stuff hit the fan.

While many people gave it a thumbs-up, others said the mother should be charged with child abuse or something for putting her child at risk like that. They tried to shame her on social media. The mother has responded by organizing a biker parents rally this weekend to promote the idea that “Kids Are Bikers Too.”

We are having a day of fun with our family: blood, bikers, and supporters to spread awareness that KIDS are bikers too. Everyone is welcome to come out and share the love of riding.

The mom, Mallory Torres, initially responded to the attempted shaming with this comment.

Some of you may have seen this picture on Facebook, and some of you may have even seen this in person…This is my 7 year old daughter riding home from school on a motorcycle. Yes. She’s 7, and she’s on a motorcycle. ‘Why?’ Some of you may ask… Because I love my daughter. That’s right… I LOVE MY DAUGHTER and she loves to ride, so I allow her to ride on the back of a motorcycle in full gear with my boyfriend who has 20+ years of experience.

So what do you think of the whole thing? I know that I would have been totally thrilled to get to ride on a motorcycle when I was that age.

At the same time, that image of the two of them on that sportbike makes me a little edgy. If there was a sissy bar of some kind, a backrest, to help keep her on I’d feel a little better about it. I know Judy has not been comfortable on any of my bikes until I got something on there behind her. Or if there were something substantial for the girl to grip, rather than just putting her arms around the boyfriend’s waist.

Clearly I disagree with the folks who would say no child should be allowed on a motorcycle at all. Heck, I think having a kid riding their own bike at five is a great thing at the dirt track or somewhere else where that is appropriate.

Anyway, I just thought the whole thing was interesting and thought you might think so, too.

Biker Quote for Today

If you don’t like motorcycles then you probably won’t like me, and I’m OK with that.

Judy is more into hiking than I am, and I’m more into riding motorcycles than she is. But we both enjoy both so what she often suggests is that we get on a bike and ride out to some place where we can take a hike.

She suggested that on Sunday but I countered with a proposal catering to another of her interests: geology. Judy has always had an interest in geology and recently took a geology of Colorado class. So now it’s a given that we’ll be seeing more of that sort of thing, and hopefully much of that will be by motorcycle.

Anyway, I suggested we ride out to that cut where I-70 goes through the hogback just west of town. There are all these strata of rocks exposed as they’ve been tilted up onto a slope and the area has signs offering interpretation and a path to walk along and see the strata. And then as long as we were both out there, we could also go to Dinosaur Ridge and see the fossils.

Now, the Dinosaur Ridge preserve is really what used to just be West Alameda Parkway as it ran across the hogback. I remember driving over that many years ago but somewhere along the line they shut down the road and made it a route for pedestrians and bicyclists only. And they built a visitor center and museum, as well as a gift shop and cafe.

So that’s where we headed.

Dinosaur Ridge was the first we came to so we stopped and hiked on up the hill. There’s one place in particular where this whole slab of rock, tilted steeply, shows quite a few amazingly clear dinosaur footprints. I had no idea, driving on that road years ago, that these were there. Up over the crest and down on the other side there are also dinosaur bones. We figured we’d go there after the I-70 Geological Point of Interest.

Going north from the Dinosaur Ridge visitor center you can take Rooney Road and that runs right past Thunder Valley Motocross Park. Judy had never been on Rooney Road so we went that way. It’s always pretty dang cool seeing those guys taking big air up over the whoops at Thunder Valley. I told Judy if I had a dirt bike I’d definitely be spending some of my time there at Thunder Valley.

“So why don’t you?” she asked.

“Because I don’t have a dirt bike.”

Oh, right. No, I don’t think my V-Strom would be the right bike for a track like that.

Anyway, on to the I-70 cut. First we pulled in to the area on the south side of the highway. Walking up the trail we were surprised to find it buried inches deep in dirt/mud with numerous rocks of all sizes laying where they came to rest after tumbling off the exposed cut. And there were no interpretative signs, though there were some stone pedestals that appeared to once have held signs. The whole area has just apparently been abandoned. And about 20 feet from the end of the trail there was barbed wire drawn across with a sign saying to keep out because beyond this point it is a firing range for law enforcement. And we could hear the pop, pop, pop of gunfire.

OK, so we could see that there are interpretive signs on the trail along the north side of the cut. We headed over there.

Sad to say, as we walked along the north side we found the signs totally wrecked by vandals. As the passed the fourth totally obliterated sign Judy remarked that she hoped the jerks were lazy. What she meant was that maybe they wouldn’t have taken the trouble to destroy all of them. And she was right. Starting with the fifth one, they were all in pretty good shape. What is happening with these is that the hill is sliding down on them and covering them over. On several the stone pedestals are completely covered and the dirt is encroaching on the signs themselves. This is the kind of thing you get when you don’t give the government the money to maintain the facilities it is charged with maintaining.

But the walks on both sides were interesting, and the interpretation added to that by explaining what it was we were seeing. If you’ve ever thought about stopping there you should.

By this time we were both getting hungry so we skipped the other side of Dinosaur Ridge and rode on into Morrison, with the patio at the Morrison Inn in mind. As I eyed a stretch of bikes in front of the restaurant a guy stepped out and waved his arms to indicate that no, I shouldn’t park that Japanese bike here with all these Harleys. It was in fun and we both smiled. But I parked down the street.

We enjoyed some food and refreshment, listened to a little live music, and then headed home. Storm clouds were threatening seriously, but we made it home dry. It was a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Biker Quote for Today

I’d rather push a Yamaha than ride a Harley.

We’re in the thick of the riding and event season and my email has brought me word of several more happenings that you may be interested in.

This coming Sunday, June 12, will be the ABATE Scramble Statewide Poker Run. This is an interesting sort of event, intended to make it easy for people all over the state to be involved without anyone needing to ride clear across the state to participate. (Although it does appear to be primarily the Front Range.)

The way it will work is you’ll go to one of the starting points where you will purchase however many hands you wish to play–$20 per hand–and you’ll be given a list of stops you can go to pick up a chip. You can go to any location and as many locations as you choose. It gets a little murky from there but I believe you then go back to your starting point or various other points and cash in your chips for cards, then play the hand.

Here’s a list of starting places.

Aurora: Scooters Bar & Grill, 13698 E Alameda Ave
Berthoud: Derby Grille , 110 Bunyan Ave. (start and end only)
Colorado Springs: Knuckle Tavern, 2627 Delta Drive
Denver: Bubba Chino’s, 5595 N Federal Ave (start point only)
Denver: McCoy’s, 4855 Federal Blvd (end point only)
Evergreen: Cactus Jacks, 4651 Highway 73
Ft. Morgan: Nick’s Place at The Queen, 112 W Kiowa Ave
Littleton: The Shack, 151 W. Mineral Ave
Pueblo: Tumbleweed Tavern 214 S. McCulloch Blvd

Then a little further in the future is the Rocky Mountain Adventure Riders Silverton Rendezvous, July 27-31. Mark Odette had been telling me about this Moab-based thing last year and this year they’re doing it in Moab again but also in Silverton.

This event’s goal is to raise at least $10,000 for “Colorado Trail Preservation Alliance” (TPA), so they can fight to keep your public trails open. All amounts raised over expenses go to the TPA!! With a sold out event, we will make this goal to $10k to the TPA.

The cost will be $250 per rider or $100 for non-riders and registration will close once there are 100 riders signed up. You’re basically looking at three days of terrific non-pavement riding in the Silverton area. Plus a whole lot of camaraderie. (Am I going to be there? I’d love to but this is exactly when the OFMC is going to be doing its ride this summer.)

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t have a bucket list but my bike it list is pretty long.

I went to the annual Vintage Motorcycle Show today (I’m writing this on Sunday) and it was worth the trip. There were some very interesting rides on display.

It was a good trip, too. While this thing has usually been held at Heritage Square, that venue is going through some changes and the show got moved to Colorado National Speedway up by Dacono. A good bit further to go.

The distance was no big deal, but what hurt was the extreme shortage of shade. Heritage Square has trees and is a pleasant spot. The pit area at the racetrack is pretty much just sun. There were not a lot of people there when I was there, although they were always coming and going. I suspect many people were just like me: arrive and park, spend 20-30 minutes looking at the bikes, head out. I hope they can move back to Heritage Square or some other place more pleasant next year.

So without further ado, let’s look at some photos.

Of course, one thing about going to any motorcycle exhibition is that there inevitably are some interesting bikes in the parking lot as well. Here’s a heck of a rat bike. And notice that as hard core as this guy appears to be, he uses a helmet.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles: The brand is not important, the fact that you ride is.

We just got back from a five state trip (Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama) and I’m left with two big thoughts on motorcycle riding down there.

1. It doesn’t matter where you go, at least in the hilly parts of the state every road in every direction is curvy, up and down, and through endless greenery and beauty.

2. When all you see is trees on both sides of the road, trees towering above you so you can’t see anything else, it doesn’t take long for one curvy stretch of road to look exactly like every other one, as if you were going in a circle all day.

Really, as long as you stay off the big highways, it doesn’t seem to matter where you go, the good riding is everywhere. If there are hills–which there are plenty of up in the northern areas where these five states all cluster together–the riding is good. But even when you know you’re going up a steep hill and there ought to be a terrific view out over the valley, you almost never get to see that view because of the trees.

Judy and I noticed this a long time ago. We were in South Carolina visiting my mother and when we got back to Colorado we were both overjoyed to see the sky again. Back there, all you see of the sky is that narrow strip overhead between the trees on both sides of the road. And those trees are tall.

We cruised along the Blue Ridge Parkway a short distance and at least there they have deliberately managed the forest to allow for some views. But when we went up to the top of Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you could see a long way but one tree-covered hill looks a whole lot like every other tree-covered hill. It was nothing at all like the kind of views we’re accustomed to out here in the west.

We did get one tip, however, that you might want to remember if you’re planning a trip down that way. We were at Little River Canyon National Preserve and all we could see of this deep gorge was trees. We almost couldn’t even see the water. But the park brochure explained that winter was a good time to visit because with the leaves gone you can see the rocks. And the fall is good because you get riotous fall colors and, when at least some of the leaves have fallen, you can also see some of the rocks.

So time your trip for the fall. I’m betting it’s pretty spectacular about that time. And with so many roads to choose from, if you pick an out-of-the-way one, you won’t have to share it with 10,000 other motorists.

Biker Quote for Today

Killing bugs is a full-time job.

I don’t yet know enough about either of these events to do a full blog post on either, so I’m combining them here with what brief info I do have.

I got a note from an outfit promoting the Moto Gymkhana of Colorado. Here’s a bit about what this is.

Moto Gymkhana is a motorcycle time trial sport in which riders compete to maneuver in the shortest time through a paved course restricted by traffic cones or other obstacles. Moto Gymkhana is open to experienced riders and beginners as well, because riders need little equipment and no special license to participate.

And then this.

Generally riders only use 1st or 2nd gear as moto gymkhana is not all about speed, it is more about you the rider and your skill set. Speeds are low to moderate thus there is a higher probability of falling due to the instability of motorcycles at slow speeds, but injuries and damage to the rider/motorcycle are rare. Because of the tight course layout of gymkhana, smaller lighter motorcycles often have an advantage over larger ones. However some courses may include long, straight sections in addition to tight turns, so various size/styles of motorcycles or scooters are potential contenders.

Moto Gymkhana demands that the rider has technique, ability, knowledge and motorcycle experience. You the rider must be comfortable on your machine to show your skills of acceleration, braking, handling and weight transfer, and also how to tune your machine to maximize performance. An analytical mind to assess the course for the most efficient racing lines is essential.

So if that sounds like something you’d like to see or even to do, it will take place on Sunday, June 12.

Then I also got a call from a fellow Alan referred to me, about the 8th Annual VA Sidecar Ride set for Sunday, July 3. According to Marty, “Once we arrive there (at the VA Hospital) we load up veterans from the Nursing Home unit, a short-term rehabilitation unit, and this year we will have a few guys from the PTSD unit. With a Denver PD motor officer escort, we send short lines of bikes and sidecar rigs to City Park and back. . . . In past years we have taken 15 or so veterans for rides and this year promises to have that many or a few more riders. We all have a great time carrying out this event and the VA residents are overjoyed to see us arrive.”

Obviously this is an event for riders with sidecar rigs. Alan has one these days, so I’m sure that’s how he got tuned in to it. I imagine they wouldn’t mind if someone showed up just to cheer them on.

Biker Quote for Today

No matter how bad your day is, your bike will always make you feel better.

I had never heard of Motorcycle Explorer magazine until Alan forwarded me a link. Apparently they’ve been putting this out for awhile; this is issue 11. And this May 2016 issue features a story about a ride a couple folks did of the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route.

So I was just looking through the magazine (it’s online only, and free as far as I can tell–I didn’t have to pay of join or anything to see it) and here was this feature article. Heck, I thought it was just a cool mag; I didn’t know it had local content. And it’s a 23-page piece with a lot of gorgeous pictures.

But here’s the kicker. On about the 22nd page there is a video. As they say on the page, “You don’t get this in a print mag ;)” And it’s a five-minute video they pair of riders put together from presumably GoPro footage they shot on the ride. Talk about getting a feel for the ride and almost being there!

So I really do recommend you go to the magazine and read it and look at the pictures but I’m going to cheat a little and give you the video right here. It’s on YouTube, after all.

Now, here’s another interesting thing. I went to this magazine on the web and got to this month’s issue. I wanted to get to a home page where I could see other issues. What I came upon was a web publishing platform that people can use to publish their online magazines. It allows you to peruse apparently every magazine published on their platform. There are categories and one category is motorcycles.

And boy oh boy, are there a lot of motorcycle magazines out there online! I see things like Louisiana Biker, On The Pegs, Ministry of Superbike, Trials & Enduro News, and a whole lot more, including a bunch of local Thunder Roads pubs. Very cool.

OK, I just did some more poking around and yes, Motorcycle Explorer is free and you can even subscribe. That’s probably true of the others as well. It’s gotten a lot harder making money with a magazine these days but once you put it together it’s sure a lot easier to get it out there to an audience of the whole world. Happy reading.

Biker Quote for Today

The road less traveled is a road worth riding.