Passes & Canyons Blog

That 2000 Concours to the left is what I rode, and that Honda Interceptor is Jungle's. Willie was on the Yamaha FJ1100.

We were in the mountains over the weekend and on Friday I had the chance to ride with Jungle and Willie, friends who live in Eagle. They have a spare Concours they invited me to ride so this was the ultimate in no-brainers.

What was not such a no-brainer was where to go. Of course they live up there, so they’ve been on all the roads in their area, but so have I. You can do the Minturn to Leadville to Aspen to Glenwood and home loop, or you can go Wolcott to Toponas to Kremmling to Steamboat and back. Or, a third option Willie suggested, was Wolcott to Toponas to Kremmling and then to Grand Lake and back via Winter Park and I-70 to Eagle again.

That third route is adding up to some real miles and I guess there are some other long-mile routes you could do but essentially, from Eagle your options are rather limited.

Here’s where Jungle got creative. We would to the to Steamboat and back ride that we’ve done before with some alternative roads mixed in. We headed up CO 131 from Wolcott, where we had met up with some other riders, and headed north. Just a little shy of Oak Creek we turned off onto the road that goes by Stagecoach State Park, Hudspeth Lane, and made it on to Steamboat via that route. I’ve been on that road a few times but it was a nice alternative to just taking 131 all the way.

In Steamboat we had lunch and I just have to comment on the lunch I had. Donna, one of the other riders, commented that it was silly how all of a sudden pork belly is the thing. Isn’t bacon just pork belly? Isn’t it just being snooty to refer to a bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich as pork belly when it’s just bacon? Sort of like calling green beans haricots vert?

So that was what I ordered but you know what? That was not bacon on my sandwich. It may have been the exact same cut of meat but it was not cured like bacon and these thick, fatty slices of meat were definitely not bacon. And they were quite fatty so frankly, I didn’t really care for it all that much. I will say, though, that the heirloom tomatos on the sandwich were pretty darn good. Oh, the fancy foods they serve in tourist towns.

Following lunch in Steamboat, the ride really got interesting. Out at the west end of Steamboat Jungle turned south off US 40 onto Elk River Road, which connected with Shield Drive, which crossed the river and picked up Routt County Road 33 going west. I’m convinced I have been on this road once before but that was going the other direction. The country this road goes through is gorgeous. It’s ranching land and even in mid July it was still just as green as could be and the road twists and climbs and drops and is wonderful. At this point in the afternoon we were wary of rain, with much of the sky looking pretty purple, but we only got a few drops on our visors at a couple points. We were keeping our fingers crossed.

After about 17 miles of sweet riding we intersected the Twenty Mile Road. I’ve been on this road plenty of times as it runs from Hayden down to Oak Creek. There is a point as this road comes down southeasterly from Hayden that it reaches a coal mine and the road either continues straight or you have to take a sharp turn to the right. That right turn keeps you on Twenty Mile Road and on to Oak Creek. If you go straight it puts you on the road to Steamboat that we were coming down on. We were definitely not headed to Hayden so we took the (for us) left turn.

This is really the pretty part of the Twenty Mile Road anyway. North of there it’s OK, with nice country, but it’s nothing like the southern portion. The southern portion sweeps up canyons, over canyon rims, and back down into other canyons. This is a great road.

We came over one canyon rim and found the pavement still wet from a rainstorm that preceded us but again we did not get wet. We reconnected with CO 131 and headed south on the road we had come up and the weather was holding for us. Approaching State Bridge the sky ahead was getting black so we hurried on. Descending into Wolcott there were drops on our visors again, but as soon as we turned west on old U.S. 6 the sky got blue, the temperature rose about five degrees and we were totally in the clear. Back to Eagle then and the ride was over.

What a great thing to be out riding like this on a Friday instead of sitting at some desk in some office. I then drove back to Vail, where my wife was attending a conference, and she and a bunch of these other real estate lawyers could only wish they had been out all day doing what I had been doing rather than sitting in meetings all day.

I’m fully aware–and fully appreciative–of my good fortune.

Biker Quote for Today

We hang around people who think these activities are normal.

I just have to get out to places like this more.

I have my Google Alerts set to pick up articles with the word “motorcycle” and today it brought me to an article I find particularly interesting. Titled “On Motorcycles, the Real Fun Begins When the Pavement Ends,” it’s by a guy who is an experienced street rider who is not so experienced off the pavement. Kind of like me.

And what this guy did sounds like something I probably ought to do. He took his KLR 650 off for a few days in the mountains and just did it. The first day out he wiped out several times and had his confidence badly shaken, but he perservered and by day three, he writes, “By the third morning, the bike feels dialed in. . . . Off-road, headed up a rock-and-mud slope, I push maybe a little too hard and almost lose it a few times. Almost.”

He got it. You just have to do it until you’ve got it. I do understand this. This is exactly the sort of article I’m going to write some day–just not today. Not yet.

I remember when I first started riding seriously. I knew better than to take a passenger at first but eventually I did. It was not comfortable. I was pretty comfortable with the bike by that time but with a passenger it was different. I don’t want to be responsbile for someone else, someone who has trusted me, getting hurt.

It all changed after John and Bill and I went on our very first OFMC trip. By the time I had lived on the bike for a week, with luggage strapped on, putting a passenger on back there was not even a question. I got it.

Later, when I bought the Concours, I was very uncertain about it for a long time. It is just so tall. I was used to being able to plant both feet firmly, flatly on the ground. Not on the Connie. In the beginning I only rode that bike wearing my boots with the highest heels, to give me that extra bit of assistance.

Once again, the only real answer was to ride the thing. It wasn’t a clear-cut moment as it had been with the Honda and passengers, but gradually I got used to the height of the bike. I learned to be comfortable with that height and now I don’t hesitate to ride in sneakers if that’s what I have on. It’s just no big deal. I got it.

So now I’ve got this V-Strom. I’ve done a fair amount of riding off-road, even went over Cinammon Pass a few years ago on a similar V-Strom. And yes, I’ve gone down, and even got tossed head over heels one time. (It’s amazing how a bike can just flip you like a rag doll.) But it hasn’t been enough. I haven’t got it yet.

But I will. I’m just getting started. I swear the day will come when I’ve got this, too. I’m just not there yet.

Biker Quote for Today

It takes less time to do things the hard way than to be too nervous to even start at all.

That sales floor was pretty empty on Saturday but by the grand opening on Friday it should be full.

The growth in the number of outfits in Colorado renting off-road capable motorcycles–dual-sport and adventure bikes–has been startling in recent years. We have definitely been discovered.

Now for a twist: One of these outfits–House of Motorrad–is adding a retail store to its rental business. Although the store is already open, as of Saturday there was not much stock in the store, but owner Ben Kriederman says things have started arriving and by the grand opening on Friday he expects the sales floor to be full. In the meantime, he got his stock of bags from Wolf Man and has already had to reorder a few items.

The store is located at 5446 Conestoga Court, in Boulder, which is just off Arapahoe at 55th.

(For full disclosure, Ben has done some advertising with me previously on the Passes and Canyons website, and has an ad up now promoting his grand opening.)

The shop is still a work in progress, too, or at least it was when I was there. That particle board you see on the right in the photograph will be replaced with a glass garage door that will allow bikes to be rolled in and out. Not shown, but directly opposite that is the work area where bikes will be serviced. Ben has no intention of doing major work, such as engine replacements, but if you want to have tires put on or your oil changed he’ll do that.

The shop will be focused strictly on adventure bikes and gear for them. That said, if you want to order parts for other bikes through House of Motorrad that can definitely be done. The sort of gear that will be stocked includes helmets, jackets, gloves, boots, Butler maps, Garmin GPS units, bluetooth communicators, GoPro cameras and the like. Also with a focus on adventure riding, Ben will stock tents but not a lot else in the way of camping gear. I spoke to him about a JetBoil one-burner camp stove, which we see as filling our two-up motorcycle camping needs, and he suggested I go to REI. Ditto for more-compact sleeping bags.

While the store gets off the ground, the rental business is doing quite well. As of Saturday Ben had 20 bikes in his stable, though he said that changes constantly–the day before he only had 19. They are all BMWs, Triumphs, and KTMs. How well are rentals doing? So far this year he has had four riders who took bikes out for more than 25 days. These were all folks from other countries coming to the U.S. to do some serious riding. Most of the rentals are for shorter periods but he only had five in the shop when I was there.

He’ll be renting pretty much the entire fleet as chase vehicles for the USA Pro Challenge Professional Cycling Race in August, and Edelweiss Tours will be hosting its first Colorado adventure tour and using his bikes for that. As I said, adventure riding is becoming a booming business in Colorado.

And Ben is nothing if not a dreamer. He’s just getting the shop opened and is already planning expansion. The adjoining space is coming available and he hopes to put in a motorcycle-themed cafe there. And then as other space also opens up he expects to take it and add extra bays for the mechanical stuff. The shop is open for retail business Thursday through Monday but only by special appointment on Tuesday or Wednesday. Bike rentals go in and out every day.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride a GS, it makes your butt look smaller.

The Adventure Rally Series 2014 is happening this month in Gunnison.

This is the kind of thing I’m more and more interested in but once again it’s something I will miss.

Seems a bunch of interested parties–Bonnier Motorcycle Group brands, Cycle World, Motorcyclist, and Dirt Rider magazines–put together something last year called the Adventure Rally. The idea, they say, is “The Adventure Rally Series is for passionate adventure riders to explore epic roads and become better riders while making new friends.”

And now this year they are having two, one of which–the Rockies edition–will be operating out of Gunnison July 24-27. Of course, those days conflict with our annual OFMC bike trip, so count me out–darn! Not that I would necessarily do it, though. I’m still new enough to this off-road riding thing that I’m not sure I’d be particularly welcome. I could easily be the guy who better riders have to watch out for rather than getting out and doing the serious riding they want to do. I swear I will get more competent at this. At least right now I can say that I am really comfortable and familiar with riding the V-Strom. I’ve been out on it three times this week alone and I’m loving it.

But maybe your schedule doesn’t conflict and you’re more experienced than I am. This Adventure Series thing could be just your ticket. Here’s a bit more of what they have to say about it:

This year’s Adventure Rally-Rockies Edition will be based at The Inn at Tomichi Village on the edge of town, smack in the middle of Colorado’s best adventure riding. Competitors will be treated to both paved and dirt road options, which include twisty mountain passes, flowing two track and difficult off-road sections. There is limitless potential for exploration in this area for riders of all skill levels.

In addition to the navigational element, which will send each team on their own unique adventure, this year’s Adventure Rally – Rockies Edition will feature special tests hosted at The Inn at Tomichi Village. Judges and instructors will be on hand to challenge competitor’s adventure bike skills and teach new ones.

At the end of the day, this unique event format, combined with the stunning backdrop of The Inn at Tomichi Village and the Colorado Rockies, provides an atmosphere that is designed to be both competitive and casual—putting as much emphasis on the campfire camaraderie as the desire to win the coveted Adventure Cup.

And as for what it costs, there is this:

What do we mean when we say all-inclusive?

Well, for $550 (double occupancy) $650 (single occupancy) you get:

Three nights at the exclusive The Inn at Tomichi Village
Three breakfasts
Three dinners
Two drink tickets per day for post-ride libations
Chance to compete for the Adventure Cup
Custom Adventure Rally road book & keep sake
Custom Adventure Rally Map of Bonuses
Special tests and rider training
Adventure Goodie Bag

So it ain’t cheap, but you get a lot for the ticket price, including food and lodging. You’d have to pay those yourself if you just went out and rode. And Gunnison is a great area. My friend Kevin Smith, who runs Colorado Mountain Moto out of Gunnison, reminded me some years ago that on my own website I say that “If you’re in Gunnison it really doesn’t matter which direction you go, every road is a great motorcycle road.” How true; give that guy a medal. (Oh yeah, that was me.)

So OK, maybe next year for me. Surely by then I’ll feel more competent. And all I have to do is ensure that the OFMC doesn’t schedule its trip at the same time again. That could be the harder thing to do because we set that date in December. So many roads, too little time.

Biker Quote for Today

But I have to lead, because I’m very allergic to dust!

You don't see these guys using their cellphones but how much do you want to bet that people in cars take this road while using theirs?

I see that the American Motorcyclist Association is endorsing “Cell Phone Courtesy Month,” zeroing in on the “Focus on Driving” item in the list. Great idea, but we all know just about how much impact it is likely to have.

Just for background, Cell Phone Courtesy Month is something created by “etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore” and frankly it strikes me as being as much a promotional ploy for her business as anything, but if she gets some traction on it, good for her. Most of the items in her list have nothing to do with driving or motorcycles; they’re just common courtesy items that we probably all wish people would follow. Things like “Keep it private” and “Avoid ‘cell yell'” that we are all too familiar with.

But item number 12 is this:

Focus on driving. Practice wireless responsibility while driving. Don’t make or answer calls while in heavy traffic or in hazardous driving conditions. Place calls when your vehicle is not moving, and use a hands-free device to help focus attention on safety. Always make safety your most important call.

Wow, don’t we wish!?

Of course, Colorado has a law against texting while driving and we all know how that has totally brought an end to that practice, right? Yeah, right.

Meanwhile, people don’t have to be on their cell phones to create hazards for motorcyclists. Once again just this week I had the opportunity to loudly announce to someone wanting my lane that “Hey lady, I’m here!!!” She wasn’t on her cell phone; she was just annoyed at the slow driver ahead of her and wanted to zip around. Probably even checked her mirror, too, but did not turn her head to do a head check. Typical.

So I’m not going to get excited but it sure can’t hurt. What the heck, maybe it will make your next dinner in a restaurant more pleasant.

Biker Quote for Today

ATGATT: If you don’t think you need a helmet, you probably don’t.

Two people really can go camping on one motorcycle.

Things didn’t go exactly as planned but by golly, we set out to go camping two-up on the Suzuki V-Strom 650 and by golly we did it. And most importantly, we picked up some pointers for test number two, presumably coming up later this summer.

Our start on Sunday was delayed a bit by light rain and heavy wind, but then things cleared. Still, off in the west it looked very wet.

We made it almost to Conifer before looking wet became getting wet so we pulled off to suit up. That’s when the first complication arose. We were planning on doing some hiking while up in the hills so I just wore my hiking boots. What I didn’t realize is that while I can get my rain pants on over any of my motorcycle boots, they don’t fit over the hiking boots. So there I was sitting alongside the highway in the rain taking my boots off in order to get my rain pants on. Now I know.

Of course, this is Colorado, so by the time we got to Bailey the sky was clear. We rode on to Grant and stopped there to take off our rain gear now that it was dry. We were heading to a campground up along Guanella Pass, so at Grant we turned onto what is on that side Park County Road 62. It’s also known as Guanella Pass Scenic Byway or just simply Guanella Pass Road. I knew the first 3-4 miles is gravel but that’s why we were riding the V-Strom. And we stopped at a roadside stand there in Grant to pick up some food for dinner. No cooking on this trip.

We got to our campground, got set up, and did all the things you do while camping: hiking, hanging out in camp, meeting your neighbors, whatever, and then sleeping.

Come morning I was really feeling the decision not to try to cook on this trip. We were above 9,000 feet and it was cold. We had no way to start a fire and no way to fix coffee. I’m going to have to figure out how to make that happen next time. So we ate our oranges and granola bars and just relaxed while waiting for the rain fly on the tent to dry. Then we packed up to go.

We had been looking at maps of the area and had seen that the road right by the campground runs up to Geneva City, a ghost town up there that probably has something to do with this area being known as Geneva Basin. We figured that since we were on the V-Strom, let’s go check it out.

Well, right off the bat the road was terrible. I’ve been on roads that bad myself on dual-sport bikes but with Judy on with me I just didn’t have the confidence–or foolhardiness–to chance it. This was already the first time I’d ridden off the pavement with a passenger and the last thing in the world I want to do is injure my wife. So forget Geneva City.

We headed back to the main road and headed up the pass. It was still pretty early on Monday morning, about 9:30 or 10 o’clock, so we pretty much had the entire road to ourselves. We took our time, enjoyed the scenery and the ride, and headed on down the other side toward Georgetown.

A few miles out of Georgetown we passed a young fellow with a skateboard (they call these particular ones “long boards”) and it appeared he was planning to coast down the hill. He was wearing a helmet but besides that just a t-shirt and jeans. We kept on going but a little while later, sure enough, he came ripping past us on the board and disappeared around the curves ahead of us. With all the 180-degree hairpin turns and the beauty, we weren’t in any hurry but he had a totally different agenda. How he maneuvered those turns I have no idea. We saw him and some buddies preparing to go back up just outside of town.

In Georgetown we stopped for a proper breakfast–with hot coffee–and enjoyed sitting out on a cafe patio on Monday morning while so many other folks were back at the grind. Then we cruised on home.

So what did we learn this first time? 1) Carry a writing implement so you can fill out the name and license plate stuff on the campground registration. 2) Bring bug repellent. 3) We’ve got to figure out some way to make coffee. 4) Don’t overstuff the bags. Even these Givi bags leaked a little because they were overpacked and bulging. 5) Two people can go camping on one motorcycle.

Next time we’ll try it on the Concours. I can tie the foam pads and tent on the back–I’ve done that kind of thing before–and there is still enough room in the side bags for other stuff once the sleeping bags go in. Maybe even enough room for a one-burner stove that fits inside a cook pot; I still don’t think we’ll be cooking dinner, though. And we’ll just pick a campground that doesn’t require an extended ride on gravel to get to it. The Concours hates gravel.

Hey, we did it!

Biker Quote for Today

“Those KLRs are full of potential. Just takes a rider…” — Jimmy Lewis

Once I got the tent and one sleeping bag in there wasn't much room left in the side bag.

My wife, Judy, and I enjoy camping and we’ve talked for a long time about going camping on the motorcycle. Getting more serious about it, we recently bought down sleeping bags that are much more compact than the ones we’ve been using. Plus, with the V-Strom we now have the capability of going on gravel and dirt roads. We decided this weekend was the time to give it a try.

Now, I’ve camped on the bike by myself since forever. It’s easy to get everything on that one person needs. Going two-up, however, is entirely different. You’ve got to get twice as much personal stuff in and the passenger takes up space where camping gear usually goes. I saw a presentation a couple years ago at the Overland Expo where a couple who had ridden around the world on their KLR 650 talked about packing. It made sense then but now I don’t see how they did it.

We’ve both cut back our work hours to four days a week so in order to avoid crowds we figured we’d just go on an overnight somewhere close by, leaving on Sunday and returning on Monday. I’m writing this on Sunday morning and we’ll be leaving in about an hour.

On Saturday I figured I’d better start loading up the bike and see how it all fits together. The answer turned out to be not all that good. As you can see in the photo, I got the tent in one side bag with one sleeping bag. The other bag holds one foam pad and the other sleeping bag. I had nowhere to go with the second foam pad except to bungee it on on top of one of the sidebags. You can see that green pad in the photo.

The top bag holds our rain gear and with all this stuff loaded there’s not a lot of room for other camping gear. For instance, I have a little one-burner gas stove and it would fit but that would mean we would also need at least one pot, utensils, a couple plates or bowls, and probably some very small cooler to put food in along with blue ice. Trying to figure this out was driving me crazy until I decided that this is just a first test run and I’m not going to over-think it. We’re going to carry dinner that doesn’t require cooking and for breakfast we’ll just get by with granola bars, oranges, and water. For one morning I’ll get by without coffee first thing.

Now, truth is, there is still a good amount of space left in the side bags. Although the one side is pretty well taken up by the tent and sleeping bag, there is a lot of width to the bags and the other half of the clam shell is still empty. This may yet work out better than it appears to at first.

The other thing that occurs to me is that the Concours may turn out to be the better bike for camping, as long as we don’t need to go on gravel or dirt roads more than a very short distance. I know I could strap the tent and both pads on the back of the bike and then the sleeping bags and a whole lot more stuff could go in the side bags. We’ll probably do a second test run on the Kawi later this summer.

So we’re going to see how this works. I’ll tell you all about it soon.

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you won’t ride down a gravel road.

Did you ride to work on Monday?

I guess I’m just one lonely voice in the wilderness. Every year I plug Ride to Work Day and never do I see those hordes of bikes out there that I hope for. Did you see them Monday? Neither did I.

I did ride to work on Monday and out of curiosity I counted the number of bikes I saw. I counted 16 besides myself going, and 12 coming home. I rode again today (Thursday) and on this totally non-special day I saw 21 bikes on the way in and 19 on the way home. So much for let’s all go ride to work on one particular day.

And by the way, I won’t be keeping a running count because it’s way too distracting. I had to keep telling myself to forget about the dang bikes, watch where you’re going and watch out for other traffic. Also by the way, I am pleased to say that on neither day did some other driver try to occupy the lane I was already occupying. That happened to me three times the previous two days I rode to work.

What was really odd, I thought, was that whereas there are four BMW riders who ride to work at the National Park Service nearly every day, on Monday of all days not a single one of them rode in. Of the seven or eight bikes that are typically parked in the lot there, only two Harleys came in. Plus me.

So yeah, apparently almost nobody pays attention to Ride to Work Day. That puzzles me. I mean, why wouldn’t you? I suspect the biggest part of it is that most riders have never heard of it. It needs better promotion. What can I do, other than what I’ve been doing for years? I’ll have to think about that. I don’t know about you, but I’d just love to see the streets of this town filled with motorcycles some day, making all the drivers’ eyes pop out wondering what the heck is going on. There’s got to be a way.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride to coffee, coffee to ride.