Passes & Canyons Blog

The latest for the tourist set: Three-wheeled scooters.

We went down to Myrtle Beach, as I mentioned before, and I did ask the property manager why motorcycles are expressly forbidden at this condominium where we stayed. She was very nice, I was not confrontational, and she was not defensive. I just asked why.

They have to go with whatever the homeowner’s association, or HOA, says, and “I think it’s the noise factor or something like that.”

I mentioned that I have three bikes and none of them are any louder than a car. She responded, “Well, they have to go with regardless of what kind of bike it is, if they’re not going to allow one type of bike they can’t allow a different with the association rules.”

(I’ll make note that I was recording this whole conversation. I love my little digital recorder. It’s small, discreet, and has incredible sound quality. And if her answers are kind of choppy, that’s because they’re verbatim and people do talk that way.)

She said there are a lot of condos that do not allow bikes at all, while others allow them only in their overflow parking lots. This is an issue for the property management company she works for because, “We have three bike weeks a year and we can’t rent to them because they can’t bring their bikes there. And a lot of these bikes are 30 and 40 thousand dollar bikes, they don’t want to put them in an overflow that’s not monitored or whatever, but unfortunately . . . Now, your hotels and resorts, because they make their own rules, they allow them but the condominium associations, they go with whatever the HOA . . . whatever they want. A lot of them say no trailers, no boats, and a lot of people would like to bring their little Sea-doos and things like that when they come down and they have to find a safe place where they can park them.”

Their loss is someone else’s gain, however.

“We have the different storage companies, where they have the buildings and stuff . . . they make a killing during bike week because people will rent out one for that week, they can store them out there, and they can enjoy them while they’re here, and they can store them while they’re here, they just can’t park them outside, and they’re probably safer. Because during the bike weeks it’s unbelievable how many bikes get lifted. You’ll see where people have come in trucks–big trucks–and just load them up.”

So that’s the scoop. Now, those condo owners are within their rights saying no bikes. But we’re within ours saying fine, we don’t want to rent from you even when we aren’t in town on our motorcycles. I estimate that along that long stretch of beach, what they call the Grand Strand, there must be at least 5,000 hotels, motels, condos, and whatever that you can stay at. There’s just no reason to give your money to people who don’t want us. Check before you make your reservation, presuming you’re ever going to Myrtle Beach.

Meanwhile, as to that photo above, this seems to be the new thing for the tourist, non-biker set: three-wheeled scooters. I can understand how a lot of people are leery of riding even a scooter but would feel safer on three wheels. What I have to assume, however, is that these little 49cc no-license-necessary scoots are total dogs with the power loss they must incur from that change in the drivetrain. It’s not as if a 49cc scooter was going to be super hot in the first place. But hey, you never know when someone is going to try it out, like it, and get all enthused and go buy a motorcycle. If this gets them over the hump, good deal.

Biker Quote for Today

Some people will tell you that slow is good, and it may be on some days, but I am here to tell you that fast is better… Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba…. — Hunter S Thompson

The Colorado Motorcycle Adventures website.

I find it amazing how the number of motorcycle rental and tour outfits in Colorado has grown. Not many years ago I could have named about four but now there must be about ten of them. Is there enough business for them all to keep going? That is a really good question.

But for the moment, none of the companies in business when I started this website or that have come into being since then have folded. I wish them all great success.

One of the most recent of the newcomers is Colorado Motorcycle Adventures (CMA), which is owned and run by a guy named Scott Lee. As a fair number of these companies do, CMA advertises on this site, so this is my disclaimer.

And as I try to do as much as I can with these outfits, I’m going for a ride with Colorado Motorcycle Adventures. CMA rents bikes and leads tours. As the word “adventure” in their name implies, they are focused on adventure motorcycling. They rent dual-sport or adventure bikes. They lead backcountry tours.

The tour I’m tagging along on, on my own 650 V-Strom, is their “Intro to Adventure Motorcycling Tour.” Business seems to be pretty good because the tour was sold out, but as I say, I’m just tagging along. It will be a 135 mile, seven-hour loop heading out of Lakewood going south on a route I can’t really figure out from the small map I have at the moment. The sheet says the total dirt mileage will be 30-40 miles, taking about three to four hours. You can bet I’ll have a lot more info to share with you after I’ve done this ride.

One intriguing note: the sheet says lunch is included “at a small, local restaurant off the beaten path — remember this is an adventure ride so it applies to our meal as well!” I’m very curious.

What’s going to be really interesting about all this is that the date is set for May 3 and we all know what the weather can do in early May. I asked Scott about this and he said that short of really horrid weather–like a blizzard–we’re going. He has people coming in from out of state for this and rescheduling is just not an option for them. Keep your fingers crossed and bring all the appropriate gear. I’m glad I’ve got my V-Strom outfitted to use my electric vest. But mostly I hope the weather is gorgeous. If it isn’t then I’ll probably get some good experience in mud. That’s something I have zero experience with so far.

So I’ve got something to look forward to. Four weeks off. Gonna be a good one.

Biker Quote for Today

A straight road never made a skilled rider.

The Motorcycle Cannonball logo.

It was such a hit as a one-off idea that it has become a yearly event. This is the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run, a coast-to-coast ride that is restricted to bikes that were built in 1936 or earlier, which is to say, that are at least 78 years old. This is an event you’re going to want to turn out for just to see all this old iron actually out running.

The riders will be crossing Colorado on their way west from September 13 through September 16.

I heard about this thanks to Gary Wright, from Falcon, who will be one of the riders. If you see someone with the #57 that will be him.

I’ll let Gary give you some of the details.

it’s the 2014 Cannonball Endurance Run. being the third one ran. over 100 Pre 1937 motorcycles (78 to 102 year old bikes) with riders from 11 different countries in a coast to coast timed endurance run from Florida to Washington this coming Sept.. Sept 5th. threw 21st.. it enters Colorado on the afternoon of Sept. 13th in Burlington Colo.. leaves early am 14th., makes its way to a mid day stop in Colo. Springs at the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum then ends its day in Golden Colo.. early morning (15th.) leaves Golden Colo. crossing the Continental Divide Three Times before that days end in Grand Junction Colo.. leaving the state early morn of Sept. 16th 2014. there may be folks interested in seeing this moving museum?

No one is claiming that these bikes are all stock; being that old that would be pretty much impossible. However, “The bike must be powered by an original engine. Many things could be changed on a machine, and updates made for safety sake, but the core of the machine must be 1936 or earlier.”

Brakes are one thing that not only can be changed, but which you are encouraged to upgrade. “We are all aware that 100 years ago brakes were not that good. If in any way you can improve your braking ability, to the point of even adding a front brake, then it is highly recommended.”

This ride started in 2010, so this will be the fifth year.

Gary will be on his 1930 Indian Chief. Scanning the list of riders it looks like most of the bikes will be Indians, Harleys, and Henderson, with a reasonable number of BMWs mixed in and a lot of onesies: a 1929 BSA Sloper, a 1931 Sunbeam M9, a 1928 Velocette, a 1935 Sokol 1000, a 1923 Neracar, and a few others.

A particularly interesting rider is Claudia Ganzaroli, #105, who will be shipping her 1928 Moto Frera from Italy, where she lives. And she’s not the only one coming from another country. These folks are out for an adventure!

I’m looking forward to this. They’ll be coming through on a weekend so there’s no reason in the world why everyone close by shouldn’t come out to see this rolling museum. It’s gonna be great.

Biker Quote for Today

The older I get, the faster I used to be.

A video worth watching on the Butler site.

Those folks at Butler Maps just keep on going. The latest offering they’ve come out with is the Arizona Backcountry Discovery Route. This one is looking even more ambitious than most.

First let’s lay some groundwork. Butler produces and sells maps that highlight the best motorcycle roads in whatever state the map is for. They’re waterproof, rugged, beautiful maps that cater to what we’re interested in. And they’re good maps. Judy and I have traveled with a slew of maps and with her doing the navigating, and she says the best are definitely the Butler maps.

Then Butler took another step, introducing the Backcountry Discovery Route series. In these they map out a mostly off-pavement route from one side of the state to the other. Bill Eakins at Butler tells me they are very specifically routes that are good enough that you can ride them with a big adventure bike; no little dirt bikes necessary.

But that doesn’t mean it’s all easy riding. No way!

That’s what I was saying at first. You may want to take a couple minutes to go watch this video from their ride of the Arizona BDR. It’s not just beautiful scenery or cool riding. There are several scenes where these guys on these big adventure bikes wipe out.

And the map this time has more alternate routes than I recall on other maps. In some cases they say “Difficult Alternate. Damage possible.” Or “Roads are impassable when wet.” And this one I love: “Expert only. Damage to bike is possible due to rocky sections! No bailouts 16.8 miles.” And then, “Deep sand 3.3 miles.”

Yeah, this is why it’s called adventure riding. I’ve ridden in deep sand for a tenth of a mile a few times and that was more than plenty for me. And then there was the time I got in really deep sand and ended up going end over end after about 10 feet.

It all comes down to how you like your riding. Some folks never leave the pavement. Others like things a little spicier. If you’re the latter sort, these Backcountry Discovery Routes are right up your alley.

Biker Quote for Today

Sometimes I get off the bike before it has come to a complete stop….

This is the kind of sign you want to see.

My Mom is turning 90 soon and we’re planning to take her to the beach down in South Carolina. Arrangements have all been made but I was very interested to see in the reservation confirmation for the hotel we’re staying at that they’re a little picky about their clientele.

In the description of the unit we’re renting there are some no-nos: non smoking / two car parking / no motorcycles / RVs / boats / etc.

OK, I understand non smoking. I can see that RVs might take up too much space in the slots they have marked out, although they might specifically designate some larger spots for those. And I understand boats because then you’d probably end up parking your car in another space. Besides, that’s what marinas are for.

But no motorcycles? Really, why? If Judy and I showed up on the Concours you wouldn’t let us park? It’s not like we would be taking up a lot of space. I assume it’s the noise of some bikes and it’s just easier to issue a blanket prohibition rather than say no loud bikes. Jerks.

It’s too late to change plans; the money has been paid. So just in case you’re heading to Myrtle Beach anytime soon, let me just advise you that you may want to avoid the Beach Club at Windy Hill–they’re the jerks.

Which breathes new life into my efforts on this website to provide a listing of biker-friendly motels and hotels in Colorado. I had been thinking recently that it maybe wasn’t all that much of a service because it seems like everyone accepts bikers happily these days. Well, I guess not everybody. It’s good to get a wake-up call now and then.

If you’re going to be traveling in Colorado and want to be sure you’re welcome, the list is a good place to start. Every one of those places either contacted me to ask to be listed as biker-friendly or else I have stayed there or someone else has stayed there and found them to be welcoming to bikers. They’re not all great; I’ve panned a couple, but they were biker-friendly nonetheless. I put places on the list for no charge, so if you have some you think should be added please send me the information. And I’ll also point out that I have two advertisers who actually pay money to get their promotions in front of motorcyclists, so you know they’re biker-friendly: the Hotchkiss Inn, in Hotchkiss, and the Rabbit Ears Motel, in Steamboat Springs.

Meanwhile, I think I’ll have a few words with the management of this place in Myrtle Beach when I get there. If it’s an interesting discussion I’ll tell you about it afterward.

Biker Quote for Today

If it ain’t dirty you ain’t riding enough.

Randy Savely, the namesake of the Randy Run.

A poker run to raise money for injured bikers has been put on hold this year due to a lack of people to do the grunt work of getting it organized and promoted.

ABATE of Colorado’s annual Randy Run was to have been held on June 21 but the event has been scrubbed.

The Randy Run started out as an ABATE District 10 event, named for Randy Savely (in photo) who lost a leg in a crash where a driver turned left into him as he crossed an intersection. ABATE members came to Randy’s aid and support after his mishap and it was decided that a run to raise money for such situations would be a good thing.

After a couple years, the state organization took the run on as a state event, lifting some of the load off the members of District 10, although it was still D-10 members who volunteered to do most of the work. In addition, the state organization agreed that all districts would contribute a portion of the money they make on their own runs and other events to the Randy Run fund, so that the fund would not be dependent solely on the Randy Run itself.

The only constant is change, however, and that includes the situation in D-10. Many of the members most active on this event have dropped away from the group and Randy himself is not in a position to do much. Lay-offs at his job have resulted in him having to work six 10-hour days a week, and he has developed some health issues related to his leg as well.

At the most recent state board meeting the decision was made to pull the plug on this year’s event, although the fund will continue and requests for aid will still be met. There just won’t be a Randy Run this year. A decision will be made on a 2015 event later once it becomes clear what support there would be available.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride for the soul!

Heading through northeastern Yellowstone on our way to the Beartooth.

You’ll never get everyone to agree on what the top 10 motorcycle roads in the U.S. are, but there’s no need to. Everyone has different ideas and appreciates different things.

Nevertheless, it’s always interesting to see someone else’s list of what they think are the best. My friend John, one of the original OFMC riders, sent me this item from the Discovery channel and part of what I find interesting about it is that I’m really not familiar with a couple of these roads.

I don’t think they are ranked, but they’re presented in a 10, 9, 8, . . . sort of fashion that suggests #1 is the best. I don’t think that is what they meant, but that provides more grist for dispute if you choose to see it that way. I’ll take it from the top.

10. Route 50, The George Washington Highway, West Virginia
My first assumption was that this was the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which runs out of Washington, D.C., but then I saw that this road is in West Virginia. Hmmm. Never heard of it. Of course I’ve never spent much time in West Virginia, so I guess I’ll just add this to my list of places I need to get to.

9. Needles Highway, Black Hills, South Dakota
Oh yeah, this one I can vouch for. In fact, we’re going to be on that road again this summer on the OFMC trip. We’ll be spending three days in the Black Hills and there’s no way you’re going to skip this one.

8. Tail of the Dragon, Deal’s Gap, North Carolina
Everyone knows about the Tail of the Dragon. I’ve never been there but frankly, from what I hear, it’s gotten a bit blown out of proportion. I know they talk about 318 curves in 11 miles but heck, I was on a road down in New Mexico a couple years ago that ran a lot longer than 11 miles and probably had just as many curves per mile.

7. Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
It has been a whole lot of years since I’ve been on the Blue Ridge, and never on a motorcycle, so this one is definitely on my list. That along with Skyline Drive, through Shenandoah National Park. I wasn’t really familiar with Skyline Drive but I just worked on Shenandoah last week in my job at the National Park Service and decided then and there that this was another one I have to get to.

6. Beartooth Pass, Wyoming
Oh yes. Fabulous. We’ve been on this one a couple times. Dress warmly. Even in July and August.

5. San Juan Mountain Skyway, Colorado
Another big oh yes. Red Mountain Pass, the route between Durango and Ouray is one of the very best roads in Colorado. What more can you say?

4. Tunnel of Trees Road, Michigan
This is a different sort of one. I would never have heard of it except that we ran across it while coming down through Michigan in 2012. This road runs along the western shore of the lower peninsula portion of the state, and it’s about as curvey as the Tail of the Dragon. Just as with the Tail, you can’t really do much sightseeing because you’d darn well better keep your eyes on where you’re going. And don’t go too fast.

3. Cherohala Skyway, Tennessee
This is another one I’ve heard of but have never ridden. We lived in Tennessee many years ago so it’s possible I’ve been on it but that would have been as a kid. Now I want to see it as an adult.

2. Arkansas Pig Trail, Arkansas
What? I have never heard of this one. What? Where? They say it’s “the Arkansas Dragon.” OK, it’s in the Ozarks, so that tells you something. Add it to the list. I’m sure I’ll be back in Arkansas some day.

1. The Three Sisters (aka The Twisted Sisters), Texas
At least I’ve heard of this one, though I don’t really know anything about it. I see that it’s down west of San Antonio, but it’s been so many years since I’ve been to San Antonio that I forget what that country is like.

But this is why I don’t think the real intent in counting down, rather than up, is intended to rank these roads. I don’t think anyone would say the Twisted Sisters are better than the Beartooth. I also have to question the selections for this list. (Like I said, everyone has their own ideas about these things.) I’d like to ride the Twisted Sisters but is this ride really better than Trail Ridge Road, which is not on the list? Or how about the Going to the Sun Highway up in Glacier National Park? Or the Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur?

No, I think they tried to balance the list across the country, not really pick the real top 10. But I don’t care. I like the list. I like getting turned on to some places I didn’t know about. And considering I’ve only been on 4 of these 10, that gives me some riding to think about. And plan. And do. That works for me.

Biker Quote for Today

When you stop chasing dreams, that’s when your getting old…until then enjoy the ride.

No state has more motorcycles per person than South Dakota, even when the rally is not on.

My friend Dan sent me this chart that shows how many people there are per motorcycle in the various states, plus D.C. Out of 51, Colorado comes in 14th. Now, just so you’ll understand the numbers, a rating of 1 would mean there was one person for every motorcycle in the state. A rating of 5 would mean there are five people for every bike, so presumably there are a lot fewer of them riding.

In Colorado the ratio is 29 people for every bike. That would mean there are 28 people out there per bike who don’t have a motorcycle, except there are folks like me who have three, so that means there are 86 people who ought to be wishing they were me.

It’s probably not a big surprise that Colorado ranks high. With the beautiful weather we have here and the gorgeous places we have to ride, how could we not be in the top third. So who else ranks high on the list? Probably other places where they have great weather and great scenery, right?

Well, how about New Jersey, with 27 people per bike. What, New Jersey beat us out? Yeah, they rank 13th, just one ahead of us. Go figure.

OK, well, California certainly has to be high, right? Umm . . . how about 43rd? Wow! As many bikes as there are in California, there are 47 people for every one of them.

Now, who’s at the top probably won’t come as huge surprise: South Dakota. South Dakota has only 12 people for every bike–I wonder how many of them are running? Could be that a lot of bikes break down at the rally and never leave. Or it may just be that those folks in South Dakota really love motorcycles.

The worst state of all is not actually a state, it is the District of Columbia. There are 172 people in D.C. for every bike. Obviously this count is skewed a little when the Rolling Thunder gets there. But I’m guessing these numbers are based on registrations. Those Rolling Thunder people don’t live there, they’re just visiting.

Second from the bottom is Mississippi. They have 106 people for every bike. Wonder why that is? They’ve got good riding weather all year round, unless maybe summers are unbearable due to humidity and heat.

Then the rest of the bottom 10 are, climbing, Louisiana, Texas, New York, Georgia, Maryland, Utah (Utah!!), California, Hawaii, Kentucky. What in the world is Utah doing so low on this list? It’s every bit as great a place to ride as Colorado.

The rest of the top 10–oh heck, I’ll go all the rest of the way down to Colorado–so the the top 14 are: South Dakota, New Hampshire, Iowa, Wisconsin, Wyoming, North Dakota, Vermont, Montana, Minnesota, Alaska, Idaho, Maine, New Jersey, and then Colorado.

Do you see a pattern there? I don’t. You’ve got several New England states where they have terrible winters; great places to ride, like Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana; and then the ones that make you say, “Huh?”, like Iowa and Minnesota. We’ll let Wisconsin slide by because they’ve got Harley there. Otherwise I’d be lumping them with Minnesota and Iowa.

Not quite what you might have expected, is it? I don’t know, maybe New Jersey is hiding something from the rest of us. Maybe I’ll have to go find out for myself. Some day.

Biker Quote for Today

When I finished high school, I wanted to take all my graduation money and buy myself a motorcycle. But my mom said no. See, she had a brother who died in a horrible motorcycle accident when he was 18. And I could just have his motorcycle.