Passes & Canyons Blog

I was asked to put in a plug for this and I will because it seems like a good thing.

Allstate, an insurance company that would love to have your business, is holding a competition to select five motorcycle safety initiatives to receive $5,000 to help them become reality. They got nearly 300 submissions and have narrowed it down to what they consider the top 15. Now they want you and me to vote on the ones we want to see get the money.

Of course the immediate question is, what are the proposals? I went and looked.

One is called “Support Your Local Bike Mechanic.” I’m not sure where that name came from but what the guy is proposing is to have four events, one per month during prime riding season, to bring together riders and vendors, with a safety theme and presentation for each: rider safety and awareness; safety riding apparel; basic proper motorcycle maintenance; and safe group riding. The $5,000 would be split equally between the events to cover costs including music, food, etc.

You get the picture. Others include:

• A look twice, save a life billboard campaign by the parents of a young rider who died in a crash.
• Taking cars and bikes to schools and doing presentations on safety.
• Distribute small stickers with the image of a motorcyclist to paste on your car mirror to remind you to look for motorcycles.
• Another billboard campaign also including brochures and organizing safety and awareness runs.
• Conduct a test with blue roadside delineator stickers, rather than white. The guy says white looks too much like deer eyes in the dark.
• Public service announcements and rallies to bring the biker and non-biker communities together.
• Create, implement and administer a Teen and Young Adult Safe Riding Campaign.
• Produce and distribute materials for driver’s ed courses promoting motorcycle awareness.
• Pay for schwag to be handed out that reminds drivers to watch for motorcycles.
• Help to fund an extensive motorcycle safety effort.
• Create an instructional aid that identifies the sections of helmets most likely to sustain damage during a crash.
• Produce and distribute “Look twice, save a life” yard signs for bikers to put in their yards.
• Promote a game called “Count Motorcycles, The Motorcycle Awareness Game.”
• Create a website to serve as the hub for skill-building awareness and enjoyment in the motorcycling community.

There they are. You can go vote for your favorite at the link I provided above, or if that won’t get you there for some reason the indirect route is to go to Allstate’s Facebook page (http://facebook.com/allstatemotorcycle), click on the Allstate Good Ride Grant button toward the right, and then click “View Finalists” on the next screen. And, oh yeah, this voting ends at the end of October.

Biker Quote for Today

Go soothingly on the greasy mud, for therein lies the skid demon.

A fellow down the street has been riding a Harley for, I don’t know, a year? Maybe two. But now the bike is for sale. Wonder why?

So we were out for a walk Saturday and one of the guys living in this house was out on the porch smoking. “Why are you selling the Harley?” I asked. I don’t know these guys, I don’t know who owns it, but I figured this was sufficient to kick off a discussion. It did.

“It’s my buddy’s. Yeah, it’s for sale.”

“Why?”

“He’s got no one to ride with. It’s no fun riding alone.”

And we continued walking.

Wow. No fun riding alone. That is so wrong, and such a sad reason to quit riding.

OK, so first, this is a young single guy and his idea of having a motorcycle is probably to go for an occasional cruise with a bunch of friends and hit a few bars. I can see how that doesn’t work if you don’t have someone to ride with. It’s not about the riding, it’s about the socializing.

So does he really not care about the actual riding? Because if he does it’s not that hard to find people to ride with, and then to make friends with others who ride. First off, there are plenty of organized rides he could go to. And then there are clubs. After all, the guy has a Harley–all he would have to do is go on some of the rides by the HOG group sponsored by the dealer he bought the bike from. He’d meet plenty of other riders there. Lots of socializing.

But you know me, I have to take exception to the whole idea that riding alone is no fun. Sure, I like riding with friends, but when you get down to it, I probably enjoy riding alone the best. People think of freedom when they think of motorcycles and there is no freedom like being on your own. You go where you want to go, stop when you want to stop, do whatever it is you–you–want to do.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been riding with the OFMC and I’ve seen something I wanted to stop for but didn’t because I didn’t want to interrupt the ride. The more people in your group the longer it takes to get rolling again. And then I have regretted again and again not having stopped. No, riding with the guys has its pluses but it definitely has its minuses as well.

I could ramble on and on with this particular topic but I won’t. If you never ride alone, maybe you should try it. Isn’t simply riding the bike fun?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
AIMExpo will debut in Orlando Oct. 16-20

Biker Quote for Today

To ride or not to ride? That is a stupid question.

Part of this relates to the simple fact that Alaska is the only U.S. state I’ve never been to. Then, to not only go to Alaska but ride around there on a motorcycle is, in my mind, about the ultimate.

So the boys at Butler Maps have been there and they’ve really done that in a big way. And then they sent me the map so I could drool.

One thing you notice right away looking at the map is that a large portion of the state is left out, essentially the entire western portion of the state. I understand that, though. Working as I do at the National Park Service (when we’re working, which we’re not as of this writing thanks to the government shutdown), I am aware that while there are several national parks and other federal lands over there, they are only accessible by air or water. There would probably be a whole lot more routes on this map if that were not the case.

And I should also add that the map does give you a lot of routes in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory as well–no extra cost! Basically, it shows you some roads to get to Alaska from the Seattle area, as well as some side trips along the way.

Another thing that can be deceptive at first is that unlike so many other Butler maps, there are not a lot of big stretches of yellow-highlighted roads. Those are the best, so you want to see a lot of yellow on your map. But then if you think about it you realize that this is Alaska. It’s huge. And it’s on the same size map as, say, Colorado. So those numerous little yellow squiggles actually encompass hundreds and hundreds of miles of choice motorcycle roads. And connecting the yellow squiggles are a lot of red squiggles, which are the merely great rather than stupendous roads. And oh man, is there a lot of red!

Frankly, I’ve never heard of Haines, a little way south of Skagway, but the biggest single stretch of yellow is the Haines Highway that runs northwest from that town. Now you’ve really got my interest. That’s one of the very best thing about these Butler maps. They tell you where the good stuff is.

On the back side of the map there’s a lot more information. Enlarged maps show sections highlighted on the overall map. If you’re riding a dual-sport or adventure motorcycle to/in Alaska you’ll want to pay particular attention to the Dual Sport Adventure Roads Reference Guides that are included with several sections. Not only are these routes pointed out, there are some tips that are very useful.

For instance, on the Elliot Highway/Steese Highway section it tells you you had better have at least 161 miles worth of gas or you’re going to be in trouble. On the Dalton Highway you need 250 miles worth of fuel.

• Road to Rampart: This road has many stream crossings and marshy bogs. It is more appropriate for 4x4s but doable on a bike if you want a challenge.
• Alascom Road: Another short but stunning out and back ride. Treat yourself to 360 degree views.
• Grogg Creek Road: A ride up Grogg Creek Road is a great lesson in stream crossing.

OK, now it’s time to commence dreaming. And now my dreams can be a lot more specific. I think that makes them more likely to come true, doesn’t it?

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
AIMExpo will debut in Orlando Oct. 16-20

Biker Quote for Today

Get lost to find yourself.

All right, we had some snow, a hard frost, and now the weather has warmed back up. This is Indian summer, and yesterday (Sunday) was an absolutely perfect day for a ride in the hills. I figured I’d ride the Honda, partly because it gets the least use of my three bikes but also because those tires are getting old and ought to be replaced. Let’s wear them out!

I headed out to Morrison, where the bikes were thick as flies on something rotten, and cruised on up Bear Creek Road to Evergreen. Evergreen was the same as Morrison, bikes everywhere you looked. I wasn’t the only one who concluded it was a perfect day to ride. A time and temperature clock in Evergreen read 61 degrees and you couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.

I turned north on Evergreen Parkway to the left turn onto Squaw Pass Road. I was wanting to either find some fall color or see how far away we were from having the aspen leaves turn golden. I had seen a little color coming up the canyon but it seemed I needed to go higher. But the higher I went all I saw was aspen tress with their leaves already gone or else just brown. I’ve heard that moisture can affect the change of color so maybe we’re just not going to get a gorgeous fall this year.

Cruising up Squaw Pass Road I still didn’t see much color, but I did see some major work on the road. A lengthy stretch was brand new asphalt, so new it isn’t even striped yet. I had one particular spot in mind where I wanted to stop and shoot a picture but when I got there they were working on the road, despite it being Sunday. In fact, they were laying asphalt at the exact spot I planned to stop at the moment I got there so I kept going and got the shot above a little further down the road.

I didn’t go all the way over and down to Idaho Springs because I didn’t want to get stuck in the Sunday afternoon mess on I-70 coming back to town. Instead, I went on a ways and then turned back. That way I saw the road in both directions and can give you this report in case you’re up there soon.

The road work starts once you enter Clear Creek County. The road surface is smooth and perfect, unstriped as I said, but also with no shoulder in place yet. What that means is that if you wanted to pull off you’d be looking at a sheer drop-off from the asphalt of four to six inches. Not too many people are going to want to try that.

Going west, which puts you in the north lane, the lane is clear and perfect. Heading back east however, in the south lane, there is still some snow and ice on the road. Off the road, in the shadows, there was a good bit of snow. While the road has been cleared, there were just a few small patches where not all the snow was cleared off the pavement. Plus, there are some spots where melting snow flows onto the pavement and then freezes. When I came over around 2 p.m. this was mostly melted and the road was just wet, but earlier or later in the day it could be a different story. And there was still some ice in a couple spots even at that time.

I’m presuming this is indicative of other roads in the high country at this point. If this government shutdown continues and I continue to not be working I plan to check out a few more in the next few days. Hey, it’s a great opportunity to ride and it gives me something to write about here. I will make the point, by the way, that while Congress is planning to pay federal workers for their time off from work, I am not a federal employee, I’m a contractor. For me it’s unpaid time off. But I still get to go out and ride during this perfect weather.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
AIMExpo will debut in Orlando Oct. 16-20

Biker Quote for Today

Two roads diverged in a wood, and / I took the one less traveled by, and / now where the hell am I?

I didn’t coin the phrase but I’ve repeated it plenty of times: If you don’t ride in the rain you don’t ride. Recently this topic came up for discussion in an online group I belong to and I figured I’d share some of the more interesting remarks.

The person originating the discussion (David Bayer) is a rider trainer and one point he made was that, “Typically a bike will hold traction much better than most of us can ride it! Even in the rain!! You need to trust your tires. Try using your rear brake when it’s wet to test how much traction you have available. Keep in mind that your mentality can be your worst enemy. You should be relaxed and be as smooth as you can on the throttle and brakes. Trust is a learned behavior so if you acquire some experience with the available traction in the wet then your trust of your tires (and your bike) will improve.”

Here are some of the responses (edited for brevity):

Eric Levy: Unless it’s a crazy deluge, leaving an inch on the roadway, there’s really nothing to be concerned about. However, on the highways, puddles and standing water tend to make autos hydroplane, so I worry a bit about that.

K Cavaliere: I look for the tell tale “sheen” on asphalt, or beading, that would indicate some level of oiliness. In more rural areas, leaves can be slippery.

JT Pedersen: Personally, on any multi-day road trip, I figure if rain is anything <50% it was a good trip:).

Eboton “Reggie” Jackson: Rain or shine I’m on mine. I just throw on my wet gear and keep going!

Johnathan Wilkinson: I grew up in Wales where it rains far more often than the sun shines. Ice, snow and slush are good fun to learn on, too. However, growing up in such a bike-unfriendly climate… Nowadays I’m scared of sunshine, dry roads and grippy tyres!!! Holy sh*t! The bike actually does what I tell it to in the sunshine….. I had always thought riding was supposed to be like riding a horse that needed to be ‘encouraged’ to go, stop, make a left, etc.

Axe DeKruif: personally was never wise enough to pull over in rain in over 20 years of riding, and generally yell unkind comments at those hiding under overpasses when i drive by soaked. i know, i know. i don’t mind straight line riding in the rain. i rode most of a 90 mile stretch at high speeds on the ape in a downpour years ago, no worries. however, i hate having to lean or corner in it. long as i can keep the bike upright, i’m ok.

Rainer Schade: High powered sports bikes with more track focused rubber were a real problem – saw a riding buddy lose it at speed just changing lanes when he crossed the white line.

Dave Larson: When the cats and dogs start coming down, this old man pulls over.
______________________________

Yeah, well–from the weather forecast it doesn’t look like rain is going to be a major concern for us here in Colorado in the next few days. We’re supposed to get snow. But then we’ll have Indian summer and it should be some great riding. And seeing as how I’m out of work right now with the federal government shut-down I’m figuring to get in quite a bit of riding time. Could be a lot worse.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
AIMExpo will debut in Orlando Oct. 16-20

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycle cornering – Survival reactions and proper body positioning

As underwhelmed as I was with the latest line-up of Victory motorcycles, I was equally overwhelmed with one KTM, the 1190 Adventure. I rode a Victory Boardwalk and the KTM essentially back to back a week ago and the difference could not have been more pronounced.

The Boardwalk has a very low seat height, which is nice, but the high position of the KTM is not much different from that of my Suzuki V-Strom. Once you get over the need to feel both feet flat on the ground you become perfectly comfortable with taller bikes. I got used to it years ago with my Kawasaki Concours.

What the Adventure has that the Boardwalk totally lacks is pep. The bike is light but the engine is nearly 1200cc and that means fast. A really quick acceleration, light handling, very agile. And boy does it have the brakes to match. This is one of those bikes where if you squeeze the brake lever too hard, too quickly you could end up going over the front bars. That wouldn’t be a good thing, but operated smoothly, the KTM stops right NOW, right HERE!

As with any dual-sport bike–which is what the Adventure is–the seating position is completely upright and the pegs are down quite a bit lower beneath you, which makes for considerable comfort. I’ve been noticing this same thing on my V-Strom, and how when I switch back to the Connie or my Honda CB750 Custom it feels like my knees are almost in my chest.

In fact, I keep mentioning the V-Strom because it and the KTM Adventure are amazingly alike. The look, the feel, and the whole dual-sport design make them very similar. The one big difference, as pointed out by one of the KTM guys, is that the V-Strom doesn’t have 150 horsepower.

Bottom line was that I loved this bike. But I wouldn’t buy it because I do already have the V-Strom and the price for the KTM is about twice that of the Suzuki. The KTM is a wonderful machine, and if those two factors don’t come into play for you I would give this my heartiest recommendation. I loved this bike.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride off into the new year, and resolve to be free. Ride more.

There really wasn’t all that much that struck me as appealing when I went to demo ride Victory motorcycles last weekend but the one bike that did appeal was the Boardwalk. That’s it in the photo above. So I rode it.

The very first thing I noticed was that as soon as I threw my leg over the seat my calf came to rest against the hot pipes. That’s a good thing to learn quickly, and you don’t forget.

The very first thing I noticed when we started riding was that the windshield was too tall for me. The top hit right in my line of sight. That’s not a deal-breaker though, you can cut it down or get one not as tall.

The handle bars were wide, which I like, but the reach forward was too much for my comfort. I would swap them for the kind that come back toward me more so I wouldn’t have to lean forward so much. That’s another thing that can be fixed.

The Boardwalk does handle nicely. The seat is quite low, which makes for good stability, and the seat is comfortable. Still, I would want a back rest because with the forward position for your feet I know that my back would be hurting if I rode this bike for long.

The brakes are good, though not the kind that will throw you over the front end if you squeeze too hard. Acceleration is not rocket-like in any gear, although it’s best in middle gears. From a stop it takes time to get up to speed, just as stopping takes some time. I think this is a bike built for people who aren’t terribly concerned with going fast; they want an easy, mellow ride.

As with so many bikes today, the mirrors are too small. That may be good for how it looks overall but it’s not good for actually riding.

As for the particulars, the Boardwalk comes with chromed spoke wheels, floorboards, a windscreen, bags, and a backrest for your passenger. The tank holds 4.7 gallons. The tranny is a six-speed overdrive.

All in all, I liked the Boardwalk. In fact, having ridden quite a few Victorys over the years, I think I like it best of them all. But it’s just not the kind of bike I would buy. If it’s the type you like, however, it could be a very good option.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Only a biker knows . . .: Motorcycle wit and wisdom, #28

Biker Quote for Today

Farkling is a disease though…

There was one major theme to my weekend and that was motorcycles. I started off Saturday morning running over to Grand Prix Motorsports to test ride some Victory bikes and from there headed over to Fay Myers Motorcycle World for the Civilian Top Gun competition. When I got there I discovered that they also had the trucks in from KTM and there were KTM bikes to be test ridden. So I did. I’ll have reports on test rides later.

Then on Sunday I went to my ABATE meeting and there were some interesting bits of news coming out of that as well.

On both days I rode my Concours and I have to tell you, it’s weird how I now find myself having to refamiliarize myself with my different bikes when I have been riding one of the others lately. The Concours has been my standard for years but now the pegs seem so high and the bike seems so heavy, it’s just bizarre. After awhile I do adjust, however.

So I got down to Grand Prix just as one ride was going out so I had about half an hour to hang around and get signed up and decide what bike I wanted to ride. I ended up choosing the Victory Boardwalk. The group came back and I claimed the Boardwalk and off we went. When we got back I sat on the bike a few moments while I made notes about my impressions and when I looked around all the bikes had already been claimed for the next ride. I had a lot to do that day so I was not inclined to stick around so I left having just ridden the one.

I got over to Fay Myers just in time to find that the competition was halted for lunch. I ran into Dom Chang, who writes for Examiner.com as the Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner, and he was there covering the Top Gun event. Here’s the link if you want to see his video and article.

So I strolled around a little and saw these semis with KTM on the side. Sure enough, they were doing demo rides. Now, I had never ridden a KTM before so I jumped at this opportunity. They only had two models on hand, the Adventure and the more off-road oriented version of the Adventure, with taller suspension and other modes. I only opted to ride the basic Adventure because the other is the kind of bike you’d ride through the Sahara and I’m really not interested in that kind of thing.

After the ride I watched the Top Gun competition for awhile and chatted with Dom and then took off.

Then there were two interesting things that came up at ABATE. First off, someone made the point that if you’re going to run a poker run you legally have to have a gaming license. ABATE does, but how many of these other organizations that hold one run a year–and they are proliferating in number–who do have a gaming license? I guess the state just turns a blind eye.

The other thing is the MOST program. This is the riding training program funded by the $2 we each pay each year when we renew our motorcycle plates. It was the subject of much controversy last year but the legislature voted to extend the program with revisions. Well, now the changes have been made and even the people who formerly supported it are saying that if this is the way it’s going to be run let’s just get rid of it. Terry Howard, the ABATE State Coordinator, reported that at Saturday’s state board meeting the vote was in favor of repealing the $2 fee and then if the state can’t come up the money to keep it going, let it die. There’s more to it than that but that’s it in a nutshell. A pretty amazing turnaround.

Biker Quote for Today

If we don’t change direction soon, we’ll end up where we’re going.