Passes & Canyons Blog

If you’re a regular reader here you know that something has gone wrong. Ever since April 2006 I have posted regularly, with the exception of a short hiatus in December last year while my Mom was dying. Now it has been two weeks.

That photo to the right should give you a pretty good idea where I’ve been. It was shot in the cardiac ICU at Porter Adventist Hospital. I had quadruple bypass surgery with complete aorta replacement thrown in.

Needless to say, I’m a bit out of commission. I have three motorcycle-related posts already prepped that I’ll be putting up in the next week and a half. After that I’ll be taking another hiatus, although to the extent that I’m able, perhaps when something presents itself in my email, I will have an occasional post. Also, because the writer in me never shuts down, I may put up a couple posts here now and then that have nothing to do with motorcycles, but rather chronicle a motorcyclist’s battle back to the bike. (I kind of like that. That’s going to be my theme: The Battle Back to the Bike.)

I understand if you are here for motorcycles and are not particularly interested in some guy’s recovery from surgery. You don’t have to read them. Check back later and we’ll definitely be all motorcycles, all the time. For now I’m just going to do what I’m able to do.

What, did some huge rainstorm carve out a new canyon? How is it possible that I could have gone up into the hills right here in the metro area on a new road?

This one has been hiding in plain sight: Mount Vernon Canyon.

If you’re like most people you just said, “What?”

Mount Vernon Canyon is the canyon everyone has been up and down through but never heard of. You know I-70? That’s Mount Vernon Canyon. But did you know that U.S. 40 also goes up through that same canyon?

All the way up to Genesee U.S. 40 runs pretty much right alongside I-70. Heading up the hill you won’t even see U.S. 40 because it is above you; coming down it is more visible. And while I recently came down part of that road for the first time, I had never gone up it. Until Saturday.

Where do you even get on this road? If you’re coming north on CO 93 out of Morrison you take the left on the north side of I-70; coming south from Golden you’re already on U.S. 40 and you follow the sign going to the right, west. (Don’t get confused; not the on-ramp to I-70.)

It’s a pleasant ride, with not a lot of traffic. Once you get to Genesee U.S. 40 merges with I-70 just for a short distance and you can then get back off the superslab at the exit for Evergreen Parkway. Cross to the south side of the interstate and then take the first right turn. This puts you back on U.S. 40 and you’ll cross back to the north side of the interstate and then for awhile you’ll get completely away from the big road.

The two roads do draw close together again after a bit, especially as you come up to Floyd Hill, and then U.S. 40 winds down Floyd Hill to meet U.S. 6 coming up through Clear Creek Canyon. U.S. 40 continues west from there but it is incorporated into I-70 so that’s the end of this nice alternative stretch of road.

Biker Quote for Today

Why bikes are better than women: Motorcycles don’t care if you are late.

Motorcycle Link for Today

When you need motorcycle tires, Toyo Tires are a good option.

I took off on the CB750 not knowing where I was headed so I wandered over onto Parker Road. That at least would get me out of town.

I knew from a couple rides that there is a road that runs diagonally between Parker and Castle Rock and I had only ever taken that road coming to Parker, never going to Castle Rock. In fact, I wasn’t even sure (memory not clear) where it came out in Parker. So let’s go find it and take it the other direction.

I got into the old downtown area of Parker and eyeballed Main Street heading west wondering if that was where that road came in. I didn’t think so and I kept on. I had the idea in mind that I wanted Hess Road but wasn’t sure.

Next I came to Twenty Mile Road and that looked promising so I turned. At the very least, this was exploring. After going west a short distance, Twenty Mile Road turned north and soon intersected with Main Street. OK, turn left. I guess I’ll see where Main Street goes.

I knew that Parker had grown enormously over the years but I always had it in mind that it had grown mostly to the east. Wrong. There is a huge part of the city to the west, and I went right through it. This was clearly not the road to Castle Rock. In fact, as I got further along I could see the Reuter-Hess Reservoir further south, confirming that I had really wanted Hess Road. But I had never been west out of Parker on Main Street so again, this was exploring.

Where did this road come out? Well, first of all, it came out of the city into open fields and no development at all. (This road is so new that my mapping software, a few years out of date, does not even show it.) You know as well as I do that that won’t be the case for long. But it went on and hit I-25 at the I-25 exit for the Cabela’s store on the south end of the metro area. Now I knew. And by this time it was Ridge Gate Parkway.

After crossing I-25 Ridge Gate Parkway bent north and soon it intersected Lincoln Avenue. I went west on Lincoln Avenue, now figuring I wanted to work my way over to Chatfield Reservoir. I’d been over there a couple times recently and had seen this road, Rampart Range Road, that went off somewhere that had me curious.

I turned south off Lincoln Avenue onto South Quebec Street and that wound its way further and further south, becoming Monarch Boulevard along the way. I had been this way recently. When Monarch Parkway hit Castle Pines Parkway I knew exactly where I was. I turned west on Castle Pines Parkway to Daniels Park Road and took that south to U.S. 85. Then north, past Sedalia, and off at Titan Parkway, which leads over to the road going around the south of Chatfield.

Titan Parkway runs straight west almost to Chatfield State Park and then a 90-degree turn puts you on Rampart Range Road. A little ways south you hit Waterton Road and this is the road around the south end of the park and reservoir. But where do you go if you continue south? This was what I had come to find out.

Of course, this area is where you find Roxborough State Park, an area of gorgeous rock formations. Continuing south on Rampart Range Road I saw for the first time some neighborhoods built in really beautiful settings among these rocks. Oh my gosh! I bet these places are expensive.

Then the road went up a bit of an incline and curved in between two miniature flatirons and I was starting to think that, oh boy, this is really going to be cool. But I came between the rocks and there was a sign, “Residents only right lane,” and a guard shack. I stopped at the guard shack and a very nice older woman, in the role of guard, greeted me.

“Howdy. I’m exploring,” I said. “I was wondering where this road goes.”

“This is the Arrowhead gated community,” she replied.

“So does this road come out somewhere else?” I asked.

“No, it’s one way in, one way out.”

“OK, I guess that’s all I need to know,” I replied, knowing that meant I was now supposed to turn around. And she pointed me to the turnaround, just in case I wasn’t totally clear on the matter.

Now I know.

Biker Quote for Today

Every mile is my destination. Every failure is my motivation. I’m a rider. I live to ride. Nothing comes between me and my bike. I’m a rider and I’ll survive. — Sagar ZZ

As once-new technologies pervade our entire lives it can be hard to remember what we did before we had these devices. Cell phones are an example, and the change they have made in motorcycle trips with the guys is far-reaching.

First you need to recognize that three guys traveling on three bikes is not at all the same as three guys traveling together in a car. In a car, where one goes, all go. And if you park somewhere and go in different directions, all it takes to regroup is to wait at the car until everyone returns.

Not so on motorcycles. If you get separated, good luck finding the other guys. Except that now, with cell phones, you just call the other guys and ask where they are.

We didn’t used to have cell phones.

John and Bill and I were in western Wyoming one time going south on U.S. 189 from Kemmerer and it was wide open country. Bill got a wild hair and twisted the throttle, shooting past the two of us on his way to speeds in excess of 100 mph. Catching the bug, John cranked it up, too, and they both disappeared ahead of me.

The only problem was that we were planning to turn off to the southeast on Wyoming 412 headed to Lyman and they both blew right past the turn. I did the only thing that made sense, I stopped to wait.

After a bit, John noticed I wasn’t behind him so he slowed down to let me catch up. When I didn’t catch up he stopped and waited, and then turned back. He found me sitting at the turn-off. So we both sat to wait for Bill. And we waited. And we waited.

Just about the time we were getting concerned, Bill did show up. Seems a Wyoming state policeman had wanted to have a chat with him. But OK, we were back together, let’s go.

Another time, we decided we wanted bike-to-bike communicators, so we bought these cheapo units from Radio Shack. They worked fine in the store and out in the parking lot so we bought them. Then, as it turned out, I couldn’t leave with John and Bill so we agreed to meet several days later at the Grand Canyon. I told them to be sure to have the communicators on so we could find each other.

I reached the Grand Canyon and had my communicator on but got no response to my attempts to reach them. As it turned out, they had found these things to be perfectly worthless and never tried using them again after their first day out. It was sheer chance that we connected. The only option I would have had would have been to find a pay phone, call John’s wife and leave a message, and then hope that he would call her. We were very, very lucky.

Then there was the time John and I had to leave without Bill because his bike developed mechanical problems as he was coming to John’s to meet us. John’s wife Cheryl did serve as the intermediary this time. Bill resolved his problem and called her to tell her his plans. She relayed that info to John when he called her. Bill would meet us in Thermopolis, WY, so when we got there we parked our bikes out along the main street. Bill came into town, spotted our bikes, and we connected.

Those days are gone now. Everyone carries a cell phone and getting separated is no big deal. But that didn’t stop Bill and me from causing a bit of an upset some years ago. Once again we were in Wyoming, this time headed south from Casper to Medicine Bow. Bill and I were in the rear when we reached a turn-off we knew was just an alternate route that would meet back up with the main road a little further along. As a prank, we took the alternate route.

One of the primary rules in group riding, however, is that you keep an eye on the guy behind you. When our absence was noted, the other guys pulled over. When we didn’t catch up they sent someone back to check on us, to no avail. And there was no cell service way out there.

Bill and I, in the meantime, reached the reconnection point and waited. And waited. Finally we decided we’d better head back up the main road, and in a few miles we encountered the other guys coming the other way. They were not happy. We’re not ever going to live that one down.

Biker Quote for Today

I know not the destination, let the road decide. It’s not the destination, it’s the glory of the ride.

I mentioned recently that the legislative effort by Sen. Lois Court to curb driver distraction caused by texting and other use of electronic devices went down to defeat in the Republican-controlled Senate. Court is a Democrat.

Those of us who are motorcyclists and others who find texting drivers a personal danger don’t really care what the party affiliation is of someone proposing to fight this very real danger. Aren’t our elected representatives supposed to work for what is best for the public, not for what is best for their own party? And how does it work counter to either party’s interests to cooperatively combat a clear evil?

I’m not pointing fingers at the Republicans alone. I know it works in both directions and I don’t care who is doing it, it’s outrageous. You’re there to serve us, not yourselves.

Nevertheless, I was a little surprised at the latest communication I received from Stump, the ABATE of Colorado lobbyist working for all motorcyclists down at the capitol. He said he had been hanging out with legislators of both parties and learning even more than he already knew about getting a bill passed. And thinking specifically of this distracted driver bill of Sen. Court’s, he offered the thought that the way to get it passed may simply be to change the make-up of the Senate so the Democrats control that house.

He was very specific about how it could be done. Here is what he had to say:

ABATE is a non-partisan organization and has champion legislators on both sides of the aisle. The following scenario is merely factual information from a Democrats viewpoint. Below is a possible scenario of the upcoming elections to increase the Democratic presence in the Senate:

· Andy Kerr (D) is term-limited, so we need to elect Brittany Pettersen (D) to take his place (District 22 – Jefferson County – Edgewater, Lakewood, Littleton)
· Cheri Jahn (U) is also term-limited – we need to replace her with Jessie Danielson (D) (District 20 – Jefferson County — Wheatridge)
· Mike Merrifield (D) is term-limited – we need to replace him with Pete Lee (D) (District 11 – El Paso County, Colorado Springs area)
· Leroy Garcia (D) is an incumbent we need to re-elect (District 3 – Pueblo County, Pueblo area)
· Kerry Donovan (D) is an incumbent we need to re-elect (District 5 – Chaffee, Delta, Eagle, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Lake & Pitkin Counties – Avon, Basalt, Buena Vista, Crested Butte, Eagle, Minturn, Pitkin, Poncha Springs, Vail)

We need to defeat two Republicans:
· Tim Neville (R) needs to be defeated by Tammy Story (D) (District 16 – Boulder, Denver, Gilpin & Jefferson Counties)
· Beth Martinez-Humenik (R) needs to be defeated by Faith Winter (D) (District 24 – Adams County, Northglenn, Thornton, Westminster)

OK, back up a little and go to that first statement: “ABATE is a non-partisan organization and has champion legislators on both sides of the aisle.” I understand the disclaimer in the next sentence (“The following scenario is merely factual information from a Democrats viewpoint.”) but it sure feels like he’s playing with fire here. A lot of ABATE members, not to mention motorcyclists at large, who are Republicans.

Nevertheless, in regard to this particular issue there is truth in what he’s saying. If those people in office care more about their own partisan politics, and less about the public good, then they probably should be replaced. But what if the new people are just as partisan in the other direction? Aren’t there other issues of concern to motorcyclists where the Republicans are more sympathetic than the Democrats? Do we flip both houses of the legislature every other year and try to score legislatively with each side quickly?

How about this as an alternative: Each and every one of us should question our legislative candidates and vote only for those who reject this extreme partisanship. Elect the ones who promise to work across the aisle for the good of the people. And then hold them to it. If they win and prove themselves just as nakedly partisan as the last one, vote them out next time–regardless of whether they belong to your party or not.

Biker Quote for Today

We have to stop to text–so should you!!

Reach back in your memory to those blissful times driving along on that hot summer day smelling the fresh cut hay, enjoying the dips into the ravines for the coolness they bring, and . . . Stop! You don’t remember those things? No, of course not, what was I thinking? You were in a car. You don’t have those experiences in a car; those are motorcycle experiences.

People who spend their lives riding in cars have no idea of how very “in the world” motorcyclists are, or how much “out of the world” they are in their metal, glass, and plastic cages. Especially now that nearly every car has air conditioning, motorists are closed up in their containers and inhabit their own controlled environments, largely oblivious to whatever is outside.

So what is outside? Oh, just the entire world.

There are smells outside the cage. Sure, sometimes those smells are diesel fumes and the like, but there are also smells of food coming from restaurants, newly mown grass, lilacs in bloom, sagebrush in the wide-open West, and the salt and seaweed smell of the ocean.

Temperatures change outside the cage. Of course the temperature will drop as you go up over a mountain pass, but it’s startling for first-time riders how, over just a tenth of a mile, even dropping into a wash to cross a creek, how much cooler it is in that dip.

There are sounds both inside and outside the cage, but some sounds are better than others. You’ll never hear the cry of a hawk with your windows rolled up and the CD player blaring. And you’ll never see a biker going down the road with screaming kids arguing in the back seat.

The whole world is outside the cage. If the sun is shining, it shines on you. If it’s raining, it rains on you. You feel the heat, you feel the cold, and you feel the delicious, balmy breath of Spring. You don’t have just a rectangle view of the world around you, your view in every direction is completely unobstructed.

And very few bikers ever fill the tank and ride until it needs filling again. Wide spots in the road are made for stretching the legs. View points are perfect for taking breaks. If you didn’t have time to make these sorts of stops you probably wouldn’t be on a bike in the first place. And at every stop you have time to really see, and smell, and hear, and feel the world around you just that much more.

The word is “sensuous.” The biker is in the environment and his senses are attuned to that environment. The motorist is in his cage, locked away from all but his unchanging pre-programmed environment. That’s why they’re called cagers.

Biker Quote for Today

Addicted? Possessed is a better word.

An issue near and dear to the hearts of many motorcyclists is distracted driving. You know, those idiots in cars who are paying more attention to their cell phones than to the road and putting us, in particular, at risk.

Sen. Lois Court, Democrat of District 31 in Arapahoe County, had introduced a bill (SB18-049) this session to extend the current ban on all drivers under 18 from using their phones while driving to encompass all drivers. The bill would also have increased the penalty from $50 to $300 and would have extended the ban to cover all wireless devices, not just phones. Notice the use of the words “would have.” The bill died in committee.

Who can possibly believe it is OK to be using your cell phone while you’re driving. Oh, I don’t know, maybe a bunch of legislators who do this very thing themselves. “I can do this safely; it’s those other idiots who are a danger.”

Anyway, per Stump, the motorcyclist rights lobbyist representing ABATE of Colorado down at the legislature, Sen. Court and supporters of the measure are planning an open strategy meeting on how to work to get something like this passed. That meeting will be this Thursday at Racine’s, 650 Sherman, at 6:30 p.m. If you care about this issue you might attend. I may be there. If I am, I’ll report back to you on what transpires. (Later: Oops, no I won’t be going. That is the same time as my RMMRC meeting.)

Stump was telling us Sunday at the ABATE District 10 meeting that there are no bills in the legislature this session directly addressing motorcycles, although there are a number having to do with all users of the roads. It’s not for lack of trying. But to get a bill in front of the legislature requires a sponsor. Legislators are limited in the number of bills they can introduce so you have to find someone who is willing to address your issue.

Stump joked (half-joked) about trying to get Sen. Kevin Grantham, Republican of Senate District 2, south and west of Colorado Springs, to go big. Sen. Grantham is being term-limited after this session so Stump wants to suggest that he “go out with a bang.” How about an all-inclusive motorcycling bill addressing red lights that don’t recognize motorcycles, stopping profiling of motorcyclists for stops, and allowing lane-splitting.

Yeah, that would be great. Probably not going to happen but you never know. Stump can be pretty persuasive. Fun to think about but I’m not holding my breath.

On the other hand, this distracted driving bill has a dedicated sponsor. Maybe if enough people get behind it we can make something happen.

Biker Quote for Today

Don’t let my motorcycle ride interfere with the safety of your phone call.

One of the advantages of being friends with the guy running this blog (me) is that you often can get your events publicized for free. Such is the case with Alicia Clickenger, who has created a career for herself organizing events for women who ride motorcycles and for women who might like to ride motorcycles. In this case, from what I see, it’s not actually Alicia’s event, but one she supports and I presume she will participate in it.

The event, put on in fact by Pat Jacques, is this ADVWoman Rendezvous, which will be in Granby, at the Flying Heels Rodeo Arena July 19-22.

According to the blurb, “the event will include dirt bike and adventure bike rider training, classroom training, a variety of local dual sport rides, camping or hotel facilities, catered meals, awards ceremony, and a DJ dance party. All instructors are women. Men and families are welcome.”

Further:

“Last year’s event exceeded our expectations!” said Pat Jacques, Rendezvous director. We had international students and students who took our BDR courses then joined us on the first ever, all-woman Colorado Backcountry Discovery Teaching Tour, a tour we are repeating this year following Rendezvous, July 22-29, 2018. The rider range classes at 2018 Rendezvous feature more advanced dirt bike training as well as more advanced adventure training.

“Our mission is to support women through off road riding and that definitely includes working with couples to so that they can fully enjoy riding together,” Jacques said. “Here is what one of our men attendees said of his experience at our 2017 event:”

The registration fee is $347, with a $277 reduced early bird fee. That’s if you get your registration in by March 31.

Further information is available on the website.

Biker Quote for Today

Why Motorcycles are Better than Men: Motorcycles don’t lay around the house on the couch with a remote and a beer.