Passes & Canyons Blog

I was headed home from doing Guanella Pass and after I turned down Kerr Gulch Road I stopped to take off the sweatshirt I had put on before going up that pass. No big deal, right?

I pulled off at a driveway, put the kickstand down, and got off. And the bike just rolled forward, off the kickstand, and fell. What the hey? This was very much like a time years ago when I was crossing Idaho with Kevin and we stopped so I could clean my visor. I parked and got off and Kevin pulled in behind me and got off . . . and his bike rolled forward, bumped into mine, and they both went down.

OK, fine. I know how to pick a bike up. Crouch, backed into the seat, grab the handlebar with one hand and something on the body with the other and stand up, using your legs, not your back. But a funny thing happened.

I really don’t know what it was, but each time I tried to lift the bike, instead of coming up, it pivoted in a clockwise direction. Was it turning on the kickstand? On the case guard? On the highway peg? On the regular peg?

I don’t know, but after three attempts to lift it the bike had rotated about 90 degrees. What the hey?

Oh, and another thing. Apparently the seal on the gas tank is not particularly snug because gas was dribbling out of the tank at a pretty fast pace. If this thing lay there very long I’d lose half my gas at least.

I really didn’t know what I was going to do but just then I saw two guys coming from the house next door to the one whose driveway I was in. they climbed through and over a fence and hurried to me, calling out asking if I was OK. Yeah, I’m fine, I said, I didn’t go down. I parked the bike and it went down by itself.

So they helped me get it back up, with at least half a cup of gas spilling out of the brush guard on the handlebar which had been catching it as it ran out of the tank. OK, let’s get the heck out of here.

The bike fired right up and I put it in gear and was off, no problem. After thanking these guys profusely. And after assuring them for about the fifth time that I was not injured. Nice guys. Thank you so much!

Biker Quote for Today

Me and my bike, we’re like two best friends on a journey together.

Just to wrap this up, I’m not going on this RMMRC ride I’ve been talking about. Healing is just taking too long.

But as part of my exploration as to what I am currently capable of, on Tuesday I decided it was time to do a real ride and I went out US 285 and then over Guanella Pass. A beautiful day to ride and if I couldn’t handle this 150-mile jaunt I sure couldn’t handle the longer days planned for the trip.

And it was good. I got all the way out of town before I felt even slight discomfort. Big, big improvement.

So there I am tooling up 285 and a couple on a Concours 14 rolled up behind me. Very shortly afterward another guy joined us. I was chuckling to myself about how anyone who saw us was almost certainly thinking we were a group of riders on a trip together. You don’t think that about three cars in a row but you do when it’s a bunch of motorcycles.

Then in a few more miles we were joined by two more guys on bikes. Now we’re a group of five bikes and six people, for all the world like we’re traveling together. We passed a bunch of bikes going the other way, everybody’s waving, and I’m just shaking my head at how I just know that even those bikers figured we were together.

The solo guy who had been the third member of the group turned off at Pine Junction so now there were only four bikes, and we got to Grant and I turned up the Guanella Pass road and the couple on the Concours went straight. They have a sign there at Grant that I liked. It read, “This is a mountain pass, not a raceway. Slow down and enjoy the scenery.” Words of wisdom.

The other two guys had dropped out of sight behind we got to Grant but then I stopped partway up the pass to put on a sweatshirt–it was getting chilly!–and they went by. Hey fellas, fun riding with you for awhile.

Just FYI there were a lot of tar snakes on the Grant side of this pass. I figured since it was cool they would be no issue but after my rear end slid out a couple times I concluded they were not to be ignored. On the Georgetown side, which is a different county, there were no tar snakes but there was a lot of gravel in the very high switchbacks and some in some of the lower ones. So take care riding this pass at this point.

And yeah, it was darn chilly up on top of the pass but dang if my butt didn’t still just feel fine. I like this. I’ll need to stop and take the sweatshirt off when I get lower but for now it’s very welcome.

So there was no obvious spot to stop once I got down lower so I kept riding but by the time I was getting off I-70 at the El Rancho exit I was cooking. The plan was to jump on the Evergreen Parkway just a couple miles and then turn off onto Kerr Gulch Road and take that very non-busy route down to Kittredge.

Up at the top Kerr Gulch is very steep but I finally came upon a driveway and that looked like a good spot to stop. I stopped, put the kick-stand down, and got off . . . and the bike just rolled forward and fell over. Dang! I didn’t need this. What happened next is a bit of a story and I’ll tell that next time. Suffice it to say I got going again.

So, down to Kittredge, to Morrison, to US 285, and home. A good long ride and by the time I got home I knew I’d be texting Alberto to say no way am I going on this trip. By this point I was hurting and this time a hot soak in the tub was not enough to make it all go away.

Not that it mattered as it turned out. I checked my email later and he had sent me a note the day before saying he had had to cancel out. And a couple other guys dropped out, too, and it was now just down to Alan, the organizer, and Bruce. I texted Bruce to ask if they were going to go nevertheless and he said yes. Good for them. Sorry I won’t be with you.

Biker Quote for Today

Does it get any better than motorcycling with your best friends?

Where is that rain when you need it? Last week I was complaining about the rain going on and on and now I was getting really tired of all the smoke filling the air from those forest fires in Canada. At least if we had the rain it would wash that smoke out of the air. Then it occurred to me that that may have been exactly what was happening last week. Without that rain we may have been living in and breathing that smoke as we are now.

Anyway, I decided it was time to take my first ride of the year up in the hills. Certainly all the ice and snow are gone, though there could certainly be sand and gravel to contend with. Also, maybe if I got up higher I could get above the smoke. Let’s give it a shot.

I headed up Bear Creek from Morrison and took Kerr Gulch from Kittredge over to pick up Evergreen Parkway near I-70. Then I picked up US 40 running alongside the slab, up Floyd Hill and down to US 6 coming up out of Clear Creek Canyon. Just FYI, there’s a good bit of construction going on on US 40 along here.

Up on Floyd Hill I was definitely not above the smoke.

I took US 6 down to where it branches off from the Peak-to-Peak Highway and made the turn toward Black Hawk. Now I was climbing and somewhat to my surprise it started getting darn chilly. I had not put on all the layers I had with me because it was so warm but now when I got to Black Hawk I stopped and did put on my vest. I’m guessing the smoke is blocking the warmth of the sun from getting down to the ground.

Up and further up till I reached my highest point, where CO46 meets the Peak-to-Peak coming out of Golden Gate Canyon. At this point I could see through the smoke enough to see that above it all it was a clear, sunny day but you might need to be up on top of Mount Evans to really experience it. And then I plunged back down into the haze.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when the wind in your hair and face makes you happier than a paycheck.

I did a ride a couple weeks ago with the RMMRC and while none of the roads were new to me, the particular sequence was and it was an interesting route. I had known the gist of the ride beforehand but when I tried to figure out what Gray, the leader, had in mind I was way off. That map above shows the route but it can’t zoom to show you the detail.

We met first at the Full House Sports Bar and Grill for breakfast, then rode out to Golden, where we picked up a few more riders. Then we headed north on CO 93 to where we turned up Coal Creek Canyon, CO 72.

It was a great day to ride, with the weather cool enough in the morning that I wore my sweatshirt under my mesh jacket and was chilly. But with the heat we’ve been having, it was a welcome chilliness. Gaining elevation heading up Coal Creek it got even cooler and it did not get warmer as the day progressed.

We reached the Peak-to-Peak just south of Nederland and turned south. This in itself was interesting because almost any time I go up Coal Creek Canyon I turn north toward Nederland. We took the Peak-to-Peak down to Golden Gate Canyon and turned down that road.

Here’s where it gets interesting. We didn’t take Golden Gate all the way back down to CO93, we made the sharp left turn to go up Robinson Hill Road (CR69) and up into that area, where we met Douglas Mountain Drive (CR60), which took us down the really steep road where we again met the Peak-to-Peak, this time south of Black Hawk. This is a great road and if you haven’t been on it you owe it to yourself to ride it. Also, of note, at the top of the steep downhill there is a sign “Pavement Ends” and it used to do that. Since last year, however, since I was on it last, they’ve done some paving so the only portion that is not completely paved are a couple tights corners. Who knows why they didn’t pave those. But if you don’t like riding off the pavement, have no fear–this is a good road for a street bike.

We jogged left the very short distance to where old US 6 peels off from the Peak-to-Peak and heads up toward Idaho Springs. Where the road meets I-70 we took the old US 40 route up alongside I-70, which itself is a really nice climb. Over the top of Floyd Hill and down to the overpass across the slab onto CR65, which winds its way around to Bergen Park. There we jumped on Evergreen Parkway briefly, toward I-70, and turned down Kerr Gulch Road (CR23).

That brought us out just outside of Kittredge and we turned left down Bear Creek Canyon to Morrison. A really nice ride. And, by the way, it did finally get warm, making that cool morning all the more appreciated.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you dream of owning a Harley dealership.

I headed over on Wednesday to meet up with the other RMMRC members who were going riding but when I got there I only saw one bike in the parking lot. I pulled over by a woman on a Harley who I did not recognize and she said she hadn’t seen any other bikes. I took a slow turn around the lot and only spotted one more.

Back over by her, she said she was going inside to use the restroom. I parked and walked over and saw the regular cast of characters at an outdoor table. I joined them. There was Robert but he is moving to Panama in less than a week and has sold his bike. Roy was there but not on his bike. Bob was there but not on his bike.

When the Harley woman joined us there were four of us who were on our bikes: her and me plus another woman and a guy on a Concours who I had seen before but whose name I did not recall at that moment. Paula, Valerie, and Gene, respectively, as I know now.

What this meant was that none of the usual leaders were riding and none of us had a plan. Think fast.

I was the one who came up with a plan. I have previously discussed a recent ride the RMMRC took where we rode Kerr Gulch, Witter Gulch, and Shadow Mountain Drive. I had never been on two of those roads and had only been on the third one time. I had mapped out a plan for a ride to take Judy on, essentially doing much of that original ride in reverse. Let’s do this, I proposed.

No one else had any ideas so it was no surprise they agreed to follow me. We headed out toward Morrison, figuring to go up to Kittredge and catch Kerr Gulch Road there.

Now, first off, being in the lead is a responsibility. When you’re just following along you don’t have to do much other than pay attention to the guy in front of you and the guy behind. Leading, especially in the city, means constantly keeping an eye out that you don’t lose anyone off the back end. With traffic and stoplights that can be challenging. This is part of why most people don’t like to lead. But I volunteered for it today.

We passed through Morrison and just on the outskirts of town we hit a roadblock. The whole highway was closed. Dang! What the heck are they doing up there? I still don’t know but, as the GPS says, recalculating.

It occurred to me that we could go back toward Morrison and take the road that runs over to U.S. 285, take 285 to the Parmalee Gulch road, and then take the turn that carries you over to Kittredge. We headed that way with me leading and Paula behind me. We got separated from the other two by cars. At 285 we couldn’t see either of them so we pulled over. After a minute or two Gene came along and said Valerie decided to go home. OK, now there were just the three of us. A pretty small ride by RMMRC standards.

So we followed that route, ignored the sign in Kittredge that said local traffic only, and turned onto Kerr Gulch Road. Up to Evergreen Parkway, a short jog south to get on the road over Squaw Pass, and then a turn down Witter Gulch.

Nearing Evergreen from the back side I pulled into the lot at the Evergreen Golf Course. Everyone was glad to take a break and get off the bikes, and Gene was enthused at what we had just ridden. He said he has ridden his bicycle on Squaw Pass many times and never even noticed that turn-off down Witter Gulch. I wasn’t sure Paula was as enthused because I know from experience that all those really tight turns are work on a big, heavy bike.

I told them my ride had one more leg but if they were ready to head home we were just outside Evergreen. They were game for one more so we rode into town, took the right toward Conifer, and then I had to find the turn-off. Coming the other way you see the sign for Shadow Mountain Drive. Over here, however, the road has become something else and I couldn’t remember exactly what. I warned them I might make a wrong turn.

We got to Brook Forest Road and I turned but very quickly considered turning back, thinking I had goofed. But I reconsidered and kept on and after awhile the road became Black Mountain Road and finally Shadow Mountain Road. That brought us back to CO 73 just outside of Conifer and U.S. 285. Now we turn for home.

It was a heck of a nice ride. There was still a lot more fall color than I expected and it was a beautiful day. A beautiful day up in the hills, that is. Coming down into town the smoke from the forest fires was so bad you couldn’t even see downtown. I don’t even want to think about what this crap is doing to our lungs.

So Robert is leaving the country, and new leadership is going to need to step up for the RMMRC. I guess I’m going to have to do my share. I did pretty well this time.

/Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than men: Motorcycles don’t need Viagra.

After rejoining U.S. 285 just near Conifer (see part one, “The Hills Are Full Of People“) we only stayed on it going west long enough to get off again just past Conifer at CO 73, which runs from Conifer north to Evergreen. After just a few miles we turned west on Shadow Mountain Drive, which is Jefferson County Road 78.

Now, I had been on that stretch between Conifer and Evergreen any number of times, and I had seen that turn-off and wondered where it went. I had it in the back of my mind to find out some day; well, today was that day.

Turns out this is a really nice road. It goes up, winds around a lot, and eventually comes out at Evergreen, although by the time it does it has morphed into Black Mountain Drive and then Black Forest Road. It rejoins CO 73 less than a mile from where you hit downtown Evergreen. And just as so many other roads we traveled this day, it demonstrated just how full of homes and people these hills are. So now I know.

At Evergreen we got on Evergreen Parkway north just a short way and then turned west on Stagecoach Boulevard. This winds its way up through the canyons, eventually reaching Witter Gulch Road. This is a very nice road that runs very steeply, with a lot of switchbacks, up to meet the Squaw Pass Road, CO 103.

I had only ever been on this road once before, on a different RMMRC ride, and that time we were going down. This time we were headed up, so it was very different. If you like tight twisties you need to go ride this road.

Here we turned east again, back down to where Squaw Pass Road meets Evergreen Parkway. Then we turned north.

In about two miles, going past Bergen Park, we came to Jefferson County Road 23, Kerr Gulch Road. This is the kind of road you’ll drive past forever without really even noticing. The only marking is a small sign that reads CR 23–there’s no indication where it goes.

Once again, this is a good road, not busy, quite scenic and it runs down to Kittredge, on Bear Creek Road, which runs up from Morrison to Evergreen. Who knew this was here? You’re even less likely to notice this road down at the Kittredge end. It’s a little east of the main part of town and looks just like any of the other roads that run off into the hills to the homes around there. For anyone heading up Bear Creek, looking to get over eventually to I-70, this is a terrific short-cut. But who even knew it was there? I sure didn’t.

From Kittredge we turned east toward town, and once we emerged from the canyon at Morrison it was time for everyone to split up and head their own ways home. This was a heck of fun day’s ride.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if anyone who doesn’t ride is just ‘OK.’