Passes & Canyons Blog

At the turn-off to Turkey Creek Road.

Getting away from the heat was the idea. The heat this summer has been brutal. Judy and I lucked out in taking a two week trip to the Pacific Northwest in the middle of all this. We never expected it when we planned the trip months ago. For two weeks our decision each time we went out was do we need just two layers or do we need three?

But yesterday, as I say, the idea was to get away from the heat. So I got on the Concours and headed for the hills.

Of course, the thing about living in southeast Denver is that to get to the hills you have to ride through the city for 20 minutes. It’s OK as long as you’re moving but when you stop at a traffic light you’re hit by the full glare of the blazing sun and sitting atop scorching hot asphalt that radiates hell back at you.

I finally made it out to Deer Creek Canyon. Of all the canyons leading out of the metro area into the hills, this one is one that I have ridden the least. And it’s really nice, especially at times like this when there was almost zero traffic. Time for a nice cruise.

At Turkey Creek Road I turned left to head up toward Aspen Park. Again, I’ve been on this road more than a couple of times but really not that often. It’s easy to forget how nice some roads are, and a delight to have that fact brought back to you graphically.

From Aspen Park I turned north on CR73, which winds its way up to Evergreen. At this point I was thinking an ice cream stop would be nice. I turned east on CO 74 to cruise through town but didn’t see anything so I didn’t stop. I had been thinking of doing a longer ride but now I was headed back down already so I was even more on the lookout for a reason to stop. I didn’t see one but I did have one of those “is this really going to happen?” moments as I approached the entrance to Red Rocks just outside of Morrison. I was cruising along, plainly visible, and as I approached the intersection the car waiting there started to pull out. Really?

I thumbed for my horn but hit my turn-signal cancel button instead but the guy finally did see me and slammed on his brakes. I didn’t stop in Morrison for ice cream either so I headed on back home. Another 20 minutes or so of cooking at stop lights and then relief. I had ice cream at home.

So what’s this deal with riding in all this heat? I was talking to Roy the other day and asking about what was supposed to have been a regular weekly RMMRC ride every Wednesday morning. It hasn’t been happening. One of the reasons Roy mentioned was that it has been so hot. And I know that before Judy and I went on our trip I had hardly been on any of the bikes because every time I considered it I decided not to . . . because it was so hot.

And that was another thing. Because of that, I hadn’t been on any bike at all in more than a month. And oddly, when that happens I start to forget why I ride. Then I ride again and I say oh yeah, I love this, why haven’t I been doing this more? It’s like a friend told me once about him and his wife. They were at the point where they were having sex just once a month or so but every time they would do it she would remark how she had forgotten how much she enjoys it. His response (to me, at least) was yeah, so maybe if you wouldn’t always forget from one time to the next we could do this more often. But somehow you do start to forget as time goes by.

But, you know, as far as the heat goes, once you get out of the city and into the hills it’s actually pretty darn nice. I think we all need to just bite the bullet and say yes, I’m going to roast for a few minutes, but then it will all get better. And burn some dinosaurs, by god!

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Motorcycles don’t snore.