Passes & Canyons Blog

I rode my Kawasaki today, its first trip for April. I own two bikes — a 1980 Honda CB750 Custom and a 1999 Kawasaki Conours — and I make it a point to ride both of them at least once a month every single month. I’ve had the Honda since 1989 and the Kawi since 1999 and haven’t missed a month with either. Of course there have been plenty of months when I’ve ridden each numerous times but even in the coldest part of winter I manage to get out on each of them at least once. I already rode the Honda about a week ago so today was the Kawi’s turn.

Of course this is one of the joys of living in Colorado. I read about how people in Wisconsin or Ohio or so many other places put their bikes up for the winter. You read articles about “do I drain the gas or should I just use stabilizer” and those things just don’t mean anything here. Sure there are plenty of days in winter when you couldn’t ride if you wanted to, thanks to deep snow, icy roads, etc., but it never lasts. You just have to be opportunistic. Maybe it’s only 30 degrees out but the roads are clear — let’s ride! Sure, tomorrow may be 40 but it may snow tonight. You never know, so don’t hesitate, do it now! You may not get a chance tomorrow. It’s a dirty job but you’re the one who gets to do it. How lucky can you get?

Step by step this thing progresses. I launched the website Passes and Canyons, Motorcycle Touring in Colorado in November of 2005 at www.motorcyclecolorado.com. Now I’m expanding it to the blogosphere.

I’ve been extremely pleased with the reception this website has gotten since it went live. You may not know it but a webmaster can look to see not only how many people are coming to the site and what pages they visit while there, they can also look to see where you came from. It really makes my day when I follow a visitor back to the link they followed and find that someone has said something along the lines of “Check out this website. It’s great!” And I’ve had that pleasure a number of times. Thank you. A very sincere thank you.

There is still a lot to be done. I need to get out all over the state this summer shooting pictures, gathering campground information, adding more dealers and repair shops . . . and the list goes on. You can help. If you had a good experience — or a bad one — at a motel, let me know. Your experience can help someone else. If you’ve had a good ride and want to tell everyone about it, this is the place. Pictures are welcome.

Thanks for visiting. Come again. Tell your friends. And ride, ride, ride.