End Of Season Ride - Colorado Springs to Deckers

The weather has taken a dramatic turn for the cold here today.  I've been looking forward to a trip into the mountains since last Friday when I picked up the bike.  I was off Saturday but I wanted to run to Denver to pick up a new helmet while we still had the funds.  I used that as an opportunity to check out the city driving characteristics of the bike compared to the '02.  I figured a week of commuting would give me time to get to know the bike before taking it up into the twisties.  I've been to Deckers several times in the past and it is always a fun ride.  Needless to say I was like a kid on the night before Christmas pretty much all week long.

The big day finally arrived and of course I had a chore to do.  I borrowed my brother-in-law's trailer last week to pick up the bike and that had to be returned to Denver.  So I got up early and headed to Denver with the long distance commuters.  It was sunny with clear skies in the Springs and the temperature was about 57 degrees.  Not balmy, but with the sun out good enough for a light jacket, plus it was suppose to warm up into the high 60's.  I got to Denver (which was sunk in a deep, chilling fog) and back with no issues.  After a few more adult responsibilities I had the gear on and was headed for Woodland Park.  Once there I filled up (this bike is a gas hog) and headed up SR 67.  There were huge gray clouds building up in front of me so I decided to stop and put on the rainsuit.  Not only was it getting cloudy but the change in altitude and the cloud cover brought a drop in the temperature.  I used the opportunity to get a picture of the bike.  Gotta have plenty of those in case I forget what it looks like.

The misty mountains

SR 67 starts out fairly unremarkable.  It's got some bends in it and it's pretty scenic with all the trees and such but it's not any more scenic than any other road in Colorado, which is to say it's mostly beautiful.  There's a certain point when you start going up hill for a little bit and reach the burn scar from an old forest fire that the road starts to become interesting.  I should throw out there that I never speed, at least beyond my skills.  What I mean by that is you'll never catch me winding the bike out to 100 mph on a short narrow stretch of road.  There are however several corners on 67 that advise 30 or even 25 mph but something a little higher than that is possible.  I've found that you don't have to go in excess to lean the bike way down and get get rid of the chicken strips.  It was a few years and a few accidents that taught me that.  This road is good for a little prudent speed on a Friday afternoon (especially a crappy, cold Friday like this).  There is very little traffic on a Friday but Saturday is a different story.

I got to Deckers expecting to see at least a few bikes parked in the lot of the shopping center at the crossroads of 67 and 126.  There were two cars and a Coors truck making deliveries.  I started to just turn around but decided to stop and get a picture.

...and here it is.

As I headed back I passed another hearty soul on an older bike headed towards Deckers.  The ride back toward Woodland Park is a completely different animal than when headed north.  It's mostly uphill so I always feel confident carrying more speed through the turns.  The trip back always seems to be so much faster.  I did take time to stop for another picture though.

Brrrr!!!

I stopped at Starbucks and had a cliched latte and read a little.  I had a massage appointment with our therapist and had some time to kill.  It worked out nicely to have a massage at the end of the ride.  When I pulled into Starbucks there were two Goldwings parked with the riders outside having a little warm-up beverage.  Woodland Park was in sunshine with heavy clouds all around.  It kind of struck me then that this was probably one of the last rides of the season.  Colorado is a place where you can sneak a ride in all through the year but this day felt like fall.  When I left the Springs it had been warm and sunny, I came back to a much colder, blustery town.  Even though I'll probably keep commuting to work on the bike for as long as I can, I'm glad I got this ride in.

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FZ1 Comparison

After having a few days with the new bike I thought I would write down some observations and impressions of it compared to the old one.

The first thing I noticed was how well the wind protection works.  The old bike would shake my head around like it was in a clothes dryer.  The only buffeting I'm receiving now is around the elbows and the shins.  I rode it to work this morning in 52 degree weather and the only place I really felt it was on the lower part of the legs.

Actually let's go back a minute.  The real first thing I noticed before even releasing the clutch was how high you sit up on this bike compared to the old one.  It's even more like flying now.  I like that unobstructed feeling.  The seat was rock hard but is breaking in nicely.  Every day it seems a little more comfortable.

The bike is nimble.  At the very end of my commute to work there is a long sweeping curve to the right and a slightly shorter bend to the left.  I found myself taking these two curves at a slightly higher speed with infinitely more confidence.  It's the same for doing a u-turn on our street or just turning the corner at an intersection.  This bike just feels much more balanced.  The riding position also keeps my legs tucked in against the tank.

I rode up to Denver on Saturday (I got the bike Friday).  It was in the mid-80's and I noticed that my right calf wasn't cooking.  The old FZ1's engine would get really hot in the warmer weather so this was a nice new feature.  While in Denver a member of the Bandido MC pulled up next to me at a light and said, "Let me take a look at that bike."  Paused for a minute and said, "Nice."  I wish I could have gotten a picture of the bike he was on.  A big, older Harley with hard cases and long horn steer horns across the front.  While there I also picked up a new Shoei GT Air, a very nice helmet with some great features my 10 year old Arai does not have.  And it's got a racing stripe so, you know, it'll make me faster.

A few gripes about the bike are: like the '02 doesn't have self-cancelling turn signals, a feature my '97 Vmax does have.  There is also a buzzing at 5000 rpm and above that sounds like the fairing or windshield are loose (neither one is).  And the biggest problem would be the EFI apparently has some government mandated "fuel cut" feature so that every time you shift the power drops for a microsecond and causes a slight jerk.  Apparently there's a fix for that although it's an expensive one.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty pleased with the purchase.  I still get sentimental looking at the pictures of the '02 bike though.

Ole Blue

Tomorrow Lisa and I are headed to Gunnison to pick up a (almost) new Yamaha FZ1.  If you've been paying attention (I won't hold it against you if not) you'll know that I love to ride my '02 FZ1.  Just a little.  I'm looking forward to getting the new bike.  I took a spin on a co-worker's '08 model which is similar to the '12.  It was more comfortable on the tailbone and had better wind protection all around.  The decision to get it is what has made me think this huge mid-life crisis tour is possible.  We'll see how I feel after riding it for awhile but I think I can go much further on the new bike.

As excited as I am to be getting the new ride, I was feeling a little misty eyed while washing Ole Blue (the name I just gave the old bike just now).  Almost everywhere I've been that bike has been.  I know guys like motorcycle journalist Pete Egan go through bikes like a lot of us go through t.p. but I'm one of those people that holds on to something for ever.

Just for my own benefit a list of the places I've rode the bike include a cross country trip from San Diego to Zanesville Ohio when I bought the bike back in 2003.  That was a long almost crippling ride but a lot of fun.  Some things I remember about that trip were almost getting lost somewhere in southern California around Death Valley.  Freezing my tookus off in the early morning hours through Flagstaff.  And a particularly painful conversation I had with a woman working at a gas station about my mesh Joe Rocket jacket.  She seemed unable to grasp that the jacket was for protection while keeping the rider cool.  Of course the fact that it was about 50 degrees and raining didn't help my cause.

I also remember kicking myself ever since that ride for staying a day in Terra Haute Indiana.  Of all the places I could have spent an extra day in why I picked Terra Haute I'll never know.

Brian, Bud and me, Durango CO 2004

 Back in 2004 I had the bike with me when I met Lisa, my wife.  I rode all over Colorado that summer and that's really the year I took my riding abilities to the next level.  Riding the roads through the Rockies was an experience I'll never forget.  A buddy liked my FZ1 so much he got the black and yellow model.  Another buddy was so inspired by the fun we were having riding, he took the MSF course and bought a Harley.  After Colorado we all went to California and rode the Pacific Coast Highway and around central California together.  I usually don't like to ride with people but that was the best year of riding ever.

There have just been some many wonderful rides I can't begin to list them all.  Actually that's not true, I just listed two of them a minute ago.  Truth is I could list them all but you would get bored awful quick.

To conclude I'll just post some pictures of past beautiful rides.

Somewhere in California headed toward Lick Observatory

Watching snow come in on top of Mt Evans at 14,000 ft

The beautiful Pacific Coast Highway

The Tetons in Wyoming (but you knew that)

Clarksdale Mississippi, home of the blues

Now I'm really sad.

The Mid-Life Crisis Tour 2015

In December 2014 I'll be hitting the half century mark.  I haven't given it much thought until just the other day while driving in to work.  I'm not one to be overly introspective and I've never given aging much thought.  I don't like to celebrate birthdays either but I got to thinking that it would be a wonderful, even smashing idea to take a four corners U.S. tour on the bike.  This is something I've wanted to do for forever and I think the 50 year milestone is just a way to sell it to the missus.  That wasn't a tough sell by the way.  It went something like this:

Me - "Honey, I think when I hit 50 I want to take a ride across the country."
Best wife in the world - "Okay."

So with that I ran up stairs and immediately signed up for Adventure Rider Motorcycle Forum.  There are some hardcore dudes over there and a bunch of them are impressive photographers as well.  For the next two years I will be pouring over maps and Google Earth and The Insight Guides United States On The Road book I bought several years ago and almost sold in a garage sale.

I'll be fantasizing about this one for awhile.  Thinking out the minutiae and figuring out the logistics every time I take a shower or a ride.

The thing that will make this dream a reality is the purchase of a (almost) new '12 FZ1.  I took a spin on a co-workers '08 and the difference in comfort and wind protection between mine and his is like the difference between...I was going to say Democrats and Republicans but that comparison doesn't hold up so much any more.  Let's just say day and night.  Riding his bike really makes me believe I can do a long distance trip on a motorcycle relatively easy.  Hopefully I'll get the chance to see soon. 

Rain, Rain Go Away. No Seriously, GO ALREADY!

Colorado, September 2013 - This is how I'll remember this month...

Commuting

I just read a blog entry at Road Runner Magazine (a great magazine by the way) about commuting on the bike.  I've thought about posting something similar but haven't gotten around to it.  I thought I might take the time to do it now.

I got a late start on the riding season this year for some reason.  It was July before I took my first real, good ride.  I've been making up for it since.  Aside from the Labor Day ride I've ridden up to Denver a few times and just cruised around town for the heck of it quite a bit.  I like riding around town to get to know it.  Even though I've lived in Colorado Springs since '09 this town is a hard place to get to know.  It's always a lot more fun to explore a place on a bike.

On top of all the leisure riding I've done I've also been commuting a lot more.  The commute is a mile to the interstate and then about 15 miles down I-25 with another 3 mile jaunt on surface roads.  The roads are all pretty hectic and traffic usually flows fast.

I had a hard time getting myself to ride to work because I think I've gotten lazy and spoiled.  I like not fighting wind blast.  I like being able to drink coffee and listen to Bob & Tom on the radio.  And I like not worrying about putting my feet down when I stop.  The more I ride though the less I miss that stuff.  I'm sure I'll get tired of the wind blast again and go back to driving the truck for a while.  I'm okay with that.  I used to be one of those guys that would pride myself on riding everyday, rain or shine, hardcore style.  Now not so much.  I'm kind of old and more concerned about comfort and pleasing myself than some guy on a message board.  This was a comment to the blog post I was referring to
  

"I guess your really not a hard core motorcyclist but a fair weather rider. I ride daily, most everywhere, taking my daughter to school and back to work, to clients, shopping, every where. I do just over 100,000 a year."  

Harsh!  Well whatever.

I myself have really been into the commute because the weather has been perfect for riding most days.  It's rained on me the last two days but like I've mentioned before, I like riding in the rain.  The temperature has been just perfect so that I'm warm but don't sweat in my rain suit.  That's ideal to me.  As a matter of fact it was so beautiful out I was tempted to just call off sick and head for the mountains (which looked just like the Misty Mountains from The Lord of the Rings this morning.  It's a good thing I didn't though, CO 24 was closed due to flash flooding.   I stayed off the interstate though.  I don't like riding the freeway in the rain.

So, you have the weather but the other element is the, I hesitate to say it, Zen state I get into.  I don't think a lot about outside things when riding.  I focus on the road and the guy with the gauge, tattoos and sideways trucker cap in the WRX about to cut me off.  Even when it's not that hectic I'm scanning the road for deer or just checking the rearview mirror.  I just don't have time to think about stressful things.  If someone pulls into my lane I get mad but don't (or can't) stay mad.  I have to move on to the next threat.  I don't want to make it sound like a round of Death Race 2000 or Thunderdome.  There isn't that constant challenge, you just have to constantly watch for it.

By the time I get to work I'm relaxed and happy and ready for the day.

Location Is Everything

I both love and hate checking out the European and Japanese websites of motorcycle builders.  Love it because it's fascinating to see what other countries are offered and hate it because it's painful to see what we don't get offered.  Take for example my old trusty FZ1.  I have the first generation bike but when the second generation or "Gen II" bike came out Europe got a beautiful naked bike with no fairing.  The US FZ1 with the mini-fairing is known over seas as the Fazer.  Not only do they get a non-faired version they get better paint schemes in my opinion.

Europe's FZ1

It also has a lower chin spoiler.

 The FZ1 is a little long in the tooth however but the trend continues with the smaller sibling to the Fazer, the FZ8 Touring.  Sure you can buy the bags and brackets after market or even through Yamaha's accessory catalog but how nifty is that?

 And lastly here's one I don't even know!  The XJ6 Diversion.  A half-faired variant of the FZ6R I believe.  There is also a 660 Ténéré where only the 1200 Super Ténéré is offered in the states.  Check out the UK site here.

As for the other bike companies you'll just have to check them out for yourself.  I don't know enough about Suzuki or Kawasaki to tell you the differences.  I can tell you that they have a lot of bikes though.  Check out Suzuki UK and Kawasaki UK, if nothing else they give the bikes different names.  Apparently you still have to settle for green on your Kawi in London.

So what's the deal?  I'm as patriotic as the next guy if that guy is patriotic but it seems to me we get stuck with less variety because we have less imagination.  Somewhere along the way through the decades of motorcycle design we all decided we wanted either a Harley or a GSX-R1000.  And they all have to have every cubic inch available.  Don't misunderstand, there are niche markets.  Niche may be too restrictive a word.  I see plenty of sport and adventure tourers but they're all very similar too.  It wasn't that long ago that the V-Strom was a one bike market on the affordable adventure bike scene.

I do think that things are turning around, Honda likes to make fun, interesting bikes but again, they like to make more fun interesting bikes for Europe.

This is not a photo from the early 80's, it's a Cb1300s.  Click the photo for more info

To sum it up, Europe in general and the UK in particular have some sweet bikes we don't but they also have a 20% VAT tax and crazy congestion and traffic laws.  I think I'll keep my small selection (you can only ride one at a time right?) and my big open spaces.

Gunnison Ride - Labor Day Weekend 2013

I took a Labor Day ride with my brother-in-law this weekend.  I left the Springs yesterday morning at 0930, met Chris in Buena Vista and arrived in Gunnison at 1500 or so after 201 miles.  We stayed at the Inn at Tomichi Village over night.  It is a pretty nice motel.  I like staying at motels on motorcycle rides better than hotels.  Hotels might be more secure but I like being able to open the door and see the bike parked right out front.  If it's raining and I have a couple of beers to drink that's all the better.

The motel was the cheapest listed on Hotels.com.  It had a two out of five star rating but a 4.1 of 5 on the number scale.  Not sure what the difference is but it is definitely a 4.5 out of 5 in my book.  So once we got settled in we headed 30 minutes north on Colorado Route 135 to Crested Butte for dinner.  We got there in the middle of a festival and the downtown was blocked off to traffic.  The last time Lisa and I were there there was also a festival and the street was blocked.  It made me wonder if the street is blocked off every weekend.  So we walked around looking for a steak house and found a pub that served steak, close enough. The West End Public House has a great 12 oz. New York strip. Chris had chicken and waffles which made me envious but it's not in my diet plan.

West End Public House

Afterward we rode a few miles up to the ski resort and took some photos.  In a state lousy with scenery this was some of the most scenic.  We got there at an optimal photo time.  It was sunset and thunderstorms had just passed through.  Everything was fresh and pinkish-orange.

View Larger MapDriving Directions

It was just turning dark on the way back to the hotel and it was getting a little chilly.  We made a stop for a 6 pack of my favorite beer, Paulaner Hefe-Weizen and got back to the room for some local news.  I was out by 9 o'clock with a well earned sleep.

I got up at seven the next morning and realized that I had forgotten my toothbrush so it was off to the local Walmart for that and toothpaste.  This was one of the older Walmarts like you don't see anymore.  It was very small with a little electronics section in the middle of the store.  Anyone remember that lay out?

We rode west to the Blue Mesa Reservoir for a few more scenic shots then turned the bikes back east.  While stopped at a rest stop an older guy on a V-Strom pulled in and said hello.  I noticed the Oregon plates and talked to him for a little bit.  He had just come through Grand Junction visiting his son and was on his way to Texas to visit his other son.  I thought "There's one lucky guy" but then so am I.

We made one last stop in Gunnison on the way back through for gas.  I got to talking with a guy on a Harley with New Mexico plates.  The bike had the same dirty look form rain that our had.  The guy had rode up Saturday from Albuquerque and was on his way home.  On the way to Monarch Pass I questioned why I love to ride so much.  I mean it's really nothing more than a mode of transportation, one in which you're exposed to the elements and vulnerable to careless drivers and wild animals.  I couldn't come up with an answer that satisfied.  All I know is that I spend a lot of time laughing or singing out loud when I ride.  I know the guy on the Harley, the older gentleman on the V-Strom and Chris could identify.

Poor Man's GPS

Chris and I made it up over Monarch and got rained on (again) briefly.  Traffic was light Sunday afternoon going west but was pretty busy on Labor Day headed back east.  I drove way to fast up the mountain but took it slow down the other side.  Chris and I parted ways at Poncha Springs (I love these old west town names).  He headed for Silverthorn via Beuna Vista and Leadville and I decided to try a different way than I had come and headed for Salida and on to Canon City.  It's a great ride through a twisty canyon.  The road runs alongside the Arkansas River.  The headwaters for the river are just north of Leadville and the river is still narrow enough to walk across in spots in Colorado.

The traffic was heavier through here but a lot better than it would have been had I come through Woodland Park and across route 24.  I stopped for a little water break in Canon City.  Canon City's chief industry appears to be prisons by the way.

I finally pulled in around 4 o'clock.  I got in and was met with the greeting I always look forward to from Moon, Dash and Ruby the three wonder dogs.  The wife was still at work unfortunately.  It was a great ride.