A Cold One Handed Ride Report

Just to have some NEW content here! Actually, it was only one handed for two minutes while I risked having my name submitted to the Darwin Award Committee, holding the digital camera in movie mode and recording two minutes of sandy sweeper transit :). Link down below. Been a historical winter in much of Colorado. Record snow and top ten coldest. Together, quite a punch. With the driveway frozen escaped before the sun started its daily effort to thaw the ice and permafrost. Paid a muddy price when returning mid-afternoon, but the getting out tax was worth it. Main roads are in pretty good shape. It is getting to the main roads where a challenge is presented to many. Images will tell most of the tale. Here's the location of the following content. The highlighted road is one of the finest in Colorado, offering curves, hills, scenery, streams, etc. for 50 miles. The destination is a gourmet lunch in Woodland Park. 28 degrees when I departed. 28 degrees when I returned. The images below are of the ride going to and coming back. http://www.farson.com/maps/acohr.jpg First pause of the ride is when I crossed the road to a pullout for a pic looking back where I had come from. The video link below rides these curves... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12s126.jpg The long descent to Deckers is known as Horsepower Hill. We're heading down Horsepower here, but turned the bike around for the pic. Thunder Butte is on the left, Pikes Peak in the distance. Can you see the ski runs below timberline on Pikes Peak? From a small ski resort closed decades ago. The abundant snow you can see is courtesy of the largest wildfire ever in Colorado, the monstrous 130,000 acre Hayman Fire of June, 2002... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12shorse.jpg Maybe six years ago I came by this place on a ride once and law enforcement vehicles were parked along the side of the road. Learned the next day V.P. Cheney was there fishing the gold medal trout found in the Middle Fork of the South Platte. Exclusive fishing club is here... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12swigwam1.jpg Some of the place is no longer in use. Holding tanks for young fry or (very big adult fry :)) have seen more active days... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12swigwam2.jpg Today's temps have a way of separating the enthusiasts from the casual, or is it the crazy from the sane. Works for fly fishermen... http://www.farson.com/images/flyfish.jpg And it works for motorcyclists. Normally this halfway stop at Deckers is populated with two wheeled transportation devices during balmier temps... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12sdeckers.jpg OK, the fingers are feeling it as I continue to pull off the gloves for the pics. Gonna ride straight for the gourmet lunch destination and warm the 20 digits. More content on the way back. OK, not a gourmet destination and I'm easy to please. Snow from last night is melting... http://www.farson.com/images/pizzafactory.jpg As I order and sit down I'm soon joined b 30 youth hockey players, parents, coaches as they come to celebrate their team's season! It is me and them. They all laugh and come by hoping I don't mind. Not at all! Consumed the garlic bread then took a pic of what is piping hot baked spaghetti underneath the cover of sauce and cheese. Mmmmmm. BTW, don't know about you but I can't stand to eat alone and have nothing to read... http://www.farson.com/images/pizzafactorymeal.jpg On the return pausing on the other side of Thunder Butte. The Hayman Fire roared across the road here, and it was so hot the asphalt caught on fire. Road resurfaced. BTW, as you know, big difference in snow cover whether a slope is north or south facing... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12swestcreek.jpg The effects of the wildfire continue years later. Last July a thunderstorm dumped heavy rain on the baked soil. With the water unable to penetrate the hardened dirt, it ran off into the creeks, creeks became raging torrents, and anything in the path was blasted away, including this road. Took almost three months to rebuild about five miles of the road and here is a part of the finished work. Let me tell you, when the sand and grit is clear, and the temps higher, this is one sweet road for two wheels, and it's not too bad on days like today... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12sco67.jpg We're above Horsepower Hill now continuing the journey back. Around the bend ahead is a scenic pullout for the canyon below and Long Scraggy Peak above. It's a fun climb. This is a fun road... http://www.farson.com/bmw/k12slongscraggy.jpg OK, the pic above is where I had a spur of the moment idea. Why not put the digital cam in movie mode, ride with one hand on the throttle, hold the cam in the left hand and keep it steady while making sure it is recording the road ahead, keeping the bike out of the sand and through the curves up ahead. Sanity check aisle five. Sanity check aisle five. So here it is, two minutes of the road ahead. BTW, note what I hit at 2:02 of the vid. Couldn't tell during the ride but the camera mic picks up a slight "thwack"... though due to the wind noise just a delightful 2:15 song accompanies... A Cold One Handed Ride - Video (http://www.farson.com/video/acohr.wmv) Just before Pine Grove saw this plump thing fly to the line above on my left. Made a U-Turn to see if it would cooperate for a pic. Took one pic from far away, zooming in, then started to move the bike closer but a truck coming by unnerved this Red Tailed Hawk and it flew off... http://www.farson.com/images/redtailedhawk.jpg Anyway, this was the memory delivered by the two wheeled thang.

Great Post!

:dthumb: Rept

Well done. :dthumb: Will give rept when I figure out how.:scratch:

AWSOME! very very nice pics!! and the video and the song fit perfectly... I WANNA MOVE TO COLORADO!!! :lol: rept!

Awesome!

Darn dial-up. Looks like a great time. I haven't been to Deckers in years. I mostly ride west of Denver. Since we didn't get the foot of snow they predicted today, I am going to the Demo ride at Foothills BMW/Triumph on Saturday, 4/14. I want to ride the K1200S and R. You just have to show up there and sign up. There will be a ton of BMW riders there, but I'm riding my old GS1000 and I'll bring my camera.

What was it that you hit around 2:00 in that vid?? Nice writeup man.. Rept..

AWSOME! very very nice pics!! and the video and the song fit perfectly... I WANNA MOVE TO COLORADO!!! :lol: rept! Thanks everyone... and yes, it is a special song isn't it -- maybe moreso on a ride in the cold. It's still "What a Wonderful World".

Darn dial-up. Looks like a great time. I haven't been to Deckers in years. I mostly ride west of Denver. Since we didn't get the foot of snow they predicted today, I am going to the Demo ride at Foothills BMW/Triumph on Saturday, 4/14. I want to ride the K1200S and R. You just have to show up there and sign up. There will be a ton of BMW riders there, but I'm riding my old GS1000 and I'll bring my camera. I might show up. Picked up the K1200S as well as the avatar thing there. Know everyone well. The K12S is one refined, high tech ride. The big Motorrad Germany magazine gave it the highest score of all time... all makes, all models, supplanting the previous record holder, the Honda VFR.

What was it that you hit around 2:00 in that vid?? Nice writeup man.. Rept.. dubbs... I think it was a bird and believe it glanced off my right shoulder.

Thanks everyone... and yes, it is a special song isn't it -- maybe moreso on a ride in the cold. It's still "What a Wonderful World". Yeah its... and yeah... I feel ya on the cold rides... though I don't dare ride at temps below freezing... still too much snow and break up is happening... but I wish we had roads like that... :drool: keep the pics coming!

Well done. :dthumb: Will give rept when I figure out how.:scratch: lower left corner under the person's name, there are some icons. Click on the one that looks like a scale to add or subtract from someone's reputation. Be sure to add a comment, or at least your name so they can rep ya back!! :dthumb: and i got ya one :wink:

fantastic read and gorgeous pictures! thanks for sharing. :dthumb: when i was in colorado for vacation last summer we had this pizza called "mountain pie". boy was that stuff good! i wouldn't mind having that again sometime.

fantastic read and gorgeous pictures! thanks for sharing. :dthumb: when i was in colorado for vacation last summer we had this pizza called "mountain pie". boy was that stuff good! i wouldn't mind having that again sometime. If you bring out the ZX next time, I'll buy you a pizza.

fantastic read and gorgeous pictures! thanks for sharing. :dthumb: when i was in colorado for vacation last summer we had this pizza called "mountain pie". boy was that stuff good! i wouldn't mind having that again sometime. Kim... Do you recall where you had your "mountain pie"? Steve

No Worries... Did make it to the Foothills Open House early this afternoon. Brought my daughter. Would have ridden down but did receive 1-2" from the recent mis-forecasted storm, and needed the sun to do its thing on the long driveway in Park County. Did you take any demo rides?

Great post as always sfarson. I like the new ride! I'm dowloading the vid now... How far are you from NW and Denver? You both should get a ride in together... I'm sure you both could school some whippersnappers!

Good vid!

No Worries... Did make it to the Foothills Open House early this afternoon. Brought my daughter. Would have ridden down but did receive 1-2" from the recent mis-forecasted storm, and needed the sun to do its thing on the long driveway in Park County. Did you take any demo rides? I thought it would be packed, so I went down there before 10am on my old Suzuki. It was 38 degrees when I left the house. I wanted to ride the K1200S, but they had just sold their demo. He asked if I wanted to try another bike and a R1200GS was right there. You know how you pass all those dirt roads and mining roads in the mountains and wonder where they lead to? Well I said yes to riding the GS. I wondered if I would have to be on tiptoe, but my feet were easily on the ground. He pointed out the weird-to-me turnsignals, the heated grips, and how the front brake lever also puts on the rear brake. He said to ride it around the block, run it on the 6th Ave Highway, and be back in 20 minutes. I got on the highway and headed out to Golden. I wasn't used to two pistons, the size of coffee cans, moving to the sides of the bike. The torque of those pistons when revving at a light really moves the top of the bike to the right, but you don't feel it at all when underway. The engine felt very rough and noisy when starting off, but the mid-range torque was impressive. The fairing was about three-feet in front of me and I couldn't see any reason why. I liked the digital-gear indicator, although both my 1975 Suzuki's had one. The brakes and suspension worked great. The bike squatted instead of diving when braking hard. By the time I got to Golden, the digital dash clock showed that 20 minutes had already gone by. I came back by 32nd Ave. The GS handled those S-curves by Coors with ease. The guy said the turnsignals were self canceling, but they wouldn't, and I kept hitting the horn button trying to turn them off. I pulled into the dealer after 11am, and there was a crowd of 100 bikers who watched me pull up. I guess they thought I was part of the demonstration that was going on. One BMW rider was demonstrating the ABS brakes by trying to skid the tires on a hard stop. Then they put some water on the road and there still was no skid. Impressive. Then a rider demonstrated BMW's new 650 Motorrad. Wheelies, stoppies, burn-outs, and two-wheel slides into and out of turns. Wow. Then they demoed how to correctly lift a tipped-over heavy touring bike. From both sides. Plus a young woman from the audience did it. Afterward, several riders came over and told me how they once had an old GS-series Suzuki, and checked out my "mods". I met a rider from the "Patriot Guard" and he said to check out their website. The dealer asked how I liked the R1200GS and I said that I wished I could have gone on a dirt road. He said if I was "really" interested he would arrange it. He also asked if I wanted to demo the R1200R, but by this time I had to leave. When I got back on my 28-year-old bike, it didn't feel that bad.

Kim... Do you recall where you had your "mountain pie"? Steve in some little mining town. the place was called BoJo's i think or something.

in some little mining town. the place was called BoJo's i think or something. Bojo's in Idaho Springs. About the halfway point to the Continental Divide from downtown Denver. Most everyone takes I-70 to Idaho Springs, but I know three very twisty roads that'll take you there without getting on the interstate.

in some little mining town. the place was called BoJo's i think or something. Was going to ask if it was BeauJeau's in Idaho Springs... then thought I'd ask where it was you went, and if you said Idaho Springs... was going to say BeauJeau's! The other post in this forum where I take to K bike to 10K feet ends up in Idaho Springs. So you have some VRSC company here :). The VRSC to Hoosier Pass... http://www.farson.com/video/vrhoosier.wmv

No Worries, Here in Park County with all the forest roads nearby, I ride a GS. Something about knowing any road is fair game. And as you possibly discovered, one can own the curves with the thing. Some call the GS "squid bait", and I think it is reflective. So fun to take this thing screaming through the curves. I saw the demonstrations at Foothills. The ABS demonstration was impressive, as was Brad Hendry on the X County and X Moto. He's the owner's son and I know him well. Last summer he was privateer in the AMA Superbikes. He's also an instructor at the Freddie Spencer's schools. Steve

Thanks everyone... and yes, it is a special song isn't it -- maybe moreso on a ride in the cold. It's still "What a Wonderful World". Always love your pictures. Nice job. :cheers:

:thx1: for the pics

beautiful!