Motorcycle Thoughts - Day 2
Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 at 9:22 pm by angrybob
As I sit here safely in Montrose, CO I have to reflect on the driving conditions today. We drove from Albuquerque, NM to Montrose, CO which included two mountain passes along HWY 550 (Coal Bank and the section between Silverton & Ouray). Things got ugly quick with regard to percipitation.
I was drafted as one of the drivers through these passes since I was the closest thing to being a local. The conditions were bad enough that I much preferred o drive than be a passenger. I’m not a control freak, but I am a smart driver.
Anyway, as we made the ascent up to Coal Bank, we got more and more snow. So much that there were points that visibility was just a concept.
Sidebar: Not only was the visibility low from the blowing snow, but the sky was dark. I found that my greatest aid was my sunglasses - the polarization provided much more clarity and killed the glare…even though my view overall was darker. I removed them a couple of times to check and there was no comparison in the additional clarity they gave. End sidebar.
On top of that traction was a challenge. My car had ABS, traction control (T/C), and stability control (VSC). I knew this going in, but the T/C is not your friend if you need to go uphill, and as predicted it just about got us stuck. I came around a hairpin at about 10mph only to meet an iced-over steep incline. The T/C kicked in which appies the ABS and retards the engine. Its that second part that absolutely kills the needed momentum. I literally came to a stop - sitting there spinning my wheels with a ‘retarded engine’ ;). It took a while to get up that incline increasing speed 1 mph at a time without creating wheelspin. And no, these systems cannot be turned off.
On the second pass, there was more of the same. The kick in the balls was that I was looking forward to a ’spirited’ ride and handling evaluation. Well, if spirited meant a couple of Dukes of Hazard, General Lee style slides around iced-over hairpins then OK, but this was at 3 mph.
How does any of this relate to motorcycles?
Yesterday I stated that Phoenician riders are not equipped for foul weather. I am sorry to say that neither are some in Colorado. On the first pass, there was a new(er) BMW GS leaning over on a snow bank on the side of the snow-covered roads with the flashers blinking. No one was in sight. About down the road, I saw a guy sitting on the side of the road with skis. No vehicle in sight. Could this be a low-IQ thrill seeker, or two completely independent incidents? Who knows. I will say that as kooky as the long-haulin’ BMW guys are, they too apparently have a fair share of morons in their ‘club’. With as much snow as there was today, that thing will become part of the snow bank.
I only wish I had a camera (even though I’ve said that often these days, I’m not dumb - I’m just stubborn).
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AB - Sorry to hear your ride over 550 (The Million Dollar Highway - coined due to the amount of money in gold that came down out of the mountains - over what period of time I can’t say) wasn’t very pleasant. It’s an excellent motorcycle road in favorable conditions, as you could probably tell. The views are unbelievable when the weather is clear …. and those haripins up by Molas Pass are challenging even in the dry. I had a Cadillac Northstar 4-wheel difting behind me trying to keep up with me through that section on the Bandit about 5 years ago.
By the way, Telluride (over the mountains from Ouray) is a derivative of “To Hell You Ride” based on many a miner’s experience in those mountains. More great roads on that side of the mountains.
The riding southwestern Colorado is awesome. Looking forward to hearing what other roads you get to sample during your test. So is this trip tempting you to return in the summer on a bike?
By the way, when I was out in Utah to check up on the KTM in anticipation of the June AMA races at Miller Motorsports Park, I had to ride on snow covered side-streets for a few miles to make it to the freeway to catch my flight back. Riding in the snow is the most intense level of concentration you’ll ever reach on a motorcycle. Talk about pucker factor! I try not to do it very often but sometimes circumstance prohibits the prudent choice.
Another note, I made the Comment to your last post but it lists me as Anonymous if I don’t login.
Rhino