Walk-about? No, it's a Ride-about.

Like all good riders, I got out and put some mileage on my motorcycle this past weekend. A long day in the saddle Saturday took me nearly 300 miles and a total of nearly 12,000 feet in elevation gain/loss.

There were six of us: a ZX10r, FZ1, FZ6, TLR and R6 and my SV1000s. We left the Denver area and headed up I-70 to Berthoud Pass where we cross the Continental Divide and on into Winter Park, CO.

From Trail Ridge Ride, 6-25-2011

Looking north from the summit of Berthoud Pass.

From Trail Ridge Ride, 6-25-2011

 We kept heading north through Granby and Grand Lake (which reminded my of small European lake-side communities) and into Rocky Mountain National Park. We were a little dismayed at the $10/motorcycle charged to get into the park and the ranger even charged the R6 (which was 2-up) $20 citing the fees were per-person. I highly doubt that is the case as cars and vans with multiple persons weren't paying per-person.

We rode (slowly behind tourists and gawkers) up Trail Ridge Road until this pull-out indicating we were crossing the Continental Divide again. We stopped to play in the snow.

From Trail Ridge Ride, 6-25-2011

And to take some pictures with the snow in the background.

From Trail Ridge Ride, 6-25-2011

We got on the bikes and headed up some more. At the below images we were at more than 12,000ft above sea-level. There was a sign we passed that I was hoping to get back to and get a picture that indicated the point when we passed the 2-mile high mark but I didn't get a chance to stop. Well, I did get the chance, but when you ride with a group the whole group seems to want to stop for something that quick and I didn't want to make anyone stop for me.

From Trail Ridge Ride, 6-25-2011

Our Route:

View Winter Park to Trail Ridge 6-25-11 in a larger map

When I returned to Denver, I swung by Fay Myers and picked up my new EXO750 Vintage helmet. It fits so much better than the EXO500, which also resulted in the very noticeable corn-rows I'm sporting in the above pictures. The EXO750 doesn't have all the bells and whistles the EXO500 has, such as the drop-down sun shield, but it fits my head shape so much better and seems lighter on my neck. I've only been a few miles with the EXO750 so far but it seems more stable in the wind, too.

I was hoping to go up again today and get some pictures with my dSLR but the weather didn't cooperate. If I get time tomorrow I'd like to head up again. If not, then perhaps when I return from Florida.

Bike Block Party

Performance Cycle hosted their Second Annual Block Party/Bike Night this past Saturday. I don't think the turn-out was as large as the previous year, but it was a good turn-out. There were a few of my riding buddies there as well as the Street Soldierz and a few other motorcycle clubs.

While mostly sportbikes, there was an eclectic mix of riders who showed up at this event.

This bike, for example, was recently built by the owner but built out of original bike parts. The engine, frame and accessories are together for the very first time in this bike.

From Performance Cycle Bike Night 6-18-2011

This Hayabusa not only had a custom paint-job but also had a super-long swing arm. I think this bike was 15 feet long. Terribly inconvenient for riding, I'd imagine.

From Performance Cycle Bike Night 6-18-2011

And this is, apparently, an honest-to-goodness Harley Davidson motorcycle manufactured for the British military.

From Performance Cycle Bike Night 6-18-2011

A bunch of custom cruisers.

From Performance Cycle Bike Night 6-18-2011

And this bad-boy. From what I understand, this bad-boy is built as a fun project for some weapons manufacturer here in the Denver area. It's built off a Buell frame and could be considered the ultimate street-fighter.

From Performance Cycle Bike Night 6-18-2011

Gratuitous crowd shot from the parking lot next to Performance Cycle. Bikes were also aligned along the street

From Performance Cycle Bike Night 6-18-2011

And then there was this thing. Built from a Trike frame with a genuine VW Bug engine, this is a custom build by an old hippie wrench-turner who has a self-proclaimed VW graveyard at his house. All in all it was a great time if you're into riding motorcycles.

From Performance Cycle Bike Night 6-18-2011

Sorry about the picture quality guys. I didn't bring my dSLR as I didn't want to keep track of it, so all these are taken with my Android.

The SV Got Cleaned

I went to Bike Night at Hooters the other night. It was the usual hubnub of people hanging out, eating fried foods and talking about their bikes. Nothing really exciting happened.

 

I was able to get the SV washed though. That's always nice.





I did have to have them come back and finish washing since they didn't dry it quick and thoroughly enough and I ended up with some spots.

Its okay. I didn't mind it and no one seemed to complain. :D

Support Falled Riders

ABATE of Colorado is hosting a fundraiser for their fallen rider fund. If you can come out and help or support, that would be fantastic.



Afterwards, I'll be heading over to Performance Cycle's Second Annual Bike Block Party!

Scorpion EXO750

I won an EXO750 of my choice in a contest a couple of weeks ago. The motorcycle dealership who sponsored the contest didn't have a design I liked in-stock so I had to special order one. It should be in at the end of the week. 

I seriously think Scorpion should be paying me a sponsorship -- I now have two (2!) EXO700s, black glossy and black matte, an EXO500 and an EXO750 which I ordered in the "vintage" design. I need to get the gold shield, though as that looks badass. 

By the way, when I tried on the EXO750 it was much more comfortable on my head than the EXO500. But that could just be the shape of my head. I was surprised that the 750 didn't have the drop-down inner visor since the lower EXO500 does. Otherwise it seemed very similar to the EO700s I own.

SpeederBikes

I always wanted one of these. I guess that's why I got into motorcycling in the first place -- or maybe it was just that my mountain-bike didn't go fast enough, who knows? Either way, I did get into motorcycling and yet whenever I watch Return of the Jedi and watch the speer-bike scenes I can't help but want one to zip through the trees, around traffic and over obstacles.

Unfortunately, people aren't building them yet. Sad really. Whatever happened to the promises of a better future? Where's my robot servant? Oh yeah, I have an Android. Where's my teleportation device and my lightsaber? And whatever happened to inter-stellar travel?

The future sucks. Too bad there's not something out there letting me know the future is now.

Oh wait, there is something out there... is that a... yes it is! A first-gen flying motorcycle!

Image taken from the post I'm about to link to

Seems as though someone is just as big of a fan of Return of the Jedi as I was. Or at least they're as big of a fan of the speeder-bikes as I was.

Chris Malloy, an Australian inventor decided the future held no need for roads, ala Dr. Brown:

Now, if only I could find an extra $40 grand laying around.