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May 15, 2021

Thursday May 13th - Phantom Canyon

So, we've had a lot of snow this season, and more recently rain. But Thursday May 13th looked like a nice day to ride in that at least there wasn't any snow/rain in the forecast. So, I decided to do a big loop on the Africa Twin, and it would look something like this:

Marshdale > Conifer > Foxton Road > Deckers > Woodland Park > Ute Pass/Divide > Tenderfoot Pass > Cripple Creek > Victor > Phantom Canyon > Cañon City > Guffey > Currant Creek Pass > Hartsel > Fairplay > Red Hill Pass > Jefferson > Kenosha Pass > Conifer > Marshdale > home.

Ute Pass: 9,165 ft
Tenderfoot Pass: 10,249 ft
Currant Creek Pass: 9,485 ft
Red Hill Pass: 9,993 ft
Kenosha Pass: 9,997 ft

This includes about 9.6 miles down a dirt road from where South Foxton Road meets with North Platte River Road. Then it turns into hardtop, and south to Deckers. South from Deckers on Colorado State Highway 67 to Woodland Park. West on US Highway 24 to Ute Pass (9,165 ft). Then south Colorado State Highway 67 again, over Tenderfoot Pass (10,249 ft). Then through the gambling towns of Cripple Creek and Victor, and south down Phantom Canyon. Phantom Canyon is roughly 30 miles of dirt roads. Then, west into Cañon City, and I planned on looping back though Guffey, Currant Creek Pass, Hartsel, Fairplay, Red Hill Pass > Jefferson > Kenosha Pass > Conifer > Marshdale > home.

But that's not exactly how things went.

I was fine up to Woodland Park. Then to west to Divide, where I saw that my old BBQ hangout (Mike's BBQ) was permanently closed as of October of last year (2020). Then south over Tenderfoot Pass, and down into Cripple Creek and Victor. Then, down Phantom Canyon. I saw a few people stopped. I always stopped to check on them, as cell coverage in this canyon is not good. Stopped and took some photos in the old railroad tunnels. Then came out of the canyon, and turned west into Cañon City.

Then, I start looking for the old main street. It's just one block north of US Highway 50. So, I cut over to Main Street and roll down until I find where I used to hang out. I'm pretty sure the old restaurant/bar I used to hang out in was Rumors.

Rumors Bar & Grille 406 Main St, Cañon City, CO

But it's permanently closed now, of course. And has been for years, apparently. I left Colorado Springs in 2014, so that was roughly 7 years ago.

Then, I head west of Cañon City and just west of Cañon City, I lose my front tire and the bike starts to go down. Somehow, I keep it up and don't crash. A guy stops and gives me a ride into town where I buy 2 cans of Fix-a-flat. Return to bike, air up front tire, and try to drive back down into Cañon City, but then the front tire immediately goes flat again as I'm riding. Somehow, I keep the bike up for the 2nd time, and stop on the side of the road. Another person with a truck stops to help me, and this time they drive me into town and we unload the bike at a little no-tell motel Parkview Inn on 3rd street.

I'm not sure what to do, so I call Robert and he comes down in his pickup with some ramps, and we load the bike into the back up of his truck and drive it back to my house. Then, we take it to B&B Cycles in Evergreen and unload it. They've had my tires backordered for some time. I tell them I'm not riding it until they put new tires on it. At this point, I don't even care if they're the same tires, but I'm not getting on the bike with bald tires any more at this point.


Posted by Rob Kiser on May 15, 2021 at 2:04 PM : Comments (1) | Permalink

May 12, 2021

Tomorrow's Ride

So, I'm thinking my ride tomorrow might look something like this:

Pine Junction, Pine, Deckers, Woodland Park, Ute Pass, Tenderfoot Pass, Cripple Creek, Victor, Phantom Canyon, Canyon City, Guffey, Currant Creek Pass, Hartsel, Fairplay, Red Hill Pass, Jefferson, Kenosha Pass, Conifer, home.

Ute Pass: 9,165 ft
Tenderfoot Pass: 10,249 ft
Currant Creek Pass: 9,485 ft
Red Hill Pass: 9,993 ft
Kenosha Pass: 9,997 ft

6 hours. 252 miles.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 12, 2021 at 10:25 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

Today's Ride

So, today it didn't rain or snow. It wasn't very warm, but I decided to go for a ride this afternoon.

My ride went something like this:

Marshdale > Evergreen > Upper Bear Creek > Witter Gulch > Squaw Pass > Little Bear Creek Road > Idaho Springs > Eisenhower Tunnel > Boreas Pass Road (Breckenridge) > Hoosier Pass > Fairplay > Red Hill Pass > Jefferson > Kenosha Pass > Grant > Bailey > Conifer > North Turkey Creek > Home.

So, the passes I crossed today are:
Squaw Pass - 9,790 ft
Eisenhower Tunnel (Continental Divide) - 11,013 ft
Hoosier Pass (Continental Divide) - 11,542 ft
Red Hill Pass - 9,993 ft
Kenosha Pass - 9,997 ft

So, according to this, I rode about 160 miles today in about 4 hours. I got started kind of late, and it was freezing cold when I got home. Sun set today at about 8:00 p.m. I was OK temperature wise, as it was about 60F at some point, but when I got to Hoosier Pass it was about 44F, I thought I was going to lose my hands. Even with my gloves on.

Tomorrow looks to be clear, sunny, and much warmer (63F).

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 12, 2021 at 9:34 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

Survival Guide to the 21st century jenni kiser p1

11/13/2011

Survival Guide to the 21st century jenni kiser p1

Your average person will go through their whole life clueless. Clueless about something at least, whether it's a tough decision, or how to surf the web, everyone gets lost at times. So for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past few years, here's a few tips on how to survive your average day in 2011.

Turning off your alarm clock: This is the most irritating part of your day.

Recognizing it : An alarm clock will be clear about itself. You will not miss it for it is the most irritating sound you will hear. You can be sure this is your alarm clock because it will usually go off at some crazy hour like 5:00am. You may be in a pleasant dream when BEEP BEEP BEEP! That is when you know your alarm clock found you at just the right time.

How to deal with it: After you sit there moaning and clenching a pillow to your head, you will realize that your alarm clock has won. You must get out of bed, walk over to the source and....press the snooze button to go sleep for 10 more minutes.

Caution: Even though the alarm clock may seem like your enemy, it's just trying to help so try not to smash it to pieces. Don't forget, the alarm clock only wants to get you to your meeting on time.

Answering a "text": This could be the most crucial part of your day. Make sure you are always alert; you wouldn't want to miss something important.

Recognizing it : When a little black box makes a sound like a cricket, and buzzes, that's how you can tell your phone is receiving a "text message"

How to deal with it: Pick up the device (use caution. If dropped, there's a few hundred dollars in the hole) and press the lock button. You will then respond by typing something on a little electronic touch pad such as: hey, hi, hello, morning, any casual greeting will do.

Caution: Do not ever use full sentences. Your friends will most likely ignore your message and never send another. Abbreviate words like: sorry-srry, going-goin, morning-mornin ect. The first thing you will want to check is that auto-correct did not change any words. If not checked precisely, it could result in a major popularity down.

Making breakfast: Everyone always says breakfast is the most important meal of the day, well, NEWS FLASH! A simple protein bar will do just fine.

Recognizing it:This is not that hard. If your stomach is growling , go find the kitchen.

Dealing with it: You may have been living under a rock for years, but it doesn't take Einstein to stick an eggo waffle in a toaster and wait for it to magically pop up.

Caution:When you cook things, they get hot, so try not to burn yourself.
After Your Morning

1. Once you've gotten through the morning, smile! You're finished with the worst part of the day.
2. Now your at work, sit at your little cube and pretend like your actually accomplishing something, no one will ever notice.
3. IF the clock says 12:00, your probably starving to death, go find the lunch room and eat that sandwich you've been packing for the past seven years.

The Golden Rules!
1. When you walk into a store and press the "try me button" on a singing toy, just walk away when it doesn't stop making noise.
2. Remember, you didn't trip, you were just testing gravity. It still works!
3. * When you have no clue what's going on, just smile and nod, smile and nod*

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 12, 2021 at 11:38 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 11, 2021

Pass Bagger

I'm thinking that, if it ever stops snowing, my next passes will be:

Poncha Pass - US Highway 285 south of Poncha Springs. Elevation: 9,010 ft.
Monarch Pass - US Highway 50 west of Poncha Springs. Elevation: 11,312 ft.
Wilkerson Pass - US Highway 24 west of Colorado Springs. Elevation: 9,504 ft. Eastern Boundary of South Park.
Currant Creek Pass - Colorado Highway 9 between Guffey and Hartsel. Elevation: 9,485 ft. Southern Boundary of South Park.


Posted by Rob Kiser on May 11, 2021 at 2:34 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 7, 2021

Buena Vista, Leadville, Turquoise Lake, Red Cliff

So, today (5/7/2021) was the 2nd day in a row where I decided to get up and go for a ride because we had 2 nice days (5/6/2021 - 5/7/2021) and snow is coming.

My ride today looked like this: Home > Aspen Park > US Highway 285 > Buena Vista > rail road tunnels > Turquoise Lake > Leadville > Red Cliff > I-70 > Evergreen > Home.

It looks like I rode roughly 300 miles today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rocky_Mountain_passes_on_the_continental_divide

Passes I crossed today (in the order I crossed them):

The trick to finding the old Midland railway tunnels in Buena Vista is to take 371 North (North Colorado Avenue) off of East Main Street in downtown Buena Vista. This crosses the Arkansas River, goes through the Midland Tunnels, and crosses back across the Arkansas River.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 7, 2021 at 10:57 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 6, 2021

Berthoud Pass, Willow Creek Pass, Cameron Pass

My ride today looked something like this.

Today, the weather was warm and sunny, without a hint of rain or snow. So, I decided that I had to get out for a little ride. Jennifer said that we would go to dinner with Cody at about 6:00 p.m., so I started planning a little ride. I sort of wanted to cross the divide, and then ride up north for a bit. So, I planned to ride over Berthoud Pass and down into Winter Park. But, because the pass over the continental divide (Milner Pass) is closed in Rocky Mountain National Park, I knew I'd have to find a different route back over the continental divide. So, I decided to come back across Cameron Pass.

I-70 west to US 40 through Empire to my first cross of the continental divide at Berthoud Pass. (11,306 ft above MSL). Then, down into Winter Park, Fraser, Tabernash, to Granby.

Colorado Highway 125 north out of Granby. I was really shocked at how much fire damage there was from the fires of last summer (2020). Then, Colorado Highway 125 crosses the continental divide at Willow Creek Pass, elevation 9,659 ft above MSL, and then down into North Park to the whistle-stop town of Rand.

Here, I go off hard top for the first time and ride down a dirt road, from Rand, Colorado on Jackson County Road 27 to Colorado State Highway 14.

Then, I follow Colorado State Highway 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) east over the 10,276-foot Cameron Pass summit (this pass does not cross the continental divide).

Eventually, I make it out to I-25 at Fort Collins, and then ride south through Loveland to Longmont, then down Hwy 119 to Boulder. Jen, Cody, and I are supposed to eat dinner, so I tell them to follow me and I ride down 93 to Morrison, then up the canyon through Idledale and Kittredge to dinner in Evergreen at the Lariat Lodge.

At the end of the day, I've gone about 320 miles. But it was a nice day, and I wanted to get some riding in since it wasn't snowing for once.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rocky_Mountain_passes_on_the_continental_divide

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 6, 2021 at 9:25 PM : Comments (2) | Permalink

May 4, 2021

Into The Wild

"...the sea's only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now, I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing blind, deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your own hands and your own head..."
― Primo Levi

"It should not be denied... that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led West."
― Wallace Stegner

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.
- Henry David Thoreau

I Go Back to May 1937
BY SHARON OLDS

I see them standing at the formal gates of their colleges,
I see my father strolling out
under the ochre sandstone arch, the
red tiles glinting like bent
plates of blood behind his head, I
see my mother with a few light books at her hip
standing at the pillar made of tiny bricks,
the wrought-iron gate still open behind her, its
sword-tips aglow in the May air,
they are about to graduate, they are about to get married,
they are kids, they are dumb, all they know is they are
innocent, they would never hurt anybody.
I want to go up to them and say Stop,
don't do it--she's the wrong woman,
he's the wrong man, you are going to do things
you cannot imagine you would ever do,
you are going to do bad things to children,
you are going to suffer in ways you have not heard of,
you are going to want to die. I want to go
up to them there in the late May sunlight and say it,
her hungry pretty face turning to me,
her pitiful beautiful untouched body,
his arrogant handsome face turning to me,
his pitiful beautiful untouched body,
but I don't do it. I want to live. I
take them up like the male and female
paper dolls and bang them together
at the hips, like chips of flint, as if to
strike sparks from them, I say
Do what you are going to do, and I will tell about it.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 4, 2021 at 9:22 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

May 1, 2021

Boreas Pass / Georgia Pass

Today, I tried to do Boreas Pass and Georgia Pass, but they are both still snowed in. Boreas Pass is out of Como, Colorado. Georgia Pass is out of Jefferson, Colorado.

Posted by Rob Kiser on May 1, 2021 at 9:39 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink