I feel it appropriate to provide some background to myself, and my rally
experiences with COG, as a prelude to my report on the Ride the Rockies Rally.
My first official COG ride was the ‘94 Western National in Sonora, which
was a wonderful initiation into this organization. I rode well beyond my abilities,
got lucky and survived the rally, and had a great time. I wasn’t so lucky
heading home. I came around a turn to find a Bronco/Blazer approaching me,
cutting the apex of the turn such that he was completely in my lane. The surprise
and loss of concentration led to my failing to stop/turn the bike before running
off the road. Fortunately, I was at the bottom of the hill, so my off-road
adventure was only a few feet and didn’t involve any cliffs (and no damage
to the brand-new-only-one-week-old helmet - which was the first thing I checked
when I stopped rolling). Unfortunately, it did result $4,000 in damage to
the bike. Farmer’s Insurance didn’t blink an eye, or total it (for
a ‘90 Concours which I had paid $4,000 for the year before, I consider
myself very fortunate and am quite thankful to Farmers). Within a few months
I was up and riding with all new plastic and the Givi luggage system (saddlebags
and trunk). Ange, my girlfriend, however, was not impressed.
In 1995, work kept me from joining the Western Rally in Oregon & Washington.
However, my girlfriend did arrange a week-long vacation near Denver, CO in
August with some married friends of hers. I figured if I was going ALL the
way to Colorado from San Diego to hang-out for a week, I was going to take
the Connie and enjoy the Rockies. I contacted 
Mark Folsom (AAD for Colorado) and
Rick
Hall ( recent attendee on Folsom’s Ride the Divide) for recommendations.
I then conned Ange into riding with me, rather than in the friends minivan
(Ange’s mom was left with the impression that Ange would be in the van).
Little did Ange know that this was a pass/fail test. She had only ridden for
a couple of fairly short day rides. We were seriously discussing getting married,
but, among other things, I was interested in a definitive answer as too her
enthusiasm for riding before committing myself. After a two-week ride making
a loop through the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, a week near Denver including
a whitewater rafting trip and a day ride with Mark to the Rocky Mountain National
Park, followed by Arches, Bryce, & Zion National Parks, and a day in Vegas,
Ange was completely hooked on motorcycling. 
We got married in April.
Our honeymoon not being enough fun for this year, we planned on joining COG
in Avon for the 10th Anniversary of the Concours National Rally & Celebration.
I was a little anxious, considering that my last National rally involved almost
destroying my bike, and this time, my wife would be on the back of the bike.
The anxiety diminished for the most part with preparation for a 3,000+ mile
ride.
Sam Ellington, SW AD, generously offered
to show me how to adjust my valves (making me protégé #8, if I remember correctly).
Having just moved to the San Francisco Bay area, I no longer had access to
any of my friends/roommates/parents tools. I found myself doing the oft-heard
"Honey, we’ll save so much money if I buy these tools, and do the
maintenance myself." Worked like a charm, and now I have a torque wrench,
feeler and gap gauges, tire pump, air gauge, waxes, wax applicators, 27mm
socket, universal joint socket connectors, Allen wrenches, etc. (Man, I gotta
do this more often!!) Hey Ange, about the car maintenance, I just need to
get .....
I put on new tires, changed the oil and plugs, and swapped out the stock
grips for Pro Grip gel grips, took off almost all the body panels and washed
and waxed them. I also worked with Sam to create a nice route from the San
Francisco Bay Area through Yosemite to Tonopah, NV to Cedar City, UT [using
at one point the Extra-terrestrial Hwy. (NV 375)] to Bryce Canyon to Torrey,
UT to Avon, CO.
We started out Friday morning, gathering riders as we headed east, until
we had approximately 12 people in Torrey on Saturday evening. We split up
on the final leg from Torrey, UT to Avon, CO. Four of us,
Don Simone, SW AAD,
Bob Van Stee, COG logo graphic
guru, Ange and I, opted for the scenic/long route and headed southeast through
Glen Canyon Recreational Area on UT 95, then up to Moab, UT, then cut over
on scenic UT 128 to I-70 for the final blitz over to Avon (love those 75mph
speed limits and the flow of traffic that goes with them!!). We arrived in
Avon Sunday afternoon, 1,400 miles on the trip meter, with 70 - 80 bikes already
at the lodge. This would be the biggest rally I ever attended, and I knew
that the final count on Wednesday might approach 300 people.
Having the whole underground parking area for the COG was fantastic - a few
rows with almost nothing but Concours (a few non-conformists had to bring
other scoots). Christie Lodge also created a
bike washing area with spray hoses and towels, and Ron Ramlow provided
S100 cleaner (which went quickly each day, but what little I got use worked
beautifully). There was definite excitement in the air as more and more riders
kept showing up that evening, and the size and professionalism of the event
became more apparent. This was going to be a rally to remember.
I looked forward to the ride on Monday to
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, as I had never been there
before. It turned out to be very memorable. Allow me to set the stage: I was
with a group of 6 bikes while riding through the Park. We had two very experienced
and capable street riders, myself, who is still somewhat prone to riding beyond
my skill level and keeping up with the first two, and 3 others. Upon entering
the park, the two experienced riders were #1 & #2, I was #5. As the saying
goes, anyone can go fast in a straight line, it takes experience and skill
to go quickly in the turns. Our better riders gradually put distance between
themselves and the rest of us. I was antsy to pass #3 & #4, but after
poorly handling a couple of turns and not seeing a real good opportunity to
pass, I reluctantly decided caution was in order, and to focus on my technique.
#3 soon waved # 4 to pass him (later commenting that our pace was a little
too quick for him). The "need-for-speed" finally got the better
of me, and I decided to pass #3 & #4 and pick up the pace. But, I had
noticed the now #3 rider getting a little squirrelly every few turns. I opted
to find a passing spot with lots of room. Before I could find such a spot,
we approached a turn and I was horrified to see a puff of smoke from #3's
rear tire. A quick glance confirmed, that despite our 50 mph or so speed,
his rear tire wasn’t moving. My first observation was the runoff area,
8-10' of a dirt drainage area followed by LOTS of trees. I mentally tried
talking him through letting off the brake and riding out the turn. I watched
in slow motion as the back-end stepped out, and he gracefully low-sided. I
remember that when I crashed, it happened so fast that I couldn’t remember
going from rubber-side down to sideways. When watching a crash, it takes FOREVER.
I had time to tell Ange that he was going down. Fortunately, the centerstand
dragged along the road and changed the direction of his slide away from the
trees and more parallel to the road. To my surprise, he didn’t let go
of the bike. The smooth slide ended quickly when he hit the dirt. The bike
ended up catching on something and high-siding, with its rider still holding
on tightly. Momentum overcame finger strength, and his body went flying into
the embankment. The two us right behind him stopped quickly on the road next
him, and were beside him in seconds (at which point slow-motion recollection
ended, and went back to a more expected blur). I can’t tell you how unnerving
it is to approach someone in this situation, who you know, who is face-down
and motionless. Within seconds, he started regaining consciousness. He had
no external injuries, and other than being very sore, seemed to be okay. He
had crashed in the middle of the Park, and even though 911 had been called
via cellular phone within minutes, it took 40+ minutes for the Rangers (who
are trained paramedics) to arrive, and longer still for the ambulance. He
was very lucky and suffered only bruising, which required crutches for over
a week, and a totaled bike. Had it been another turn, it could have involved
a 600ft. free-fall.
I detailed all this for a few reasons. First and foremost, this is a reminder
to ride within your limits. Our bruised comrade admitted to riding over his
head. When I talked to him last night, he had reviewed some pictures of the
crash scene, and commented that it was a fairly easy turn. He mentioned remembering
the trees quite vividly. It sounds like a classic case of target-fixation.
Though a long time motorcyclist, he had been street riding for only 6 months.
He was trying to keep up with very good riders, who were not pushing it by
any stretch, but were going quicker than he could, safely. He had plenty of
warning signs that he was riding too fast. He ignored those warnings and paid
the price. Find a group riding at a pace you are comfortable with. For pushing
your limits, go to the track. Second, for anyone who didn’t know this:
If you go down on a street bike, not only do not hold on, but get the bike
as far away from you as you can. Your body will stop sliding much sooner than
plastic and metal sliding on concrete or asphalt, and the bike can only hurt
you. So, let go of it! Third, insurance took care of our fallen rider, and
he has purchased a replacement ‘95 Concours from Wilson Cycles of Fresno,
CA (Wilson’s is an industry member, and Don Simone, SW AAD works at the
shop) and ordered an Aerostitch suit. I’m was glad to hear that one of
his moans, while laying on the ground - "Man, my wife gonna make me sell
the bike now," didn’t happen. He is continuing street riding (he’s
joining the SW COG ride at Mammoth Mtn in Sept.) and sticking to the Conine
& COG. Lastly, if you are far from home and friends, don’t crash
at the far end of a 350 mile loop. It makes for a very long day when you do
the loop once on the bike, and a second time in a truck. Not to mention that
roads which are a blast on the bike are a serious chore with a Suburban and
a trailer, and even worse when you are in deer country (oh yea, that reminds
me - Ramlow, I forgot to tell you, the ABS brakes on your Suburban work great!).
It turned out that we had 2 other riders go down that same day within the
park. However; the other two were not serious incidents, and the required
replacement parts were borrowed from the totaled bike. As a reminder to everyone
to be careful, the totaled ‘95 Connie was prominently
displayed at the entrance of the garage, right next to the bike washing
area. It must have worked, as there were no other incidents for the rest of
the week.
Tuesday morning, Kawasaki treated everyone willing to get up and moving by
7am (200+ people) to a wonderful breakfast under a big tent out in front of
Christie Lodge. Kawasaki had also provided the very professional name tags
everyone received. I was amazed by how much Kawasaki did for our club at this
rally. Despite Kawasaki’s policy of not subsidizing/ influencing clubs,
their support at the rally was substantial. I’m sure the rally would
have been great even without Kawasaki, but they sure added to the level of
class of the event.
Wednesday morning, COG’s executive board held its quarterly board meeting,
the first face-to-face meeting in quite a while. I was impressed by how much
the officers of this club contribute of their time and energy to this organization.
My hats off to all of you. The quality of our club is in large part due to
their efforts. Be sure to thank them the next time you talk to one of them.
Nick Ienatsch’s presentation was Wednesday midday, and he was a fantastic
speaker. He provided a very lively, entertaining, informative presentation
for 2 hours, and then stuck around for a few more hours talking with those
who hung out in the afternoon under the big tent.
The banquet Wednesday night was excellent.
Ron Ramlow pulled off a great evening with the combination of tasty food,
quality guest speakers, and numerous raffles prizes. 
Bob Moffit, Kawasaki VP of Sales, was refreshingly open and straightforward
about motorcycling, Kawasaki, and the Concours, including sales figures. The
good news is Kawasaki is committed to the Concours for the long run. I hope
that the good will and generosity Kawasaki showed at this rally reflects that
commitment (and not just Ron’s ability to pull together a great rally
). I spent some time talking privately with Mr. Moffit, who sought out our
comments, suggestions, desires, complaints, and kudos. During his speech,
it appeared that he had listened well to the many COG members to whom he had
talked . Hopefully, this improved dialogue with Kawasaki will translate into
an improved Concours which continues its current tradition of providing a
very capable bike at a tremendous value.
Following Bob’s speech and Q&A session, Tom Adams presented Rich
Reed with an
honorary Life Membership for his contribution to COG. As one of many who
highly value the Best Of Chalkdust, I say congratulations, and thank you to
Rich for his years of service to COG performing well above and beyond the
call of duty. The raffle topped off the evening. I couldn’t believe how
many raffle prizes were available. One of the top prizes was a complete set
of Braking Systems aftermarket replacement performance brake rotors and pads
provided by company owner Ludovic Boinnard. We also had numerous other prizes,
including Gen-Mar risers, gift certificates (Gene Wagner, owner of Gen-Mar
Co., and Wendall Phillip, owner of Lockhart-Phillip, were in attendance!),
leather jackets, tshirts, tires, caps, etc. The prizes seemed to just keep
coming. The most touching part of the evening for me came after the rally
when big Al Kinney came over and hit me up to buy raffles tickets for the
rotors. It turns out that Andy Glass, winner of the brake rotors and pads,
had donated the rotors for Al to raise money for Karen Hughes, widow of Doug
Hughes, NW AD. Al spent the rest of the evening, and into Thursday morning,
hawking tickets, and with the generosity of COG members, raised almost $900
for Karen. As Rich Reed wrote on COGnet, "Andy, wherever you are, you
are a class act. No motels for you when you tour the northwest; you are welcome
here anytime." I’ll add my ‘Dittos’, and that the same
offer applies to the SF Bay area. Andy, thanks for being the generous person
that you are.
To Ron and Carol Ramlow, and everyone else that helped pull together this
most memorable rally, I say thank you. This was a spectacular event surrounded
by some of the best motorcycle roads in the country, with a wonderful group
of people. Life doesn’t get much better.
Friday morning, Ange and I headed
home. We went from Avon, CO to Reno, NV, 900 miles, in 14 hours. I’ve
never gotten below 40mpg before, but on one tank this time I got 32mpg! With
the Rifle windscreen, a throttle lock, and a Camel-Bak, the 900 miles was
easy, and with my new Pro Grip gel grips (model 714), my hands didn’t
tingle like a tuning fork at day’s-end (I love these grips). Rick Hall
(webmeister extraordinaire), I’m still impressed by your 1,500
miles in 24 hours on a stock ‘94 Connie, but a standard butt-burner
on a Connie would be a cinch even with a passenger (unbelievably, I have a
wife who will go a whole tank without asking for a stop - which makes all
the difference in the world when trying to covering a lot of ground quickly).
Saturday, I took Ange for a spin around Tahoe, then quick-footed it across
108 degree Sacramento valley to get home to.... the big West Coast power outage
and a 90+ degree home. Oh well, so much for a great ending. Hey, at least
I didn’t crash this time!
Lawrence
