A Colorado Mountain ride with an unexpected turn of events, 10-11-2020

SkunkWorks

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Colorado
This ride happened a little over a month ago, and what started out as a sunny blue-sky day ended up being a tad bit worse, and far longer than I expected.
Luckily I had packed extra layers and gear............they turned out to be a lifesaver!

I knew I was going up into the high-country that day, so I wore my LD-Comfort "Long-Johns" both top and bottom.
I filled my Camelbak bladder, packed some snacks, some extra insulated gloves, and an additional "Warm-R" top layer in my tail-bag and off I went.

I took my usual favorite route into the foothills. Deer Creek Canyon, High Grade Rd, and Pleasant Park Rd to make my way to Hwy-285.
The rest of the route through the high-plains was a bit windy, but the sun was out and shining to warm up the day.
I stopped for fuel in Poncha Springs and made my way to Marshall Pass.

There were a few Jeeps gathered at the start of the Pass road, but other than that barely any traffic.
This was my first time over Marshall pass. I've wanted to check it out for awhile, and today was the day.
Stopped for a couple pictures of O'Haver Lake, and continued on.

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The road itself was pretty mellow and easy. There were a few small sections of embedded rocks and potholes, but nothing I would even call slightly challenging.

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I stopped for a rest and a snack-break at a campsite along the road. I saw a few dirt-bikes and SxS's go by while I sat.

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Toward the farther end of this road there were a few beaver-dams along the creek, and the grey clouds were starting to move in.

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Marshall Creek
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I made my way out to US Hwy-50 at Sargents, and then rode up Monarch Pass to "Old Monarch Pass"
This was also a dirt-road that I have never been on, but wanted to check out.

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SkunkWorks

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I made my way up to the summit, and down the other side.
The wind was starting to pick up, and there were a bunch of previously blown-down trees next-to, and sometimes in the road.
None of them were blocking, so I continued through.

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Snow coming down to the north of where I was.
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I continued down the other side, and over Black Sage Pass to Eldorado Gulch.

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Past a field where the mining-town of Bowerman once stood.

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SkunkWorks

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I made my way over Waunita Pass to the town of Pitkin.

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Pitkin City-Hall
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My original plan was to ride over Cumberland Pass to Taylor Park, and come home via Cottonwood Pass and Hwy-285.
Clouds were darker but it was still dry, so I pressed-on with my original plan.

As I made my way towards Cumberland pass it was starting to sprinkle lightly.
I pulled off to put on my extra Warm-R layer, and switch to my insulated waterproof gloves.
I continued on up the pass, and the sprinkling rain quickly turned to light-snow.
The rocky-dirt road was just damp, so I kept going.

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There was a lone ATV up there with two people on it that I passed.
Once I got to the summit it was snowing a bit more, but still wasn't that bad so I kept going down the other side towards Taylor Park.
Snow was starting to build up on my wind-screen and Helmet as I rode. It was at this point that I pulled out my "SAE-to-RCA" harness and plugged in my Helmet face-shield. (It's a Bell MX-9 Adventure, with an electric heated dual-layer shield)

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I made my way down to the town of Tincup. Once down to that elevation it was back to raining lightly.

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This would be the last picture I took on the day.

I continued on to Taylor Park and it was raining a bit harder, but still only raining. It was around 40-degrees F once I reached Taylor Park.
It was getting later in the afternoon and I figured I would quickly get up and over Cottonwood pass before it got any colder.
I started up the pass and the rain quickly turned to snow...................The road remained wet so I pushed-on.
As I went further up the pass there were parts of the pavement where snow was starting to accumulate. I still had good traction so I cautiously continued up the pass.
I could feel that the road surface was wet underneath.
The farther up I went, the temps were dropping, and the snow was building up deeper on the road. I was starting to get a bit worried...............................The bike continued to motor onward.
It was snowing harder, and I kept brushing the snow build-up off the face-shield but the heating elements kept it fog-free!
At one point I was following a car, keeping a safe distance back. I glanced at the ambient-temp reading, and it read 28-degrees F!
We were maybe 3/4 of a mile to the summit when the car up ahead of me stopped. I immediately stopped and I noticed the car was starting to slide back down towards me!
I tried to move toward the side................The back wheel spun a bit and the TCS kicked-in and cut the power..............At this point there was no more going "Up" the road.
I did not panic, but I knew I had to get the bike turned around and quickly get out of the way of that car (who was now trying to turn around while sliding down the Mountain towards me)
The front wheel slid as I tried to turn around. My feet were sliding on the icy-snow, but I managed to get the bike sideways and gently pointed downhill without dropping it.
I had a slight sense of relief as I started down, but then could feel the ABS working overtime trying to negotiate the first couple switchbacks.............I wasn't out of danger yet.
I very slowly crept forward and gingerly around the turns to get myself down to safer elevations.
There were a few cars and trucks still making their way up the pass as i made my way back down.......................with each turn and each mile I could watch the temp reading slowly climbing, and the road surface gaining grip turning from snowy to wet.
I made it safely back down to Taylor Park, and I knew my only escape at this point was down into Gunnison so that's where I went.
There were a series of police-cars, fire-trucks, and ambulances speeding toward the pass once I was on my way along the Taylor River. I could only imagine what happened up there after I turned around..........................I hoped no-one was seriously hurt.

I stopped at a fuel station in town. The sun was out and the sky was blue! All of the weather was to the north of me.
I quickly assessed my options. Traded my now-soaked waterproof gloves for my dry Sand-3 gloves and got something hot to eat at the fuel station.
I decided that Monarch Pass was my desirable option so off I went.
It was cold and damp near the top, but not snowing or icy.
I continued east on US Hwy-50 through Canon-City and tried to turn north on Hwy-114, but there was a police Road-block due to a wild-fire. I had to turn around and detour through Pueblo to get home.
I ended up arriving home around 10:00PM, a little over 13-hours after i left that morning.
I was thankful to be home!
A soak in the Hot-tub renewed the warmth to my bones after that cold-wet ride!

 

holligl

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Glad you made it safely! Can't believe you got out without a drop. What tires did you have on?

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SkunkWorks

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Glad you made it safely! Can't believe you got out without a drop. What tires did you have on?

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I have to say, I am thankful that I had "recently-new" Mitas E07-Dakars on the bike.
They gripped amazingly well, in the dirt, in the wet, and even in the snow.
I am certain that the outcome would have been far worse had I not had those tires on the bike.
 

SkunkWorks

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Great story. I got caught on a mountain pass once in similar conditions that had me getting ready to meet my maker.


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When that car started sliding back down the road towards me, I thought it was going to end badly for me..................................I'm glad I made it off that Mountain.
 

Paul466

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Mar 16, 2013
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Littleton, Colorado
There "May" have been a long-boring straight stretch of road between Canon-City and Pueblo...........................
Nice! I will never forget spending a night on Marshall pass when my shock mount broke and it started to rain, love that ride but every time I do Marshall pass my mind goes to worry mode:) My INREACH paid for itself that night. Awesome pics!!
 

Ladlesport

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Parkland County Alberta, Canada
That looks like a great day of riding.
Glad you made it home safe and were able to warm up.

A good point to make about these details is always carry extra layers with you in the mountains regardless of what season it is.
 

Boondocker

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I think I would have had a much shorter story - not much for cold weather, but good on ya for knowing your limits and abiding to them.
Love the route-tracing video!
 

Skytower

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Norfolk, VA
Loved reading your story!
Heated gear is worth every penny I ever spent on it! Wish my helmet had a heated visor, but the Arai's pin-lock works well enough during daylight. Night time gives me a 2nd light refraction for every light...
 

Sierra1

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Joshua TX
I think I would have had a much shorter story - not much for cold weather, but good on ya for knowing your limits and abiding to them.
Love the route-tracing video!
+1. I have years of riding with air temps over 105. Piece of cake. The "stuff"? Nope. . . . not happening.
 

SkunkWorks

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Loved reading your story!
Heated gear is worth every penny I ever spent on it! Wish my helmet had a heated visor, but the Arai's pin-lock works well enough during daylight. Night time gives me a 2nd light refraction for every light...
I had a pinlock shield on my Shoei and it worked well. Far better than a standard "single-pane" shield. There were a couple instances that it started to fog up on me, but that was extremely rare.

This "Electric" shield on my Bell was a surprise to me.................I originally did not order it (and it was a $80 option if I remember correctly)
I ordered this particular helmet because it came with a breath-deflector and chin-curtain. It was supposed to come with a standard clear shield, but when it showed up it was fitted with the "Electric" one!
Bonus!

It uses a double-layer shield with a sealed air-gap in between.
It must use some sort of conductive coating on the inside of the shield to make the electrical circuit because one wire goes to the top-strip, and the other wire goes to the bottom-strip. They are not connected.

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It uses a standard "RCA" type plug for power and ground.

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I simply ordered an SAE-to-RCA adapter, and it will plug in to a "Y" splitter that also powers my tank-bag. I run the cord up inside the Zippered storm-flap of my Oxford Jacket..........There is plenty of extra length, and I can unplug one of the RCA connections below my jacket if i need to get off the bike.

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I had never used it before that day, but I was glad that I had the cords stashed in the side pocket of my tank-bag!
With the shield plugged-in, it will not fog up no matter what you do (I purposely tried) When I come to a stop and no air is flowing over the helmet, I can feel the warmth from the electric shield radiating on my nose......It is completely fog-proof!

When riding with the shield unplugged, it works like a regular shield. I have had it start to fog up on me a couple times riding to work on really cold mornings.
And the double-layer design will produce some annoying reflections if you are riding into the bright sun. Headlights at night weren't as big of an issue.
But it does work as intended.

I use a mirrored smoke-tinted shield during the summer months.
 

gunslinger_006

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May 21, 2016
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961
Location
Seattle, Washington
I had a pinlock shield on my Shoei and it worked well. Far better than a standard "single-pane" shield. There were a couple instances that it started to fog up on me, but that was extremely rare.

This "Electric" shield on my Bell was a surprise to me.................I originally did not order it (and it was a $80 option if I remember correctly)
I ordered this particular helmet because it came with a breath-deflector and chin-curtain. It was supposed to come with a standard clear shield, but when it showed up it was fitted with the "Electric" one!
Bonus!

It uses a double-layer shield with a sealed air-gap in between.
It must use some sort of conductive coating on the inside of the shield to make the electrical circuit because one wire goes to the top-strip, and the other wire goes to the bottom-strip. They are not connected.

View attachment 73796

It uses a standard "RCA" type plug for power and ground.

View attachment 73797

I simply ordered an SAE-to-RCA adapter, and it will plug in to a "Y" splitter that also powers my tank-bag. I run the cord up inside the Zippered storm-flap of my Oxford Jacket..........There is plenty of extra length, and I can unplug one of the RCA connections below my jacket if i need to get off the bike.

View attachment 73798

I had never used it before that day, but I was glad that I had the cords stashed in the side pocket of my tank-bag!
With the shield plugged-in, it will not fog up no matter what you do (I purposely tried) When I come to a stop and no air is flowing over the helmet, I can feel the warmth from the electric shield radiating on my nose......It is completely fog-proof!

When riding with the shield unplugged, it works like a regular shield. I have had it start to fog up on me a couple times riding to work on really cold mornings.
And the double-layer design will produce some annoying reflections if you are riding into the bright sun. Headlights at night weren't as big of an issue.
But it does work as intended.

I use a mirrored smoke-tinted shield during the summer months.
This is how snowmobile helmets work too. I have no idea what the conductor is on the inner shield either.


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