Doug Logston | Colorado
213 riders gathered at Foothills BMW, Lakewood, CO, early on August 2nd for the 15th annual “100,000 Foot Ride,” sponsored by the BMW Motorcycle Club of Colorado.
A 100,000 foot ride (approx 19 miles) may not seem like much of a challenge for most readers of this newsletter. But when that 100,000 feet is measured in altitude rather than distance, the ride becomes an all day event. The ride is structured to take one over enough mountain passes to total over 100,000 feet in elevation in a single day. This achievement is not attainable anywhere else in North America and perhaps the world. The route provided one with magnificent Colorado scenery and some very entertaining motorcycle roads to ride upon.
Our group of seven riders included Bob “Dog” Maddocks (BMW R1200GSA) and guest Mike Foy (Can-AM Spyder), Phil Tarman (Honda NT700VA) and guest Ken Malone (Yamaha FJR1300), Dan Larson (Honda VFR1200F), John Somers (BMW K1200RS) and Doug Logston (Honda CBR1100XX).
After checking in at the registration table, picking up an event t-shirt, route map and sampling some breakfast goodies, it was time to mount up and head west. My clock read 7:25 AM. Traffic on I-70 was already building and we were anxious to get through Idaho Springs, ahead of weekend traffic.
As I checked my mirrors, I was having difficulty spotting six helmets. So I pulled off at a turn-out to count noses and realized that one of our group was missing. After a few minutes wait, Ken caught up with the group.
L—R: Ken Malone, John Somers, Doug Logston, Dan Larson
Everyone appeared to be smiling, so we saddled up and rode to the exit for Loveland Pass and began our ascent to 11,990 feet and the Continental Divide. We stopped at the top for photos and realized our group had shrunk to four riders. A couple minutes later Ken pulled in and told us that Mike had a low oil condition on his Can-Am and that it was struggling to reach 50 mph. And that Dog had stayed behind with his guest. I attempted to call Dog on my cell phone, but no luck.
Our group of five continued on US-6 past Arapahoe Basin, Keystone and stopped in Dillon to gas up. Back on US-6 we chose not to ride to the summit of Vail Pass, in the interest of time (there was a catered barbeque supper waiting for us at the end of the day), and proceeded south on CO-91 over Fremont Pass (11,318’) to Leadville.
The 3-day celebration known as Boom Days, featuring the area’s mining heritage, had Leadville’s main drag closed. So north and south bound traffic was forced to detour east of downtown. I got to see a portion of Leadville I hadn’t seen previously.
Continuing south on US-24, we turned right onto CO-82 and rode up to Independence Pass (12,095’). Lo and behold, there was Bob Maddocks, waiting for us to arrive. Bob said he’d convinced Mike Foy to return to the Denver area and find a Can-Am dealership to look over his ailing ride. Then Bob set out to catch up to the rest of us . . . in a hurry.
Bob “Dog” Maddocks
Our descent from Independence Pass was a quick one. Turning south onto US-24 we headed for Buena Vista. BV looked like a good place to find lunch, but first we visited Cottonwood Pass (12,126’). I’d never been to the top of this one before. The east side of Cottonwood Pass is paved. The west side of the Pass . . . not so much. We rode back down the east side, enjoying the switch-backs, good asphalt and light traffic.
We found a convenient Conoco station in Buena Vista to fill our gas tanks. The troops made it clear that their stomachs needed filling as well. As they looked at me expectantly, I scanned the vicinity and spied the Branding Iron Grille about 100 yards from the gas station. “There’s lunch, gentlemen,” I said with resolve. The grille proved to be a very good place for a mid-day repast and the conversation around the table was delightful.
Phil Tarman
It was about 2:00 PM when we pointed our bikes east on US-24 toward Hartsel, Floris-sant and Woodland Park. Due to the late hour, our group agreed to bypass Monarch Pass and Poncha Pass, just to make sure we got back to Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and the evening meal being catered by Bennett’s Bar-B-Que, on time.
A brisk pace was maintained across Trout Creek Pass (9346’), Wilkerson Pass (9507’) and Ute Pass (9165’). Fortunately, there were no “performance” awards collected by our group as we traversed Chaffee, Park and Teller Counties.
At Woodland Park, Bob Maddocks broke off from our flight formation and continued east to Colorado Springs and home. The remaining five riders turned north on CO-67 and chased each other through the sweepers to Deckers, then farther north on CR-126 to US-285 at Pine Junction. US-285 led us back to C-470. North on C-470 to I-70 and then west to Wheat Ridge, ar-riving at 5:25 PM for the evening barbecue.
I really enjoyed the day, the route and the company of men riding with me. I logged a total of 420 miles on the day, visited seven mountain passes with a total elevation of 75,547 feet. Good times indeed!
