Back in September of 2007, I first ran across an article on a company called d3olab.com and blogged about it. It sure sounded like just the ticket for slim yet protective armor pads to wear in one's riding gear: LINK
A year went by, nothing for us motorcyclists yet but d3o then made the news on the blogsphere again when they came out with versions of their armor for the police and some really expensive riding gear: LINK
Today, I spotted this report (with video) on the gizmag.com tech blog:
source: gizmag.com
Gizmag: d3o's body armour claims to be soft and flexible throughout the day, but to harden up instantly under impact. As such it's been a big hit in the snowboarding market, where it can make clothing protective and impact-resistant without it looking like you're wearing armour. But now d3o are branching out into the motorcycle armour market - so how does this thin, bright orange wonder armour compare against the traditional thick foam CE armour pads you find in motorcycle leathers? Editor Noel McKeegan attacks Loz Blain with a heavy frying pan to find out. Read the whole article
Long story short, the above author is impressed with the thinness and flexibility of the d3o armor but finds it's not quite as "protective" the conventional armor that was tested at the same time by the "frying pan" method. Then again, in a crash, frying pans are rarely involved, not to mention repeated impacts to the same area while one is coming to a stop.
The armor is presently in use by the athletes on the US Olympic Team and apparently doing great by them.
Great potential is seen of the armor offerings by d30 and I for one look forward to trying their stuff out with my Cycleport Gear. Assuming the cost is not too high of course! For instance, to upgrade the trilaminate armor to the four layer laminate armor (claimed to offer 50% more protection by them) offered by Cycleport, the cost was $300 more I dimly recall. So if the cost of the d3o stuff is less......
Oh, and the trilaminate armor that is standard fare with my Cycleport gear did just fine in my one and only lowside crash back in June of 2008: LINK.
An overcast day today for us here in the Denver Metro area, but with temperatures in the low 40s, it was Brigitta's turn for a little ride near Buckley Air Force Base.
Brigitta felt a little weird when I first rode out of my neighborhood. She felt like I was riding on a flat rear tire to tell the truth! I stopped at a nearby side street, got out my small air pressure gauge and the tire pressure was at 34 P.S.I. just as I had checked it minutes before during my pre-ride safety checks. Weird.
I headed on back home, used the pressure gauge on my air compressor and again, it was 34 P.S.I! I pushed down on her tail end and she seemed a bit "spongy". I asked my wife to take a look as I sat on Brigitta and she also thought she was a bit "springy". A few minutes examining the shock and the motorcycle in general rendered nothing untoward. Writing it off as not enough riding on her, I rode off again in search of sights.
I headed north on Gun Club Rd from Quincy Rd, thinking to take pictures of some carved wooden animals near the Aurora Gun Club. Once I got there though, a fence line prevented near enough positioning of Brigitta with the said animals in the background so I bagged on the idea.
Continuing north on Gun Club Rd however, I spotted the high overpass ramp that is part of the E-470 Tollway arcing over the I-70 Super Slab. Thinking it would make for a nice "artsy" background, I headed in that direction, found a frontage road which gave me this angle on the overpass:
I like to picture objects which "lead" the eye, there's probably a name for such an effect but I don't know it
Continuing on along the frontage road, I saw off in a field an oversized small letter h next to a housing development sign for horizonuptown.com. I made to get closer to the oversized letter to use it as a background. The trail leading in its general direction was packed dirt and I had good traction. Things changed quite a lot when I got off the trail and was on the field itself. It was that squishy, slick Colorado clay/mud combination which I'd found before to my dismay!
I gave up on trying to get closer to the h, instead slowly and unsteadily made my way via a wide u-turn back to the dirt trail and firmer traction. I could feel the rear wheel wanting to fishtail on me, not good. Fortunately, I made it with minimal dog paddling back to the trail without dropping Brigitta
Here's Brigitta back on the dirt trail and as close as I was going to get today to that letter h!
Colorado has some amazingly slick and glue-like mud that is mostly clay, nasty stuff
Now to the title of the posting, the sights above are to the east and north of nearby Buckley Air Force Base. The base's several large golf ball shaped housings for satellite downlink dishes are visible for miles around and are a local landmark of sorts.
I wandered near the golf balls and spotted what looked like the Air Force's newest transport plane, the C-17, parked real close to the border of the base, near where Gun Club Rd becomes Sixth Avenue. It was quite the imposing sight and I maneuvered Brigitta onto the San Simeon Catholic Cemetery's parking lanes for this shot:
The view from San Simeon Catholic Cemetery
The grayness of the skies played a bit of havoc with the light meter on my camera and so all of the above pictures were tweaked somewhat using the tools at picnik.com. As I played with said tools on the last picture, I realized a bit of cropping and some extreme tweaking of color saturation, temperature and light exposure and contrast could render a photo that evoked perhaps a bit of mystery, perhaps the atmosphere of the airplane's presence at some exotic location with weird shaped buildings nearby.....what do you think?
The forecasted snow probabilities for the next two days have gone from 20-30% to 30-40%, we shall see how much snow we get. Glad I got Brigitta out today, she ran fine after that initial weirdness, which I am sure now is because I am not riding her often enough during the winter!
After spending the early afternoon watching a matinee movie with my two sons (Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief), I got home around 3:30 PM and proceeded to take off the knobby Uralshina tire from the pusher position and put back into place the Duro Street tire. Things went much smoother this time than when I did the original swap on Friday!
I guess practice makes perfect and I also had help from my loving wife. I'd get the tires in position, with their top edge bumping into the lower edge of the rear fender; then I'd lift up on the fender and my wife would push or pull as the situation dictated. The task is much simpler with two people!
Of course, then I had to go a "test ride" didn't I? : )
About 30 miles later, the wheel had managed to stay attached and no braking issues involving the pusher tire. All was well. By this time is was around 5:00 PM and the golden hour had started. The golden hour is that hour near sunrise and sunset when the sun paints the landscape with a golden yellow color, makes for good photos sometimes.
I was on Quincy Road and turned onto a side road where I could move slowly up and down the road and not have to worry about traffic. I wanted a picture of my profile as I rode Natasha, with our shadows cast upon a background of tall dry grass:
After shooting the many shots to achieve the one above, I looked for a good spot to position Natasha to get a sunset picture of her. Shooting into the sun, as you might imagine, is quite difficult. At least, it is for me. I set the camera to go into exposure bracketing mode and shot many photos.
I still had to do some color and exposure manipulation via picnik.com, I hope you like the result. Come warmer weather, the large fairing on Natasha will be removed and her more classic motorcycle looks will come through better in such lighting situations I hope.
All in all, a pretty nice day here in Colorado. The snow we got on Valentine's Day is almost all gone except for the shaded areas. It was in the high 30s as I rode about in the late afternoon so I was comfortable. Hope you got some riding in today......
I awoke to temperatures in the low teens, about three inches of fresh snow on the ground and still snowing. Perfect weather for the second gathering of the Denver Uralisti as we sought to ride the Elephant Ride on Valentine's Day.
Sure, mere mortals would spend the day cuddling with their significant other, speaking sweet phrases into each other's ears and rejoicing in each other's company. Well, I am here to tell you, with the exception of my wife (who'd just worked a 12hr shift at the hospital), the other three Uralisti brought along their wives again and we had a blast riding on Valentine's Day! There was I am sure much cuddling in order to try and stay warm as they rode along, and I am sure the sweet phrases they spoke to each other over the motorcycle intercoms were warming in nature. You know, stuff like: "Holy crap, slow down will you?!" or "I can't feel my toes anymore honey!". Yes, there was much rejoicing amongst us Uralisti as we rode along.
We all rendezvoused at the Conoco gas station outside of Morrison, just north of US285 around 8:00 AM. It was snowing pretty good and by 8:20 am or so, there were three Urals, one 1150GS towing a Rokon owned by Uralista Dana from Vail, CO, making us 6 Uralisti waiting for the fourth Ural rig to show up.
At the gas station near Morrison, CO
photo courtesy of Spat and Cookie
Jay and Deana however, had managed to miss the exit to Morrison from US285 and had continued on into Turkey Creek Canyon though and then accidentally got a portion of Deana's blanket caught on the sidecar's drive shaft! They dropped us a message and by 8:38 AM we were off as a group to go find them.
Shortly afterwards, we saw them by the side of the road, looking like they were gearing up. All was well and the only damage was to the blanket and the dust cap on the left side of the sidecar wheel. No harm done to the rig so we could continue on together!
Deana showing us the damage to the blanket
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
We were now four Ural rigs strong and headed into the snow storm, making our way to Conifer where Jay would end up tanking up his rig and we'd meet up once again with Dana who'd gone ahead with his 1150GS Tug and Sidecar, towing his Rokon motorcycle.
On US285 heading west towards Conifer, CO
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
It was here at the Conifer gas station that we also linked up with this older gentleman who was also enroute to the Elephant Ride on his Yamaha Sidecar Rig:
Here's the Yamaha with sidecar we linked up with at Conifer
Here's Dana's 2003 1150GS and sidecar rig, towing his Rokon motorcycle
The Rokon is front and rear wheel driven! They may be slow but apparently they are unstoppable.
We made it to Grant, CO a little after 10:00 AM, just an hour or so behind schedule. It had stopped snowing by then but it was still pretty brisk with the temperatures still in the teens. Pit stops were made, I linked up with Ken Bingenheimer (Examiner.com's National Motorcycle Examiner) who was to ride with me today. I was glad for his company as I was anticipating some pushing and lifting of the rig as we negotiated the road up to Guanella Pass. (click on Ken's name above for his take on the Elephant Ride and how the ride came to be).
The settlement of Grant, CO is small and you really can't miss the sign
photo courtesy of Julie and Craig
Here's the gentleman from Golden, CO and his Yamaha Sidecar Rig, his name is Happy
He walks with a cane, has to hoist his leg onto the motorcycle using his arms, definitely hard core!
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
Craig and Julie along with some Rokons in the marshalling area for the ride
photo courtesy of Spat and Cookie
The Urals in the marshalling area, that's Spat by his white Ural
photo courtesy of Julie and Craig
Jay's probably thinking "a windshield for our Ural just made the "must have" list
photo courtesy of Julie and Craig
Another shot of the Rokons as they prepared to ride off ahead of us
photo courtesy of Julie and Craig
Soon enough, we Urals formed up and with John and Cookie in the lead in their white Ural, we crossed over US285 and started up towards Guanella Pass. The first couple of miles were flat and plowed, so no big deal. Things got more interesting for me once we passed the sign which declared there was no winter maintenance beyond that point!
Ken and I riding along, just before we caught up with the Rokons and passed them
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
A very nice picture of the valley we rode by on the way up to Guanella Pass
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
There were stretches of road where the snow was about 4-6 inches deep and very loose and rutted! Everyone's Urals were fishtailing and it was hard to keep going in a straight direction since once you became trapped into a rut in the snow, you were going to go the way whomever had created that rut had taken!
There was for example, one stretch where the rut I got stuck in seemed to be going too close towards the left snow bank. I tried turning the front wheel full to the right and I still kept going down the rut! It was interesting times until I got the hang of things. The tricky parts were when two wheeled motorcycles who'd started ahead of us would stop somewhat in the road and we had to slow down and make our way past them. This of course meant moving into the deeper snow on the side of the roads and it was key to keep forward motion, otherwise you'd get stuck!
Eventually, we got past a hairpin turn or two and stopped near a group of two-wheeled motorcycles who were resting before tackling the last mile or so to the top of the pass:
Here we stopped for a bit, about a couple of miles short of the summit I think
Here's Deana in their blue Ural Patrol, next to Natasha
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
Behind the rigs, you can see the two-wheeled guys heading up the steep grade we'd be tackling next
Julie and Craig in their Ural Artic Gear-UP, note the Valentine's Day Balloon!
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
Once most of the two-wheeled riders had motored their way up the slope, it was our turn to move up in stately formation. It was actually quite easy going once we were past the slope in the pictures above. Heck, there were points where you could see the pavement since the snow was dry and being blown off the road by the winds which were hitting us from up above.
courtesy of Deana and Jay
Here's pictures of the farthest point which we made it to, there was a snow drift blocking the road which was way higher than the ground clearance on our Urals! John and Cookie, who were in the lead, made a run for it and got stuck trying to get past the drift. So we stopped and turned the rigs around to take pictures:
Note the deepness of the drift, only the two-wheeled motorcycles were barely making it through, some needing a push or two from their buddies. That's Cookie in the sidecar, I believe that shallower rut on the right is as far as their rig got before getting high-centered.
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
You can see here the stiff winds that were blowing the snow around and which had caused the big drift of snow which stopped us from reaching the summit. I am told by Dana who was on the Rokon that we were about a bit over four miles from the summit at this point. Oh well, maybe next year. Note, doesn't Cookie look like she's having such a good time?
Spat took these two pictures of Dana as he negotiated the big snow drift which stopped the Urals.
;
Courtesy of Deana and Jay
As you can see, even on Rokons, you still get to experience contact with Nature at times! However, most of the Rokon riders made it all the way to the summit! They may be slow, but they sure will get there!
We started heading down and I found the going pretty easy, perhaps it was because I was getting used to being on rutted, loose snow or perhaps because I was able to use engine braking more effectively to control our downward progress. Either way, I sure was glad I'd taken the time yesterday to put the knobby tire I usually carried as a spare, on the motorcycle as the pusher tire!
Note my Uralshina knobby pusher tire, then compare against the Uralshina street tire on the sidecar
photo courtesy Deana and Jay
Ken and I coming down
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
John (Spat) and Cookie coming down
The Four Uralisti of Denver
You'll notice there's plenty more room for other Uralisti in the Denver Metro Area to join us for these rides!
Just drop me a line via comment, the more the merrier!
To the other Uralisti in or near Denver, come on, can't you picture your Ural in the lineup as well?
After the pictures, we all started heading down. John and Cookie were leading as before, I was third in line with Deana and Jay bringing up the rear. Shortly after the following picture I believe, we came upon a truck stopped on the right half of the road and I saw that John had somehow gotten stuck in the snow bank on the left side of the road!
Ken and I heading down towards Grant
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
Here's John I think attaching a tow strap onto the Ural, the crew would end up pulling on it while he backed the Ural out of the snow bank. Easy recovery!
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
A short video showing the scene as Ken and I arrived to where Spat had gone into the snowbank
Apparently, as John went past the stopped truck, his front wheel got "pulled in" by the snowbank on the left and before he knew it, they were stuck.
Here's Cookie smiling from the now unstuck Ural
photo courtesy of Deana and Jay
We continued on down towards Grant with no further issues and assembled back in the parking lot where all the riders had parked their vehicles. Four Urals went up and four Urals came back down, no damage and no one got hurt....I'd call that a pretty successful adventure!
We left the area around 12:45 PM or so and headed back towards Denver on roads that were now clear and only slight wet. Temperatures were in the 20s I think by this point and the sun was out, it still felt quite "brisk" however and I was glad the plan was to stop at a diner in Bailey, CO for some lunch and to warm up.
Craig and Julie had gone ahead back home so it was just John and Cookie, Deana and Jay and myself at the diner. We had us a leisurely lunch and thawed out nicely after a cup or two of hot coffee!
Once we were thawed out and our bellies full, we made our way back home on US285. The roads were mostly dry and riding was no problem. I waved goodbye to John and Cookie along with Deana and Jay near Conifer where they peeled off for fuel. I had enough to get me home and so I kept on going.
I made it home shortly after 4:30 PM, having ridden about 236 Km or almost 142 miles, with perhaps 6-7 hrs in the saddle. A good day of riding with my fellow Uralisti!
