I Love to Get High on My Motorcycle and Make Photographs
It’s one of the most exhilarating experiences I can imagine.
I am somewhat of an avid motorcyclist. I don’t ride around town where all the cages seem intent on mowing you down like a pin on a bowling alley, but I love to take longer trips with my bike and my cameras and spend time at higher altitudes.
Maybe it is because I live in the desert that I crave the thinner air and cooler temps of the mountains. And the higher the better for me.
The photograph above was taken on Loveland Pass on a recent late-summer ride. I had just finished lunch in Georgetown and was heading south to spend the night in Leadville. I saw the sign for Loveland Pass just before I would have entered the Eisenhower Tunnel and had to make a decision. I hate traffic, and that part of I70 — while it is one of the very few freeways I would ever spend time on — was bumper to bumper going into the tunnel. I headed for the exit.
Loveland Pass, the slightly bent sign indicated, was only about 6 miles from the exit. And what a road that is. There are times when you wonder what they were thinking putting in a road with that percentage of incline. I was bouncing between second gear and third while the engine was doing its best to figure out just how much power we needed.
To say that road is steep is a real understatement.
When I finally reached the summit, the little pull-out had a car or two of folks wanting to take in vistas in all directions. A bit of a hike (at altitude… huff-puff) and you can feel like you are on top of the world.
I stopped for a water break and to put my jacket on. In 6 miles I had gone from long sleeve shirt to jacket weather and it was chilly.
Going down the mountain toward Frisco is a real blast. Lots of windy, twisty roads and beautiful scenery. Someday I am going to visit this area in the snow. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be.
One late summer ride a few years ago found me heading north from Delta, CO to Aspen, and then on to Leadville via Independence Pass. I will write about Independence Pass in another article… yeah, it’s that good.
McClure Pass just sort of shows up on you. A steady, but lovely twisted highway brings you to a lookout and pull-off that lets you see an expansive vista to the north and the east. The road isn’t cliffhanging exhilaration, but it has a special charm for me.
It is only one of several medium-height passes in that area, but definitely, a cool one to see.
Trail Ridge Road starts (for me, anyway) in Estes Park and goes over the top of the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. The road is the highest paved road in Colorado and the views of the mountains are nothing short of breathtaking.
When the park service decided to put the road over the top instead of through the canyons, it was most likely a pretty gutsy move. It may have been easier to follow a canyon, but making a road that would allow us mere mortal inhabitants of the earth a chance to see what it is like on the top of the world — well, in the USA anyway, is amazingly cool. We spend most of our time looking up at the mountains, now we get to look across and down at them.
Wow.
For a motorcyclist, the road is fantastic. Lots of twisties (you may call them curves), hairpins, high elevations, scenic views, and the wind. That glorious mountain wind that can feel warm, cold, biting, challenging, and painful… all in a matter of minutes. It is one of the reasons I love being up there on a motorcycle.
I feel the breezes. I smell the trees, the meadows, the flowers. I can feel every degree of temperature change as I leave Estes Park and enter RMNP.
Leaning left, leaning right… finding that line through the turn that lets the bike just roll smoothly on. That is one of the best things about motorcycling.
And being alone. That’s another good thing. The aloneness. A chance to connect back to yourself.
If you are around mountain-loving folks and especially motorcycle mountain-loving folks, you will hear about the infamous “Million Dollar Highway” that runs from Silverton, CO to Ouray, CO.
The road starts gentle enough as you leave Silverton heading north, but then you see it directly in front of you. A giant wall of a mountain with what looks like a ribbon going right up the side of it. You make a sharp, hairpin turn to the right and the climb begins in earnest. Gentle turns quickly become tight, almost knotted-like hairpins. And for those with weak constitutions, I would point out there are no guard rails. And the road ain’t that wide either.
No worries though, the drop-offs on both sides are completely verticle so you won't hit anything on the way down. Except at the end. I only caution you because the bulk of the road is 25–35 MPH and we who traverse it on two wheels would like to thank you all for not hot-dogging it.
One of the skills that riding a motorcycle teaches you is to be patient, be alert, and pay attention to everything around you. Front, sides, and back.
On the Million Dollar Highway, there simply is no room for error.
Not high by Colorado standards, but the incredible “Going to The Sun Road” is on the edge of a mountain and it does indeed feel like you are heading up and up and up. I won’t spoil the fun by getting specific, but there are times when you do think that you may be going directly up to the sun.
My visit in 2018 coincided with the massive fires and the image above shows the mix of a clearing storm with the heavy, acrid smoke. I made many deliberate photographs from the bike that morning (my birthday in 2018) because this is what it looked like.
There are a gazillion beautiful shots of Glacier, and I happened to go on a day when the smoke from nearby fires filled the valleys and gorges with a deep orangish-brown haze.
That was my reality, and I made many photographs of it. Ones I like.
If you go, go west to east for the full impact of the road, and spend some time hiking around St. Mary and the many trails the park has to offer. And if you get a chance to do it on a motorcycle, do not hesitate. Incredible ride.
No motorcyclist will ever turn down a chance to ride Beartooth. (And even if you are car only, go. Just go for heaven’s sake.) This road has more twisties than a pretzel-making machine, and it delivers in the wild experience as well.
Leaving from Red Lodge going west (the best way to experience this incredible road) I always stop at the infamous Circle17 to fill up and grab the preferred birthday snack — Hostess Cupcakes, a cherry pie in a box, and a Diet Pepsi. Hey, don’t judge, it’s my birthday.
Two years in a row I had my birthday on the top of Beartooth Pass. In 2020 I turned 71 up there with a howling wind delivering 36-degree temps, and in 2021, I turned 72 sitting on the bike on a very mild temp with a beautiful sunny day.
And there was snow all around both times. Early August and the snow is still melting into frost blue lakes so clean and beautiful that you wonder how it could even be possible.
My bike is a big one. We call them cruisers and they have carrying cases built-in. This is everything I carry on the bike. I am happy to find a laundromat every three or four days, so I only take a minimal of clothes.
Cameras: Nikon Df with a 24–120 mm lens, Lumix DCS Z70 (24–740 equiv.), and my iPhone.
Long-distance riding is something I absolutely love. Combining that with my passion for photography and travel and I have the right combination. I don’t know how many more long rides I have in me (oh, no worries, I have no problems on the bike or off) but there will be a day I have to hang up the helmet. I know that.
But I will take every opportunity before that happens to simply get on the motorcycle, ride, and get as high as I can.
Thanks for reading.
You can find me at www.dongiannatti.com and www.lighting-essentials.com
