NAFO Law Enforcement

[Toecutter]

Is it Friday yet?

I got the feeling that Colorado was out to get me, road-wise. Unreasonable and constantly-changing speed limits, which seem to be designed for inclement weather all year long, had me going 15 to 20 over while just trying to enjoy "The Pace" while riding. "Wicking it up" had me into big-trouble territory.

And enforcement was as prolific as I've ever seen....

The stress of trying to have some reasonable enjoyment while in that dragnet manifested itself in me forgetting to engage my defective sidestand before trying to dismount at one point, late Saturday afternoon, resulting in a severely pulled left hamstring and a scuff on the luggage pod of my very gracious riding partner. But we didn't get no tickets!

 

[LDRydr]

I got the feeling that Colorado was out to get me, road-wise. Unreasonable and constantly-changing speed limits, which seem to be designed for inclement weather all year long, had me going 15 to 20 over while just trying to enjoy "The Pace" while riding. "Wicking it up" had me into big-trouble territory.

My thoughts exactly. Just because some cage-driver or RV can't make it around a corner without running into the ditch (or off the hillside) us riders are forced to reduce our speeds. I've never seen so many different speed signs.

Thankfully not a single performance award for the 5161 miles we rode to/from NAFO. The V-1 works like a charm - don't leave home without it!

 

[v65]

I thought the main highways had a lot patrols until I did the canyon run. Would have been a great time to rob a bank, there couldn't have been a LEO left in town. Lot's of performance awards being given out. The trick for me was to enjoy the twisties and lay off it in the straights, or maybe I just got lucky.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Trooper Fenwick and his business card rode as my "advisor" throughout most of my great Colorado vacation. :yahoo:

Hi Trooper Fenwick! :bye:

Some very slow speed limits 45mph on state highways out in the middle of nowhere between I70 and Steamboat Springs...then all of a sudden 65 mph is okay. Very arbitrary it seemed :blink:

<spoken in Gomer Pyle voice> *CSP - "citizen's arrest" <spoken in Gomer Pyle voice>

 

[sonicspeed]

for the most part i tried to obey the posted limits but my riding partner was a tad bit quicker than me. we didn't get any tickets mainly because of a really nice bicycle rider who warned us to slow down prior to a long curve. mr. deputy was sitting in a nice brown suv under a shade tree looking for folks to tax

 

[1FJR]

No performance awards recieved. I kept my speed under control as I did not want to explain to my undersheriff why I have a speeding ticket when I had just yelled at one of my deputies for his 80 in a 55 ticket that he got. As to the varying speed limits, I have often asked the local CDOT guys this. They explained to me that they follow national guidelines for the number of driveways, roads, curves, weather and animals and other things that can cause problems. When the number of these things goes down, the speed will generally go up. Just FYI.

 

[LDRydr]

As to the varying speed limits, I have often asked the local CDOT guys this. They explained to me that they follow national guidelines for the number of driveways, roads, curves, weather and animals and other things that can cause problems.

Another rider and I had a CA Hwy Patrol officer tell us the same thing. I'm not a traffic engineer, nor do I play on online, but it just seems like in CO they've decided that in some areas, since there are a number of curvy spots, they'd rather set the speed down for the whole section from say 65 to 45 rather than post yellow 45 or 35 MPH caution signs as needed for the corners. The bummer is when there's long straight sections or faster sweeper turns in between the slower curves.

 

[donaldb]

No tickets here either. I made a concious effort to let Wambow lead most of the trip. He is more conservative in his riding style and that helped keep me in good graces. I think that was a wise choice for me, being so far away from home, I did not need to take any risks. I did find myself lying back in some sweepers on occasion, just to speed up and get a cheap thrill now and again. My pegs touched only a time or two the entire trip.

I was a very good boy

 

[dcarver]

Wambow is a great guy, funny as hell, great sense of humor, DonaldB yah done good to ride with him!

On thread...

Got a warning in Leadville CO. The officer was very pro - more interested in my safety to reach a night destination than in hanging paper. I made dumb-*** left hand turn against a big NO LEFT TURN sign, he saw it, pulled me over. He asked if I saw the sign. No, I said, it's been a long day, if I missed that sign I need to stop. That turned the whole conversation around. The officer suddenly was more interested in getting me to a safe destination. Kudos to an officer who gets it, and I'll be sending his Sargent a nice Thank You email for the trooper's professionalism. :clapping:

 

[ShawnKing]

Kudos to an officer who gets it, and I'll be sending his Sargent a nice Thank You email for the trooper's professionalism. :clapping:

That's a great story and a great idea about sending a note. Wish more LEOs would "get it" in this manner.

 

[RoadGlide]

No tickets the entire trip. We played in the canyons and RMNP early each day before the crowds and LEO's were up and running. We took it easy in the latter part of the day. Coming down Mt Evans on sat morning in a 45 mph section I was passed by bicycle. He stayed behind me for a couple of miles then made a sling shot move to the inside on a tight right hander. The guy was crazy! My wife took pictures as he went by.

 

[Toecutter]

As to the varying speed limits, I have often asked the local CDOT guys this. They explained to me that they follow national guidelines for the number of driveways, roads, curves, weather and animals and other things that can cause problems. When the number of these things goes down, the speed will generally go up. Just FYI.

For someone so concerned about heading off possible problems, I wonder why they don't give a **** about the welfare of motorcycle rider's brains in their state....

 

[fjrob1300]

Mitchy and I did an average of 80-85 all the way across the prairies. Both ways. We didn't see any police presence until we got into Ontario. At one point we saw 12! cruisers pull over 8 Hells Angels. Ha ha ha . We later saw all the Angels at the same motel as us. They spoke French mostly so I don't know if they were pissed or not. Most of the speed traps we saw here were at the entrance to the small towns that dot the hwy. *******s! We've been lucky so far.

 

[madmike2]

I did not obey all of the posted speed limits. I thoroughly enjoyed riding in the states I visited but when the coast was clear on the vast prairies I di twist the right wrist a bit.

Yes, Colorado has a different approach to controlling speed through corners but it wasn't all that wearisome to me as I rather enjoyed soaking in the scenery and vista-views at a more relaxed pace. One of my riding partners rode rather briskly coming down the mountain from RMNP and I followed, but the radar detector did alert us to a couple of possibilities and we behaved like "good boys".

35 & 45 mph speed limits in some of the areas I travelled (Hwy 131, Hwy 24, Hwy 133, Hwy 145/"Lizard Head Pass) had some wearisome speeds but there was always a reason I could see, like sharp corners or a small township, and I kept in mind that those speed limits are also there in the Winter.

All in all, I think CO does a good job and it wasn't "overly enforced" (though the two separate City Officers in Granby were each "pinging" away at TurboDave and I). Actually, my Colorado experience isn't much different than the treatment I expect in the Gold-era towns along Hwy 49 in CA.

 

[HYCLE]

I got a little performance award near Thermopolis, Wy. The nice trooper liked the fact we were wearing helmets and dropped it to 71 in a 65. I thanked him and shook his hand for being such a nice guy. Paid the $58 fine at the next mailbox.

Life is Good

Good thing he didn't look at the triple digits on the GPS.

 

[ponyfool]

I got stopped for 110 in a 65 in Arizona.

I was on a two lane highway, saw him approach and immediately thought, "OK, that's not a cop, I'm good." As soon as he passed me, he anchored the brakes, and started to flip a u-turn. I know what he was thinking when he got me. He was thinking, "If this guy runs, he's gonna be at least 2 miles down the road by the time I finish my two point u-turn and I'm gonna have to red line this car just to come close to catching up to him." Instead, I immediately anchored the brakes and pulled over a few hundred yards from where he did the u-turn. As he approached, I took a swig of water from my Camelback and prepared for the worst. He said, "110 in a 65". I simultaneously said, "I know, I'm sorry for having to make you pull me over." He commented about how hot I must be in full riding gear. I told him, "I dress for the crash, not the ride." He asked where I was heading and I told him my destination for the day as well as my overall trip thus far including final destination. He simply said, "Slow down a bit and watch out for the wild life", turned around and walked back to his car, did a u-turn and drove off.

No checking my ID, no asking for my name, nothing. I'm hypothesizing that my immediately stopping, being in full gear, and apologizing to him for making him pull me over combined with him probably being at the end of his shift added up to a gentle warning.

I just know I am extremely lucky! And grateful!

In Eastern Colorado before getting to NAFO, I opened her up to maximum speed and got to just about 160 on the speedo, but only 150 on the GPS. I was amazed at the stability at the speed, but I have no real desire to do it again, it was just a spur of the moment impulse.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Mitchy and I did an average of 80-85 all the way across the prairies. Both ways. We didn't see any police presence until we got into Ontario. At one point we saw 12! cruisers pull over 8 Hells Angels. Ha ha ha . We later saw all the Angels at the same motel as us. They spoke French mostly so I don't know if they were pissed or not. Most of the speed traps we saw here were at the entrance to the small towns that dot the hwy. *******s! We've been lucky so far.

Rob,

I thought all Canadians/Canadiens could swear in both languages...

 

[Toecutter]

No checking my ID, no asking for my name, nothing. I'm hypothesizing that my immediately stopping, being in full gear, and apologizing to him for making him pull me over combined with him probably being at the end of his shift added up to a gentle warning.
I just know I am extremely lucky! And grateful!

Wow! He must have been one of those cops Beeroux spoke of, who "Gets it". Or he was too lazy to do all that paperwork....

In Eastern Colorado before getting to NAFO, I opened her up to maximum speed and got to just about 160 on the speedo, but only 150 on the GPS. I was amazed at the stability at the speed, but I have no real desire to do it again, it was just a spur of the moment impulse.

Just make sure to impound your bike and arrest yourself as soon as you get back to work....unless you're one of "those cops who get it".

 

[Groo]

I got pulled over twice on the way to NAFO.... both times by officers that rode motorcycles... both times just getting a warning.

The first one was just leaving Ft. Sumner, New Mexico turning North on Hwy 84... there's an area that dips under a railroad track, and apparently he was sitting near the tracks and got me as I sped up to leave town. I pulled over immediately and took off my helmet. Told him I was a CHL holder and was carrying, and apologized if I had gotten on the gas too soon leaving town. He said he was a biker, and that he rarely wrote bikers up for speeding. At that point we talked bikes for a while and then he gave me my license and CHL back and told me to be safe.

The second was with Skooter... we had just left the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and came up on a white pickup truck with a lawnmower in the back. Across the tailgate it said "State Ranger", and I wasn't sure if that meant a park ranger or what... so I slowed down to be cautious. Skooter flew by me, passing us both, so I figured he knew it meant the guy was harmless (big mistake). As I go by the cab, the guy is talking into a CB-like mic... and my first thought was, "He's radioing ahead to some other law enforcement officer to pull us over". It took about 10-20 miles, but sure enough, there was a white bronco on the side, and although we were only doing the speed limit, he pulled in behind us and after 1/2 a mile or so lit us up. I pulled over and Skooter kept going. As he walks up, and I get my helmet and earplugs out, he asks me if I had passed a Ranger a few miles back... "White pickup, with a lawnmower in the back?" "Maybe..." I told him we couldn't have been going as fast as the guy had said we were... and that I was on a long trip, enjoying the lovely Colorado roads, blah, blah. Once he told me he was a rider and wasn't going to write me up, we chatted for a while, and then he told me to try and keep my speed down, and left.

V1 also gave me a number of warnings for oncoming and hiding LEOs during the trip...might have actually gotten a ticket otherwise.