Rocky Mountain High?

[Spud]

Those were the days is right...too bad I didn't have the $$ to own a bike back then. I was living in north Idaho going to school and to get home would go through about 350 miles of no-speed limit interstate in MT. I remember cruising through Butte in the left lane in my acura integra following 2 other cars w/MT plates going about 105mph, see a MT state trooper in the median, the 3 of us slow to 95 and cruise right past him and....nothing... It was very surreal.

 

[gixxerjasen]

What was the state trooper doing in the median with the speed limits like that? Eating lunch?

 

[Spud]

What was the state trooper doing in the median with the speed limits like that? Eating lunch?

I guess waiting to see something he didn't thing was reasonable or prudent. Of course, the whole idea was just insanity. Relying on drivers to determine their own skill, using cops to respond to accidents or help people with problems instead of scratching tickets....and letting cops decide if something appeared safe or not. I'm so glad big brother put the kibosh on it all...we all would have died a fiery death up there in Montana....yes I'm being sarcastic.

https://www.motorists.org/press/montana-no-speed-limit-safety-paradox

 

[wheatonFJR]

...I'm so glad big brother put the kibosh on it all...we all would have died a fiery death up there in Montana....yes I'm being sarcastic.

Of course you are. It wouldn't have been a fiery death, more like death by cheesegrater....or death by trampoline if the vehicle started flipping.

Of course, the fire would have come later to offer when you were already dead, if you were lucky enough to die first.

No, I'm not being sarcastic.

 

[Harald]

Seems like certain towns/counties/states just like to set their speed limits artificially low. The city of Bonney Lake, near me, likes to set all roads at 25mph which is ridiculous for country roads. 25mph is usually the speed limit inside neighborhoods where kids are running around.

This won't help your situation in CO, but it is possible to get stupid speed limits changed. There's a country road I drive daily and it was set for a ridiculous 25 mph even though it's a rural 2 lane road with only 1 house on it. It took me over a year, but I convinced my local county councilmember to get the speed limit changed to 35mph. I can't tell you how happy I was the day I saw them install the new sign! :yahoo: Now I can drive a reasonable speed without worrying about getting a "performance award."

First I had to figure out which governing body sets speed limits on my road. Then I researched how speed limits are set and found that in general they are set based on what speed the average person drives on that road. Because virtually everyone drove 35mph on that road, I requested that my councilmember have the traffic division conduct a speed survey on the road to confirm that the speed limit needs to be changed to 35mph. Throughout the process I had to be the "squeeky wheel" to keep the process moving.

Besides I want to get a photo of Feej in front of the twisty hwy sign for 140 some miles - I think that sign is near Red Bluff.

Hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I thought I read that your sign was removed or changed? Might want to double check with one of the Cali guys.

 

[RPrice]

It seems to be the trend...there's a fantastic road northeast of Boise that is a motorcycle favorite and they dropped a whole section to 45mph. I got zapped by a motocop on a Connie 14 going 67 last year--but managed to "fix" the ticket

For the opposite experience, go to the Beartooth Pass. A very narrow, very winding road. Heading east, you cross into Montana, and are greeted by a posted speed limit of 70 MPH!!! It's my favorite posted speed limit sign in the entire country!

(not my pic...--one I found w/google)

They've got some of these in Utah now, on I - 15. Pretty cool:

 

[Fontanaman]

Besides I want to get a photo of Feej in front of the twisty hwy sign for 140 some miles - I think that sign is near Red Bluff.

Hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I thought I read that your sign was removed or changed? Might want to double check with one of the Cali guys.

Well if I don't see the sign along the way I will know it is gone. RATS! It does not make Hwy 36 any less fun - crazy fun road even at or around the speed limit! Thanks for the info.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Besides I want to get a photo of Feej in front of the twisty hwy sign for 140 some miles - I think that sign is near Red Bluff.

Hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I thought I read that your sign was removed or changed? Might want to double check with one of the Cali guys.

Well if I don't see the sign along the way I will know it is gone. RATS! It does not make Hwy 36 any less fun - crazy fun road even at or around the speed limit! Thanks for the info.

The sign was gone...but it is BACK.. Took a photo of it during my trip to Kali last May.

 

[gixxerjasen]

They've got some of these in Utah now, on I - 15. Pretty cool:

https://consumerist.com/2011/09/texas-ups-speed-limit-to-85-mph.html

Sadly, I don't know of any that are near me, but it sure has to make going through the flat boring parts of the state a lot faster!

 

[RPrice]

They've got some of these in Utah now, on I - 15. Pretty cool:

https://consumerist.c...-to-85-mph.html

Sadly, I don't know of any that are near me, but it sure has to make going through the flat boring parts of the state a lot faster!

It does, and the only place the speed limit is this high are on the flat boring stretches!! Go figure.

 

[cofz1]

Living in CO, my guess is a combination of things. One, Colorado is tourist central all year. Two, flatlanders can't drive in the mountains in any weather. Three, flatlanders from southern states REALLY can't drive in the snow in the mountains.

It can snow in any month it the high country. Granted, it doesn't really accumulate on the roads in the summer. But, it's still possible. Prime time riding season is June-September. (Which is also prime RV season) In May the roads are pretty good but still sandy. It can and usually does start snowing in October.

Put it all together =annoyingly low speed limits. But that shouldn't stop you from having a good time.

My basic guidlines for the mountains are: fast in the twisties, slow in the straights, slow in towns. Definitely not foolproof, but it has saved me from several tickets.

(Apologies to flatlanders and southerners)

 

[Fontanaman]

Living in CO, my guess is a combination of things. One, Colorado is tourist central all year. Two, flatlanders can't drive in the mountains in any weather. Three, flatlanders from southern states REALLY can't drive in the snow in the mountains.

It can snow in any month it the high country. Granted, it doesn't really accumulate on the roads in the summer. But, it's still possible. Prime time riding season is June-September. (Which is also prime RV season) In May the roads are pretty good but still sandy. It can and usually does start snowing in October.

Put it all together =annoyingly low speed limits. But that shouldn't stop you from having a good time.

My basic guidlines for the mountains are: fast in the twisties, slow in the straights, slow in towns. Definitely not foolproof, but it has saved me from several tickets.

(Apologies to flatlanders and southerners)

+1 on the theory. I try real hard to obey the speed limits. I got one ticket on my record for illegal passing, none for speeding, so silly low speed limits limit the grin factor. Hell to get a grin you'd have to double some of the speed limits and that could cost a lot of $$$$ - so why bother? Rocky Mountain Lows in Colorado..... Hey we could doctor up John Denver's song and post it on Youtube :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

[gixxerjasen]

My basic guidlines for the mountains are: fast in the twisties, slow in the straights, slow in towns. Definitely not foolproof, but it has saved me from several tickets.

(Apologies to flatlanders and southerners)

This was my philosophy two years ago up there riding with my wife's uncle who lives in Crested Butte. He's fairly new to riding so even this flatlander could ride in the mountains better than the displaced flatlander who's lived up there for at least 10-20 years. He commented how we'd approach a curve from a straight section and as he was thinking about slowing down he saw me zoom off. Said it was crazy that I was speeding up for the corners. Of course, we both were breathing easy as we putt putted past the only cop we saw all day...sitting under some trees along a nice straight part of the road.