Black Mesa, a great sport bike road. The sign is imaginary but the road is real. Every sport bike rider tells of at least one great road in their area yet oddly this road, with light traffic, no regular patrols and surely ranking among the best, is known to relatively few sport bike riders although the number of motorcycle visitors increases each year with a large number from out of state. Colorado State Highway 92 between Crawford and Blue Mesa Dam climbs and descends, twists and turns, hugging the west base of Black Mesa through mountainous country of extraordinary splendor along precipitous cliffs of unimaginable height and near-vertical drops. Local riders know the road as "Black Mesa." Outsiders often refer to it as the Black Canyon road and while the south end does follow the Gunnison River canyon for a few miles near the Blue Mesa Dam, the road at it's closest is several miles from Black Canyon National Park and the deeper Black Canyon. It's a tight road with a fast sweeper now and then, a technical road that rewards the rider on a light, flickable machine. It's a real road with sand on the curves, deer bent on crossing, an occasional RV straddling the center line in blind corners and now and then a tourist stopped dead in the center of their lane, taking a picture. And of course there are those precipitous cliffs of unimaginable height where a rider, should they miss a turn, might remain airborne for long, long moments before splattering themselves against a canyon wall far below. Riders quickly become contemptuous of what little slow-moving traffic shares this road. Vehicles are but slow-moving obstacles, quickly dispatched. Passing on double-yellow is routine but not without sufficient view of the road ahead given the disparity of speed between motorcycles and vehicles being passed. Friends ride this road at speeds that must seem insane to unenlightened observers. I ride this road at lesser speeds that still might seem insane to Buick drivers. We don't crash which is not to say any of us believe it couldn't happen. Part of the challenge is keeping enough reserve to maneuver when confronted by the unexpected. Those who believe the speeds are insane might be surprised to know we are holding back. It's a fun road. It's an outlaw ride and riding it the way we do is nothing to be proud of but, at the risk of making an oxymoron, it is a profound, visceral experience that few of us would willingly give up.