Passes & Canyons Blog

Can you believe it? I showed up at the Frontier Club Saturday for the party and games that followed ABATE‘s Randy Run, and even bought a fourth ticket in the raffle, but the KLR 650 I had planned on taking home was given to someone else! That bike was mine! Some guy named Rod Sommerall (sp?) from Highlands Ranch. And he wasn’t even there to ride the bike home.

Actually, the raffle was a little anticlimactic because none of the three winners were present. Second and third place prizes were a Garmin GPS unit and a bluetooth communicator set. You didn’t have to be present to win. But it just lacked in impact when they called these three names and nobody stepped forward.

Figuring to make up for that a little, one of the guys in the band stepped up and called for the t-shirt he had donated to the silent auction. It was one of those typical Harley-Davidson dealership t-shirts, except this one said Kandahar Harley-Davidson, Afghanistan. I have no idea if there is a Kandahar H-D dealership but there is definitely a shirt.

So the band guy announced that they would keep pulling tickets out of the hopper until someone who was actually there won that shirt. It took several more draws but someone did finally win it.

Overall sales of the raffle tickets was disappointing for ABATE, although they did make a profit. A maximum of 2,500 tickets had been set but when I spoke with ABATE State Coordinator Terry Howard before the drawing she told me they had sold fewer than 1,000. That may have changed, however, as tickets were selling like crazy before the drawing. But I’m sure it was still nothing close to 2,500.

Apparently, though, this raffle was just a toe in the water, and immediately after the raffle a new raffle began and this time the top prize is a Harley. ABATE will have to sell a lot more tickets to break even on a bike that expensive but you have to suspect there will be a lot more people interested. I’ll pass along details and a link on that once they are available. But I don’t think I’ll buy any tickets for this raffle. I really wanted the KLR.

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You know you’re a biker if your ol’ lady can only eat a hot dog if it’s suspended from a string above your bike.

I went to my ABATE meeting yesterday (yes, of course I rode one of the bikes) and among other things got an update on the odds I’m facing winning this KLR650 that I’ve spoken of before.

A recap: This is a new bike ABATE is raffling off, $10 per ticket, with a maximum of 2,500 tickets to be sold. The drawing is on June 15. I’ve bought three tickets. As of Sunday there were still only 641 ticket sold. That means I now have 1 chance in about 204 of winning. Try those odds on PowerBall.

So I’ve been figuring all along that of course I’ll win, but now that I’ve bought this V-Strom I figure it’s cinched. You know, what’s the best way to find something you’ve misplaced? Buy a new one. The old one immediately shows up. I wanted a dual-sport bike. I bought one. Now I’m sure to win another, right? Only about 20 days till I graciously accept that key. Geez, then where am I going to park a fourth bike?

I’m glad to see that number at 641. That means they’ve pretty much gotten the bike paid for. I’d like to see the group–us, my group–actually make money but at the very least it’s good not to lose money.

ABATE and MRA

I learned something else at the meeting that was pleasing. ABATE and the Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA), the local group that puts on racing at several tracks around the Front Range, have a very cooperative relationship. And the newest thing to come out of this relationship is that any ABATE member who shows up at the races can get in free by showing their ABATE membership card. Nice!

I’m not a huge race fan but I do generally get out to the races once or twice a season. Now I don’t have to pay the gate fee. It’s just $10, but until I took this regular job with the National Park Service I was scraping by for several years and that $10 was not of no consequence. Of course, now that I don’t have to pay it I’m in a place where I could easily pay it. But maybe there are others out there who are still scraping by and for them this could be a good thing.

Either way, it shows the good, mutually supportive relationship between the two organizations. And let me tell you, this is not the way it is in other states. In most other states the sportbike crowd despises ABATE. This good relationship is unique to Colorado. I’m pleased that I had a hand in making that happen, but I’m not going to rehash that story here. Maybe another time soon if you’re interested.

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Across the country on the kindness of strangers and the strangeness of friends (and a DR650).

I’ve written before about this KLR650 that ABATE of Colorado is raffling off. It looks like my chances of winning it are pretty darn good.

I was just at my district ABATE meeting today and the raffle was discussed. While they have the possibility of selling 2,500 tickets at $10 apiece, so far they have only sold 324. I have bought three so that gives me a 1 in 108 chance of winning. Compare that to Lotto or Powerball.

Of course, if ABATE doesn’t sell at least somewhere around 700 tickets they’re going to lose money on the deal. I don’t want them to lose money; I want them to make money. So even though selling more will diminish my chances of winning, I’m passing the word along again so any of you who want to get in on the action can do so.

What you need to do to enter is go to this page of their website and order your tickets online. You’ll pay via PayPal, so you need a PayPal account. Then they’ll mail you your tickets.

Of course, the truth is, I’d like to see them sell all 2,500 tickets — as long as one of mine is drawn as the winner. And I’ll warn you, I may yet buy a couple more, so my odds will just be that much better. I seriously want a dual-sport bike and I want it this year. I’ve been putting it off for way too long.

So, really, just forget I said anything. Why throw your money away. They’re going to draw my ticket any . . . Look! A squirrel!

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Biker Quote for Today

Everyone should be so lucky as to be able to ride a motorbike through the Himalayas. – Misery Goat

Given a reprieve last year following years of poor oversight, the Colorado MOST program’s new rules have been agreed upon and should go into force in mid-March.

MOST, or Motorcycle Operator Safety Training, provides funding to reduce the cost of motorcycle safety training for riders. That funding comes from an extra fee motorcyclists pay each year when they renew their plates, and when they renew their drivers’ licenses.

After surviving the legislative inquest regarding the poor oversight, the program was once again threatened when legislators on the relevant committee concluded they wanted to keep the fees but eliminate the trainee benefit, using the fees only to pay for other motorcycle safety efforts. That would have totally negated the purpose of the MOST program and left motorcyclists paying extra for programs that people in cars and trucks pay nothing extra for. Talk about unfair!

That challenge was faced and overcome, and now the final rules have been laid out and, according to ABATE of Colorado State Coordinator Terry Howard, they are acceptable. Howard told members at yesterday’s ABATE District 10 meeting that now it is time for members to let their legislators know they support the rules.

The process now was spelled out in an email from Emiliano Barela, of the Colorado Department of Transportation:

This email is to let you know that the rules were adopted by the Executive Director with no changes on January 14th. We have submitted them for review to the attorney general’s office today. That office has 20 days to review them, so must send us an opinion prior to Feb. 3rd. Once they send us the opinion, we file them with the Secretary of State: http://www.sos.state.co.us/CCR/RegisterHome.do and they are published in the Colorado Register. We believe they will be published on Feb. 10th, and they become effective 5 weeks later, so by mid-March. Attached are the same rules you reviewed for the public rule making hearing (red-line and final draft). There are no changes (except maybe numbering corrections) since that draft. The clean version will be the official rules when they are published.

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Practice makes perfect and is just an empty parking lot away.

Yeah, it’s cold and gonna get colder the next couple days, but then we’re supposed to get a little warmer. Just in time for this year’s final organized motorcycle ride, the Last Brass Monkey Run.

The Last Brass Monkey Run is put on each year by ABATE of Colorado and it starts out at a couple spots, The Frontier Club in Aurora and Susie’s in Golden, and comes together at the Grizzly Rose.

Registration at the starting points begins at 9 a.m. and the party at the Grizzly Rose begins at noon. Registration is $10 for ABATE members and $15 for non-members. Plus, if you’re an ABATE member and you renew your membership at the event it only costs you $5 to get in.

Goings-on include food and live music, a chili cook-off, cash prizes, door prizes, 50-50, and of course the chance to catch up with friends and get in your last ride of the year.

Of course, if the weather turns nasty or you just can’t motivate yourself to get on the bike, you can come in your car. What the heck.

So hey! I’ll see you there, right?

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Trailering your bike is a sickness. Call 1-800 2 SCARED TO RIDE

This is just perfect for me. I’ve got a job again, so my disposable income is huge compared to what it had been for so long. And I’ve been wanting a dual-sport bike for several years, but didn’t have the money. Well, I learned at the ABATE meeting on Sunday that the state organization has decided to do a raffle, with a dual-sport bike as the prize.

Tickets will be $10. As poor and broke as I have been for so long, I would have had a hard time persuading myself to even buy one ticket, though I really want what they’re giving away. I mean, how tiny would my odds be of winning? Well, my odds will still be tiny, but I can afford it now.

Here are some particulars. The exact bike has not been determined yet. They were passing around a flyer on a Kawasaki KLR 650, but Terry Howard, the state coordinator, said they’ll be calling around to dealers to see what the best deal they can get might be.

Tickets will be $10 and a maximum of 2,000 will be sold. So that tells you right there exactly what your worst odds will be: 2,000 to 1. Of course, if they only sell 1,500 then your odds will be 1,500 to 1. Or if you buy 3 tickets you’ll be 500 to 1. Those aren’t great odds but they’re one heck of a lot better than your chances of winning Powerball.

The bike will be on display and tickets will be sold at several big events in the next few months, including the Last Brass Monkey Run, on December 30, and the Motorcycle Show and Swap February 2 and 3. They’ll also be sold online through the ABATE website.

The drawing will probably be held in June, at the Randy Run. The Randy Run is ABATE’s annual fundraiser to help out riders who have gone down hard and need assistance. Considering that you don’t have to be an ABATE member to receive financial assistance, this is a run everyone really ought to consider taking part in.

So I’m going to buy some tickets. I know I probably won’t win, but oh man, what if I do!? And if I don’t win, then I AM going to buy a dual-sport. The time has come.

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People don’t understand what I’m doing. But it’s not for the lack of me telling them about it.