Passes & Canyons Blog

After my last post dealing with ethanol in gas I was interested to receive several comments from people in the ethanol industry contesting the remarks I passed along from the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and from Stump, the legislative liaison for ABATE of Colorado. These guys were pretty vehement that I didn’t know what I was talking about (“You are an idiot if you believe any of this bulls***.”). I replied that I was passing along what I hear from the AMA and I trust what the AMA tells me on things like this. But I also said I would try to dig deeper and do a follow-up addressing what they were saying.

Well, that is still my intention but we’ve been out of the country and busy since we got back and we’re leaving again in a few days for another trip, so I haven’t had the time yet. In the meantime there are a few more related things I wanted to pass along.

Of course, as you probably know, the legislative session ended. Here’s what Stump said about that.

In my last LegTeam update I urged you to write the Senate Finance Committee Members to oppose SB-175 (E15 Fuel Bill) and show up on Thursday, 4/14 for the Committee Hearing. Thanks to those who wrote and to Bruce, Bear, and Harry for showing up for the hearing. I also sent e-mails to the committee members and actually had meetings with 3 of the 5 members. All 3 agreed to oppose the bill. As it turned out, Sen. Grantham, the sponsor of the bill, requested the bill get laid over till 4/12. In essence, it killed the bill since the session ends on 4/11. So even though we stopped the increase in the amount of E15 being brought into Colorado by killing this bill, which would have given retailers a tax credit to sell E15, there is a much bigger problem with E15 on the National Level.

Bruce, Bear, Harry and I met with Sen. Neville after the hearing and he told us about a Federal grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand the number of fueling pumps that supply E15. Colorado could get $600,000 to install 7 tanks and 28 pumps at 7 gas stations. Of course the money has to be met 1:1 by the CO Department of Agriculture or private partners. Here are 2 links so you can read more about it:

www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/energy-programs/bip/index and www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentid=2015/10/0300.xml .

I also found out Kum & Go is the company pushing to introduce E15 in Colorado, so if anybody wants to boycott them, feel free.

Related to this, as noted in the action alert I sent out yesterday, a bill has been introduced in Congress to promote wider availability of E15. On March 22, US Rep. David Loebsack (D-IA) introduced H.R. 4673 (the Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion, and Leadership Act – REFUEL Act) which would provide federal grants to purchase and install new or existing infrastructure for E15. It has 4 cosponsors already (2 from MN, 1 from IL, and 1 from WI) and with President Obama being from the 2nd largest corn producing state, is there any doubt who’s pushing for E15? Tell your US Representative to oppose H.R. 4673.

Of course, what I’m much more interested in is this thing with needing a transponder to ride in HOV lanes without getting fined. Stump hasn’t sent anything out about that so I’m still in the dark. And I haven’t had time to contact him to ask.

The legislature did pass and the governor signed the bill to do an audit at the Colorado Department of Transportation, so that could have an impact on the MOST program.

I’m feeling like this is kind of ragged. I’ll get back more in the swing of things when we get back from this next trip and I finally have time to really settle in again.

Biker Quote for Today

“Why ride?” Why breathe?

I try to stay away from politics here but sometimes I bend that rule. Just to be clear, I’m not a Republican or Democrat. I’m an independent because I don’t like either party.

So this involves the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I know that there are a number of Republicans who think the EPA should be abolished. I frankly don’t understand that thinking. Do they want us to go back to a time when rivers catch fire from all the pollutants dumped into them? When the air is so filled with smog that people are dying from it? I mean, go look at China today. Is that what they really want?

That said, maybe it wouldn’t hurt if more Democrats were a bit more critical of the EPA when it oversteps. And it certainly does that at times.

Here’s the latest, and this is why I’m writing this in a blog focused on motorcycles. Apparently the EPA recently released some new regulations that, among other things, prohibit converting a street motorcycle into a racing bike. It has to do with the exhaust and the altering of the exhaust system to make the bike into a dedicated racer. What, are you supposed to build a racing bike from the ground up?

Anyway, the American Motorcyclist Association is fighting this and they sent out a release urging members to support legislation introduced in both houses of Congress to nullify this sort of absurdity. An excerpt:

Members of both chambers of Congress have introduced versions of a bill that would prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the conversion of street motorcycles and other motor vehicles into competition-only racers. The EPA failed to provide proper notice of this regulation, including it in an unrelated heavy-duty-truck regulation. The proposed rule would hurt thousands of amateur and professional motorcycle racing enthusiasts and the millions of fans who enjoy motorcycle competition.

The bi-partisan Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016 (H.R. 4715 and S. 2659, RPM Act) would ensure that converting motor vehicles into competition-only vehicles remains legal. Street motorcycles are considered motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act.

The RPM Act was introduced in the House by U.S. Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Bill Posey (R-Fla.) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.).

The Senate version was introduced by U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Dean Heller (R-N.C.).

The act states that it was the clear intent of Congress when passing and amending the Clean Air Act that motor vehicles, including motorcycles, used solely for competition would be exempt from the Clean Air Act’s prohibitions against modifying emission control devices.

Really, can we have some common sense here? But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I want the EPA protecting the air I breathe and the water I drink. But let’s not do stupid stuff, OK?

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you take your bike in to the shop for oil changes.

Let me say right up front that I understand why the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is very friendly with senators and congressmen who predominantly belong to the Republican Party. The simple fact is that they tend to be more supportive of motorcyclist issues than Democrats. Probably the very best from a biker’s perspective is Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, of Wisconsin.

That said, I don’t like the direction the AMA seems to be going. The group’s membership spans the political spectrum but lately they’re sounding just a bit too Republican. I just don’t think that’s appropriate considering the membership.

Specifically, in the December 2015 and January 2016 issues of the group’s magazine, American Motorcyclist, they have said three times that President Obama has been “sidestepping Congress” by creating new national monuments by executive fiat.

What’s the issue? They say Obama is closing public lands to motorized recreation. What is he doing? He’s using the power that Congress gave to the president–all presidents–in 1906 when they passed the Antiquities Act. In the time since it was passed, 16 of the 19 presidents have used the Antiquities Act to unilaterally create national monuments. They’ve used that power 137 times. In some cases, Congress came along later and turned those national monuments into national parks. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park used to be a monument. Great Sand Dunes National Park used to be a monument. They were created as monuments by presidents “sidestepping Congress” by following the law that Congress passed.

Just to get my biases out in the open here, I am a registered independent voter, who has little affection for the Republicans or Democrats, and I do work at the National Park Service (for a few more days) and the park service is one of the several agencies that administer national monuments.

So there’s no question that I love the national parks–don’t you?–and the monuments and the seashores, and all the rest. I also have some concern with creating any more of these things right now because they add to the National Park Service and other agency responsibilities without adding a penny more budget. You can’t keep doing that forever.

But this business of accusing Obama of “sidestepping Congress”–repeatedly!!–when he’s only doing what so many other presidents have done, just smacks too much of right-wing partisanship for me. The AMA a couple years ago hired former Colorado Rep. Wayne Allard as their legislative liaison and I wondered then if this would lead to a rightward tilt on policy. At the same time, I figured Allard might be more effective than someone else because he would be on good terms with the Republicans who control both houses of Congress. So I withheld judgment. Just wait and watch. Not everyone else did so. There were AMA members who protested right away about Allard’s appointment.

And that’s the point. The membership spans the political spectrum. The AMA has no business playing this partisanship game. And that’s exactly what this is.

And oh, by the way, the president who created the most acreage of new national monuments was George W. Bush, by a lot. Of course Bush’s monuments were largely in the Pacific around islands but do you suppose the scuba divers object to the restrictions these declarations created? And while Ronald Reagan was one of the three presidents who created no new national monuments while in office, he did sign 43 wilderness bills that rendered 10.6 million acres off-limits to motorized recreation. But of course he wasn’t side-stepping Congress. That doesn’t make those 10.6 million acres any less off limits.

And finally, I have to wonder about the interests of AMA members. I would guess the large majority are people who never ride off road anyway, but perhaps love the parks and monuments. Tough luck for the dirt-bike crowd, maybe, but that’s a trade-off the street-riding folks might be very willing to make. And depending on the piece of land, there may not even be dirt-bikers who are affected. I don’t really know.

So I have communicated my displeasure to the AMA. I’ll let you know what, if anything, they have to say to me.

Biker Quote for Today

I like to ride the canyons at night, when there’s a full moon, and you shut the engine off and coast downhill. — Keanu Reeves

Maybe it’s like gay marriage. Maybe it’s like legal marijuana. Maybe lane-splitting is riding a new wave of public acceptability and is something we’ll soon see all over.

What? Why would I say something like that? Right now the only state in the U.S. that allows motorcyclists to filter between cars that are stopped are plodding in traffic jams is California. Where’s the wave?

How about Washington. Oregon. Tennessee.

I get emails from the American Motorcyclist Association whenever they have news they want to pass along and I was recently interested to receive one that was titled, “American Motorcyclist Association supports lane-splitting legislation in Tennessee.”

That was on a Friday.

The following Tuesday there was another email in my inbox with the title, “American Motorcyclist Association supports lane-splitting legislation in Oregon.” Not only that, that same day there was a second email in my inbox with the title, “American Motorcyclist Association supports lane-splitting legislation in Washington.”

Holy smoke! It’s looking like a movement!

Of course, if history is any predictor, all of these bills will fail. In fact, I’d bet on it. But I’m also willing to bet that within 10 years California will not be alone, and once that dam starts to give way there won’t be anything that can hold it back.

Sort of like gay marriage and legal marijuana. Those waves took years to build up but gay marriage is sweeping across the country and legal marijuana is just getting started, but with a vengeance. I don’t care what you think about either of those movements, they’re happening. Their time has come. And just maybe lane-splitting is not far behind.

I personally support lane-splitting. I’ve ridden in California and I’ve traveled to a number of countries around the world. The U.S. is one of the few where lane-splitting is not simply the norm. That photo above is something I shot in Paris. You could stand at a street corner and watch it happen again and again: The light would turn red and cars would stop. Then a motorcycle or scooter would come between the cars and take a place in front of the cars. Then more bikes and scooters would join the group. Finally the light would turn green and the two-wheelers would blast forward, leaving the four-wheelers in the dust. And then the light would turn red and the whole scene would play itself out once more.

Nobody got hurt, nobody was in any danger, everybody considered it to be perfectly normal. In the meantime, each of those scooters or motorcycles represented at least part of one car that was not on the road adding to what was already a significant traffic jam. Those drivers were benefiting from the lane-splitting.

Of course the bikers were benefiting more. They got where they were going in probably half the time it would have taken them in a car. At a significantly lower cost. And they were on bikes, for pete’s sake. What’s not to like about that?

Some day these benighted states of America may join the rest of the world. The encouraging thought is that it may come sooner than we expected.

Biker Quote for Today

Born to ride; forced to work.

I guess if you always wear your helmet it doesn’t matter what the helmet laws are in different states. But if you sometimes like to go without, you know how important it is to laws in different states you might ride in. There’s an app for that.

I got an email yesterday from Catherine Kazda at Buckfire & Buckfire, PC–which is to say they are attorneys–plugging this new app they have made available on their site for no charge. It will give you not only the state by state laws in the U.S., but also has information on Canada and Europe. Maybe some other places as well–I forget. The video goes into all that but my memory isn’t that good.

So it’s kind of a good idea. And I think it’s probably a great promotional idea for them. They apparently deal in motorcycle crash litigation so of course they want bikers coming to their website.

The app offers other information as well. It basically covers motorcycle laws in general, not just helmet laws. And they have a link on it to information on what to do if you’re involved in a crash. I’m sure one of the things it tells you to do is call an attorney, preferably Buckfire & Buckfire. But OK, it’s still probably good information.

So hey guys, your marketing plan is working. I’m passing this along, and I have already seen a link to some other site that did so, too.

Of course there is one other way to get all this information, though I don’t know if it’s quite as easy as a smartphone app. You can go to the American Motorcyclist Association site, to their page where they list all the state-by-state info.

And I guess I might as well tell a couple stories here because they’re totally related.

The first time John and Bill and I came down into Nebraska from the Black Hills we stopped at a wayside picnic area and got to talking to a guy there. Somewhere along the way he mentioned that we ought to be aware that “Nebraska is a bucket state.” He had seen us ride in without our helmets on. OK, thanks.

Another time, our first time in Nevada, we pulled into Vegas–coming from Arizona, I guess–and it wasn’t until after we had checked in to a hotel that we learned Nevada is a helmet state, too. We hadn’t been wearing ours. Oops. After that we made it a point to find out about states we were going to before we went there.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Motorcycle safety studies continue

Biker Quote for Today

You’re a biker wannabe if you grab for your hairbrush before your old lady.

I have to admit to ignorance here, but in the last half hour I’ve been learning a lot about Mark Bruckner. That’s because the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) just released their list of this year’s nominees to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and Bruckner is the first name on the list.

Of course, what they said about him in the announcement was guaranteed to catch my eye: “National/international motorcycling rights advocate, past state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado, past board member/president/chairman of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.”

Oh wow, and until I read that I’d never heard of him. So he’s a previous state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado. I know Terry Howard, the current state coordinator, very well, but I’ve never met Bruckner. Turns out he was in that position from 1991 to 1994. After that he went on to the MRF, as stated above.

Currently Bruckner is Executive Director of BIKEPAC of Colorado. I get to show my ignorance again here. I’m not familiar with BIKEPAC of Colorado. Turns out it is a political action committee (PAC). Here is what it says about its mission.

As the organization’s resources grow, BIKEPAC will contribute to candidates running for office in the State Senate and the State House of Representatives. BIKEPAC may also contribute to Gubernatorial candidates. BIKEPAC will not contribute to candidates for office at the federal and local government levels. BIKEPAC believes that the most effective way to protect motorcycling in Colorado – and to best utilize our resources – is to contribute to the campaigns of pro-motorcycling candidates at the State Senate and House level. BIKEPAC employs a full-time lobbyist. Unlike many lobbyist who represent multiple clients at the State Capitol, the lobbyist for BIKEPAC represents only one group – the motorcyclists of Colorado.

Except that maybe this info is outdated. The link I tried to follow to the website doesn’t go there, and on a lobbying site I found it listed the organization as being registered through 2006. I have more digging to do. I’ll put up more as I learn more.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Another terrific Motorcycle Travel Network experience

Biker Quote for Today

Bikes are better than women because you don’t have to talk to your motorcycle after you ride it.