Passes & Canyons Blog

This coming Monday, June 18, is a day you ought to plan to ride your motorcycle to work. Why? Because it is the 21st International Motorcycle & Scooter Ride To Work Day. It’s a day to demonstrate to everyone else–and even to ourselves–how many of us there are.

Along with demonstrating how many it also demonstrates that because there are so many of us, drivers need to be aware that we are there sharing the road with them and that they need to look for us.

Or, as the organizers say on their site:

Ride your motorcycle or scooter on this day to demonstrate:

• The number of motorcyclists to the general public and to politicians.
• That motorcyclists are from all occupations and all walks of life.
• That motorcyclists can reduce traffic and parking congestion in large cities.
• That motorcycles are for transportation as well as recreation.
• That motorcycling is a social good.

And if, like me, you can’t ride to work because you work at home, then ride wherever else you need to go that day. Or just go out for a cruise.

See you on the road.

Biker Quote for Today

Women love men with big KTMs.

Motorcyclists are far more vulnerable than cagers and as often as riders go on poker runs to support other causes, it would seem that it should be a no-brainer to raise money to help other riders who have been hurt.

That’s what ABATE of Colorado’s Randy Run is all about, and it will take place this weekend on Saturday.

The Randy Run is named for Randy Savely, that fellow in the photo above, who lost his leg when a car turned left and hit him as he was passing through an intersection. Randy is the district rep for ABATE’s District 10 and the run was originally a D-10 event. Last year the decision was made to make it a state-wide event and the state organization took it over.

The Randy Run takes off from the Frontier Club, 18881 E. Colfax, with sign-up beginning at 9 a.m. The ride fee is $15 per poker hand and that includes admission to all events. There will be the poker run, a bike rodeo, door prizes, auction, live music, and more.

As the flyer says, “You don’t have to be a member of ABATE to apply for Randy Run funds. Pay it forward now and help fellow motorcyclists in their time of need.”

Biker Quote for Today

Ride to lean.

Why would people who are self-proclaimed rebels tie themselves in with an organization that demands strict observance of very tight rules? That’s what I don’t get about the outlaw motorcycle clubs.

I’m reading The One Percenter Code: How To Be An Outlaw In A World Gone Soft, by Dave Nichols. This is not a review of the book; I’ll put that up on Examiner.com when I’ve finished reading it. This is just me musing over the things I’ve been reading in this book that make me shake my head and wonder.

The main question is the one I already stated. Nichols, as well as other writers whose work I’ve seen, makes a big deal about how outlaw bikers give a big middle finger to authority. And yet the demands of the clubs themselves are so far stricter than anything society tries to impose. (Before I go any further, I want to make clear I have no first-hand knowledge of these things; I’m just going by what I read. If these writers are full of it your issue is with them, not me.)

So for instance, Nichols says that when the club goes on a ride all members are required to stay with the group at all times. That is so totally opposite of what I want to do when I ride. I’ll stay with the group, but if I want to do something other than what they group does, I’ll just say fine, I’ll meet up with you later. Don’t anybody try to tell me I’ve got to stay with the group!

And becoming a member! Oh man, it sounds like a military academy carried to an extreme. If you’re a prospect you are at the whim of every member who tells you what to do and you do it, period, or else. This is called showing your dedication and commitment. I call it a bunch of bull and I would never be party to any such arrangement. That’s part of the reason I never joined the army, never pledged a fraternity, any of that stuff. I don’t take that crap from anyone.

Then there’s the casual way that Nichols describes any number of ways to get your ass whipped by outlaw bikers if you don’t follow their rules of conduct. Never mind that “citizens,” as we non-club members are called, probably don’t have any idea these so-called “rules” exist. Nichols does note that in public places the club members do cut us citizens some slack, but hey, I don’t buy off on your rules. Don’t think you have some right to pound the crap out of me because I did something that annoyed you. And what’s with the freakin’ violence anyway? I’m not a big guy at all, so just because you can beat the crap out of me doesn’t make you good or right or better than me or anything, it just makes you a jerk.

Now to hear Nichols tell it, violence is a way of life for one percenters, but I suspect it’s not quite that extreme. I’m guessing there are plenty who are actually nice people and they get tarred by bad behavior of the minority. But there are two things that are absolutely clear here: I don’t want any part of the one-percenter life and no one-percenter club wants anything to do with me.

Hey, that works for me.

Biker Quote for Today

Prison is sometimes referred to as “The House of Bad Decisions.” In motorcycling, that’s the hospital. Don’t go there. — Brian Catterson

OK, you’re going to be riding around Colorado as much as possible this year no matter what. Are you interested in an something that can perhaps introduce you to places you’ve never been, and that might also put some cash in your pocket?

Oh, caught your interest, did I?

Here’s the deal. ABATE of Colorado is doing a fundraiser, for the second time, where you can purchase ($15) a Colorado Statewide Tour 2012 Passport Book that lists 178 businesses, points of interest, events, and other things. Each time you go to one of these you document it–receipt, signature, photo, whatever–and at the end of the year you turn your book in. For every five points you have checked off you get one entry in a drawing with three prizes: $1,000, $500, and $250.

Now, we all know that the odds with a drawing are that you will not win. Although three somebodies in this case will win. So while winning would be sweet indeed, it’s only a remote reason for playing. The real reasons are two-fold: Discovering new places or revisiting cool places you’ve been before, and raising money for ABATE.

The first reason needs no explanation. Why should you care about funding ABATE? Well, it seems like every legislative session that some bill gets introduced that motorcyclists get very interested in. Some we like, some we don’t. If we like them we want to support them; if we hate them we want to fight them. ABATE is our proxy in that effort. No motorcycling group in the state has more influence down at the gold dome.

Enough about that. What are some of the spots on the list? Here’s a random selection.

• Corral Sports Bar in Brush
• Barbour Ponds near Longmont
• Beecher Island Battlefield south of Wray
• Sunset Inn in Pueblo
• R’s Pizza in Silver Cliff
• Hovenweep National Monument near Cortez
• All ABATE Campout near Ignacio Sept. 1-3
• The Bike Shop in Sterling
• Motobreck in Breckenridge

As I said, random. So how many of those places have you been to? Here’s your chance to go someplace new.

So I bought my passport book. I’ll be checking off spots any time I can. And who knows, maybe I’ll win some cash. But I’m not banking on it.

Biker Quote for Today

You can’t be lost if you still have half a tank.

That didn’t take long. One day a bill came up for consideration in the Colorado House that would prohibit businesses from barring bikers from their establishments because they are wearing colors. The next day that bill was killed on a 6-3 vote in the State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee.

The bill, HB 1128, was proposed by Rep. Joe Miklosi, at the urging of constituents who belong to the Veterans of Vietnam America Motorcycle Club. I would assume it also had the support of the Colorado Confederation of Clubs, considering that they are whole-heartedly against businesses that ban erstwhile customers wearing colors. Just an assumption, but I could be wrong.

As an aside, here’s the Biker Friendly Or Not page on the CCC’s website where they list establishments that sit on both sides of that fence.

The vote in this case was not strictly a party-line vote. With five Democrats and four Republicans on the committee, the three who sought to keep the bill alive were all Democrats but two Dems joined with all four Republicans to “postpone the bill indefinitely.”

I have to think this was another situation where the biker community, at least those of the cruiser persuasion, and the Republicans who they generally work in concert with, ran into some friction. They would seem to be opposing views of freedom, i.e., the freedom of business owners to run their businesses as they see fit vs. the freedom of individuals to dress as they choose without fear of retribution.

There was a time years ago when my buddies and I went out to a bar on our bikes and were denied entrance because we were wearing motorcycle jackets. No colors or anything, just jackets. We figured that was pretty absurd. And you can bet we’ve never been back to that bar.

On the other hand, “No shirt, no shoes, no service” is a common sign and people seem to accept that with no argument. So the issue would come down to how you write a law that goes far enough without going too far. You probably can’t, so maybe it’s just best to leave it alone. The government doesn’t need to make the rules on everything.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Virginia bill banning motorcycle-only stops enacted; federal legislation pending

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re becoming addicted to riding when you start putting your gear on in the morning, only to realize you need to take the cage to work . . . but you consider leaving your gear on to make the commute “more motorcycle-ish.”

Senate Bill 89, which would have eliminated Colorado’s Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program, died in committee Tuesday. But the senators who wish to give reform efforts a chance to succeed made it clear they will vote differently in the future if the program is not fixed.

The idea that the program has problems was not contested by anyone. The only discussion was on whether to kill the program outright or first let those involved with MOST do what they can to fix it. On a party line vote, the majority Democrats on the committee voted for the latter while the minority Republicans voted to kill the program.

In arguing for killing MOST, Sen. Scott Renfroe, the bill’s sponsor, challenged the need for such a program and said it was an area in which the government need not get involved. Sen. Renfroe made it clear he supports rider training, pointing out that he himself rides motorcycles, but that he feels the program has outlived its usefulness.

Opponents of the bill expressed concerns that killing MOST could result in the loss of an annual $100,000 grant for motorcycle safety efforts from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. They also said that in talks with the Colorado Department of Revenue (DoR), DoR had made it clear that if MOST was killed, the department would no longer accept Beginning Rider Course certification in lieu of the department’s own testing of riders seeking to get licensed. Sen. Renfroe said he questioned whether DoR would in fact do that.

If DoR did do that, opponents pointed out, it would mean that the expense of testing, which is currently borne by the riders taking the courses, would fall on DoR, driving up government expenses.

Sen. Renfroe pointed to results of a survey conducted among riders who had taken the courses, saying that the riders themselves stated overwhelmingly that an increase in the price of the class would not have deterred them from taking them. Speaking for the Colorado Department of Transportation, which supported allowing time for the program to be fixed, Herman Stockinger pointed out that in fact, the survey showed that nearly 50 percent had said a $70 increase would indeed have caused them to reconsider. Seventy dollars per student is the amount that rider training is subsidized through MOST.

“That’s perhaps 4,000 plus people (per year) who wouldn’t have taken the training,” said Stockinger.

So MOST has a reprieve but it is not out of the woods. It is now up to those involved with MOST to put into effect the recommendations of a legislative audit report. And if those recommendations are not enacted, the next time this issue comes up the outcome could be very different.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Colorado motorcycle training program gets reprieve

Biker Quote for Today

It’s our job. Burnin’ gasoline, killin’ bugs, and wearing out tires! — StevenE Fristoe