Passes & Canyons Blog

I had never heard of this before but it recently came to my attention: the 18th Annual Morgan Adams Concours d’Elegance.

This is not strictly a motorcycle event but it does include motorcycles. Held each year at Centennial Airport, it features aircraft, cars, and motorcycles. This thing is a fundraiser and as such it is a posh event. A single ticket is $250, so the majority of us who are not independently wealthy will give it a pass. If $250 is no big deal you might want to check it out.

The list of bikes that will be on display is impressive:

1928 AJS AK12
1930 AJS R12 250cc
1966 BMW R60/2
1968 BMW R60/2
1970 Bridgestone TMX-100
1932 BSA Blue Star 500
1959 BSA Gold Star Clubman
1960 BSA Gold Star Scrambler
1963 Cushman Eagle
1964 Cushman Eagle
1973 Ducati Imola Factory Racer
1953 Focesi Glory 100
1967 Greeves MX5 Challenger
1950 Harley Davidson WL Flathead

1972 Honda 70 ST
1972 Honda CB750 K2
1972 Honda CL350 Flying Dragon
1970 Honda CL450 Scrambler
1989 Honda GB 500 TT Café Racer
1937 Indian Sport Scout
1937 Indian Sport Scout
1987 Matchless G80
1950 Matchless G9
2011 Moto Guzzi V7 Racer
1944 Nimbus Model C
1975 Norton 850 Commando Hi Rider
1975 Norton Commando 850

1973 Norton Commando Hi Rider
1973 Norton Commando Hi Rider
1950 Norton Manx
1944 Royal Enfield Bullet 350
1966 Triumph T120R Bonneville
1960 Triumph TR6 Custom
1969 Triumph TR6C Tiger
1970 Triumph TR6C Tiger Custom
2010 Triumph Truxton
1972 Triumph X-75 Hurricane
1938 Velocette KSS 350cc
1952 Vincent Black Lightning
1951 Vincent Rapide
1980 Yamaha XS650 Special

So hey, you won’t see me there but if you go send me a note telling me about it and I’ll pass that along.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if your dog and your wallet are both on chains.

I got a notification from Jerry Pokorny of an event that might be interesting if you’d be inclined to head up to Steamboat Springs in a couple weeks. It’s called the Premier & Classic Weekend.

So what is this Premier & Classic Weekend? Well, for starters, the AHRMA is the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association. Which is to say, this is a group that stages vintage motorcycle races. You can fill in the rest.

This event will be held at the Jenny Ranch, outside Steamboat, at 37850 Routt County Road 45. It starts on Friday, June 4, and runs through the weekend. There will be a dual-sport ride on Friday, vintage trial racing on Saturday, and premier and classic scrambles on Sunday. If you just want to watch, admission is $10 per day. If you want to bring your old bike and participate, entry fees are $30 or $40 depending on the event. If you want to stay the weekend, there are local accommodations or you can camp on the ranch for $10 per night. A catered dinner is available on Saturday night for $15 per person.

So what’s actually going to be going on, besides the chance to see some very cool motorcycles in action? Let’s take trials. Per the AHRMA website:

Observed trials is a very significant part of historic motorcycle competition. It began as a wintertime sport for European enthusiasts, who tested themselves by tracing ancient Roman roads. These riders negotiated various obstacles along the way, all of which gave test to both man and machine. As the “gentleman’s sport” developed, such obstacles became more specific, and more challenging. From the 1980s until today, the obstacles presented to trials competitors have been inconceivable for most motorcycle riders.

AHRMA’s observed trials goal is to provide its members a safe, historically accurate environment to showcase and experience vintage machinery. The key to this enjoyment is the observed sections. From the 1950s into the ‘70s, sections were mainly composed of wide-open areas of challenging terrain, with the rider’s choice of line determining his/her success. Observed sections reminiscent of this era are critical in AHRMA’s representation of classic observed trials. With period-accurate sections, machines will remain true to their original concept, and the techniques required to ride them will do the same, enhancing the entire vintage trials scene. The trials-riding experience will undoubtedly result in good friends, good rides and good fun.

So. Could be a fun weekend. Will I be there? No, I’ll be in some state about a thousand miles to the east on that weekend. But you might consider it. If you do, and you want to send me some photos and a report I’ll be glad to publish them. Thanks.

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t ride my bike to win races, not do I ride to get places. I ride to escape this world. I ride to find peace with myself. I ride to feel free and I ride to feel strong.

I had reported back in December that the Progressive International Motorcycle Show for Denver had been moved to June but, with that move, would happen. Here’s the update: No, it won’t.

The promoters sent around word last week that with the rate of Covid vaccination not as rapid as hoped, they don’t feel it will yet be safe in June to hold this year’s event. Here’s their statement.

We wanted you to be the first to know that we have updated the 2021 schedule for the all-new Progressive IMS Outdoors series. Unfortunately, we had to make the tough decision to cancel the Denver event that was slated to kick off the tour in June. Considering the timing and vaccination progress across the country, we felt that it would be too soon to hold the event. We hope to put Denver back on the schedule in 2022 and look forward to serving you and your community again.

Another one bites the dust.

Sooner or later we’re going to be getting back to normal. But when? I know my listing of upcoming motorcycle events in Colorado is just as brief at this moment as it was all last year. Right now there are only three events on the listing, and they’re all competitions, i.e., racing.

Biker Quote for Today

Your world can fall down around you but as long as you’re in the wind it won’t make any difference.

As presumably all Colorado motorcyclists are aware, the end of January is normally the time for swap meet, or more recently, the Colorado Motorcycle Expo. However, as with all large, inside gatherings, that was canceled this year due to the coronavirus.

For businesses during this trying time, the adage “Adapt or Die” is absolutely the nature of the beast. The Expo is adapting; whether this will be sufficient for it to survive we can only wait to see.

The adaptation in this case is a move to monthly swap meets, the first of which will be Saturday this week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Dirty Dogs Roadhouse, at 17999 West Colfax in Golden. There is no admission fee.

The event is sponsored by Rider Justice, which is the activist arm of the O’Sullivan Personal Injury Law Firm. Here’s what they have to say about the event:

Join us for our 1st Biker Swap Meet hosted by the Colorado Motorcycle Expo and sponsor RiderJustice and Colorado Rider News
This will be a monthly swap meet for the purposes of giving our local motorcycle vendors a place to sell their stuff. Dirty Dogs Roadhouse will be hosting this in the lower and upper parking lot giving everyone ample space to sell.

We aren’t sure if rallys and events will be scheduled this year. This will be an outdoor event with everyone practicing safe social distancing. As the weather warms up, we will include music, food and beverage stations in the upper parking lots as well.

Dirty Dogs Roadhouse also had this to say:

Dirty Dogs Roadhouse is currently serving from 7am-11pm due to recent covid restrictions. We will update this information as it changes. We currently require guests to wear masks when moving about or standing, once sitting you are free to take it off.

So, what’s it going to be like? Will there be vendors? Will people show up? Will it be safe to show up? There are a bunch of questions but I guess the only way to get answers is to try it and see. Will I be going? Hard to say. Right now my inclination is to drop by and take a look, which perhaps staying at a distance. Judy and I have each gotten our first Covid shots but we’re still wary and I’m sure we will be for some time to come yet. But I’ll probably at least drive by and stop to shoot a picture or two.

Biker Quote for Today

If I was a short track racer I’d be an Indian. You could ride me around and ride me around again. — Mark Knopfler

Two more motorcycle events have been canceled due to Covid 19.

The Last Brass Monkey Run, the annual last-day-of-the-year event put on by ABATE of Colorado, has been canceled.

Larry Montgomery, ABATE state rep, said in the latest issue of the Spokesman, ABATE’s member newsletter, “At this time we are temporarily on hold for the Last Brass Monkey Run that was to be held on December 31, 2020, at the Rock Rest Bar & Grill in Golden. We are still going to make available to anyone that would renew at this event to be able to renew online December 31, 2020, and you will receive your Brass Nuts in the mail along with your membership card. For those that do not renew, but would still want or need the Brass Nuts for this year we will make arrangements to get them to you for a $5.00 donation to ABATE. We will need mailing info to send them to you.”

This would have been the 33rd Last Brass Monkey Run so once again, a long-standing tradition bites the dust thanks to the coronavirus.

Also canceled is the 2021 Colorado Motorcycle Expo, the event that takes the place of the old Colorado Motorcycle Show & Swap.

I also got word of this cancellation through the Spokesman, where Mike Cole, ABATE District 17 rep, said, “We talked to you last month about your interest in attending the Colorado Motorcycle Expo in 2021, while we did get a response from you and it appeared that many were not going to attend, the decision has been made for us, the 2021 Expo has been canceled and I believe you all know why, unless you have been living in a virus bubble?”

ABATE had been debating having its usual booth at the Expo and had asked members if they planned to attend the Expo. I had replied that I for one did not plan to go, and I listed my concerns in this post about the event. Man, the folks who bought out that event have got to be losing their shirts on this badly timed acquisition.

But we can take heart from the fact that vaccines appear to be on the way. Maybe by next summer my listing of upcoming events will once again be packed with rides and rallies.

In the meantime, we can all still ride alone, which I prefer anyway–most of the time. To set the mood, I pulled up some old biker quotes about riding alone:

• Riding faster than everyone else only guarantees you’ll ride alone.
• The road is only open when you ride alone.
• I can tell better stories when I ride alone, but I have better time when I ride with friends.
• He who rides alone can start today.
• If you cannot find a good companion to ride with, ride alone, like an elephant roaming the jungle. It is better to be alone than to be with those who will hinder your progress.
• Motorcycles are better than men because your motorcycle never wants a night out alone with the other motorcycles.

Biker Quote for Today

I don’t know why they got mad. All I said was that in order to be a biker your motorcycle needs to leave your yard.

The Colorado Motorcycle Expo, formerly the Motorcycle Show and Swap, has had a rough few years. First there was a shooting that resulted in it closing early and then not happening the following year. Now it is stuck in the same conundrum facing so many venues in light of the coronavirus.

Obviously, the folks running it have to make some decisions about the 2021 show, presumably to be held in January. Here are some of the proposed changes.

• The number of attendees inside the building at one time will be limited to 700. This will increase to 1000 if we use more space on the lower level and 3rd floor. The good news is vendors and employees are not counted as attendees. Our plan is to stagger admission times with 2 hour blocks so the overall attendance is not significantly impacted.
• All food and beverage consumption will be confined to designated areas. This means people cannot walk around eating or drinking.
• Facial coverings will be required at all times with the exception of designated food and beverage areas.
• Aisle sizes will increase and be designated for one way traffic only. Additionally, the spacing between vendors will be increased. Our plan is to spread the bike show out throughout the entire vendor areas in order to increase traffic throughout the expo and to fill the increased spaces between vendors.
• Plexiglas barriers will be required for all vendors where financial transactions take place. You can provide your own or the facility will rent these to you.
• A quick temperature scan will be included with daily vendor check in/screening.
• Proper social distancing will be expected and enforced with attendees.
• Concerts and entertainment are not allowed at the facility. Our plan is to have after hour parties that are relocated off-site for 2021.

All of this, by the way, is only if they’re able to proceed in the first place. That is not a given and at the moment the management is reaching out to the vendors to see whether they would even plan to come. If that comes up with a largely negative response the Expo may not happen at all, I would presume.

But also, you have to wonder a few things here. First, will people come to the Expo? I know Judy and I don’t get too bent out of shape by the coronavirus but we categorically do not go places where there are crowds. And they say facial coverings will be mandated at all times. Considering a significant portion of the biker community is made up of Trump-friendly anti-maskers, this could be hard to enforce. Who’s going to tell a group of 25 1%ers that they have to put masks on or leave? This could be tough.

More news will follow. I’ll update you when I hear anything more.

Biker Quote for Today

Top 10 signs that a computer is owned by a Harley rider:
And the Number 1 sign that a computer is owned by a Harley rider:
01. — A half-naked, big-breasted “warrior princess” and her tiger have been airbrushed onto the sides of the monitor.