An Unwanted Ice Racing Hiatus

February 20th, 2023

Ice racing is a family sport–and a lot of fun.

When I’m updating my Rides and Rallies page I often check in on various clubs to see what events they have planned.

One such club is Harry’s Roamers. While it is not the only thing they do, Harry’s Roamers is well known for putting on ice racing up at Rainbow Falls, down toward Woodland Park. Judy and I have been to the ice races a couple times and it’s a lot of fun.

But this year I was not finding anything about ice racing being scheduled. That was odd. Normally this would be about when the racing season was winding up. What I did find was an exchange on one site between someone asking if there was ice racing this year and a reply. What caught my eye was that one of the people exchanging notes was Joel Brown. Joel is my mechanic. Hah! I’ll just call Joel and ask him what the deal is.

So I did and Joel told me a whole lot. First off, I didn’t know it but Joel is the president of the club. OK, I guess I’ve really come to the right source. Another thing Joel told me was that Harry’s Roamers is the oldest chartered motorcycle club in Colorado, having been chartered by the American Motorcyclist Association in 1929 in operation continuously ever since. Joel said they’re really intent on making sure they hit the 100-year mark, whether ice racing is in the mix or not.

Oh yeah, ice racing. So what’s the deal?

Well, it seems the owner of the Rainbow Falls property decided he wasn’t being paid enough for hosting this series of events and so he asked for more this season. A lot more. Joel said they had been paying close to $2,000 per week between lease and percentage of the gate but this year he wanted $3,000 and 10 percent of the gate. And just as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs does not work to your advantage, this increase has been met with zero income. It just doesn’t work to operate at a loss, Joel noted, also pointing out that everyone doing all the work this thing requires are volunteers.

So they’re looking for another venue but so far have not found anything. They need either a lake or some large enough area that could be prepped and then flooded. But that latter would require a lot of water and where do you get that and for what price? As for lakes, anything that is part of the Denver water system is off limits.

There is a lake down at Lake George and that town seems interested in having the races move there but nothing much has happened so far on that possibility. At Georgetown Lake they already host four-wheeled ice racing but that means those folks already have dibs on the better part of the season and it is hard to know way back in October what condition the ice will be in come March. And you can’t just decide to hold races next week, you have to arrange for things like insurance, having an ambulance on the premises, providing porta-potties, and all that other stuff that you and I, just showing up for a day of fun, assume will be there.

Meanwhile, Harry’s Roamers is continuing to hold its meetings and plan a bunch of rides, and if someone has a lake they’d like to rent out for a few weekends in the middle of winter–something up in the hills where you can count of cold and the ice being solid–Joel or anybody in the club would love to hear from you.

Biker Quote for Today

“Riding a race bike is an art – a thing that you do because you feel something inside.” – Valentino Rossi

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And It’s Back On Again

February 16th, 2023

So Rep. Ron Weinberg decided not to kill his bill calling for a study of lane-splitting in Colorado.

 Rep. Ron Weinberg

In a report on Local Today, Weinberg said “Motorcycling is a contentious issue . . . People are afraid there will be more fatalities. I certainly don’t want that, but all the more reason to study it.” He stated further that “There is no arrogance or selfishness here. If it really comes back and says it’s harming Coloradans’ lives, I’ll kill it myself.”

What exactly does the bill call for? Here’s the current text.

43-1-131. Motorcycle lane splitting study – report – repeal.
(1) THE DEPARTMENT, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE COLORADO STATE PATROL, SHALL STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF PERMITTING MOTORCYCLES TO PASS OR OVERTAKE A MOTOR VEHICLE BY DRIVING ALONGSIDE THE MOTOR VEHICLE IN THE SAME LANE OR DRIVING BETWEEN ROWS OF STOPPED OR MOVING MOTOR VEHICLES, REFERRED TO IN THIS SECTION AS “LANE SPLITTING.” THE STUDY MUST, AT A MINIMUM:
(a) IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF PERMITTING MOTORCYCLE LANE SPLITTING; AND
(b) IDENTIFY POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUES RELATED TO PERMITTING MOTORCYCLE LANE SPLITTING.
(2) NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 31, 2023, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL SUBMIT A REPORT ON THE STUDY TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE AND THE SENATE TRANSPORTATION AND ENERGY COMMITTEE, OR THEIR SUCCESSOR COMMITTEES.
24-33.5-204. Departmental cooperation – repeal. (3) (a) THE COLORADO STATE PATROL SHALL COLLABORATE WITH THE DEPARTMENT HB23-1059-2-
OF TRANSPORTATION ON THE MOTORCYCLE LANE SPLITTING FEASIBILITY STUDY DESCRIBED IN SECTION 43-1-131.

A fiscal note has been produced, specifying how much the proposal would cost and where the funding would come from–a requirement for all bills. The study is expected to cost $75,000 and the money would come from the state highway fund. No special appropriation would be needed.

So that’s where it sits right now. Stay tuned for future twists and turns.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding a motorcycle is exactly like riding a bicycle except you have power between your legs.

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Lane Filtering Bill To Be Killed

February 13th, 2023

Rep. Ron Weinberg

OK, that didn’t go very far. The word from Stump, ABATE of Colorado‘s legislative liaison, is that Rep. Ron Weinberg is planning to kill his own bill that would have called for a study of lane filtering as a possibility for Colorado.

Here’s what Stump had to say:

HB23-1059 (Lane Splitting Study) is going to be PI’d or pulled by the sponsor of the bill. I met very briefly with Rep. Weinberg on Thursday. Prior to our meeting, he had been in contact with Tiffany Cipoletti, the On Highway Government Relations Manager for the AMA, who informed him that the AMA thinks HB1059 was “poorly written and wasn’t supported by CDOT and CSP.” She went on to say, “entering into a study with the DOT and CHP when you know they are opposed may be detrimental to any future efforts.” That seemed to be deciding point for Rep. Weinberg. He had also talked to Capt. Honn (CSP liaison to the Legislature) to confirm CSP’s stance on the bill. At our brief meeting (about 2 minutes), Rep. Weinberg said, “I heard from the AMA and I don’t want to do anything that would be detrimental to the relationship between the bikers and CSP, so I’m going to PI the bill. Meeting over.” But he also said maybe next year.

So OK, maybe next year. It’s taking time but this thing is slowly gaining momentum across the country, so maybe as more states try it, the ones that are reluctant will gain more confidence in the concept.

Biker Quote for Today

They say life is tough, but it’s a hell of a lot easier on a motorcycle.

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February Riding

February 9th, 2023

The obligatory ride photo, down near Daniels Park.

February has been very compliant this year, offering us good riding days right away. Of course I took advantage.

Friday of last week was looking to be the best day so I got out on the Concours. There were plenty of other bikes out, too. People know a good thing when they see it.

Nothing eventful happened on that ride but I did notice that unlike its opposite number and its predecessor, my new left-hand mirror vibrates as if I were on a Harley. That’s never been the case before. Did I just not wrench the nuts down tight enough? Getting to them is way too complicated for me to just go in and see, so I guess I’ll be living with this for the foreseeable future.

It was a beautiful day and Saturday promised to be very nice, too, so I left the other two bikes for Saturday. But Saturday proved to be no way near as nice.

I took off first on the V-Strom. The temperature was about five degrees cooler than the day before but more importantly, there was a breeze, and it was a cold breeze. I immediately turned on the electric vest, which I had worn the day before but never turned on. That helped a lot.

Unlike the day before, there were not a lot of other bikes out; I only saw a couple. I did notice, though, going over Cherry Creek Dam, that there were ice fishermen all over the lake. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen ice fishermen out there before. I guess that is a testament to how much colder this winter has been than recent years past.

I kind of had a longer ride in mind but it wasn’t long before I was getting more than a little chilly. I altered my route and got in a good ride but a shorter one than planned. By the time I got home my hands were seriously cold and all of me was uncomfortable. Fine, I have warmer gear.

After lunch I headed out on the CB750, this time having added long underwear and my riding pants with liner, and my heated gloves. Absolute night and day. I took a much longer ride and could not have been more comfortable.

The other really nice thing, which I didn’t even think about for a while, was that whereas the Honda had seemed to run poorly the last time I rode it, now it ran absolutely beautifully. Not one thing wrong. I have no idea what that business was about last month but I’m quite pleased it didn’t turn out to be something I would have to contend with.

This time I headed west and then turned south down US 85 through Sedalia. Not surprisingly, I saw a lot more bikes out this time. You will never ride down by Sedalia on a decent day and not see lots of bikes, and this day was no exception. I turned north on the Daniels Park Road, stopped and took the obligatory ride photo, and worked my way on home. Now the weather can do its worst, I’ve ridden all three bikes in February.

Biker Quote for Today

I love the sensation of being out in the open air, far away from all the distractions of modern life. I will usually disappear for a couple of hours, and that time on my bike is quite sacred, as it’s when I do all my serious thinking.

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Posted in Colorado motorcycle rides, Honda motorcycles, Kawasaki, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

The People Of The Colorado Motorcycle Expo

February 6th, 2023

You would be hard put to find any better place for people watching than the Colorado Motorcycle Expo, although I didn’t seem to get as many really good shots as I have in past years. Still, if you can’t come up with something you ought to hang up your camera. Let’s do some gawking.

You don’t suppose this guy wanted people to look at him, do you?

It’s good to have a friend. And dogs like to go places and see people, too.

I guess zoot suits are coming back in style.

I’m only including this shot because right after I took the picture this guy yelled at me not to take any pictures.

I believe I mentioned that there were a lot of Bandidos at the Expo this year. A whole lot.

I really wondered what these ladies might be discussing.

Just cute.

Biker Quote for Today

You can’t scare me; my grandpa is a biker.

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Bikes From The Colorado Motorcycle Expo

February 2nd, 2023

As promised, here are some shots of some of the show bikes on display at last weekend’s Colorado Motorcycle Expo.

Let’s start out with some of the seven or so mega-trikes (my term). They were the first thing you encountered so it seems like a good place to start. What I’m wondering about these is how you turn effectively. Is there gearing or something that you only rotate the handlebars a little and the wheel turns a lot more. Kind of like a car, I guess, now that I think about it. I’d be curious to know how it works.

Then there were some odd ones. See how low this is? Can you even ride this thing? It seems like you would scrape the bottom on the tiniest bumps.

Then there were the super good-looking show bikes.

Of course there were some really radical bikes. This one was especially cool. But it looks like you’d have a scraping problem with it, too, if you actually wanted to ride it.

And finally, it’s good to see the kids can get in on the action. All you need is a really cool Mom/Dad or maybe Grandpa.

So those are some of the bikes that were on display. Next I’ll focus on the people of the Expo.

Biker Quote for Today

If your grandpa doesn’t have a motorcycle you have two grandmas.

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