Passes & Canyons Blog

An ABATE rider training course at Arapahoe Community College.

ABATE of Colorado has been forced out of the motorcycle rider training business. Once the largest training organization in the state, the future of the organization’s property and trainers remains unclear.

I first heard about this at the Last Brass Monkey Run on December 31 and had hoped to get more information about it but have not had the time. So I’ll give you what I can. Actually, I’ll quote you a bit of what ABATE State Coordinator Larry Montgomery had to say about it in the latest issue of ABATE’s newsletter, the Spokesman.

As most of you have heard by now, ABATE will no longer be allowed to provide motorcycle training in Colorado due to a supposed contract violation from MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) and CSP (Colorado State Patrol), this went into effect November 3rd, 2025. . . ABATE tried to respond in numerous ways to the concerns MSF had regarding our quality of training for citizens of Colorado. This process was only done by email from MSF and CSP. They have never discussed in person any problems with anyone associated with ABATE. . .

The whole process seems strange to me as there were many people that knew about the decertification before I or the ABATE board received the letter of suspension from MSF and CSP.

As we move forward ABATE will continue as a SMRO (state motorcycle rights organization) organization and will continue to fight for motorcycle rights.

I’ve heard a number of things. The one most people seem to subscribe to is that ABATE had been a thorn in the side of folks at the state level running the rider training system in the state and they decided to put a stop to it. I don’t claim to know what the motivation was. I certainly was not aware of ABATE’s training program being out of compliance with the rules.

What does it mean for ABATE to lose its certification? Can’t the organization offer training on its own? Yes, it can. The issue is that with state certification you can train someone and test them on the riding portion of the motorcyclist licensing process and they can then take that certificate to the DMV and all they need to do to finish getting motorcycle certified is to pass the written test. Without certification, ABATE trainees would need to take the written and driving tests. Because other organizations offer the certification, students would presumably be more inclined to sign up elsewhere.

The other thing it means is that Colorado is likely to be severely short of riding training programs, making it harder for those who want training to find someone nearby who offers it. ABATE was just about the only organization to offer training in several large portions of the state. Those people in particular will be hard hit by this situation.

It’s hard to say what happens from here. I’ll pass along what I hear.

Biker Quote for Today

Never breathe within forty yards of roadkill.

It was just a year ago when I went on my first ever poker run, except no one rode motorcycles. It was the ABATE District 10 Coffee Run and the weather was miserable. Well, the Coffee Run for 2010 was held this past weekend and this time the weather cooperated. We rode bikes.

There was a lot of interest for me in this run because of all that has happened in the past year. A year ago I was a new ABATE member and when I showed up at this run I didn’t know anybody. I’m not an overly gregarious person and it can be hard for me to mix comfortably with strangers. But I learned long ago as a newspaper reporter that as long as I assume a role I can play that role instead of being simply me. So I shifted into reporter mode and talked to a bunch of people, got a lot of good story ideas, and felt pretty good about it all.

This year was so different. I walked into a crowd of people I knew, greeted and was greeted, and was happy to see some folks I hadn’t seen in quite awhile. Folks I met last year at the Coffee Run, as a matter of fact. I didn’t have to play a role, I could just be me. And of course, as I always do, I did come up with some good contacts for some story ideas. Any journey starts with the first step. It can be hard to take that step but once you do you’re on your way and from then on it just gets easier.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
MSF President Tim Buche discusses motorcycle safety studies

Biker Quote for Today

Crawl, walk, ride

OK, this is just a fun story I want to pass along. Thanks go to Mike Landon, who sent the link to me.

It seems there were these folks living in this Chicago-area nursing home who regularly passed a biker bar. They grew interested in the bar and decided to pay it a visit. But they didn’t just drop in. First, they did themselves up with tattoos and biker costumes, and rolled in as a “biker gang.”

They were welcomed and members of the local Latino American Motorcycle Association and ABATE chapters have agreed to take them all for rides on their bikes.

It’s a really fun story. Worth your time to read it here.

Biker Quote for Today

If your mind wanders, ride after it.