Passes & Canyons Blog

As I mentioned previously, my District 10 of ABATE of Colorado shut down and I am now a member of District 17. This group meets on Tuesday evenings and I went to my first meeting two days ago. Let’s just say it was interesting.

First off, those of us who were transferring from D-10 to D-17 had the idea that the D-17 people meet at The Shack in Littleton at 7 p.m. but many of them come at 6 for dinner and socializing. I got there and found Bruce and Carol Downs (former D-10) but nobody else. After awhile, Larry and Kathy Montgomery (former D-10) also showed up. But no one else. OK, we had dinner.

Eventually the others showed up, around 7. Mike Cole, the district rep, was very welcoming, as well he should be. By the time everyone got there, there were five of us and seven of them, so we have nearly doubled the size of their group. At least their active group; there are a lot of members who do not come to meetings.

We had introductions all around and got right to business. It was the usual stuff, legislative matters and planning for fundraising events, plus some discussion of bringing in new members. I’ll be going over these things later.

Under the events heading, I was interested to find that D-17 each year hosts a “Dart Run.” I don’t thing I’d ever heard of this before but it sounds like fun, and I was assured that it is. I’m still not clear on what it’s all about but the talk was of broken crossbows that need to be replaced, spears that were stolen from the event this year, and of course, darts. OK, I want to know more.

Mike mentioned that they are still in need of someone to chair the planning for next year’s Dart Run and he turned to me with the suggestion that perhaps I’d like to volunteer. I declined for now. This is just not how I function. My style, ever since I was a young child my mother tells me, is to come into a new situation and sit on the sidelines observing intently for a while, until I feel comfortable, at which point I join in. So stepping right up for this is not likely to happen.

But then during the rest of the meeting, any time some need of this sort came up Mike turned to me again and again. Whoa, whoa, back off! I know you don’t know me but let me tell you, to push me aggressively is the surest way to get me to not do what you want. I may need to have a discussion with him about this. I appreciate that he’s trying to get things accomplished but that’s not how I work.

So anyway, they seemed like a good group of people and we’re all there for the same reason, to look out for the interests of motorcyclists. I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about them here.

Biker Quote for Today

When I’m riding my motorcycle, I’m glad to be alive. When I stop riding my motorcycle, I’m glad to be alive. — Neil Peart