Passes & Canyons Blog

It was a nice day to ride to the Colorado Motorcycle Expo.

I went to the Colorado Motorcycle Expo, at the National Western Center, as I frequently do. It seemed to me it just wasn’t as much of a show as it usually is. There didn’t seem to be as many really cool bikes in the display area and whereas I usually shoot a lot of good people pictures, this time the people just didn’t seem as out there as usual. Anyway, here’s what I got.

This was a nice bike, not as gaudy as many of the show bikes.

Can’t you just hear this bike growl?

Now we’re into the real big-time show bikes. Somebody put a lot of time and effort into this.

Another beauty, with detail worth zooming in on.

OK, are you really going to ride down the street with pipes an inch off the ground? I doubt it.

Sometimes being a performer can be a lonely affair. But the show must go on so you just get up there and pretend you’re in front of a stadium full of people.

I’ve been to motorcycle shows around the country and this is really the only one that still harks back to the concept of being a swap meet. You really can buy just about any piece of a motorcycle you happen to be looking for. Although you’ll have more luck finding it if the piece you want goes on a Harley.

Leathers, leathers, boy do we have leathers. And helmets.

The Expo is also very much the place if you want patches, and they’ll sew them on right there while you wait.

Biker Quote for Today

If my bike went as fast as the money I spend on it I’d win every race.

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.

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.

You can buy just about anything motorcycle related at the Colorado Motorcycle Expo.

On Saturday I headed over to the National Western Complex for the 2023 Colorado Motorcycle Expo. Some aspects of this show never change but then some of them do.

It was a cold, overcast day (at least by the time I got there) and one thing very different was that there were not hundreds of motorcycle parked out front. No surprise considering the weather. But there were some here and there so there were some hard-core folks in attendance.

An odd thing that I take to be just coincidence was that as I was coming in there were a surprising number of people leaving who were carrying handlebars. Do a lot of people come here for handlebars? Probably my timing was just right for this totally random situation.

Inside you would have thought it was the middle of summer. I haven’t seen that much black leather in one place since the last time I came to the Expo. Personally, I don’t wear my riding gear except when I’m riding but this sort of event seems to prompt people to dress the part, never mind that they drove there in their cars.

The biggest surprise of all was that somehow in the intervening years (since 2019) all of the so-called “outlaw” clubs have established a presence at the Expo. By which I mean, they have all taken booths and set up with banners and everything and are now selling their own branded merchandise. Want some Sons of Silence merch? Take your pick of four different booths (Eastern Colorado, Metro, Southwest, Southwestern Colorado). Hell’s Angels merch? Got that. Gringos merch? Yup.

And this is an amazing transformation because the last time I went to the Expo the clubs were pretty much banned. There had been an inter-club shooting a couple years before and the management was working to keep them away, at least insisting that they not come wearing their colors. Times have changed.

Another surprise was how many Christian motorcycle groups had booths. I’ve really only been familiar with the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) but there was a whole slew of them that I had never heard of: Tribe of Judah Motorcycle Ministry, Soldiers for Jesus MC, and Hellfighters, just to name a few. Who knew? Not me. And they all had booths.

Of course there were a bunch of show bikes–that never changes. What was different about that this year was how very many mega-trikes there were. These are the things that are basically cars with extended forks and a single front wheel and two car tires on the rear. There used to be three of these things you’d see at local events, and I know one of them got smashed pretty badly in a crash in Wolcott some years ago. But there were about seven of them on display at the Expo.

Also, and this was new, in the downstairs there was an area where they had a bunch of custom cars. Don’t think I’ve ever seen cars on display at the Colorado Motorcycle Expo before.

And of course there were the people. There is absolutely no better place for people watching because there is nowhere else you’ll see so many really odd and interesting looking people.

Of course I shot a lot of pictures and I’ll be following up here with a couple posts that are primarily just photographs. Check back in a few days.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride to work, ride to play. Ride tomorrow, ride today.

The Expo is a great place to see some cool bikes, and the people-watching is pretty good, too.

I just learned this so I’m guessing a lot of you had not heard either: this year’s Colorado Motorcycle Expo has been rescheduled for February 19 and 20. It had originally been set for this weekend.

I was in the midst of writing a post saying I would be skipping this year’s event when I went to their website to copy down the URL and only then discovered the postponement. Here’s what they say about this change:

Even though the dates have changed, The Expo is on!!

The 2022 Colorado Motorcycle Expo will be held February 19th and 20th.

The Colorado Department of Public Health has granted us a variance pre-approval to Public Health Order 20-38 should the order be extended. This means vaccinations will NOT be required for our event.

We can hardly wait to you see everyone there!!!

I had been wondering about this, thinking it was highly unlikely that, despite any “mandate,” this biker crowd would comply with a mask requirement. And now it seems no requirement for vaccinations, either.

This is all exactly why I was planning to skip it this year. Judy and I are fully vaccinated but for three days each week we keep our three-year-old grandson Jack, and at that age he is obviously not vaccinated. Now, they say kids that young are highly unlikely to get seriously ill from Covid but on rare occasions they do. Judy is super cautious about this, not wanting to be in any way responsible if he should get sick.

All that considered, it seemed to me that the Expo was shaping up to be a possible super-spreader event, much in the way the Sturgis rally was last year. I like going to the Expo but keeping my grandson safe, not to mention keeping my wife happy, takes a higher priority.

But who knows. Omicron seems to be fading rapidly and maybe the difference of a few weeks will be significant. But right now I’m not counting on it.

Biker Quote for Today

All grampas are created equal, but only the coolest ride motorcycles.

The first of a series of monthly swap meets will be held this weekend.

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

A shot from the 2009 Show & Swap.

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.

You’re not likely to see crowd scenes like this at the 2021 Colorado Motorcycle Expo.

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.