The Motomarathon is back in 2010 with four events on its calendar. “The Motomarathon Association,” says founding Route Master John Metzger, “sanctions an annual series of four-day rides over the best roads and most scenic routes in the nation, and now with organized sport-riding tours on both coasts.” Its first season was 2009.

Here is the list of this year’s events.

• Southern California Motomarathon – March 26-29
• New England Motomarathon – May 13-16
• Centopassi Motomarathon – June 25-28
• Colorado Motomarathon – September 17-20

With two inaugural rides last season, only six riders completed all the checkpoints out of nearly 100 participants. “With four events scheduled for 2010, it will be a challenge to nail every check,” said Metzger. “This should result in a national champion to be crowned by the end of the year.”

For more information visit the website or contact John Metzger, 303-641-1062, john@metzger.com.

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Biker Quote for Today

Ride Safe. Ride Hard. Enjoy the Ride!

I reported in April about the inaugural Motomarathon event and series put together by Boulderite John Metzger. Well, John and the Motomarathon Association are back with the second event in this first season, the Pikes Peak Motomarathon, scheduled for Sept. 11-14, 2009.

Here’s the skinny on the event.

Motomarathoners Arise!

You have nothing to lose but your chicken strips!

Pikes Peak Motomarathon

September 11-14, 2009

This 4-day endurance ride starts and stops at Pikes Peak Motorsports in Colorado Springs. It is on paved roads (with dirt options), averaging about 400 miles each day.

PIKES PEAK MOTORSPORTS
5867 N. Nevada Ave., #150
Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Motomarathon Association staffers will be taking a scouting ride this week to line up hotels and conduct route research and experimentation (no animals will be harmed).

Go to www.motomarathon.com to register and watch for updates.

The Colorado Motomarathon was the Central Rockies at their finest.

This ride captures the essence of the incredible San Juans and the immensity of the Pikes Peak region…

…and perhaps a dip into the Land of Enchantment (New Mexico). The Ancient Sport-Touring Ones considered these Sacred Places.

Wanted: Those who rode the inaugural Colorado Motomarathon, send us your photos to start our Gallery Section on the Web site, and…

We’re going to start tracking members’ bikes, so please let us know your year/make/model.

Stay tuned.

Anyone up for a ride?

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Never do less than 40 miles before breakfast.

Billed as a redefinition of motorcycle sport-touring, the Motomarathon Association will hold its inaugural event in Colorado June 12-15.

The Motomarathon concept is to ride “as many twisties as possible, over four full days. Routes are kept secret until the night before each event. Through a series of self- recorded check points, riders verify completion at the end of each day’s ride. This endurance ride promises to be a pass-bagging extravaganza with the best elevation-changing, rip-roaring twisties the central Colorado Rockies have to offer.”

John Metzger, of Boulder, used the Iron Butt Rally as a starting point in devising what he hopes will catch on as a new sport. He says he “soon realized that fatigue-riddled riding at high speed at night in a straight line on Interstates wasn’t my cup of tea. For me, it was all about making turns.” Just this year, the Motomarathon Association was formed.

Additional events are currently being developed and the association will post standings among the riders and a champion will be designated at the end of the season. The association currently has 19 members signed up, including Metzger and moto-journalist Brian Catterson.

Riders will be mounted on Ducati’s Multistrada, Hypermotard, and Monster bikes and Ducati is a sponsor of the event.

Describing the event, the association’s website says:

The Motomarathon Association’s goal is to establish a series of organized rides with the most challenging routes in the nation and around the world, giving members the chance to share the camaraderie surrounding the best experience in motorcycle sport-touring. Members are encouraged to chase points by participating and finishing in as many events as they can over an annual season. An overall championship will be awarded each year to individuals, and will eventually include teams.

Though some Motomarathons can be elaborate affairs with hotels, meals, support vehicles, mechanical assistance, celebrity bikers and umbrella girls included with additional fees, the basic philosophy is to make each event as automated and self-regulated as possible. The Colorado Motomarathon, for example, requires only that riders join the Motomarathon Association, pay an event fee of $75, have their own bike/gear/camera, make their own hotel arrangements, take care of their own meals, carry their own tools and luggage, and rely on themselves or the kindness of others if they get lost or run into mechanical problems.

The association is encouraging its members to develop their own ideas for events and will consider those submitted. Ultimately they hope to have half a dozen events set up around the country. The second event now being planned is Centopassi Colorado, a motomarathon scheduled for September 11-14, 2009, that is expected to include routes into Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride hard or stay home.