Passes & Canyons Blog

Continuing what I was saying earlier, Terry Howard, ABATE of Colorado‘s State Coordinator, was telling us on Sunday about how there is a move to bury the axe between ABATE and the Colorado Confederation of Clubs (COC). The bad blood has existed for some time, and Terry said there have been previous unsuccessful attempts to put it to rest, but maybe this time.

The possible rapprochement got started when representatives of both groups were attending the Motorcycle Riders Foundation‘s Meeting of the Minds. According to Terry, a couple of the COC folks came up to her, saying, “We need to talk.” So they did.

Terry’s speculation is that some of the COC folks had an eye-opener when they looked at the list of training organizations that were in violation of MOST regulations and found that ABATE was not on that list. In discussion, she said, it came out that ABATE has an issue with one person in the COC and the COC has an issue with one person in ABATE. Fine, let’s leave them out of this.

The COC wanted to talk about how the two groups can work together for the common cause. Specifically, they were interested in three things.

• They want to ensure that if the MOST program continues that it is not cut back to simply forcing motorcyclists to pay extra for safety programs that other motorists don’t pay extra for.
• They are also looking for riders to work with them in an effort involving blow-test devices that are used on the vehicles of people convicted of DUIs. Colorado currently allows this but has no provision for doing so on motorcycles. The result is that a rider automatically loses the privilege of riding their bike. Other states allow this, and Colorado’s legislation does not disallow it, but there are issues that need to be worked out. The COC wants as many riders as possible to ride with the devices on their bikes to do testing so these issues can be addressed.
• The COC also wants help in addressing the issue of police profiling of motorcyclists. If you’re speeding, you’re speeding, no issue. But if you get stopped apparently just because you’re on a bike, they want to know about it and get the details. The idea is to build up a base of information about such incidents to see if there is a pattern or whether there really is even a problem.

So maybe the past can become history and, moving forward, these two motorcycle rights groups can work together for the common good. Keep your fingers crossed.

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Biker Quote for Today

Learn to ride a motorcycle, it will help keep you sane.

The Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program is in danger once again. And this time the Colorado Confederation of Clubs (COC) and ABATE are on the same side of the argument.

Let me make it clear before I go any further that this is not a news report. If it was I would need to do a lot of research and pull together information that I frankly am not inclined to devote the time to. So what I’m passing along here is simply what Terry Howard, ABATE’s State Coordinator, told us at yesterday’s ABATE District 10 meeting.

I knew there was a meeting scheduled for Oct. 18 on the changes to be made to the MOST program, and while I considered going, I didn’t get around to it. In retrospect, I wish I had gone. What Terry told us about the meeting was totally unexpected.

It appears that the legislative committee working on the issue came to the conclusion that the extra amount motorcyclists pay when they renew their licenses should be reduced from $4 to $2. Now just to refresh your memory, the extra charge is to pay for MOST, which was created as a way to lower the cost to riders when they take approved motorcycle training courses. The idea is that better-trained riders will be safer riders and suffer fewer fatalities and other crashes.

Along with the fee reduction, the committee was proposing this: The subsidy for rider training would be eliminated, and the remaining $2 would be used solely to fund rider safety programs along the lines of the general motoring programs to discourage drunk driving, get people to wear their seat belts, and such.

Whoa nelly! That would essentially eliminate MOST and have us paying extra for the same sorts of programs that car drivers pay nothing extra for.

“You’re gonna have a fight on your hands if you pursue this,” is what Terry said she told the committee members. In short, ABATE would rather see MOST eliminated entirely than have the training subsidy ended while we continue to pay extra.

Not surprisingly, the COC feels the same way. That group worked against continuation of the MOST program back in February and you can bet they feel this sort of change would make a bad situation much worse. Terry said ABATE representatives and COC representatives have met to discuss this and other issues and it appears there may be a thawing in the chilly relations between the two. I’ll have more on that later.

So we’ll see what happens next. This will be interesting.

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Biker Quote for Today

What are you doing to protect your right to ride?

Motorcyclists are far more vulnerable than cagers and as often as riders go on poker runs to support other causes, it would seem that it should be a no-brainer to raise money to help other riders who have been hurt.

That’s what ABATE of Colorado’s Randy Run is all about, and it will take place this weekend on Saturday.

The Randy Run is named for Randy Savely, that fellow in the photo above, who lost his leg when a car turned left and hit him as he was passing through an intersection. Randy is the district rep for ABATE’s District 10 and the run was originally a D-10 event. Last year the decision was made to make it a state-wide event and the state organization took it over.

The Randy Run takes off from the Frontier Club, 18881 E. Colfax, with sign-up beginning at 9 a.m. The ride fee is $15 per poker hand and that includes admission to all events. There will be the poker run, a bike rodeo, door prizes, auction, live music, and more.

As the flyer says, “You don’t have to be a member of ABATE to apply for Randy Run funds. Pay it forward now and help fellow motorcyclists in their time of need.”

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Biker Quote for Today

Ride to lean.

I did make it to ABATE’s Motorcycle Expo at Aurora Town Center yesterday. While the cool weather and the conflict with Mother’s Day presumably diminished the crowd somewhat, the event showed a big step forward from last year.

I’m not sure if they had more booths or whether they just had the booths clustered more tightly together, but the overall effect was of a fuller, more vibrant event. In the middle of it all were cones that motorcycle cops would periodically ride, demonstrating their terrific control of their machines. I wish I could ride that well.

Off outside the cluster of booths was another slalom course and over there you could also see some non-police riders who demonstrated control right up there with the cops. Heck, I had trouble doing tight u-turns on a 250 when I was taking the RiderCoach training class last year. These guys were doing it on big baggers.

So anyway, I hung around awhile but then took off. Too many other things I needed to do.

Old Bike Ride 10

The next event coming up that I wanted to go to, but won’t be able to, is the Old Bike Ride 10. I missed it last year but did make it out two years ago. This is just a fun outing of older bikes put on by the Norton club of Colorado each year. It starts out from Golden and ends up back there sometime later. Not sure what route they’ll be taking because the announcement says it will be different this year.

It’s not that I’ll be crying my eyes out over missing it, though, because the reason I’ll miss it is pretty good. I’m heading out on Wednesday to go down near Flagstaff for the Overland Expo. This is an event for people who are serious about their adventure travel, and who are planning things such as trips around the world on their bikes. I have no such desires, but I do hope to learn a bit about things like road-side motorcycle maintenance and also hope to have the opportunity to do some dirt riding. Check back here and you’ll see just exactly how that all works out.

Oh boy, my first big trip of the summer.

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Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are better than men because if your motorcycle is too soft, you can get different shocks.

I know where I’m going to be at least part of the day on Sunday. ABATE of Colorado is putting on a Motorcycle Expo at Aurora Town Center, which is what they now call what used to be the Aurora Mall.

I know that Terry Howard and the crew at ABATE have put a lot of effort into this thing. Here’s a list of what will be going on.

• Noise testing — See how loud your bike really is, and how it compares to legal limits.
• Police demos — These guys are some of the best bike handlers you’ve ever seen. You wish you were this good.
• Ride in bike show — Enter your bike and see how it compares.
• Riding gear vendors — See what’s new, what’s too cool to pass up.
• Swap meet vending for used parts — A must-check-out for those of us on older bikes.
• MOST and SmarTrainer display — Learn about rider training opportunities.
• Motorcycle games — Set up by Don Gunn. Have fun on your bike.
• Motorcycle dealer displays and demos — See what’s available all in one place.
• Riding organizations — Colorado Sportbike Club, Motorcycle Roadracing Association, dirt-bike school info

And more. The groups sponsoring this event include:

• ABATE Rider Education
• Motorcycle Operators Safety Training
• Colorado Sportbike Club
• Motorcycle Roadracing Association
• Thunder Roads Colorado
• United Dirt Bike School
• Erica Rae’s kids

Huh? Don’t know what the scoop is with Erica Rae’s kids. Maybe I’ll find out.

So as I say, I’m definitely going to be there on Sunday. If you’re there at the same time, say hi.

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Biker Quote for Today

I ride, therefore I am.

I have to admit to ignorance here, but in the last half hour I’ve been learning a lot about Mark Bruckner. That’s because the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) just released their list of this year’s nominees to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and Bruckner is the first name on the list.

Of course, what they said about him in the announcement was guaranteed to catch my eye: “National/international motorcycling rights advocate, past state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado, past board member/president/chairman of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.”

Oh wow, and until I read that I’d never heard of him. So he’s a previous state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado. I know Terry Howard, the current state coordinator, very well, but I’ve never met Bruckner. Turns out he was in that position from 1991 to 1994. After that he went on to the MRF, as stated above.

Currently Bruckner is Executive Director of BIKEPAC of Colorado. I get to show my ignorance again here. I’m not familiar with BIKEPAC of Colorado. Turns out it is a political action committee (PAC). Here is what it says about its mission.

As the organization’s resources grow, BIKEPAC will contribute to candidates running for office in the State Senate and the State House of Representatives. BIKEPAC may also contribute to Gubernatorial candidates. BIKEPAC will not contribute to candidates for office at the federal and local government levels. BIKEPAC believes that the most effective way to protect motorcycling in Colorado – and to best utilize our resources – is to contribute to the campaigns of pro-motorcycling candidates at the State Senate and House level. BIKEPAC employs a full-time lobbyist. Unlike many lobbyist who represent multiple clients at the State Capitol, the lobbyist for BIKEPAC represents only one group – the motorcyclists of Colorado.

Except that maybe this info is outdated. The link I tried to follow to the website doesn’t go there, and on a lobbying site I found it listed the organization as being registered through 2006. I have more digging to do. I’ll put up more as I learn more.

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Bikes are better than women because you don’t have to talk to your motorcycle after you ride it.

OK, you’re going to be riding around Colorado as much as possible this year no matter what. Are you interested in an something that can perhaps introduce you to places you’ve never been, and that might also put some cash in your pocket?

Oh, caught your interest, did I?

Here’s the deal. ABATE of Colorado is doing a fundraiser, for the second time, where you can purchase ($15) a Colorado Statewide Tour 2012 Passport Book that lists 178 businesses, points of interest, events, and other things. Each time you go to one of these you document it–receipt, signature, photo, whatever–and at the end of the year you turn your book in. For every five points you have checked off you get one entry in a drawing with three prizes: $1,000, $500, and $250.

Now, we all know that the odds with a drawing are that you will not win. Although three somebodies in this case will win. So while winning would be sweet indeed, it’s only a remote reason for playing. The real reasons are two-fold: Discovering new places or revisiting cool places you’ve been before, and raising money for ABATE.

The first reason needs no explanation. Why should you care about funding ABATE? Well, it seems like every legislative session that some bill gets introduced that motorcyclists get very interested in. Some we like, some we don’t. If we like them we want to support them; if we hate them we want to fight them. ABATE is our proxy in that effort. No motorcycling group in the state has more influence down at the gold dome.

Enough about that. What are some of the spots on the list? Here’s a random selection.

• Corral Sports Bar in Brush
• Barbour Ponds near Longmont
• Beecher Island Battlefield south of Wray
• Sunset Inn in Pueblo
• R’s Pizza in Silver Cliff
• Hovenweep National Monument near Cortez
• All ABATE Campout near Ignacio Sept. 1-3
• The Bike Shop in Sterling
• Motobreck in Breckenridge

As I said, random. So how many of those places have you been to? Here’s your chance to go someplace new.

So I bought my passport book. I’ll be checking off spots any time I can. And who knows, maybe I’ll win some cash. But I’m not banking on it.

Biker Quote for Today

You can’t be lost if you still have half a tank.

As mentioned previously, a bill has been introduced that would eliminate the state’s Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST). There will be a hearing on that bill at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in Room SCR 352 at the state capitol. ABATE of Colorado is urging all who can to attend and lend support for the continuation of the MOST program.

MOST is a program that was created at the request of motorcyclists to help defray training costs so that more riders will have better riding skills. The program is funded through a $4 per year additional fee on motorcycle license renewals and an additional $2 every time someone with a motorcycle accreditation on their driver’s license renews that license.

Aside from eliminating the program, SB12-089 makes no provision for what is to be done with the money already paid into the program should MOST be eliminated, which would presumably mean that money would simply stay in the state’s general fund.

The bill to eliminate MOST is sponsored by Sens. Renfroe, Cadman, Grantham, Harvey, Lambert, Lundberg, Mitchell, Neville, Roberts, Scheffel, and Spence, and in the House, by Reps. Holbert and Sonnenberg.

Anyone planning to attend the hearing should check first to ensure that it has not been rescheduled. The bill was originally scheduled for hearing on Feb. 14, but was postponed. If it is postponed there should be a notice to that effect on the ABATE site.

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Biker Quote for Today

The world is a book, those who don’t travel, read but a single page.