Passes & Canyons Blog

Let’s see if you understand what I’m referring to here.

You have a group of people who tell everyone else that regardless of whether or not they believe the same as they do, the others must follow the laws of this group’s beliefs or else they’ll do them bodily injury, perhaps even kill them.

Does that make you think of Muslim extremists and Shariah law? I’m betting that if you’re like most non-Muslim Americans the answer is yes. Maybe even if you are a Muslim American. I’m not saying that is an accurate description of what ISIS and Al-Qaeda are all about but I think that’s a fair statement of how most of us see it.

So what if I told you what I’m really here to talk about is a motorcycle “club”?

On the OFMC trip this past summer Ray was complaining that the Sons of Silence had made his VFW group of riders take the “Colorado” rockers off their patches. “Made” them do it. How can they make you do that, I asked him. Why don’t you just tell them to go take a flying leap? Ray never really answered that question but I think we all know the answer.

Now I was just at my ABATE of Colorado District 10 meeting on Sunday and it turns out the Sons had approached ABATE saying that ABATE cannot use the word “Colorado” on any patches it produces. Never mind it’s part of the group’s name. It seems in their minds that they own Colorado and no one else can lay claim to it.

Telling us about his meeting with two “club” representatives, ABATE of Colorado State Coordinator Bruce Downs said, and I paraphrase: Whether you agree with them or not, it’s their belief system. You put a territory name on a rocker and you’re saying you own that territory. There have been people who have died over this. That’s not what we’re about. I’m not going there. We came to a mutual understanding.

Did somebody say Shariah law? Oh, yeah, I did. Now, no one said anything about physical retaliation but Bruce’s remark about people having died over this issue makes it clear that such things can and have happened and that fact is always in the back of your mind. It leads to self-censorship. It leads to groups like ABATE and Ray’s VFW group giving in no matter how vehemently they despise doing so. And I agree totally with Bruce. This is not what we’re about. There are more important issues ABATE needs to address. It’s not worth anyone getting hurt.

Now here’s a funny thing. Bruce said this applies only to patches, and only to three-part patches, with a top rocker, middle, and bottom rocker. If you’re silk-screening onto a T-shirt it’s OK for ABATE of Colorado to call itself ABATE of Colorado.

I thought Judy summed it up well. When I told her about all this she remarked that it’s like a bunch of dogs going around marking their territory. Some people need to grow up. And I guess if the University of Colorado decides to produce patches they had better just call themselves the University. Because the Sons own Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but dirt bikes break them better.

If you ever question whether some sort of group that stands up for motorcyclists is needed, here’s a situation that should answer that question for you.

Part of the discussion yesterday at my ABATE District 10 meeting was on the rules surrounding use of new express lanes and HOV lanes in the Denver area. ABATE is working with the state to try to work out the fairest, most reasonable way for motorcycles to be part of this structure.

For starters, we ought to keep in mind that under federal law, motorcycles are entitled to use HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes. Thus, if you are going up I-25 from downtown at the right time of day you can use the HOV lane. But how do the new express lanes along US 36 up to Boulder work?

Judy and I drove up to Boulder recently and wondered exactly that. It was not at all clear to us whether, because there were two of us in the car, we could use the new express lanes at no charge or would we get a bill in the mail. (Quick note: by 2017 use of the HOV lanes will require at least three people in your car.) If you’re wondering the same thing, here are links to ExpressToll and the express lanes sites. You may find some answers there.

But there are issues. I’m not totally clear on all this myself so understand that I may be getting some of this wrong, but here’s my understanding. First off, if it’s a toll road, such as E-470, everyone pays a toll. That’s the simple part. But apparently, if you intend to use the express lanes up the Boulder turnpike it is free for cars with two or more people or for motorcycles but only if you first create an account with ExpressToll. This requires a payment of $35 that is intended to be payment in advance for any tolls you do incur. But if you’re on a motorcycle you will never incur any tolls so they will basically just hold your money.

Does that sound a little foolish? ABATE thinks so and is trying to get it changed so motorcycles just simply don’t need any of that. Plus you have the very real issue that if people from elsewhere, whether it be Grand Junction or Ohio, ride through Denver on their motorcycles, they may think it’s OK to use the express/HOV lanes and find themselves receiving bills for having done so. Plus, it may be that they will be billed double because it takes someone human to look at the pictures to determine that it was in fact a motorcycle, and that human element adds to the cost. What? This is where I’m truly unclear on it so take this with a grain of salt.

The point is, apparently if you do not have the little UPC code or whatever taped across the top of your headlight for the cameras to read you will be charged for using the HOV lane despite the fact that you are on a motorcycle. But that would seem to go against federal dictates that motorcycles can use HOV lanes freely. Perhaps you’ll want to be contacting your elected representatives to let them know about this issue and your position on it. Meanwhile, that’s exactly what ABATE is doing.

Biker Quote for Today

Murphy’s Motorcycle Laws: 6. Nothing is harder to start than a used motorcycle being shown to a prospective buyer.

This seems to have come almost out of nowhere, though I suspect it is actually the result of some behind-the-scenes efforts, but all of a sudden there is a bill in the Colorado Legislature to defund the Colorado Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program. The bill was introduced on Thursday and the session ends on Wednesday so anyone who wants to contact their representatives needs to do so right away. And due to the nature of the situation, I plan to put up several posts in quick order, unlike my standard Monday/Thursday schedule.

I first got wind of this via an email from ABATE District 10 rep Carol Downs forwarding an email from ABATE legislative affairs officer, Stump. Here’s what Stump had to say.

The 2nd bill on Thursday at the Senate Transportation Committee was more exciting, SB15-286 (MOST Bill). On Tuesday, Senate Sonnenberg introduced a bill to get rid of the MOST Program. We had talked about this issue last year a few times at our SBOD Meetings and agreed that if the subsidies were going away, we didn’t want our $4.00 and $2.00 going to administration of the program (which wasn’t doing its job in the first place). The bill passed 3-2. Thanks to Bruce, Tiger, and Colleen Boyle (T3RG) for testifying. There was quite a bit of opposition from other Rider Ed. Vendors, but the truth prevailed and the bill was sent to the Senate Finance Committee. I expect it to pass that committee today then on to the Senate floor and hopefully to the House by Tuesday. It wouldn’t hurt to send a quick e-mail to your legislators asking them to vote yes on SB15-286 (MOST Bill). I’ve sent an explanatory letter to all the Senators already and will follow up with a similar letter to all the Representatives this weekend, so all you’d have to say is, “As a constituent, I urge you to vote yes on SB15-286 (MOST Bill).” That’s all it would take.

So we’re clear on where ABATE stands on this. My next thought was what position this new group, Motorcyclists Advocacy of Colorado (MAC), was taking on it. Turns out my still developing understanding of MAC was a little off. Here is the explanation of the group’s intent, as given to me by Terry Howard, who is a co-founder of MAC.

MAC does not take positions on issues. The purpose of MAC is to inform the motorcycling public of issues that will affect us. We produce facts surrounding the issue and publish the information. It is then up to the individual members what position THEY choose to take. We provide guidance and coaching to address the issue, whichever side they are on.

Pursuant to its intent to provide information, I found on their Facebook page an ongoing update on the progress of the bill. It seems it is now to go to the Senate Appropriations Committee today, after receiving some amendments.

Not all groups wish to see MOST abolished. Alan sent me the following from Robert Frank:

URGENT – Final legislative vote will happen on or before Tuesday 5-5-15

The people that are doing their best to kill the MOST program in Colorado (ABATE & T3RG) have introduced a bill to do just that, SB 15-286.

As first introduced it had a lot of holes, was poorly written, it had major issues.

Well, it’s been amended with exclusionary wording, that if passed, will disallow all MSF Motorcycle Safety Foundation training in Colorado.

It will make Lee Parks, Total Control the only certified course in Colorado.

Currently in California Lee is charging $258 for the equivalent of the MSF BRC (Get your license course) The MSF course is available in Colorado @ $160.

Lee’s charging $475 for his ‘Premier’ course. The MSF equivalent is available for $260.

If Lee Parks is made the only authorized course you will pay more for your training, loose your manufacturer training rebate, you HOG rebate and quality MSF products.

Please call, write, e-mail your state senator / representative and let them know you do not support this bad bill.

How likely is it that this thing will pass? I have no real insight but considering the fate of numerous other bills in the last few days I would tend to expect it to fail. At this time. I would expect to see it return in the next session if it doesn’t pass now. We’ll see. In the meantime, I have calls in to some folks and will be posting more very soon.

Biker Quote for Today

Biker Heaven: The road, full tank, full throttle

No one said it in so many terms but the total of what was all said Sunday at the ABATE District 10 meeting indicates ABATE of Colorado is moving beyond its recent troubles and will survive.

Having defaulted on its usurious loan, the group now has a judgment against it for about $32,800. Plus, following a complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office in regard to alleged misuse of funds raised for downed bikers, the group will be required to bring the total in that account up to around $5,000 and then, having stepped completely away from the Randy Run–its former fundraiser for downed bikers–the money will need to be passed along to another group with that same purpose.

That would seem like a lot of bad news. How is it that the clouds are lifting?

Well, turns out, State Coordinator Bruce Downs was contacted by ABATE of Indiana, which is in need of training bikes, and ABATE of Colorado has arranged to sell 53 bikes to Indiana. These are bikes that are currently just being warehoused and are not needed here in Colorado for ABATE’s own rider training program. The money from that sale ought to go a very long way toward putting things right.

As a sign of better times, the group has taken one paid employee back onto the payroll and will also be bringing in an accounting temp to handle the day-to-day bookkeeping. And there is even talk of recreating the organizational newsletter, the Spokesman. Publication of the Spokesman was terminated in the depths of the recent financial crisis. While the decision to bring the newsletter back will necessarily have to wait till the future sorts itself out a little more, the discussion nevertheless points out the change in prospects for the future.

As ABATE backs off somewhat from the former size of its training program, it is at the same time turning its focus back more to being a motorcycle rights organization (MRO). And its moves to work more cooperatively with the Colorado Coalition of Clubs (COC)–with which there had been antagonism for some years–the very first prominent result of that rapprochement is the National Coalition of Motorcyclists annual convention being held here in Colorado, as I mentioned last week. Seems NCOM has a rule that it only holds its conference in states where the local MRO has a good working relationship with the COC.

So the optimism is still guarded, but the signs are saying that ABATE is back. Which, considering that we do need someone at the state capitol advocating for our interests, is good news for all motorcyclists in Colorado.

That said, I will make the aside here that in recent weeks I have been in communication with two different people who are talking about creating alternative MROs. It could be very interesting to see where these efforts go.

Biker Quote for Today

Murphy’s Motorcycle Laws: 2. The fact that your keys are still in your pants pocket will become apparent after you put your gloves on.

Her legal matters cleared away with charges now dropped, Terry Howard, former state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado, is seeking “to reclaim her good name.” And it appears that she has plans to remain active in the motorcycling community.

That last statement is based on the fact that she recently emailed me some materials regarding the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Most Operator Safety Training program. I haven’t had a chance yet to discuss with her the source of these materials or her intent in sending them out but this doesn’t strike me as something that would be done by someone who just plans to fade away. More on all that in some later post.

Regarding the first item, I was recently copied on a letter Terry’s attorney sent to the Southwest Scooter News following the dropping of the charges. Terry has been on bad terms with the Scooter News for a long time, so it seemed to be with considerable joy that the publication put up a detailed recitation of the charges and allegations she faced at that time. The attorney, Wade Eldridge, addressed various issues and asked that the Scooter News treat Terry according to the American concept that a person is deemed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. Here is the letter.

Tim Anderson
Southwest Scooter News
P.O. Box 16304
Golden, Colorado 80402-6006

RE: “ABATE leader charged with theft”; All charges DISMISSED

Dear Mr. Anderson:

My law firm represented Terry Howard in connection with the recent charge of felony theft filed against her by the Denver District Attorney. It is important to remember that, in this country, a defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until he or she is proved guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. That presumption of innocence is one of the main differences between American law and that found in other countries, but it is too often forgotten.

The allegations of the charging documents were reported in the February edition of Southwest Scooter News. Before discussing some of the details of the case, it is appropriate to recall a speech from the character Iago in William Shakespeare’s play Othello.

“Good name in man and woman, dear lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘tis something, nothing; ‘twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed.”

The Southwest Scooter News article contains many references to the affidavit in support of the arrest warrant. As is often the case, that is only part of the story.

Terry Howard joined ABATE District 10 (Aurora) in 1998 as general member. She became an officer (rep from District 10) in 2002, and the Northeast regional rep in May 2003. By the end of 2003, she was elected as State Coordinator (then a volunteer position) for 2004. In 2004, the ABATE State Board hired her as the State Manager (a paid [position, and then hired her as ABATE State Coordinator in 2010.

The arrest warrant for Ms. Howard was filed on December 3rd 2014, and she turned herself in of December 7, 2014. She retained my law firm to represent her, and was released on a personal recognizance bond on December 9, 2014. The case was scheduled for a preliminary hearing to be held on February 3, 2015.

There is a provision in Colorado law (Section 18-4-401(6), C.R.S), which says that in a theft case, the prosecution must, upon request, provide the defendant with a “bill of particulars” which spells out the precise manner in which the defendant is alleged to have committed theft. On December 19, 2014, my office filed a motion requesting such a “bill of particulars” from the District Attorney.

While the motion for Bill of Particulars was pending, we reviewed ABATE documents that had been provided to my office by the District Attorney. One of those documents had the words “Forged checks with No Receipts” at the top of it. This document referred to twelve (not 22) specific checks that were considered questionable, in the three years from 2010 to 2013 (a time when probably 100 various checks were written).

I explained to the District Attorney that, by virtue of her position with ABATE, Ms. Howard had the authority to write herself checks in order to reimburse her for cash expenditures she had made for ABATE. For each one of the twelve checks in question, my office provided the District Attorney with corresponding receipts, bank records and credit card statements which showed that each one of the suspect checks was a legitimate reimbursement.

The office of the District Attorney never did provide the “bill of particulars” that I had requested. Instead, on January 23, 2015, the District Attorney filed a motion to dismiss the case against Terry Howard. This was not part of a ‘plea bargain’ in which a defendant pleads guilty to some lesser charge, but a straightforward dismissal of all charges.

I have enclosed a recent photograph of Ms. Howard, taken after the case against her was dismissed. Ms. Howard and I ask that you print that photograph, as well as this letter. Terry Howard wants to reclaim her good name.

Very truly yours

Wade H. Eldridge
Attorney at Law

Biker Quote for Today

If you want to be happy for a year, marry. If you want to be happy for a lifetime, ride a motorcycle.

One of the biggest questions I’ve had since this whole brouhaha about ABATE’s financial crisis erupted was simply, “How the heck did we ever get to this point?”

Based on some information posted over on The Dandooligan blog and some materials Terry Howard sent me after the second of two charges against her were dropped, I feel like that question has an answer: No one was properly minding the store and when it could no longer be ignored it was too late to get a reasonable financial lifeline, so an unreasonable one was accepted. Terry arranged for the loan but she did so with the express thanks from the board of directors.

I think it’s really that simple. And by no one, I mean the board of directors and the officers. I largely exempt the general membership because we simply had no idea this was even going on, even those of us who attend meetings regularly. In fact, one of the documents Terry sent me was an email in which she told the board members, “Please keep this within the Board. We don’t need members panicking at this point.” I have no doubt her intentions at the time were good, and readily admit that hindsight is always 20-20, but gosh, maybe if the members had been made aware of the problem some other solution might have been found. There’s a saying I strongly believe in: All of us are smarter than any of us.

OK, so what’s done is done and can’t be undone. Now we need to move ahead, because Colorado motorcyclists still need some sort of lobbying group, a motorcycle rights organization (MRO) as they are known, standing up for our interests in matters of the law.

Clearly ABATE’s State Coordinator Bruce Downs believes ABATE should be that MRO. Not everyone agrees, however. Some believe ABATE needs to go away and a new MRO arise in its place. Making that happen would be a challenge, to say the least.

Anyway, backtracking just a bit, I want to refer you to The Dandooligan because Matt Wessels over there has put out some extensive information about this whole affair. I wasn’t even aware, because I hadn’t been following him closely, but that link above is to a piece written by Deb Craig giving a pretty deep inside look at ABATE’s inner workings. Supporters of Terry Howard–and I know there are a lot of them out there–will not like some of what she says because she does not paint a pretty picture of Terry, but at the very least the straight-out factual information she presents is quite interesting. Frankly, it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture of ABATE.

And that is the one thing that seems universal. There are the former rider training folks who dislike Terry Howard and ABATE for wrongs they feel were done to them. There are the Terry Howard supporters who don’t like ABATE because they feel the organization threw Terry under the bus. And there are the continuing ABATE members and supporters who nevertheless feel that the leadership has been, to use a very, very kind word, remiss in its duties. It makes it easy to understand the thinking of those who think ABATE needs to just go away.

I suspect that’s not going to happen. Let’s see what does happen. It’s going to be interesting.

Biker Quote for Today

Education is important, but racing is importanter.

I just came from the ABATE District 10 meeting and once again it seems everyone else already knew what I only learned in an off-handed reference: The Denver District Attorney has decided to drop the one remaining charge against Terry Howard, ABATE’s former state coordinator. Although Bruce Downs, the new state coordinator, made the point that it should be stated in the terms that the DA “will not pursue” the charges any further. I’m not really clear on the semantic difference. Either way, Terry is no longer being prosecuted for theft.

As Bruce explained, ABATE was asked to provide a “victim’s statement,” which it did, and later the DA’s office got back to Bruce to inform him of its decision to call it off. He said the call had come on Wednesday or Thursday.

“That’s where it ends,” said Bruce.

At least that’s where the criminal aspect of the situation ends. Of course both ABATE and Terry Howard remain on the hook for this high-interest loan that the group has defaulted on and for which Terry co-signed. It’s probably going to be a long time before that business comes to an end.

Biker Quote for Today

Careful maintenance and preparation is critical to making sure your dirt bike is reliable enough to tow your buddy’s bike back to the truck.

I want to start off by quoting this to you:

Whether you support ABATE or not, they represent you legislatively, in state policy making, and as a face of Colorado riders. It reflects directly on you whether you acknowledge it or not. At the very least, care about your reputation…

I’ve wondered in recent weeks if readers here groan when they see ABATE in the titles of these posts. If you’re not a member, why should you care. That statement, from a thread on the Colorado Sportbike Club forum, is the reason. So, proceeding . . .

So, I went to the ABATE state board meeting on Saturday as I said I would, and found both reason for reassurance and for doubts. State Coordinator Bruce Downs stressed one point he has made before, which is that lax practices of conducting business in the past make it hard now to reconstruct the events that led to the group’s current financial crisis. That laxity has been banished as of right now, he noted, and he proceeded to run the meeting by the book. This is definitely a good thing.

The end of the year balance sheet was discussed, which shows the group in the black for 2014, and members present made a point of asking that the monthly reports be made available to all along with other related information. That members are paying attention is also a good thing.

Of course then there’s that issue of that towering load of debt with usurious interest rates, and ABATE has simply defaulted on that. There’s still only one way to characterize that and that’s very bad. The lender will not be going away.

Gary Davis, the representative from District 5, asked if discussion of this whole thing was on the agenda, and when Bruce said it was not he asked if it could be added. That discussion ensued immediately. Gary proposed that ABATE contact the lender, Quick Bridge Funding, to see if any sort of accommodation can be worked out. Another member who has experience as a loan officer agreed that it is far better to be in communication than to not be. As a motion to that effect seemed to be moving to a vote, Bruce said he felt it would be best to consult with an attorney with experience in this sort of thing first. Motions for both those proposals were passed.

That’s the bare bones of it; what was interesting was the discussion.

Early on, Bruce said that the loan was in default and, as for the lender, “they’re gonna play their hand.”

In what I thought was a very perceptive question, D-10 rep Rocky Wood asked if that meant that the group was just sitting back waiting to see if perhaps the lender would pursue Terry Howard, the former state coordinator, rather than ABATE, with the expectation that they would have a better shot at getting their money from Terry. Terry, of course, personally co-signed on this load and thus is liable if the group defaults.

The former loan officer spoke up at this point saying that considering the loan was to ABATE, and Terry was only the co-signer, they would definitely be coming after the group, and probably Terry as well. But no hope that all eyes would be turned toward Terry. So if the answer to Rocky’s question was yes, well, too bad. Ain’t gonna happen.

Several board members asked questions about how all this came about and I was struck with two thoughts. First, it’s extremely interesting to see board members, who were presumably there when this all occurred, asking the same questions I’ve been asking. Maybe that means those questions will eventually get answered. Second, however, is the disturbing thought that the people who were there when this all happened were apparently not paying enough attention to know what was going on. That seriously tempers the confidence the first point starts to build. What were you guys doing?

In the meantime, support for ABATE is diminishing, largely because a significant portion of membership feels Terry Howard has been thrown under the bus while another officer who would seem to have been every bit as much involved in the situation has felt no repercussions. Rocky’s question about ABATE waiting to see if the lender would go after Terry instead of the group goes straight to the heart of that thinking.

So I return to that quote I started with: “Whether you support ABATE or not, they represent you legislatively, in state policy making, and as a face of Colorado riders.” Can this group be saved? Does this group deserve to be saved? There are a lot of people asking these questions and they’re not finding any easy answers. I’m not finding any easy answers. I did just renew my membership but I know others who have not. ABATE of Colorado is facing a tough road going forward.

Biker Quote for Today

Never spit at a competitor when you’re wearing a full-face helmet.