Passes & Canyons Blog

I’ll make it clear right up front that I was only there briefly, so what came later is an unknown to me. That said, my impression of the Steel Horse Sisterhood Summit that took place in Loveland the last few days is that this is an organization that is still very much in the building phase. I expected to see a parking lot filled with motorcycles and that was not the case. I expected to see crowds of women riders and that was not the case.

There were motorcycles and there were women riders, and those who were there seemed to be enjoying the camaraderie, and the presentations were good. I’m not knocking the event at all; it just seemed to be planned for a whole lot more people than showed up.

There were challenges that factored into the attendance. This screwy, stormy weather we’ve been having delayed flights and those who rode in faced challenging weather conditions. The event started on Thursday and as Judy and I were leaving on Friday in the afternoon there were more women riders even then just arriving.

The program was good. We enjoyed meeting people such as Karen Fritz, whose book The Art of Adventure I bought and will be doing a review of, and Pat Jacques, who does off-road riding training for women. It was also good to see long-time friends again, such as Alisa Clickenger and Jacque and Ron of Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures.

Due to the wetness and the disruption it caused, the schedule had to be rejuggled on the fly, the dual-sport riding clinic had to be postponed, and I’m sure it must have been a major headache for the organizer, Joan Krenning. But she did the best she could with what the weather gods handed her.

If Joan remains game to keep doing this, despite the headaches and hassles, I’m guessing the Steel Horse Sisterhood Summit can grow into a substantial event each year. My only suggestion for Joan would be to temper her ambition and vision and next year engage a smaller venue where a smaller crowd than she really wants–but which may be all she gets–will not feel so lost in cavernous space. And let it keep growing every year.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycles are better than men because your motorcycle never wants a night out alone with the other motorcycles.

I rode the Honda up to Loveland today to check in with the Steel Horse Sisterhood Summit that is now in progress but as of yet there really wasn’t anything going on. I knew there was not much on the agenda but figured there would be lots of bikes and plenty of people. Wrong. I guess the first real main event is tonight’s welcome reception.

You might think this was a wasted ride. After all, what I came for wasn’t happening. I don’t think that at all. The fact is, I had a really good day out on the bike. Not just a bit of a ride as I so often do, but the better part of a day just on the bike doing what I felt like.

I left home in the morning and worked my way through town rather than blasting around on the interstate. That got me through some areas I haven’t seen in a long time and man, do things keep changing!

Then I got on I-25 and cruised to Loveland. Went by the hotel first but very few bikes there so I headed over to Thunder Mountain Harley-Davidson, which is a major sponsor of the event and where a lot of the activity will take place. Just a few people there at a registration desk and that was it. So I decided to pay a visit to the local Honda shop, Interstate Honda, since I was on my Honda, but it was a good thing I asked because they weren’t where I thought they were. Neither was Northern Colorado Euro Motorcycles, which has moved since I was there last. Both are further north along the highway. Obviously I needed to do some updating of my Dealer and Repair Shops page.

I left the Honda shop then and wanted to go back to the Sisterhood location because I still hoped to speak with Joan, the honcho. Not being inclined to jump back on the interstate I took the frontage road. Guess what? The frontage road does not stick to the interstate. I found my self veering pretty far from I-25 and even on some gravel for a ways. I hadn’t had the Honda on gravel for a long time but was pleased to find it really does do as nicely as I remembered on that stuff. Not like my Kawi, which hates gravel.

When I finally did get back to the highway I was still an exit away so I got on I-25. Do you know what rush hour traffic on I-25 is like in Denver? It seems I-25 traffic in the Loveland-Fort Collins area is like that all the time. It sure was today. I went down the ramp and as I was forced to come to a complete stop I saw one of those Colorado phenomena: a line of demarcation between wet and dry. And as is often the case, the line was moving my way.

I jumped off the bike and threw on my rain gear as raindrops started pelting me. The skies opened up, I rode to the next exit, and by then the rain had stopped. By the time I got back to the Harley shop my rain gear was almost dry.

I don’t mind riding in the rain; in fact, I kind of enjoy it, although not necessarily on an interstate highway in heavy traffic.

So I checked for Joan again; no dice. Went back to the hotel hoping to find her there but again, no dice. So I figured I’d just head on home. The sky didn’t look too bad that direction.

Ha! I got on I-25 and again it was a parking lot. And by the time I was approaching the very next exit I once again saw that line of demarcation between wet and dry. Only this time, it wasn’t coming my way. It was going perpendicular to my route. This time I took my time putting on my rain gear and even put on my rubber mittens, which I had not the last time. I also figured I didn’t want to be on this interstate in this rain so I would get off and head west to pick up US 287 south.

By the time I got halfway up the exit ramp it was coming down in buckets. There was a Conoco station right there so I pulled in under their awning and waited out the rain. That’s the photo above. I was there for 15 minutes and it was an absolute gulley-washer of a storm. I was glad not to be riding anywhere. But it was kind of enjoyable nevertheless to just be out here on this day on my bike, just doing whatever. I wasn’t impatient and I sure wasn’t bored with this huge storm going on around me.

While I was stopped there I figured I might as well go ahead and put on my last bit of rain gear, my rubber booties. Darn! I only had one. What happened to the other? I’m going to have to look for that.

The rain didn’t stop but it slacked off and I headed out again. The interstate didn’t look as crowded so I took it and had an uneventful ride back to Denver. Stopped halfway and stripped off the rain gear because it was once again a beautiful day. Not too long, though, and the sky ahead was again threatening. I only got a few raindrops though before I got home.

So yeah, I totally failed to accomplish what I set out to do. But what an enjoyable day! A motorcycle can do that for you. I intend to let mine do it for me a whole lot more times.

Biker Quote for Today

“Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.” — Evel Knievel

I mentioned last week that the Steel Horse Sisterhood Women’s Motorcycle Summit is scheduled for June 11-14 in Loveland. Here are some additional details.

Full registration for this four-day event is $125, or if you are a supporter or male companion it is $100. Some events are for women only but there is also a guys only ride. My guess would be these things coincide–that would only make sense.

Three are also additional fees for several classes. For instance, the accident-scene management course is $75, and the Western Dual Sport Off-Road Riding Clinic will run you $25. There are poker runs, breakfasts, receptions, and all the usual things you expect at motorcycle rallies. A new rider course offered by Thunder Mountain Harley-Davidson is $249.

Here are a few of the items on the program and the presenters.

• Reduce the Odds presented by Laurie Latham
• Think like a Negotiator presented by Eldonna Lewis Fernandez
• A Woman’s Intuition presented by Brenda Simmons
• Alisa Clickenger – Life’s Journey & the Power of the Road
• Finding Opportunity in Adversity with Jocelyn Hastie
• Living Raw with Karen Fritz
• Let’s Talk About Gear – Brittany Morrow + Various Presenters
• Gentle Flow + Yoga Nidra Class presented by Marina Koyen
• Self Care for Bikers with Marina Koyen
• Weapons for Women presented by Laurie Latham
• Women Pushing The Curve of Adventure featuring Patricia Jacques
• Make Fat Cry Featuring Betty Rocker
• The Face of PTSD – A Spirited Panel Discussion
• Put On Your Big Girl Panties, Featuring Terri Collier of Thunder Roads OK/AR

Joan tells me she is expecting perhaps 1,000 people for the Saturday night shin-dig that will be the biggest of the social events. Overall conference attendance she expects to be approximately 300. At last year’s first-ever event the mistake was made to plan the conference for International Female Ride Day (May 5 this year). Apparently there was a bit too much competition on that particular weekend, so this year the event was planned for later. That plus better weather later in the season has hopes up for a good turn-out.

Biker Quote for Today

Dirt bike diva: mud for make-up, gasoline for perfume

“Invariably every girl I talk to who’s riding behind says, ‘I don’t ride.’ And I’d say back to her, ‘But you are riding. You’re riding behind. You’re just as important. You may not be holding the handlebars but it’s important what you’re doing back there. This event is for you also.’ And then they go, ‘It is?’ And there’s been such a division between the girls who ride their own and the girls who ride behind.”

That’s Joan Krenning, the founder of the Steel Horse Sisterhood, which will be holding its second annual Steel Horse Sisterhood Women’s Motorcycle Summit in Loveland June 11-14.

In other words, whether you’re the one who controls the machine or you are the passenger–and even if you are a woman who doesn’t ride now but is interested–this conference is for you.

“Last year, in our first event, we had three girls within the two weeks after our event that went out and climbed on their own bikes,” said Joan. “After they came to our event they were excited, they were empowered, they wanted to do it, too.”

While the conference is basically a motorcycling conference, the aim of the Steel Horse Sisterhood is to promote:

Five elements of Healthy Living/Healthy Riding

1. Spiritual wellness
2. Practical life skills including mechanical
3. Physical health of her body
4. Mechanical health of her ride
5. Charitable impact

The Women of the Steel Horse Sisterhood are passionate about contributing to the well-being of the world while viewing it on the back of a motorcycle with the wind in our faces.

Among the extensive list of presenters is adventure rider Alisa Clickenger, who is familiar to long-time readers of this blog; Brittany Morrow, who suffered a life-changing sportbike accident and has come back as a strong spokesperson for ATGATT; Colleen Vetere, who teaches accident-scene management; and, an interesting one for me, Coyo Carbone, a “curandera” (native healer and religious leader) who is also part of Western Dual Sport Motorcycle Adventures, which will be offering dual-sport riding training during the conference. (The reason for my interest is that I’m pretty dang sure Coyo is someone I know and have ridden with as Jacque and I guess Coyo is an alter ego I was unaware of.)

The conference is intended to be a charitable fundraiser as well. According to Joan:

The 2015 Steel Horse Sisterhood Summit will benefit the following charities:

• Realities For Children Charities, a 501c3 charitable organization based in Ft. Collins, Colorado. 100% of all donations made to Realities For Children Charities are distributed directly to the youth they serve through 28 Affiliate Youth Agencies.
• The mission of Grace After Fire is to provide the means for women Veterans to gain self-knowledge and self-renewal. The staff of GAF serves to protect the veteran, connect the resource and renew the women. As of 2014 the GAF administrative cost is at 8% with fund raising at 3%. Therefore, 89 cents of every $1.00 donated goes toward helping women veterans.
• The SHSC Endowment for Levi’s Kids because….the World needs to fund more creative young people. An endowment to fund students who indicate a desire to pursue a future in the arts. These include media arts, graphic design, music, fashion, the visual and culinary arts, dance and theater.
• Safe and Secure – a 501c3 charitable organization based in Arizona, dedicated to the effective means of education to children and teens for the prevention of sexual abuse, abduction, Internet safety and bullying.

So that’s a heads-up for anyone who is interested. I’ll have more information later on the various goings-on that are planned.

Biker Quote for Today

I look my best when I take my helmet off after a long motorcycle ride. I have a glow and a bit of helmet hair. — Eric Bana

I was updating the Rides and Rallies page the other day and was interested to see that there are several events coming up this summer that are beyond your everyday poker runs and charity rides. So I figured I’d bring them to your attention.

Taking things chronologically, from May 7 to 10, there is the National Coalition of Motorcyclists 30th Annual Convention, which will be held at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, 4900 S. Syracuse.

The first thing I asked myself was “What is the National Coalition of Motorcyclists?” And I’m still wondering a bit. Going to that site I found that this is something connected with that motorcycle lawyer you’ve probably heard of or seen advertising for, Richard Lester. OK, for me that immediately ignites skepticism. Is this just some self-promotional thing? But this is supposed to be the 30th such convention, and presumably they wouldn’t keep holding them if there wasn’t good attendance, so what is this really? If anyone has information they could provide to me I’d appreciate it. I’m very curious.

Next up is the Old Bike Ride 13, which takes off from downtown Golden, on May 17. This is something I do know about. I rode it a few years ago. It’s a ride for old bikes and/or old bikers put on through Colorado’s Brit bike folks and it’s a great chance to see a lot of really different old bikes out on the road. And hey, this year my old 1980 CB750 Custom is actually old enough to qualify, though I didn’t hesitate to ride it a few years ago. It’s not like they run you off the road if your bike isn’t old enough.

Then, June 11 to 14, we have the Steel Horse Sisterhood Summit going on in Loveland, at the Embassy Suites there by the events center just off I-25. I had never heard of the Steel Horse Sisterhood before but as you might guess, it’s an organization for women riders. Guys can attend, however, just as men were welcome a few years ago in Keystone at the International Women and Motorcycling Conference put on by the American Motorcyclist Association.

And then, near and dear to my heart, the Concours Owners Group (COG) is having its national rally June 15 to 19 in Cortez at the Baymont Inn and Suites. I guess this group likes to come to Colorado because they had this annual event up in Frisco just a few years ago. You’ll never see more Concours-s (what the heck is plural for Concours?) than you will at this event. And by definition, this is a group of long-distance riders. I went to that last one in Frisco and I’m going to try to make it to this one, too. I do ride a Concours, after all.

Then one last thing, and this is for you hard-core dirt bike guys. On July 26, what is now apparently called the Colorado Trail Race, but which I believe used to be the Colorado 500, will run on the dirt or gravel all the way from Denver to Durango. No, I’m not good enough yet on my V-Strom to even consider doing this one, but maybe some day. But it sounds like a heckuva ride. And they do tell you what the route is. Maybe what I ought to do is start exploring particular stretches of this route bit by bit.

(Oops. I had put this thing up about the Colorado Trail Race but was informed that that was a mountain bike event, not a motorcycle event. Gosh, maybe someone could come up with a motorcycle event that would be similar. That would be a kick. And whatever did happen to the Colorado 500? Oh well, moving on, back to the original post.)

Now, what’s really nice is that I do know for a fact that there are several other equally interesting events going on here in the state. I just haven’t had time to track them down and get them onto the listing yet. There’s going to be a whole slew of good riding to be done. Ain’t it grand to live in Colorado?!

Biker Quote for Today

Murphy’s Motorcycle Laws: 1. A motorcycle cannot/will not fall over without an audience.