Colorado Rider News

Colorado Powersports

 

 

Laurie Montoya

Motorcycle Riders Will Be Forever #BikerStrong

By Leave a Comment

Laurie Montoya, Publisher

1 year ago, we were all living in a different space with COVID shutting all our lives down.  COVID was peaking and our national and local government’s initiated mandatory shutdowns in the hopes that the shutdown would stop the spread.

I am happy to report that while many businesses have closed or will never re-open, our most of biker related businesses have found a way to survive here in Colorado and that is because of the YOU. 

It was during these times of hardship that Colorado biker businesses and riders summoned the strength and resilience that lives deep in our DNA to survive. Our biker’s business proved that no matter how often we are knocked down, we will keep getting up and get through this pandemic together. Your commitment to support biker bars thru take out orders, direct donation and continuing to wear your masks has given these businesses just enough revenue to keep their doors open. 

The challenges that biker establishments like Dirty Dogs Roadhouse and others have endured, the additional costs involved to remain compliant will take years to recover from, but 1 thing is clear…the biker community is resilient and a community of riders that stand together will forever be #bikerstrong

Colorado Rider News, the only remaining monthly motorcycle publication in our community also faced challenges, and thanks to our motorcycle advertisers and subscribers who continued to read our publication online, we too were able to weather the COVID storm and are still here today!

The future of our motorcycle events in Colorado are increasing, and slowly events are filling up our event calendar.  Dealerships, promotors, and charities who struggled thru 2020, are scheduling their annual rides and events and we ask everyone to do what you can to support them. 

In this issue we will share with our readers and update on the 2nd  Colorado Motorcycle Swap Meet held at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in March.  We have also dedicated a portion of this month’s issue to Women riders, their upcoming events, and businesses. 

Lastly, April is also Child Abuse Awareness month and CRN was honored to touch base with Biker’s for Justice and Christian Riders MM who will both be hosting rides to bring awareness to child abuse and trafficking.

As always enjoy the ride, let us know what we can do better and BE SAFE OUT THERE

Laurie Montoya

Publisher

Colorado Rider News

info@coloradoridernews.com

Publisher, Colorado Rider News

Morning Stretch – Cancel Culture

By Leave a Comment

Morning Stretch
Stretch is a new inspirational writer to CRN and avid rider in the biker community

By Stretch McClure

Cancel Culture and Effect!  These acts of public shaming have always been present.  Now, this modern form of public shaming takes on a new name:  Cancel Culture.

There is no single accepted definition of cancel culture, but at its worst, it is about unaccountable groups successfully applying pressure to punish someone for perceived wrong opinions.  The victim ends up losing their job or is significantly harmed in some way well beyond the discomfort of merely being disagreed with.  Some of this is in censorship, false statements, context, to as far as destruction of statues and history.

The ability to twist information to fit one’s argument.  It is just scary to see someone or thing, drop so fast based on somebody’s story which could have absolutely been falsified.  You may know them as an idol or hero, it makes it hard to support the person or the representation of history, when that representation that you respect or look up to, gets so much hate!  Being cancelled in this fashion, causes a limbo, and then hate.

It just goes too far and does more damage than repair.  I believe once anything is canceled, it become hard to make a genuine apology, and even if you do people still might not believe you.

There are new consequences for saying or doing racist, bigoted, or otherwise terrible things.  All because a mob has taken undue offense to a clumsy or out-of-context remark.  We all make mistakes!  We should acknowledge that and learn from it.  I feel that Cancel Culture is a cancer, and it will spread, not for the good of humanity, but the loss of history and the hard lessons, we have learned and lived in!

Seeing the out-of-control mobs (yes, I said mobs) roaming city streets, tearing down statues and destroying historical markets should shock every American.  The fact that most of the SOB’s are ignorant of who they are attacking is a sad example of the education system our children and grand children are being subjected to.   The destruction of history will not make you feel good about the present.  The destruction of statues usually shows a general insecurity and lack of confidence.  Destroying silent monuments or the legacies of the dead offers no rebuttal or resistance.  There are remedies for removal of monuments and statues, and these mob groups choose to deface or tear down these statues at night or under the cover of darkness so they cannot be identified.  This just shows the continued cowardness of these individuals.  The fix is to hold people accountable, at whatever level.

Some people also blame their current situation on the past and believe that destroying long-dead supposed enemies will liberate them – or at least make them feel better.

Motorcycle Awareness – 9th Annual Look Twice Save a Life

By Leave a Comment

By Laurie Montoya

It is a well-known fact that the public does not watch for motorcycles no matter how many billboards CDOT puts up or lighted signs that are only up a few days in May or in August during Sturgis.  It is a well-known fact that most motorcycle accidents involve a car and/or some sort of distracted driving.  Distracted Driving comes in many forms including texting/driving, use of handheld mobile devices while driving, putting your makeup on while the vehicle is moving, looking in the back seat at your kids, eating while driving to changing the radio station.

Our riding community continues to be the victim of irresponsible drivers who are out driving with no driver’s license and little to no insurance and driver’s leaving accident victims on the ground and leaving the scene.  Driver’s change lanes without looking and run stop signs/lights, hit the biker and keep on going.

BikerDown Foundation received a Proclamation in 2015 from then Governor Hickenlooper proclaiming May17th as Colorado Motorcycle Awareness Day.  This was quite an honor to be recognized by the state of Colorado for the good work that BikerDown has done for the motorcycle community.

On May 15th, BikerDown will again host the only motorcycle awareness ride on the front range, called the Look Twice Save a Life ride.  We are going to repeat the theme of last year with Can YOU SEE me NOW.  These awareness shirts were a tremendous hit with riders no matter what you rode.

Riders will need to pre-register for the ride to guarantee themselves 1 of our motorcycle awareness t shirts.  T-shirts will be available the day of the event in limited sizes.  Registration is $25.00 per rider.  Each rider who pre-registers will get 1 free month of motorcycle roadside assistance sponsored by Motorcycle Towing Services.

Our ride will start and end this year at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden with kickstands up at 10-10:30 am.  The Look Twice ride is known for great rides routes and safety is always key for this event.  Dirty Dogs will have some great entertainment for our event, and our sponsors and biker community always donates great raffles and 50/50 drawings prizes.

Our sponsor for the ride is again Rider Justice.  For over 8 years, Scott O’Sullivan from RiderJustice.com has supported this event as well as BikerDown Foundation to ensure that injured motorcycle riders have a resource to go when they go down.

Pre-Register to get your Can YOU See me NOW event tshirt

This is BikerDown Colorado’s primary fundraiser that will enable us to continue the mission of helping injured riders until the end of the year!

You can register for our event by clicking here to be guaranteed your own Can YOU SEE me NOW t-shirt.  If you cannot make the event, please register and BikerDown will ship your shirt to you.  100% of your donation goes into the Colorado BikerDown Accident Fund to help injured riders.

Remember to Ride Safe and SAVE THE DATE!

BadGirlsBling – Biker Owned Business

By Leave a Comment

BadGirlsBling is an independent women’s business that’s focus is finding women’s motorcycle accessories and apparel.  Our primary focus at BGB is in rhinestone handbags, jewelry, and clothing.  We scour suppliers from all over the country and abroad to find women’s items that they will not normally see at the events they attend.  In fact, some of our items would not be described as biker clothing at all, more stylish and trend setting. 

Created in 2010 after being unable to afford the higher priced items I found at biker events, shows, or rallies.  There were many times that I would see something at an event and could not afford it that weekend, and I would not be able get it until the following year when I saw that vendor again.

BadGirlsBling set out in 2010 to be your local supplier in the Denver area that you would see at bike nights, events, and rallies locally.  BGB does not have a store front because I did not want the overhead that comes with a store that requires owners to add that cost on to customers.

I also found that many women related items and clothing did not fit my style or my size.  In general, most of the biker related clothing is made overseas and sized to fit the super petite woman.  I was not large, but when I went to purchase items, I suddenly felt bigger than I was.   When you go to a rally or vendor booth, most of your sales people really are not informative or knowledgeable about the products you are interested in.

At BGB, I personally wear and try on everything to ensure sizing is correct and that product are made to last.  I feel that I am the best advertiser and billboard for BadGirlsBling because as a woman I know what to expect from a product and how I want it to feel.

Since re-launching the business this year, we have received an overwhelming response from women riders thanking us for coming back.  We hope that you will take a moment to visit our website www.badgirlsbling.com or thru Facebook page.  We welcome you to see our collection of new items for 2021.

April 11th is the last Motorcycle Expo Swap for 2021

By Leave a Comment

The last Swap meet for the Expo this year will be April 11, 2021 at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse

UPDATE: The 2nd swap meet hosted by The Colorado Motorcycle Expo and Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in March was another record crowd and the weather again shined upon our biker community.   There was a better diversity of vendors selling everything from parts to amazing riding hats.

Sadly, this will be our final swap meet of the season.  Dirty Dogs Roadhouse is the #1 biker bar for a reason and with the warm weather and beautiful weekends to ride, they need both parking lots to accommodate customers.

On behalf of all the sponsors, Scott from The Colorado Motorcycle Expo, Rider Justice, Colorado Rider News, Mark & Rob and the staff at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse, we want to THANK YOU ALL.  This modified swap meet was a testament to the pride and unity the biker community feels for each other. 

Our biker owned businesses were struggling in this pandemic as the events they heavily relied on to get them thru the winter are rescheduled, cancelled, or eliminated entirely.  We hope that these 3 months helped them get thru this tough time and get ready for any spring events they can find.

Please come out for the final swap meet on Sunday, April 11th from 10am to 4pm

Save the Date – May 1st is International Female Ride Day

By Leave a Comment

Colorado Rider News in conjunction with Audrey Paulas from Cool Biker Lunch & Rides is hosting the May 1st International Female Ride. Please join us at Rocky Mountain Harley Davidson at 9am for a day of empowerment for women!

Pre-Register today by clicking here

After a short ride, we will come back to the dealership and have an afternoon of activities including a women’s rodeo games, women biker vendors and music.

You can pre-register for the ride by clicking here. Pre-registration guarantees that you will receive an event tshirt and our welcome package. Huge thank you to our sponsor RiderJustice.com and our host Kathy and Marina from Rocky Mountain Harley. Kathy has been a women biker owned business for over 40 years and an inspiration to women riders all over the Colorado riding community including her annual Children’s Hospital Toy Run.

International Female Ride days is a globally synchronized women’s motorcycle ride

Proceeds from the event will go directly to the local food banks in Jefferson County and to BikerDown’s #2Wheels4meals program which helps 1st responders and injured riders with meals.

Help Us Help the Children in our Community

By Leave a Comment

By: Bikers for Justice

For those of you who do not know, April is the official month for Child Abuse Awareness and we truly need to bring more awareness to this pressing issue. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak seems to have caused an alarming decrease in calls reported to the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline, 844-CO-4-KIDS (844-264-5437). The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) has calculated that calls from medical professionals have decreased up to 11% and calls from education professionals decreased by up to 30%! However, calls from friends and family have increased by 5%1.

Michelle Barnes, the executive director of CDHS stated, “Usually, we see a drop in calls when school ends for summer, but the decrease started much sooner – in March when remote learning began – and continued throughout the summer until in-person learning resumed in the fall. As schools reopened with some form of in-person learning, calls to the hotline increased but have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.”

Colorado Children need our help and support and that is where our organization fits in!

Bikers for Justice is a riding group focused on preventing one more child from being abused.

We are BIKERS FOR JUSTICE! A group of riders who are coming together from every walk of life, but the one issue that binds them together is preventing one more child from being abused.

Our Mission is founded on the vision that every child has the right to feel safe from further abuse. We are there to empower the children that have been abused and free them from their fears. Bikers for Justice is focused to eliminate further abuse to children with our physical presence by providing a 360-degree shield to prevent further abuse. We will immediately respond to a child in need. We have got your back!

It is difficult to know the scope of how much child-abuse and neglect really affect one of our most vulnerable members of our communities.  Abused children are often isolated, especially when the trauma involves a caregiver they depend on every day. The harm many children face is not recognized or reported by adults.

Here is some statistic that one might find shocking:

  • Every 10 seconds a report of child abuse is made
  • 91% of child abuse perpetrators are parents
  • 7.2 million children every year are referred to Child Protective Services
  • 4 to 5 children die from child abuse or neglect every day
  • 77% of child fatalities involve one parent
  • 75% of children who die of abuse and are under age 3

The CDHS lists some examples of how our community can help to strengthen families, even those who are not raising a child or working with children or families every day1:

  • Be a listening ear for a neighbor who may be having a difficult time.
  • Offer to shovel a neighbor’s sidewalk when it snows.
  • Help a parent connect to or apply for benefits. Let them know it is okay to need help.
  • Community groups can connect parents to one another to help build support networks.
  • Employers can allow for flexibility in scheduling where possible.
  • People in the service industry can notice positive parenting moments and offer compliments.
  • Faith communities can offer financial support or goods to families who need it.

The healing journey for the children that have experienced child abuse and neglect can be extremely painful. With the help of BIKERS FOR JUSTICE the healing processes can start. We work closely with the families, state, and local agencies to protect children.

BIKERS FOR JUSTICE’s mission simple Every child has the right to feel safe in their environment. We look to give a child it is power back.  They will know that we got their backs, and they need not be afraid.  We assist them in expressing themselves and to protect them to get their voice back to testify.

Remember: IF YOU SEE SOMETHING …SAY SOMETHING!  It might just save a child’s life. 

You can reach us day or night at our help line: 303-725-3159 or send us an email at bikersforjustice@gmail.com .

Canada – April is Child Abuse Awareness Month

By Leave a Comment

Belt Drive Betty Ride Canada
Renee “Belt Drive Betty” Charbonneau is Exec. Director of CMTA and a CRN contributor

By: Belt Drive Betty

Here in Canada, we have several motorcycle organizations that work to prevent child abuse or to support kids who are experiencing child abuse. Many, like Guardians of the Children, help kids if they must go to court. Others like BACA and UBAKA offer a variety of support from counselling to family support. A few of the organizations that many motorcyclists support and raise money for are Little Warriors and their Be Brave Ranch to help kids heal and the Women’s Shelters of Canada.

According to one of the oldest children’s charities in the world the NSPCC in England and Wales (www.nspcc.org.uk) there are some signs to look out for regarding abuse that are common signs that there may be something concerning happening in a child’s life and these include:

  1. Unemplained changes in behavior or personality;
  2. Becoming withdrawn;
  3. Seeming anxious;
  4. Becoming uncharacteristically aggressive;
  5. Lacks social skills and has few friends, if any;
  6. Poor bond or relationship with a parent;
  7. Knowledge of adult issues inappropriate for their age;
  8. Running away or going missing; and
  9. Always choosing to wear clothes which cover their body.

As they warn “These signs do not necessarily mean that a child is being abused, there could be other things happening in their life which are affecting their behavior – but we can help you to assess the situation. You may also notice some concerning behavior from adults who you know have children in their care, which makes you concerned for the child/children’s safety and wellbeing.”

Being sensitive to changes that happen, asking questions, letting them know you are there for them and knowing what resources are available in your community and region may save a childhood.

Child abuse is a universal problem and something that everyone should take a stand against.  I am proud to see our riders step up for children in need.

Child Sex Trafficking in Colorado

By Leave a Comment

By Christan Riders MM

Christian Riders MM is hosting this Sex Trafficking ride on June 26th.

Oftentimes people think the prostitute on the corner of Colfax or the woman in the porno movie are there because it is a choice they made. People believe they are there to feed their drug addiction or to pay their bills. What led them to that place? How did they become addicted? Every person will have their own unique story of how they got to the spot they are in and I am here to tell you that many of them are not choosing that lifestyle. They are being forced to do it and they do not know any other way because they have been sold as merchandise since they were children.

Our local children are being manipulated and sexually abused. They are being bought and used for a person’s selfish gain. People are making money from their torture and abuse of little children. It happens more often than you might think. Even around the corner from where you and I live. 

More than 300,000 children are exploited in the United States each year. 

85% of the rescued children were born in the United States.

11 or 12 years old is the average age of children being trafficked.  

What happens when these children are rescued? They have had their innocence taken and are being abused in ways you and I may not even be able to comprehend. After that, how do they come back? How do they forget about the things that happened to them, the things they were forced to do and the things they saw? Their bodies being sold for sex multiple times a day. I will not ask you to imagine this being someone close to you because it is just too horrific to imagine. This is a brutal fact, and it needs to stop. I pray that they will all be rescued but if we rescue all of them where do they go after that? How do they get away from the pain? How do they heal? How do they continue to live a life that is anything close to “normal”?  

Sarah’s Home is a local organization that helps local children that are rescued out of sex trafficking. The kids are from the ages of 12-18 years old. Sarah’s Home currently has one location that has 8 beds, and they are making a new home so they can have more beds for the children to come and receive healing, education, and therapy in a safe environment. Sarah’s Home gives them a chance to live a life without having to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol and to try to forget what they have been through. They remind them that it was not their fault and that they can bounce back from it. They give them a place to recover, a place for hope. 

If these children do not get the help, they need the repercussions from what they have been through will continue to torture them and hurt them for the rest of their lives and they may hurt other people as a vicious cycle or may even commit suicide.     

Christian Riders in Faith M/M is having an event on June 26th, 2021 to help open the second home and we need your help. The event will be a ride that starts at Avalanche Harley, 18425 W Colfax Ave, Golden, CO 80401 and goes to Pikes Peak Biker Church in Colorado Springs. In Colorado Springs we will have live music, speakers, booths and more. Sarah’s Home has already raised half of what is needed. We still need to raise $146,522.00. It sounds like a lot but every dollar counts! You will not only be contributing to helping one child you are contributing to many, many children to come that are going to get rescued. You are investing in their futures and their children’s futures. You are helping to change the world one rescued child at a time. 

Please register for the ride if you would like to join. If you are unable to make the ride, you can still donate!

For more information go to www.christianridersinfaithmotorcycleministry.com or you can call Turea at 720-250-6644.