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FOCUS ON GIVING: Dirty Dogs Roadhouse to host 2nd Annual Freezin For A Reason Chili-Cookoff on December 4th

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Do you have the BEST Chili? Is it the Hottest? You will have a chance to enter your red/green chili at the 2nd Annual Freezin for a Reason Chili Cookoff hosted by Dirty Dogs Roadhouse.

To enter your chili, please register by clicking here, all contestants are asked to bring an unwrapped toy or donate $10.00. All tasters as well will be asked to bring a donation to taste the amazing chili that day. Proceeds from the event will go to Adopt A Family for the Holidays Colorado, and the Children’s Hospital Toy Run.

Awards will be given to the best red and green chili, as well as the people’s choice for the absolute BEST.

So come out to the #1 Biker Bar in Colorado and get in the holiday spirit.

FOCUS ON GIVING: Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays – Donations for Families OPEN until December 11th

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By Laurie Montoya, President Founder of BikerDown  Foundation

BikerDown Foundation is in our 9th year of Adopting Families for the Holidays program in Colorado.  The program started with the desire to help 2 motorcycle families that had suffered a tragic loss due to a motorcycle fatality.  While we knew we couldn’t replace the loss they were feeling, we could ensure that the family wasn’t alone and that the children had Christmas under the tree.

The Adopt-a-Family program has helped almost 500 families over the years, and the need for families in the Denver and surrounding areas continues to grow as rent and the cost of living increases.   2020 and now in 2021, families have not recovered fully because of the pandemic, and Christmas presents are just not in the budget for their children.

As we enter the holiday season, many begin to feel joy and excitement as we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  However, many families in our community start to WORRY about how they will make their children’s Christmas wishes come true.

This year, the Adopt-a-Family program goes back to our grassroots and has limited each state to 25 (in Colorado 35) families to ensure that we meet our fundraising goal.  We see this as a challenging year for all.

BikerDown, with the help of Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden, will host a Freezin for a Reason, Chili Cook, off and Toy Drive on December 4th, and we ask all attendees to bring an unwrapped toy or donate $10.00 to taste the chili.  All teams are encouraged to pre-register for this event, and we will have great prizes for the winners.

All of this wouldn’t be possible without the help of Walmart, Rider Justice, BikerDown sponsors, riders, and our biker-owned business supporters, and each family receives a $250.00 Walmart gift card.  Adopt-a-Family has a direct line to Santa Claus, and he always comes to visit the children and bring some gifts for them.

WILL YOU DONATE TODAY?  Adopt-A-Family is taking donations on our website  www.adoptafamilytoday.org. If you would like the meet the families, and read their stories, you can view that on our Meet the Families page on the website link listed above. You can also scan this QR code that will enable you to donate quickly and easily.  

BikerDown Foundation Expands to Florida

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By Executive Director

BikerDown Foundation has been assisting motorcycle riders who have been injured in an accident in Denver, Colorado, for over 11years.  Founded in 2010, this organization started with 6 motorcycle riders at the Platte Bar and Grill on Sante Fe with only 1 mission. How do we help injured riders at home?

It is clear that none of us knew what we were in for and how many injured riders would seek the assistance of BikerDown Colorado.  You see, back then, riders only heard of their friends who went down in their groups.  Remember the days of Biker-or-Not?  Facebook at that time was not as popular as it is today.  If you want to know what is going on in our biker community, all you need to do is turn on your phone or computer.  Any event or cause is publishing an overwhelming amount of information, and it is just a swipe or clicks away.

BD Florida 1st Introduction Dinner

Social media quickly elevated BikerDown Colorado as a resource of assistance, and in our 1st year, we helped about 27 riders with their recovery.  Over the years, BikerDown has grown with demand and now provides medical equipment, fundraising thru our BDFundme, and a variety of resources and financial management to help get that injured rider thru the most challenging times in their life.  In 2020, BikerDown Colorado helped 58 Colorado motorcycle fatalities and over 200 accidents.

Fast forward today, BikerDown has chapters in Colorado (National), Arizona, Las Vegas.  In November, BikerDown launched a Florida chapter in the Ft. Meyers area and hosted their first introduction dinner to give leaders in the biker community information as to How We Can Help Bikers Better NATIONWIDE!

Expansion is a necessary step to help riders on a more national level.  Currently, BikerDown receives 3-5 help requests on our website from riders outside of our chapter states, injured riders desperately looking for assistance and resources to help them thru recovery.

BikerDown Florida will be sponsored by the Sunshine State Biker Lawyers and the law firm of Carmen Dellutri out of Ft. Meyers, Florida. After visiting with Carmen and Casey Byrus, his marketing manager, it was clear from day 1, that this firm truly cares about injured motorcycle riders. They also bring additional assistance to the biker community, such as probate/living will document, bankruptcy, and a full legal staff to help our biker community with any needs they may have.

Colorado Riders supporting BikerDown in their Annual Look Twice Save a Life Ride

All of this would have never happened with Colorado riders who donated and assisted BikerDown to reach this level.  Our Board and members should be proud of what you have helped create for injured riders all over the country.  BikerDown didn’t invent the concept of helping injured riders, but we have the BEST program and resources that give injured riders hope and a sense that they are not alone thru their recovery.

2nd Anniversary of the Passing of Mark “Munky” Berman

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By Laurie Montoya

In October 2019, our community lost our friend Munky at the hands of a murderer named Alberto Calcurian. The loss to our community resulted in one of Denver’s most significant celebrations of life in recent memory.

For Munky’s family and friends, this started the beginning of the criminal aspect of Munky’s death, and 2 years later, those family members and friends still have no justice. Calcurian’s legal counsel pleaded that his client wasn’t mentally capable of standing trial, and after a mental health exam, he was committed to some mental facility, and to date, there has been no update since February 2020

Munky’s children received almost nothing from his estate that could ever replace their father, everything that they held valuable was taken from them that day, and that was their father.  I am happy to report that Munkys 2nd love was his motorcycles, and his beloved bike can and will always be at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden, where it will be a constant reminder of a friend take from us all too soon.

That was the beauty of Munky, he lived life by his own rules, and no one defined who he was. He only cared that a biker was on the side of the road. Whether you were an independent rider, sportbike, Harley, group, or club, Munky would always be there to get you & your bike safely off the road.

On the 16th, at the 4th anniversary of Dirty Dogs Roadhouse, Colorado Rider News will be giving out candles to light and remember our friend Munky Mark. We encourage everyone to bring a photo, and let’s honor our friend with a drink and solo salute in the air.  Munky, I am sure you will be watching!

WORLD RECORD POKER RUN 2021 Raises over $12k for BikerDown Foundation

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On July 31st, over 144 Registered riders left Port Charlotte, Florida, with the sole desire to break a world record for the longest poker run.  This poker run would take these riders over 3,200 miles, eight states as they made their way to their final destination, 81st Sturgis Rally.

The riders completed their poker run on August 6th at the Buffalo Chip. Their Coppertone tans and pure adrenaline could finally relax and begin to let it sink in what they had accomplished. 

At every stop, they were welcome by dealerships, biker bars, and sponsors.  They did their best to soak up all the local color they could in the short time they had there.  They averaged over 500 miles per day, so they had to rest and be up bright and early the next day to do it all over again when they stopped.   During their evening festivities, these tired riders raised money for the charity of choice, BikerDown Foundation.  To date, these riders and organizers have raised over $12,500 to help injured motorcycle riders nationwide.

A Little History

In January 2021, Sonny and Angie (known as “The Badgers”) from supportbikers.com had the vision to break a world record for the longest poker run and wanted to raise money for a charity that helped the biker community.  Sonny said, “you would be surprised when you take a look at what is out there; there are hardly any charities that help the biker community.” After some suggestions from their steering committee of riders, Sonny began reaching out and writing emails.  BikerDown reached out to me within minutes of me hitting send on my keyboard.

After a few emails and conversations, The Badgers were confident that they had found the right charity.     

One of the biggest frustrations BikerDown experiences is an overwhelming number of help requests nationwide where we do not have chapters.  BikerDown Bylaws prohibit them from releasing funds outside of our chapter states.  The Badgers and WRPR riders have now made it possible for us to give services to riders all over the country.

Starting point for the World Record Poker Run in Port Charlotte, Florida

As President and Founder, I took a flight out to Port Charlotte, Florida, to send off the riders, meet The Badgers and their crew and do all that I could to let the riders know just how appreciative I was on behalf of future injured riders.  I was so impressed with how focused and ready they were for these riders; many had already ridden over 800 miles just to start this ride in Port Charlotte.

My next meeting with the crew and riders was in Golden Colorado at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse, where you could see what the riders’ were experiencing.   They had almost 2,500 miles under their belt, they had been thru the heat, rain, hail, breakdowns, a couple of accidents, but most importantly, they had overcome every challenge as a group.

Conclusion

On Friday, August 6th at 6 pm, all the riders had to report to the Buffalo Chip for their final check-in; they were happy, hugging, and had such a feeling of accomplishment.

BikerDown will forever be grateful to these riders, organizers, and sponsors for what they went thru for their fellow bikers.

All I can say is the next time Angie and Sonny get a crazy idea; I will say I am ALL IN.  Rumor has it they want to do it again next year and break their record.  

Bikers Lives Matter Blocking Team

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By Laurie Montoya, BikerDown Foundation

There is nothing more fulfilling than organizing a charity motorcycle ride and having riders show up!  All weekend riders pay for the privilege of riding on majestic Colorado roads to help every type of cause or charity. 

The planning involved in putting together a safe ride is very time-consuming, it is so much more than if we route it….they will come.  I have been preaching for years to organized charity rides and events that you must have more than just a first aid kit on a ride, you must have a moral compass and level of responsibility when putting a ride together.

When you are sponsoring or promoting a ride, you are taking the lives of those riders into your hands, waivers are of course signed, and every rider should ride their own ride, but it is important that organizers think about their ride and do everything possible to ensure SAFETY FIRST.

BIKERS LIVES MATTER BLOCK TEAM

Blocking or Leapfrogging is a term that most will not recognize unless you have done it.  The purpose of those terms is to get groups of riders thru intersections and not break up the group.  There are many that don’t feel bikers should be blocking intersections.  I am a proponent of safety first and apologies later.  I would rather see a group of 100 riders make it to their destination than worry about upsetting a few drivers who are inconvenienced for a few moments.

In 2020, Lyndell “Fuzz” Elliott founded Bikers Lives Matter Blocking Team with a few of his friends.  His sole purpose was to help BikerDown and a few other charity rides he attended with a team of blockers that shared the same vision of motorcycle safety in a group setting and to have a Facebook page where others could volunteer to assist him.  Fuzz has a long history in the biker community and has ridden on many charity rides in Colorado and has seen the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY when it comes to things that can go wrong on a ride.

MOLLY-DHARMA RIDE

A few weeks ago, I broke out and attended the 15th Annual Molly-Dharma Motorcycle charity run.  If you have never run this ride, put it on your calendar for 2022.  This event supports a variety of no-kill shelters in our community and draws a large crowd every year.  There were puppies and dogs/cats looking for their forever family running around the Resolute Brewery in Arvada, and it took all my strength not to bring Gerda home for Noel.  

150 riders attended this ride which started in Arvada and then headed up Coal Creek Canyon, a route that can be challenging for a large group of riders. 

Prior to the ride leaving, I watched Jeff Busch and Fuzz, detail every stop, and turn along the route and the duties and responsibilities of the Bikers Lives Blocking Team.  These types of pre-ride meetings can seem overzealous at times, and too much information for others who just came to ride.  However, watching Fuzz and Jeff layout everyone’s responsibility is something that most riders don’t get to see which is the goal of a good ride. 

The weather was warming up and Fuzz and Jeff did the safety meeting to the crowd, and I thought to myself, guy’s you are going too long…you are losing the crowd.  This ride thru Coal Creek has a lot of sharp curves at 10-15 mph and it was important that riders understand and be prepared for the ride ahead.

My responsibilities during the ride was to ride behind approximately 10 blockers (which to me, seemed like way too many) and when we did the 3 designated hard stops, I was supposed to leave enough room for the blockers to get back in the front.  I was up to the task but nervous as I have never had that level of responsibility.

As we proceeded thru Coal Creek it became clear that had any of the riders listened to the safety meeting, they should now be prepared for the tight curves and to watch their speed.  I would glance in my rear-view mirror and could see that everyone was leaving enough room and being patient with other riders that may not have had their skill level.

As we proceeded to the first hard stop Hwy 72 meets Hwy 119 – the road gets quite steep to the intersection, so the blocker in front of me stopped about 75 yards before the intersection.  I began to understand right away that the pre-riders had decided that they didn’t want the riders to come to a full stop on such a steep road.  I did my job and stopped the riders about 10 feet away from that blocker.  Suddenly all the blockers caught up and several went ahead to the intersection.  This break also gave all the riders time to catch up so that when we turned, we could get everyone thru at 1 time.   

Our ride on Hwy 119 to Black Hawk was beautiful and the weather while warm was cooler than in Denver and we all really began to enjoy the ride.  However, I still was pondering why did we have so many blockers in the front.  I was given my answer when we entered Black Hawk and I began to see Fuzz designate each blocker to go to each of the 3 intersections and block so that 150 riders could get thru with ease.   Hard Stop #2 was at Johnny Z’s Shell Station on our way down and again, my job was to stop and leave enough room for all the blockers in Black Hawk to catch back up and get in line.

I won’t finish the number of incidents where the blockers made sure the group got safely to the END stop.  What was noticeably clear to me was how important it is to have a good blocking TEAM with you on an organized ride.   The precision and planning to ensure that 150 riders didn’t get lost or left behind made the event all that more enjoyable for everyone.  Riders at the end of the event kept commenting that the ride was great and how much they enjoyed themselves. 

These are the comments that you want when hosting a charity ride.  A ride was so enjoyable that riders will come back the next year and support you again.  A huge thank you to Jeff Bush and Fuzz and their team of riders with Bikers Lives Matter Blocking Team.

The TEAM has accumulated quite a resume of rides that they have blocked for including

  • International Female Ride,
  • Cruizin for Kruzer,
  • BikerDown’s 9th Annual Look Twice Save a Life ride; and
  • 15th Annual Molly-Dharma Motorcycle ride.

A special thanks and honorable mention to their TEAM members including

  • Fuzz,
  • shiner
  • Steve Cox,
  • Superman John Dentin Asdourian ,
  • kickstand Joe Rivera,
  • Rick Bouska,
  • Jeff Bush,
  • Michael Valles 

And a special thanks to the Team for Molly-Dharma included

  • Rob Bagforb
  • Jake Marr
  • Charles Holland Jr
  • Joey Hackney
  • Dave Wynn
  • Chad McCullough
  • Randy Barnett

High Seas Rally Rescheduled to 2022

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Unfortunately, despite some encouraging recent news about Royal Caribbean sailing again later this summer, as we hit the final stretch in the lead up to the 21st sailing of High Seas Rally, it is clear there remains too much uncertainty about ship capacity, vaccinations, and social distancing the deliver on our core mission of producing the most unique and entertaining Motorcycle Rally in the world. We felt it is important to make this call now so you have as much advance notice as possible.

The GOOD NEWS is that we have time to create an even BETTER Motorcycle Rally Cruise for 2022. If we have perked your interest in possibly wanting to join us, here is some information that might seal the deal!

1. The Drinks Are on Us – No alcohol expenses while on this cruise, all drinks are all-inclusive which is a huge saving for 2 people on a cruise

2. Great Entertainment – Trace Adkins has a conflict for 2022 dates, but stay tuned for even more amazing entertainment. Here are the bands that we have confirmed: Foghat, Molly Hatchet, Black Smoke Sinners, and Steel Rod.

3. Payment plans available to help you upgrade to better balcony rooms or suites.

BikerDown Foundation and our local retailer BadGirlsBling.com are both scheduled to be vendors on the 2022 High Seas Rally and you can save an extra $100 on your booking if you use these codes below.