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BikerDown’s Adopt a Family for Holidays Meets Goals with Help from Special Donor

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Adopt a Family raised over $14k for families in need!

There is nothing more stressful than the holidays for families, whether it is the COVID world that we currently live in with job layoffs, food service industry shutdowns and in-home learning requiring 1 family member to not work.   Also, the normal high cost of living in Denver and surrounding areas makes it difficult for any extras each month.  Gone are the days, when a family can put a little away every month, or the Christmas savings accounts one used to open every year to save for the holidays.  Families struggle every year to provide the kind of Christmas that all children deserve.

BikerDown Foundation saw the need in the motorcycle community 10 years ago and implemented a holiday program called Adopt A Family for the Holidays.  Since its inception BikerDown thru Adopt A Family has helped over 500 families have the resources to provide Christmas for their children.

Each family in the program receives a $250 Walmart gift card and partnered with Walmart to provide a full holiday dinner and to ensure that children have food to get them thru the New Year.  What makes our program different is they allow donors to see their donations at work by meeting with the families, reading about their circumstances and getting to personally meet them at our Dinner with Santa. 

Their goal in 2020 was to help as many families as they could but to also be realistic that everyone in our community was struggling and that donations could possibly be down this year.  Adopt A Family even limited the number of families that could apply to 40 families, from the normal 75-100.  BikerDown Adopt A Family also expanded their reach in 2019 to include the Las Vegas BikerDown chapter which each year has reached their family goals with the guidance of Shannon Venturo from Full Throttle Law & Bling Devas, MC, Cheryl from Original Sinners, MC and the Southern Nevada Confederation of Clubs.

On December 11, 2020, with 2 weeks away from Christmas, they began to get very worried that they just would not meet the goal of helping 40 families. On Wednesday, December 16, Laurie Montoya, President and Founder of BikerDown and Adopt A Family, received a phone call that she will never forget.
Michael Lord, a local Denver entrepreneur, called to adopt the last 4 families in our program. Mike then asked if there were any other families that they could help. In a matter of minutes, Mike and his co-workers adopted 10 additional families that were on the waitlist!

The program would be remiss to not recognize all the Colorado donors of this program, that each year make sure to adopt at least 1-2 families.  These biker community donors have been the back bone of our program for 10 years and Adopt a Family would not have been able to survive and increase our help without their commitment every year.  We would like to give special recognition to Scott O’Sullivan from RiderJustice.com and The O’Sullivan Law firms, Greg & Brooklyn Chmel, Art and Khris Cleveland, Derek from Ironwood Earthcare, BO Martinez, Skip Hohnhorst, Eli Ohlauser, Deborah Thomas, Kevin Maki, and all of you who attended the November Chili cook off.  You are truly a blessing to this program.

Adopt A Family will continue the mission in 2021 and we look forward to bigger and better events that will enable us to extend our reach to more and more families.


We will all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I hope you will raise your glass and join me in say FAREWELL to 2020.

Growing COVID cases leads Gov. Polis and local counties to raise to the caution level red. Changes go into affect Friday Nov 20th

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November 20th Jefferson, Arapahoe and Adams County upgrade to Level Red

COVID cases are on the rise again in Colorado and it appears that more drastic measures for citizens and business owners is coming our way this Friday, November 20th. Local health and political officials have confirmed that Jefferson, Arapahoe and Adams counties will be moving to the higher level.

What does this mean? Here are the changes that will affect all of us.

  • Elementary schools are still able to hold in-person classes and middle schools can do either in-person, a hybrid program or remote learning. But it is suggested that high schools go to hybrid or virtual learning, if they haven’t. For colleges and universities it is recommended they go to remote classes.
  • Restaurants can no longer do indoor dining, but they can still do curbside pickup and takeout. They can also do outdoor dining by limiting groups to only members of their households.
  • Last call for alcohol is moved from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. and bars remain closed.

Local groceries stores are beginning to see shoppers starting to stock up on food and other necessities as the fear of another shutdown looms in the unforseen future.

If Denver and other counties move to Level Purple restrictions, outdoor dining will no longer be allowed at restaurants, according to the new guidelines. Polis says he believes the Level Red restrictions will be effective in flattening the current coronavirus spike.

Of the newly created highest Level Purple, Hancock said, “We expect to be there.”

The state health department recorded 30,843 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, last week. It’s the sixth consecutive week that the state has recorded a record number of new coronavirus cases and reflects how infections are now at the highest level since the state had reliable data from testing.

There were 1,294 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 and another 130 people with suspected COVID-19, according to the health department.

Owners Mark and Rob have been modifying our beloved Roadhouse since March of this year and have prepared for this higher level by the Health Departments

Before publishing this article, I spoke with Rob from Dirty Dogs Roadhouse in Golden and Rob confirmed that Dirty Dogs will continue to stay open with outside dining, however alcohol will have to stop at 8pm from the 10pm when Jefferson County was at the Orange Level.

Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays – Nominations are open until November 30th

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Please visit our website for more information

BikerDown Foundation is in our 9th year of Adopting Families for the Holidays program.  The program started with the desire to help 2 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 450 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.   In 2020 due to COVID-19, this has affected many families in ways they could not imagine.  Many parents are still not back to work, children cannot attend school and parents are forced to stay home.

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

This year the Adopt-a-Family program is going back to our grass roots and have limited each state to 25 families to ensure that we meet our goal of fundraising.  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 November 28th after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  All teams are encouraged to pre-register for this event and we will have great prizes for the winners.

Adopt-A-Family has not yet determined their ability to hold the Lunch/Dinner with Santa which is where we normally distribute the gifts to the families.  We will work very hard to manage a program that meets local guidelines and continue to make the event the BEST that we can make it.

All of this wouldn’t be possible without the help of Walmart, Rider Justice, BikerDown sponsors, riders and our biker owned business supporters, 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.

This year we are on an aggressive fundraising effort to help over 75 families, but we need your help, if you would like to Donate to our program please visit our website at  www.adoptafamilytoday.org.  This website is also where we ask all families to request adoption.

#2Wheels4Meals distributes meals to the Hornbuckle Foundation

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One of the primary goals of Hornbuckle Foundation is to collaborate and work together with other Recovery Community Organizations and non-profits. Monarch Sober Living played a pivotal role in the success of the Hornbuckle Foundation’s sober living placement and recovery coaching program. With their experience, they helped fine tune a dream and turn it into a successful reality, by providing guidance and teamwork. 
We were approached by Rider Justice with an idea to bring meals to sober living houses through 2Wheels4Meals. The Hornbuckle Foundation had dreamed of being able to do an event like this for the last year, and 2Wheels4Meals made it happen! 

Residents of sober living are near and dear to our hearts. They are working toward achieving long-term sobriety. This journey is not for the faint of heart! Many bridges have been burned, reputations destroyed, and it can be a long road to getting back on the right track. With COVID happening, isolation has wreaked havoc on the world. This event brought people together and was a reminder that they are not alone; that the community cares about their intrinsic value and worth. They’re worth some amazing, gourmet Italian food- worth the effort to be blessed. I loved what Laurie said the best, “We see you and we are proud of you.” So many people don’t get to hear that very often, even those not in recovery. It was a special day to be a part of. We are grateful and humbled to be chosen to play our small part. 

Sarah Hornbuckle visits with the #2wheels4meals crews

#2Wheels4Meals – Interview

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April 11: This interview with Mark Miklos of Dirty Dogs Roadhouse and Laurie Montoya of BikerDown gives an update about how Dirty Dogs is doing during the COVID-19 shutdown and an information about our #2Wheels4Meals movement.

Laurie is our #2Wheels4Meals “boots-on-the-ground” person and has been at Dirty Dogs for the past three weeks helping prep meals. (Thank you, Laurie!) As the president of a non-profit, BikerDown, she has been instrumental in helping collect and manage donated funds.

Donate to #2Wheels4Meals

The Times They are a Changing

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Laurie Montoya, Publisher

I was sitting here as I have done for the past 3 weeks trying to think about what to write about. What positive spin or thoughts that I could share with you. All I could come up with is that history has a way of repeating itself and hopefully this world, our country and we, as citizens, will learn this time.

We are in unsettling times. We will speak of this global virus pandemic, the stay-at-home orders, food shortages, gas prices possibly going back to 99 cents per gallon, highest unemployment in recent memory and the aftermath this pandemic had on our economy.  Before this, how many of you knew the word Essential business or ventilator? The simple word COVID-19 will flow off our tongues like WWI & The Depression and we will all remember where we were and who we lost. This virus knows no color or race, no religion, no gender and doesn’t discriminate… sounds like a John Lennon song. 

Future generations will roll their eyes when we try to tell them the stories of the day when there was no toilet paper and food was being rationed.  How manufacturing plants were converted from making pillows or beer, to making hand sanitizers and hospital masks/PPE clothing to save the lives of Americans. GM and Ford converted their plants to make not guns and ammo for WAR, but medical equipment.  They will humor us, and half listen at the unimaginable sacrifices people have made to save the lives others.

I remember when I was younger, I went down into my Italian grandparents’ basement, and would see everything that they stocked up on.  Every weekend, they would take the Sunday newspaper ads and coupon and spend the whole weekend going to stores picking up the Buy One-Get One free products and then they would proudly stock them on massive shelves in the basement.  They would only go out to eat at restaurants they had a coupon for.  My beautiful Grandma Ginny was our family Italian drug dealer, because she would pay you to refill your prescriptions and then stock them up in her private home pharmacy.  I remember thinking that they were just a little bit crazy, but now I understand that they had lived thru the depression, they had lived in a house with several married families and struggled every single day.  My grandma worked at a plant in St. Louis and paid double on her mortgage every month so that she could pay her house off early and the bank didn’t own her.  She believed in living within her means, and I can’t tell you the countless times my parents borrowed money from them and thank god they always had it to give.  They didn’t have credit card because they didn’t want to owe anyone.  If they wanted something, they had an envelope and they SAVED until they could go in and pay cash.

It is my belief and deepest hope that this pandemic and shut down will be a life lesson to world leaders, our government and all of us in some small way and will bring CHANGE in how we deal with things. 

I have personally learned a lot about how I will deal with things moving forward and to be the rock for my family and friends.

Our estimated goal date to getting back to some semblance of normal is now April 30th, and I pray each day that more people will honor the stay-at-home orders and practice safe social distancing. Group rides are not encouraged, and we ask all riders if you are going to ride to make sure you take the necessary steps to keep yourself and others safe.

The sooner we all sacrifice and bring this curve of infection down, the sooner we can all get back to the living and rebuilding our lives and our country.

#2WHEELS4MEALS

Colorado Rider News is working with a collective group of biker owned business to form #ColoradoRidersCare.  Our first initiative was our #2WheelsforMeals program to ensure that our small business biker owned restaurants survive so that we have them when this is over.  We are working with businesses like Dirty Dogs Roadhouse, Wide Open Saloon, and Takoda Tavern. Each of these businesses are open for carryout and delivery and we encourage all riders to try your best to support your local biker owned business. If you know of someone  that needs a hot meal, please let us know by sending an email to info@coloradoridernews.com

Motorcycle Business Directory

CRN has also created a directory of businesses that have modified or adapted to the shut-down.  Many of our dealerships are still open and while the showroom may be closed, they are still open for service and parts. 

We will always be #COLORADOSTRONG and stand side-by-side.

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

Contact Laurie: info@coloradoridernews.com

Auto Insurance Offering Customers Shelter-in-Place Payback

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Update: 4/9/20 — Additional auto insurance carriers have followed suit and are offering rebate/pay backs to customers.  Be sure to contact your auto insurance carrier and find out what programs are available to you.

Laurie Montoya, Publisher

As we all continue to practice Shelter-in-Place during the COVID-19 spread, many are working from home or have been temporarily laid off. This stay at home policy is significantly limiting the amount of driving (except for essential travel) and lowering the possibility of a driver/rider’s being in an accident.

I received an email from Esurance, an Allstate company offering insureds up to a 15% payback off their monthly insurance premiums during April thru May. They are also offering other vital services such as:

  • Free identity protection from Allstate
    You can now get free identity protection from Allstate throughout the remainder of this year. With shelter-in-place orders requiring people to work at home and attend virtual classes, meetings, and events, it’s more important than ever to protect your personal data against increased cyber and financial threats. Enroll by 5/31/20 to get Allstate Identity Protection for free through 12/31/20.
  • Extended coverage for commercial deliveries
    Many auto insurance policies don’t cover commercial deliveries. But while so many people are helping deliver vital supplies to their communities, we’re extending coverage for customers who use their personal vehicles to deliver food, medicine, and essential services for a commercial purpose. This coverage will be automatically applied in any state where an emergency order is in place. No action is required on your part.
  • Payment relief
    Customers facing financial challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis can contact us for payment flexibility. Call us at 1-800-ESURANCE (1-800-378-7262) to learn more.

State Farm is also considering a rebate plan.  “We are closely monitoring our automobile insurance loss and are considering how best to take this into account and return value to our auto insurance policyholders,” State Farm spokeswoman Gina Morss-Fischer said in an emailed statement. “We expect a decision in this regard by the end of the week.”

American Family Insurance said it will return about $200 million to its auto insurance customers.  “American Family Insurance is doing this out of responsibility to our customers. They are driving less and experiencing fewer claims. Because of these results, they deserve premium relief,” American Family Chief Operating Officer Telisa Yancy said in a news release.

If you aren’t insured with Allstate, I would encourage you to contact your auto policy provider and see what offers they might be putting into place.

#2Wheels4Meals – Donations

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Our program to support local businesses is gaining steam. Because of the gaining interest – and to help people maintain social distancing by staying at home – BikerDown has started a fundraiser through their fundraising platform. As a non-profit, they are experienced at managing donations and distribution of funds.

DONATE HERE

Dirty Dogs Roadhouse has really stepped up to the plate with effort promoting our program that aims at feeding those in our community in need and first responders.