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Rolling Thunder 2021 will Go Forward on Memorial Day despite Pentagon pulling 30-year staging permit in Pentagon Parking Lot

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May 5,2p021 By Laurie Montoya

Representatives Executive Director Joe Chennelly from AMVETS and Rep. Brian Mast, R-Florida a 12-year Army veteran and who was injured in Afghanistan (double amputee) today were on Fox News Faulkner Focus today discussing the Pentagon’s decision on rescinding a permit for a 30-plus year Memorial Day tradition that stages thousands of motorcyclists and veterans outside for the Rolling to Remember Rally.

Representative Mast blasted the Pentagon and current administration for rescinding this permit using the excuse of COVID-19 for this outdoor 30-plus years Memorial Day tradition for veterans that has always been staged in the Pentagon’s parking lot.   He is quoted as saying “Memorial Day traditions like Rolling to Remember have been granted permits by every administration, Democrat and Republican, for the past 30 years. The Biden Administration’s decision to end this Memorial Day tradition flies in the face of the freedoms that so many have died to protect,”

Joe Chennelly Executive Director from AMVETS stated, “Our biggest disappointment with the Pentagon’s decision here was that they never gave us an opportunity, despite us asking many times, to be able to present a plan of how we would be able to meet at the Pentagon parking lot outdoors in a safe, responsible way,”

Rolling Thunder is traditionally an event that has been all about is our missing in action.  Motorcycle riders from around the nation, and even around the world rally in the Pentagon parking lots and then begin riding a designated route thru the Mall area of Washington DC.  We have more than 80,000 Americans who are still missing in action since World War II.  Chennelly and his staff are committed to still having a central staging area. … We have a Plan B and that is staging near RFK Stadium and but at this late date it is unclear if they will be able to get those plans into action

AMVETS will know by the end of this week whether Plan B, staging near RFK Stadium, pans out, Chennelly said.

“If COVID-19 conditions permit, the department would gladly consider supporting a future event request from AMVETS, potentially as soon as this Labor Day weekend. The department looks forward to supporting future events with AMVETS,” the Pentagon’s statement continued.

The coronavirus pandemic forced Rolling to Remember to go virtual in 2020 and it is clear the organization’s determination to find another way to do this event in 2021.  For updates, please visit their website – www.rollingtoremember.com

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month – Safety begins with the rider

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Laurie Montoya is President & Founder of BikerDown Foundation and Editor and Publisher of 2 motorcycle publications Motorcycle Rider News & Colorado Rider News

By Laurie Montoya, President and Founder of BikerDown Colorado

The Phrase Everyday should be Motorcycle Awareness Day is a statement that signifies the epidemic of motorcycle riders across this country that are injured daily. Everyone knows of a rider who has gone down, been injured or sadly has passed from a motorcycle accident.

Motorcyclists weigh the risk versus the reward for the freedom of the ride and most would say that if they had their choice they would GO doing what they loved. What happens thought when they are injured and their families are left to pick up the pieces of recovery, how does the family survive when you are looking at 6-8 months of recovery and multiple surgeries? What do they do when the driver of the car that hit them has an irresponsible driver with no insurance or at the very least the state minimum required to be on the road.

The answer is actually very simple – Motorcycle Awareness STARTS WITH ME! – Freedom of the ride in no longer free my friends, it requires riders to have the safety gear to keep them safer on the road than ever before, and it requires them to no longer get on the bike without the adequate insurance so in the event of an accident or fatality, the motorcycle law firm of their choice will be able to get them a recovery settlement that they need to survive. THAT IS THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH DOESN’T CHANGE no matter what your ride, how you ride or what group or club you are in!

The National Organization BikerDown Foundation and your local chapter of BikerDown Colorado is mounting a daily campaign “I AM A BIKER” during Motorcycle Awareness Month in the hopes that it will go viral and show drivers/cagers that there are faces behind those helmets, that we are mothers/fathers, husband/wives and that we are more than just a motorcyclist.

We want to give also give our readers and followers tools and tips on how you can make your ride safer on the road, or in the event of an accident have the insurance coverages that you need.

Today, we will start that campaign with a motorcycle insurance checklist provided by Rider Justice.com that is vital to your recovery in the event of an accident. We hope that all riders will take the PLEDGE TODAY, to call their insurance carrier and ask these very basic questions

  1. In the event I am hit by an un-insured driver, what kind of coverage do i have? Do i have un-insured motorist? Did i waive it when i got the policy?
  2. In the event I am hit by a driver with limited insurance, what kind of coverage do I have?
  3. If i have a passenger on the back of my bike and we are hit, is the passenger covered?
  4. Are my medical bills covered in the event of an accident? How much is it to add Med-Pay?
  5. I have car and bike insurance – are my policies stackable?
  • Underinsured Motorist (UIM) – Purchase a minimum of $250,000
  • Medical Payments (MedPay) – Get the maximum offered by your insurance company, usually between $5,000 and $25,000
  • Umbrella Policy – If you own your home, you need an underinsured motorists’ umbrella policy for $1 million
  • Liability – Purchase a minimum of $250,000
  • Collision –
  • Comprehensive
  • Accessories Coverage – This protects all of the customized accessories on your bike. Be sure to get replacement value coverage
Rider Justice Motorcycle Lawyers

In Colorado or anywhere in the country, if you need an insurance review of what you actually have on your policy and a suggestion of what you should upgrade to, i would suggest that you call Rider Justice and speak to Scott O’Sullivan.

Where Do Most Motorcycle Accidents Occur?

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Motorcycle Safety Car Game Rider Up!
Scott O'Sullivan - The O'Sullivan Law Firm, motorcycle accident attorneys
Scott O’Sullivan

It’s April! Already, warm days have peeked into our tumultuous Colorado weather, bringing 70s in March… then whomping us with a record-setting blizzard. From my law office on 6th Avenue and Ogden, I have already noticed an uptick in motorcycle traffic and, for me, it’s like a harbinger of spring!

Before I get into my spring “get-ready-to-ride-safely” checklist, I want to answer a question that I recently received from a rider buddy. He and I were chatting at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse and I thought I should address it in an article. 

Where Do Most Motorcycle Accidents Occur in Colorado?

Motorcycle Safety Car Game Rider Up!

I often get asked about the most dangerous intersections in Denver however, when analyzing where most motorcycle accidents happen, I have to say that it’s very similar to where most auto accidents occur: intersections. And the number-one cause of motorcycle accidents is left-hand turns in front of oncoming traffic.

All too often, cars underestimate how fast motorcycles are traveling and pull out in front of them when taking a left-hand turn. Or, auto drivers maintain that they never saw the motorcycle coming. Of course, in both of these types of accidents, the auto driver is at fault. But that does little to soothe the victims or the victims’ families, whose lives may have been completely ruined.

You need to ride defensively and behave as if you think no one can see you. When you are approaching an intersection, use caution.

Another place where most motorcycle accidents occur in Colorado is on highways and open roads. This is because of the high speeds. Motorcyclists get a bad rap for being speed demons (and we’ve all seen the riders who give us this reputation), but most of the riders I know are responsible and law-abiding. However, even when a motorcyclist is traveling at the speed limit, highway speeds are very high and crashes at those speeds are generally tragic for bikers.

As Mike Douglass of the Aurora Police Department said in a recent Westword article: 

“When you have highways or roadways that allow for higher speeds, a car does a better job of protecting people. You have seat belts, closed passenger compartments and a lot more body and weight to help protect the occupants. And with motorcyclists, you can have the unintended consequence of the rider coming off the bike.”

So, the two places that motorcycle accidents occur the most are intersections and highways. Please be vigilant and ride defensively anywhere you ride, but especially when approaching an intersection or on a highway.

Get Ready to Ride Your Motorcycle This Spring!

OK, now that the tough stuff is out of the way, let’s focus on the fun stuff: getting your bike out for the warm weather! I want to remind you to do one thing that is super important before you even ride around the block: turn your motorcycle insurance back on if you turned it off last fall.

All too often, I meet injured riders who “just took it out for a spin” on the first warm day and didn’t switch their insurance on. They are left with huge medical bills and sometimes can’t even work due to injuries.

What about the other guy’s insurance, you ask? Very often, the “other guy” doesn’t have insurance or is underinsured. You have to protect yourself.

So, before you ride… call your insurance agent and turn that policy on today. We’ve already had beautiful days and you know the itch to ride is growing. Do it now so that you can hop on your bike when those temps start climbing again.

Rider Up! Share This Video on Your Social Media Channels

Finally, let’s make sure the rest of the world is ready to SEE us and PROTECT us this spring! In 2019, Rider Justice launched a campaign that we call Rider Up! It’s a game that challenges car passengers to be the first to spot a motorcyclist and yell its location in relation to the car. The player who spots and yells first is the winner. The goal is to have auto passengers help drivers locate nearby bikers, and to also train future drivers to look for and see motorcyclists on the road.

Check it out at riderjustice.com. Please help us get the word out now that the daffodils are emerging and the motorcycle engines are revving.

Hope to see you soon at a Rider Justice event!

Motorcycle Riders Will Be Forever #BikerStrong

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.