 Sound
RIDER! 2009 Event Recap
“Thank you for calling XYZ Motorsports – we sell fun” I’ve heard
this greeting on more than one dealership's phone answering system.
Motorcycles are simply fun! They may sometimes appear to be an
inexpensive form of transportation, but beyond the practical
virtues of our two wheeled machines, once we mount them they are
just – F-U-N!
And fun is part of the reason we started Sound RIDER! ten years
ago. There are many times when it’s hard to tell if we’re working or
playing because we’re having a lot of fun doing what we’re doing.
Enter 2009? A bleak economy lay ahead. But it was also going to
be our 10th anniversary. What better time to have fun!
And we did, as did many of you, our readers that make it worth being
here every day of the year. So we got a little crazy and planned
ten events to celebrate the 10th anniversary. As you
might imagine, the planning was intense, but the payoff was sweet.
Lots of great moments, lots of great riding and lots of smiling
faces.
It all began in February when David Hough and I headed to Spokane
and ran a series of seminars throughout the weekend at the Spokane
Motorcycle Show. Topics ranged across riding skills and touring
smarts for novices and seasoned riders alike. It was a first for the
Spokane show and so successful we’ll be back in 2010 to diversify
the series.
 In
April we coaxed riders to a new place that didn’t even exist on the
map a few years ago - The Wild Horse Wind Farm in Ellensburg. The
temps that Saturday morning were in the mid 20s in the passes and
low 30s anywhere else. But the tough riders came using electric
heat, warm gear and stops for hot beverages to make it up the hill
for a series of photos that we took each hour. Morning arrivals were
treated to the views of Mt. Adams and Rainier off the vista patio at
the wind farm's visitor center. Anyone who wanted got a tour up into
the mast of the large turbines. At the end of the day many riders
agreed – we should do this every year.
 April
also marked the beginning of our first grand tour event that would
last six months – The Café to Café Grand Tour. 57 riders signed up
with the goal of riding to and enjoying 15 restaurants scattered all
over the Northwest as determined by Sound RIDER! and our sister
online publication, Seattle DINING! 20% of the riders completed the
entire tour and in October we celebrated the final results at
Magill’s in Tri Cities. For those who didn’t complete the tour, the
list remains theirs and they can nonetheless explore each of these
fine eating establishments in the years to come. Look for this event
to reappear in our 2010 offerings.
 In
late July we held the 7th annual Sound RIDER! Rally in
the Gorge. Comprised of four mini rallies (Sportbike Northwest,
Sport Touring Northwest, Dualsport Northwest and Maxi Scoot
Northwest) we had our work cut out for us. For the first year we
would run all four events simultaneously and we’re up for the
challenge of creating a unique experience for each attendee,
regardless of their rally/riding style choice. With top name
speakers like Reg Pridmore, David Hough, Ramey Stroud, Bret Tkacs
and others, we did what we set out to accomplish introducing new
seminars and for the first time ever, rolling clinics. KTM USA and
Eastside Motosports joined in with demo rides on KTMs and Ducatis.
Ride West provided the ultimate door prize item with a $1600
TrailGuard riding suit. Dozens of others sponsored in silent auction
items and additional door prizes. As anticipated, attendance was down
25%, in part due to the economy and in part due to the 110+ degree
heat wave that wouldn’t go away. Despite the heat wave and lower
attendance, our silent auction raised more money for our Gorge Kids
Explorer fund than any other year to date. In the fall we were able
to use those monies to fund several busloads of kids from all over
the Gorge to the Maryhill Museum of Art. There’s still more money in
the till which will be utilized over the first part of 2010 for more
educational funding specific to the Gorge area.
 We
delayed the annual 3 Pass BLA$T ride until mid August to insure
certain areas of the route were not covered in snow. It worked. In
mid August a dozen riders competed to ride a 200-mile route as close to
the legal speed limit as possible. But other interferences would
work their way into the mix. On the Friday before the ride, both
myself and Bob Owen pre-rode the route. The young volcanic McKenzie
Pass section of the ride posed several hurdles. The first was the
completion of road work along a 20 mile stretch of Route 242. Would
the crew work into Saturday to complete the project? We didn’t know.
The other trick was that in Oregon the unwritten speed limit for a
road with no speed signs is 55mph. If you can actually ride McKenzie
Pass at an average rate of 55 mph you get a prize for doing
something that is simply not possible due to the tight corners all
along the route (many of which don’t have a cautionary speed sign
posted). It was going to be an interesting 3 Pass Blast. Those who
stayed close to the absolute time in the first half of the ride were
soon slowed to a crawl and a stop as the road was shut down for over
an hour in the afternoon for striping. Those who were ahead of the
of the absolute time in the first half were only several minutes
ahead of the rest in the long line of dead-stop traffic that ensued.
In the end a winner prevailed, surprising 2nd and 3rd
place winners arose and a good time was had by all.
 We’ve
tinkered with the idea of doing a multi- day led tour. With the past
experience we had doing the Trollhaugen dual sport, the time seemed
right to go forward with a four- day tour from Hood River to the
Canadian Border – primarily on Forest Service roads. The Sasquatch
Dual Sport tour of 2009 could not have turned out better. 54 riders
left from the Hood River Bridge in the morning on the last Friday in
August and crossed over into Canada the following Monday. Along the
way we all enjoyed some great views like snow capped volcanic peaks
and serene alpine lakes, easy roads and more challenging roads,
wonderful sunshine (something you could not get enough of all summer
considering the prior dark winter and spring we all endured) and
some grand camaraderie. As soon as it was over we all agreed – we
have to do it again and in 2010 we will.
It is now November and we’re not done yet. You’ll see us at the
Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in December at the Qwest
Field Events Center. We’ll have an all new display of 40 unique
motorcycles from around the Northwest. Some will be new, some will
be old, but all will be unique in their own way.
This past autumn has offered a chance to slow down, breathe, look
back and reflect on what a grand year it has been for Sound RIDER!
and our readers. I can’t think of a better way to have spent the
last year, and while I won’t promise ten events for 2010, whatever
the number turns out to be I can promise you this – we will all have
FUN!!!
Tom Mehren/Fall 2009 |
