Some club members in Italy.

By Roy Blakney #58554

The Rocky Mountain BMW Riders Club was founded on the cool Saturday morning of September 30, 2004 at the BMW Denver dealership conference room by a group of 13 BMW Riders living in the eastern suburbs of Denver, Colorado. I guess that was our lucky number as the club now has over 100 members. Out of the original 'charter' members of 13, we are proud to say eight are still members today and still hold many officer and committee positions. That is what I call dedication! Even though Colorado had several good active motorcycle clubs, including several BMW MOA chartered clubs, we felt the need to start another club with several intentions in mind.

            Our club's practice is safe riding, fun, sociability, and always being ready to welcome and assist other riders whatever they may need. Our purpose is to keep a good motorcycling image in the public's eye. Our motto: It's not just about the ride!

            Rocky Mountain BMW Riders Club (RMBRC) is a very active motorcycle club with day rides around Colorado and other rides most weekends year round when the Colorado weather permits. Along with planned and unplanned rides, mystery tours, Poker runs with great awards, our Annual Ride Book is full of organized tours and events around Colorado and much further. These include an annual ride to Daytona Beach Bike Week with side trips to Key West, Florida; Barber Motorsports Museum, Alabama and even the Blue Ridge Parkway in Kentucky. Other great rides to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta; the Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell, New Mexico; the Black Hills and Mt Rushmore in South Dakota; Las Vegas, Nevada; the Grand Canyon and even the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah for the motorcycle speed trials have all been a part of riding experiences in these short 4 ½ years since the club was formed.

            We have also had several successful tours to the Canyonlands, Utah; California Coast including Yosemite and the Giant Redwoods; to New England for the 2006 BMW MOA Rally with a continuation north to Nova Scotia and the Atlantic Canadian Provinces, Quebec, and Ontario, Canada. Other tours we have completed include going to Montana, the Canadian Rockies, and British Columbia including two organized tours to Europe in 2007. In 2008 our rides continued and we visited many places in the United States with several of our club members heading to Mexico again.

            This year has had many fun filled rides again to places such as Moab, Southern Utah, BMW MOA National Rally, various motorcycle museums in the area and of course, our first nationally advertised Ride for the Gold. The Ride for the Gold will be mainly a GS ride through the hills of Colorado in the area of the Gold Rush days of historic gold mines. More information is available at http://www.rmbrc.org/ride-for-the-gold.html.

            All of these adventures over the last 4 ½ years were planned and arranged by members of the RMBRC and were very successful and free of incidents or difficulties. In doing our own planning, we saved considerable sums of money and above all else it was lots of fun and we are full of great memories! We are planning more great trips to many destinations for 2009. Remember, if you ride a BMW these rides are not that difficult. They do require a bit or preparation, some time, and a little money ... probably less than you think. If you would like to join our club you can visit our Web site at http://www.rmbrc.org or contact Roy Blakney at (303) 756-2547 or Dan Kearney at (303)582-3348. You get a lot more than the annual $20 membership fee including, but not limited to, the club newsletter with helpful and interesting articles and information; a club pin and decal, ride information, discounts at our sponsors, access to the RMBRC Web site and much more.

            Most RMBRC members are also members of the BMW MOA a very worthwhile organization and again worth far more to any BMW owner than the annual membership fee. The Anonymous Book of emergency contact names and numbers alone has helped many a BMW rider stranded across North America. RMBRC members do attend the BMW MOA National Rallies each year and many had volunteered to assist at the 2008 Rally in Gillette, Wyoming from July 17-20 as our club was in charge of the Signs Committee. There is going to be at large contingent also going to the BMW MOA Rally in Johnson City, Tennessee again this year, where we will all probably volunteer and help out where we can!

            RMBRC planned monthly meetings are usually held at the Windsor Gardens Restaurant at 597 S Clinton Street in Denver on the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. On occasion we hold them in other locations for special presentations or entertainment. Our meetings are always informative, entertaining, and relate to motorcycle stuff with a monthly prize drawing to boot! We usually have guest speakers with many helpful motorcycle related topics. These include instructional and video presentations teaching rider safety, skills for both new and experienced riders, solo and group riding techniques, ride planning, the care and feeding of your most prized possession and best friend on the open road-your motorcycle-are also frequent topics. Other topics include what to do in case of a flat tire, motorcycle that won't run, emergencies, accidents, insurance information, and claims. Above all, we talk about getting the most fun out of riding.

            This is a growing club of members from 18-83 years of age with members from California to the Atlantic Coast, and as far away as Germany. We also participate in annual fund raisers including the Ride for Kids Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, American Cancer Society, and Christmas Toy Runs for Children's Hospital, including visits to senior centers and a veterans' nursing home.

            We encourage motorcyclists everywhere to start clubs for more fun, greater safety, and to create a better image of this wonderful sport.

Share the history, fellowship and spirit of your Chartered Club by e-mailing Mandy Langston at . Her number is 636-779-0135. It's a great way to get the word out about your rallies, meetings and other activities.