History of RMAR - In the fall of 2009, John Lane realized that one of his beloved adventure motorcycle events was being moved out of the state of Colorado and shifted to a date where he could not attend. On a whim he posted on a popular adventure forum that he was loosely organizing an event that would stay in Colorado, where some friends could gather and ride. Initially it was thought that 20 riders would be interested, but in July of 2010, over 80 riders arrived in South Fork, Colorado. In that first year, the work was largely a Lane Family effort, including, John's wife Audra, their four teenage children and a nephew and his wife. Three additional friends were huge help with the work as well, Terry Davis, Matt McCabe and Mark Odette. During that first event, Marty Deffenbaugh, another riding friend, encourage John to have a secondary focus, fund-raising for trail maintenance. A hat was passed through the audience one evening and about $100 was raise for the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition.
Two months after the event the feedback was overwhelming. Everyone wanted the event to come back in 2011. Thus the Rocky Mountain Adventure Rally was birthed.......
Making a few tweaks, but having a successful event blue-print, the 2011 RMAR was taken to the tiny community of Saguache, CO..... and another lesson was learned. Small, remote mountain communities were begging for such events and an infusion of revenue into the local businesses made a huge difference. All of the sudden we had city managers and chamber of commerce's clamoring for attention. We caught the vision that our events could help small towns and small businesses in a tough economy, helping to preserve these mountain communities. Saguache was another huge success with approximately 140 adventure riders attending the four day event. Once again a phenomenal band of volunteers rose to the occasion to make it great. Of note were the efforts of Mark Odette and his willingness to reach out to vendors for door prizes. Companies came flocking and in the second year, there were over $1,500 given away to lucky winners. Once again the event collected funds for COHVCO and $500 was donated.
Three months after the event, a series of meetings occurred. First was an introduction to Don Riggle of the Trails Preservation Alliance and second was a meeting with Terry, Matt and Mark. All four of these gentlemen encouraged John to formalize the effort and interest into an organization. Don strongly encouraged a connection with the American Motorcycle Association. After numerous additional meetings, a seed investment by the TPA and a lot of paperwork, the Rocky Mountain Adventure Riders were formed as a non-profit corporation in the state of Colorado and was accepted as an official AMA Group. Our founding Board of Directors included John Lane, Matt McCabe, Audra Lane, Mark Odette and Terry Davis. Helping to launch the Group as charter members were: Duke Sheppard, Elburn Templeton, Doug Matthews, Bernie Wilsenach, Bill Cheatham, Marty Deffenbaugh, Ned Suesse and Paul Schexnayder.
The first sponsored ride for the new organization was the Kokopelli Ride, one of three for our official, first year. Matt McCabe organized a highly successful weekend. Some 25 riders spent three days traveling from Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT on the Kokopelli Trail.
In early August of 2012 the organizations cornerstone event was re-branded as the RMAR Rendezvous and was based out of Silverton, CO. Attendance exploded again and over 200 riders registered for the 4-5 days of riding in the San Juan Mountains. Vendors attended for the first time with a presence by Billet Racing Products, KLIM and Wolfman. Mark worked his magic again and our highly valued vendor partners stepped up to the plate with over $15,000 in door prizes. Once again fund-raising for the cause was exceptional, topping over $5,000 to COHVCO.
The final event for the first year was the Colorado Adventure Motorcycle 1000. This was a seven day, point to point, extreme adventure motorcycle ride, where 12 riders finished the route. The team event required riders to carry all their gear on their bikes, with tent camping each night. This event raised $2,000 for the Trails Preservation Alliance.
As one could imagine, the organization is exploding attendance at events, vendor partnerships and rides..... in additional states beyond Colorado.
Two months after the event the feedback was overwhelming. Everyone wanted the event to come back in 2011. Thus the Rocky Mountain Adventure Rally was birthed.......
Making a few tweaks, but having a successful event blue-print, the 2011 RMAR was taken to the tiny community of Saguache, CO..... and another lesson was learned. Small, remote mountain communities were begging for such events and an infusion of revenue into the local businesses made a huge difference. All of the sudden we had city managers and chamber of commerce's clamoring for attention. We caught the vision that our events could help small towns and small businesses in a tough economy, helping to preserve these mountain communities. Saguache was another huge success with approximately 140 adventure riders attending the four day event. Once again a phenomenal band of volunteers rose to the occasion to make it great. Of note were the efforts of Mark Odette and his willingness to reach out to vendors for door prizes. Companies came flocking and in the second year, there were over $1,500 given away to lucky winners. Once again the event collected funds for COHVCO and $500 was donated.
Three months after the event, a series of meetings occurred. First was an introduction to Don Riggle of the Trails Preservation Alliance and second was a meeting with Terry, Matt and Mark. All four of these gentlemen encouraged John to formalize the effort and interest into an organization. Don strongly encouraged a connection with the American Motorcycle Association. After numerous additional meetings, a seed investment by the TPA and a lot of paperwork, the Rocky Mountain Adventure Riders were formed as a non-profit corporation in the state of Colorado and was accepted as an official AMA Group. Our founding Board of Directors included John Lane, Matt McCabe, Audra Lane, Mark Odette and Terry Davis. Helping to launch the Group as charter members were: Duke Sheppard, Elburn Templeton, Doug Matthews, Bernie Wilsenach, Bill Cheatham, Marty Deffenbaugh, Ned Suesse and Paul Schexnayder.
The first sponsored ride for the new organization was the Kokopelli Ride, one of three for our official, first year. Matt McCabe organized a highly successful weekend. Some 25 riders spent three days traveling from Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT on the Kokopelli Trail.
In early August of 2012 the organizations cornerstone event was re-branded as the RMAR Rendezvous and was based out of Silverton, CO. Attendance exploded again and over 200 riders registered for the 4-5 days of riding in the San Juan Mountains. Vendors attended for the first time with a presence by Billet Racing Products, KLIM and Wolfman. Mark worked his magic again and our highly valued vendor partners stepped up to the plate with over $15,000 in door prizes. Once again fund-raising for the cause was exceptional, topping over $5,000 to COHVCO.
The final event for the first year was the Colorado Adventure Motorcycle 1000. This was a seven day, point to point, extreme adventure motorcycle ride, where 12 riders finished the route. The team event required riders to carry all their gear on their bikes, with tent camping each night. This event raised $2,000 for the Trails Preservation Alliance.
As one could imagine, the organization is exploding attendance at events, vendor partnerships and rides..... in additional states beyond Colorado.