History of Sportbike Northwest

The history of Sportbike Northwest is not a long one – yet – unless you go back to early 1900’s when many of the roads were built that we use during the event.  Roads designed to get casual travelers in 40 mph vehicles up and down the steep ravines of the majestic Columbia River Gorge later became the crux for some awesome motorcycling. 

I took my first trip into the gorge in 1999 and have been enjoying riding there ever since.  There’s literally hundreds of miles of twisties to be enjoyed, plenty of scenic views and the late summer weather conditions can’t be beat.

In 2002 planning began for the first Sportbike Northwest event.  The idea – fill a void.  Up until then, there had been no consistently organized annual multi-day sportbike events in the Pacific Northwest.  It was time to create one.

The first year event in 2003 went off without a hitch, unless you considered the bee that nestled his way into Harvey Gilkerson’s nose on the backside of Mt. St. Helens.  Great food, great riding and great times ensued with everyone leaving smiling (even
Harvey).

During the 2004 event we encountered an unusual spell of rain.  We only had to re-route one ride and enjoyed the eastern/drier side of the Gorge instead.

What we've learned is that Sportbike Northwest was not for everybody.  The wheelie-poppin, stoppie-stoppin burnout-hooligans stayed home.  But for those of us who like to ride – take that to mean distance - the event is a dream come true.  From Seattle it’s 180 miles to Stevenson, our poker run each year clocks in around 200 miles.  You' may put as much as 1,000 miles or more on your bike in all!

You like to ride?  This is the place to do it!!

Tom Mehren/Founder - Sportbike Northwest

Snail Mail:
Sportbike Northwest
c/o Sound RIDER!
2226 Eastlake Ave E #69
Seattle, WA 98102

Email:
Click Here

Telephone:
206-329-7808

Credit where credit is due

This rally takes the help of a lot of people to make it happen.  We'd like to acknowledge everyone's help over the years:

2010 Rally Crew

• Connie Adams
• Ryan Barnett
• Tim & Sherry Bernard
• Harvey Gilkerson
• Tom Mehren
• Dave Preston
• Steve Schiller
• Bruce Scott
• Stacey Swanson
• Paul Tefft
• CMA/Fast Lane

Graphic & Wed Design

• Mixed Media

Photography

• Turkphotos.com

Skamania Fairgrounds Support

• Scott Pineo
• Ann Lueders
• Tim O’Mahoney

Past Rally in the Gorge Crew & Support Persons

• Connie Adams 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09

• Ryan Barnett 08, 09

• Tim & Sherry Bernard 06, 07, 08, 09

• John Dixon 04, 05

• Patrick Duff 06, 09

• Bonnie Ecker 03, 04, 05

• Bill Farley 07, 08, 09

• Harvey Gilkerson 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09

• Mike and Mikala Hew 04, 05

• David Hough 03, 04, 06, 08, 09

• Herb Larson 04, 05

• Anne Leuders 06, 07, 08, 09

• Peter Mehren 08

• Rodney Myrup 06, 07

• Tim O'Mahoney 05, 06, 07, 08, 09

• Jim and Ellen Palms 05, 06, 07

• Dave Preston 03, 04, 05, 06, 09

• Scott Pineo 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09

• Scott Reneaud 03

• Steve Schiller 08, 09

• Danielle Scoggins 03, 04

• Bruce Scott 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09

• Stacey Swanson 08, 09

• Paul Tefft 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09

• CMA/Fast Lane 08,09

Also a special thanks to:

• American Motorcyclists Association

• Joe and Patty Schlick

• Amy Nyberg

• Ken Cohen

• Skamania County Chamber of Commerce

• The City of Stevenson

• The Stevenson Small Business Association

• Dave Brown, Dave Cox, Pat Bond & everyone at the Skamania Co Sheriff's Office

If we forgot to put your name on the list contact us and we'll add you.