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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:
2009 Rally Crew
- Connie Adams
- Ryan Barnett
- Patrick Duff
- Harvey Gilkerson
- Peter Mehren
- Tom Mehren
- Dave Preston
- Tim & Sherry Bernard
- Steve Schiller
- Bruce Scott
- Stacey Swanson
- Paul Tefft
Web design
Additional Photography
Skamania Fairgrounds Support
- Scott Pineo
- Ann Lueders
- Tim O’Mahoney
Past Crew & Support Persons
-
Connie Adams 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08
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Bruce Scott 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08
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Paul Tefft 04, 05, 06, 07, 08
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Rodney Myrup 06, 07
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Harvey Gilkerson 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08
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Anne Leuders 06, 07, 08
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Tim O'Mahoney 05, 06, 07, 08
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Scott Pineo 04, 05, 06, 07, 08
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Tim & Sherry Bernard 06, 07, 08
-
Bill Farley 07, 08
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John Dixon 04, 05
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Patrick Duff 06
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Bonnie Ecker 03, 04, 05
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Mike and Mikala Hew 04, 05
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David Hough 03, 04, 06, 08
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Herb Larson 04, 05
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Jim and Ellen Palms 05, 06, 07
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Dave Preston 03, 04, 05, 06
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Scott Reneaud 03
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Danielle Scoggins 03, 04
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Ryan Barnett 08
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Steve Schiller 08
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Peter Mehren 08
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Stacey Swanson 08
Also a special thanks to:
-
American Motorcyclists Association
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Joe and Patty Schlick
-
Amy Nyberg
-
Ken Cohen
-
Skamania County Chamber of Commerce
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The City of Stevenson
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The Stevenson Small Business Association
-
Walking Man Brewing
-
Chef Petrone
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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.
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