A Dam Fine Experience: The DamTour
Official DamTour Founder Steve Folkestad
Previously Posted in Print and Online on www.Tankside.com
By Gabriela Kandziora
We riders love to earn pins. Besides riding for the sheer fun and excitement (and good food at the lunch stop), earning a pin is a primary goal for so many of us. Looking at the cuts of some riders, you will see years and miles of riding invested in multiple states. Pins proudly displayed on our leather cuts tell people the miles, places, and years we have ridden. They also tell people our mindset—“DILLIGAF?” or “Smart-Ass White Boy” comes to mind. Some pins also proudly reveal a bit of our past—military affiliations, philanthropy to toy runs or charities, and in memoriam of fallen riders. Each one of these small but extremely valuable pieces of history tells a story. And the rider, wearing the cut they are attached to, can tell you the blow-by-blow account of how, where and when she or he earned each one.
One of the most fun pin/patch collecting experiences is the “DamTour.” Steve Folkestad started this awesome self-guided tour back in 2004. His brother, Eric, was working at a motorcycle dealership and mentioned to Steve, “I need something for my customers ‘to do’ after they get their bike.” So Steve, being the entrepreneur and problem solver that he is, came up with the fantastic idea of creating a “scavenger hunt” for motorcyclists and decided to use dams as the destination. Thus the DamTour, “20 DAM good places to ride,” was born—eight dams in Oregon, eight dams in Washington and four bonus dams, March 1 through September 30.
Steve’s vision for the DamTour was to create a tour for riders that is different each year, which can be done solo or with riding buddies, which allows the rider to enjoy riding at its finest, and allows the rider to achieve a sense of accomplishment. Steve also knows that most bikers will ride anywhere and do most anything for a pin!
It’s a brilliant concept—there are thousands of dams, what allows the DamTour to change every year. Word spread of this great new event. Riders would send in their registrations, do the rides to the various designated dams, and snap a photo at the designated spot. Now remember, this was before digital cameras, so getting the photos back to the DamTour headquarters to provide proof of the ride was an accomplishment in itself. Back at HQ, when a rider completed the DamTour for the year—within the time frame, and with their supporting photos—Steve would then send out a trophy and the pin to the deserving rider.
One rider, Cheryll Malish, became thoroughly engrossed with the DamTour and asked to help Steve. Cheryll had enjoyed the event since the beginning, but in 2006 she decided to help the DamTour grow. Cheryll is a computer programmer and built a website for the event. With this website, the DamTour could post tours online, show those who completed the tours, post pictures sent in from riders, and house the stats for participants. As we know, websites also serve as an archive of sorts, holding the achievers from years past for all to see. Cheryll’s contribution was instrumental in exponentially growing the DamTour—now riders could compare with last year’s riders, with their buddies, and even their own accomplishments.
Steve and Cheryll have cultivated an amazing event for the rider community and want to see it carried on and grow. As of August 2015, 10 years into the DamTour, Steve and Cheryll have brought on Tankside to enhance and expand the event. Tankside is proud to take the reins of this wonderful venture, and Steve and Cheryll will continue as contributing consultants on the various tours. The DamTour will work the same: Riders will sign up on the website; each spring the DamTour for that year will be revealed to participants; they will be sent their tour kit which contains a placard, complete with the list of dams, a short description of the location and GPS coordinates. Riders will ride to the various dams and snap a photo of the placard on the bike, with the dam in the background. When they send these in to Tankside, the photos will be posted and the standing updated for the whole “dam” world to see. At the Tankside Tail Gunner party—set for October 10 this year—at the end of the summer riding season, state finisher pins will be presented to riders who rode to all eight dams in each state. Those who ride to all 20 will receive the coveted crystal trophy, and the names of the riders who took part in the DamTour for that year will go down in DamTour history and be posted on the website for the world to see. Bragging rights achieved!
If you have not done the DamTour yet, put it on your “dam to-do list” for 2016 and every year thereafter. Each year provides a fresh experience. The DamTour will get you out riding to unseen territory, challenging you to stretch your horizons and reach a new level of riding.
Register with your buddies and make each DamTour a memorable time. Tankside is creating a new website that will make it easy to register, easy to view and archive past DamTours, easy to see where you stand compared to the other riders, and pictures will be posted on social media. And, of course, the trophies and pins/patches will be there for those of you who wish to achieve the goal of being known as one of the greatest DamTour riders out there.
Please go to DamTour.com, and visit Tankside online (Tankside.com) and at our Facebook page (facebook.com/tankside) for more details.
By Gabriela Kandziora
We riders love to earn pins. Besides riding for the sheer fun and excitement (and good food at the lunch stop), earning a pin is a primary goal for so many of us. Looking at the cuts of some riders, you will see years and miles of riding invested in multiple states. Pins proudly displayed on our leather cuts tell people the miles, places, and years we have ridden. They also tell people our mindset—“DILLIGAF?” or “Smart-Ass White Boy” comes to mind. Some pins also proudly reveal a bit of our past—military affiliations, philanthropy to toy runs or charities, and in memoriam of fallen riders. Each one of these small but extremely valuable pieces of history tells a story. And the rider, wearing the cut they are attached to, can tell you the blow-by-blow account of how, where and when she or he earned each one.
One of the most fun pin/patch collecting experiences is the “DamTour.” Steve Folkestad started this awesome self-guided tour back in 2004. His brother, Eric, was working at a motorcycle dealership and mentioned to Steve, “I need something for my customers ‘to do’ after they get their bike.” So Steve, being the entrepreneur and problem solver that he is, came up with the fantastic idea of creating a “scavenger hunt” for motorcyclists and decided to use dams as the destination. Thus the DamTour, “20 DAM good places to ride,” was born—eight dams in Oregon, eight dams in Washington and four bonus dams, March 1 through September 30.
Steve’s vision for the DamTour was to create a tour for riders that is different each year, which can be done solo or with riding buddies, which allows the rider to enjoy riding at its finest, and allows the rider to achieve a sense of accomplishment. Steve also knows that most bikers will ride anywhere and do most anything for a pin!
It’s a brilliant concept—there are thousands of dams, what allows the DamTour to change every year. Word spread of this great new event. Riders would send in their registrations, do the rides to the various designated dams, and snap a photo at the designated spot. Now remember, this was before digital cameras, so getting the photos back to the DamTour headquarters to provide proof of the ride was an accomplishment in itself. Back at HQ, when a rider completed the DamTour for the year—within the time frame, and with their supporting photos—Steve would then send out a trophy and the pin to the deserving rider.
One rider, Cheryll Malish, became thoroughly engrossed with the DamTour and asked to help Steve. Cheryll had enjoyed the event since the beginning, but in 2006 she decided to help the DamTour grow. Cheryll is a computer programmer and built a website for the event. With this website, the DamTour could post tours online, show those who completed the tours, post pictures sent in from riders, and house the stats for participants. As we know, websites also serve as an archive of sorts, holding the achievers from years past for all to see. Cheryll’s contribution was instrumental in exponentially growing the DamTour—now riders could compare with last year’s riders, with their buddies, and even their own accomplishments.
Steve and Cheryll have cultivated an amazing event for the rider community and want to see it carried on and grow. As of August 2015, 10 years into the DamTour, Steve and Cheryll have brought on Tankside to enhance and expand the event. Tankside is proud to take the reins of this wonderful venture, and Steve and Cheryll will continue as contributing consultants on the various tours. The DamTour will work the same: Riders will sign up on the website; each spring the DamTour for that year will be revealed to participants; they will be sent their tour kit which contains a placard, complete with the list of dams, a short description of the location and GPS coordinates. Riders will ride to the various dams and snap a photo of the placard on the bike, with the dam in the background. When they send these in to Tankside, the photos will be posted and the standing updated for the whole “dam” world to see. At the Tankside Tail Gunner party—set for October 10 this year—at the end of the summer riding season, state finisher pins will be presented to riders who rode to all eight dams in each state. Those who ride to all 20 will receive the coveted crystal trophy, and the names of the riders who took part in the DamTour for that year will go down in DamTour history and be posted on the website for the world to see. Bragging rights achieved!
If you have not done the DamTour yet, put it on your “dam to-do list” for 2016 and every year thereafter. Each year provides a fresh experience. The DamTour will get you out riding to unseen territory, challenging you to stretch your horizons and reach a new level of riding.
Register with your buddies and make each DamTour a memorable time. Tankside is creating a new website that will make it easy to register, easy to view and archive past DamTours, easy to see where you stand compared to the other riders, and pictures will be posted on social media. And, of course, the trophies and pins/patches will be there for those of you who wish to achieve the goal of being known as one of the greatest DamTour riders out there.
Please go to DamTour.com, and visit Tankside online (Tankside.com) and at our Facebook page (facebook.com/tankside) for more details.
