Watching the forum and our Facebook page, I can see that riders are chomping at the bit, or should I say, clenching the throttle, in anticipation of another exciting season with DamTour 2012. Registration will officially open for Pre-Registration Tomorrow. And ... the official start this year is March 1, 2012.

Hoping to upload a new look to the DamTour website tonight. It will be interesting to see what I mess up this time. Not all of the pages may be updated at once, so expect some troubles, and it is okay to let me know, in case it is something I didn't catch. I think this year, I will add the new dams as I did last year... a batch at a time. So keep watch. :-) The first will of course be the bonus dams, and you already know what those are.

Another new thing this year is a change in registration fees and options. As veterans of DamTour will notice, we have a fee increase. This is to help cover the ever increasing costs. But in exchange all registered riders/pillions or critters, will get the 2012 DamTour participation pin (see at right), whether you turn in any dams or not. More details about the changes and what might be new for 2012 can be found in our About DamTour page. I am hoping people will read that new updated page before registering. It should help in clearing some things up and answering some of the questions I get each year.

Packets will start heading out the door February 24th. Your packet will include the usual, your placard with the list of dams on the back, a welcome note from Steve, a note about submitting your photos and how they must be named to count, and new this year, your 2012 Participation Pin.

Get that throttle hand in shape, DamTour 2012 is almost here....

"Thank You, Pro-Caliber" for a great "End of Season Party". As usual you went beyond in helping us pull together a wonderful and fun day to finish up the 2011 season. This year we not only had a record number of sign-ups both rider and pillion, but a whooping "81" of them visited all twenty dams that we offered in 2011. There was a lot of crystal sitting around at this year's party. We also had the highest ratio of sign-ups to riders that actually turned in a "dam" submission. These riders are proving that DamTour riders really do ride their bikes. While it is not a race or a competition, and you have seven full months to visit any of these dams, it is not a surprise that our first two at the top of the rankings table as the first and second to finish, were long-distance riders. Roger Van Santen got them all by May 27th beating out Brian Jack by one day and veteran DamTour rider Dan Stombaugh by only two days. This is the second time Roger has beat us all to all of the dams. Congratulations Roger.

The season started out wet and cold... with lots of snow piling up in the hills. Wonder what we will get next year as I hear they are predicting a hard winter. :-) In spite of all the cold and snow we had a lot of riders out our first weekend (February 26-27) with eight dams of the twenty being visited. Wow... And talk about goals and determination. While most riders were sleeping, Steve and Angela Ferguson, met their goal to be the first dam snag of the season, riding to Wynoochee Dam through all variations of cold and nasty roads, and taking their photos before 7:00am. Burrrr..... Freezing their bottoms off... but smiling and got home safely. As the TV shows say.... don't try this at home...LOL

We had a lot of activities this year, with group ride/gatherings/BBQ with our sponsors. While a lot of work to organize and get together, they were well attended and lots of fun. Pro Caliber had one in Longview to Swift dam, and one in Bend to North Unit and Ochocco. Treasure Valley Motorsports(has since been bought out) had a great escorted ride out of Nampa, Idaho to our special and fun mystery bonus dam(s), Lake Lowell. I heard back from a lot of riders that were really sorry they didn't make it. :-)

As usual we announced next years Bonus Dams. Our Bonus Dams for next year are: Lahontan Dam, in Nevada; Yellowtail Dam, in Montana; Boysen Dam, in Wyoming; and for a really far reaching adventure this year... Navajo Dam, in New Mexico. Boysen Dam is our featured dam on our 2012 shirt and may be on our poster as well. Some great life experiences lie ahead. I for one am really looking forward to exploring the roads to and from these dams.

In 2010 we increased the rider registration to $30, and have struggled back and forth with whether to do another increase for 2012 to help cover the expenses of our picnic and awards party, as well as the awards for your "dam visits". We really don't want to, but may be necessary. We shall see what needs doing, and may increase and/or cut some things out, If not we will add a donation helmet at the picnic and awards party. :-)

You riders have made this another wonderful DamTour season and we look forward to seeing you all back here for next year. We will be busy in the background planning for next year, and making the final dam selections. The new season web site may have a new look. That and the 2012 dams should be up and ready by mid-February. So while you are chomping at the bit and waiting around for us.... get those bikes ready to roll.... get them in for servicing or do it yourself and get yourself in shape as well.... it's gonna be a great year.

Till next year..... Just ride!!!