State Sen. John Kafalas, the diminutive Democrat from Fort Collins, drew a word-picture of himself climbing onto a Harley Davidson.

“I know it’s hard t believe, but I’ve ridden Harleys, and as long as they’re low riders, I can touch the ground and hold the bike up,” he said, drawing howls from the chamber.

“Back in the 1980s, I actually did an ‘Easy Rider’ kind of adventure, I rode from Colorado to New York on a 380 Kawasaki,” Kefalas continued. “I would not recommend taking a 380 Kawasaki across the country.”

Kefalas was speaking on the chamber floor Wednesday in support of Joint Resolution 38 — Centennial Sen. Jack Tate’s proposal to designate May 2017 as “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month” in Colorado.

Tate reportedly rides a 1980s model BMW.

Sen. Kevin Lundberg, Republican from Berthoud, celebrated the experience of motorcycle riding as an archetypal emblem of freedom.

Majority Leader Chris Holbert, Parker Republican, recounted his experience being catapulted from the top of his moving motorcycle over a Buick station wagon and landing on the asphalt under the car’s bumper. The driver opened his door just as Holbert was passing, he explained. “I T-boned that wagon.”

Sen. Kent Lambert rose to relate the harrowing experience endured by his eldest son, an apparent all-star academic, deep-space telescope-technology engineer and stunt motorcyclist. Lambert said his son was struck from behind on his motorcycle by a van on a hazy stretch of Arizona highway. “He was vaulted and rolled about 120 feet down the asphalt,” Lambert said, his voice catching. The crash resulted in latent neurological damage that over time has become debilitating.

“We have to respect motorcycle safety,” Lambert said. “We have to respect and provide a barrier (when we’re driving) to protect the lives of motorcycle riders and the lives of their families.”

Sen. Lois Court, Denver Democrat, has championed stiffer laws for texting while driving. “It is crucial that we recognize how important your safety is and how we in four-wheel [vehicles] impact your safety, too.”

“Yes to safety. Yes freedom. Yes to the motorcyclists in Colorado,” said Lundberg.

The conservative Senator’s words conjured an image of a twenty-something Lundberg plying the byroads of the nation on a hog, dressed in leather, long hair trailing behind him, an American flag emblazoned on the back of his jacket.

The resolution passed unanimously.

— john@coloradostatesman.com