Vietnam vets have long complained they were met with a less-than-enthusiastic response when they came home from war.How times have changed.Until things were ironed out recently, there was just a little bit too much love being showered on military members – past and present – in the region.The stage was set for an über-lovefest two summers ago, when tensions came to a head between the administration of Cripple Creek and the two organizers of a bike rally/veterans appreciation event held in the historic mining town for 14 years.Then-Mayor Ed Libby last year told The Gazette that Cripple Creek spent a lot of money on the event – $91,000 in 2006, including at least $33,000 to Jim and Pam Wear’s Monument-based company, Pro-Promotions Inc., for rally expenses they incurred. But he questioned whether the event attracted the right people – and focused enough on honoring the military.”I felt the focus should have been more on military,” Libby said. “Yes, many of the bikers here are veterans, but not all veterans are bikers.”Jim Wear said he thinks Libby simply didn’t like the influx of thousands of leather-clad bikers, no matter that many of them were middle class, middle aged veterans – architects, accountants and electricians – who were bringing tourist dollars into the town.So, last year, the Wears decided to move the event to Winter Park, where he said they found a more welcoming city administration and more accommodations throughout the Fraser Valley.After all, the event – “Salute to American Veterans Rally” – had grown over the years from a handful of friends taking a ride to honor vets into what Wear thinks is the largest veterans appreciation bike rally in the West, drawing about 40,000-plus participants over the weekend.Confronted with the loss of those visitors and their dollars – and with a desire to send a patriotic message of their own – Cripple Creek leaders promptly created an event to replace it.Gone was the emphasis on bikers and veterans. In its place was an event honoring active-duty soldiers and their families – hopefully arriving by car. The event was called “Cripple Creek Honors America’s Armed Forces.”Not to be outdone, the Woodland Retail Alliance in Woodland Park decided to create its bike rally/vet/soldier appreciation event, called “Protecting the American Dream.”The problem: All three events were held last year on the same weekend in August, the weekend that had long been the date for the Wears’ event. The Wears have always staged their rally on the first weekend after the massive bike rally in Sturgis, S.D., which is held the first full week of August.Wear didn’t much care about the coat-tail events; attendance at last year’s rally in Winter Park was as big as in previous years, he said. But, he said, the scheduling confused potential participants and put bikers, vets and activeduty solders in a bind: What event should they attend?More troubling, Wear said, was that the overlapping schedules forced Fort Carson into a corner. The post had traditionally supplied his rally with a mounted color guard, marching platoons for the parade, the Harmony in Motion singing group and guest speakers.Suddenly, he said, Fort Carson was confronted with trying to support three events even as the war in Iraq was stretching its resources.”Here we are bickering and fighting, and the people we are respecting and honoring are suffering,” Wear said.After last year’s events, Wear approached the Woodland Park alliance and Cripple Creek officials. Both, he said, realized holding three patriotic events on the same weekend was “idiotic.” He said both entities promised to change the dates for this summer’s events.Woodland Park did just that and will hold its second-annual event Aug. 23 at Kavanaugh Field, said Merry Jo Larsen of the Woodland Retail Alliance.Somehow, though, Cripple Creek’s promise got lost in the transition to a new city administration. Not long ago, Wear realized the town was planning its 2008 celebration on the same August weekend as his event in Winter Park.Furious, he called city administrator Bill McPherson and the new mayor, Dan Baader. Wear said it took only a couple of minutes on the phone to realize the two men had “honorable intentions” and probably weren’t aware of the promise made by the previous administration.The two sides ironed out their differences. Cripple Creek, Wear said, agreed not to pursue vendors and sponsors he had cultivated over the years.More importantly, the city also agreed in writing to move the date for its 2009 event. But it was too late to change the date for this year’s event, McPherson said.”The conflict was not intentional and will not exist in the future,” he said. “His event is more oriented toward vets and biker groups, and we want to honor the thousands of young soldiers and airmen who are continually deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan.”We have different audiences, but we both have the same goal.”McPherson said the city has yet to select a date for its 2009 event.So in the end, once organizers resolved the thorny issues surrounding the nexus of business, motorcycles and patriotism, it appears there is enough love to go around for soldiers, past and present.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0197 or bill.mckeown@gazettedev.gazette.com

Cripple Creek’s Salute to America Veterans Rally and Festival will be held this weekend. Gazette file photo.