It is with great sadness that I post today that longtime hillclimber Dave Byer has passed away, after a long battle with cancer.

Dave campaigned his big Suzukis for a long time, switching to a 450 Honda later in his hillclimb career, winning a D23 championship in the Super Senior class on that bike.  Dave, his wive Bev, and daughter Janelle were a fixture in the MN/WI hillclimbing scene seemingly forever, with Bev and Janelle both providing photos and articles for King of the Hill for some time.

Even as his health deteriorated, Dave loved following the local results and would make it out to watch events when he was able.  He’d always centered his summers around the sport, and the people who enjoyed it with him.  Ever congenial, Dave was a friend to everyone and he will be sorely missed.

You can read Dave’s obituary here, and there will be a visitation this coming Sunday, November 19th at the American Legion in Waseca from 1:00 to 4:00PM with a short service at 4:00.  Dennis Funeral Homes is handling the arrangements.

Hey all you D23 riders – couple things you need to be aware of…

1.  If you’ve won an award, you need to upload your photo for the banquet program to the AMRCA forums.  There’s a section for Hilllclimb Award Winners, and a category for each class.  There’s an instructional post at the top of each category.  Just like we did last year!
2. The 2017 season awards banquet will be on Feb. 24th,at The Bluffs in Hager City, WI.  As always, you must purchase a ticket for the banquet in advance – there are no walk-ins or at-the-door purchases.  Ticket orders must be received by Feb. 9th.  Click here for the ticket order form!

Last weekend’s event in Troy, KS got rained out – it will be held this weekend, on Saturday the 30th at 1:00PM.

The July 22nd hillclimb at Rock River Riders in Polo, IL got rained out – it has been rescheduled for Sept. 24th at 11:00AM.

2017 AMA Hillclimb Grand Championship

August 5^th & 6^th, 2017 – Indianhead Motorcycle Club – Red Wing, MN

Kaleb Northrup – www.KingOfTheHill.org

For the 5^th time since 1989, the AMA Hillclimb Grand Championship returned to Indianhead Motorcycle Club in Red Wing, MN – a unique motorsports location which has been in use for so long that the city actually grew up around it.  Since 1949, IMC has hosted motorcycle hillclimbs in the same exact location…but originally, like most motorsports events, the event grounds were kind of out in the middle of nowhere.  In the nearly 70 years that have gone by, though, the city of Red Wing has grown up around IMC’s club grounds, such that it’s practically in the middle of town now – right next door are apartments, family neighborhoods, and the city’s baseball fields and hockey arenas.  In fact, the city allows IMC to use the hockey arenas for event parking (they tend not to be used much during the summer anyway). Continue reading →