Am-Jam is likely to return to Cobleskill next May, but the organizer of the biker jamboree wants some changes made.
Jean Aldous, who’s coordinated Am-Jam for the past few years, is seeking more participation from local merchants and less from the State Police.
A few days after this year’s Am-Jam over Memorial Day weekend, Ms. Aldous threatened that ’08 would be Am-Jam’s last in Cobleskill.
She’s mellowed since then but remains angry at troopers who set up roadblocks to check bikers as they approach Am-Jam at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds.
“They should be doing the job they’re supposed to do, not harassing us,” Ms. Aldous said. “They hand out tickets. . .what are they protecting people from?
“Look, most of us are 50, 60 years old. Twenty years ago we might have been rambunctious. Not any more.”
Other motorcycle gatherings around the state don’t draw the same attention from State Police, Ms. Aldous added.
Her protests were limited to State Police; Ms. Aldous praised Cobleskill Village Police and Schoharie County Sheriff’s deputies.
State Police aren’t likely to lessen their roadblocks. All 24 previous Am-Jams in Cobleskill have drawn the same roadblocks, according to State Police Major William Sprague of Troop G.
This year the checkpoints were more stringent because of a sharp increase in biker fatalities. It’s a statewide safety effort, he said.
“There are more motorcycles on the road, a lack of driver training, and some don’t comply with the helmet law,” Major Sprague said.
“As a result, the State Police developed a motorcycle safety check program.”
There’s another factor bringing State Police to Am-Jam: Hell’s Angels.
“Any event that draws Hell’s Angels is going to be the focus of the State Police,” Major Sprague said.
Though Ms. Aldous admitted that Angels attend Am-Jam, she said they’re a small group and rarely leave the Fairgrounds.
In fact, few bikers at all leave the Fairgrounds over the three days because they don’t want to be bothered by the checkpoints, Ms. Aldous said.
Staying at the Fairgrounds means local merchants lose out, she said.
“I’d like to see Cobleskill merchants make money off Am-Jam,” Ms. Aldous said. “They can do it with a little foresight and if we work together.”
And she pointed to the empty storefronts on Main Street.
“Look at your town. You should embrace people coming into town.”
Many members of Cobleskill Partnership Inc., the downtown merchants’ organization, put up “Welcome Am-Jam” signs in their businesses. Jacqui Hauser, CPI’s executive director, said the group could look into doing more next year.
“She has a legitimate complaint,” Ms. Hauser said of Ms. Aldous. “This sort of serves as a wake-up call for us––and not just for Am-Jam. We should be reaching out to other Fairgrounds events like the horse shows they have all summer.”
She said CPI directors will discuss Am-Jam and Fairgrounds promotions, and Ms. Aldous said she’d be willing to work with CPI before next May’s event.
As for the State Police, they’ll continue the safety roadblocks, as they have every year, Major Sprague said.