Nobody Likes a Virus!

March 12, 2020

With financial markets in freefall, a flood of digital misinformation online, the Saudis and Russians fighting over oil prices, and the media machine running in high gear, one headline really stood out this morning: Tom Hanks has the virus.

Shit just got real.

Here at little ‘ol Mosko Moto in the small mountain village of White Salmon, Washington – friendly faces everywhere, humble folks without temptation – we’re doing our best to interpret all the coronavirus news coming out of the big city.

Our priorities are twofold. First: we want to protect the health and safety of our ‘Extended Mosko Family’ which includes you, our team, and all our families, friends, and relatives. Second: we want to continue moving the business forward, making badass gear for this sport we love.

We have 42 events on the calendar for 2020 in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe. At each of these events (aka ‘public gatherings’ in CDC talk) we meet hundreds of new people. Then we pack our trailer, move on to the next venue, and do it all again. It’s the opposite of what the medical and scientific communities are asking people to do right now.

Until things settle down, we are temporarily reducing our travel and event schedule.

– Holding off on hosting Mosko Meetups, including our next meetup that was scheduled on March 17th in Salt Lake City.

– Politely pulling back from far-away events that require air travel. Sadly, that means we will not be at March Moto Madness in Tennessee this year, which we’re really bummed about.

– Suspending overseas travel to our factories in Asia.

For previously scheduled events that we can reach by road, like ADV Days (happening now), the Desert 100 (canceled yesterday), and Overland Expo (our next big US event in May), we’re trusting the organizers to make the hard decisions about whether to cancel or proceed. We’ll support whatever they decide. If the event is proceeding as planned, we’ll try like hell to be there.

Just like when something unexpected happens on a moto trip – a breakdown, injury, road closure, or getting lost – we’re taking all this in stride, embracing the challenges it presents, and carrying on, knowing that when we look back later, this will all make for a great campfire story.

In the meantime, please remember to always cover your nose and mouth (with your helmet), keep your hands away from your face (on the handlebars), and avoid large groups of people (by heading to the mountains, woods, and desert).

The Mosko Team