In the early 1900s, motorcycles were a common means of transport for young men in the Berthoud area.
Clouds of dust bloomed on the rough back roads as farm boys gave up horses for high-powered motorcycles that rocketed them around the countryside. A ready source of two-wheeled vehicles was close at hand since agents at the Berthoud Auto Company sold the three-horsepower “Greyhound” at their shop in the 200 block of Mountain Avenue for $225.
In July of 1912, motorcycling turned deadly, and local citizens were shaken when Earl Allen, a young man from the Sunnyside district east of Berthoud, lost his life following an accident one mile east of town. Known as “cemetery corner,” the fatal accident at the intersection of State Highway 56 and Weld County Road (CR) 1 sobered the little community that was just learning about the perils of high-speed travel…