Taking the things we love for granted.
I love my husband. But there are times when, like every
other human being out there, I take him for granted and some days that shoe is
on the other foot. And then you get a diagnose of Multiple Sclerosis and your
world changes – you are challenged with the loss of many things – your spouse –
your relationship, your security…
All of a sudden you are in gratitude mode and guilty mode
all at the same time. And then things
improve, and life returns to a new version of normal and you slowly start
taking time for granted, them for granted, until the next scare…we humans can
be hard learners.
Our motorcycles are another love that sometimes we take for
granted.
It doesn’t mean we don’t love them to distraction; it’s just
that we have become comfortable that they will always be there for us. Until
someone threatens to take our love away…
The recent request for a rate increase by SGI has taught us
all something, I hope.
We need to reconnect with the love of our machines and the
utter feeling of freedom and empowerment they bring.
One person on the R.A.G.E. Facebook page expressed the love
for his motorcycle as one of massive joy.
What a great way to describe riding.
This has gotten me to thinking about our community, the
community of motorcyclists, I don’t care if it’s a 50cc dirt bike, and enduro,
a sport bike a drag bike or a cruiser, a Honda, a Yamaha, a Kawi or a Harley
etc. etc. etc.
There are things that most of us have experienced in our
life as riders that connect us on some levels and if we could find the right
things to connect on, we could erase our own prejudices in our community first.
Then we could work on the outside world seeing us
differently.
So I came up with a short list of things that might connect us…
You might be a biker
if…
You and your machine have encountered many kinds of riding
conditions from torrential rain to snow and all things in between.
You and your machine feel like you are a part of each other.
There is a bond.
You have encountered friend and foe by the very nature of
the receptions you have gotten from those who don’t ride.
You and your machine have endured countless political
debates over whether or not you are gang members or if that patch you choose to
wear is legit or not.
You and your machine have had discriminatory bylaws put in
place to muffle you, the only noisemaker in the vehicular world. (Said
sarcastically.)
You and your motorcycle have ever been restricted as to where
you can and cannot compete or ride – referring to the recreational land use
issues being faced in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
You have ever had your charity fundraiser affected by laws,
discrimination, and misconceptions.
You have ever had insurance premiums threaten to cost you
your ride. You might be a biker…
Our brothers and
sisters in Saskatchewan are facing a challenge that the rest of us need to feel
– to own.
Their freedom to choose a motorcycle, as a method of transportation, is being threatened.
We need to understand that we live in a political world –
like it or not and those politics have the power to take our passion, our
freedom, our life line to sanity, a part of our identity, our entire lifestyle
away from us unless we unite and do something proactive - it will be taken away
from us.
This is not in the
distant future people and I am not being a fear monger. The danger is real and it is imminent.
It is time that we began working together. That we began in
earnest to share the issues each town, each region, each province and territory
is experiencing and help each other to protect and preserve our lifestyle, our
right to choose to ride.
Do you need any more
examples before you realize that I am speaking the truth?
Our very way of life is being threatened and I don’t care
HOW you love that motorcycle be you a trials rider or a drag racer, a motocross
rider or a cruiser/touring rider, adventure rider or road racer.
Never more than now, has there been a time to educate our
fellow rider about their actions and how they affect the greater good.
Never more than now has there been a reason to share, talk,
communicate and UNDERSTAND that even if the fight is not your fight – IT IS YOUR FIGHT.
Every time one segment of our community looses it’s freedoms
or is in someway unfairly restricted, it undermines our Charter Rights and
takes us all one step closer to walking …
Everywhere you look, our rights are under siege, our
freedoms are being restricted – we can’t take on all of the challenges, but we,
the riding community could lead the way in showing other communities how to
work together and how to protect our cherished way of life.
There is an old saying that you never truly appreciate what you have until it is gone.
Remember that with freedom comes obligation – the obligation
to remember that our rights and freedoms stop when they infringe upon those of
another.
We need to learn to share our world and that is becoming
harder to do the bigger the population becomes.
Something I want you all to ponder and consider. Is riding a motorcycle important to you?
Do you finally believe that it CAN happen to us – the bureaucrats
really can take our lifestyle from us – and do you understand that we have to
let them first!
If you are with me, that we need to somehow get organized on
a national basis – then email me at bdbetty@gmail.com
with the subject being Riders Rights.
In the mean time I invite you to help R.A.G.E. inSaskatchewan by buying one of our patches - $2 from every patch sold will go to
help them get up an running financially – these guys and galls are shaking the
Saskatchewan government hard and really need the boost that outside support
from their family Wind members in other provinces can offer…
I leave you with a few funnies shared with me by friends on Facebook and via emails...
Have a fantastic weekend everyone and please do one thing for me...go look at your motorcycle, remember the sun, the rain, the wind, the scenery, the empowerment, the freedom and ask yourself one question - what would happen to me if I couldn't ride my motorcycle?
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