It would appear that farmers in Salmon Arm are up in arms because for 1 week, there will be a motorcycle event using some farm land for camping and RV parking - all of which are temporary but according to one farmer in Salmon Arm: (from the Salmon Arm Observer)
“There’s going to be motorhomes, garbage trucks, sewage vehicles – stick a few thousand people driving their motorcycles out there, there’s going to be concert stages,” he says of Sturgis North. “Nothing good can come out of this. Once you pack the dirt and take the oxygen out of it, you don’t get it back in to the shape it was in.”
Now I used to farm, my farm was certified organic - and I am here to tell you that having people camp and park RV's on the land is far less harmful to the land and it's oxygen and richness that anhydrous ammonia, pesticides and herbicides that are dumped on these lands in a big way. How do you restore a field after people have camped on it? Simple - by tilling the crap out of it. How do you restore soil that has been burned by chemicals? It takes 3 - 5 years to restore a field to be able to sustain any meaningful growth without the aide of fertilizers by using crop rotation methods to build the soil up again etc. And don't even get me started on the contamination of the ground water caused by the "Modern" way of farming.
Me thinks that the vocal few are trying to terrorize and strike fear into the hearts and souls of those who are less educated about such matters as farming. For those wishing to educate themselves a wee bit on farming practices : http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/org_farm/orgfarm_of%20vs%20con%20fasrming.html
In other places across the country and around the world our chosen method of transportation and lifestyle is under attack as well.
Look at Brazil - the government there wants to ban motorcycle taxis and right here in Canada - in Ontario - a proposed motorcycle campground is taking a lot of heat.
Bragg Creek AB is looking at implementing a noise bylaw - the issue started with motorcycles but they are looking at having an all encompassing bylaw.
In Grand Rapids MI- the hopes of a group that wanted to host a 4 day rally were dashed and now they need to look at plan B.
Look at cities like Moncton that have decided, since Atlanticade moved out because of the lack of accommodation - that they will host their own event. Or provinces like Nova Scotia that have seen Motorcycle Tourism become a huge industry.
I guess no matter which way you cut it, no matter where we go, there will be people who embrace and welcome our community and then there will be those who would like to run us out of town. It depends on our community and what we are gonna do about these situations and how we are going to conduct ourselves. We can either boycott towns and events at the expense of the event organizers and the locals that really want us or we can go in full steam and prove to them that we are respectful of their communities and appreciative of a place to hold our rallies and festivals.The choice truly is ours no matter what the neigh sayers may think.
Like with anything in life - you have ONE CHANCE to make a GOOD IMPRESSION.
As always I would love your feedback on the topics of the day! Get in on the discussion here in my blog, on Facebook or in the forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com
Talk to me people - even when I disagree with you I learn so much and I appreciate the chance to grow and expand.
In Other News:
In Courtney on Vancouver Island BC they are reporting that drug and other serious crimes are down and the focus is going to shift to unnecessary motorcycle noise and bicycle safety
Too many cooks, or in this case, too many motorcyclists, spoil the broth. No idea how many more people are riding bikes these days compared to the recent past.
ReplyDeleteI do know when I moved to Camrose there were 5 people with Harleys, and one of them was a retired man with a vintage FL that he really did only take out on Sundays...The four of us stuck together, having a commonality and definitely sharing each others experience, tools and garages.Others in the community who didn't know us steered clear of us and actually that was quite okay.
Then something changed...uh oh...like many great things that are shared by a few, motorcycles became more reliable, the economy picked up, baby-boomers started to have more discretionary income, and TV shows like Orange County Choppers hit mainstream TV and became popular.
Slowly motorcyclists permeated the roads and people really began to notice them.
I am pretty sure that 250 and 125 displacement bikes that are so popular in Europe are not a problem. The problem is too many people playing at bad,tough, freedom-loving stereotype image they bought into. The industry itself fosters this. The bike styles in the cruiser department and definitely in the clothing line offered by some manufacturers encourage this. I bet you can go buy a faux-grease-stained Harley shirt from their "
Trunk" line or "Black Label" line this afternoon....
I say...keep the pressure on...It will weed out the posers and pretend bikers and when the dust settles there will be the ones that ride not for image, not for recognition, not to feel "free" or the wind in their face, or some platitude about being an individual...but ride because that is simply what we do...it's in our blood and as normal and natural as breathing. No by law, noise ordinance or "Not Welcome" or "No Vacancy" sign will deter nor stop us...Bring it on and the sooner the better...