Continued....

Motorcycle advocacy groups
Whether it’s the grandfather of motorcycle groups such as the American Motorcycle Association or the grassroots organization of ABATE (which stands for either American Brotherhood Aimed Towards Education, or American Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments depending on who you ask), advocacy groups are the unspoken heroes of riding.

From keeping an eye on governmental bodies to lobbying for legal changes, advocacy groups protect the individual rights and freedoms of the everyday biker.

Whether you agree with them or not, various ABATE chapters have strongly fought for choice in helmet laws across the country over the last few years while the AMA have lobbied to increase penalties for drivers who injure others on the road in their Justice for All campaign.

What makes these groups even more remarkable is a large number of the people doing the lifting for change or to protect the every day rider are volunteers.

Cities who welcome riders with open arms
With the average age of bikers moving upward and their average income bracket growing in the same direction, it would be easy to assume that any city would welcome riders, and all the disposable income they may bring with open arms.

But this hasn’t been the case with stories that are now part of biker legend; organizers of a major cross-country ride had a last minute scramble to re-organize the route when a town strongly opposed having the parade of fund-raising bikers come through their municipality, in Illinois a town council cancelled much needed permits due to 'police intelligence' of potential gang activity, leaving the organizers with no event to make money, bills to pay of scheduled talent and costs.

The ongoing battle between event planners and the city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina over the Annual Spring Biker Rally is widely reported with the final result settling on the side of the city officials. Unfortunately it’s not just Carolinians that have an aversion to bikers, with other rallies across the United States facing local, usually illogical opposition.

From Sturgis, to Daytona and all the way out to Hollister, its with heartfelt thanks the Clutch and Chrome hat is tipped to the different cities around the country that look forward and even cater to the roaming biker coming to visit their annual rallies and events. It’s even better when we get to report on yet another city or State looking into creating and holding their own local motorcycle rally!

The true biker bar
It felt as if some bar owners suddenly took notice of the numerous news stories about the growing number of older bikers who happened to have some disposable income. It wasn’t long before the calendar week was saturated with various bike nights, with many cities giving bikers three or four events in an evening to choose from.

Understanding that everyone has their own opinion of what a bike night should look like, plenty of riders have experienced the disappointment of arriving at an event only to be greeted with two other motorcycles parked in front, the latest pop music playing inside and only the newest, trendiest beers available at the bar.

Since we are a tight knit community the word soon spreads about the bars that are more interested in your money rather than the fact that you ride. The ironic twist to be learned by bar-owners everywhere is that true biker bars tend to be an inexpensive place to hang out with your old, new and as yet undiscovered friends while you chow down that all types of food that’s eaten with your hands and obviously not good for you.

So congratulations to the bars that continue to be a meeting place for bikers to come hang out, talk motorcycles and enjoy the company of fellow riders.

Television shows that celebrate the passion of motorcycles instead of relying on stereotypes and gimmicks
When we were throwing around ideas for this edition of ‘10 things’, even the person who suggested this knew it was slightly controversial. But what the heck!

Clutch and Chrome’s article Motorcycles on the small screen touched on the recent boom in television shows about motorcycles. Speed TV even devotes an entire evenings worth of programming to our two-wheeled mistress. While we’re happy as bikers with this wide choice of shows it does tend to highlight the good and the bad of biker boob tube.

A show from the Food Network of all channels didn’t even have riding as its primary focus, but the riding adventures in Feasting on Asphalt were far more entertaining than another TV show which regularly features some goofy presenter trying to see what tricks he can perfect on his tweaked ‘Busa.

The classic Biker Build Off, a show that pits well-known motorcycle customizers against each other is more intense and pure edge of the seat entertainment compared to other reality shows following building hosts obviously playing up conflict, drama or even design difficulty just for the camera.
Even the documentaries about the same biker rally can differ in quality. The subject matter in Sturgis: Hell on wheels covers the immense depth that make up the biking community as well as the heart of the event that makes it so popular. Other documentaries about the same rally only seem to further stereotype both the event and the rider.

Not only is the motorcycle being ridden by more leading men in movies and television shows, 2008 saw the debut of a gritty drama built around the family of a motorcycle gang. 'Sons of Anarchy' gained much popularity with riders and non-riders alike being picked up for another season.

So we give kudos to the motorcycle shows that respect the passion, and hosts that truly love to ride rather than the presenters that are there just to look good, or worse, sensationalize for ratings.