Hello,
Everybody--
I hope
all of you enjoyed a very Merry
Christmas with family, friends and
loved ones, and that you're
surviving the Holidays without too
much pressure. I'm sending along my
Tiger Tales article for the month of
January, and I hope you enjoy it. I
also want to send along all my best
wishes to each of you for a
healthy, Happy New Year, and a safe
one as well. Watch out for the
crazies if you're brave enough to
head out on Amateur Night, and I
look forward to seeing a bunch of
you down the road as we make 2007
another great year!
Yours in
Freedom,
Tiger
Mike Revere
State
Coordinator,
ABATE of
Oklahoma, Inc.
TIGER TALES - JANUARY, 2007
Let me take this opportunity to wish
all my motorcycling friends a very
Happy New Year in this, the
Centennial Year of the Great State
of Oklahoma! Did all of you get
what you wanted for Christmas? I
still haven't found that 1948 Indian
Roadmaster Chief under the tree, but
I'll keep looking--Hope Springs
Eternal! I've also made my 2007 New
Years' Resolution--not to make any!
Anyway, I'm sure we're going to
experience some festive riding
events throughout the year as part
of our Riding Community's
celebrating Oklahoma's 100th
Anniversary, and I look forward to
sharing those experiences with you.
Hey--we can't celebrate a milestone
such as this without at least one
good party, right? For those not
aware, we've been having fun on
motorcycles out here since Oklahoma
was Indian Territory, and I don't
mean the bike brand either! Our
honored state military unit, the
45th Infantry Division, was involved
in the very first military operation
using motorcycles. They were
tearing across the desert in 1916
with Gen. "Black Jack" Pershing on
two-wheelers and side hack rigs
trying to catch Pancho Villa and his
bandits. You can check out
information on this campaign at the
45th Infantry Division Museum in
Northwest Oklahoma City. It's one
of the finest military museums in
the country, and was to benefit from
proceeds from the Veterans
Motorcycle Tags ABATE got approved
but never went into production
because we didn't get the minimum
100 pre-registrations required. I'm
investigating how we can revive this
tag for our community, and will pass
along information when I get it.
Now that the Holidays are over, I
want to thank everyone who was able
to get out and participate in the
Toy Run Season. I understand that
all of our ABATE Chapter
events turned out to be successful,
both in attendance and in coming up
with toys and food for needy
families. The late November
snowstorm in the Sooner State might
have thrown a wrench in the works
for some riders, but the spectacular
weather we enjoyed in mid-December
for the COD and Tulsa Toy Runs more
than made up for it. I hope the
individual Chapters will submit both
articles and photos to our
newsletter covering
their outstanding occasions.
The
New Year will, I'm sure, prove to be
both exciting and challenging for
all of us. The elections this past
November have caused a radical
change both in the makeup of the
State Legislature and the U.S.
Congress, and we'll need to work
hard to cement new alliances to help
us safeguard Motorcycling Liberty
and our Constitutional guarantees.
Anyone who's kept abreast of current
events in the papers and on TV knows
what hot-button issues our
Government needs to come to grips
with--issues which directly affect
our National Identity and
survivability as we know it. We'll
have a new Lieutenant Governor to
work with, and a number of
committees will be chaired by
different legislators. We also have
a new member of our Oklahoma
Congressional Delegation in the
person of Rep. Mary Fallin. I very
much look forward to meeting some
new lawmaking friends at our annual
Legislative Breakfast March 1.
ABATE received a supportive letter
in December from newly-elected State
Representative Ken Luttrell of Ponca
City, who's a longtime motorcyclist
and has expressed a desire to work
closely with us on Motorcycling
Freedom-related topics. I find that
very encouraging, in that while it's
great to have motorcycling-friendly
legislators in our corner, it's more
important to elect legislators that
ride their own, in that we share a
common core of experience. Maybe we
can even convince the good
Representative to join ABATE, if the
Three Sands Chapter hasn't done so
already--they're pretty good at
recruiting members! Speaking of
recruiting members, I hope the
legislative success we enjoyed in
2006 will spark our
current membership to convince even
more folks in our 70,000-strong
Riding Community to take out
individual or sustaining memberships
in ABATE of Oklahoma, since what we
accomplish benefits everyone on
two-and three wheels. The Oklahoma
Confederation of Clubs continues to
appreciate ABATE's efforts,
especially since we function as
their political arm.
The Confederation will kick off the
2007 Season with Board Elections at
their January Meeting, which will
begin with nominations. I've
thoroughly enjoyed serving as the
Confederation's Liaison over the
past three years, and would be proud
to serve again, if Confederation
members continue to show confidence
in my abilities by nominating me.
The Confederation is also gearing up
for the third annual Oklahoma
Motorcycle Expo, which will be held
March 17-18 at the Cox Convention
Center in downtown Oklahoma
City. This is shaping up to be a
significant event, with bike shows,
tattoo contests, music, vendors
(including an ABATE Booth), and lots
of fun in general. You'll be able
to get more information and download
an event flyer at the
Confederation's event-specific
website:
www.okmotorcycleexpo.com or
you can inquire at the
Confederation's regular website:
www.oklahomacoc.com I hope all
of you will save the date and plan
to attend, and I look forward to
seeing a bunch of you there!
As we
embark on another year's journey,
some recognition and thank-you's are
definitely in order. I appreciate
the hard work of all our State
Officers, appointees, and of course,
our Chapter Representatives to the
State Board. Mike Penix, our State
Sergeant-at-Arms, did a terrific job
in chairing the few occasions I had
to miss, and in handling the ABATE
By-Laws revision. Thanks to Mike
"Wishbone" Lander for volunteering
to pitch in as State Secretary--he
wasted no time in coming up with the
necessary minutes and agenda items
to support our monthly Board
Meetings. Kudos also need to go
to Holly Swinford, our Political
Director, for her continued hard
work interfacing with ABATE members
throughout the state, the Oklahoma
Department of Transportation, the
Oklahoma Highway Users Group, and
the State Legislature; to our Safety
Officer Paul Brinker, who keeps us
up to speed on Motorcycling Safety
and Awareness issues and who is ably
assisted by Chris Coombs; and to
Charlie and Bernie Williams for
interacting on behalf of ABATE with
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation,
the American Motorcyclist
Association, and the Mid-South
M.I.L.E. Planning Board, as well as
with government officials on the
State and Federal Levels. I also
need to thank Chris Coombs for the
terrific job he's done as our State
Webmaster--I've received numerous
compliments on how well organized
and informative the website is.
We've had others volunteer to fill
critical needs this year as well:
Roxie Pennel as our Merchandise
Coordinator, who is coming up with
new ABATE items to interest you; and
Carol King stepping up to be a
moderator for our ABATE State
Board Users Group while Ray-Man is
trying to cope with a serious
illness. My expressions of
appreciation wouldn't be complete
without once again thanking
Carmaletta Lara for performing
so superbly as our State Treasurer,
Newsletter Editor, and Membership
Chairperson, and who only recently
gave up supervising ABATE
Merchandise. She's effectively
handled all these jobs at a level
which would've burnt out a lesser
person, and I salute her commitment
and energy. I also drink to her
health every day, for she serves as
a major contributor to our
Organization's success. The special
Silver Spoke Award Carmaletta will
be receiving at the 2007 National
Coalition Of Motorcyclists
Convention in Charlotte is
well-deserved! The efforts of all
these remarkable folks is a major
reason that ABATE of Oklahoma, while
being a smaller Rights Group
composed solely of volunteers, is so
effective in defending Riding
Freedom, and is respected
nationwide.
Well,
I hope all of you are geared up for
lots of good times in 2007, but I
also hope our Motorcycling Community
will be motivated to make things
even better for riders in Oklahoma.
ABATE wrapped up a successful year
legislatively in 2006, as you know,
but we'll have more challenges
to face on both the state and
Federal level. Sen. Lautenberg of
New Jersey, the bikers' enemy, has
been appointed Chairman of the
Senate Transportation Committee, and
it's reasonable to predict he'll
attempt to re-introduce a
National Mandatory Helmet Law
proposal. Anti-Freedom of Choice
forces have been beating the Helmet
Law drums ever since the Big Ben
Bike Wreck. We also can't turn our
back on a renewed Oklahoma ATV
restrictions bill, which could turn
into a push for a Mandatory
Universal Helmet Law in very easily,
if you remember last year's threat.
I'm confident that, with your
support, we'll secure more victories
which will safeguard your Riding
Freedom, in Oklahoma and throughout
the Country. To support this goal,
I once again want to invite everyone
who can to attend to the ABATE State
General Membership Meeting on
Saturday, January 13, 2007, starting
at 10:30AM at the Best Western Hotel
in Altus, OK. The meeting, hosted
by ABATE's Great Plains Of Altus
Chapter, will provide opportunity to
address our 2007 Legislative
Agenda. Legislation allowing
riders to proceed safely through
intersections after stopping if
their bikes don't trigger the light
to turn green has already been
submitted in advance of the December
8 deadline, and hopefully our
lawmakers will also
address legislation prohibiting the
use of hand-held cell phones while
driving and legislation to
significantly reduce Turnpike Tolls
for motorcycles. As I'm sure you've
figured out, we also intend to fight
any restrictive ATV-related
legislation should it once again
rear its ugly head, although I don't
have specifics right now on such a
bill. Our meeting, which also will
include a fun party Saturday night,
will help us lay groundwork for the
ABATE Legislative Breakfast at the
State Capitol Fourth Floor Rotunda
on Thursday, March 1 from 7:30AM
until 10:30AM, so please make every
effort to join us! You can download
and print flyers for both the State
Membership Meeting and the
Legislative Breakfast on our State
Website.
Tiger's Tip 'O The Month:
I wouldn't place too much faith in a
motorcycle battery more than a year
old, and Winter weather really saps
a weak one, so don't hesitate to
replace yours if it's time, trickle
charge them periodically, and of
course, you can keep them charged by
regularly going on a ride at highway
speeds for around an hour. Hey, any
excuse to drag the beast out of the
barn, right? Also, keep some
kind surface treatment or dressing
on your seat's leather or vinyl,
since the repeated stress of getting
on and off it while its cold and
dried out in Winter can cause it to
crack. I'll once again emphasize
that while other motorists aren't
paying attention to us during the
warm weather riding season,
they absolutely aren't looking for
bikes in Winter! So we need to be
particularly watchful both for
inattentive drivers, and for drivers
startled by the presence of an
unexpected motorcycle whose hand-eye
coordination might cause them to run
us off the road as they double-take
and stare at us. Before I close, I
ask everyone to please remember
Mitzie Miers in your thoughts and
prayers. Mitzie, who is editor of
Oklahoma Biker Magazine, Larry's
Better Half and is the newly-elected
President of the Rogers County ABATE
Chapter, was admitted to the
hospital with chest pains on
December 15. She was diagnosed with
blocked coronary arteries, and
underwent Bypass Surgery. All of us
in ABATE wish Mitzie a speedy
recovery, and all good things to her
and the Miers Family. I want to
express my deep appreciation to all
of you for your continued active
involvement in the defense of
Oklahoma's Riding Freedom into the
next century. Take care of each
other, Best Wishes for all your
riding to be like Heaven in 2007,
and I'll see you on the Road! May
God richly bless you all, and our
great Centennial State!
Keep It
On The Black Strip Between The
Trees,
Tiger
Mike
