Greetings to all my
motorcycling compatriots, in the Sooner State and
elsewhere! Man, I am so ready for the Spring Riding
Season, especially with the weather in the upper 70s
like it's been this week. The forecasters are even
calling for temperatures in the 80s by the end of March,
and you know what that means in Oklahoma--here comes the
thunderstorms! After 1999 and 2003, I figure just as
long as the weather isn't chunky or going
counter-clockwise at 300 MPH, I can deal with it. I
just dropped a new battery in Moby Dick, my Shovel,
after work and of course had to make sure it was fully
charged by going riding for a couple of hours, even
though it came fully charged to begin with. You just
can't be too sure, or maybe it was just an excuse to get
some wind in my beard! The sled ran nice and smooth,
like she was saying, "What took you so long?". The
miles I've logged on her have blurred into a
long, wonderful riding experience, and it's hard to
believe she'll have been in my garage 19 whole years
this July! Both of us are a bit creaky, but we still
get on down the road just fine, even though few Harley
dealers will have anything to do with Shovels, parts
are getting harder to find, and I have to remind some
folks that the black stuff on the cylinders is IRON, and
that people used to mine it and make engines out of it
before they discovered aluminum. Anyway Moby has a new
battery after almost five years of running the old
one--I think those FLH batteries have lots more
longevity than the smaller batteries you find in the
cruisers and sport bikes, even with the new technology.
Actually, for those interested in older iron, there are
a bunch of good Oklahoma folks that ride Shovels and
have banded together to form the Shovelhead Owners
Society, part of the Oklahoma Confederation of Clubs.
We got a chance to get together March 7 at the
Confederation of Clubs meeting in Tulsa, where almost
200 people representing over 30 organizations listened
to U.S. Congressman Brad Carson, who is very supportive
of Bikers' Rights and is a candidate for the U.S.
Senate. We also had a spirited discussion about the
threats to Civil Liberties posed by the ironically-named
USA PATRIOT Act. The next Confederation meeting is
scheduled for Sunday, May 2, 1:30PM at Ernie's Palace on
Banner Road just south of I-40 and west of Oklahoma
City, and it would be well worth your while to attend.
With all legislative bills
that are going to be considered by their full respective
Houses coming out by February 19, the last few weeks of
Oklahoma's Legislative Session have been pretty
interesting. So far, we've enjoyed mostly positive
results regarding legislation of interest to Oklahoma's
motorcycling community. An exception to this,
unfortunately, was SB 1307, which would've legalized
Artistic Tattooing in our state. This bill was defeated
in the full Senate the beginning of March by a vote of
27-17. Since tattooing in Oklahoma will continue to be
illegal, but will still go on, Oklahomans will continue
to risk health hazards from tattooists not observing
hygienic techniques, since there will continue to be no
regulation or standards regarding the dermagraphic arts
in the Sooner State. Our financially-strapped state
will also continue to lose millions of dollars in
revenue from not being involved with a viable, lucrative
industry as folks drive out of state to get their ink.
It's very sad news, and I'm sorry to see that some
narrow-minded, self-righteous Legislators who could care
less about the health and welfare of Oklahoma's
citizenry have achieved the victory. Hopefully, we'll
address this issue again next year, with more sensible
discussion and favorable results. For now, continue to
be good consumers, and exercise good judgment when
choosing to get a tattoo--safeguard your health, since
the Legislature for now isn't very concerned about it.
On the good side, SB 1539, the Failure To Yield
Bill which would increase penalties for reckless
motorists that kill Bikers, has passed the full Senate
intact and was sent to the House, where it will be
assigned to a committee, as yet not named. If it passes
the full House, it'll be sent to conference committee
for final language changes. Let's hope "Jaggers' Law"
will keep all its provisions during this process. HJR
50, designating every May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness
Month in Oklahoma, passed the full Senate, and currently
is in the House Transportation Committee. Rep. Mike
Tyler, the committee chairman, is the author if the bill
on the House side, and is one of our Biker-friendly
legislators, so it should easily pass. HB 2697, which
will eliminate the wording limiting the maximum number
of headlamps permitted on a motorcycle so folks won't be
ticketed for running spotlights, passed the full House,
but hasn't been assigned to a Senate committee yet.
Also, there are three bills which would seek to raise
state fuel taxes by three to six cents per gallon. With
gas prices skyrocketing and Vacation Season approaching,
this move isn't going to be met with much enthusiasm at
all. The bills promise to dedicate the money solely to
road improvements and maintenance, which we sure need,
and state that the money would be protected from being
raided for the state's General Fund. I sure wouldn't
take those promises for granted, and if it looks like
those fuel taxes wouldn't be used for their intended
purpose, you can expect ABATE to fight tooth and nail!
So, let's keep our fingers crossed that the legislation
we're interested in getting passed will ultimately be
successful. Also, there's still a move on at the State
House to boost the fines and court costs for not wearing
a seat belt fourfold, which would bring total fines and
court costs to around 200 DOLLARS! We need to urge our
legislators to derail this extortionate attempt
supposedly in the name of promoting Safety. I'll
provide more information on this issue as I receive it.
My excitement is
continuing to build as we approach May, since we'll be
hosting the 19th Annual National Coalition Of
Motorcyclists Convention in Oklahoma City at the
Biltmore Hotel. I hope a large number of you are
pre-registering and planning to attend. If you haven't
yet, I strongly urge you to put it on your calendar,
since it's going to prove to be a tremendous educational
opportunity, and a terrific time as well! Co-hosted by
ABATE of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Confederation of
Clubs, the Convention will consist of a number of
seminars covering numerous topics of interest to
motorcyclists everywhere, from legislative and judicial
issues to Biker Civil Liberties and promoting unity
among motorcyclists and trikers everywhere. We'll host
a Freedom Fighters Social on May 7, and the Silver Spoke
Awards Banquet on Saturday night, May 8, will be
festive, featuring celebrities and major figures from
every aspect of the motorcycling world. Representatives
of all the biker-oriented media will be there, and this
should prove to be a high-visibility event showcasing
Oklahoma as one of the best areas around in which to
ride a motorcycle, which we residents have always
known! You can expect folks to ride, drive or fly into
Oklahoma City representing virtually every patch-holding
motorcycle club, organization and association you can
think of, so make sure you're there, and be part of
Biker History. As Benjamin Franklin said, "If we don't
hang together, we most assuredly will hang separately!"
It's so important that we Bikers continue to promote
unity and not lose our focus on those threats that
jeopardize our Freedom on many fronts, and could
eliminate Free Motorcycling as we know it. Biker
Freedom Fighters continue to struggle throughout the
nation, as we are here. Louisiana, which has enjoyed
Freedom of Choice for only a couple of years now, is
being assaulted by proposed legislation which would
bring back a Mandatory Helmet Law, and we need to
contact their State Department of Tourism to emphasize
what a grave mistake that would be. West Virginia's
Freedom of Choice bill, unfortunately, went down to
defeat, but we're still monitoring legislative progress
toward Liberty for riders in Michigan, Maryland,
Georgia, North Carolina, and especially in Nebraska and
in Missouri, our sole next-door neighbor with a
Mandatory Helmet Law, where motorcyclists are still
pushing to advance both Freedom of Choice and Failure To
Yield Legislation. Missouri riders urge us Oklahomans
to stand in solidarity with them and write both the
Missouri Speaker of the House to urge passage, and the
Tourism Department to let them know that Bikers are very
particular about where they spend their vacation money.
Let's not neglect any opportunity to defend Freedom at
home while our fellow Americans are fighting and dying
to defend it abroad!
As I get ready to close
out this article for
this month, I'm glancing over at the wall by my
computer, and it's just covered with a blizzard of
motorcycling-related event flyers! There's not a single
weekend with nothing going on, so I'm trying to look
ahead and make my choices. I think it's really great
that we in the Sooner State have it so well in that
we're able to choose from such a wide variety of things
to do on two- and three wheels, and it's about time the
world figured it out as well! Virtually every ABATE
Chapter has an event or two scheduled over the next few
months, and a number of them are advertised in this
newsletter. I sincerely hope you'll prioritize
attending those events, since they're hosted by riding
Brothers and Sisters that truly love motorcycling and
are always out there fighting for your Freedom. For
example, the Central OK District Mystery Poker Run March
14 was a well-attended success, and a lot of fun, too!
It was a 120-mile Observation Run where not only did the
riders draw a Poker Hand, but they played a kind of
Trivial Pursuit regarding landmarks on the trip which
made the cruise interesting. The run ended up at Scott
and Deb's Sports Grill in Kingfisher, long known as very
Biker-Friendly, which just re-opened after the February
floods which put their establishment under water. A
good time was had by all, with food, beverages and live
music. Many thanks, Scott, Deb, and ABATE COD, for your
hard work in putting on a great time, and that's just a
taste of what's in store if folks will just get out
there and ride! Tiger's Tip O' The Month: As
previously stated, the Oklahoma State Legislature's
still considering a fuel tax increase that's supposed to
pay for road maintenance and improvements, but I'm not
holding my breath until those improvements happen. Even
though we've had a relatively mild Winter, the roads
still haven't fully recovered. There's lots of potholes
out there from the rain and fluctuating temperatures,
some deep enough to cause you to lose control. There's
also a bunch of huge cracks in the Interstates,
bordering on crevasses, and humps in the asphalt, and
they seem to appear more often on the access and exit
lanes. You also need to keep an eye out for all the
sand that's still on the road surfaces, especially at
intersections and on the outside of curves. April is
characteristically a rainy month in Oklahoma, with a lot
of windy days thrown in as well that could push your
bike into those areas where you could lose traction.
Watch out for oily surfaces that exist during the first
twenty minutes after the rain starts, especially if it's
not heavy, and steer clear of those "asphalt snakes" and
directional lettering on the roadways if you can, as
they can be really slippery when wet. A little
foresight, anticipation and looking ahead can help
ensure a painless transition into staying on the road
regularly, if you haven't been there during the Winter
months. Well, I'm going to close for now. I was so
jazzed to hear that Bob Seger was elected to the Rock
and Roll Hall Of Fame this year, since his lyrics and
music embody the joy of being out there with your
wheels. I'm going to draw some inspiration from him,
and I "gotta keep rollin', gotta keep ridin'--keep
searchin' 'till I find what's right!" I hope you're all
doing the same as the Spring flowers bloom, and I'm
sure our paths will cross sometime soon, especially at
the NCOM Convention May 6-8 at the Biltmore Hotel in
Oklahoma City. Take care until next time!
Keep It On The Black Strip
Between The Trees,
Tiger Mike