Hello, everybody!  I trust all of you are getting out there more and answering the call of the Open Road, now that Spring has hit high gear!  With all the increased motorcycle traffic, it's doubly important that we emphasize May as Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month in Oklahoma, as we have for a number of years.  ABATE of Oklahoma has networked with Governor Brad Henry to issue a Proclamation, and we plan to spend the entire month providing media spots, billboards and educational programs emphasizing the need for ALL motorists to work together to make the highways safer and reduce deaths and injuries.  This is especially vital in the light of too many motorcycle wrecks which have taken place in the Sooner State already! I hope our Riding Community will continue to remember in thought and prayer the families of those motorcyclists lost or hurting.  With the continuing increase in the number of riders on our Oklahoma roadways, we need to expand our focus on educating the Motoring Public to look out for Motorcyclists and Share the Road; educating ourselves to ride safely, responsibly, sober and aware; and enforcing penalties for those negligent drivers who just don't care!  That's what ABATE has been fighting for in the State House, and we need your help, both in May and throughout the year. 

Speaking of our Capitol, here's the latest Legislative Update, thanks to Holly: The following bills will be heard before the full House, to include: SB464 delaying the Federal REAL ID ACT provisions (National ID Card disguised as your Driver's License; SB 501 defining motor-assisted bicycles; and SB 51 increasing the no seat belt fine for adults to $40.00 and creating an “In God We Trust” auto tag. The following bills are listed to be heard by the full Senate; however, as they have been amended by the Senate, they will have to go BACK through the House and pass before being sent to the Governor. HB1606 was amended in Senate Committee. The Red Light Bill language was removed, so it looks like we'll have to give it another go next year.  HB1686, the ATV Helmet Bill for under 18, was amended in committee to make the fine $25.00 including court costs and sending all monies from such fines to the Dept. of Tourism--NOT for use in Safety Programs!  Holly, our Political Director, thinks this will pass unanimously, but ABATE still is emphasizing that the bill is unenforceable and that the Government doesn't need to function as a parent!  Charlie Williams, ABATE's Communications Director, has been contacting Senators with an intelligent alternative to this legislation provided by the AMA--maybe more sensible minds will prevail.  On the National Scene, Missouri and Tennessee are as close to legislating Freedom Of Choice for adult riders as they've been in many years!  I hope to have good news regarding these developments next month--keep your fingers crossed!  However, one Missouri Senator announced April 17 that he intends to filibuster the bill--I fervently hope he is unsuccessful.  This just in: Colorado HB1117, which would've required Mandatory Helmet Wear for riders under 18, FAILED in Committee.  Congratulations are in order for all Freedom Fighters in our Northern neighbor state for your hard work in derailing this threat to your Liberty.  We in the Sooner State were glad to assist where we could when the call went out, and I can assure you your Oklahoma Brothers and Sisters stand in solidarity with you to meet head-on any assaults you might face in the future. Again, congratulations on achieving the Victory--enjoy your hard-earned Riding Freedom in the Rocky Mountain State this year!

Here are a couple of key ABATE events for May: ABATE of Oklahoma's Central OK District is hosting a Benefit Poker Run on Sat., May 5, 2007 to raise money for the Cleveland County Relay For Life, an arm of the American Cancer Society which provides a great deal of support for cancer research. The first bike will head out at 10:00AM, the last bike will leave at 11:30AM, and the route will start and end at Spinozi's Grill, NW 63rd St. and Harvey in Oklahoma City. There'll be Door Prizes, a 50/50 Drawing, Live Music, food specials, and lots of fun for all! Entry donation is fifteen bucks for a single rider, twenty for a couple. You can get more information by downloading event flyers from our ABATE of Oklahoma website at: www.abateofoklahoma.org I spoke to Ron and RC of Spinozi's, one of the most Biker-Friendly joints in the state, and they are solidly behind COD ABATE in making this a successful event. So, please reserve May 5 on your calendar, and c'mon out and join your ABATE Brothers and Sisters as we raise money for a worthwhile cause--we can turn it into "Cinco De Bike-O" (or "Bike-O De Mayo")!  I very much look forward to seeing a bunch of you there!  Also, the annual ABATE War Memorial Run to the State Capitol Veterans' Memorial Park will again take place on Memorial Day--Monday, May 28, 2007.  We'll be assembling at the Skyline Restaurant parking lot, S.E. 15th St. east of I-35 in Oklahoma City, and the Bike Parade will leave promptly at 10:30AM, to arrive at the Memorial Park in time for the 11:00AM services start.  PLEASE join us to honor our Americans in the Armed Services, especially those who have made the Supreme Sacrifice for Freedom--I'll be looking for you!

I finally ponied up a few bucks to see "Wild Hogs" after being inundated with recommendations from other riders to check out this "hilarious" film. To tell the truth, I came away with a few chuckles, but those humorous moments were far outweighed by what I perceived to be another half-baked cartoonish Hollywood attempt to exploit the Negative Biker Stereotype. I saw a lot of drinking and riding, folks wrecking their bikes by riding irresponsibly and flat-out not paying attention to where the hell they were going and what they were doing, and a reinforcement of the tired, inaccurate image of rampaging Patch-holding "Motorcycle Gangs". Heck--even Peter Fonda was enlisted to get in on the "joke" (I guess actors have a hard time payin' the rent!). To tell the truth, the scenes almost reminded me of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Harleys (or any other bike) won't survive the smashups which took place in the movie to just pick up and ride again like nothing ever happened, and riders won't easily survive the results of the inattentive riding depicted, like hitting a Road Sign head-first at highway speed (helmet or no). I almost got up and walked out early when it looked like one of the characters was going to launch into a Pro-Helmet diatribe (he actually threw out an inaccurate statistic on how many rider injuries were caused by not wearing Helmets), but another member of the "Midlife Crisis" group defended Freedom Of Choice. That might've been one of the few redeeming features of the movie, along with the beautiful New Mexico scenery--now, riding out there would be much more worthwhile for me!  We need to prioritize fighting against those who'd like to see Motorcycling completely eliminated as an "inherently dangerous pastime" or a "risky behavior" based on these phony images--even if presented in jest. I'm probably in the minority anyway, and agencies and outlets in Hollywood and the media are going to keep capitalizing on making money off their image of Motorcycling and Motorcyclists, just as they have since the first group of riders headed out on two wheels and attracted the public's attention (and that was WAAAY before Hollister in 1947!). Still, I'm going to stand my ground and films like these aren't going to color my thinking--I've been on the Road 39 years, and I know what Motorcycling Liberty is about, and it sure ain't what's portrayed in "Wild Hogs".

I know it's a comedy, and I've been told to lighten up already, but it still doesn't excuse Hollywood for continuing to make "Bike-sploitation" flicks that put us in a bad light (regardless of background), as they've been doing since "The Wild One" (which I did and still enjoy). I know what "Escapist Fiction" is all about, but I still don't take pleasure in seeing bike wrecks, on film or otherwise. For example, we're starting to get the Sport Bike crowd involved more in our Rights Movement, even with some groups joining the Confederation Of Clubs--partially because of them bearing up under their own Negative Stereotype in flicks like "Biker Boyz" and "Torque"--which are also Fiction, but also feature bike wrecks as the result of irresponsible riding. I'm venting partially because this Spring we've experienced multiple Biker funerals and wakes in only a few weeks--most of them Right of Way violations, but some of them our own fault. I'm looking at this year's Riding Season already with dread that we're going to pay a higher "Butcher's Bill" than last year. Like I said, I'm probably in the minority anyway (especially since the movie was at the top of the charts), but it doesn't mean I have to like it--and that'll be the end of it. 

I want to pay tribute here to one of our Riding Community lost to us.  Calvin Hill was killed in a single-vehicle bike wreck, en route to Thunder Run III the beginning of April, and his funeral was well-attended. "CH" was a Retired OKC Firefighter, and a member of the Wind and Fire MC Heartland Heat Chapter, one of our Oklahoma Confederation Of Clubs member groups.  Please remember the Hill Family in your thoughts and prayers, as they cope with this unspeakable tragedy. I noted that, amid the sad news, the OKC TV and print media outlets stayed away from the subject of whether or not Cal was wearing a Helmet. Either way, he was exercising his Freedom of Choice, hard-earned over 26 years of protecting Oklahomans' lives and property at risk of his own, as all our firefighter heroes do regularly...Ride Free Forever, Calvin Hill!  As an aside, we had another motorcycle death a week after Cal's involving an orange Road King around NW 10th and MacArthur in Oklahoma City.  Dale Johnson was killed, apparently by a negligent motorist (which is why we got Jaggers' Law passed). It appears to be a Right Of Way violation (a four-wheeler Left-Turned the bike), but the news media mentioned alcohol could possibly be involved (with no proof or justification mentioned in the news piece--that REALLY chaps my hide when that happens!).  The piece did, however, state the importance of watching out for motorcycles with the weather getting warmer. That's an issue we need to continually stress during Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month.  PLEASE ride aware out there, and watch out for the other guy who isn't watching out for you!

Remember my passing along the bad news last month about Rogue LV getting killed by an irresponsible, negligent cager who tried to flee?  What REALLY torqued my jaws about LV getting killed was that Rodrigo Juarez, the guy driving the truck (he IS an Illegal Alien, by the way) was allowed to bond out of jail a few days later!  I didn't hear anything about it until I saw it on Channel 4 News in OKC almost a week after the fact. INS or ICE (Immigrations and Customs) weren't even brought into it! Fortunately, after Rogue LV's family and friends raised a stink with both the Oklahoma County Sheriff's office and with the media, ICE DID get involved, and the guy is now back in the Oklahoma County Jail. To be honest, I'm amazed that he didn't just skip bail and flee to Mexico, given that he was going to leave the scene of the wreck to begin with, with LV lying there in the street like Road Kill! Incidentally, over 200 bikes turned out for LV's funeral, which was exceptionally righteous.  I've heard from a couple of cops already who have been frustrated in the past by busting Illegals and having them bonded out by their families and sent South immediately, to the point where it's not even worth doing the paperwork anymore. That's completely outrageous--An Illegal who is arrested for a crime needs to be prosecuted, serve a just sentence, then DEPORTED! I understand that now this unacceptable situation is being addressed in the Legislature, but I need to see what specifically is coming up in a bill before I believe the situation's going to be improved. If any of us who are American Citizens committed similar crimes, we'd be held to account (maybe even get worse treatment as Bikers by some judge looking to make an "example" of us!). This damnedable situation just reinforces to me the adage that "It's called the Criminal Justice System because it's the Criminals that get the Justice!"--not the victims. 

As I close, I also want to mention that, for those not aware, "Birdman" of the Vietnam Vets MC passed away in mid-April after a valiant struggle against cancer, and his funeral took place last Friday as well. Let's all please remember Birdman's family, friends and Club Brothers in our thoughts and prayers as they honor the full life of a good man. Ride Free Forever, Birdman, and Welcome Home!  Well, that'll do it for now--it's time to go promote Motorcycling Safety and Awareness, and smell the May Flowers. Tiger's Tip O' The Month involves riding strategy.  Make effective use of cars in adjoining lanes to run blocker for you through intersections.  That'll help prevent vehicles from left-turning you, but avoid traveling in your blocker's blind spot.  Enjoy this Merry Month of May, Ride Free and Safely, and I hope our paths cross again soon!

Keep It On The Black Strip Between The Trees,
Tiger Mike