June 2022

by Gary Klinker

Is it Spring yet? This year you must wonder. Maybe 2022 will go down as the year with none. Winter, right into Summer. As I write this on May 4, there was frost on everything around here. Safe Rider classes started last weekend. The first class went well, and I’m scheduled for the next two. It is supposed to be about 80 degrees for the weekend. Like I said-no Spring.

Thanks to Bill Kingsley, we are working to find some new Rider Coaches by using Indeed.com. He has been a big help and I really appreciate it. We are still waiting for our new class bike to get to the dealer. Hopefully, I can give you a complete ride report next month, just like the now mostly defunct motorcycle magazines used to do.

I do want to take time to send my and ABATE’s sympathy out to Dave Hahn’s family. Dave was a long-time member, a huge supporter of ABATE, and a hard-core rider. He had been very active going back to my time as Executive Director. It was always good to stop and see him at one of his bars in my rides around the state. He was almost always in attendance at the Region 7D Bike Show and Swap Meet. I feel fortunate to have known him.

June should be a good month to catch up on riding all those miles we missed in March, April, and May. Shawn and I are heading to the Black Hills to ride for a week. I’m also getting my registration sent in for the Meeting of the Minds in Des Moines in September. It’s not a long ride, but the time there with dedicated people from all over the country will be well worth it. Please get signed up and join us. Being this close to Wisconsin makes it a great chance to attend, especially if you have never gone to it. While you are at it, join the MRF if you are not already a member. Your future of riding motorcycle may depend on it.

The one good thing about this weather is that it has kept our motorcycle fatalities well below last year’s record. Please be careful out there and ride straight and sober. It is the easiest thing you can do to protect yourself-along with knowing how to handle your bike.

Ride Safe,

Gary