Bikers inside the Beltway Report

by Ric Mellon

Greetings All! I am honored to be selected to represent membership of ABATE to speak to our elected officials in Washington D.C. this year. What follows is a fairly brief report of the activities and conversations that ensued during the event.

THANK YOU to any and all reading this report! Your work, individual dedication and efforts are what make this all possible. Cannot put the appreciation into words for your membership and the Grassroots Activism for Motorcyclists you all embody. THANK YOU.

First Off, the trip out was a bit daunting, we departed Sheboygan in the morning with 34 degrees and thunder sleet and rain. One might say that for the next 5 hours it was rather “refreshing”. As for me, the only word that I could stutter out loud was “this sucks”. Milwaukee & Chicago rush hour freeway traffic on a motorcycle in the sleet and rain makes root canals and colonoscopies seem a somewhat better alternative at times. The recurring theme is that we’ve all done it, and are blessed to be able to continue to do this type of activity.  As far as Indiana and Ohio turnpike travel goes, it’s boring but it gets us across the U.S.A. very efficiently.  Pennsylvania freeways are like describing motorcycle nirvana. Curves in all the right places with gentle undulating hills and fantastic views that don’t disappoint.  Then it’s Maryland/Virginia and almost immediately the Beltway. There are no pleasant words adequate to express the beltway drivers.

The preliminary meeting in Falls Church Virginia going over all the talking points and collecting the materials for the following day was a highlight. Seeing the absolute quality of the materials we’d be leaving behind was exciting. The presentation folders and the level of detail to customize each group of folders for a particular State was simple amazing. Megan and Tiffany exceeded any and all expectations.

Ahhhhh… Tuesday! Bikers on the Hill! Holy Cats, look at all the motor officers roaring around with no place to go. Seems we watched the same dozen or so bikes go back and forth on 3^rd with lights and sirens blazing just so that they could be seen and heard. I kid you not, after 1 hour of the same guys doing the same thing, on the same road it starts to look like a NASCAR Pace Car with Sirens and no one racing.

The group is parked and teams are collected. Ready, Set… March… Away we go! To the North and then UP the Hill as they say to the Hart Senate Building about 1 mile away.

Wisconsin was absolutely honored to get face time with Sen. Ron Johnson who was presented with the MRF Legislative Award which was a very smart Embroidered Leather Vest.  Photos taken and a promise from Senator Johnson that he’d wear it onto the floor of the Senate. ( See photo in this issue).Very Cool. As we all know, Senator Johnson is on the same page on most of our issues along with Senator Baldwin.

The following meetings with our Representatives were equally productive. Our points were received, and this that have signed on to Bills were thanked profusely. We pressed each for ways in which we could get them to sign on to other bills, or move the process along. The next weeks and months of this election year will see what becomes of our collective voices asking the same thing of all offices.

Special Thanks to Steve Panten for the great job pulling this off. His work throughout the year speaks volumes on the smoothness of this event.

A HUGE THANKS to any and all reading this report! Your work, individual dedication and efforts are what make this all possible.