Epic Adventures One Day at a Time

by Becky Zarling

Hey there ABATE family! It’s been a few months since I’ve written to y’all, so let’s get pumped about summer and the riding season. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and life on a bike is grand! I’d love to hear about what you all did over the winter to keep busy. I did a bunch of not much and a lot more of too much. I paced myself enough to not get overwhelmed. A stray cat moved into our shop and had kittens, who are fun to play with and a good distraction from the winter blues.

Officer’s training was awesome because my friends Slider and Chopper Gilmore came up from Iowa to do their leadership presentations. I took in so much from them both that it was instantly a cherished memory. But what Chopper portrayed struck a hard chord with me.

I’ve always told you how important everybody is, regardless of if you’re super-active in ABATE or just pay your annual dues. Everybody has a place in the network and none of them are ever unimportant. A good example would be Lobby Day. You’ve got the people setting up the meetings, the people who show up to put constituents in the room with their legislators, and the people who pay their dues to make it possible for the rest of us to go. This organization costs money to do what we do, and we need every one of you! Have you signed up any new members? There are so many bikers not signed up with us. That’s up to you to talk about ABATE and what we do. Speaking of that, do you know how important it is to support both ABATE (state) and MRF (federal) motorcyclists’ rights? Everybody should be supporting both, because why only do your part half-way?

The weekend after Lobby Day, Bob and I went to Milwaukee for a big fundraiser for kids, checked out the Mama Tried bike show, and closed out Sunday morning with breakfast with a few ladies from the motorcycle industry, including Vicki Sanfelipo. Every day is the best day for the simple fact that it’s a new day.

What will tomorrow bring? For me, I’m anxiously awaiting our next 3B meeting and Heartland STEAM to see our MRF family again. Check out my Regional report! This will be the most EPIC meeting I’ve ever had! But, hey! Every day and everything we do has the potential to be the most EPIC thing ever. Are you doing enough?

Ride safe, ride free, check your bike over before you ride, and take it slow until your body remembers how to ride, or take a refresher course. Happy spring!

Becky Zarling