Epic Adventures One Day at a Time

At Meeting Of The Minds (MOTM) in 2023, I met a guy. Over a few beers and smokes, we talked quite a bit about motorcycle rights, and everything involved in what we all do. It was a really great conference, and I often write about the camaraderie at these events. And I cannot express that enough, we are a huge nationwide family, with tears at our goodbye hugs. A few short weeks later, I was watching the guy’s podcast on social media when his co-host/wife made a remark that he doesn’t drink or smoke. I sat there thinking, but he does…. I kept to myself about it until the following Sturgis rally when I asked him about it. He told me that he quit right after MOTM. I gave him my support and appreciation. But, about that same time period, my work buddy had just celebrated his 2-year sobriety. I didn’t know the circumstances until his social media post and how proud he was of himself. I recalled the past 2 years of me heckling him about not being fun anymore. I realized I’m an ignorant jerk. I find that we, as a society, have lost so much compassion and understanding and we have replaced it with a lack of support for those who we say mean so much to us. Yeah, I’m a jerk because I didn’t support my friends when they’re doing what’s best for themselves. I’m the one who’s always pushing people to do just that, “Disregard everybody else and do what you need to do to find your own happiness.” When did that become selective in my own mind? When did I start disrespecting my loved ones? Maybe I’ve always been a jerk, and nobody called me out on it. Is it just human nature that we don’t see our own faults? I’ll tell you what, the President of the MRF, Kirk “Hardtail” Willard, is sober, and I can’t help but think about how many people probably heckled the crap out of him at the time. I call it camaraderie and family, but is it really if we’re not being supportive of each other? Another buddy of mine recently announced his goal to be sober and I gave him all the positive support I could, and I’ll stand by him no matter what. I’m not too old to change and I’m going to continue to try to be a better person. Chelsea Ols, founder of RideXSober was a guest on a podcast I watched. I made the comment, “Can we normalize sobriety?” A better question I have is, “Can we normalize being more supportive and understanding with those we claim to care about?”

In the world of biker’s rights we ask for, want, and need support. Let’s put a little more work into doing that for our friends and family in the other aspects of our lives.

Live your epic adventures in your own way, one day at a time, and cheer on your loved ones in the way they choose.

Ride on!

Becky “Quiver” Zarling