Membership Director

by Bill Roberge

As I write this, I am just getting ready for tomorrow. It isn’t just another day. It is the most important day of the year for ABATE of Wisconsin, It’s Lobby Day! Many of us will be boarding a bus tomorrow and traveling to Madison to talk to our legislators about the issues we face at this time. It’s not an exaggeration to say we will be fighting to keep our way of life. We only want to ride when we want to, where we want to. We want to be left alone and assured that we have a place on the road, and access to fuel for our choice of transportation.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, seeing all of us at the capitol. If you didn’t plan on going, you are going to miss out on what democracy is and how it works. Enough for now, I will finish up after I get home tomorrow.

Lobby Day is over, and everything went great. We met with our Legislators and talked about our concerns. One subject was the consumer choice fuel concept. We believe the consumer should have the choice to purchase and use equipment with an engine that fits their needs from a motorcycle to a lawnmower. To do that we also need access to the proper fuel to run the engines we choose to use.

Another topic we discussed was autonomous vehicles and the danger they may pose to other roadway users, especially motorcycles. I am happy to say that the Legislators we visited with seemed to listen. They were impressed with the way we conduct ourselves and how organized we are. They also appreciated that we brought these issues to them before they had to act on any legislation that is coming their way. They agreed that it is better to get it right from the start than to try to “fix” it later.

The direction things are going in is not in our favor. We need to stay strong, be informed, and have a united voice. To do that we need members. “Get Yours.” Again, if every member brought in one new member, we would have a pretty loud voice. Think about it. I’m sure you could find one new member this summer and help change the directive from what they want, to what we want. Support ABATE activities. Stay active and I’ll see you at the Summer Hummer.

Ride Safe, Ride Free, Ride with ABATE.

Bill