Motorcycling Matters

by Steve Panten

MOTORCYCLING MATTERS was the theme at this year’s Annual Meeting for the members of ABATE of Wisconsin, and we were able to show that in Madison.

Around 300 motorcyclists from all around the state and all walks of life, enjoyed a beautiful ride from Baraboo to Madison. The goal of the ride was to let officials in Madison know that motorcycling does matter in Wisconsin. When it comes to tourism and travel around the state – motorcycling matters. When it comes to adding to the gas tax fund – motorcycling matters. When it comes to helping the economy – motorcycling matters. When it comes to supporting various charities in the state – motorcycling matters. So why is motorcycling specifically, not considered when drafting policies for the future of transportation? Why does the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration say that when developing policies on the future of transportation “motorcycles are considered but not a priority”? And finally, why is the State Department of Transportation not discussing how their Connect 2050 plan will affect motorcycling? They don’t even include us as an icon in their presentation slides!

So, the plan was simple (for me). Organize a ride from Baraboo to Madison to show officials in Madison that motorcyclists in Wisconsin are engaged. Although the offices may have been empty on a Saturday afternoon, the presence of 300 motorcycles traveling around the square a couple of times drew the attention of many. Motorcycling is a valuable means of transportation and any future plans involving autonomous and connected vehicles should be developed around motorcycling, as it is around bicycling and pedestrians. ALL modes of transportation should be included when developing a plan for the implementation of new technologies.

The ride was AWESOME. The Sleep Watchers MC and the CC Riders MC did a great job setting the ride up. The line of motorcycles was over a mile long and it included MC’s, RC’s, ABATE members and other motorcyclists that understand the need for this event. I am hoping that because of this event, we will be able to hear from the DOT on how motorcycling is going to be affected moving forward.

The Annual Meeting is also when our Legislative Committee sets the agenda for things that we are going to work on the next year. We had some of the best discussions about what motorcyclists would like to see that I have been involved in, so thank you to everyone who participated. In the end, the future of motorcycling and rider training is going to be the focus.

I already wrote about the future of motorcycling, so let’s talk about the rider training portion. Our fatalities are too high and 50% of our fatalities are single vehicle crashes, so that means rider error. Yes, alcohol was a factor in many of them, but motorcyclists are to blame for riding off the road whether under the influence or not. So how do we fix it? We have always said that if we don’t fix the problem somebody else will, so let’s figure it out.

John Reblin and I are going to meet with the Department of Transportation again to see if we can come up with a short video about riding within your means that can be shown at rider training classes. The hope is to get the message across that you do not need to buy the biggest (or fastest) motorcycle that you can afford, but rather buy one that fits you properly and that you can control. Maybe talk about operating at a speed that you are comfortable with, and what the conditions allow. We will see what happens, but hopefully next month I will have more to report on that. The bottom line is that if we do not get these near record fatality numbers down, we will be in trouble. So please, let’s finish this year safely. Take care of your brothers and sisters and most importantly, ride safe yourself.

Did I say the Annual Meeting weekend was a great time? It was nice to see so many people having a such a good time and knowing that we are there for an important reason. I would like to thank the Motorcycle Riders Foundation for making it possible for us to have Rocky join us from Washington D.C. Rocky is the Lobbyist that lives and works in Washington D.C., and he fights for motorcyclists rights every day. Rocky addressed the attendees during the banquet and offered insight on how ABATE of Wisconsin and the MRF work together to help motorcyclists across the nation. I would also like to thank Rocky for taking the time to meet with everyone that attended the Future of Motorcycling Summit. The attendees will be able to bring the information that they received back to their clubs and groups. Just a secret about future summits….I believe that the Board of Directors is going to approve money for us to have a Future of Motorcycling Summit for ALL motorcyclists in 2022. Stay tuned for more information about that soon and PLEASE get the message out to motorcyclists across the state that this will be an event not to miss.

One last thing so that there is still space in this newsletter for other information. During the Annual Meeting members are recognized for going above and beyond for the organization. It is a small token of appreciation for everything that they do and, although we should give awards to every officer or member that steps up to do what needs to be done, that would be crazy. I do not always give an award because there are so many people that have outstanding relationships with their representatives that it would be difficult. But this year I did recognize 2 people. One is Congressman Gallagher for his support on renewing the Motorcycle Advisory Council in Washington. Although we meet with the Congressman whenever he is available while we are in Washington D.C., he always makes sure his staff available to us. Congressman Gallagher took it upon himself to introduce language renewing the Advisory Council and even expanding it to include more actual motorcyclists without us asking him to do so. That award was well deserved.

The next award when to Cathy Dial from Region 1A – Milwaukee County. I knew Cathy when she first started coming around with Seven and was not even a member. She did not know much about ABATE and was not thrilled to come to a Board Meeting. I got to watch her develop into a force when it comes to talking about our legislative issues. Cathy has come with us to Washington D.C. for the MRF’s Bikers Inside the Beltway and she is great at presenting the motorcyclists’ agenda to her representative, Congressman Steil. She is always willing to discuss our issues with anyone, and she does it very well. Congratulations Cathy!

OK…that enough. PLEASE ride safe and have a great Thanksgiving.

That’s it,

Steve