It’s Almost Time to Hit the Road -
Are You Ready?
Here we are the first week of February and I have been seeing people out on their motorcycles. The temps were hitting the 40’s and low 50’s so I understand totally. Could be the first warm day, could be the person just needed some wind therapy. Who knows, I guess I am just a little jealous that I did not have the time to do the same.
By the time you read this Officer Training is done for the year. I hope you had a good time and learned lots of good solid information. We tried some new things so please give your input on the format. Working together on feedback can make the next event better and more informative. I am sure there will be more information shared on this next month.
February is a short month, and we go from Officer Training to Lobby Day. As Steve says this is our most important day and event of the year. Steve Panten and I went to the Capitol before going to the State of the State given by Governor Evers to talk to a few representatives and were surprised that they were saying when we walked into the office “we were just talking about you.” What do you think about… We had some great conversations and heard from those that we talked to were looking forward to our Lobby Day.
ABATE of Wisconsin was asked to help share information for the Governor’s Conference on Highway Safety on what we feel we need to do to reduce motorcycle crashes and fatalities. We will be working with Mike Schwendau with the Wisconsin DOT to take the information to this conference.
Speaking of reducing crashes, have you thought about taking a training course? I know I have been giving a lot of thought about what course I would like to try. I have done the BRC2 a couple of times along with the Ultimate Bike Bonding Course and have learned a lot from both of these. I am hearing rumors of a high-speed course that sounds really interesting. So, if it works, I think I will try that if it fits into my schedule. Otherwise, I know the UBBC will be held again at WCTC in Waukesha. My tip for you this month is to make sure you start thinking early of what course you would like to take and make the reservation to enroll. All these courses fill up early with the short riding season, the number of available trainers, and the location.
Now is the time to think about what is going on with your bike. What odd noise or vibration did you hear or feel before you put the bike in the garage thinking you would get at it over the winter but other things took place instead of working on your bike. Make sure when you are ready to get out that warm spring day that your bike is ready to roll. Check over the lights, tires, fluid levels, suspension and other things before you get out on the road hitting a curve with only 20 pounds of air in the tires. Or you have a burned-out tail /stop light bulb and that the person following does not see you slow down, gets close to you, or worse yet hits you.
Remember to go out and sit on the bike and remember where the location of the controls are. Remember where the horn is, the directionals - all those other little switches. And make sure you are ready to ride, not under the influence, and able to properly control the bike to make good riding decisions.
With spring around the corner, ABATE Acres will be opening up soon. If you have some time think about going up to the land on the third weekend of May and help get the land ready to go for the summer. I do know they still have some ruts left over from last year’s Summer Hummer along with some odd jobs to spruce up the land, building, and maintenance like cutting some grass. It is a lot of fun and makes everything look good as we get ready for the Summer Hummer.
Worm and Twit along with many others, have been working hard to make sure this year’s Summer Hummer will be better than the year before. A lot of planning, help before, during, and after the event is what makes it a fun, successful event even when it rains for 4 days straight. We had that at the ‘24 Hummer but I think that Hummer was one of the most fun events that I have attended in a long time. The regions and members were working together to have fun and made for a great time even with the weather trying it’s best to make it a failure. So, make your plans to attend, don’t worry about the weather, and plan to have fun. It is your land - make sure you use it, attend the events held there and enjoy yourself.
I think that’s it for this month.
Remember to Ride Your Own Ride
John