We Survived Officer’s Training

Executive Report by John Reblin

Well, we all survived Officer Training. I hope you enjoyed what we did this year and left Sunday with a little more knowledge about the organization. I would like to thank Slider and Chopper Gilmore for coming to our meeting and sharing their thoughts with the group. I would like to thank all that presented. Without you the organization would not be what it is. If you never heard Chopper and Slider speak, make sure you make an event that they are making a presentation. They are humble freedom fighters with a lot of knowledge.

The focus this year was first, Lobby Day and making that successful. Steve did a great job talking about our grass root efforts and how to Lobby. He also discussed responding to the calls to action, making sure the Lobby Day appointments are made and just as importantly sent to the office to be entered on our Lobby Day Appointment Schedule board. This way we know when people arrive, where they need to go and when. This appointment board also lets us know what offices still need to be hit throughout the day rather than finding out at the last minute. It was also good that Steve went through what are going to be our talking points for Lobby Day, what information to share, and what type of feedback he is looking for in return.

I heard a lot of great feedback about Krissy’s breakout on marketing. It is really important that we are all on the same page when discussing ABATE of Wisconsin and what we are about. With good conversations at events, while we are out and about, and at our meetings, we can make sure we give people our best chance at getting them to join as members.

Other breakouts went well as they always do. Much is the same information as before, but with new ears hearing it makes it all important to listen to again.

The regions received their ABATE products along with all their Highway Safety goodies and new marketing supplies. As our vehicles emptied out on Friday, we had more than enough to fill it back up by Sunday.

Hardtail and his history of the motorcycle rights movement was very interesting. With the 50th Anniversary of ABATE of Wisconsin and all the history we have, it was interesting to get more back story.

Jen and Dave shared some great information on the MRF making sure everyone knows how to get those calls to action done and also informed us of what can be found on the MRF web site.

All in all, it was a great weekend. We work had on this for months and to see it all come together and better yet get compliments from the members is a good thing. Many people said they were walking away with a better understanding of what we are all about and why we are as strong as we are.

Lobby Day is also in the books. Although I am writing this report before it takes place, I have a feeling that it went well. I would like to give a shout out to the CC Riders for all their help over the years and again in 2024 making this important day go well. The parking, food and beverages they offer make for a fun and easy day for our members. I would also like to thank Hupy and Abraham along with Mike Hupy and the AMA for their support of our Lobby Day! More on Lobby Day next month.

So, with those two state events in our rear-view mirror, we can focus on the spring riding season. Hopefully, you have your bike ready to go. You had the winter to go over the mechanics of your bike to make sure it is in tip top condition. Oil is changed, the lights are working, and the tire tread is in good shape. While it was getting looked over, make sure your brake pads are good and you don’t have a sticky caliper. I personally would like to have someone with a little more mechanical skill give me their expert assessment with my feedback of issues I have noticed while riding my bike and to have the necessary repairs made.

Now what about you? Are you ready to get on and ride? Is your body ready for the rigors of handling the bike? Can you move it around the garage without fears of it falling over? As we are all getting a little older are we feeling arthritis and the loss of muscle starting to slow us down a little? Maybe you are not feeling the best, maybe you just need a little change in diet, or maybe, gulp, you might see a medical professional to get those aches and pains checked and make sure you are good to go. I mean, you spend time and money on the bike, maybe you need to spend a little on yourself.

Let’s talk a little about education. Maybe you should look into the rider education courses. If you have not taken one ever or for the last few years, maybe you should look into the BRC2 course to improve your riding skills, knock the rust off, and make sure you are using both brakes and are riding the bike to the best of your ability. So, you have taken the BRC2 and are looking for a little more of a challenge? Try the Ultimate Bike Bonding Course to test your slow speed cornering skills along with some higher speed work. Check out the Saferider course info at abatewis.org for more information. Another cone cornering course is Lock and Lean where they get you into the serious cone work like the police do on their motorcycles. Lockandlean.com is where you can get information about their courses.

And don’t forget to take that Accident Scene Management course. Vicki Sanfelipo has an exciting deal with some grant funding from the Wisconsin DOT making it quite affordable. It is important that if you come across a crash that the sooner the help the better chance of survival in serious crashes. Go to Roadguardians.org for more information about a class near you.

With the springtime it is important to remind all to Ride Your Own Ride. We need to make sure we are riding within our skill level, and not speeding or driving under the influence to reduce crashes. Motorcycle fatalities were up again last year, and we need to work at lowering them.

Ride Your Own Ride,

John