MC Clubs and Things

I'm a member of quite a few forums these days. I frequent Bandit Alley, RiderForums, and browse around some on ADVRider, but not much. I was informed that the defunct Suzuki Owners Club of the USA was pretty much dumped in favor of Suzuki Owners Club of North America (Link Here). I remember early on finding the European version which seems to have thousands of members, and thought it would be cool if there is one in the US. The Site I originally found was defunct, and not one of the contact email addresses I found were valid at all.

I'm still contemplating the value of 18 dollars a year as a full membership fee. I keep thinking that it would be helpful to be a member of a large organization since riders aren't that much in the majority.

I'm not really into the AMA because they want to repeal helmet laws, but I don't believe it should be an option. I think we should be on a par with autos, and since Seat belts are not even wise, helmets should be our equivalent. I know many riders disagree, saying it should be our choice, but that's the same argument that folks used for seat belt laws, and it didn't help stop that law. I've been in car wrecks and I'm firmly convinced that Seat belts were the difference between me being a relatively healthy man, and being handicapped at best, dead at worse! Not only that but the whole "choice" argument is getting over worked. It is the lame godless argument used for Abortion, Drug use, etc. etc. I believe people in this country need to learn responsibility first, just like children. I constantly teach two things to my kids:

1. A little bit of pay attention goes a long way.
2. If you don't do what you are supposed to, you can't do what you want to.

Its that simple folks. When it comes to helmet laws, if the riders who give Motorcycles a bad name would show more reponsibility in how they ride (do what you are supposed to) then we would never have had to worry about a helmet law in the first place (do what you want to). So, to protect society from having to pay for the upkeep of another vegatable head injury, the government decided to make us protect our heads.

The other kind of group I thought of joining was a Christian Motorcycle club. The problem is I can't find one close to home that has a statement of faith I can live with. There is one, but they are pretty much (as it appears anyway) trying to create a church of their own. The CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) looks like a great group, but they don't have a chapter that's anywhere close to Dickson, TN.

So, I'm stuck. Another problem is that finding very many riders, with the time and commitment to do that kind of thing is hard to do. I joined up with Patriot Guard Riders, but haven't been free for a ride yet, and there have been opportunities. The problem is that life just seems to find a way to get in the way. Well, I can do what I can.

What I'd really like to see is for the gas prices to come down to the point that I could ride my bike recreationally. As it stands right now, its my mine ride to work. 45 MPG is 11 MPG better than TWICE what I average in my truck. And, even buying premium I spend less than 30 dollars a week on Gas, versus the 80+ I spent on the truck.