Ride to Hell! Michigan that is.

Well, in September we made two attempts to ride to Hell, Michigan. The first was thwarted with bike problems which ended up resulting in the ride being cancelled. Our second attempt was a success, with another bike having problems, but the rider making the rest of the ride with our roadies. We took off from Ferndale and rode surface streets all the way to Hell. There was a lot of beautiful landscape and great curvy roads we took on the way.

Road Captain Rocker did a great job with Wadog bringing up the caboose. Chica’s bike completely crapped out at a stop in Farmington so we unfortunately left her bike there and piled her in with our chase car. We swung by on the way home, picked up the bike and got it home intact, rider and bike both! Since this was the second time the Dykes On Bikes® Detroit Chapter (DOBD) had made an attempt at riding to Hell, Michigan and having a serious bike problem I was wondering if there wasn’t some universal opposition to DOBD going to Hell! LoL! Perhaps next ride we will smudge every bike and rider before we take  off,  just as a precaution! Surprisingly the bike made it home without issue after needing to be jumped in order to start and having died during the ride, it has a new battery so  it isn’t that.  We’ll see what the mechanics say.

We met up with a couple of interested parties in Hell and had a great meal at the Dam Site Inn. Several of us picked up “Go To Hell” do-rags and we took a picture of the group in front of the Welcome to Hell Michigan sign by the bar.  After the food, the procurement of do-rags and the pictures we took off for home. More beautiful scenery and a great ride everyone went home safely. The ride to Hell was fun and delicious and very challenging! As several of the road signs before curves stated that you should take them at 25 mph. They mean that! There are some seriously sharp curves on the scenic route but worth the drive to be sure!

Next month Frankenmouth, Michigan!

Keep the rubber side down! -HBom

Summer 2009 so far!

So I finally remembered how to get into this thing! Yay able to blog again about the club! So to catch everyone up or to preoccupy those of you who are bored here’s what’s been going on!

We’ve been a busy little group this year, we have basically tripled in size since last year. We started out with four members and now we have twelve (yes I know, that’s triple) we’re so excited and look forward to continued growth and success!

We showed for our second year in Motor City Pride and had a blast! What a great day, beautiful weather and a huge turnout! It was excellent and we were busy all day and met so many woman riders! The following week we rode in Michigan Pride and led the parade. Michigan Pride is held in Lansing Michigan and the Great Lakes Sisterhood is the local women’s riding club there,  they let us lead the parade with our little pack and brought up the back with their twenty plus bikes. I would have much rather ridden with them as they have twenty plus bikes that show every year. But the two groups were split up and they finished off the parade with engines roaring in full force! The Sisterhood is a high class group of ladies and anyone in the west Michigan/Mid Michigan area looking for a great group of women riders can’t go wrong to check them out. We owe them major props for the lead. Today we rode with The Angels on Wheels in the “Hotter Than July” Black Pride Parade. We had a blast and the Angels are a great group of women, we were so honored to have been invited and had a great ride! We are looking forward to riding with them some more and getting to be good friends, the big party is next weekend July Twenty Fifth at Palmer Park in Detroit, so hope they have a great party! Some of us might stop on by!

During Motor City Pride we met a couple of Motr City Foxes and were invited to their club house to play some pool and get to know them! I am looking very forward to that and that will be happening this week or next! SO is anyone reading this getting the picture? There are a very large amount of women’s riding clubs popping up all over the Detroit Metro area and beyond! In Ann Arbor there is a Women on Wheels chapter named Curves on Chrome! We’re everywhere out here and the boys aren’t the only ones with the cool toys anymore!

Ladies, my other point is this. If you were ever told you couldn’t, you can’t handle it or they don’t make a motorcycle you can handle you are wrong and so are THEY!  The Motorcycle safety Foundation can teach anyone to ride! I learned and all I had ever driven was a car! There truthfully isn’t anything as relaxing as a head clearing ride, even with insane car drivers, it still relaxes me and chills me out. The sisterhood that I have been looking for these many years is popping up all over the place in clubs from here to Lansing and probably elsewhere in the state too. We just haven’t met yet. We have an invite to ride with another Dykes On Bikes® chapter in Madison, Wisconsin in August and some of us just might be able to make that trip! 

We have a short club ride in the morning and then several of us are riding in a charity ride for Autism in the beginning of August as well. More to follow in August! So stay tuned!

-HBom

Lansing Pride – a month ago…

Well look at that! I was checking “stuff” and realized that I hadn’t blogged yet on Lansing Pride, which was a month a go. Silly me. Where does Lansing Pride fall in my personal Gay Pride experiences? Woefully short, in two words.

See, we were led to believe we would be “leading” the parade. Being a chapter of the group “Dykes On Bikes®” one of the only requirements by the “Mother Club” is that we lead a Pride Parade. We did, sort of. We were fortuneate enough to have great weather, eventually. As per USUAL, we had the required amount of mishaps which always eventually amount to a comedy of errors that only WE seem to be able to attract. As the president of the club, I was, officially ten minutes late for the departing meet up in the early morning. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to get from the Detroit Metro area to Lansing. So we met up and rolled out.

Now we had a caravan, a posse if you will. (We have to we’re from Detroit) Complete with protective follow up roadies in an S.U.V. with all of our crap, tools, water and every little odd and end we could possibly need. Thank the gods for our roadies! Because without them Shorty would have lost her license plate, I would have blacked out at the Capital and we would have been lost on our way to the parade! Let me explain…

Shorty and I brought with us a back pack each, a jump bag for just in case something bad happened, our banner and ourselves. Goose brought her stuff, as did our roadies which consisted of Meg, Caitie and Colie and all of their stuff. I had the directions FIRMLY taped to my gas tank so I knew where we going as I was leading. That was what I thought. After gassing up, lining up and hitting the road we were headed out to Lansing a full thirty minutes behind schedule primarily thanks to me.

We hit the road! We run into rain a quarter of the way there. And I mean we hit RAIN. It was coming down on us in sheets. We pull over and put on our rain gear and wait for about five to ten minutes to see if it willblow over. It doesn’t blow all the way over but it let up some. We set out again. About five minutes out, in our rain gear, it clears up! You knew this had to happen, we were wearing vinyl suits, the sun had to come back out and bake us! However; before we pull over to peel out of our rain gear the “firmly taped directions” go flying off my tank, up over my right shoulder under Shorty’s wheels and under the S.U.V. At that point there was apparently a conversation in the the truck that went something like this:

Caitie: Was that what I think it was?

Meg: Uhhh, I think so.

Caitie: Shit.

Shortly after the directions took their own trip the ladies pull up next me doing eighty m.p.h. and I point down at my (now empty) gas tank! They acknowledge that I am currently leading us to the outskirts of Lansing only. A rest area comes up shortly there after and I pull over so we can strip out of our rain gear. We pull into the rest area, Me, Shorty, Goose, Wadog and Lady Rider followed up by our roadies.  After the stripping out of gear, pottying and laughing about the directions, Meg re-applies the directions to my tank using medical tape and a Sharpy. She forgot to write down what street exit we needed to get to the parade. So I go flying past it on the freeway because I didn’t know what exit we needed. Wadog, in the back of the pack had apparently memorized the directions and was in the back of the pack quietly freaking out that we blew by the exit. She was either wondering that or wondering how much crack I was on since I passed it! LOL

We get to the parade line-up area and find that there is a Lansing group of woman riders. The Lansing group was really, really awesome and much bigger than us, the are Called The Great Lakes Sisterhood, and they’re awesome, if you ride and you’re in the middle to the west or north in the State and you need ladies to ride with I highly suggest you get with them, they are great! GO visit them here: www.glsmcc.com

We get lined up, get shined up, and get our banner and the Detroit sign put on our Roadies vehicle. The parade begins shortly there after. We were stuck behind the Human Rightsd Campaign flag, which was being walked by people, through the street. This made for an incredibly long and hand cramping ride to the capitol building. Did I mention it was painful to hold your clutch in and walk your bike for a quarter of a mile? Did I mention it was like nine hundred degrees? Did I forget to add that we were behind people WALKING a huge flag? You get the point…

After it was over there was the usual “assembly” at the capitol building. Singing, speeches, commitment ceromonies, me nearly passing out, our web goddess taking pictures, boiling in the sun. A little dehydration never hurt anyone until they hit the ground. It’s true. I took care of it before that happened thankfully, because our roadies are the most AWESOME Roadies on the planet! We took some PICS and then went to the park for the festival, drank some beer, passed out a ton of business cards and left for home all before 4:00pm!

The ride home was an experience for our poor roadies. They were bringing up the rear and continuing to keep us safe from the back, while all the while trying to not hit Lady Rider (in front of them) because she had a bunch of stuff going on and they were directly behind her. Suffice it to say it was a hell of a day. Visit the Great Lakes Sisterhood Site, visit our site for pictures from Lansing and we have gear for sale now! Go, clickety click!

-HBom

www.dykesonbikesdetroit.com

www.glsmcc.com

Rained On! Rained Over, rained through!

So, the other day I got caught in the rain in the middle of a really bad down pour! “How bad?” you might ask… Well, it was windy, REALLY windy a lot! Like 50 to 60 mph gusts! The rain came down in a torrential wall of nearly 2 inches in a 35 to 40 minute flood. There was lightning and there was thunder. Add to that – that I was on the bike going 50 mph and you get the idea. OH – I forgot to mention! I had NO rain gear with me. None.

As if heavy rain ISN’T a big enough pain in the ass! Driving on a motorcycle through a 50 mph wind while you are doing 50 mph hurts. Blue jeans, t-shirt, boots soaked through and through. I literally had to wring my socks out in order to walk into the house with out leaving puddles! As if THAT isn’t bad enough I pull into a gas station with a bi huge cover over the gas pumps and realize my accessories were soaked. Nothing seems more annoying when you look like you took a swim and people are walking by and saying, “nice day for a ride isn’t it?” Snicker, snicker, snicker. Yeah asshole! It was a GREAT day for a ride 25 minutes ago, now it’s just a GREAT day for you to get hit by an out of control car or lightning!

Everybody a comedian. The ride should have taken me 35 to 40 minutes max. It took nearly an hour and a half! What’s better than getting drowned and snarky comments from asshats? Walking into the gas station and asking the little girls at the Subway Counter for a bag for you watch and cell phone. Good times, I had to use a sub bag to be able to put my freaking stuff back in my pockets in order to not kill it from how wet my pants were!

What’s worse than ALL of this? No dry gloves anymore! AND no saddle bag to put the crap in! SO I have to wear my soaked gloves until I get home, so my hands are wet and cold and slippery. Are you getting the picture? It was like driving with oil on the grips for the first few minutes, after that it just sucked, big time. It took two days for the gloves to dry out! That’s how wet they were and there’s leather on them so I couldn’t just throw them in the dryer. Nope, didn’t want to possibly shrink them. They are my favorite gloves and they were incredibly hard to find because I have midget hands. They are always special order and they are not cheap when you have to order extra-small! So, the branch barrell became our glove tree.

All in all, it would have been a great ride, except for the rain and the lightning and thunder, dampness after and having a pocket full of a plastic bag holding all my little things in it so they don’t get toasted. ASIDE, from all that! It would have been a great ride. Note to self: always have your sissy bar bag on even though it tooks gay. Because looking like a pissed off, drowned rat, is even gayer!

All hail the drying Glove Tree!

-HBom

Motorcycle “Safety” class.

It’s time for a little levity around here, my incredibly good friend said we need something more upbeat, funny even. So I will tell you of my experience in Motorcycle Safety School.  In the end what will this accomplish? Maybe a smile or a laugh, if I’m lucky. A better understanding of what it is like to be in motorcycle safety class for me, most certainly. And finally, the assurance that riding a motorcycle can cause you great harm and embarrassment if not done correctly!

I went on a small road trip with my father in 2000 to the International BMW Rally. This little get together was a couple of hours away from where I lived at the time. He picked me up on his big BMW cruiser, we took off. About an hour into the ride we stoped for a break and he asked me what I thought. After ripping my earring out, as it was attached to the padding in the helmet, I told him I loved it! And this was true, aside from the searing pain of torn flesh in my ear, this was true. I knew then, in no uncertain terms, I had to learn how to do this! We had a great time at the rally and it further confirmed for me that a biker I must be. (The rhyme is unintentional, sometimes I just can’t help it.)

The following week found me in a Motorcycle Safety Class at the local community college. I was excited and scared. Scared of failing, scared of getting hurt, scared I couldn’t do it yadda, yadda, yadda. Excited because the instructors assured us we were going to learn how to drive these things as long as we applied ourselves and paid attention to them. This was true, I did pass! Did I do it gracefully? NO! Did I do it without making an ass out of myself? Hell no! But I did it and I passed.

Let me preface the class experience with this little note: I am NOT a morning person. I have never been a morning person and my mother and sisters will confirm this! So will any and all persons I have dated and my wife who will tell you shamelessly; that if it weren’t for her in the morning I might not ever make it out of the house with anything I need for the day! Ever.

I was in the weekend class, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday was an evening in the classroom going over lots of bike stuff and learning about bike stuff. This was cool. Then the next day you arrive at 8:00am and our class was broken into two groups. I was in the morning group, this was not cool, because we hit the motorcycle range at 8:00am and were expected to be ready to ride.

Eight o’clock in the morning is a curse to me. It is what I would rather NOT come into contact with at all costs. I am a slow waker upper, this is not a joke. I don’t really wake up until around noon, and that is if I have been up since far too early in the morning for my taste. I don’t know why, I have been this way since I was in high school and remain so to this day. It takes me a good couple of hours to get with it for the day. I’m sleepy, I’m slower, I seem to be in quite a foul mood which really isn’t true; it’s just that I’m trying to rally “my faculties!”

So, eight in the morning we’re on the range. I drop the bike. Not just once but almost twice a day for certain until I am well awake. This was like the prerequisite for me to handle the rest of class for the day. Anyway, we had this hardcore Harley dude teaching us. He has to yell to be heard over the sound of umpty-nine bikes! This of course, makes me a little edgy, if you will. I HATE being yelled AT. It pisses me off. In this case, however, it just seemed to feed the perpetual sense of fear and terror that I was going to wipe out or fail. It was good times!

Now imagine you are a new person to recreational motor vehicles. You had NEVER even driven a snow mobile let alone a scooter or dirt bike. Your head is full of this fuzzy, haze and sluggishness only brought on by early mornings, and a lack of coping with anything before a half gallon of coffee; or several vats of carbonated beverage. Whichever lands in the hand first.

You are not a real BIG person, I weigh around a buck and a quarter, the bike weighs four hundred pounds, is older than dirt, and has its own distinct personality. After having been driven for years by inexperienced wanna be bikers! And let’s not forget to mention that it had been dropped more than perhaps anything I have encountered in my whole life. Bouncing balls being exceptions. I am really not sure who was more deserving of pity, me, or the bike itself. I opt for the bike.

Class = Daily bike dropping at 8:10 a.m. sharp by myself. To be followed up by straining to understand what the instructor is bellowing over the sound of 12 small engines, straining and whining and causing much noise. Followed by the certain wild eyed blink and head bob as bike drop number two occurs at approximately 8:25 a.m. again, by my person. This is followed by the instructor checking to make certain I am ok, and that I knew what I did to cause drop number two of the day. The answer to that was ALWAYS simple and direct. “I am out of bed, here with a motorcycle, and not enough consciousness to coordinate whatever it was that you barked at me while I was trying to manipulate the bike, and myself coherently.” Simple really.

Now, for those of you who are reading this and thinking, “Oh great, and they passed THIS person!” I am telling you now – you either pass or fail. There is no gray area. There is no “they” because “they” have to make sure you can handle your shit. You have to pass a driving test and a written test in order to pass this class. I surprisingly did better on the driving test than the written. There are exercises you have to do with the bike and if you fail them, you don’t get your endorsement, which means you don’t get your license. If you didn’t know – in Michigan, you don’t have to have a license. But if you have one and get pulled over you will be subject to less exorbitant fees than unlicensed drivers. And a lot fewer accidents interestingly enough.

SO I passed, I got my license, I got a bike and I am now the President of a motorcycle club eight years later. Different bike though. If this experience brought out a certain terror and near panic in your person, I have one suggestion. Don’t go to Motorcycle Safety School. However, if you were interested, entertained and are curious about learning how to drive a motorcycle – GO! If I can pass it… You know how that ends. -HBom www.msf-usa.org

 

The Biker

I saw you, stare at my long hair.
But, you didn’t see me, and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you, roll your eyes at our leather jackets and gloves.
But, you didn’t see me, and my brothers donate our old ones to those that had none.

I saw you, look in fright at my tattoos.
But, you didn’t see me, cry as my children were born and have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you, change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere.
But, you didn’t see me, going home to be with my family.

I saw you, complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be.
But, you didn’t see me, when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you, yelling at your kids in the car.
But, you didn’t see me, pat my child’s hands, knowing he was safe behind me.

I saw you, reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road.
But, you didn’t see me, squeeze my wife’s leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you, race down the road in the rain.
But, you didn’t see me, get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you, run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time.

But, you didn’t see me, trying to turn right.

I saw you, cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn’t see me, leave the road.

I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn’t see me. I wasn’t there.

I saw you, go home to your family.
But, you didn’t see me.

Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker. A person with friends and a family.
But, you didn’t see me. 

But, you didn’t see me, trying to turn right.

I saw you, cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn’t see me, leave the road.

I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn’t see me. I wasn’t there.

I saw you, go home to your family.
But, you didn’t see me.

Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker. A person with friends and a family.
But, you didn’t see me.But, you didn’t see me, trying to turn right.

I saw you, cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn’t see me, leave the road.

I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn’t see me. I wasn’t there.

I saw you, go home to your family.
But, you didn’t see me.

Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker. A person with friends and a family.
But, you didn’t see me.

How We Came to be in Detroit

So, after reading the incredibly long and exceptionally interesting article by Barbara Raab I was appalled by the fact that the term “Dykes on Bikes” was still seen negatively by “society?”

Whose society? Certainly not ours.

Though I will admit, I have run into a tiny amount of people who find the word dyke distasteful, almost all of those people are NOT LESBIANS. In fact, most of them are not an active part of our community as a whole in comparison, and the majority of them who find it distasteful aren’t even GAY. Thus they have their own opinion. What was that? I said OPINION.

Everyone has one, and everyone’s is different. So elementary and so basic it is almost seemingly nauseating. But that is what it boils down to. Opinion.

Now, having been a lesbian for over twenty years and being out in this community for eighteen, I DO know that Dyke is embraced. It has become, to many, a form of blanket even. It is like using the word girl, but not using it in the literal sense. “You go girl!” so popular, but not meant in its literal fashion; because the connotation of the word “girl” has changed through the growth of society and the addition of years. I know more Drag Queens that say “You go girl” than women most certainly. Furthermore, they use it with each other (Drag Queens) and not in reference to females at all. And “You Go! Girls!”

In January of 2008 the San Francisco Women’s Motorcycle Contingent – a.k.a. Dykes on Bikes – was finally given its right to trademark! It is protected now, by governmental law to be able to be used by those who embrace that term. It is with the utmost pride and emotion that I embrace that term. Even happier for me it is also that I ride, so I use it.

It has been a long search in this Detroit Metropolitan area that I have looked for a group of Women Riders (or Womyn, Wymyn and lastly Wymen – however you want to spell it) who also embrace this term and the spirit in which it was originally derived and birthed. I was a member of the Women on Wheels for a year and though I love the chapter and the group is a fantastic group of great, lady bikers that is what it is. And a “lady” I am not.

Shortly thereafter, I joined the “Priestesses,” another women’s motorcycle club in the Detroit area. The spirit of this club is much closer to the spirit I was looking for, but not exactly what I was looking for.

What was I looking for? A closer sense of camaraderie, a motorcycle club of women who had been through a lot of the same crap I had been through personally and professionally. A LESBIAN oriented club full of women who were ready and willing to stand up and say “yeah we’re gay, so what?”

After reading about the Dykes ON Bikes® in San Francisco and seeing pictures of them leading the Pride Parade I wanted to be one. I emailed them in spring 2007 and again in August but never heard back. I emailed them this year in March and received a reply from Soni, the Secretary of the San Francisco Women’s Motorcycle Contingent. I expressed my desire to open a Dykes On Bikes® Detroit Chapter and it was approved by the San Francisco Club. So here we are today! Ride With Pride!

By Laws – Dykes On Bikes Detroit

Dykes On Bikes Detroit Chapter

Laws to abide by:

1.) Save the drama for your Mama!

 

– Leave it out of the club. However; should there be too much drama in the club, a lot of she said, she said crap and so on and so forth, a club council will be called during a regular meeting. The opposing parties will be able to represent in FRONT of everyone. It will be settled at that time after discussion. That’s how it will go. Should it continue beyond this and disturb the attitude of the club, a final council will be called of all involved and interested. Things will be discussed — someone may be asked to leave if it cannot be solved in a copacetic manner. That will be the end of it. Period.

2.) We will be in Pride Parades.

 

–This is an absolute tradition and requirement to be considered members of the Dykes On Bikes National Organization. You are not required to make all Pride events — but at least one a year as a member. Should you miss all Pride events for an entire year without sufficient reason — you may be voted on to leave or put on “probation.”

3.) This is a Democracy.

 

–No one will be asked to leave without a club discussion and vote, a probationary period may be offered as well. No one will be thrown out singularly without this process. Ever.

4.) We will represent the GLBT community with Pride and Respect.

 

–We are educators in our Community; we can make a huge impact on how others see the Community as a whole by our behavior and willingness to educate. So – lead by example!

5.) We are Not For Profit.

 

–We are a nonprofit organization and will accept monies to be donated to our chosen charities. We will donate yearly to each chosen charity and the moneys will be pooled until the time of donation. The club will have 1 human charity, and 1 animal charity to donate to every year.

6.) We are Trademarked!

 

–As Dykes on Bikes was FINALLY granted a trademark in January 2008, no material will be dispatched with the Dykes On Bikes name on it without bearing the Trademark symbol. This was fought hard for and will not be ignored.

7.) Please wear your colors!

 

–This is not a law of course, but merely a request. Please wear them as often as you like as it gives us all the opportunity to change others opinions! If you choose not to wear the chapter colors that’s fine too. Your prerogative.

8.) Always ride safely.

 

–Please always ride safely, motorcycles are dangerous by themselves as we all know, but driving recklessly will result in a call for a Chapter council. If you are in your colors most especially.

9.) Only Lesbians can be full members.

 

– We are DYKES on bikes. If you are straight but not narrow, bisexual or transgendered you may be an associate member, but not a full member. This is NOT meant to disrespect anyone, but the name of the chapter is DYKES on Bikes.

10.) This chapter is a place of empowerment!

 

–This chapter has been formed as a haven for lesbian sisterhood and empowerment. There is strength in numbers and women are humans capable of INCREDIBLE strength both emotional and physical. Take comfort in our charter!

June 1, 2008 The First Appearance of Dykes On Bikes Detroit!

WOW, what a day! As I sit here and reflect on yesterday’s Pride event in Ferndale, Michigan, I can’t help but blink. Really hard actually; as I have a raccoon face sunburn that only eight hours in the sun, while wearing sun glasses can bring! We had perfect weather, a great spot, a great group of Brother motorcyclists letting us show with them, and passed out nearly 200 flyers. We ate, drank and got burned crispy in the sun, we laughed and talked with tons of people, we even had our pictures taken on and off all day! The Huron Motormen let us set our bikes up on the other side of their display of bikes. What a GREAT group of guys and a HUGE thank you to them for being so gracious and hospitable!

The Huron Motormen are a group of predominantly gay men who love to ride in the Ann Arbor area. They are great guys and we can’t thank them enough! Visit them at this site: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/titansmc/v=1&t=directory&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=dir&slk=26 

We will be out at Stiletto’s for our regular meetings every other Thursday at 8:30pm, our next meeting is on June 12. June 13, 2008 a Friday, is the Stilettos Bar / Dykes On Bikes Kick Off Party! Come and party with us! We will be riding in the Lansing Pride Parade on June 28th, the Huron Motormen will be riding with us, so come and support your favorite leather clad gays and lesbians! We look forward to seeing YOU!

Last – Thanks to all of you who stopped to chat or took a flyer or took a picture! We had a great time and are looking forward to more events and the upcoming march in Lansing. Hope everyone enjoyed Motr City Pride as much as we did! Pictures will be up soon! Ride With Pride! -HBom

We are on the ROAD too!

So, in Michigan it is Motorcycle Awareness Month and this is to get people to realize that the bikes are out again. Much like road construction this too shall pass, inevitably. However, you really need to keep in mind that not everyone travels in a large frame with doors on it this time of year. Furthermore, not all of us have loud pipes on our bikes which annoys everyone in the surrounding half mile. This brings to light a really interesting argument: Loud pipes save lives or Loud pipes may die?

To me it goes both ways. I have a very quiet Honda cruiser. I have had people on the freeway simply change a lane without looking and nearly hit me. What did I do in the face of the impending accident? Brake and honk! As an automobile driver I am always aware of a horn in my near vicinity. I rarely ignore a horn if I hear one, car or otherwise. It has been ingrained in my driving as a car driver, to listen for horns and look for fingers often times, especially in our locality.  Save that for another blog…

But I listen for horns and look for their users much more instinctively than anything else on the road. I have Harley dudes up the street from my house. I know everytime they go to work, or out for that matter. I am not at all upset with the volume of their pipes, I like a great sounding well tuned bike. However, I am NOT convinced completely that the pipes alone will keep them alive. We (bikers) should be ultra aware of the traffic around us and anticipate other drivers moves. How I do that is by using space between vehicles to my advantage as best I can. But to also be aware of who looks like they are distracted while they’re driving around me. This is not always easy to do. There is a saying – “you never see a motorcycle in front of a shrink’s office.” This is because there is a freedom to being on a motorcycle. It’s not a feeling I can explain, I simply can’t adequately describe it, however; it is REALLY easy to just drift into your ride in your mind and be caught up in it, regardless of traffic! And don’t tell me as a driver you have never just drifted off in your thoughts or music while driving. I won’t believe you!

I really feel that there is a need for motorcycle education. I have met scores of bikers who have never taken a Motocycle Safety Course because they’ve been riding since they were two feet tall… Yadda, yadda, yadda. It is not a requirement in the state of Michigan to have a motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license if you buy a bike. It isn’t a requirement that you take a class to get your endorsement! You have to in order to drive a car though. There is basically no protection on a bike, but there is in a car. But you don’t have to take a class to drive a bike – huh. Why IS that?

It makes no sense to me. The Safety courses are cheap, really cheap. They are offered in almost every county in the state. They only require you apply yourself. They supply the bikes even! Why doesn’t everyone take them? Like these 5 year olds in shorts and T-Shirts on crotch rockets especially? I don’t know. It makes no sense to me. Maybe they’re too cool to be properly educated? Maybe some of these bikers in general think they know everything there is to know about driving a bike? Maybe they think that an accident will happen to someone else and not them… I give up. I only know that the Motorcycle Safety Course has saved my ass many times! I can’t see why somebody wouldn’t take it. I just can’t.

So my pratteling on should stop now, I ask you as car drivers to attempt to keep your eyes on your mirrors and the road around you. If you have to tune your radio, answer your I-Phone, change a CD, yell at your kids or look at your navigation device PLEASE do it in the slow lane! Or AT LEAST look at all the traffic around you before you start fiddling, because if you don’t you may cause someone to die. That’s the cold hard truth of the matter, an awful lot of people tune out general road noise. They’re not looking and they’re only aware of their own atmosphere.

BIKERS: Use your horns, try to keep your eye on everyone around you, and don’t think your pipes are loud enough to make the cars around you notice. They’re in their own little worlds too. A waved fist or finger can’t be heard and after the fact may be too late. Use your horn, no matter how cool you are. It may save your life one day.

Be safe – Ride With Pride!  -HBom