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Motorcycle Views Newsletter for 05/24/2015

By Walter F. Kern

 Motorcycle Views Newsletter

Vol. 9, No. 12, May 24, 2015

Articles of Interest on Motorcycle Views:

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Rolling Thunder Rally:

Today, Sunday, May 24, 2015, the 28th annual Rolling Thunder® Rally in Washington, D.C. takes place. It brings the image of the biker to the forefront in supporting both our troops and trying to keep a strong public focus on the need to account for our Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA).

Television screens and cellphone smartphones and tablets are filled with new images of men and women on motorcycles riding cross-country to converge on Washington, D. C. in support of the POW/MIA cause. This is a good image in contrast to the image of the evil biker gang currently being portrayed in the press.

My wife and I rode in Rolling Thunder® 10 years ago and found the same kinds of good people who ride motorcycles that we have known over the years in various motorcycling groups. Here is the story of our adventures riding in Rolling Thunder®. It was our first (and last) time going:

Rolling Thunder® is listed in my Motorcycle Rallies article but I had never had the chance to attend. My wife had cornered a forum member, Spanky, at the 2004 BuRP Forum rally. He's a former Marine pilot who has been part of Rolling Thunder® for a few years. He invited us to come on down and be part of Rolling Thunder® XVIII.

I also don't venture out on the road much during heavy holiday traffic but decided to take a chance to find out firsthand why others had spoken so strongly that it was an event not to be missed.

Rolling Thunder® was started in 1987 by two Vietnam vets, Artie Muller and Ray Manzo, who wanted a way to draw attention to the plight of our country's Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA). They decided that a gathering of motorcycle riders would have the biggest impact.

In 1988, the first Rolling Thunder® "Ride for Freedom" was held in Washington, D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend with 2500 motorcycles and 5000 marchers. The marching portion of the event was dropped after the first few events but the number of motorcycles steadily increased over the years with recent numbers around 250,000.

My wife and I rode our Honda Gold Wing trikes down from New Jersey to Spanky's house in Virginia arriving Saturday. Spanky was hosting a cookout for the Southern Cruisers Riding Club (SCRC). We would be part of the SCRC group riding to the north parking lot of the Pentagon on Sunday to line up for Rolling Thunder® XVIII.

The riding pictures in this article are courtesy of Spanky's wife, Darlene.

Here's a picture of us and our trikes.

North Parking Lot at the Pentagon

We met up with the SCRC for breakfast at a local restaurant. The group was too large to ride together so it was split into two groups.

We rode up I95 and soon entered the center HOV lanes. We arrived at the Pentagon and weaved our way around the building to the north parking lot. This is the parking lot on the opposite side of the building from where the damage occurred during the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks.

There were numerous volunteers trying to direct us to our final positions in the parking lot. We were trying desperately to at least stay together with Spanky so we tried to ignore most of the frantic hand waving by the volunteers and kept our attention on Spanky's bike.

Bikes were packed together tightly in long columns and completely filled the lot within a few hours. We were at the head of a column looking directly at the Pentagon.

A grassy slope was way off to our right where many sat sunning themselves, waiting.

We arrived by 9 a.m. but the ride was not expected to begin until at least noon. There was no shade and the sun was hot. Many wouldn't get out until after 4 p.m.

Someone in the crowd had borrowed a ladder and climbed it to get a better picture of the crowd. That started a line of people wanting to use the ladder for their pictures too. Finally, someone stepped in and cut off the line so the poor guy could return the ladder. Here's a picture my wife got on top of that ladder ... Read more.

Reflections: Real Bikers

Today, I'm going to reflect on: Just who are the real bikers?

NOTE: May 23, 2015 - This is yet another update to a story I wrote many years ago and appears below. The latest, as almost everyone has heard about by now, involves the arrest of about 170 bikers in Waco, TX after a horrific shootout between rival groups of bikers. See 1 and 2 for some background. Almost 15 years ago I wrote this article to try to define Real Bikers. At that time an incident in Nevada resulted in a nation-wide reaction against all motorcyclists. I tried to better define what makes the vast majority of motorcyclists and bikers different from the "biker" image being written about and televised about in the media. It would appear that not much as changed in the image of the biker or motorcyclist.

NOTE: October 8, 2013 - 12 years ago I wrote the following article to try to define Real Bikers. At that time an incident in Nevada resulted in a nation-wide reaction against all motorcyclists. In the following I tried to better define what makes the vast majority of motorcyclists and bikers different from the "biker" image being written about and televised about in the media.

Now, motorcyclists and bikers have been subjected to intense media strutiny for the actions of a swarm of riders in NYC who saw fit to engage a young family in an SUV. Already, we are hearing that legislators want to crack down on riders so this doesn't happen again ... Here we go again.

On a personal note, I was once made aware of a swarm of bikers as they sped toward me in my rear view mirror at speeds well above the 65 mph limit I was traveling. There was no attempt to travel in staggered formation. Bikes took up all three lanes and then passed me. One rider pulled directly in front of my motorcycle trike about a car length in front of me and leaned around to look at me and my trike. Perhaps he had never seen a trike before. I don't know. But the experience was unnerving since I didn't know what his intention was. Finally, he faced forward and sped away from me chasing the swarm and riding came back to normal for me.

We have all seen riders weaving in and out of traffic, doing stunts, and causing problems. Again, these are the tiny minority of riders who are not real motorcyclists or real bikers. Let's try to separate out the outlaw elements from the real riders.

Now read my article from almost 15 years ago:

From time to time, an event or two involving outlaws who ride motorcycles is publicized in the press and on TV. "Bikers Brawl with Ballbats" or "Bikers Battle in Casinos," the TV promos ring out during the commercial breaks. "More at 11." Who are these bikers?

I've been riding for 12 years, not as many as a lot of riders but I do get around. Three of those years have been spent right here reporting about the things that are going on in the motorcycling world. Yes, the public mostly knows us as "Bikers," those tough looking bearded riders clad all in black and bent on destroying the next town and kidnapping all their young women... I think it's time for a reality check. Where are the real bikers?

I went out among about 5000 real bikers this weekend at two events here in New Jersey. I did a lot of listening and kept hearing things like, "Did you hear they canceled the charity run? Too much bad publicity lately from outlaw elements 2000 miles away."

Yeah, that makes sense. We have a lot to worry about if those outlaws decide to ride 2000 miles to tear up a local event ... Read more.

Today's Motorcycle Views Poll:

I am running one new Motorcycle Views Poll in the newsletter for each issue.

Here's Poll No. 14: How many states have you ridden in?

The latest Motorcycle Views Poll also appears on the front page of the Motorcycle Views website.

ALL Motorcycle Views Polls

Today's How-To:

I will be featuring one of my How-Tos for each issue.

How to Start a Motorcycle on a Grade or Hill

ALL Motorcycle How-Tos

Motorcycle Picture of the Month:

Motorcycle Picture of the Month - June, 2015 - 2005 BMW R1200RS:
See the June, 2015 Picture of the Month and previous pictures. If you'd like to be considered for Picture of the Month, send me a picture and description of your bike. Submit Picture.

My Book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, Now Has an Audiobook (Audible) Edition on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible:

I mentioned in previous Motorcycle Views newsletters that I would soon have an audiobook edition of my book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales. On April 14, 2015, that became a reality. The audiobook is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.

If you click the book cover (or click here), you can listen to a 5-minute sample of the audiobook and hear all three narrators, including me.

Should you decide to buy and download the audiobook, I'd welcome any Amazon online reviews you might want to write after you have listened to the audiobook.

Remember, this new audiobook edition is also available for download on iTunes. That means you can access it on all your Apple devices including your iPhone and iPad.

Here are the Five Most Popular articles on the Motorcycle Views Site. Take a look:

Latest Motorcycle Pictures:

See the latest received pictures by category.



"This is my 2005 BMW R1200ST ... more. -- K. R. Harris"

My Motorcycle Books:

I hope you will take a look at my three motorcycle books, available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com. These books make great, inexpensive gifts. In fact, you can purchase all three for less than $25 total. As I mentioned above, you will also be able to download each of the three color Kindle books FREE, IF you buy the corresponding paperback first.

My first book, Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle, was first published in 2011 but only as a Kindle edition. It was revised in 2014 and also made available in a paperback edition. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

My second book, 50 Wild Motorcycle Tales, contains a collection of stories that originally were only available on my website. Fifty of these stories were selected, intensively edited, and compiled into the book. I wrote five of the stories. The book is available in both paperback, Kindle, and audiobook (Audible) editions. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com. The Audible edition is also available for immediate download on iTunes and Audible.

My third book, Motorcycle Haiku Poetry, also available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle editions, contains haiku poems about motorcycles.

A surprising number of visitors to my site quickly caught on and enjoyed haiku poetry that had been submitted to me over the years from motorcyclists. Haiku is a simple poem of three lines with five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the second line. Here's a sample haiku:

Staying Upright

Tank dents, broken peg
Red dirt covering bright chrome
Next time stay upright

—2wheeln

They are easy to write, and most riders like to read them. I coupled each haiku poem with a motorcycle picture and description that tied into the poem itself. I wrote seven of the haiku poems. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and how to buy it on Amazon.com.

I have reduced the price of my three Kindle editions to $0.0 (FREE) IF you also first purchase the corresponding paperback edition. That way you can always have the book with you if you have a tablet or smartphone with you. None of the paperbacks has color pictures in them owing to the high price of producing a book with color. However, every Kindle edition has color pictures, so the Getting Started Riding a Motorcycle and Motorcycle Haiku Poetry Kindle books are in full color.

Help Grow Motorcycle Views:

The Motorcycle Views Website is here for you. We encourage you to submit a story, picture, poem, salvage yard recommendation, user review of your own bike, tattoo, YouTube video you made of your bike, motorcycle tip, etc. These will be evaluated for inclusion into one of our major features. Send us a submission today and share part of your motorcycling experience with our many readers. Read how to make a submission.

Send In Your Pictures:

We love pictures of your motorcycles. Even better is a picture of you with your bike. We also like descriptions of bikes so tell us all about your bike. What accessories do you have? What special paint job do you have? How long have you been riding? Tell us more. Women riders are especially requested to send their pictures in. Submit a Picture.

Social Media:

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My Website:

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

Be sure to check out the Home Page on Motorcycle Views. It keeps changing daily, now containing links to hundreds of my original articles and features including Makes and Models, Picture Galleries, Motorcycle FAQ, Motorcycle Tips, Motorcycle How-Tos, Rallies, Videos and Movies, and User Reviews.

Walter F. Kern's Author Page on AmazonThanks again for coming along for the ride in this new edition of the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. -- Walter.

For New Subscribers:

Expect newsletters on Sunday afternoon every other week.

Please understand that the Motorcycle Views Newsletter is NOT the Motorcycle Views website. The newsletter provides a few links to content on the Motorcycle Views website. Once you click a link in the newsletter, you'll be getting access to content on the Motorcycle Views site.

If you'd like to view some recent newsletters, just go to the newsletter sign-up page and look below where my three motorcycle books are described for links.

Thanks for signing up for the Motorcycle Views Newsletter. Using this Newsletter, I'll keep you up-to-date with what's going on in the Motorcycle Views Blog, the Motorcycle Views Website, and the Motorcycle Views Forum. The forum has a new look as of February 13, 2015. Take a look. Not sure what a blog is? It's like a daily readout of what I'm thinking about, similar to a diary at times. Most often, I'm using mine right now to tell my visitors what has been added to the Motorcycle Views site.

See me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

My website, forum, and blog are all available on your PC or MAC and your smartphone or tablet (in a new format).

END OF NEWSLETTER

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