ABATE

NCOM Biker Newsbytes for August 2021

Legislative Motorcycle News from Around the World The Highway Bill passes but…, Feds investigate auto-pilot car accidents, anti-profiling in California, lane-filtering, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally turnout, bad-driving and road-rage post-lockdown, fuel prices at a high, International Motorcycle Show, news you should use. Click Here to Read the NCOM News on Bikernet.com Join the Cantina for more – Subscribe Today. https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

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ABATE 32nd annual Mayor’s Ride

by Angie Trindade from https://www.wane.com ABATE Foundation motorcycle organization kicked off its 32nd annual ride in Fort Wayne with strong turnout. FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – ABATE Foundation, or American Bikers Aimed Toward Education, hosted its 32nd annual Mayor’s Ride. The ride started at The Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 166, 2930 in Fort Wayne and ended after an hour-long ride to Decatur. Fort Wayne motorcycle enthusiasts arrived in droves to register around 9 in the morning. They were set to ride by 11 a.m. Event organizer and Region Zero Secretary of Abate, Sherri Gordon, said she was thrilled with the strong turnout this year. ABATE was unable to host this event last year due to COVID. “I’m definitely pleased with the turnout this year,” said Gordon, “And we’re hoping to get to where it used to be 15 years ago where we had almost a thousand bikes.” The Mayor’s Ride originally started in Indy with the Governor’s Ride but then other Indiana counties joined in on the fun for Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month. “It’s all about motorcycle safety, promoting it. People need to be aware, stay off your devices. Watch out, we are out there. We are somebody’s mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, and grandmother, just listen for us and watch out.” Gordan was assisted by her fellow chapter members Jeff Eads, Dekalb County Rep, and Jamie Swagart, Adams Wells Rep. Eads was eager for the ride considering last year’s cancelation. “It’s been wonderful,” Eads said, “We are so glad to see people together. Just this many bikes together, it’s good to see our brothers and sisters riding with each other again.”

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MRF Board Member Jim “Legs” Korte, Passes Away

May 28th, 2021 Jim “Legs” Korte, former State Coordinator for ABATE of Illinois and member of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Board of Directors, passed away on May 28th after a short illness. He was born April 27, 1950. Legs was very passionate about motorcyclists’ rights and held numerous positions in many organizations. He was a big man and cut a wide swath everywhere he went, in everything he did. He served his country honorably in the U.S. Navy where he was part of the Navy Honor Guard for four years and participated in the burial of several U.S. Presidents. It was actually while stationed in D.C. that he got a Triumph 650 and started riding. After his military service, he returned to Trenton, Illinois to farm with his father Otto Korte. He also spent 30 years working for the Illinois State Police. Legs was a gentle giant and made friends everywhere he went. He and his wife Paulette, a legend in the motorcycling community herself, have countless friends and extended family throughout the biker world nationwide that they enjoyed riding with and visiting. In addition to his wife of 13 years, Legs is survived by his daughter Rachel Korte (Tommie), Paulette’s daughter Nikki Jarvis (Brian), four grown grand-children and a sister, Jane Weaver (Bob) in Connecticut. The family wishes for privacy at this time and we ask that you honor that request. Legs leaves large shoes to be filled, figuratively and literally. His dry wit, common sense, upstanding character and the desire to always do the right thing will be greatly missed by all. Ride in Peace Legs. A memorial is tentatively planned for Saturday June 5th in Illinois. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to ABATE of Illinois, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, or the

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ABATE 31st annual safety ride

from https://www.wgrz.com Buffalo-area motorcyclists take part in 31st annual safety ride. The American Bikers Aimed Toward Education event aims to remind all drivers that motorcyclists are back on the road. BUFFALO, N.Y. — May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, and on Saturday, 75 motorcyclists took part in the 31st annual American Bikers Aimed Toward Education safety ride. The event is aimed at reminding all drivers that motorcyclists are back on the road. There are plenty of safety tips for motorcyclists, including the obvious. “On a motorcycle, you want to make yourself visible,” Lee Argen of ABATE Buffalo said. “You always want as visible as possible. Daytime ride with your high beam lights on. A lot of times, I think people are not visible because their lights are either off or on low beam in the daytime.” Drivers should never try to share a lane with a motorcycle. Always give a motorcycle the full lane width. The one-hour event began Saturday afternoon at the Rath Building in downtown Buffalo.

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Motorcycle Riders Foundation Announces Historic First

Atlanta, Georgia – The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., along with ABATE of Georgia, announced a historic first with the announcement that the organization’s annual Meeting of the Minds Conference will take place in Atlanta in September this year. “The MRF has met several times in the Southeast. However, we have never had the opportunity to meet in Atlanta, and we’re looking forward to the occasion.” MRF Conferences and Events Director, Fredric Harrell announced at the organization’s 2020 annual conference in Indianapolis in September. “ABATE of Georgia worked to meet the MRF’s conference guidelines and we’re reaching out to our neighboring state motorcyclists’ rights organizations for participation.” Donna Nunez, ABATE of Georgia Activities Director, said when the 2021 conference was announced. This “historic first” will bring the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Minds Conference to the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel, September 23-26 and will be the kick-off point for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s 2022 legislative agenda. Attendees are encouraged to make reservations as early as possible for this much-demanded conference. Past keynote speakers at the annual event include, Keith “Bandit” Ball, former editor of Easyriders Magazine, Dave Zein, former Wisconsin State Senator, Paul Landers, Texas Freedom Fighter, Chopper & Slider Gilmore, Freedom Fighters & Motorcycling Safety Advocates, Mark Buckner, Former MRF President & current MRF Executive Director, among other notables who have added insight, levity and strong messages on freedom and individual rights to the MRFs annual conference. Conference agenda includes, but never limited to general sessions, 15 break-out sessions, safe riding demonstrations and awards banquet. The first Meeting of the Minds Conference, held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1985 witnessed barely 100 motorcyclists’ rights advocates and a very limited agenda. The Meeting of the Minds Conference has grown to over 500 participants from state motorcyclists’ rights

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Ho Ho Harley time!

by Biker Dad, Chris Best from https://www.wkrg.com It’s Ho – Ho – Harley time! Bikers are about to give back in a big way in the next few days. The bikers are riding for Santa this weekend in support of the Salvation Army Angel Tree and the WKRG Magical Christmas Toy Drive. No matter if you are in Alabama or Florida, you can help in a big way this weekend. First, WKRG and the Biker Dad Blog have teamed up with the Caballeros Acero Riding Club for the Magical Christmas Toy Run, riding from Tillman’s Corner Saturday at 2pm to the Salvation Army Warehouse at the mall. Please come ride with us and bring a toy. Get all the info here. And if you can’t make that, the Florida ABATE Toy Run which is also in benefit of the Salvation Army is Sunday starting at Harley Davidson of Pensacola. Click here for all the info on both toy runs. Not all of the bikers out there are on the nice list as we found some crazy video of one very naughty rider. He’s only 19 take a look at the video above. This happened in London. The person riding that motorcycle at 180 miles per hour is only 1, leading police on a wild chase through the very congested city and finally coming to stop because to refuel. He just pled guilty to charges and will be sentenced in January. More info here. Veterans Day was just a few weeks ago, but for bikers, it’s always time to honor our vets. I don’t get to do this very often, so I thought I would mention it this week. The Patriot Guard Riders ride loud motorcycles but are quietly honoring or vets almost every week. This week I had the honor

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Riding Free From DC: Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway

Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session. 100 and Counting We’ve hit an important milestone in our push to pass H. Res 255 the motorcyclists profiling resolution in the House of Representatives. This week we gained our 100th co-sponsor, which means that nearly 25% of the House of Representatives is now on the record standing with the motorcycle community. It’s an excellent time to take a look inside the numbers and talk about the diversity of U.S. Representatives that support us. We have bipartisan support with 59 Republicans and 41 Democrats on the resolution We have at least one member from 37 different states and American Samoa We have the Dean of the House, the longest-serving Congressman, Rep. Young (Alaska) and the second longest-serving member Rep. Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin) We have 12 Freshman Congressman We have the highest-ranking Republican on the Transportation Committee, Rep. Graves (Missouri) We have two former law enforcement officials Rep. Higgins (Louisiana) and Rep Stauber (Minnesota) We have the Chairman of the Freedom Caucus Rep. Biggs (Arizona), and 12 members of the caucus which is the most conservative group in Congress We have the Chairman of the Progressive Caucus Rep. Pocan (Wisconsin) and 15 members of the caucus which is the most liberal group in Congress We have the Chairman of the Blue Dog Caucus Rep. Brindisi (New York) the caucus for moderate Democrats We have 13 members of the Main Street Partnership the caucus for moderate Republicans

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Riding Free from DC: Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway

Meeting of the Minds Last week the 35th Annual Meeting of the Minds was held in Bloomington, Minnesota. The gathering of so many dedicated and selfless motorcycle advocates in one place was powerful. We in D.C. are continually talking with lawmakers about our membership and the riding community but being in the same room with the people we represent further fueled our passion for advocating on your behalf. Two full days of meetings and panels covered a wide range of issues including collaboration between SMRO’s and clubs, lobbying tips and tricks, our health, being a better brother and sister, the MRF PAC and the establishment of the 2020 MRF legislative priorities. On Saturday night, we heard from two guest speakers. First Rep. Peter Stauber from the 8th Congressional district of Minnesota spent 20 minutes discussing many of the issues we face at the federal level in D.C. Congressman Stauber is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and pledged to work with the MRF to fight for our priorities in the upcoming transportation bill. Additionally, as a former law enforcement officer, he understood our concerns regarding motorcyclist profiling and was proud to be a cosponsor of H.Res. 255 since June. He offered to meet with the D.C. team in the coming weeks to follow up on our priorities. Second, State Senator John Hoffman from the Minnesota State Senate addressed the group. He spoke about working with local motorcycle rights groups and the battles and victories that have been fought at the State Capitol in St. Paul.   Having both a federal and a state elected officials speak to us demonstrates that motorcycle rights are a battle fought on different fronts.  State legislators and federal lawmakers each play a different but useful role in the fight for motorcycle rights. We

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Dying Man’s Final Request Fulfilled By 200 Roaring V-Twins

200 strangers give dying man a rousing sendoff. To many who ride, motorcycles are far more than a means of transportation. Bikes are a culture, an identity, and a way of life. Even after health issues or old age force some riders to call it quits, that passion never diminishes. Recently, as one terminally ill life-long biker prepared to say goodbye to this world, he decided his final wish was to hear the roar of an American V-Twin one last time. 61-year-old Indiana resident and cruiser enthusiast Jon Stanley—who’d previously been diagnosed with brain and lung cancer—was on his last leg, and his family sadly knew it. Stanley had recently bought himself a Harley Softail, though after taking it out on only a handful of occasions, the progression of his illness forced him to park it for good. Even though he could no longer ride, Stanley nonetheless relayed to his family that he just wanted to hear a motorcycle through his window. Stanley’s brother-in-law reached out to a local South Bend rider named David Thompson, via Facebook, explaining Stanley’s situation and request. Not only did Thompson oblige, but he took it one step further, putting out a call to action on social media, asking other bikers in the region to join in. Just 12 hours after David was initially contacted, he and some 200 other riders were on their way to Stanley’s home. Once there Stanley—a longtime ABATE member and military vet—was treated to his final wish, as more than a collective quarter-million CC’s of America V-Twin sang out. With the assistance of his family, Stanley was carried outside and helped into a sidecar, where he sat and enjoyed the bellow of a big-bore twin for the last time. Stanley finally succumbed to his battle with cancer later that same

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Prairieland ABATE of Illinois

If you have never been part of a benefit ride you should know at least this. Bikers PAY to ride. Something they could do for free. But they choose to pay to ride ,the fee can be anywhere between $10 to $20 or $30 per person. Not only do they pay to ride, they usually drop a lot of cash for the extras. Raffles, 50/50, and silent auction. When you see a group ride by, they are probably riding for charity! Instead of getting upset because they blocked traffic or caused you a slight delay, please remember this. They are very generous people. Give them space and your patience. It sometimes helps to have a little reminder about things. So please be patient and smile when you see them because they are doing something good for someone you may know, or a good cause. Please feel free to copy and share with friends.

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