Oregon Trail

I just got back home from Oregon, where they recently held their annual May Awareness Rally. Despite the predicted bad weather, it turned out to be a good day for riding.

The best part of the trip was meeting with the folks from BikePAC and from the Hub City chapter of ABATE of Oregon. You'd expect them to be kind of down after having their latest repeal bill die in committee, but it wasn't like that at all.

Instead, they were a whole lot wiser from the experience. Some of the best lessons in life are also the hardest, and they are certainly stronger after what they went through.

More importantly, they are also all the wiser. So after the rally we all put our heads together, taking it all in from one end to the other. And the path they have chosen is clear. It's time to break out of the cycle.

Most MROs do the same thing over and over. Work their tails off all year long, only to find themselves right where they started from. So they try harder the next year, and end up back at square one.

Bikers in Oregon are different. With all that rain, you know they're persistent. But they also know how to adapt. And that's exactly what they're doing.

It was good timing that I finished writing the Repeal Machine Handbook in time for my trip up to the Beaver State. And once they took a look at it, they understood that it was the most direct path to repealing the helmet law, once and for all.

The good news is that you don't have to be from Oregon to get on the path to freedom. Anyone can use the Repeal Machine Handbook. And by using it, you will find your self hot on the trail that leads to freedom.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

PS: Special thanks to Don and Al, Nic and Mel, all the Hub City members for their hospitality, and especially to the girls up there who know how to get things done.

Repeal Handbook

Now there's an easy step-by-step guide to repealing the helmet law. It's called the Repeal Machine Handbook, and it presents a set of tasks that lead straight to repeal.

The handbook has four categories, with tasks ranging from the simple to the challenging. But the great thing about it is that you don't need to do everything to get the results you want. Any single task is enough.

The handbook's website address is RepealMachine.com/handbook/. Take it for a test ride and let me know what you think.

I think you'll like it.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

California Helmet Law

The bill to repeal California's helmet law (AB695) failed again. While it was a good bill, there wasn't enough political will to get it past the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Some folks believe that if bikers had written more emails, it might have passed. Others may think it failed because it was a party-line vote. But the plain truth is that California bikers don't have enough political power to get the job done.

So how do California bikers get that kind of power?

In the world of politics, there is no power greater than the ability to win elections. If you have that kind of power, no amount of letters, protests, or even an army of lobbyists can stop you. Self-preservation is the most convincing argument there is. In fact, it's the ONLY convincing argument there is.

One person has the power of one vote. Just one. But on the campaign trail, each volunteer can generate one vote per hour. So each weekend, during the campaign season, each biker can produce 10 votes. And a dozen bikers (times ten) equals 120 votes.

Every year, there are a few races that come down to less than 500 votes. Our task is to find those close races, and take down the most vulnerable nanny-crats. If we can do that ... win one or two close races ... during each election cycle, the results will be different next time.

Our campaign efforts will pay off, and in more ways than picking up a couple of seats. We will be sending a clear message to our legislators:

We will be waiting on the campaign trail ... that you must travel.

Only then will our voices have an impact on the legislature. Only then will we be worth listening to. Only then will we change the way the game is played.

Now that's something to write home about.

- Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Dear Santa

Politics is not a matter of who writes the most letters. It is a matter of who gets the most votes.

The campaign volunteers who get behind candidates and help them win are the ones who get what they want. Because they help send their legislators to the capitol, their wishes are granted.

If you only rely on writing to everyone at the capitol -- without helping anyone win elections -- don't expect much more than a lump of coal. The reason is that you can't expect to get something without first giving something. Your pleas will otherwise fall on deaf ears.

Might as well be writing to Santa.

Which side do you want to be on? Our campaign volunteers chose to make a difference instead of hoping for a miracle. They are walking the walk, and not just talking the talk.

Do you want to get rid of the helmet law, or just write about it? Click on the red  SUBSCRIBE  button at the top of RepealMachine.com to get started. And if there's a biker-friendly candidate near you, you'll know what to do. WIN.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Oregon Rally: May 7

ABATE of Oregon and BikePAC of Oregon will host their annual May Awareness rally on May 7. I have the honor of speaking at this exciting event, and look forward to being in the company of such fine activists.

Here is the flyer for the rally, which will be held on the steps of the capitol. The bike show starts at 10:00, and the rally will follow starting at 11:00.

I strongly encourage activists from near and far to attend. You won't be disappointed!

Path or Goal?

What do motorcycles have to do with political power?

It's an easy enough question. Most bikers rights activists would probably say EVERYTHING! That's why we have poker runs, protests, parties, and the venerable SMRO to pull it all together.

That's also why we strive to get better at it. And to accomplish this, we recruit more people, seek better participation, and provide more motorcycle-oriented activities to restore our rights. It would only make sense for us to work harder at going in the same direction we've been going all along.

But wait a minute, and think about it...

If motorcycling was genuinely the path to political power, then why are WE the only ones going in this direction? And why have we been losing ground, year after year, helplessly watching our rights get attacked and eroded with each new legislative session? And why have some of our most motivated and dedicated activists thrown in the towel, never to return?

The truth is that we rely on becoming better bikers because that's what comes naturally to us as bikers. We like motorcycling activities, so that's what we do. In other words, we automatically think that with a Better Bikers Bureau, we'll get what we want from our legislature.

This is far from the truth.

The logic behind this is that we LOVE motorcycling. And if we can somehow convince more people (like our legislators and their constituents) to love motorcycling too, we will somehow prevail in the political arena. But if motorcycling was really the path to political power, then everyone seeking political power would simply become a biker.

The truth is that bikers need to become politically powerful first. Not by getting better at motorcycling activities, but by getting better at political activities. And political activities have NOTHING to do with motorcycles.

So ...

Instead of trying to change your legislator's mind on bikers rights, find a candidate who supports bikers rights and change the legislator. There is no way a nanny-crat will ever defend our rights. But there will always be a few close races, and it is up to us to find them ... and then to take down our most vulnerable opponents.

Instead of recruiting as many motorcyclists as possible to do everything imaginable, recruit the right kind of motorcyclists, and then focus on what gets the most results. So rather than beating the bushes to motivate apathetic bikers, rely on the self-motivated activists that we already have (that's us) to restore our rights.

Instead of asking your legislative candidates to come to your meeting, ride with your fellow motorcyclists to their meetings. And then volunteer. Once bikers become a reliable part of the political machine, only then will it make sense for candidates to come to us ... when they believe we can help them win.

Bikers rights is the goal we seek, but motorcycling is not the path to get there. Only political power can deliver everything we want, so building political power is what our first and foremost activity must be.

The Repeal Machine connects biker activists with biker-friendly candidates. Nothing more, and nothing less. So if you want to restore your rights, don't expect your motorcycle to get you there. Instead, take a ride on the Repeal Machine.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Call the Shots

Many states are considering bills to repeal the mandatory helmet law to restore an adult's right to decide.

Running their normal course, the first stop for these bills is the Transportation Committee. So bikers rights activists are sending emails to committee members. So far, so good.

And as always, some comittee members will vote against passage, and they will do so because they have nothing to fear. But thanks to many of our Alert Subscribers and other bikers rights activists, that is changing.

Why?

Because these forward-thinking bikers are also veterans from the front lines of the political battlefield, which is the campaign trail. When we do our part there, where it counts, our letters to committee members become friendly reminders that we are more than just talk.

The day will soon come when a few of the most vulnerable nanny-crats will try to squeak through the spring primary elections. That is a sure thing, as sure as the sun will rise. And we need to be right there, waiting for them in a small handful of districts, with sleeves rolled up, helping their biker-friendly opponents carry the day.

Once we have a couple of notches under out belts, and we can rightly claim to be the deciding factor in who wins these primary elections, we will have political power. And even those legislators who would normally oppose us will nonetheless respect our power, and think twice before casting their fateful votes.

With political power, we call the shots. But without it, we can only plead to deaf ears.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com