Today’s annual ride kicks off motorcycle awareness month

Big roar, big fun … as a band of a 150 motorcycles dazzle us today on their annual run down Sherman Avenue.

Hordes of motorcycles are an awesome feast of sight and sound – that never fails to excite, thrill and create a little “overwhelm” in all of us. The sheer numbers of motorcycles is visually impressive, plus, the oh-so-familiar sounds of those powerful engines as they become a fascinating and compelling chorus of pulsating, low and throaty, chortles. Not only do we hear the sounds, we feel them deep in our core.

Bikes are running down Main Streets all over America today to kick off National Motorcycle Awareness Month. In Coeur d’Alene, Mayor Sandi Bloem will be joining the bikers in their celebration.

This not-to-be-missed event gets rolling at 10:50 a.m., immediately after a brief ceremony in front of the Kootenai County Courthouse to address the aims of American Bikers Aiming Toward Education, i.e., to increase public awareness of the presence of motorcycles plus educating bikers and the public about safe-driving practices.

Keynote speaker is Stacey “Axe” Axemaker, director of the Idaho Star Program – Safety Training Advantage for Riders. This safety program is the foremost motorcycle-rider education/training program in the U.S.

Idaho bikers are outstanding and active folks, and they proudly share the top honor for safety education in the U.S., along with Oregon. And, did you know there are more motorcycle registrations per capita in Idaho than any other state in the country?

For sure, Saturday’s run brings out the area’s most magnificent and unique machines, but the riders never take a backseat in the “unique” department. This will be a dress-up day for the bikers, who, without even realizing it, will be making major fashion statements as they cruise Sherman Avenue, sporting the hippest fashions available in leather and denim, not to mention, the essential accouterment and trendy styling of authentic biker chic.

In the real world, everything a biker wears serves a purpose – it’s actually safety gear. Leather jackets, boots and leggings are their best protection against the bike’s hot muffler pipes or the hazards of the road such as wind fatigue, landing on the highway, or getting KO’ed by rocks, road debris or hot metal auto parts flying around. And, of course, their helmets. But, even the biker’s colorful bandanas are necessary to cover the head (the bald spot, especially), or to serve as a sweatband, a washcloth, a tourniquet, a bandage, a flag or even a handkerchief.

If this look is your bag, you’re right in trend because it’s currently a “goin’ jesse” in popularity. To see a bunch of bikers in high gear is a rich source, or rather, it is the source for the real thing in biker chic.

Forget everything you’ve ever heard about the motorcycling crowd, because it was most likely bad. The 1954 Hollywood film, “The Wild Ones,” with our guy Marlon Brando,which was based on a true story, generated a fascination and intrigue for outlaw behavior that unfortunately became widely imitated.

“This movie has been called one of the most socioculturally influential films of all times,” said Ted Polhemus in the Guggenheim book, “The Art of the Motorcycle.” He further stated that the American Motorcycle Association decried the movie for the “image of the motorcyclist as a daring sportsman had been replaced by that of a beer swilling, chest-baring, laid-back degenerate.”

Well, no more. That was 54 years ago, and that description is a far cry from describing today’s bikers who now draw from a cross section of America. They’re wage earners, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, merchants and chiefs. Biking has become respectable again, and those still clinging to the bad boy, outlaw image represent only 1 percent of all bikers. In fact they are even called one-percenters.

The local A.B.A.T.E. group meets monthly to plan its calendar of runs, volunteer work, socials and fundraisers – and to work on legislative issues affecting bikers.

As a grass-roots biker legislative organization for the Motorcycle Rights Foundation, it has recently been able to get health coverage for injuries incurred in motorcycle crashes. Last year they lobbied for and received funds to make a professional motorcycle safety video.

The A.B.A.T.E. group contributes to the community. Twice a year they clean up a section of U.S. Highway 95, from Silverwood Theme Park to Highway 54. And it participates in the local Toys for Tots.

In July local bikers hold an annual Ride for Life, a fundraiser for Cancer Patient Care. Proceeds go to the families of cancer patients in Eastern Washington and North Idaho, for miscellaneous and sundry expenses associated with supporting its stricken family member.

Motorcycling is always a good and economical (50 mpg on average) way to get from here to there, but it is so much more.

“It’s the wind in my face, the feel of the road, the purr of the bike and the feeling of oneness with my surroundings that’s so thrilling and invigorating. And, one can literally smell their way across the country!” says Dave Cazel, member of the local A.B.A.T.E. group.

For more information on A.B.A.T.E. or on Saturday’s run down Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene, call Dave at 765-3527.