You Don't Have To Ride Alone

I was filling up with gas when he first approached me. He was riding a new Triumph, red shiny, no fade marks on the leather bags and few if any bugs to be seen on the windshield.

From under his helmet I was greeted by a gray well trimmed beard framing the full face of an ordinary looking guy. I would guess the needle on his speedometer of life was pointing just past the 50 mark.

He told me he lived one town over, loved his bike but had no one to ride with. I felt sorry for him but at this point in my life I can't find enough time to ride with my current list of friends.

Too suggest we could become riding buddies would turn into a cruel and disappointing lie, so I kept my mouth shut. Still there was a pang of regret in my heart as I watched him ride off. Life at times is a very lonely road and there have been a few times I have put on many a mile heading down that trail.

To the casual observer biking can look like a rather solitary activity but nothing is further from the truth. For 99% of us biking is a very social activity.

As I like to tell people: "We ride alone but we travel together."

A trip with the guys is a great social adventure. We stop too look in shops, explore the occasional museum, or sit on the porch with a cold soda and chat up a few of the locals.

We visit with excitement over breakfast as we map out our day and by the time we settle in for dinner a few hundred miles down the road, there is a lot to talk about.

When the bikes are parked for the night with keys pocketed, we usually put up our boots and relax over a few beer. Even the local bikers tend to haunt the same coffee shops and bars, hanging out together dreaming about hitting the open road. Biking is definitely a social sport.

Still there are many guys like my friend on the Triumph. He probably dreamed most of his life of the thrill of owning a motorcycle. He finally goes out and buys one, only to realize he has no one to ride with. He'll spend a season or two going around town from nowhere to nowhere. After this sad experience he will park his bike in the garage and forget about it. Another two years go by and he decides to park it on the front lawn and tape a for sale sign to the windshield. Shoot I knew I should have gotten his phone #, what was I thinking, I would love to own a Triumph.

Sad truth, there is no reason for him or anyone else needs to ride alone.

I jumped on the Internet and punched in motorcycle riding clubs plus a (location) and up popped an obscene number of hits. I repeated the process for, Florida, Arizona, California, Washington state and even Alberta Canada. I don't care where you call home there are many fine Motorcycle Clubs (MC) for you to check out.

Some clubs are fairly specific such as the red Knights and the Widows Sons.

The Red Knights are a fraternity of people who work or have worked in the area of fire fighting or fire prevention. The club is international in size with members everywhere. They have their own news letter and offer many charity rides and other social events. http://www.redknightsalberta.com/

I ride with the Widows Sons also an international organization similar to the Red Knights. Any guy interested is most welcome to check out our fraternity of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. However you must first become a Free Mason of a recognized Masonic Lodge before you can qualify for riding membership in the Widows Sons. http://widowssons.ca

No reason to be discouraged if either of theses two don't suit you. There are hundreds of other clubs many who draw members from a much broader base of riders. One of my favorites is the Retreads MC.

The Retreads are international, well organized and a very active club. Even in the remote corner of planet earth known as Edmonton Alberta Canada, Retreads offer 5 different locations to meet for coffee on different nights every single week. Not hard to hook up and ride with them, only requirement I know of, you need to be 40 or older. http://www.alberta-retreads.com/

Harley Davidson has HOG (Harley Owners Group) a large association which not only offers opportunities to ride, but members qualify for discounts at select hotel and restaurant chains. http://www.harleydavidson.com/

If you are among the small percentage of humans smart enough to abstain from alcohol (for whatever reason) then I suggest you check out the AA Motorcycle Group. I know many guys in the Bill W program and believe me they are among the greatest and most fun guys I have ever had the pleasure of hanging with. Just type in AA motorcycle club in your computer, these guys are every where.

If you are so inclined type in the word Christan and your computer may have a melt down from all the hits you'll get. In Jerusalem Jesus rode a donkey but in North America I am sure he would have ridden into town on a bike. Just type in Christan Motorcycle Club, these guys are every where.

Are you a lonely female looking for other women to ride with? No problem there are several all women MC's. Check out Free Wheeling (Canada) http://www.freewheeling.ca/ or try Women on Wheels in the USA http://www.womenonwheels.org/

Most of the clubs you will find listed keep their own websites. Members keep in touch via bulletin boards and e mails. Your club will organize many rides and social events throughout the year not just during riding season. This is important because in many northern states and Canada the actual riding season is pitifully short.

If you want someone to ride with, you have a lot of options to choose from. Just jump on the Internet and type in motorcycle clubs followed by your general location.

Before you know it you'll be hooked up with many people just like yourself, people who love

Riding Iron.

Judge A Man Not By His Leather

I had the pleasure of taking a short ride this past Saturday and to escort a good friend and fellow Masonic Brother. We hooked up at a local restaurant just before noon, both us us were wearing our colors. As is so often the case when we ride with our Widow Sons Masonic leather vests people are hesitant to look at us.

I am well known in the small town where we met, but even people who have known me for 20 years stayed clear and refused to make eye contact with me.

Although a Masonic Lodge exists in most communities throughout both Canada and the United States few people take notice because most of the activities of Masons participate in, attract little public attention.

Of course this is not true of our Masonic brothers of the Shrine. They are very public and their contributions to charity and in particular the Sick Children's Hospital program is well known. Shriners are easy to recognize parading in public wearing their bright colors and uniquely styled Red Fess headdress. Few people realize that all Shriner's are first Masons. Just as all members of the Widow Sons Motorcycle Association are also Masons. As Masons, members of the Widow Sons are committed to both community work and undertaking works of charity.

As Jay and I sat In the restaurant I could see from the corner of my eye people whisper as they gave disapproving glances in our direction. These are basically good people but they let their imaginations run wild.

Perhaps imagining bad biker gangs invading their quiet community is their way of creating excitement in their otherwise ordinary lives. Reports from close friends tell me the talk around the coffee shop after we rode out was; who are these bad bikers and what is Grey Rider doing associating with them?

I find it strange even shameful how quickly people are to judge others in this world. Here is a picture of my friend Jay. I took this picture of him standing beside his Gold Wing when we took a few minutes to stretch our legs.

Like so many Masons Jay is an outstanding member of his community and has a reputation for both his generosity and compassion for others.

Over the years Jay has committed thousands of hours towards the further development and betterment of his fellow man. This has included extended effort in many areas including serving as an Officer on four fire departments and his contribution to Masonry. He is a loving husband and a respected member of his community.

He currently serves as a senior Masonic Officer for his Grand Lodge. On this day we were riding up north to a small community to help them celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Masonic Lodge.

Jay currently serves as a Senior Officer for the Grand Lodge and his visit was in an official capacity so he had to arrange to have his tuxedo sent on ahead. I was attending merely as a guest so I didn't have to bother with such trappings and in fact I was the only one in attendance not dressed in a suit.

The rest of the Masonic brothers in attendance, about 8O of them, were not offended by my more casual appearance to this very special occasion. They accepted my casual manner because accepting rather than judging is the the Masonic way. Masons believe we should all judge others by their conduct and not by what they wear or where they are from.

I wish everyone in this world would learn to live their lives with this sense of acceptance. We as a society must realize that not only can we not judge a book by it's cover, we also can not judge a man by his leathers.

If my good friend Jay has any fault at all it might just be that he loves Riding Iron.

Progress Report

I am currently investigating how to reduce the size of photo files before I upload them to my blog. This is most important to achieve as I intend to make photos a prime aspect of this site. Large files slow down the transfer rate and make viewing the site a slower more tedious process for most viewers.

All photos are copyright protected from commercial use but viewers are welcomed to copy and forward pictures posted on my blog to other persons as part of their personal communications.

Once again the smaller size of the photo file will greatly facilitate the transfer of these photos making life a little easier for all concerned.

If you are visiting this particular posting you can tell by the size of the current photo file I have not yet achieved my goal of producing smaller more manageable jpg files (sorry). My IT advisor will be meeting with me next week to get this sorted out.

As for other progress concerning the site. I have started to contact interested parties who may wish to contribute stories to the Riding Iron blog in the upcoming year. Response has been positive to date.

I have also identified a dozen topics for which I believe articles need to be written. Although the blog will be slanted towards the specific needs of the older rider we intend to make sure there will be lots of interest to viewers of all ages.

I want it said: "Anyone who likes to travel via a motorcycle, be it around the country or just to work each day, will benefit by Riding Iron."

Riding Iron

Love Motorcycles?

This is a test Blog, being worked on in the fall of 2009. Hopefully up and running in the new year of 2010

The Riding Iron blog is being developed for anyone and everyone interested in riding motorcycles. All visitors are welcomed but some are more welcomed than others.

During the past decade there has been a tremendous surge in the number of riders over the age of 50. There are many fine motorcycle web sites but I have found non truly dedicated to the grey haired geriatric riders of today.

Our desire to ride is founded on our common love of motorcycles but our riding problems and challenges are unique.

This site is being developed as a not for profit public forum focused towards meeting the needs of the seasoned rider. I suspect most of the regulars to this blog will be men and women who have been riding motorcycles the best, if not the better part of their lives.

People who find the status quo recipe for life lacking. Men and Women who are still looking for a shot of adrenalin when they get up in the morning. Older people who know they suffer from an chronic iron deficiency.

These are the people who Ride Iron not just because they want to, but because they need to.