Presidents Corner

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="060d2a23.png"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Red Knights NY 27</B></FONT>    <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Verdana" >|     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Red Knights NY 27">home</A></FONT></div> <div> <B>Presidents Corner</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="mission.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission">Mission</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="join_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Join Us">Join Us</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="members.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Member list">Member list</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="photos.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photos">Photos</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="rkinternational.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Red Knights International News ">Red Knights International News </A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="bits.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bits Pieces">Bits & Pieces</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="classified.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Classifieds">Classifieds</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="runs.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Runs">Runs</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="newsletter.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter">Newsletter</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links">Related Links</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="calendar.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Calendar of Events">Calendar of Events</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="bike_friendly.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bike Friendly Businesses">Bike Friendly Businesses</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="time_for_a_smile.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Time For A Smile">Time For A Smile</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="members_only.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Members Only, Active Members: Contact Ja">Members Only, Active Members: Contact Jack or Ken for Password</A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="contact.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A></div> <div> Presidents Corner</div> <div> From our Prez:</div> <bR> <div> Feb. 2008</div> <bR> <div> After riding for 46 years and owning more bikes than I can count, I am still a little confused when someone asks me the question, "Are you a biker?"</div> <bR> <div> Do I ride? YES Do I own a motorcycle? YES! Do I saddle up a lot? YES! Is motorcycle riding the most important thing I do? YES, right behind my family.</div> <bR> <div> There are many definitions of a real biker. Many riders think being a biker means that you ride a scooter constantly and probably don't own a car. Some think that only Harley riders are real bikers, while others believe that being in a club “1%” is the key to the biker title. I've also heard guys say things like, "Real bikers ride in the rain". Well, I guess I'm not a real biker because I drive my truck when it rains, unless I get caught in the rain.</div> <bR> <div> I also hear conversations that if you have a job and make good money, somehow you have been disqualified from being a real biker because you are now a yuppie or a RUB (rich urban biker). </div> <bR> <div> Do tattoos, outrageous haircuts or earrings get you closer to the Holy Grail of real biker hood? How about the folks who ride sports bikes, Gold Wings or Trikes? Are they real bikers? What happens to a real biker if he suddenly loses his mind and buys a British bike? </div> <bR> <div> I  am sure many of you are like me and wonder what makes a biker and whether or not we qualify. Do I look like a biker? Do I have to dress for work like I dress when I'm riding me scooter to be a real biker?  Do I make too much money to be a real biker? Do I have to put bike parts in my dish washer to be a real biker? Can I take my bike to a dealership for an oil change and still keep my real biker card? </div> <bR> <div> Recently as I was out riding, I came across a young guy pushing his Honda Cruiser down a county road. After stopping to investigate, I went home and got my trailer and some tie downs and came back to help this guy get his scooter home in one piece.  It was apparent that he wasn't a true biker, that is, an experienced biker. I didn't know the exact definition of a true biker, but I knew somehow he didn't qualify. He would need to serve some time before applying for his Real Biker Membership Card. </div> <bR> <div> After we got to his house and unloaded his bike, he offered payments for my services, and I refused. He thanked me and then proceeded to tell me how he had bought the Honda to go to Sturgis with friends and how wonderful the experience had been. He went into his house and got some photos of his trip to show me.  He explained how exciting the whole biker experience had been, how friendly the biker community was, and how surprised he was to feel so welcome. He said he had recently gone through a divorce and the Sturgis experience had rejuvenated him, served as a sort of therapy. As he explained what had apparently a life changing experience from someone who had just arrived.</div> <bR> <div> He was so excited it almost made me laugh out loud. I realized he was describing what being around bikes was all about. It was like he was re-introducing me to an old friend, a friend I had almost forgotten about and was very happy to rediscover.  I'd been around bikes for so long I'd forgotten what gives our life style such appeal. I had taken for granted the essence of the experience that had supercharged my Honda riding friend. </div> <bR> <div> Then he asked me if I was a biker. Taken off guard but also responded very quickly, I said "YES, I am a Biker". </div> <bR> <div> For the first time in my life I didn't have a problem understanding the definition of "biker". I didn't question my qualifications, brand, style of dress, hairstyle or if I had any tattoos or piercings. </div> <bR> <div> I'm not even sure I had a Harley t-shirt on. It doesn't matter. At that moment, I understood that being a biker was that feeling of comfort you have when enjoying a sport that celebrates the outdoors and a free spirit. It's the feeling you get when you ride alone or the thrill you feel when you hear a hundred bikes rumble down the road. It's also the feeling you have when you sit around the fire at night planning the adventure for the next day. </div> <bR> <div> It's like those t-shirts say, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand". </div> <bR> <div> The experience I had helping a new comer to the biker world is also a part of the "real biker" definition. It hits me like some sort of religion that being a biker was not really what you look like or what you ride or how often you ride. It is the inner peace that you achieve when you are on that scooter and you are a million miles from home, worries and pressure. </div> <bR> <div> "Real bikers" are all members of a kinship with no concern for status or wealth. Instead they have a "live and let live" philosophy, while still watching each others back.</div> <bR> <div> After all these years, I've finally discovered the answer to the "real biker" question. If you get a shiver up your spine when a good sounding bike goes by; have ever stopped to help another rider in distress, or can't sleep because you are thinking ride. </div> <bR> <div> Don't worry you are a "real biker". It doesn't matter if it's a dresser, sports bike, cruiser to dirt bike. If it's got two wheels and you get that special feeling when you saddle up, you get the membership for life, no questions asked. </div> <bR> <div> Somehow, this two wheeled piece of steel brings out realness in people. So the next time you see a chopper or a sports bike go by or you run across a broken down Honda, give the rider the respect he or she deserves, because they are probably "real bikers".</div> <bR> <div> My Honda friend was. He was a real biker the minute he pulled into Sturgis and got that special feeling. </div> <bR> <div> It's good to remind ourselves every once in a while that it's all about unity and brotherhood.</div> <bR> <div> ME, THE MACHINE & THE WIND</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <Font face=”verdana”COLOR=”E41B17 SIZE=”12><marquee behavior=scroll direction="left" scrollamount="5">”Lord, Please hold our Troops in your Loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen. </marquee></font>  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.redknightsmc.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.redknightsmc.com/"><IMG SRC="066906b0.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="107" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>