It's Derby Day

Rideamotorcycle.com is the newest motorcycle Internet web site, one that takes a totally fresh approach to catering to the street-oriented two-wheeled enthusiast. Rideamotorcycle.com is focused on 3 groups; the established street motorcycle rider, new motorcyclists, or those who do not currently ride motorcycles but are curious about learning to do so. Rideamotorcycle.com LLC Editor at Large: Bill Heald Webmaster: Mark Lesselyoung Publisher: Dean Adams Roosting Out the Vote By Bill Heald I don't know if you heard about it or not, but there was an election recently. I know because I was there. I actually saw a lot of it. I also participated in the affair, as I think it's pretty important that the citizenry have a say in who makes the rules, writes the laws, allocates the common resources and in effect "governs."

I am not a politician. I am also not a lobbyist, political activist, political consultant or prancing pundit. I am not a man of power; I am merely part of the common ruck, as they say. But even though I am not a major player in the world of politics or the head of a powerful corporation that is subtly shaping public policy behind the scenes to suit the interests of my company, I do like to think (as do a lot of people living in democracies) that my vote has value. My desire as to who I want representing me in government gatherings counts, in the possibly naive world I live in.

Having said all this, it should be disclosed that I could be considered a member of a special interest group. Several, in fact. You probably are, too, if you're reading this now because odds are you have some interest in motorcycles else you wouldn't be here. And even if you don't belong to any particular group or organization like the American Motorcyclists Association, you probably have contributed money to the special interest group know collectively as "the motorcycle lobby" if you've ever purchased a motorcycle, part or accessory from a manufacturer.

The way politics works in this country, you can't escape being part of the process even if you don't vote. Money that goes to that new motorcycle, for example, goes to a company that spends money through various groups and associations to promote laws and policies favorable to the sale of their products. This goes for the maker of that new jacket, helmet, tire, or even the quart of oil you purchased from your dealer. As weird as it may seem, by buying a motorcycle you might even be (in a very small, distant way) be contributing to the campaign of a specific candidate in a specific race somewhere. A portion of the money that goes to a manufacturer may ultimately go to a lobbying group or Political Action Committee which may contribute to a political party which will funnel it to a particular race and candidate said party wants to win really badly.

Amazing, no? When it comes to how democracy functions in this country (and to greater and lesser extents other nations) there's so much more to it than just voting. In fact, you could make the argument that since less than40% of registered voters overall participated in that election I mentioned at the start of this piece, the voting part is but a small cog in the overall machine.

This is not to say individual votes don't count. I think the last Presidential election showed that the vote of every Bob, Nancy, Susan and, ummm, Chad is important. But when it comes to the choices we have in terms of actual candidates to vote for, a lot of this is determined more by affluent interests (that may or may not be thinking the way we think) than the grass-roots desires of voters.

For example, the American Automobile Association is a huge lobby, and has more clout than our AMA. We have around 250,000 members, they have over 40 million and have a war chest that makes our lobbying budget look like a coin purse by comparison. I happen to believe most folks join the AAA because they like the idea of being towed to a garage for free if they break down, rather than a desire to support a powerful automobile lobby. Yet thanks to all the dues money they collect the AAA has more to do with how our paved world is constructed than you might think, and they aren't too awfully concerned about the needs of motorcyclists. This is no surprise when you look at how few bikes are on the road on an average work day compared with cars, trucks and SUVs.

Because of this, the AAA can ultimately wield more muscle than we can, and actually have more to do with who might get elected than us mere motorcyclists. Again, you could argue that that's only fair, given the proportion of drivers to riders.

But I have a problem with the system in that I think ideas and intelligent discourse should be more important in the selection of our government officials (and therefore public policy) than the money generated by interest groups. I'd like to see a change of thinking in this country where motorcycles are not just though of as toys but also as intelligent, efficient commuter vehicles that could help ease a lot of problems we have at rush hour pretty much from sea to shining sea.

This could happen if we had some serious support from our elected public officials.

What would happen if some resources were allocated to actually promote motorcycle use in urban areas, for example? I might faint if I saw a public service announcement that told folks they can ride their bikes in the HOV lanes in cities, thus cutting back on their daily commute time. In major parking garages, make a ground floor area a motorcycle only space so folks would know there's always a convenient parking spot for them.

This is really painless stuff, but it could just make a difference. It will never happen, though, without people in positions to make it happen supporting our interests in government.

Now, you might be thinking that this whole diatribe was ultimately spawned by the fact that I was out in support of a candidate in the last election that was friendly to motorcycling. This is actually not the case as I don't even know how he feels about bikes or if he rides. Truly.

I was in support of this guy because I liked him, his stance on most issues, and my feeling that he would better reflect my views and ideas than his opponent.

But I used my motorcycle to carry his name because it actually got a lot of attention, especially in the small rural towns (and one big college campus) in my district. It was also a subtle way, oddly enough, of inserting a motorcycle into mainstream politics. And when you do that, you're inserting a motorcycle into mainstream life, which is my ultimate goal.

Oh, and I should be totally honest: It was a beautiful day to ride. I cruised around for several hours and the air was crisp and chilly, the foliage was still turned on in many spots and I got the satisfaction of knowing I was participating in the democratic process by expressing support for a candidate with my bike. Many folks waved and gave me a thumbs up, and maybe a person who rides who was not going to bother going to the polls may have had second thoughts. You never know.

And did my guy win? Unfortunately, he didn't. But we put up a good fight, and that's all you can do sometimes. My ride through the 2nd Congressional District also got me thinking about all this stuff. . .the lobbying, the voting (or lack thereof), the power of money, and the subtle power of getting off your butt and doing something, even if it's just going for a ride. Sometimes, the little stuff (like the little guy) can help make a difference. Maybe it didn't this time, but it just might the next. .