I have always been into motorcycles, cars, anything on wheels. However, motorcycles were a favorite of mine. Before the club scene, I just rode my motorcycle “bike” because I enjoyed it and it saved gas. It also gave me the image that I wanted to project. The “Don’t get too close to me” image. I started riding during my youth, about 12 or 13 years old. I started on mini-bikes, mopeds, go-carts, etc. I had my first real motorcycle when I was 16yrs. old; a Honda CB550, I thought I was in heaven. Growing up in Compton, you learn to develop a “Don’t screw with me image”, because of the gang activity in the “hood”. If you looked soft, was soft spoken or acted soft, you were a prime target for anyone to hassle. Because of my size and my demeanor, I did not have too many problems. The motorcycle was just icing on the cake. I rode back and forth to school, across town, when and wherever I could. Back then, the gas was less than a dollar, so it barely took two dollars to fill it up. I tried to get into a bike club at that time, but I was too young. It was a little later that I was able to join the “Zodiacs” biker club. Until then I was content with just having the freedom of the road on two wheels. On a bike, gas can go a long way. In addition, here in California you can legally ride between traffic on the freeway during rush hour and standstill traffic. You never run out of places you can park your bike, so you can save a lot of time not having to look for parking. There are many other advantages that I discovered by owning a bike. I may go into some of the other pluses at another time. Having a bike helped me emotionally, I might be a little frustrated and I would just go for a ride to release some tension I may be feeling at that time. Depending on where I was riding, it would be very relaxing and soothing. Riding was also very stimulating to me. I could go riding on the canyon roads taking the curves with ease, enjoying the scenery, breathing the fresh air, and just listen to the smooth purr of the engine. I usually feel refreshed after a good ride, be it in the canyons or on the freeway. There are some dark sides to my bike ridding. I have had multiply accidents, broken bones, time off work, and many near hits. I actually watched a few people get killed on their bikes, one right in front of me while I was ridding my bike! People in cars sometime do not see you when you are coming up on them. I have been cut off, I have had tailgaters, and I have had people turn right in front of me. I could elaborate more details about these experiences and give more incidents, but I do not care to write too negatively about what I enjoy. All of these experiences taught me to be a much more defensive rider. Even when I am driving a car, I am more aware of my immediate surroundings. I always tend to look for an escape route when I am going anywhere. Most people know how to drive defensively, but you really gain a higher sense of awareness if you ride a motorcycle. Especially if you have been down a few times. I first joined a motorcycle club in 1993; it was the “Zodiac” club. It was fun to be a part of; it was not as many people think of as a “motorcycle gang”. Yes, it had its bad elements, but every social group has its bad actors. For the most part, I just stayed away from what I did not wish to be a part of. There are family functions, outings, dances, parties, and many other events. I liked the fact that I was dealing with a group of people that had mostly the same common interest that I did, and that was motorcycling. We would talk about who had the fastest bike, which had the best-looking bike, or what shop we could or should take our bikes to. We mostly talked about the next run we were going on and where it was. When I say, “run”, I am talking about out of town motorcycle rides. My being married at the time stop me from par taking in the dating aspect of being in the club. I was a faithful spouse. I was glad I did hold back from dating, because I found out that just about everyone was dating everyone. There was a lot of drinking and some drug use involved, not during the family functions of course. I just drank beer myself, I have never been into any of the harder drugs, and you know what I mean. There is some thing for everyone on the “motorcycle set” if you look for it. Most of it can be very enjoyable, some distasteful, and some can make you wish you never left your “safe” house. As long as you do as I do, you should have no problems. I not only practice defensive driving, I also practice “Defensive Socializing”. I socialize with everyone, but if I feel some thing is not going right or trouble is in the air, I removed myself. I casually remove myself from the situation by excusing myself to take care of other things. This usually occurred when they are smoking pot or something. Most times, it is just a matter of moving to another group and socializing with them at the club. I have not really had any major problems at any of the motorcycle clubs that I know of. I have certain club members that I hung out with, but was willing to chat with anyone there. To most of the people, it was a life style. To me, it was to a certain degree, but it was more of a stress relief than anything else. I could ride there, unwind, and get a few things off my chest by talking to peers of my kind. My son just bought himself a motorcycle. I am happy and upset for him at the same time. I am glad that he will get the chance to experience the enjoyment and freedom that I have had ridding a bike, but I don’t want to see him get hurt ridding. I told him to never say you are never going to fall or crash, just be prepared for if and when it happens. I gave him many of my personal experiences to go on, also many tips on ridding. I encouraged him to take a ridding class. He wants me to get my bike (motorcycle) to go ridding with him. I told I would as soon as I finish getting my license back. That is the only thing that is keeping me from ridding now. For now, I can only tell him how to ride, soon I will be able to show him how to ride. My life with motorcycles is not over yet, I still have a long ride ahead of me. Well, thanks for your time and attention.
