In the real world, few people wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat thinking about the future of motorcycling. The future of motorcycling is under attack today and a few of us do wake up in the middle of the night with the future of motorcycling on our minds.
In the early days of motorcyclists’ rights activism – fifty years ago for some – mandatory helmet laws at the federal (and later the state) level did not keep us awake or stop us from riding. It was always a matter of choice and there were no attempts (then) to restrict us from riding or to kill motorcycling and related businesses.
Then came federal legislation to outlaw sports bikes, along with insurance company “blacklists” of the “super bike” genre, and the nightmares of over-regulation began. The MRF moved rapidly to turn back the federal legislation and the super bike blacklists, and we slept easy – for a while.
Motorcycling is under attack. The attacks are more subtle than late-night bans of motorcycles riding through neighborhood parks, more subtle than profiling motorcyclists on the side of the road, and more subtle than a deliberate omission from the Road to Zero Coalition.
But not as subtle as “end of life directives,” not as subtle as trying to run a successful aftermarket business without the “right to repair,” not as subtle as legislation to eliminate the internal combustion engine, and not as subtle as driverless or autonomous vehicles killing motorcyclists.
Now, every motorcycle owner should be losing sleep or waking up in a cold sweat wondering just how long we will be able to ride if we do nothing to stop the legislation and regulation that exacerbate our nightmares. How long will we be able to ride if the calls to action go unanswered? How long will we be able to ride if the lessons and tools made available at the Meeting of the Minds conferences go unused?
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation is working on the lesson plans and will bring the tools needed to enhance motorcyclists’ rights advocacy to the 40th Annual Meeting of the Minds in September 2024!
A Meeting of the Minds general session panel discussion –-- with industry leaders and influencers-- will certainly keep you awake during the presentation. The panel, aptly titled “What about the future of motorcycling that keeps you awake at night,” may even keep you awake in the middle of the night as it does us. However, the panel will give you something to consider, more tools to turn back the attack against motorcycling, and, with action, help stop the nightmares.
The nightmares are real, motorcycling is under attack. Your attendance at the Meeting of the Minds may not end the nightmares. However, your attendance and taking the lessons home to your riding partners will help keep the nightmares at bay.