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I wrote an article a while back called “Why speak to the Motorcycle Clubs in your area before starting a new MC?” It was about why those wishing to start new Motorcycle Clubs should go and speak to those who have come before them. If you have not read the article look it up on my March 2009 archive page on NY-Biker.com

Since then, I’ve begun seeing and hearing some things that worry me. I have seen many groups popping up. Some of these groups have names like Lone Wolf or Independent Riders. While I suppose the names are meant to distance these groups from real motorcycle clubs, they still resemble legitimate clubs in the way they dress, and to a certain degree, the way they act.

Now I am sure some of you are saying “hey LJ these guys just want to do their own thing back off a bit, what really is the harm in what these guys are doing?” Well that’s the Million dollar Question! Exactly what is the real harm? Let me see if I can explain how I see it.

If you put on a uniform, pinned on a badge and hung out at Dunkin Donuts you may look like and act like a cop but you would not be a real cop. When a real cop saw you, You would probaly be in a lot of trouble!

Now due to High Gas Prices, The Economy, and people waking up to the fact that riding a Motorcycle is one of the Greatest things in the world, the ranks of motorcycle riders have exploded. Many of these new riders see shows like Sons Of Anarchy, Gangland or movies like Hell Ride and think, “This is cool, I’m going to start a Club” even though they know nothing about Motorcycle Clubs or the Biker lifestyle.

Shows like Sons of Anarchy are a fictional dramatization of what a group of television writers think a Motorcycle Club is. Programs like Gangland claim to investigate 1%er Clubs. Their “investigation consists of looking up every little Crime members of a 30 year old Motorcycle Club have ever been accused of and then Squeeze all the Negative info about the MC into about 45 Minutes of air time.

The concern is that you have new and independent riders forming “Clubs” with no real knowledge of what it means to be a member of a Motorcycle Club. Some of these clubs are forming with only shows like SOA and Gangland as the model for what a Motorcycle Club should be.

Being a member of a Motorcycle Club is about Brotherhood, Loyalty, Respect, Freedom, and Honor. It’s not about Drugs, Guns, and Biker Wars.

In the Motorcycle Club world you start off as either a prospect for an established Motorcycle Club or your new MC starts off as a Supporter of a established MC and they help to teach you what it truly means to be a Member of a Motorcycle Club.

It’s like an artist taking on an apprentice and passing on what he has learned. The knowledge he passes on has been passed on down to him for Hundreds of Generations.

Now where the danger lies is the art being taught can be thousands of years old but, It only takes one generation of not passing the right information down and the art is lost forever!

With the creation of so many pseudo MC’s, We risk a danger a lot worse than losing the art of what a Motorcycle Club is all about , We risk watching the Mutation of the World We all Love turned into something as ugly as the negative, hyped up TV Shows and movies we’ve all seen.

If your thinking about starting a Motorcycle Club or want to join one, start by talking to local Club members you see at events or contact established Clubs directly. Every MC has its own set of rules, etc, but if you’re serious about becoming an MC or MC Member, you’ll have no problem finding the situation that is right for you. As I said in the beginning, I have no problem with people starting their own Clubs. It’s just that starting a Motorcycle Club is something that should be done the right way and not be taken lightly. Let us work together to Preserve the Heritage of the Motorcycle Club world and make it stronger, not destroy it.

I am Your Bro LJ James AmericanBikerX.com

LJ hosts a Motorcycle Show to teach new Bikers the meaning of Brotherhood LJ lets Bikers know they can only get so much from TV Series like Sons of Anarchy

Whenever a person or group of people try to live their lives free, those who are stuck in unhappy lives will be jealous. Some people have a hard time letting go, freeing themselves from the day to day trials and tribulations of everyday life even for a little while. Others seek an escape from the stress and anxiety often associated with modern day life.

I guess for me, that’s part of why I am a Biker. There is something about riding a bike that inspires a sense of freedom in me. The open road, the wind in my face, the smells, getting back to nature, the power of my bike. It’s all these things and more that make me feel free. It’s unfortunate that there are some people who, for whatever reason, can’t find something or someway to let go and experience the sense of freedom that we do. These people, for whatever reason, are the ones who point to us and call us rogues or rebels. They say that what we are doing is wrong and that our culture is a “disruptive influence.”

As Bikers, we live our lives a little differently. We work and have responsibilities, but we still know the feeling of freedom. Maybe its because we smile just a bit more and are a bit more relaxed that turns these people green with envy?

A person who works hard and has no free time sees a person on the road riding his or her motorcycle and thinks “I wish that was me!” The thought of being free doesn’t leave their mind. They long for it. They crave it badly! How many of you out their have had a friend tell you how they have always wanted to buy a Motorcycle and just go out riding? How many of them ever actually do?

Here is a typical story : A man is driving home from work when he see’s a group of motorcycle riders pull up next to him. He looks at this group of people riding together having a great time, He starts to think, “I wish that was me”. He then decides, “I’m going to buy a Motorcycle!” He starts thinking about riding. How great it will be to have his wife on the back of his bike and the wind in his face. We could ride up to the lake or maybe that little motel way up in the Mountains. Thinking of the great times he will have he starts to feel that small sense of freedom. He thinks “This must be what those Biker get to feel, Wow!”

He turns into the driveway, parks his truck and rushes into the house to tell his wife about his fantastic idea. “Hi honey, I’m going to buy a Motorcycle.” His wife looks at him and says “What? Did you get overwhelmed by the fumes at work again?” “You can’t ride a Motorcycle. The man answers back, “I’ll learn!”

“You must be crazy”, she says. “Those things are death traps! You will kill yourself and we can’t afford it!” “Honey this is something I really want” replies the man. “NO NO NO!!! I won’t have one of those things in my house! What kind of message would it send to the kids, our neighbors?”

They argue about it, but it the end, the man never gets his motorcycle. He never goes to the lake with his wife or takes that trip up to the little motel in the mountains. He never feels the real sense of freedom one can only get when taking a long trip on a motorcycle. He spends the rest of his life wishing he had never seen that group of Motorcycles. He is angry and bitter.

Now when he see’s Bikers he puts them down. He hates Bikers, not because of who or what they are, but because of what he can never be. He hates them because of what they represent. They represent a kind of freedom, sense of belonging, a oneness with nature and the world that he longs for, he craves, but can never have.

We live here in America, the home of the free, but many are not free. They have never experienced the sense of freedom that can only be experienced on two wheels and, for whatever reason, never will. They live boring, uneventful. “safe” lives and complain about those who don’t.

Don’t hate these envious people, pity them for they will never know the sense of freedom and brotherhood we get from riding with a group of our Bro’s. They’ll never know the wind in their face, the feeling of peace and oneness with nature we feel as we ride threw the country side or down a long lonely highway. They’ll never know the clarity of mind that comes from a long ride alone or the closeness and bond of a long ride or weekend away with someone special. Just thank your higher power that you’ve found a way to escape, a way to be free, even if for some it’s just on the weekends.

Ride Safe and Ride Free because when it all come down to it, this is all about the Ride!

Your Bro L.J. James AmericanBikerX.com

LJ hosts a Radio Motorcycle Show every Wednesday LJ likes to help show the truth about the Biker World and programs like Sons of Anarchy