Of all American holidays, Independence Day is one of my favorites. Every year I’m struck by the patriotism, the nod to our founding fathers and the camaraderie of friends and family all together under a blazing summer sun. It’s a holiday celebrating freedom, and for me, one that mirrors my life’s motto as a motorcyclist of ride free, but ride with duty.
Freedom comes with duty. As riders, we’re ambassadors of the asphalt, duty-bound to set an example to ride sharp, stay vigilant and mentor the next generation of gearheads. We owe it to every soul sharing the blacktop to keep it safe, whether they’re on four wheels or two.
This year, three days before July 4th, Minnesota’s new lane-splitting law kicked in. To celebrate the historic implementation of HF 5247 making Minnesota the sixth state in the nation to allow lane-filtering, I decided to organize an effort to educate parade goers at one of the state’s largest parades. The hard-fought win came was made possible by hard-earned advocacy in the Land of 10,000 Lakes (and its 10,000 lousy drivers) deserved more education since the state wasn’t doing enough. Lane splitting and filtering is independence in action: threading the needle through slow moving traffic, claiming your space and trusting your skills to keep you free. It’s a law that says, “We trust riders to ride smart (at 25 mph or less),” and that trust is our call to prove them right.
When the Minnesota Department of Public Safety dropped the ball on educating state drivers about the new law, members of my local BMW Motorcycle Owners Club of Minnesota and I saddled up and took to the streets. My red, white and blue 2005 R 1100 S Boxer Cup Replica was the perfect bike to get attention on this holiday. I asked fellow club members, as well as other non-BMW clubs to join. Our mission was to hand out flyers, flash smiles and spread the word about sharing the road safely under the new law.
While a few parade goers shouted, “do a burnout!” or “pop a wheelie!” (which none of us did), I knew our slow-moving bikes and scooters had a higher purpose: to be respectful and show the rest of the drivers on the road that we’re all in this together.
The crowd’s response was grins, waves and genuine gratitude for the material and education. We weren’t just riders that day; we were educators, patriots and guardians of the road. By the time the parade ended, I felt we had done our duty of planting seeds for safer streets and stronger rider-driver respect. We all felt good about serving a purpose, and parade goers seemed to feel the same way.
Independence Day and motorcycling share the same DNA–the pursuit of freedom tempered by responsibility. It’s my hope that we–as MOA members and members of local clubs–take time to recognize that inspiration from this holiday should be remembered and replicated at every opportunity in order to build stronger relationships and awareness between all who share our American roadways.
Rider safety should be as American as the 4th of July, baseball and apple pie.
