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When most people think of bikers, they think of hell-raising good-ol’ boys mounted on roaring Harley-Davidsons, blasting through town, tangling with cops, causing trouble and trashing the place.
But in reality, bikers, such as those involved with the Southern Alberta Bikers, come from all walks of life, range in age from the early 20s to the 70s and do a lot of good work in the community, raising money for a variety of good causes. And above all, they look out for each other, be it building a wheelchair ramp for Cornnie Dyck, one of their members seriously injured in accident in 2009, or remembering fallen riders.
“The doctors told him he’d never walk again let alone ride. That’s persistence,” observed Southern Alberta Bikers president Dallas Harty.
“Or stupidity,” laughed Dyck.
With the signs of summer imminent, there are going to be more motorcycles on the road, which those driving four wheels instead of two, need to be aware.
So the Southern Alberta bikers are hosting an awareness parade, May 14, which begins at the Brick parking lot at 10:30 a.m. and will end at the AMA building downtown. It is open to anybody with a motorcycle who wishes to participate.
“It’s riding season. So the whole idea of this run is to raise awareness and be aware we are there,” said Harty.
The run is also designed to raise awareness of motorcycle safety and the importance of wearing helmets.
This year’s run is all the more poignant as it is dedicated to Derrin and Janet Blais, who died in an accident on April 10, early in the biking season.
“We hope we don’t have to dedicate a run every year,” said founding member Linda Liptak.
When one of the club’s members dies in an accident, the club dedicates its rides to their memory.
A number of the members have had close calls with motorists who don’t notice the motorcycle riding right next to them.
“I have an issue with the government about noisy motorcycles. They have to be loud,” Liptak said.
“A number of years ago I was riding in the city and the lady in the car next to me started drifting. She didn’t even notice I was there. I blasted my horn at her, but she didn’t notice. That’s usually the first thing out of their mouths — that they didn’t notice. Well, bikes are loud and they have big headlights,” she said.
The Southern Alberta Bikers is by no means the only motorcycle club in the city; there is also the Lethbridge Motorcycle Club, which has been dedicated to dirt bikers since 1952 as well as the Women In the Wind Southern Breeze chapter, a female-only motorcycle club and HOG (Harley Owners Group) which is a group of Harley-Davidson enthusiasts.
Most of the members have been riding since they were very young.
“I always wanted a Harley ever since I was 11, and it took until I was 45 to get one,” said club member Harvey Koetse, whose helmet not only sports a sticker memorializing Derrin and Janet Blais (as do all of the members), but another dedicated to his son-in-law Rick Detts, who passed away last year. His jacket has a number of patches dedicated to fallen riders, not just those who died in motorcycle accidents.
But the rides aren’t meant to be a sad occasion; on the contrary, they are supposed to be fun, and usually are.
“I started riding when I was 13 years old. All of the farm kids had dirt bikes. When I turned 18 I got a street bike,” Koetse continued.
“It’s like having a classic car. You don’t need a reason to cruise. Just get on the bike and go to Sturgis, South Dakota or Kelowna or ride through the mountains on the weekend,” he said.
Harty likes the camaraderie as well as the fact the club is so involved in the community. The club has an average 100 members. The number can peak around 130 during the summer, when the season kicks into gear. They meet regularly every Tuesday at the south side Dairy Queen and do several rides together each season. All types of motorbikes are welcome to join.
“It isn’t what you ride; it’s that you ride. That’s our motto,” Harty said.
“It’s the need to feel the wind in my hair, but the biggest thing is the brotherhood. We’re all family. I also like that we help out in the community a lot.”
The club does several charity rides including the Toy Run for the pediatric ward of Chinook Regional Hospital, which is scheduled for Sept. 17, the annual memorial run to Fernie May 27-29 and the Teddy Bear Parade June 19.
The latter will even include antique cars, so even more toys can be donated to the pediatric unit.
The more dedicated riders ride rain or snow, so they have a PAWS Poker Run in March as well. Participants bring cans of cat and dog food to enter.
He said motorcycles are most of the members’ main method of transportation. Some members ride them to work out of town.
“My bike is four or six years old and it has 90,000 km on it already,” he continued.
Just for fun, most of the members head to Sturgis Aug. 8-14 for the annual motorcycle rally there every summer.
“We’ll ride rain or shine. Sleet or ice is different though. One time we left Sturgis early; it was raining and we rode 300 miles in the pounding rain,” Harty continued.
Another time they had to ride in a freak snowstorm and they had icicles hanging off their bikes by the end.
He emphasized safety is paramount for the riders.
“Motorcycles aren’t easy to see. And if a rider doesn’t have a lot of experience, bikes aren’t easy to control.”
Motorcycling runs in Liptak’s family.
She noted when her mother was pregnant with her, she had to get to the hospital on the back of a motorcycle. Her mother rode right into her 80s.
Liptak and her late husband, Al, founded the club about 10 years ago after parting ways with another club which only welcomed Harley owners.
“We saw a need for it. We had a lot of friends who didn’t have Harleys but still rode,” she said, standing next to her 2001 Harley-Davidson Softail.
She got interested in motorcycling when she was in high school.
“I’d follow anybody with a motorcycle. Now, I have two boys and they both ride. My husband didn’t like to ride passengers, and neither do I. My bike doesn’t have a passenger seat so I decided to ride my own,” she said.
“I guess I like the fresh air and getting outside. And the people. We have a lot of great people involved in this group.” |
