Memorial Day, motorcycles, and a modest suggestion

Here at Common Tread we've published articles about how veterans making the sometimes-difficult readjustment to civilian life have been helped by motorcycling, both on a personal level and an institutional level. Movies, from "The Wild One" to more recent films, have made well known the story of how biker culture developed after World War II, in large part with the participation of veterans returning home, and that continued through the Vietnam era and right up to today.

But of course Memorial Day isn't about the ones who came home, but the ones who didn't. Organized motorcycle rides are one of the most visible public displays of remembering those in the military who gave their lives. We wrote about the last Rolling Thunder ride in Washington, D.C., in 2014 and in recent years the Rolling to Remember event, organized by AMVETS, has filled that space in the nation's capital. On the opposite side of the country, the West Coast Thunder ride in Southern California is a huge event and many local and regional rides take place in between those two.

On a more superficial level, in many parts of the country Memorial Day is the symbolic start of riding season. It's when some casual riders pull the bike out of the garage for the first time. Maybe not precisely on Memorial Day weekend, but around there. And even many year-round riders have a tradition of taking advantage of the holiday weekend and getting out for a ride with friends.

I recently posted a photo on social media of a large group ride I came upon by chance and one new rider commented that she'd never ridden in such a large group but she imagined it must be an awesome experience. I can understand that. Motorcycles account for about 3% of U.S. traffic so we usually feel small and vastly outnumbered. Riding in a large group can not only provide an intense feeling of camaraderie, but also even empowerment. I also know some will look at the photo above of the West Coast Thunder ride and immediately say "No way, that doesn't look at all like fun to me." I can understand that, as well. The big group rides are not my thing, personally. One of the elements of riding I enjoy is the freedom of mobility, and there's no freedom to ride as you wish in a group of hundreds.

But whichever side of that spectrum you fall on, here's the point I want to make — my ask of you, if you will — on Memorial Day. Let's be advocates of live and let live. Let's not be gatekeepers. If you love that big group ride, good for you and thanks for the donation you likely made to participate that will support veterans' causes. If the group ride sounds like torture,  recognize that it's a good thing we all like different experiences, because if we all had the same taste, life would be boring. Motorcycling already has too many gatekeepers trying to tell the rest of us whether we're doing it right or doing it wrong. No need for more.

And what does that have to do with Memorial Day? I think of soldiers going into battle and knowing they might die, and while I can't pretend to understand what they were thinking, if by chance they thought that their potential sacrifice was worth it to protect the freedom of those left behind, I doubt it was the freedom to derisively call a fellow rider a pirate or a power ranger. I doubt they had in mind the freedom to tell someone they were on on the wrong brand of motorcycle, need to get a "real" motorcycle, should stop riding that boat anchor, etc. and so on.

Those of us who benefit from the sacrifices made on our behalf can do better than that. 

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