I think you guys have heard me mention the SCRC event that Bullet and I ride every June in Ohio. Well, I was just cleaning house,and found this piece that Bullet wrote for the event. This was a very tough time in his M/C career, and I hope it touches you as much as it does me every timeI read it. My apologies, it's kind of long, but it is well worth the read. It starts with him here:Before you read this, I want to apologize ahead of time. I think I took out all the offensive words, but a few may have slipped through. If you are still offended, well, get over it. Oh, and sorry it's so long, I have a lot to say.
It was over 4 years ago (7 now) that I became associated with the SCRC. I was at a leather shop, Shardans, getting gear for my new ride. and saw a flier for a cancer benefit ride. It was the first Tim Beels benefit ride and donations were going to the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, I was intrigued, so a friend and I attended.
It was at this benefit that I fell in love with group riding and the camaraderie of a club. It was here also that I met a legendary man,Tim Beels. I was immediately drawn to him, his leadership skills and devotion were compelling. I enrolled into the SCRC shortly after that and my first ride as a member was to Port Austin, to Tim's Dad's house. There were 3 bikes. Tim, Tazz and myself. Tazz was doing a Thumb run and continued into the mitten, but I was headed home. It had gotten really cold and I figured Timand Cindy were going to stay at his Dad's for the night. But Tim looked at me and said,"We came together,we're leaving together." And we all rode home and froze our butts off. I did not know it then, but that was the ideology of the embodiment of an M/C. From that day forth,I wrapped myself up into the SCRC and would have followed Tim into the gates of Hell. You see, Tim and I had another kind of bond we shared. The cancer that took Timwas the exact same one that took my father. My father was a biker, and I never had the chance to know him,much less ride with him. So Timfilled a void in my life that no one else ever could have. When I rode next to Tim, it was like riding next to my father.
I was priviledged to share many great times with Tim and his family. BBQ's, and swimming and such. And there were sad times,too. Like the day Sam Helms told Tim he was terminal. We were at a little side of the road gas station/doughnut shop and we had met with Sam's chapter for a ride. For some reason, I cannot recall where we rode to but that conversation is vivid in mymemory. And I was with Tim on his last ride to Larry Skavdahal's funeral. He never rode again.
Shortly after that, we were together in Tim's living room. I cried. Tim was dying. His last request to me? "Look after Josh." At the time I did not realize what a monumental task this would be. Josh, aka "Cuda",Tim's son is a urine and vinegar, no bullshit bad ass S.O.B. and I love him dearly. He's my little Brother. At that time, we were both SCRC and looking for more. Today, we are both M/C, although we fly different rags.
Tim's funeral was on a cold fall morning, 11-15-01. I was a pall bearer, and the SCRC showed up in force. I was proud that day. We rode lidless in the processional. That's the day I met my future M/C brother, "Q." That part of this story is his to tell.
The next cancer benefit was the Tim Beels Memorial run. It was melancholy, but we had awesome support. Over 100 SCRC showed up. We had around 120 bikes. The "Bite Me" crew stepped up and did an awesome job. Animal was tapping people on the shoulder with his sword and giving out biker names like some sort of medieval knight. It was my last hurrah as I started to look seriously for more of a commitment/brotherhood kind of club. The kind of brotherhood that Tim and I shared And the kind Tim shared with Larry and Sam. In the M/C world, the word Brother is not used lightly. In fact you can be reprimanded for calling anyone outside your club "Brother." Goon, Lone Roadie, Gunky, Gator, Chuck are among them. And there are those who I will always call Brother, and those who may have gotten tothat point. Murph, Bob Gibbs, Dave, Larry, Tazz, Dan Connell, Thumper are among those who had shown me some real heart.
Goon asked on the forum about why some of us had dual memberships. I replied the following:
"I can not answer for FirenSteel, but only for myself, about the dual memberships. M/C is about lifestyle. A lifestyle that I enjoy and defend with every strand of my being. It gives me what the SCRC could not. But the SCRC is about riding, which I love to do. And I by far will have more miles than anyone in my M/C this year. While my loyalties lie squarely with my M/C, I have met some really great people in the SCRC, YOU being the foremost and I did not wish to sever my ties. Since the SCRC is an R/C, and has the non-political stance that it does, my M/C has no problem with it. The only stipulation they have is that I cannot wear an SCRC patch on my back. Many in my M/C have a H.O.G. membership, and I point out that there are some similarities in that they too are an R/C.
So frankly,I have the best of both worlds."
I really did mean this when I posted it, but on further reflection I am finding that I also was trying to hang onto the times lost long ago. I have found my family in the Blue Angels M/C, and I still have a few Brothers that I met in the SCRC. But I think it is time to close this chapter in my life. I have moved on and out-grown the SCRC. So with a little sorrow, and a lot of celebration, I wish to hereby remove my membership fromthe SCRC rosters.
I am sure there are a few of you who will be relieved to no longer have an M/C patch holder sharing your ranks. To them I say, your loss. I am heart and soul, and you won't find many like me. pffffft.
And if I may leave you with words to ponder. "It's not the amount of years in your life that counts,but the amount of life in your years. Ride hard. And like Granny once told me, "Everyone dies with regrets,so regret what you do, not what you did not get to do."
