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Bikers liken their experience to the way some people feel riding a horse - there is a connection to nature and your surroundings on a bike that you can't experience in a car, they say.
"You're a lot more aware of everything around you when you're on a bike," noted Gene Femmer, vice president of Local 42 - bikers have to be aware, he said, for their own safety.
Others agree.
"Being on a motorcycle brings all of your senses to life - smells, sight, sound . . . ," said Keifer York, legislative officer for Local 42.
Educating the general public about what it's like to ride a motorcycle is part of what FORR is about. The more we all know, the safer everyone will be, members say.
This Sunday, May 3, FORR Local 42 will join with three other bike groups to hold a May Rally at the Union Fairgrounds (401 Jaycee Drive). Beginning at 1 p.m., activities will include a bike blessing, bike games and family games. There also will be informational booths, vendors and food.
All proceeds will benefit the Union Food Pantry.
Main Purpose: Guard Bikers' Rights
FORR is a state nonprofit organization founded in 1981 to "promote safety, brotherhood and freedom for all motorcyclists." It has more than 3,000 members in 35 chapters across Missouri.
"The main purpose of this organization is to guard the rights of all motorcyclists, to keep them informed of laws that will help or hinder them as motorcyclists, to promote safety, rider education, brotherhood, and freedom for all motorcyclists," the FORR Web site (www.forr.net) reads.
If you're not a biker, you might be unaware of the laws targeting them and the proposed laws politicians would like to see passed.
"The laws in Missouri are stacked against motorcyclists," York stated. Take, for example, the law requiring bikers to wear protective headgear whenever they ride. It sounds like a good idea to nonriders, but bikers ask, why not let them decide if they wear a helmet or not.
"We say, 'Let those who ride decide,' " remarked Georgia Haley, Local 42 central committee rep. "We ask for the right to choose."
After all, Missouri hasn't approved any specific "headgear" for bikers to wear, said Haley, so why require they wear any at all?
FORR was successful in getting the fine against bikers not wearing a helmet set at $25.
"It used to be as high as $1,000 or more - whatever the judge wanted to make it," Gish said. "Plus there could have been jail time.
"We got it reduced to $25 because it's a safety violation, same as not wearing a seat belt . . . All we ask is to be treated as equals."
Some of the other issues FORR has been involved in include:
* The creation of a State Safety Program with FORR training sites and instructors to help reduce motorcycle accidents.
* Efforts to repeal Missouri's helmet law.
* Educating legislators on issues pertaining to motorcyclists' rights.
On a national level, FORR and other motorcyclists are actively fighting a push to require bikers wear a certain type of protective clothing when they ride and that there be one universal or "global" motorcycle. This would prevent any biker from customizing his or her bike, FORR members said.
Some of the ideas politicians have proposed that FORR members find laughable are requiring seat belts and airbags on motorcycles.
Something no biker is laughing about, though, is the current Missouri law that allows insurance companies to use "comparative fault" to pay less damages for motorcyclists. In other words, said York, when a biker is in an accident, the insurance company can pay less simply because he or she was riding a motorcycle.
The "comparative fault" rule also applies to other activities, said York - like horseback riding or water skiing.
Right now there is a bill in the Missouri Senate (SB 202) that would modify the law to say that "riding a motorcycle, in and of itself, shall not be considered comparative negligence," and that when insurance companies investigate a claim, they can not assign a percentage of fault to a party simply because he or she was driving a motorcycle. The same bill proposes to exempt bikers over age 21 from having to wear helmets except when riding on interstate highways.
Gish noted one thing all Missourians should realize about these legal restrictions is that they are affecting the state's tourism dollars. Bikers go out of their way to avoid Missouri because of its restrictions, he said.
FORR is trying to get the state to implement a Share the Road program, similar to one in Iowa, where FORR members would educate car drivers to watch out for motorcycles and learn how to be safe.
"A lot of people (driving cars) will pull out in front of a motorcycle because they misjudge how fast it may be coming or because they think we can stop on a dime - we can't," said Femmer.
The intention of the Share the Road program would be to reduce accidents between car drivers and motorcyclists.
"We push a lot of safety," said Gish. "We say let's not just make bikers safer if they crash, let's prevent the crash."
FORR members believe there will be more people driving motorcycles in the future, the way the economy is going and with the price of gas expected to continue to rise. Motorcycles, they note, get as much as 50 to 55 miles per gallon.
Good for the Community
FORR's Local 42 chapter in Franklin County was founded in 1998. It currently has about 100 members from all walks of life.
Many FORR members also are members of other motorcycle groups, like the American Legion Riders in Washington, the Cross Road Christian Riders chapter of the Christian Motorcycle Association or the Bourbeuse Valley HOG Chapter.
FORR Local 42 meets the last Sunday of every month at 1 p.m. at the Eagles Hall in Pacific. The group used to meet at the Roadhouse Bar and Grill in Gray Summit, but moved due to growth in membership.
This Sunday's Rally is just one of a series of events FORR holds each year. It holds several rides to benefit the community, like the school supply collection and run it holds in June and July, and the toy collection and run it holds in October and November.
For the school supply collection, the bikers plan to stand outside of Wal-Mart and Big Lots in Washington to collect school supplies from shoppers who would like to donate. The next month, the bikers make their own donations as part of a special school supply bike ride.
All of the donated items are given to the Jefferson-Franklin Community Action Corporation, a federal agency that works with low-income individuals and families in Franklin and Jefferson counties.
Likewise, the toy collection and run benefits local children in need.
Just before Thanksgiving, Local 42 joins with other local bike groups for an annual ride to support Loving Hearts Outreach with cash or canned food donations. It also participates in the Ride for the Cure run, a Hawgs for Dogs ride to benefit the Franklin County Humane Society and other charity rides.
Local 42 also supports its fellow bikers through the Hartbauer-McBride Memorial Foundation, a private fund that helps any motorcyclist who has been injured or experienced a catastrophic loss.
FORR will have its seventh annual Poker Run to benefit Hartbauer-McBride Sunday, May 17. Bikers will meet at Roadhouse 100 in Gray Summit between 10 and 11:30 a.m. At the end of the day, bikers will gather at the Pacific Eagles Hall at 5 p.m. with cash and attendance prizes awarded at 5:30 p.m.
"We ride because we love it," said Gish. "We join a motorcycle rights organization so we can continue to do what we love."
For more information, people are welcome to come to a meeting or call Gish at 314-578-6006. More information also is available at www.forr.net.
