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Motorcycle Safety and Awareness
Welcome to Think Bike, the podcast about all things motorcycle and the voice of motorcycle safety and awareness in Alberta. Your host is Liane Langlois.
Liane:Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Think Bike. I am super excited for our last episode of this season before our finale to have Todd Sharpless and Ross De St Croix on here from the Canadian Motorcycle Association. You may remember we had Lee, you know, on in May for May's Motorcycle Awareness Month, but the CMA has done a lot over the summer and I wanted to bring these guys back. One is the president, one is the CEO, and get a little bit more answers into things.
Liane:So welcome to the show, guys.
Ross:Thank you.
Liane:Thank you. So Todd, I'm gonna start with you. Who is Todd Sharpless and what got you into riding? Because your family name is a pretty big one out there.
Todd:Yeah. So it's been all my life. So born into a motorcycle family, started riding at age four. My my father, Bill, raced motorcycles, and I I believe to support his habit, he opened a a shop, Sonic Motorcycle, in Toronto with a long time friend and competitor, John DeGucci. And so that's where I grew up was in that shop, and along with my my sister Tony and my brother Blair, we, of course, started into competition at a young age with riding trials on on minis.
Todd:So that was our our first exposure to organized events. And then from that, we went on to riding motorcross, and then we went to enduros and ice racing and hair scrambles. And I even drag raced once.
Liane:Just once?
Todd:Just once. Just had to do it. So so then for all three of us, we kind of went our own direction right about to the age of 16 or so because I at 15, I went dirt tracking and thought that was just the greatest thing ever and and first started out at Welland County on a a one twenty five and that was where I kinda fell in love with dirt track and carried on with that for over twenty years riding within Canada and with the CMA series and the AMA pro series and riding six hundreds and seven fifties and ended up with eight championships for my my troubles.
Liane:Oh, that's it? Just eight?
Todd:Yep. Just eight. Just eight. It's it's a pretty tough field.
Liane:Yes. Mean, it's still impressive. Come on now.
Todd:Have not Yeah. So so we, you know, all carried on with with that sort of thing, and riding different aspects. My sister went road racing, my brother went enduro riding, and and then partway through my my dirt track career, I decided that I was going to get involved with the organization of things. And at that time, they had what they called the rider rep. And so I became the rider rep for dirt track, and and then that progressed into being an Ontario council member for the CMA to represent dirt track.
Todd:Yep. And so I carried on with that for for quite a few years, and it was along that we created an ad hoc dirt track committee that that brought dirt track into the the eighties and nineties from back in the seventies and and that sort of thing. We then, you know, did did a lot of a lot of new formatting of of things and how races were run, and, of course, my experience in The States was was good to bring back here and along with some of the others that I worked with. We had all raced down in The States, so we kinda brought some of that thought back.
Liane:Knowledge. Yeah. Well, I I guess you you know a thing or two about motorcycling then.
Todd:Yeah. Yeah. And that that kind of carried on for quite quite a few years until there was a a time where I got a little frustrated with how things were being done within the the CMA, and I decided to back out. And at the end of my racing career, I decided that this dock that I had seen every time I pulled out on Friday to go racing and back on Sunday, I was gonna use it and put a boat in there. So that was that was where I went for quite a few years after I retired in '99.
Liane:And now you're back as president of the CMA.
Todd:And now I have come back, and and actually I have to credit Ross and and Lee to that is they got in a couple years back. How many now, Ross?
Ross:I think I'm starting my fourth year.
Todd:Fourth year?
Ross:Here. Yeah.
Todd:Yeah. And and they did a major change of things. Yeah. And and it was so refreshing to see. And those were the the exact things that pushed me away earlier that they had changed, and and the group of people that's in there now, it it makes it so much more enjoyable, and and we've we are actually able to push forward and get things done.
Liane:So Yeah. And we'll get into that Yes. In in a little bit. So Ross, what about you? Like, what got you into writing, and it's like, you just mentioned fourth year going in as CEO of CMA?
Ross:Well, not unlike unlike Todd as far as family. My my my mom and dad born in Montreal as as as was I and my brother, and we came into Ontario in the little neighborhood that we moved into in '69. And my dad was a professional race car driver at the time, so I guess I've always sort of had that competitive side of things. The neighborhood I came into was, for whatever reason, filled with trials riders. And that's all we did every night when the snow wasn't on the ground or when the snow was on the ground.
Ross:And Todd knows a lot of that gang. And, you know, if there were twenty twenty guys, 12 of us have had national championships between all of us. And so it's a very competitive group, and to sort of sort of grew up with with that gang riding trials and getting into things. And and I stayed on the trial side and the dirt side while everybody else, my brother included, went towards the road racing side of things. Few went on the motocross, but I was always involved with sort of the backside of of their racing, whether it was in the pits or just as a fan, and sort of so kept in it basically my whole life.
Ross:And like Todd, you know, was I was a big CMA member my whole life. Couldn't wait to get the newsletters and and and things like that. And and then sort of when things started to to sort of deteriorate, a lot of us walked away and sort of did our own thing. And it was I got to know Holly, Ralph, through my brother and his vintage road racing. And at that time that I got to really get to know her, she has sort of stepped in as the interim general manager or just keeping the CMA alive, and they were looking for a CEO.
Ross:So at that point, I had, you know, stopped working in my professional sales life and gotten into the the film business, which gave me lots of time to sort of look at things and, you know, be able to to take on the volunteer position of the CEO. So, you know, the first first year and a half, Todd can probably attest it was it was tough. We had, you know, the all the old board, and so was me going out to events by myself who hadn't seen a CMA face for you know, to events who hadn't seen CMA people for years and getting hated on pretty well. And but slowly, we we changed things from the board. We got more people involved in the board that were that were involved in in you know, currently in the racing side of things and in the enthusiast side of things, and everyone had the same sort of goals in mind.
Ross:And it's, you know, it's morphed into what we have now, which is a is a great crew. The board is is great. The board's all involved in in riding in some aspect somewhere. And through Todd's help and and the board, Todd's, as you know, gotten together all the committees now, which we haven't had and hadn't haven't had serious for many years. So that brings brings us to today.
Ross:It's it was it's been a long four years, and but people are willing to talk to us now, so I think we're on the right track.
Liane:Well, I mean, going back in my history with, like, MMIC, MCC, you know, and CMA was always I don't know. I've told you guys this before out in Western Canada. It's not as known, so I'm happy to be involved as well to make that a little bit more of a presence. But I was not happy with the way things at MCC, MMIC, and stuff like that was going back and in the they would court and court and court, and I'm like, nope, not getting involved, don't like the vibe. And then I got approached for sitting on some committees with the CMA now, and I'm like, I'm in because a it's a different vibe.
Liane:Right? So that so that gets us into we had Leon kinda talking about the different committees back in May and what's going on. So, Todd, I'm gonna throw this one to you because you're more on, like, that day to day operational side of the CMA. Of course, I know some of the things that we've accomplished over the summer, but do you wanna touch on some of the things that we've been able to do at the CMA over the summer through the committee work?
Todd:Sure. Well, I I guess first of all, just for those that aren't aware, we we brought on seven new committees this year, and those committees have basically 10 people per committee or 10 seats, and that brings 70 new volunteers into the CMA fold, the and and these are are not just people that you know, random people. This is this is people with amazing amount of of passion, experience, knowledge, and expertise all across Canada. So we've really got a great group of people that are enthusiastic about these new committees and working with the CMA to to the major goal for all of us is making motorcycling more more well known within Canada, where we should be at at these days. So so within those committees, we have the on road committee, which is is one.
Todd:And in there, some of the topics that are being discussed and dealt with are, like, cable barriers, lane splitting and filtering, paint that's used on roads, ebikes, and and the big one, of course, is insurance, the cost of insurance, the cost to to put your bike on the road. So those topics are all being discussed and trying to get some viewpoints and some some some people to to take notice of of what we're we're saying, and, of course, there again, we come to the numbers. Yeah. Off road, we've got land use, which is always a big one within off road riding. So that's at all lever levels of government.
Todd:So it could be right in your backyard or throughout the the, you know, province government. So we're we're addressing all of those. Public image, that's that's a big one. You know? Kids or or people doing wheelies down streets doesn't do anything for us.
Todd:So Right. We're addressing that sort of thing. Riding days, you know, trip tips for those riding days and what to bring with you. So Yeah. Little things like that are even being addressed where we can publish that and and just help people out, have a a little place that they can go to onto our website and see these sort of things of of what they need to do and what they need to think about.
Todd:Environmental and government, that's a big one. And, again, the insurance rears its head here again because that is one of the biggest things within motorcycle riding. The the image that we we have, unfortunately, has been on the side of of danger, and so insurance reflects that, which we need to change. Ebikes is another thing that we are are seeing a lot of, so that's being addressed. You know, there's there's laws that ebikes don't feel that they need to address, like, even even something like a helmet.
Todd:I mean, that's a basic. And, unfortunately, the the statistics are reflecting that. So it's some things that we need to discuss. We need to help out, the, you know, the government in in realizing what what we feel as motorcyclists are necessary. And some other things that we have going on in there is having the government recognize the athletes that ride motorcycles, that race motorcycles, recognize what's in the Canadian sports.
Todd:Because in in other countries, they are already recognized. And when we take our athletes overseas to world championships, we don't get the funding that some of these other countries have, so we're we're already at a deficit. Then a big one that we have that's been doing a lot of work, and, Leigh Ann, you you're a testament to this being being on here is our media and fundraising. You know, we're participating in motorcycle shows across Canada. We've we've now just partnered with Motorcycle Mojo magazine to provide our members with the subscription discounts, and we will also be appearing in every edition later this fall.
Todd:And we have a a good a good relationship with them going forward. We have a group doing social media now that is is unbelievably good. So you're seeing a lot more social media with the CMA in it. So that's that's a great thing. We're enjoying that as we get our name out there again and and show people that we're doing something.
Todd:We're we're, you know, making things happen. We also celebrated our eightieth anniversary this year, so a logo and campaign for that has been done. And then we're looking forward to an all clubs meeting coming up in this fall. So we're trying to get the word out and get people to know what we're all about. Some of some of the other ones we have is our safety and training, and you know all about safety, Leanne.
Todd:You're you're involved.
Liane:Oddly enough, not a committee I sit on. No.
Todd:Well, mostly because you could sit on about four of them, but
Liane:I think that much time.
Todd:No. No. Yeah. So that's another big one. So along with that one, we have our May as Motorcycle Safety Month campaign, and June is off road safety.
Todd:And then we partner that with Motor Canada. So it's a it's a united force on that camp those campaigns. And then we have rider training for CMA for the road, and then we also have a rider training manual, the r one zero one for off road. So we've got a number of different things going on in that committee. And two two other ones we have is women's community Yeah.
Todd:Which is a big one, and and something that a lot of us don't recognize or haven't noticed, but there is a lot more women riding motorcycles these days.
Liane:Oh, yeah.
Todd:Yeah. What we really haven't noticed is some of the challenges that they have to endure. I mean, one of the big things is bike height. I mean, anyone can ride a a 500 pound motorcycle. It's no problem when you're moving.
Todd:But when you stop, if you can't get your foot down on the ground and you get a little bit of a lean angle on that bike, all of a sudden you've got all 500 pounds you're trying to hold up.
Liane:Yep.
Todd:So that's one thing. And and another thing that I never thought of of course is women clothing. Like to Yes. To get a leather jacket that fits right or or boots that fit decently that are for riding and don't have a big heel on them. You know?
Todd:There's all kinds of things that is being addressed there, plus just a camaraderie within the the women's group and doing some networking and workshops is what they're starting to get into. So
Liane:Well, I can attest to being vertically challenged. I'm on my tiptoes on both my bikes and often like, can someone back me up, please? Because it's really difficult. But when I started riding, there was like barely any women's gear that was available. And if it was, it was pink.
Liane:And I don't wear pink. Why does it have to be pink? Right? And now, like, how much gear has been developed for women, and we can still do better and still do more. But, yeah, like, that's a committee that I had agreed to sit on but dropped off because what it just took on too much.
Liane:I like to do everything. But realistically, the women that were on that group, was like, yeah, you're good. Like, I don't I don't need to be here. They've got it handled. Yeah.
Liane:It's important stuff to keep bringing up, especially with manufacturers and how can we lower some bikes a little bit or is there safe ways of doing that?
Todd:Yep, exactly. Or who do I talk to to get it done? Yep. As an aftermarket. Yep.
Todd:So and and then that brings us to the last committee that is one of the bigger ones with the CMA from years past is the competition committee.
Liane:Yes.
Todd:And within the competition committee, we've already created an appeals committee and procedure for protests that can't be solved on the race level. So if a promoter or an organization or sanctioning body has protest that they can't solve and even down to the club level, they can now they have a a hotline to call in to get us involved, and within three days, we'll have an answer to them. Thanks. After going over all the items, all the the available material, videos, rule books, we'll come out with an answer, and it won't be based on who you know or Right.
Liane:You know, we Biases.
Todd:Yeah. Yeah. So so if we've got someone within our group that is intimately involved in that aspect of racing, they will bow out and not be involved in it. But other people that do know racing will be making these decisions. So Yeah.
Todd:Some of the the promoters and and sanctioning bodies are very excited about that. It just gives them an out.
Liane:Yeah. No. Exactly. Definitely does. Because bias is bias exists everywhere, and some people can't separate friendship from, like being ethically correct in decision So I think we're definitely moving in the right direction with all the CME committees and I know a lot of them got the summer off, media didn't, but you know, whatever.
Liane:Not complaining. We had newsletters and website redesigns and stuff to do. So that's like all very operational in in what what the CMA is trying to achieve, but there's the strategic side. And so, Ross, that kinda placed you as, like, a CEO for, like, the longer term goals in strategic planning. What are some of the things on that level that you're working towards?
Ross:Well, obviously, on the longer term goals, I mean, we're we're a membership driven organization. And so the growth of the membership is very important to us, and that makes that allows us the more members we have, allows us to do more, more things as far as, even as as simple as dollars. But, the more members we have, the better it is that we can advocate for insurances and insurance policies. And the numbers also help us out when we're talking to the government and things like that. So certainly, the growth of the membership is very important to us.
Ross:And and and through the committees and through them being involved, that's sort of all part of you know, an underlying part of the goal is to to help people see who we are and recognize us and recognize us as, you know, really the only national membership level, competition level organization and sort of rekindle that that side of things. So that's that sort of would be first and foremost. Again, strategically, again, we can utilize our sort of the the use of the national body when we're talking to provincial level insurance policymakers and things like that and safety and road makers, the Olympic Committee that we're hoping to have them recognize us as, you know, sort of the national representative body for motorcycling. And then also with our partnership with the FIM, which I know we're gonna talk about a little bit later, that allows us to utilize them on the backside for a little bit more clout and a little bit more information gathering and things like that. So that would be that would be sort of what what the the ultimate goal is.
Ross:Also, to bring in more world championship events into into Canada, even even AMA events that that are coming in, which I think we've done a great job over the last couple years certainly. And there's a lot of good talk of of of of good potentials on the world championship side of things coming into Canada because the disciplines want to come here. They they love the people. They love they love our dollar value. They love our you know, when you go riding in in BC or Northern Quebec or Northern Ontario or or anywhere you get phenomenal riding, and and they see the value to that as well.
Ross:So so that's sort of our the the basis of the long term goals. We've done a great job cleaning up how the office runs and cleaning up how the strategies behind membership costs and things like that as well as the the board of directors. So we've already done that. So now it's just sort of focused on the membership and the the world championships events and and even enthusiast events and to be more involved in that way.
Liane:Yeah. And I do wanna dive in a bit into that partnership with the FIM because, like, as as a person who requires an FIM license to race in land speed racing for world records, that's not the only reason why FIM, that partnership with FIM is important. Like all the there's many other disciplines that require that partnership. Can you explain a little bit more why that partnership is important, and how is it CMA is the one that gets that partnership and not some other organization?
Ross:Well, thankfully, we've been involved with the FIM now, I think since our first year, so eighty years. So so we're an affiliate of the FIM. So every country that is that wants to have involvement with the FIM is allowed to have one organization per country and as an affiliate of the FIM. And the FIM, of course, is made up of, I think now we're near a 170 countries, around the world. And, and those and the FIM, of course, handles the recognized world championships for, for all of the disciplines.
Ross:And so that that's important to us in the sense that first and foremost on the competition side of things, we have the backup and the recognition when we bring an event like the, the Calgary, World Supercross to to Canada. And when we wanna bring in MXGP or or a trials GP or things like that, then we need the backing of the FIM in order to hold that world championship event and allow that to be a recognized event on the world level. The and that's on the competition side, which it sort of always was the start of how everything worked. So we've been very lucky, and and we vote every year at general assembly to keep or to remove certain organizations from separate com countries. So we've been we've been very good.
Ross:We have a healthy relationship with them, and and it's stronger now. And so that's so we're in a pretty good position as far as that relationship goes. What else the FIM brings to us is they're they're now very, very involved in the environmental side of things, the sustainability side. So different fuel different kinds of fuels and more sustainable fuels, which is tested as as with Formula One on the the MotoGP level or the higher level that will eventually filter down to more of the grassroots level, hopefully. So and and and with that, they also are doing proper reporting and things like that then then allow us to be able to have a package that we can bring to a government official and say, here's what having this involvement with the FIM does for us on the environmental side, for instance.
Ross:And and and that helps us with, again, bringing in new new races and and things like that. They're very, very they're pushing the as Todd mentioned earlier, the the women's competition side is very, very big in the FIM, and that's grown into quite a a great side of enthusiast rides for women and workshops and things on the world level that can allow people from Canada to go, you know, into Germany, for instance, and and do some ride and be involved in a women's event there. What else we get is the training and educational side, and Todd will attest to this. When you get down to the grassroots level and they're sort of doing your own thing, you're doing your own kind of environmental sustainability. You're doing your own kind of sound testing and things like that.
Ross:What what the FIM brings to us is an educational level that is that's the same across the board and the same in every country the same in every country and every world championship event that you can go to. So now we've brought it down. We've done some sound testing at the Corduroy last year and the year prior to that. And and just that kind of education and that kind of equipment that we get from them allows us to bring a more very common element to the racing at the national and grassroots level. So the educational side of things is very important to us because they put on seminars that will give Canadian officials the rights to be able to do certain things like course, technical, things like that at our level as well as the the world level.
Liane:And then from, like, an athlete's point of view, from my side of it, if I didn't have you guys involved with FIM in that partnership, I have to try and qualify for an FIM license through the American Motorcycle Association Right. Which is really not the way they like things done. And the other part of it that I think people need to understand, which is important for the athlete side of thing, once we qualify for an FIM license to race in whatever discipline we're doing in, we have coverage for insurance. Yes.
Todd:We have
Liane:like, we're very well taken care of should something go wrong, especially if we're in another country. Absolutely. So, I mean, if you ever feel that relationship is slipping away from the CMA, please let me know because I will reach out to my people that I've known for quite a few years now in the FIM that love I love hanging out with them every week that I get to see them every year. You touched a bit on the big Supercross, Motocross event in Calgary. Todd, do you wanna tell us quickly a little bit about what that was?
Liane:That was back in August?
Ross:Start of August.
Todd:Yeah. Yep. August 8.
Liane:So Yeah. I was I was at the ride to Reynolds. I couldn't make it down. Was so angry. But I saw some fun videos of how it ended, but before it got into the store sell, how were the races going?
Liane:What, like, what was going on? Tell us about the vibe. Where was the event held?
Todd:So this was the first year for this it's our it was the CMA's third year hosting the World Supercross, but the first two years were in Vancouver. So this was the first year in Calgary, and it was an open stadium, and it was it was great. I mean, the weather was all was was perfect. It was a great day until it wasn't. And then and then everything was going really well.
Todd:The spectators there were so enthusiastic. The numbers were up. So I think it was it it was just a a great event. And the format there on the World Supercross is a little different than what people are used to from the AMA Supercross. They run three main events.
Todd:So you run I believe it's it's two eight lap races and then a 12 lap race, and then they combine the your placing in each one of them, and that determines the winner. So everything went great. And and, I mean, the final results, actually, in s x two, they got their three races in, and Max Ansty from England, he he won. And then Michael Hicks and then Cameron McAdoo on the SX two. And the top Canadian there was fifth, and that was Colts Thompson.
Todd:Mhmm. Nice. So we we had good representation there. Now now the the SX won, which is the the four fifties, it ended up scoring off of the first two races because during the third race
Liane:There were obstacles flying
Todd:all over. And it was the strangest thing. It was everything was great. And then all of a sudden, you saw little twirls of of dirt going up in the air. And then all of a sudden, it just it it came in like it it created tornado in the middle of this arena.
Todd:And all of a sudden the guys are out on the track, know, going as jumping all over and and then there's tough blocks being thrown around like like they're paper. And they're styrofoam. I I remember going walk.
Liane:They're not light. Have styrofoam in there?
Todd:Just like they look like. And and they're not light. So and and so they're flying all over the track, and now all of a sudden, you know, they're they're in the middle of the and, you know, jumping a double, and there's a a tough block where they gotta land. So it was just red flagged right away, and and with the thought that, you know, okay. This will pass.
Todd:We'll put everything back. And then the sky just opened up, and it dumped. And so the decision was made, which rightly so, was to cancel that third heat and and have the results off of the first two. And with that, Cooper Webb ended up first. Dean Wilson was second, who's kind of almost Canadian.
Ross:Kind of almost. Yeah.
Todd:And it depends on what day it is and where he is if he says he's Canadian or or Scottish or is it u whatever. And Yeah. And Justin Hill ended up third. So it was it was great great night. Everyone really enjoyed the track and the venue, so I think it was it was excellent.
Todd:And and on the CMA side of things, we provided how many people did we provide, Ross, altogether?
Ross:I just I throw a number 30 out there. It was a little I think Yeah. By the time people sorta got there, and and that it was about 26 or so, but 26 to 30 people. Yeah.
Todd:So so we've got within the CMA board and and committees, we've got, I think, four people certified in FIM positions. Correct?
Ross:Yep.
Todd:And so that were there. We've got more, but that were there. So and and we provided all the flag marshals for around the track, the the start finish, and also tech inspection and clerk of the course, and then we also supplied the medical team. Nice. So we have medical doctor on on-site, and there was actually, I think it was three medical doctors and something like six or seven first responders, like, to to help the doctors, and then fire crews.
Todd:It was quite a production, but it was just went off very, very well until that last race.
Ross:Yeah.
Liane:I mean, you can't control the weather in Alberta, and usually it's a wait five minutes and it clears up, but your five minutes landed in a torrential downpour. But those videos those videos were the best though. I'm just I'm like, what are those blocks and why are they just flying across? But McMahon Stadium would create a little bit of a tornado with some wind in there. Yeah.
Todd:And I I saw in some of those comments too, what were they using? Cardboard tough blocks?
Ross:Yeah. No.
Liane:No. They're the real deal. Okay. So in the interest of time, because I think we're running a a little long, I just wanna clarify for people. The CMA, although it sounds very, very focused on competition, that is a big part of it, but we're also servicing the regular everyday road users.
Liane:Mhmm. And so there's two different types of memberships. Correct?
Ross:Correct.
Liane:Yeah. And, Ross, what are the two different types of memberships?
Ross:Competition, have which is sort of how we started, and then we have the enthusiast side of things. And the enthusiast side of things takes would be more you know, we'd be 80% enthusiast and 20% competition really is sort of how it how it works. And and we got away from the enthusiast side of things back in the day, and that's what we're really focusing on now.
Liane:Yeah. Bring it back.
Ross:Yep.
Liane:Because we need I mean, insurance in Alberta for motorcycle riders is gonna be going up right away, like about a 37% increase, think We the report was that came need people other than the AMSS trying to advocate for things. Like we need partnerships. We need help with with that stuff. The other thing I wanna clarify is I understand that much like the AMSS board, we're all 100% volunteers. You guys are also a 100% volunteers with the exception of your office staff.
Liane:Correct?
Ross:That's correct. Yes.
Liane:Which is your time, your loyalty, your passion, your dedication to what you're doing much the same as we are. Yes. My last point to take away from this conversation goes back to kind of something you were alluding to, Todd, when we were talking about all the different committees and putting it all together and being able to make publications. I've always prided AMSS on being a hub for information in motorcycling within the province of Alberta. And I know I've said it to you before in either committees or our own conversations.
Liane:I view the CMA as a national hub for all things motorcycling to provide the information or point people in the right direction. Would you agree with that?
Todd:And that is that is very true. And and just on that point, and and another membership that we do have, we are planning an all clubs meeting in the fall here that is going to be open to all clubs across Canada. We're trying to reach out to all, so if there's anyone listening now that wants to be on that, it's free call. We just need your information so you can get ahold of us at the CMA through our email and website. But what we're trying to do is with motorcycling in Canada, motorcycling in general, there are all the same issues whether you ride on the road, or if you are riding on a track, or if you are riding for whatever pleasure you want.
Todd:It's it's we all have the same problems. So we need to get together. We need to have a bigger, stronger voice, and to do that, we feel that we can bring together all the clubs, and we can have the clubs be part of the CMA with a membership through the club, which would be associate member. And with that, we would provide three enthusiast memberships to the club to distribute where they want. It would only be like a $300 charge.
Todd:Mhmm. And with that, we gives us some working capital to start addressing the government more than we are already and to just put some to get someone there to to Ottawa to talk to people, to be in front of them, to show them how how many people we have in motorcycling in Canada, what the revenue is that Canadian motorcyclists bring in in a year. And we have these figures. We you know, it's it's huge. Yeah.
Todd:So I think we have to really concentrate on on getting together and realizing that we're all one if you're riding motorcycle.
Liane:Especially when it comes down to things like the cable barriers in Alberta are especially They're right on the very edge of the highway. It is a huge safety concern for me. And, you know, as much as you wanna rally the troops, there's only so many people who will rise up in that voice. And if we can have voices from across the entire country fighting on the same issue, maybe we get all the provinces to listen at the same time and start making change. Yeah.
Liane:I love it. Okay. So for the people in the clubs that are listening that wanna be a part of this call at some point or get involved, info@MotorcyclingCanada.ca.
Ross:Yes. Correct.
Liane:And Heather will get that email, and she will get you on the list, and she is so responsive.
Ross:Yes. She is.
Liane:I love her. Guys, thank you so much for your time today. We talked about a lot of things, and I hope this really clarifies what the Canadian Motorcycle Association is for our listeners and what we're trying to build back with the CMA. It's been a pleasure having you both.
Todd:And thank very much. We appreciate you you bringing us on here and having us this opportunity to talk to people.
Liane:Oh. Yeah. Thank We might have to do it again next year and see where we're at. Who knows? We could do a
Ross:plan. There you go.
Todd:Thanks, Garrett.
Liane:Alright. For everybody else, just hang tight for the mixed bag.
Leeroy:Cool heads prevail. We've
Ross:all
Leeroy:been there. A driver cuts you off or does something reckless, and then your anger starts to boil. But on a motorcycle, giving into road rage is a losing game. Anger clouds your judgment and spikes your risk tolerance. If you feel your blood pressure rising, take a deep breath or pull over for a quick break.
Leeroy:Don't let a stranger's mistake dictate your safety. Giving in to anger can result in further escalation. Somebody unstable at the wheel might even try to hit you with their vehicle. Keep a cool head, let it go, and enjoy your ride. Your health and safety is worth more than being right.
Leeroy:This is Leroy with Moto Instincts.
Liane:And that's it for another episode of Think Bike hosted by me, Leanne Langlois, produced by Bryn Griffiths at Mighty Mouth Communications. If you have an idea or question for the show, reach out to info@ab-amss.org or find us on all the socials. Always remember to ride smart, ride safe, and think bike. We'll see you out on the road.