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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. This week, I am excited to bring on to the show the vice president of the Canadian Motorcycle Association, which is a lot of words, so I'll just say CMA after that. Lee Freiberger, welcome to the show.
Lee:Thanks for having me.
Liane:I'm happy We've to have you we've been in contact for a few years and CMA is making a comeback. Before we get into that though, let's talk a little bit about who is Lee and what got you into riding?
Lee:What got me into riding? Definitely not a motorcycle background in my family. A weird story maybe, I suppose, about where I got started on it from a magazine in a store. But, anyways, my background and my family is in agriculture, and and I didn't really kinda find that much fun in horses, I guess. So then, anyways, the gear head kinda ran with me.
Lee:So, yeah, I got my first bike when I was nine and discovered mechanics working for some neighbors, again, in agriculture, farms, and etcetera. And then I went to Fairview College when I was 17 and when I got out of high school and was a motorcycle mechanic. I got my ticket when in my early twenties and worked in dealerships for a long time. And then in the meantime, met people that were racing, which is in school, in sports, and then, of course, in magazines. It's all about competition.
Lee:So got into off road racing in Alberta and then had aspirations to go to loftier places. So, yeah, I took the opportunity in '94 to go to Oklahoma for the ISTE, the International Six Days Enduro in in Oklahoma. And then I kinda it was as they would say in a in an offhanded manner, the needle was sank. It was my heroin, and I had to get after some more. So I I I pursued that and went back and competed in three more ISDEs.
Lee:And then, yeah, I guess, involved in the in the industry, I guess, also. I worked in outside sales for a third party that was distributing an off road motorcycle made in Sweden, Huseburg in in Canada. And in North America, I did a bunch of media things for dirt rider magazine in California. And so I I got a bit of a broad spectrum understanding of what motorcycles were about outside of, you know, just sitting on top of them and repairing them and got into managing that sixties team for team Canada for yeah. I think I've been involved in the team, including my riding years 16 times.
Lee:And then because we're affiliated to ride the ISTE, you have to be a CMA member or or you that's the conduit, let's call it, to get to the global body. And if we kinda liken it to hockey, you have your Canadian hockey. I'm sorry. I don't know the sport really well, so I don't know the acronyms of the organization, but and then your your global thing. So understood what federations did in other countries.
Lee:And and, yeah, just every day, I tried to learn from different people around me, it was the riding aspect, the technical support as far as the team, the coaching side, and even what the federation did on a broader span. And yeah. So kinda here we are. I I got involved in the CMA, I think, in '21 maybe, going into the '22 season as a director here in Alberta. And then '24 and '25, I was the president.
Lee:And, yeah, kinda that's here we are.
Liane:And this year, you are the vice president who just wanted a break from the presidential duties.
Lee:Yeah. A lot of work. Yeah. Our our current president, Todd Sharpless, kinda threw him to the wolves, I guess, by stepping back, but but he's he's very, very capable, and and he's his like, his family is is synonymous in off road racing in Canada. So he's he's well versed in the sport.
Lee:Yeah. And I had to step back. I've been involved in this ISD since, I guess, I went '94 and then 2001, and I took a little break. And then '94, '95. And, basically, since then, with a few years off, I've been involved in that team, which is essentially a twelve month commitment as a volunteer.
Lee:So, yeah, I
Liane:Yeah.
Lee:Burning the candle at at both ends and then and then the hair in my chin is not getting darker. It's going the other end of the color spectrum. So so I'm yeah. And and the business and the family here. So we I gotta devote a little bit more time this way.
Lee:So and and truthfully, think Todd's probably better in that role than I would be. Maybe I was just the person in the moment that was okay to to stand in that, or wear that hat. But, yeah, he's he's energetic and and, been a long way a long time away from organizations, so he's got some energy to kinda put forth. And and I think as as you're seeing with your involvement in our committees that, you know, a great number that I think yourself included were involved in other committees in the in the industry and the sport. But a lot of these people a lot of energy and and ideas to bring forth.
Lee:Right? And and it's been a great kinda couple years with the with the transition of seeing where the organizations go on from and really the, you know, the light at the end of the tunnel. We're at the mouth of the end at the tunnel now, and it's bright skies, and and there's the odd pothole in the road I'm sure we're gonna bump into. But, yeah, people like yourself, it's gonna make it all all really, really good in the future and and off we go.
Liane:Well, let's get into the CMA a little bit because it isn't as widely known as we would want it to be. So what exactly is the Canadian Motorcycle Association?
Lee:So kinda stepping back to the my reference for the ISTE, it's it's the national body of of motorcycling. So we're supposed to be call it the the umbrella. And in the past, it's been when it's in his prime, it was in the you know, it covered everything motorcycle. And and it and federations have a tendency to focus more on on competition because that's kind of the, call it the flag. You know, everybody you turn on your television and and your evening sports, your Monday night football, or your Saturday night hockey, etcetera, etcetera.
Lee:But it's a broad spectrum of everything, not just those genres of competition, trail riding, off road, just family organizations, events, and then the on road, of course, which is a really big thing, and it and it gets overlooked. So we're you know, what is it? Yeah. We represent all of motorcycling, the trail rider, the off road racer, the on road racer, the track racer, and then and then everyone that rides a street bike. And then and I guess as I'm learning this too, although I've been around the sport to a certain degree for my entire adulthood, it's there's always something to learn, and there's more, yeah, things to address, items and safety and so forth that we're gonna, I think, discuss here later on.
Lee:But, yeah, we are what we are today, but we're gonna be bigger and better tomorrow. Hopefully better, but certainly bigger and covering more aspects of the of the sport.
Liane:Yeah. I agree. And and we will get a little bit more into everything that's going on right now. But this like, the CMA is not new by any stretch of the imagination. My understanding is this is the eightieth year.
Liane:Correct. Like, that's crazy. Eighty years of CMA.
Lee:Yeah. Yeah. You know, like clubs, even in your you know, every communities. Right? And everybody just pushes wider, and we need we need and and step forth with ideas.
Lee:And then, yeah, in the forties, somebody landed it. And, of course, after, you know, post World War two, you know, the motorcycle was utilized in the in the conflicts. And then guys came home with them, and there's a maybe a flux. I I guess, historically, I can't really kinda speak to a lot of that. But given it's 1946 when the organization was formed, we can imagine that there's a lot of people with some spare time and energy and probably happiness about how the the world is a different place than it was a year prior to that.
Lee:So they organized and pushed forward, and then you're all everything moved from that point. Would have been an incredible time because, you know, the motorcycle on the road, there were road laws. All those different things were all formulated at that point. You're even as simple as signal lights had to be figured out at some point in time. Right?
Lee:You're looking at old history photos of of vehicles colliding and mullet you know, how how does this happen? Well, I guess we evolve. We have to figure things out. And that's kinda, I guess, going forward for us is helping our government make the roads safer and and our and our populace more aware of motorcycles and our riders dressing properly and try to be more safe.
Liane:So what kind of let's get into the work of the CMA and why it's important to revive it. Like, there's several committees that have been formed. Do we know what all they are offhand?
Lee:There's seven of them. There's media
Liane:There's
Lee:your and test. Fundraising. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Lee:Yeah. And and I guess I haven't I'm a chair of the government government and environmental committee myself. So within that, we've discussed insurance on the competition side for, like, medical insurance for people to travel to different jurisdictions, different countries so that they have an insurance, and and competition itself is very scrutinized in the in the insurance world, so you need a specific level. And we're discussing the fact that, I guess, Canadian Canada is the only federation that belongs to the FIM that is not recognized or the the sport in riding motorcycles is not recognized by our governments as a sport. And and, again, back to leaning back to competition, that's pretty easy.
Lee:Sport is competition, but I think there's a there's a lot of spin off to all that too when the governments really understand that, and they have to recognize it, then then we have perhaps more power and maybe more connectivity to the government when it comes to road safety, like, to your audience and in the on road people. I'm I hope that this gives us a better more leverage to push, And there's smaller things like through being a mechanic and and working for distributors as, you know, when motorcycles and and, of course, we're we're not producing motorcycles in Canada, so everything is imported. So everything has to be approved by the government and, you know, whether it's headlight specifications on sizes, locations. There's a technical word for it, I'm sure, but the brightness, same thing with signal lights, their locations, all that sort of thing. And all that has to be homologated and go through that process.
Lee:And and I I feel that once we get that, that committee can help get that the motorcycling recognized with the federal government that maybe we can help these distributors homologate these motorcycles easier. Like, why should in my opinion, I guess, seeing what what happens in Europe and other places for specifications on motorcycles, why do we have to be so different? Mhmm. And what that does is it it it may seem to your listener maybe not a big deal, but it adds complexity to the to the importer, whether it's the OEM itself, like Yamaha Motor Canada, Honda, BMW, any of those, it adds complexity and cost. And that lands back in the pockets of of the end consumer, which is kinda how the system works.
Lee:So if we can help them streamline that, like I've had discussions with people importing motorcycles more on the private third party distributors, but where the process in Ottawa is not that smooth. They find one fault, they hand it back, and it adds cost to that person, and it it came back to the cost of the unit to the to the end user. So those are the couple items that come to mind with the governance and environmental.
Liane:And then I think it's important to note that the CMA is a federal organization, so while we have these independent issues on a provincial level specific to licensing or traffic safety acts or even provincial insurance, like, you know, the way that while CMA may not have the power as a federal, joining forces with AMSS, specifically in Alberta, can give us a stronger voice Yep. For those things. Exactly. Governance is really important on that. So we've got media and fundraising, which you glossed over.
Lee:Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. I was just gonna hammer through them.
Liane:I could talk about that one, though. So Yeah,
Lee:you're in that, yes.
Liane:So we're talking about things, revamping the website, figuring out sponsorship tiers or like what benefits will members get out of this and like becoming a member of the CMA and how do we attract clubs back to becoming members of the CMA and what does that look like for their members? So it's a lot of communications, marketing and fundraising. And then I think you're on the off road. Right?
Lee:No. Not officially.
Liane:You're an off road guy.
Lee:I am an off road guy but back to my time, I haven't really put my hand into any of the other committees besides the government one.
Liane:Oh, well, okay, so we have an off road one that neither of us sit on, but I'm sure it's great and we're an on road so we're okay with that.
Lee:We'll gloss over that.
Liane:We'll gloss over that And then there's the on road committee and I sit on that one if we are obviously, you know, it's May, so we have our May's Motorcycle Awareness Month stuff going on with the CMA and also with the AMSS and in conjunction with Moto Canada. It's like a really good collaboration across everything. Yeah. Which is important. Else do we have?
Liane:Indeed. Oh, the women's.
Lee:Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yep. There's a Renee Turner, our other Alberta director chairs that committee.
Lee:Yeah.
Liane:Yeah. And that's a good one to bridge gaps across the country to connect women. Yeah. And, you know, talk about women's needs specifically in motorcycling. What are we missing?
Lee:Safety and training?
Liane:Mhmm. Oh my god. How do I
Lee:Yeah. That that's a deep pool also, isn't it, really? Because the training aspect on road, off road, but the safety part is probably more important on the on the on road side.
Liane:Absolutely. And that has an an abundance of very qualified people. I know Trevor Deck who is to Motorcycle School, a corporate member of ours, sits on that committee as well. And then Sylvain, who is the FMQ President, we have a great long standing relationship with that organization. We're pretty relatable on what we do.
Liane:So there's a lot of really incredible people that have stepped up over seven committees. I think there's, like, 70 or 80 people that are
Lee:involved. 70, I think. Yep. Yep.
Liane:How does that feel to bring back the CMA and have that many people who are willing to get involved?
Lee:It feels good. And I don't wanna make this sound like I'm patting myself on the back, but being involved in this no. No. Because I've been involved, like, more again off road. But everywhere I go, you can argue about politics, but when it came came to the sport, everyone seemed to have similar views and and similar direction.
Lee:And whether it was, like, in racing again coast to coast, it was same. So I made the assumption, and that's where I guess I pat myself on the back that, yeah, it doesn't surprise me that these committees are moving forward as quickly as they are and with the volume of people and the quality of people as as you referred to, you know, like like Sylvain and those people that are running, you know, regional provincial organizations yourself. You know? Yeah. The Maritimes has got a great number of people on on every aspect of of the of the spectrum of on road to off road.
Lee:Yeah. The cream rises, and and it's great. It feels really good.
Liane:I know.
Lee:Yeah. Because we're not fighting anymore, I guess.
Liane:Yeah. Exactly. The the energy that I've seen on the committees that I sit in on even at the AGM, the energy seems to be very forward focused and very positive and very collaborative and And those are things that are important for me because pre bringing kind of CMA back into the limelight and trying to rebuild what it once was, it was, this generally fell on the MCC and I had been attempted to be courted a few times over a decade to be on one of those committees and I couldn't do it just because of other things, personal values that didn't necessarily align with certain individuals involved with MMIC or MCC. And with the CMA where it's at now, Moto Canada where it's at now, the CMA being a fully independent nonprofit organization, I am all in, all in to help enhance that organization to get it back to what it was because I see what the AMA is, our counterpart in The States and what they do and I hold a competitor license in both countries for what I do and I can't do what I do now without the CMA because you are the licensing body for the FIM.
Liane:Do you wanna take a stab on telling everybody what FIM stands for?
Lee:Yeah, Federation of International Motorcycle.
Liane:Oh, I thought you were gonna do it in French because you know?
Lee:Oh, yeah. Well, no. No. No. No.
Lee:No.
Liane:But
Lee:Yeah. Don't need to offend anyone there. And and thank you for yourself to to bring that energy forth. And I wonder if it's environment, like, with the CMA being what they should have been and the MCC being created to however we wanna discuss that, which we won't go into. The the environment's a little, call it, toxic even.
Lee:And and now that there is, you know, we've worked over the last year, and I guess we're going on fifteen months from the beginning of those conversations to to be one umbrella group rather than two, and and maybe the there was a little bit of a protectionist error, and maybe and everybody sees now there's only one like, we we all have to work together, and and that kinda maybe brings a different attitude with everyone. And and perhaps in the future, once we get a bunch of things knocked off that, you know, not everything runs smoothly, but with people and there's conflicts, but we'll have to push through for the greater good and and do what we can best for the sport.
Liane:Yeah. And so we are we are looking to support all types of riding, whether, you know, like you had said off the top, one of my biggest frustrations with previous regimes was it was very off road focused and very competitor focused, and on road was kinda just over here. And that was the same with MMIC as well, very off road, off road, off road. And I'm like, your biggest demographic is on road. Why are we not, you know and now we're at a place where it is collaborative, everybody's at the table.
Lee:Yeah. I think at the, you know, top down, the FIM, it all gets heralded off of the the triumph of sport and the competition. So, you know, you don't but you're right. At the end of the day and then I guess I have to try and mark myself on how much I speak and refer to it because that's where I've been involved. But you're right.
Lee:Like, the off on the off road side, way more trail bikes and weekend warriors and and that and same thing with on road, whether you're whether you're just a commuter, economical choice, and the recreational rider, the tour, the the ADV segment that's, you know, blossoming right now. And then to the government side or governance and and social side is which we need to really start to grasp is the is the economic. And, I mean, the buzzword of of environment is is overused, but at the end of the day, it comes down to dollars. And as a commuter, motorcycle is is way less expensive. Well, we we'd like to portray that anyways, and, yes, it is.
Lee:It occupies less space, doesn't carry as much fuel. And, I mean, you look at any of the the second world countries, I mean, that is the default mechanism for transportation if you're not using public transportation as motorcycles. So we need to push that and have that more accepted. Our seasons make it difficult because in the wintertime, of course, we have to, you know, default back to our four wheeled or public transit. But, yeah, they're heralded worldwide globally, like off road motorcycles and racing in Europe.
Lee:You ride the street Yep. To connect off road segments. It's just more accepted, and we have to get away from that here, that stigma.
Liane:Yeah, no, absolutely. Okay, so because our listeners are mainly on road and this is May's Motorcycle Awareness Month, I'm gonna put you on the spot because I know on road isn't necessarily Lee's strength in his knowledge as we've learned. And that's all good. Everybody has, I'm not an off road expert so I will put my hand to anybody else who does that. But off road awareness month is June.
Liane:And so now we're in May. What main tips does the CMA have for the on road community?
Lee:Yeah. There's that's a that's a big basket. A year and a bit ago. I bought I we bought our first on road bike, a touring bike. So and now, you know, all of a sudden, like, the safety on off road, then there's always there's just different gear, and and I learned the phrase, you know, dress for the slide, not the ride.
Lee:And and you gotta forego the comfort maybe for understanding that when you do crash, which let's hope is less frequently than I did when I rode my on or off road motorcycle, But helmets a helmet, first of all. Then second, the helmet that will provide you the most most protection and the technology and helmets in today's world is is expanding, like, concussion protocols. And and, anyways, there's there's a lot of with plastics and so forth, there's there's a lot of technology in helmets as there are in jackets and your d three protection pads and etcetera, etcetera. There's some underlayers now that are that are skid. I I can't I don't know the technical term on it, but, of course, there there's a specification for those garments that are rated for a certain speed and a and a distance traveled, but to protect your flesh, you know, gloves, jackets, boots that lace up above the ankle.
Lee:Yeah. Those that's kind of a basic brush over on those, you know, gear components. And then the other, you know, awareness or program to to make drivers aware that there's more motorcyclists on the road, and then as a rider to be just be more aware of your surroundings, anticipating how traffic is gonna behave once you're in it. What other aspects are there? Yeah.
Lee:Training, actually, back to that committee and those people. Understanding your motorcycle, make sure it's safety through a dealership or somebody that's savvy enough to understand that many riders are that way themselves, but make sure tire pressures and so forth. Everything's good there, tire condition. And and yeah. No.
Lee:That know, maybe
Liane:They'll that all is, you know, very much the tips that we put out every year too. And it's those reminders of always having an out when you're out riding, that's being aware of your surroundings, having an exit point. I think the one thing I really like that you mentioned was tires and people overlook that a lot. And I was on a trip last year out to BC and I was leaving Kelowna and I'm like, my tires look a little, know, my back tire looks a little sketch. And all I was doing was going from Kelowna to Nelson.
Liane:It's like four hours and by the time I hit the shell just outside of Nelson coming in, I was on the phone with the guy who owns Main Jet, God bless, I know him personally, and I'm like, I need front and back tires. My threads are showing. So, you know, like, understanding what tire wear is and not taking that chance because that's your only connection to the ground.
Lee:So Yeah. On a dirt bike, we fall, we laugh, and we share a beverage afterwards perhaps in the story. And and on road, it's different.
Liane:It doesn't bounce as easy on pavement.
Lee:No. No. No. It's not nearly as romantic at all. No.
Lee:And and tire condition, you know, not just wear wore out tires. It's you know, front the steering tire especially is is yeah, they get copped out and they handle poorly, especially if road conditions. Yeah. You know, different roads are different quality whether you get some in them or so forth, and then the rain Yeah. Weather becomes another factor.
Liane:Exactly. So how can people support the CMA?
Lee:Oh, the Canadian Motorcycle Association. Just Google it. Check-in on our website. There's a there's an enthusiast web sorry, enthusiast membership, and that gets you into our newsletter. And then, of course, the money supports us in doing our endeavors to put out these safety programs and our communications with the government and so forth.
Lee:And then our newsletter is gonna connect all these things that we're doing, with with the members and with the sport. And I think, like, we we didn't speak a lot about insurance, but I don't know a lot about that deep dive in in how insurance works, but I know that has a lot of people concerned because of some cancellations. Anyways, if we find solutions for all these any of these issues, then we can share those. And that's the conduit, and $35 isn't very much money anymore. It's still a few dollars, of course, so respectfully.
Lee:But, yeah, join us there. And then if you have anything to contribute, of course, there's means of communication through the website that you contact us if you have some input. You know, like we spoke about the members of our committees that if there's other people that wanna join and help us out in different means.
Liane:Yeah, absolutely and yeah, think it's important that we have that national voice and a strong national voice. Speaking on behalf of AMSS, not someone who sits on multiple committees, I look forward to the collaboration and the working together with the different provinces in shared common goals. I know other things that we've brought up in certain on road, in the on road committee meetings specifically is the one question I get a lot here is about cable barriers. And that's not just an Alberta thing. That's everywhere.
Liane:And so having all of the provinces kinda join together to tackle something that is a provincial issue, but as a united front, we might be able to actually get something done regarding cable barriers or insurance or so on and so forth. From me also on a personal note, thank you for being an organization that is affiliated with the FIM. That is how many of us who do international racing get our licenses to do that. And we can't have that international race license without an organization like the CMAs. So happy to support, I guess I have a little bit more vested interest on several levels to see this.
Liane:But Lee, I wanna thank you for your time, might bring you guys back for another episode later in the season and check-in to see how progress is. As for everybody else, hang tight for the mixed bag.
Edmonton:Hey, riders. This is Leroy with another tip from Moto Instincts. Let's talk about managing curves. Many motorcycle incidents happen when a rider loses control of their motorcycle while maneuvering around a curve. The key to a safe turn is setting your speed early and maintaining a steady lane position.
Edmonton:Slow down to turning speed before you enter the corner, then lock into your line. Look for the exit, and your bike will go where your eyes point. When adjustments to your knot line are needed, use gentle push steering inputs to correct your direction. Push the inside bar to tighten up or push the outside bar to drift wide. Whether it's a tight city turn or a mountain switchback, plan your line and stay in control.
Edmonton:I'm Leroy with Moto Winstakes.
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 a 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.