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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 Think Bike. On this week's episode, I am joined by two of our newest board members. We had some changes in the off season, some, trades and stuff, and I got our two new guys on with me today, Robe Pettigrew representing Calgary, Mike Reese representing Edmonton. Welcome to the show guys.
Mike:Howdy. Thank you. Hello.
Liane:So I'm going to start with you Robe. Who is Robe Pettigrew and what got you into riding?
Robe:Well, I'm a husband of twenty six years, a father of an 18 year old girl and electronics engineer and professional mobile DJ for the last thirty eight years. Got into writing immediately when I was 16. Rode a five fifty Maxim in '83 and got my license when I was 16, like a week after my birthday. I rode for about six years until I was in EMT, and after seeing a few accidents, I took a hiatus and got back into riding when I turned 50. Just during COVID, COVID.
Robe:I've been writing since. And the first thing I did was take out an AMSS membership for five years. Yeah. You're the only
Liane:person to walk up and go, can I pay for five years? Which I think expires next year. Yeah. K, sorry, you said that you were a paramedic and then you saw some, were they collisions that involved in
Robe:motorcycles that
Liane:made you kind of go, maybe not right now.
Robe:Yeah. So I did my hospital and ambulance rural ambulance practicum out in Whitecourt. And the week after I had started, we had an MVA involving a motorcyclist going through a barbed wire fence at we figure about 200 kilometers an hour. I had a, at the time Kawasaki Ninja 600 and I sold my bike shortly after that.
Liane:Yeah, I think that'd be a hard one to see. Flipping back to something a little more positive. You're also very involved in the Ride four Dad down in the Calgary area. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Robe:So I got involved with Ride4Dad in 2021 and started volunteering with them. I've been recognized now for three years as fundraising coming in second or third in their fundraising and helping with the ride team. So the safety aspect, you know, doing essentially stopping traffic and they made me a traffic guard for them and help with their rides going up to Canmore and around Alberta. So it's been a pleasure serving with them as well.
Liane:And you have your big ride is in June. Correct?
Robe:Correct. June what is it? June 14 on Saturday, and we're going south this time and we're not heading out west. So a big change in our lineup. We did the ride out to Canmore for the last two years.
Robe:And this year, we have the g seven summit that same weekend. So going to Canmore wouldn't be very advisable going out that way. We're actually heading south this year.
Liane:Perfect. Thank you. So Mike, let's move over to you. Who is Mike Rees and what got you into riding?
Mike:Mike Rees is a 50 year old construction worker. I've worked in well, I did work in drywall for the better part of thirty years. Now I have an office job working as an estimator in a different field, same field, different trade. And that keeps me putting the weight on, which is important to help hold the bike down. I got into riding, I think this is going be my sixth season.
Mike:It occurred to me that I didn't know exactly when the middle of my life was going to be, so I fast tracked my midlife crisis and bought my first Cruiser. I learned how to ride on a 1,100 V Star. And then the next year upgraded to the bigger and prettier Goldwing and that's what I ride now. And that's the whole story. I just I wanted to ride a bike.
Mike:I was the only guy in my family left that didn't ride a motorcycle I figured
Robe:it was
Liane:Made it happen.
Mike:Made it happen.
Liane:So like Robe has this other, you know, passion that's involved with riding, you too are also, and this is how we met was through your involvement with Yubaca. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Mike:I can, yeah. Yubaca is Urban Bulldogs Against Kids Abuse. We're a nonprofit motorcycle corporation. We try to avoid any suggestion that we might be related to the one percenters or a club. We're not really a club or a riding club.
Mike:We're we're an organization of like minded individuals that do fundraising throughout the year to support other charitable organisations that facilitate access to support and services for victims of child abuse. So that is what we do throughout the year.
Liane:And then correct me if I'm wrong, but do you also attend court with the kids if required?
Mike:We do. We attend court with the kids and the families. We sit quietly in the room, we just lend them our support. We don't interact, we don't interact with the accused, we don't interact with the court members. We're strictly there in a supporting role.
Liane:I'm sure that makes the kids that you're supporting and working with feel a little bit more confident if they had to testify.
Mike:It really does. And I think it helps that most of us are large mammals. There's a certain amount of support that goes into that and a certain amount of confidence I think for the kids that you know, they know that there's somebody in the room that believes them, which I think is the biggest struggle that these kids deal with aside from the trauma of course, is that they're always being told that no one's going to believe them. The defense is there to prove that no one believes them and we want to be there to let them know that someone does.
Liane:And then one thing that I know from your organization because AMSS and Eubaca, we have quite a few years of working together, supporting each other. One of the things that's a misconception out there that I would like to clarify is Yubaca is not what people would call an intimidation factor in what they're dealing with. They're just simply there as a presence to support these families going through a rough time and specifically the kids. It's not to intimidate the accused, it's not to intimidate anybody, it's just to lend support, correct?
Mike:Absolutely, 100%. We don't not all of our members attend court because some of them find that traumatic as well. A lot of our members have either personal or family experience with abuse. And as I said before, we're not there to engage. We don't interact with the accused.
Mike:We don't interact with the court members. We're strictly there to support the kids. We don't get involved in conversations. We don't get into altercations outside the courtrooms. We don't make eye contact with the accused.
Mike:We're not there for them. We're not there to give them any additional power or to give them any intimidation at all. We're there it's all about the kids. Everything that we do is about helping children.
Liane:Thank you. And thank you both for getting so involved in both of those different organizations, Ride four Dad's so super important for men's health and Yabaka is just so super important for the work that you're doing with these kids and giving them that strength. Which breaks me because we're all like we all work full time too. And then we pick up these side gigs. So, I mean, how did I manage to convince you both to come onto the board?
Liane:Robe, let's start with you.
Robe:It was really easy. So coming to AMSS, it was just see a need, fill a need, and you're open enough to allow me to serve, and that's what it's about. I hate to say it as an engineer. I'm kinda good at taking notes. Being a secretary makes it pretty easy for me to come in and fill stuff, especially if you're familiar with ISO paperwork and management.
Robe:So so coming in and, you know, filling this out for you and being able to serve is is a pleasure and an honor. And considering that you only meet every three months, I was like, really, that's it? Like, this is too easy.
Liane:It's a pretty easy board to be on. You do Adam Calver, the head of this, who is one of our board members in Calgary. That obviously helps too.
Robe:Absolutely. And Adam's a great guy. He's done first aid training for my daughter and I now twice actually.
Liane:Nice, nice. So Mike, how did I manage to snag you on to our board?
Mike:I'm sorry, I'm not sure if I should say, you didn't tell me that nobody else was getting paid. I'm kidding. What? Here's money now? Okay, so now we gotta do the five second count, right?
Liane:No, no, not at all. Keep going, we'll keep that stuff in.
Mike:Our interests align. I've been by the booth. Every event that we go to I feel like I've made a connection with you guys. I'm also as active as I can be with the I'm not on the board or anything with the Ride in Paradise people, but I've been to a couple of memorial rides now. I've lost friends already in just a few years to to motorcycle collisions.
Mike:As a rider myself, they they tell you that you need to keep your head on a swivel and that you need to pretend like everybody is actively out trying to harm you. And you don't realise how true that is until you get out there and actually start paying attention to how crazy it can be, especially at the start of the season and again at the end of the season. That seems to be the the worst times because that's when everybody has stopped paying attention or hasn't gotten into the groove yet. Right? Especially with the riders at the beginning of the season and then it's more I think the drivers at the end of the season who are like, oh no, well it's cold now so we're not going have any riders out.
Mike:And you know the riders at the beginning of the season who are saying that it's fine, I'll see the gravel, I'm not worried about that. It's been above zero for a couple of days so there shouldn't be any ice and before you know it you're face down on the pavement. It's so important to push that education and especially the way that AMSS is involved with trying to help with legislation for road safety and that kind of thing. Those things I think are just critical. Education is so important.
Mike:I'm also very active with, as you know, with the New Riders Edmonton Group, mentoring riders and the more I can learn from organisations like AMSS, the more I can pass on to new riders to help them be safer as well.
Liane:Awesome. Well, it's been great to have both of you fill those recently vacated seats and you fit into the board quite nicely. We got to spend some time together at the bike shows and yeah, good. It's interesting times, good times. Just from a, for the perspective of the people that aren't so involved with us, Robe, what are your thoughts so far as what goes on in the background for AMSS?
Liane:Yes, we only meet quarterly, but there's still conversations or emails that float around. What are your thoughts so far of, I don't know, how we function? I'm a little biased and you're new to the interworking.
Robe:I know, I've only had a few interactions. I've only been to what now? Two board meetings. Attended one in September and then December, and that's where you kind of let me in. And I can't believe how busy you are.
Robe:So when do you sleep? Surprised you still have hair actually. It's a good thing I don't. And but, you know, after seeing you at the show, the amount of love that you put into what it is that you're doing and the passion, and that really that sold me. That you really did sell me at the bike show, and it's amazing.
Robe:It's to be part of something like this and how much work you put in behind the scenes for everyone involved, and that you truly are you care. And that's what I enjoy the most is that you really do care about everyone to make sure that we're all safe. It's a pleasure to be with you to do that.
Liane:Even with the chaos of the setup and tear down in my OCD, as you so very well pointed out.
Robe:But that makes it so special. I appreciate that. It is like, you know what? We're in good hands and you're doing Alberta riders route and making sure that, you know, we are thinking about that. And it should be a team effort.
Robe:You shouldn't be on this by yourself and to be able to join you and to support you is an honour and a privilege. It really is.
Liane:Well, thank you. Let's see what Mike has to say about you've been kind of a little have a little bit more preview of the inner workings with how much you back has helped us out with For the Love of Motorcycles for the last couple of years. What's your take kind of getting more on the inside? What would be your point of view on that?
Mike:I have no idea what's going on. I know from involvement in other organisations that what goes on in the background is a better way to put it is that what you see on the front, what you see at for the Love Motorcycles, what you see at the bike shows, that's the tip of the iceberg. That's the pinnacle. That's the sum total of everything that had to go on to make it happen. It's not.
Mike:I haven't been involved as much in what goes on behind the scenes because I'm very new to the board. But in my previous experience with other interactions, other organisations, know that there's a lot that goes into everything that gets done. What you see at the for the love of motorcycles, what you see at the bike shows, that's just the tip of the iceberg. That's the summit. That's the achievement of everything that's gone on until that point.
Mike:Outside of YEG bike show, I haven't had really a lot of involvement with the shows but that is definitely an incredible experience and to meet people and get to interact with them and talk to them about their own concerns and be able to help share what it is that AMSS does as far as education is huge. The stuff in the background, like I said, I'm very new to the board so I haven't had a lot of opportunity yet to be involved behind the scenes. But I know that it has been a privilege to be a part of what goes on above the waterline there as it were.
Liane:Well, thank you for that. And Robe, just for the record, I do sleep sometimes, you know. It is busy, but I guess like a key difference between me and both of you guys is it is just me. Like I'm not married, I don't have kids. So I have a dog, he's pretty easy going.
Liane:And yeah, I mean, this is my child really. So I put a lot into it, super passionate about what we do and super, super grateful for the board as a whole with everybody being Sean and Adam and Robe in Calgary and Mike and Mike and John in Edmonton. And then we got Sammy who steps in and Hudson who steps in from both cities. It's just, I'm so grateful for all the support and the help because it really is a team. You know, Sean has stepped up a lot in his VP role and that has helped me a lot kind of breathe, which has been nice.
Liane:And yeah, it's good. The more we grow and the more we work together, the more I can maybe get a good nap in once in a while. From your perspective, knowing all the stuff that we try and do, I say this a lot and I don't mean Ashley knows, I don't mean any disrespect towards One Broken Biker and what they do when I say this but supporting people who are injured seems to be a lot sexier than supporting the prevention of said injuries. So safety isn't very sexy and we need to make it sexy and get some more support going our way so we can continue to do what we do. In your opinion, Robe, why do you think it's important for people and businesses to support AMSS at either that general membership or that corporate membership level?
Robe:So safety is that one of those things that people don't have forethought. And, you know, you get to work and sometimes people go, okay. Safety first. But without realizing what is it we're trying to say. And what we're trying to tell people is that it's not only your personal responsibility for yourself, it's your responsibility to society in general.
Robe:And I think that's the bigger context of what is missing. So businesses by partnering with AMSS, you're helping to spread that advocacy, with the association to bring out the the larger context of, yeah, we're back on the road, help support us in making people aware and occasions where that there's blind spots and to be cognizant of especially left turns and stuff like that. And for riders, it's like, okay, just a pair of gloves and you know, a cap helmet is not going to do the job when when you're in a collision. And and our helmet on our display shows that. You know, the rate of incidents that comes with head injuries when you're involved in a collision.
Robe:And we have examples of helmets that have been involved in, like, left turns and and being hit from behind and stuff like that. So, you know, it's really important that people buy membership so that we can bring this advocacy and awareness to you. And, just like with Adam, you know, you really should have a first aid kit with you. You know? And I I keep pulling my notes, unfortunately, because I carry an emergency responders kit.
Robe:And you never know when you're in an accident, but thing is plan for the unintended consequences of the future. Be prepared and that's part of being safe. And that's what AMSS is all about. So it's to help you put on that safety helmet first.
Liane:Yeah, I think that people don't realise that if we don't have the funding to do what we do, we don't have any of this in Alberta at all because no one else is doing what we do. And aside from that, I feel, and Mike might have opinion on this. Do you feel it comes better from our community as this like organic grassroots movement versus coming from police or governments? Like how is our community or the people in general gonna receive the message better?
Mike:Absolutely, it's going to come better from within the community because the community is so tightly knit. I have in my lifetime never experienced such a group of people with such different ranges of personal values, where they come from in life, where they're going, family, work, religion, politics, all of it. All the way across the spectrum and everybody can get together and we can have 2,000 bikers over at Blackjacks and not see a single fight break out. Right? This is this is the the tightest group of individuals I've ever been involved with and I love that about what we do.
Mike:But it also means that we're going to take each other a lot more seriously. I think there's still enough of the 1% element in the biker community that they're automatically going to distrust anything they hear from the government or the police or anything like that. There's a distrust for the motives, right? You know, it's oh, well, you know, why are they making us have quieter pipes? Whatever, right?
Mike:I don't want to start any arguments, but
Robe:I can't hear you.
Mike:That's right. That may have saved your life. We tend to lean on each other I think a lot more than many other groups might and that I think gives us a lot more legitimacy in our community than an outside source might.
Liane:Yeah and I think it's better that we are partnering with government, support from government to do what we do and support from first responders, whether that's police, fire, EMTs, and we're all collaboratively working together and they're supporting us to be the conduit to get proper messaging out. And I don't want that to sound like they're telling us what to say because as you guys now know, a lot of our messaging that we do every year for our campaigns, which kicks off tomorrow, May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. We come up with these based on the trends that we see in the statistics that we track. We're not getting influenced by governments or police or whoever to say what we say in our messaging. That comes from organically watching what's going on in our community.
Liane:And I think that that's very important to take note of because we are there, we live it, we live in that life every day. So we know it better than people who are sitting behind a desk, no offense, pushing pencils, who've never seen a motorcycle in their life. You know? So yeah. Anyway, yes, tomorrow is May 1 and our big annual campaign kicks off.
Liane:Guess what else kicks off tomorrow guys? May. Guesses? Any guesses besides May? No?
Liane:None? Think Bike fifty fifty's back. So starting tomorrow, link will be up for the full month of May and on May 31, we're hoping to give away up to $10,000 to one lucky person if, we can get our fifty fifty raffle to sell out. That can be found on our website, on our social medias, on everything, and we all share what we can and hopefully that will that will be a thing. Any closing remarks, Robe?
Liane:How was your first podcast with us?
Robe:It was good. My very first podcast period.
Liane:Oh, yay. Talked to Cherry. Good for us.
Robe:Thanks for having me.
Liane:You're very welcome. Mike, how is this for you?
Mike:Also my first ever podcast. I was eight years old the first time I was on a podcast. It's good. I like talking about what we do. None of this is tedious or boring, which is always fun.
Mike:You know, I like talking about the organisations I'm involved in. I like talking about what you guys do, what we do. Sorry, I guess I keep having to remember that I'm part of this now.
Liane:Yes.
Mike:But especially the education aspect of it, getting more people involved with safety is super important and I'm really glad to be a part of it.
Liane:Awesome. Well, I hope to see both of you soon out on bikes somewhere. I know Two Wheel Sunday is coming up as well and yeah, lots of stuff going on this summer. Thanks guys And everyone else, hang tight for the mixed bag.
Leroy:Hey. This is Leroy with another helpful tip from Moto Instincts. I call this the twenty twenty rule. Environmental awareness is the hardest rider awareness to streamline and also the most hostile with attention last lapses. Motorcycle operation is a complex task with many variables.
Leroy:Misplacing attention can happen by accident or habitually if the rider isn't careful. Train yourself to stay tuned in with the twenty twenty rule. Every twenty seconds, focus your attention into a 20 meter circle around you briefly and notice any unique variables at that present moment. What do you see? What do you feel?
Leroy:What do you hear? What do you smell? Not just in front of you, but also to the sides and behind as well. Consciously scanning your environment periodically teaches you to stay in the moment and monitor your immediate surroundings. Eventually, you won't have to remind yourself to pay attention.
Leroy:You'll do it naturally as you ride. That's it for this week. Make sure you visit us at motoinstincts.com for more information. Ride smart. Ride safe.
Liane:And that's our show for today. To make sure that you don't miss out on any of our upcoming podcasts or listen to previous ones, make sure you click on subscribe or follow wherever you get yours. If there's a topic you'd like us to cover or a guest you think would be great on the show or even a question for the mailbag, let us know. You can connect with us on all the socials, Email us at info@ab-amss.org or reach out through the website at a b dash a m s s dot org. Thanks for listening to Think Bike.
Liane:From us, always remember to ride smart, ride safe, and think bike. See you out on the road.