ABATE Lake Chapter - Keeping local motorcyclists safe
The American Bikers for Awareness, Training and Education (ABATE) Lake Chapter helps educate and advocate for motorcycle safety locally. The Lake Chapter has members in Wright, Carver, and Hennepin Counties. “We are mainly motorcycle safety advocates. We want to make the sport safer and educate people,” Sergeant at Arms Mike Jenks said. The organization currently has approximately 2,200 members in Minnesota. There are 26 statewide chapters.
According to the ABATE Minnesota website: “A.B.A.T.E. seeks to promote the positive aspects of motorcycling and strives to protect the rights of motorcyclist by being involved in the local, state, and national political process. Safer motorcycling, reducing accidents and fatalities can be best accomplished by education and training of both the motorcyclists and the general public, not necessarily through additional legislation.” ABATE started in 1975, and the Lake Chapter became official in 1998.
“Our goal is to prevent crashes all together,” Jenks shared. ABATE partners with local drivers’ education classes for a program called Share the Road, which educates new drivers on motorcycle safety and the importance of watching for motorcycles while driving.
They work with state legislation to ensure the safety of motorcyclists. “Right now, our biggest threat is the possibility of abolishing internal combustion bikes all together,” Jenks said. Electric bikes are becoming more popular, similarly to electric cars, but electric bikes cannot typically travel far distances like traditional bikes can.
ABATE also worked to create the “Start seeing motorcycles,” license plate, which is the only Minnesota license plate with a safety message. With every renewal, $10.00 goes to the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Fund to pay for motorcycle safety training classes. They partner and support other local groups and organizations as well. They donate Buddy Bears to local police stations to give to children in traumatic situations. They also raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters each year.
ABATE Lake Chapter also holds local fundraisers. Their upcoming fundraiser is their annual Grounded Hogs Party on February 3, at Rockford Township Hall from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. Tickets are $15.00 in advance, and $20.00 at the door. Visit https://www.abatelakechapter.com/ for more information.
If you are interested in joining, membership costs $30.00 per month. There is also a couple membership price of $40.00 per month. Membership includes access to ABATE’s monthly publication titled “Road Noise” and access to motorcycle classes. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes are offered.
“We have this saying ‘Family isn’t always blood,’ that’s very true for us. We are a pretty close group, we do a lot together,” Jenks stated. ABATE also goes on rides together as a group. “We have motorcycle runs that we sell tickets to, everyone is welcome,” he shared.
Monthly meetings are held on the first Saturday of each month at 3:00 p.m. Attendance is not required, and guests (non-members) are welcome to attend. Locations are posted on the ABATE Lake Chapter Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064862223160, and the ABATE Lake Chapter website: https://www.abatelakechapter.com.
“The more members we have, the more influence we will have when we visit our legislators in St. Paul each year,” Jenks shared.
