ABATE plans motorcycle awareness ride and rally on May 5
Organization marking 50th anniversary in New York
Photos by Tom Rivers: Motorcyclists get ready on May 7, 2023 for a 50-mile ride around Orleans County. The event started with a rally outside the Orleans County Courthouse.
ALBION – Motorcyclists want the public to know they are back on the roadways. The motorcyclists urge drivers to “look twice” and use extra caution when making a left turn or pulling out onto the roadway.
“Many collisions are caused by drivers not seeing an oncoming motorcycle, or by misjudging the speed of the motorcycle,” said Chuck Persons, president the past 17 years of the Orleans County chapter of American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE).
The organization will have a motorcycle safety and awareness rally at 2 p.m. on May 5 outside the Orleans County Courthouse. The motorcyclists will then go on a 50-mile in the county that ends at the V.F.W. Post 1463 on East Center Street in Medina. Participants can begin to assemble outside the courthouse on East State Street at 1 p.m. on May 5.
Orleans County Legislator Skip Draper, right, reads a proclamation on Tuesday declaring May as “Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month in Orleans County.” He presented the proclamation to Chuck Persons (left), president of ABATE in Orleans County; and Don Sloper, the group’s vice president.
The rally and ride is held every spring to alert the public that motorcycles are back on the highway and to promote safety and rider education among motorcyclists.
“With the warm weather, motorcycles are back on the roads,” Persons said.
This year’s event holds special significance as it marks the 50th anniversary of ABATE of New York. Founded in 1974, the organization actively promotes educating riders and motorists to safely share the road and to drive aware, Persons said.
ABATE is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the rights, safety, and freedoms of all motorcyclists. ABATE’s position is to support all efforts and initiatives that will lead to accident prevention and rider safety.
The local chapter meets on the second Sunday of every month at noon at the V.F.W. in Medina.
