Hello, my name is, Mike "Zoom" Shumer and I'm a County Representative for Abate here in Toledo, OH (Lucas City). I currently write 2 newsletters a month, one for the State magazine and one for our local letter here in Toledo. For those unfamiliar with Abate, let me describe it for you. Contrary to popular belief, Abate is not a militant group; we're no big shots, by any means, merely a well-organized group of motorcyclists trying to help keep the freedoms & rights of motorcyclists intact. What we do is monitor legislation related to motorcycling and encourage our members and motorcycle enthusiasts in general, to be politically active so as to affect positive legislation and deter those of a detrimental nature. We also seek to preserve our rights, improve the outward image of motorcyclists & promote safe operating practices for all.

Among other things, Abate is a non-profit, freedom of choice organization, believing that you and I are best suited to decide what type of motorcycles we ride, what type of safety gear we wear, and what personal lifestyles we choose to pursue. If you are not a member of an MRO (Motorcycle Rights Organization), be it Abate, AMA or a similar organization, it would be in your best interest to become one. The reasons being, that these are the groups that lobby on behalf of motorcyclists when our rights and privileges are threatened. For instance, if a state tries to ban motorcycles from certain stretches of road, similar to Illinois's proposed banning of bikes along historic Lakeshore Drive in Chicago, Abate raises it's collective voice in protest. Or if a state tries to mandate that you wear a helmet, Abate is there to point out that the decision should ultimately be left up to the rider and not the legislative bodies. Or when proponents of, "Global Harmonization," attempt to mandate that the motor between your legs may only be X number of cubic inches, or that you can only make these certain modifications to your machine and nothing else, it is groups like Abate that take official steps to stop it.

On February 5th we will have a Motorcycle Rights Seminar in Columbus, Ohio. Here we will be given the agenda for the year 2000. Some of those issues include, but are not limited to, promoting a skills test exemption for riders that complete the Motorcycle Ohio course, similar to programs that are currently in effect in over half the U.S. to date. We will also be lobbying for the state to provide veterans tags for motorcyclists. And we will scrutinize a broad range of other legislation of both negative and positive effect for motorcyclists throughout the nation.

These issues I've shared with you about are not fantasy, they are quite real and already taking root around the world as you read. We'll touch more on these subjects and many more as time goes by. I hope that at least some of this has gotten the attention of our readership. No I'm not your only source of info but I am passionate about motorcycling and the rights of motorcyclists, and I think that there are many other like minded individuals, in our midst. Otherwise we wouldn't be seeing all the messages regarding changing exhaust systems, or trying to make the bike go faster or, well I'm sure you get the idea.

Mike "Zoom" Shumer, is a native of Toledo, Ohio. He and his wife ride a 97 Royal Star Tour Deluxe and a 99 V-Star, respectively. When their 10 year-old son, (Mike) Zoom Jr., isn't at school studying the American Legal Process and, "Torts for Tots," he's riding with the Shumers in poker runs and the all-important, donut-runs.