TOPIC: What Make Bikers In Recovery So Unique? Explain Life As/Of A Biker To Me.

[aasharon90]

Hi Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.

By the Grace of my HP and people
like you here in SR I havent had
a drink of alcohol since 8-11-90.

For that and you I am truely grateful.


We are all one in the same in recovery
because we all have one goal, one
purpose in life which is to stay clean
and sober and help the next alcoholic/
addict achieve sobriety.

I am a people watcher. Its the way
I learn about things. I listen and I
watch trying very hard never to
take that persons inventory.

I listened to a friend yesterday share
with me what he read here in Bikers
yesterday about the kindness of
a fellow biker helping little ones
shivering in the cold....

Riding to work I was filled with
gratefulness and respect for
human kindness. Then it angered
me to hear once again about the
abuse of little ones......only
because ive been there.


The verbal emotional and physical
pain endured as a little child till
i was 17.

Anyway...to put the focus back
on the topic.....

I came back here to Bikers in
Recovery so i could learn about
the ways and lifestyle of our
riders in recovery.

When i sit in my Club 12 meeting
I see Bikers pop in wearing their
leather, tatoos ,bandanas, and
boots gloves and helment in
hand.

Hard looking from the yrs maybe
spent on the road or possible
yrs of hard life spent.

Yet....what a joy it is to know
they are kind and gentle with a
message to share.

In admiration for bikers in
recovery, share with me ur
life and why you became a
biker in recovery.

Help me get to know u and
life as a biker in recovery.

Thanks for letting me share.

[Jazzed_N_MD]

Originally Posted by aasharon90

Hi Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.

...I came back here to Bikers in
Recovery so i could learn about
the ways and lifestyle of our
riders in recovery.

When i sit in my Club 12 meeting
I see Bikers pop in wearing their
leather, tatoos ,bandanas, and
boots gloves and helment in
hand.

Hard looking from the yrs maybe
spent on the road or possible
yrs of hard life spent.

Yet....what a joy it is to know
they are kind and gentle with a
message to share.



Thanks for letting me share.

Well Sharon, you kind of answered it yourself.
Here is something that might help because there is really no way to tell anyone what it means to be a biker.

THE LAST BIKER!

The Last Biker...The old ones stand out now, their numbers dwindling down. They're sad loss to the American scene, these individualists with the worn down clothes, saddles and faces. You can still see them sometimes, the real ones, some in packs, not as large as a while ago, sometimes alone.

The alone one is the best. One who's been there a long time, staying in the life he loves, never giving into a system that sucks you up like a vortex if you slip just one foot into it. He's got his connections - a few like him, that care for and protect each other. Hanging onto the only unique lifestyle left, like old dinosaurs, their faces are leathered and rough by forty, but their eyes still sharp and knowing.

Some are gray in the beards and braids, some are limp in their step and some pain in the kidneys. Still they know that no other life is life, but merely a dreary journey into everyone else's monotony. He looks at the new ones, and then turns away, knowing they will never know of life on the road and of the women who can take it. Wild, loving women who'll hang in with them, because they love it too. Women with wild hearts and loyal souls, that's what's needed here.

The new ones are shiny and young and a bit too clean. They're born into a system that has an iron grip now. The new one's don't seem to know and couldn't take "the life".

I think it's a mystery, even to the old ones, why this life is theirs, but it is, and it's the only one.

When the last biker falls, like the dinosaurs, the sun will go down on a breed of heart-of-gold, tough as nails, free of spirited men, who even at their worst, love what's theirs and protect it. In a worldwide system that is making all people as alike as manufactured dolls, the earth will be a duller place...when the last biker falls.

[The_Hammer]

I think the idea of "unique" or of being "unique" has gotten us in trouble a time or two. I speak for myself when I say this. I would often say to others and to myself that no one understood me and that I may as well just keep on drinkin and dopin cuz no one knew what it was like to be me. While jailed and on my way to prison, I met the man whom remains my sponsor today. Icepick told me his story and I asked him how he knew me! The rest is history.

[Astro]

I'm not sure I fit the category of being a true "biker", I'm more of a retread wannabee in sobriety.

I rode a small Honda in the late 80's and did a bunch of dumb stuff under the influence. When I moved to Boston in 1990 I had a brief moment of clarity and sold that little scooter before I killed myself on it.

Last April I had the itch to feel the freedom of being on a bike again. It's a feeling I can't fully explain to ride clean and sober. I'm very hypersensitive to other motorists and drive more defensively than I ever have, but it's that feeling of vulnerability and the wind rushing over me that can't be matched by anything else I do in sobriety. Well, except for that quiet time I spend with God.

[recoveringnky]

Originally Posted by Astro

....... but it's that feeling of vulnerability and the wind rushing over me that can't be matched by anything else I do in sobriety. Well, except for that quiet time I spend with God.

Amen to that Astro! I sure can relate!!!!!!!!!!

[Jazzed_N_MD]

Ya take "The Last Biker(s)" and impregnate their lives with recovery and you get this...

Yet....what a joy it is to know
they are kind and gentle with a
message to share.


So you see Sharon? You have already answered your own question. Now we have you to join in and share your ESH.

[The_Hammer]

P.S. Did I mention that I am proud to be welcomed into this fellowship of men and women? Whom also happen to share the freedom and passion ridin a scoot gives us.

[aasharon90]

Great wonderful shares spoken from the heart.

Im on my way to spend some time with a fellow
biker himself. He is new to SR and has the joy
and some experience riding a Harley.

We r waiting for warmer weather for him to
take me on my first sober ride. As I wait anxiously
for my 25 yr marriage to end and all is finalized,
I can only imagine the freedom that comes with
riding with the wind.


Also as it comes to an end I will celebrate
a new beginning and chapter in my recovery
life with my very first tatoo.

Springtime.....a time for new life, new beginning...
new adventures.....

I look forward to getting to know about u guys
who also ride with the wind.

Thanks for sharing with me and letting me
share with u.

[Astro]

Originally Posted by aasharon90

Also as it comes to an end I will celebrate
a new beginning and chapter in my recovery
life with my very first tatoo.

Congrats on the tat Sharon! I look forward to hearing more about your experiences. Be sure to stop by and visit if you ever ride through the desert southwest.

[sticker]

I have rode and lived it all my life. Coming from there I already had instilled in me loyalty to my brother, getting called in the middle of the night to help someone out was taught to me in that world. sharing the trials of the road, good and bad. standing tall for those facing hardship i was taught in that world. I came into recovery and found many of these same values used in the programs. I have to say one of my best rides ever was last summer to the world NA convention in TX. 2400 round trip. Started out by myself, but kept picking up guys along the way. I would make a gas stop only to have another rider come up and ask (hey you wouldn't be headin to TX would ya?) think it might have been a god thing!! But one thing I do know is you cant know about our way by reading about it, talking about it, studying it. You have to experience it. The good and the bad, riding in driving rain, 102 degree heat, snow. Its called paying your road dues. And it gives us road tales to share around the camp fires. IT AINT FOR EVERYONE but it is the life I choose. Enjoy.....

[aasharon90]

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME....

Give me chills just to read ur ESH
on your bike life.

Today my new AA SR and biker
friend went to the Harley Store
to look at jackets and see our
favorite bike in a beauriful red
color....It is called a Classic...

Just lovely...

The one we will ride on together
is his and that one is a sportster.

Now dont ask me anything
about it because i havent
a clue about the different
names and such....

Anyway....my friend heped
me pick out my first jacket
to wear when we head out.

No ..its not leather...those
things r some heavy....
and expensive....

Then i tried one on that was
very pretty but wouldnt be
very practical to wear riding,
esp if it rains,,,,,

So little by little i am preparing
for this awesome experience
in my new life and ready to
look the part of a biker "chic"..lol

Still need some glasses and hmmmmm...

I think i have everything else....

I guess i dont have to look
extremely stylish to ride....right?

[The_Hammer]

Originally Posted by aasharon90

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME....

Give me chills just to read ur ESH
on your bike life.

Today my new AA SR and biker
friend went to the Harley Store
to look at jackets and see our
favorite bike in a beauriful red
color....It is called a Classic...

Just lovely...

The one we will ride on together
is his and that one is a sportster.

Now dont ask me anything
about it because i havent
a clue about the different
names and such....

Anyway....my friend heped
me pick out my first jacket
to wear when we head out.

No ..its not leather...those
things r some heavy....
and expensive....

Then i tried one on that was
very pretty but wouldnt be
very practical to wear riding,
esp if it rains,,,,,

So little by little i am preparing
for this awesome experience
in my new life and ready to
look the part of a biker "chic"..lol

Still need some glasses and hmmmmm...

I think i have everything else....

I guess i dont have to look
extremely stylish to ride....right?

You just need to be you Sharon. Ridin is about the experience, the joy. You wouldn't uh-hum...,take a shower with a raincoat on would ya? What I mean is that yea, safety is always a concern, but mainly ya wanna be safe AND comfortable for the experience. A lot of folks are concerned with the way they look and the way the sled looks. I like a bike that runs as good as it looks. That's me. Icepick, my sponsor and dear friend is all about "the chrome don't get ya home. The leather and whatnot is safety for sure as well as comfort and looks. Again I'm just ramblin on...

[BillJ]

Originally Posted by aasharon90

share with me ur life and why you became a biker in recovery.

Two things happened, when I was about seven years old, that set me on this path.

The first was my first taste of alcohol - a sip from my father's Saturday afternoon beer. I took a swallow, and was instantly transformed. Whatever that stuff was, it was magic, and I know now that I spent the rest of my drinking career trying to reproduce that "magic" moment.

The second was my first ride on a motorcycle. The boy next door came home from college with a BMW, and was giving rides to the neighbor kids. I pestered my mother - "I'll hold on tight! I'll be careful! Please! Please!" - until she finally gave in. Big mistake. I was halfway around the block when the thought struck me, crystal-clear: I'm going to have one of these someday.

My drinking and drugging (and, quite likely, the Grace of God) kept me from getting a motorcycle prior to recovery. I was the archetypal "wannabe" - I "wanted" a motorcycle, affected the look and talk, and read all the magazines, but all my motorcycle money went for more pressing priorities like alcohol, drugs, and getting out of trouble.

When I found sobriety in AA, my dream of owning a bike came back to me. After a year of sobriety, and almost a year on the same job (a minor miracle itself!), I went to my credit union and said "I want to buy a motorcycle." They said "You don't have any credit," and I said "How do I get some?"

They walked me through the process of establishing credit, and I did what they said - big steps for a drunk who'd never had anything more complicated than an overdrawn checking account! Four months later I went to them and said "I want to buy a motorcycle," and they said "Great! Go pick one out!" A week or so later I was riding my very first motorcycle - a 1974 Harley-Davidson Superglide I call The Bitch.

29 years later, that motorcycle is still in my stable. It now shares my garage with two later-model bikes - both fine, fun rides - but it will always be my first love. It's never seen me drunk or loaded, and has carried me almost half a million very happy miles! I've been to some of the big bike rallies, like Sturgis, and sober events, like the Serenity Run and AA conferences, and on long solo wanders through the backroads of Central Texas. The Bitch has been my faithful companion as I've explored the Great American Southwest, from Louisiana to Arizona, alone and with good friends. It's road-worn and funky (kind of like me) but it's still my baby!

And that's how I came to be a Biker in Recovery!

[sticker]

Kicking' the shifter,
grabbin the clutch,
at first glance,
there aint much,
to riding a scooter,
like an old seasoned pro,
but under the surface,
that just aint so.....

you see with your eyes,
but you feel the with your heart,
to sense what hazard
might take you apart.
you know what bolt
has loosened and such,
how is it possible to
sense this much?

Because a biker,
doesn't ride because it's cool,
and while there are times, we all ride like fools
it's more then riding
that makes us this way
it's the heart of the tribe
that's mostly lost these days.

It's the way of the Brothers,
who care for there own,
both human and machine like in the old
when this was known,
Too bad today,
mostly it's me, me, me
for those who live in the cage society....

[aasharon90]

Hello new biker friends.....

Ive enjoyed reading ur shares....

Now I have some AWESOME news....

Hmmm.....whatcha think it is?

Yeppers....i finally road on my friends
Harley bike.

What can i say.....it was totally unbelievable.
Totally fun....Just like finally moving back
here to Baton Rouge after being gone
for 10 yrs....i never thought id actually
move back home and yet here I am.....

And now a new lease on life...a new
chapter...new adventures, experiences....
fun, joy, freedom.....rewards u reap
when u place first things first in ur
life.....

Sobriety, recovery, faith and passing
on what was so freely passed on to u.

So, my friend helped me secure on
my helment....turned the key and
helped me climb aboard.

Away we drove slowly out the driveway
and down the street.....was i nervous....
nay.....well a tad to be honest when he
sped up faster than i expected....

but before i knew it i had settled
in and felt comfortable.....the wind
blowing passed us....excitement
fullfilling us....

We drove 50 somaught miles out
and around town... just enjoying
holding on to my new AA buddy.

Driving thru some sprinkles that too
didnt disturb us.....then a side panel
that was not secured on tight enough
flew....pulling over i stepped off to
retrieve it in the middle of the road....


With a worked up appitite we drove to
Arby's ....took off our helments and went
inside for food....sooooo cooool.... lol

Reflecting back on my new experience,
I know i will definitely experience it again...

Maybe on a beautiful Burgandy colored
Harley ....mmmmm....can't wait.

[best]

What Make Bikers In Recovery So Unique?

What Make Bikers So Unique?

When you find that answer and add in recovery, you will see that a biker is a biker and recovery just magnifies all the wonderful qualities that bikers have.