Monday, June 17^th, 1999 was a watershed day for motorcyclists in New York State.

For the first time, ever, motorcyclists of all stripes, from tourers, cruisers, sportbikers and yes, off-roaders and ATV enthusiasts, came together as one single unit to press for freedom.

It was the annual Freedom Rally; no longer a helmet rally, calling the troops together for amendment or repeal of the helmet law. This was a rallying cry for all motorcyclists to fight for ALL their justified rights. Yes, the helmet amendment is a primary part of that fight, but the other issues, including reducing tolls on the New York State Thruway for bikers and restoration of the ATV Trails Fund and more thorough investigation to determine causes of motorcycle accidents were accounted for, with speakers for all issues.

The weather outlined the occasion. The 17^th dawned bright, crisp and clear. Many enthusiasts had spent the weekend at the South Schodack Firehouse, in Schodack, New York where Bob "Prospector" Boellner had set up a comfortable venue for all. As the sparkplug for the Freedom Rally, Prospector was everywhere, making sure that all possibilities were covered. Tee shirts, pins and patches were selling. Enthusiasm was high.

On the 17^th, as the bright, azure blue sky betokened a wonderful day to come, the rally’s cadre had set up at People’s Choice Ice Cream on routes 9 and 20 in nearby East Greenbush. Even the location was proper--"People’s Choice".

Prospector was there first, of course, setting up the registration and sale desk. As the morning wore on, hundreds of motorcyclists from around the state and some from out of state came roaring into the site. People’s Choice had set up their temporary station for coffee, donuts and the like. It was a great gathering. Off road folks, who had brought their ATV’s on trailers hooked to trucks, gathered directly across the road. They would take part in the coming protest parade for the first time, ever and were glad to be part of the Freedom fight.

The parking lots were teeming as the 11 o’clock departure time arrived. Schodack and East Greenbush police were ready to escort us to the Albany city line. Bikes roared into life and the long snake like line of the parade hit the road at exactly 11 on the dot. It was a marvel of organization. Prospector was in front on his 1991 Harley sidecar rig, his wife, Brenda, sitting right behind him. ABATE State coordinator Tom Duffee came next on his tricked out trike and everyone rolled on from there, three abreast, toward that day’s destiny.

As we motored along, folks of all kinds waved and cheered and the sound of motorcycle horns honking back a salute was a constant cacophony along the route. We took our time, as planned, with the lines moving at about 10-15 miles per hour, giving all a chance to enjoy not only the incredible weather, but the supporters along the way who shot their fists into the air in support of freedom.

As we hit the Albany City line, Albany police took up the escort duty with one car leading us on to the Menands bridge over to the city. At that point, appropriately enough, a contingent of Albany motorcycle police took over the point to lead us to the Capitol. It was terrific to behold. Every intersection along the way was blocked off expertly as the chain of some one thousand motorcycles thundered by.

As we arrowed into the Capitol area, the sounds of our motorcycles echoed off the sides of tall government buildings, but to everyone’s credit, few, if any blew their pipes along the way. It was millions of dollars of machines, but orderly and organized. Later, one state Assemblyman, who had wanted to be at the rally told Larry Moyer, an assistant Sgt-at-arms in the Assembly and a dedicated AMA motorcyclist, that he had been listening, but didn’t know we’d arrived and said he wouldn’t miss it again, if another rally were needed.

After being parked at the Capitol by city police, everyone just enjoyed the wonderful scene for a while before the actual rally began at 12:20pm. Tom Duffee, playing MC for the event thanked all for coming and praised the work of everyone out there. He told them "this is your work and you deserve the praise, so give yourself a hand…" and we did.

Tom introduced a series of Freedom Fighters, including Senator Owen Johnson, the patron saint of motorcyclists in the State Senate and Assemblymen Bill Parment and Richard Smith, who perform the same

function in their legislative house. All three emphasized the importance of being able to choose for yourself and the preservation of our liberties.

State legislative coordinator Dave Kipp spoke with a rundown of what was happening to the bills of interest. It was noted by both Duffee and Dave that through the hard work of "Prospector" and AMA District III President, Larry Schwartz, who lobby together every Tuesday at the Capitol, that for the first time, the helmet amendment got out of the Senate Transportation Committee. It’s on the Senate floor for a vote. Senator Johnson noted they’re fighting to get the votes to get it passed. That’s historic, here.

Noted also was the fact that Schwartz’ lobbying efforts on the bill to reduce tolls on the New York State Thruway, got that bill out of the Senate Transportation Committee and since then, it’s been reported out of the Assembly Transportation Committee as well.

Other speakers included Schwartz, who spoke of the absolute need of solidarity between motorcyclist rights organizations, now. He noted: "we must win together or we lose together…united." Also speaking, for the first time ever were reps from the New York State Off Highway Recreational Vehicle Association(NYSORVA) representing ATV’s.

All of us tried to keep the speeches short. We wanted everyone who could, to get inside and lobby their own legislators. That is the one area, in which the rally fell short. Many came in the protest parade, but only about 20% of all the riders ultimately stayed around to lobby. Lobbying legislators is the FOCUS of all that comes before. We must all realize it’s a day, yes, to enjoy our motorcycling brethren and breathe fire about freedoms, but preserving your freedom takes action. We must emphasize to all if you’re in the parade, you’ve come to go inside.

We need all the dedication from all the motorcyclists that participate to physically make their presence known in the halls of the legislature, once the speeches are out of the way. But let’s not, in this writing, belittle the efforts of the many, many who were there on the 17^th . It’s one of the best showings, if not the best, the protest has ever had. Not only that. Dignity and good, classy behavior helped make our case as entitled citizens.

For ABATE, it was a grand day. For the American Motorcyclist Association, it was an extension of my efforts to get us ALL involved in the fight for all motorcyclists issues in New York State and for NYSORVA, a

wonderful experience to meet up with those they’ve never interacted with before and visa versa.

None of us who were there will forget this day, which proved again, that when people care enough to fight for the freedoms they’ve been guaranteed under our Constitution, they can make a difference!