IU Riding Club promotes cyclist safety

Most people don’t know the feeling of riding on a motorcycle, but today is the second day the IU Riding Club will be offering free rides to students and promoting motorcycle safety.

“It helps motorcyclists in Bloomington,” co-founder of the Riding Club Jack Witter Jr. said of the two-day event.

He looks at his cherry red 2007 Yamaha R1, the motorcycle he’s had for two years, and listens to the sound of the engine as the guys work on it. It’s going to need gas soon.

Witter and junior Mason Thomas met in Army ROTC and founded the club in 2011 as a way for riders to get together, socialize and ride around Bloomington and the IU campus. Both of them have been riding for about five years.

The free rides, given to people after they sign a waiver and don a helmet, serve a variety of purposes for the club.

The club is looking to promote safety and motorcycle awareness to other motorists as the weather warms and more people take their motorcycles out for spring, Witter said.
Junior Adam Argenti said the group hands out flyers about the dangers of riding, such as getting lost in a driver’s blind spot.

A large amount of motorcycle accidents and fatalities come from passenger vehicles hitting cyclists they can’t see, Witter said.

The first day is meant to get attention and let people know the club is out, and the second day is dedicated to safety and awareness, Witter said. The goal is to get people to spread word of the free rides via social media and get others to come around the next day.

“Normally it’s not this busy the first day,” Witter said, looking at the line growing at the groups table just outside of Wildermuth Recreational Center.

He admits there are dangers to riding, but there are also dangers to anything else a person does. Awareness and practice are what make the difference in riding safely, he said.

Witter recalled last year when one of the members got his motorcycle totaled on the way home from the event. A woman driving and on her cell phone hit the motorcycle, and though she wasn’t driving fast, the damage was extensive. “If we can stop that stuff, I’ll count this club as a win,” Witter said.

Along with safety, the club is looking to dispel stereotypes that follow cyclists.

“Motorcyclists have a bad reputation,” Witter said.

Thomas said the Riding Club is trying to give a good name back to motorcyclists and get rid of the stigma.

Freshman Paige Hoffeditz waited for a motorcycle to pull up and take her home.
She has never been on one before, Hoffeditz said, but she was looking forward to it.

“I bet it feels pretty awesome,” she said.

Riding motorcycles is a very social thing, Witter said. In high school, he was used to riding in a big group, but when he came to Bloomington, he found few people riding together.

Since then, the club has grown exponentially, including riders as well as engineers that work on the motorcycles, Witter said.

“If you own a motorcycle here in IU, chances are you are part of the group,” he said.

The event helps to raise awareness of the group as a whole, encouraging riders to join.
Argenti said he rode his motorcycle to class one day and was stopped by one of the club members. He invited Argenti to join, and Argenti has been a member since then.

“It’s like an instant connection,” Argenti said.

Junior Corey Johnson, vice president and events coordinator of the Riding Club, said Thomas had slid a card underneath his motorcycle’s backseat one day, and Johnson has been enjoying the ride ever since.

He said he has been riding since the age of eight, starting on dirt bikes and moving up to street bikes about five years ago.

The Riding Club does group rides at 5 p.m. every Sunday around Showalter Fountain when the weather permits, Witter said.

He doesn’t notice the people staring as he rides by anymore, he said, but he has seen people take pictures and videos during group rides.

“It’s something new to see,” Witter said.

The club is also looking to rally support as they petition IU to add more parking spaces for motorcycles.

Witter flipped through the petition, counting about 300 signatures so far. He said the petition will also be out tomorrow for the second day of free rides.

Riding is more than a hobby for the club members. It is a way of life.

“I call it road therapy,” Witter said.

He described group riding as a football game with friends where everybody is interacting and moving together.

Argenti agreed, and described a solo ride as a freeing experience.

“It’s freedom,” Thomas said. “It’s absolute freedom.”

This was the general consensus among the group.

“It’s exhilarating,” Johnson said. “Yeah, that’s a good word.”

Argenti said he doesn’t have a preference between solo and group rides.

“It’s a different dynamic, but they’re both awesome,” he said.

Johnson said he wants people to understand the joy of riding.

“Everybody should do it,” he said. “At least give it a shot.”