Milestones
In 2001 a group of friends with a common love for motorcycling got together and formed what has become to be known as the Durham Cruisers M.E.C. They envisioned a family-oriented motorcycle enthusiast club with a strong commitment to the local community, but devoid of the politics that are usually associated with various organizations. Their basic mandate was to, not only have fun, but to strongly promote a positive image of motorcyclists everywhere.
In seven years the club has grown to almost 100 members, of which over 20% are women riders. Our members come from all walks of life. At the 2006 Bike Show we had three generations of a family, with ages ranging from 7 to 72, displaying bikes. The bikes in the club are as varied as the individual members and include a wide variety of Cruisers, Sport Touring and full size Touring bikes, many adorned with customized paint and many other modifications to make their bikes as individual as the people that ride them.
On most weekends you will find us supporting a variety of charity rides and community events. As a testament to our common bond and commitment you will usually find 30 to 40 of our riders at any given event that we choose to attend and, in many cases, we have taken home the largest club attending award. Over the years we have provided continued support for such events as The Ride for Sight, The Ride For Dad, The Red, White & Blue Knights Toy ride, the Durham Hogs' Heart of Gold Charity ride and more recently, Canada's 911 Ride. For five years in a row we have won the largest club award at the Red, White & Blue Toy ride, which is quite a feat considering almost half of our members were attending our annual club ride to Barry's Bay where we were presented with an award from the Mayor for our support of their town.
Each year we provide strong support for the Ride For Sight and, after coming in second place in only our second year as a club, the following two years we were the top fundraising club winning "The Club Challenge" raising more money than any other club in Central Ontario.
In 2004 our accomplishments were recognized when we were awarded the MAX Award – an award for “Showing excellence as a Regional Motorcycle Club”.
While fundraising forms a large part of our club activities, our enthusiasm as a club does not stop here. In 2004 we decided to participate in the annual North American Motorcycle Supershow held at the Toronto International Centre. A great deal time and energy went into putting together our club display that covered over 1,600 square feet. As a result, our efforts were rewarded by winning first place in the Club Display competition, accomplishing something that had never been done before in the 28 year history of the Supershow by a club in their first attempt. The 2005 Supershow was an even greater success when we again won first place in the Club Display competition and members from our club won all five trophies in the Asian Cruiser category as well as the best Domestic Cruiser, the best Trike and second place for Asian Touring Bike. At the 2006 Supershow our success was repeated for the third year in a row.
Safety has always been our number one priority and is particularly important in group riding. We always follow the rules of the road and exercise common sense at all times. We usually break up into smaller groups which are easier to manage and are easier to blend in with other traffic safely. We ensure that at least one member of each group is outfitted with a first aid kit and the club paid to have several members trained in first aid and CPR. On numerous occasions our club has been called upon by other groups to help escort their rides. This year we received accolades from a couple of police forces regarding our group riding abilities and how easy it was, with our assistance, to lead a large group of riders on an escorted ride.
September 2006 marked the first year of the Canada's 911 ride, which has since become an annual event. We are proud to say that one of our members is the president and one of the founders of this worthy organization, that was created to raise money for the children of police, firemen and paramedics who have died in the line of duty and the Mikey Network, which is working to install defibrillators in locations where people are at a high risk of having heart attacks.
During the year members also attending other larger motorcycle events including, Bike week in Daytona, Laconia, Sturgis, Americade, and Biktoberfest. Some of our members have organized trips to the east coast as well as several overnight weekends.
When we are not riding, we still keep active as a group, organizing such things as Halloween & Christmas parties, baseball games, bowling nights, evenings at the drive-in, breakfasts and informal get togethers to name a few. We owe a great deal of thanks to our many sponsors, who without their support, it would have been very difficult for us to achieve the many successes that we have achieved to date. While there are too many to list, special thanks goes to Markham Outdoor Power, Spoiled Sports and Mackie's Harley Davidson, who have provided us with their strong support since our inception.
As we continue to grow and evolve, we hope to be able to continue to support as many worthwhile causes as we can and hope that we are making a difference in our small corner of the world. We all enjoy a common bond that has resulted the forging of many friendships that will surely last a lifetime.
