Claudia Lunde was married at a motorcycle rally in Wisconsin.

Saturday, May 13, 2000

Claudia Lunde was married at a motorcycle rally in Wisconsin.

Jeff Johnson takes his entire family on motorcycle rides.

Lynn Weedman takes God for a ride, wherever his Harley Davidson cycle goes.

The classic case that "You can’t judge a book by its cover" still applies to motorcycle.

Stuck in a mind set created by Marlon Brando in the silver screen’s "The Wild One," motorcycling is still clouded by stereotypes.

The noise made by the machines, the leather outerwear and those dark sunglasses still conjure images of rebels and recklessness.

"Not true," said Lunde, Johnson and Weedman.

The times and motorcyclists are a-changing.

"The image of motorcycling is what it probably always will be," said Lunde "As long as people see motorcycle and leathers, they will imagine we are something we are not."

Lunde organized the third annual Awareness Ride Saturday through Austin. Beginning at Austin Municipal Airport, cyclists assembled for a ride through the city and to the Mower County Fairgrounds where the Austin Jaycees served lunch.

"We like to come together once a year,"said Lunde, "to generate more awareness among the public for motorcycles."

Lunde and her husband Mike started the event in 1998 and each year it has been beset by inclement weather.

She was motivated to remind local residents of the need to "see motorcycles" by a near accident in front of the Lunde home. "Three motorcycles came down the street to visit us and when they went to turn into our driveway, this man driving a car almost hit all three of them. That’s when I decided to do something," she said. "This town needs a wake-up call."

For the last four years, Lunde has ridden her own Honda Shadow cycle.

Her father, Rochford Neville, who lives in Michigan, first introduced her to motorcycling and a brother, Faron, as well as husband Mike helped propel her deeper into the sport. One son, Rob, rides a cycle and another younger son, Josh, is working on his license.

She rides whenever work, family and the weather allow. Short runs, long runs and, of course, the huge rally at Sturgis Falls, S.D.

"I enjoy the camaraderie of motorcycling," she said. "You never ride alone. There’s always somebody to ride with. We share stories and get to meet new people.

More females are riding their own cycles, according to Lunde, who said the number of women-owned cycles has increased by more than 50 percent.

"They are deciding it’s time to get off the backs of their fellas’ cycles and ride their own," she said.

She and Mike were married at Tomahawk, Wis., where a rally was held in 1997 to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Saturday’s awareness ride included cyclists from all over southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa.

Jeff Johnson and his son, Pete, 16, were among them

Johnson is a road captain for the Bond Slaves organization and lives with his wife, Nancy, daughter, Hannah, and Pete at Osage, Iowa. He is a truck driver by trade and the family moved to Osage from Farmington, Minn.

He is an example of the sport’s image problems.

Clad in black leather and wearing a beard, Johnson might not get invited to a church picnic.

The truth of the matter is, Johnson is a Christian and not afraid to say so.

"We have about 100 members in the three states we cover, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana," he said. "We’re all Christians and spread our message wherever we go."

His cycle has the words "Amazing Grace" painted on the gas tank.

His son, Pete, went for his first motorcycle ride with his father, when he was 3 years old. At the age of 6, he was handling dirt bikes by himself. Only four days ago, he got his first motorcycle license.

"I just like riding for the fun of it," the teen-ager said. "It gets in your blood."

Weedman, who lives in a former country schoolhouse near London, is vice president of the Bond Slaves chapter.

"I’ve been a member since 1992," he said. "I met the Bond Slaves in prison, where I was doing time for drug dealing. They helped me discover Christ and I got saved."

He has been riding cycles since he was 16. "I just enjoy breathing the fresh air, when I’m riding and the changes of seasons, when the colors go from green to brown," he said.

Weedman said motorcyclists sill suffer from a bad image and that events such as the Awareness Ride can help improve it.

He also thinks motorcycle safety can be improved.

"Definitely, there’s a need for improvement and that ‘Start seeing motorcycles’ campaign helps," he said. "I know I drive with one foot on the brake, trying to anticipate what the other fellow is going to do."

"I haven’t had any accidents myself," he said. "By the grace of God – I don’t know anybody else it could be — I’ve been saved."