Table of Contents

• How old is too old to prospect for an MC

  • What are the challenges

  • What’s the fix

• Why do we join a motorcycle club

  • Why!?

  • Motivations behind joining an MC

  • My Journey

• Loyalty/Blind Loyalty Where to Draw the Line

  • Exploring Our Roots: Where Do We Begin?

    • What If the World Was Different?

    • Respecting the Culture

    • For the 1%ers: The Realities of Outlaw Life

    • A Challenge to Reflect

• Systemic Repetition = Success

  • Prepare or fail!

  • Systematic repetition saves lives

    • I will not become a victim too

    • CALL 911!

    • You have to have a system to be successful

    • Turnover

    • Suggestions for your organization

    • Saved rounds

• What happens when you buzz a pack of 1%ers

• When Buzzing a 1%er Goes Wrong!

• When Buzzing a 1%er Goes Wrong Part 2

  • Thank you for reading, please like, share, and sub …

How old is too old to prospect for an MC

By Black Dragon

I have been asked many times by older bikers throughout the years, “Am I too old to prospect for an MC.” And I was just asked today, “Am I too old to prospect at 54 years old?” I suppose that there are many things to consider if you are thinking about prospecting in a senior body.

What are the challenges

1. There will be long hours in major clubs where you will be expected to give your all to the club. You may have to stand for hours on your feet guarding bikes, or sleeping out with the prospects in the heat when the patched brothers are in the hotel sleeping soundly in the air conditioning. And if you aren’t healthy these kinds of situations could be dangerous.

2. You may spend long days and hours away from your wife or significant other for the six months to eighteen months a major club may need before patching you over. This can cause problems in young marriages and definitely in mature marriages where your wife is used to having you around to take care of her needs.

3. There may be all kinds of strange women and wildly open sexual practices happening around you at parties that could screw up your marriage should you decide to partake of the promiscuous vixens.

4. You may have to do physical labor like sweeping floors, picking up parking lots, painting, washing patched brothers’ bikes, moving motorcycles around the clubhouse, chopping firewood, standing guard duty, etc. So, the physical labor can take its toll on a mature body.

5. You may have to tolerate a young fool marching around telling your orders with baby-milk still stinking off his breath. You may have more time backing up to a curb then he has riding forward, yet here this pipsqueak is puffing his chest out and boastfully telling you what to do, and you can’t punch him in the mouth until you get patched in.

6. Speaking of punching someone out, maybe you aren’t physically capable of punching anyone out any more because your diabetes has taken your breath away, you’re not physically fit, and your goddamned knees hurt. So maybe that option is now gone.

7. You may have to take the physical toll of riding long hours on your bike accomplishing the club’s mission or goals. For instance in the Mighty Black Sabbath Motorcycle Club Nation many chapters have riding goals setup for their prospects which will guarantee a prospect will have 10,000 to 20,000 miles ridden before you cross over.

So, yes, there may be many obstacles and many more I haven’t mentioned that would challenge you to avoid prospecting because you may think you are just too damned old for all of that!?

What’s the fix

 But I say, “Bah, humbug!” You are only as old as your mind tells you that you are. Talk to your prospective sponsor should you be considering joining an MC. Explain to him what your challenges are and how they might affect your prospectship. Get his buy in for how you will be treated and what exceptions might be made for you based on your conditions and chronic diseases. Any club worth a damned has respect for their elders and will automatically know how to deal with your situation. If not, and I know this sounds harsh, but FIND ANOTHER MC! I promise you there is one out there that will treat you with honor and respect and will form a program around you that fits your situation, and won’t mind doing it!

So, live your dream of joining an MC if you are 50, 60, 70, or even 80! Make it happen and have a damned good time doing so!

At least, that’s my two cents! What’s yours?

Why do we join a motorcycle club

By Derek Warrington

Why do we join a club? What makes a bunch of people in that same cut worth being with and not a basic network of people? The reality is what brings a lot of us into this world of leather and chrome is a singular word. FAMILY! 

Why!?

Do you ever wonder why some take that cut and their members well being so seriously? Why would just a simple wrong look to a brother's ol’lady will trigger his mood? The answer again. FAMILY! And that cut the family crest.

Motivations behind joining an MC

Some if not most of the people who join mc life are from a rough and rowdy past with dysfunctional families maybe even violent upbringing's so it can be an easy point to see why a family structure of an mc would be valued by them.

Others are more clear as with ex-military the unity and brotherhood stitching is the same as an MC's structure and its been drilled and embedded into their core as a person so it's a logical choice.

Then, of course, there are those in the MC that were born into it raised, and molded to it becoming the only world they know every other walk of life seems crazy, stupid even fucked up they cringe at the thought of driving a cage as Harley Davidson runs in their veins. They know their bylaws and the history of the MC like the back of their hand sometimes to the annoyance level cause most of them were taught and raised to only know MC. These are people who can easily fall victim to the entitlement curse. We all know the situation of my family member was this. I've been here since that. Like the MC is a birthright or inheritance. Wait till they find out it's so not. 

You will come to find all these walks of life the people soon to be brothers and sisters and find yourself saying things like I love em but their crazy or I'm glad their on our side but most notably we are one fucked up happy family and I'd have it no other way.

My Journey

I myself come from a long lineage of bikers the point can be said that it's in my blood. Even before I could ride one with a motor I rolled around with my aped bicycle an cruised the streets with my flock my stepdad would take me to all the events and parties. He always told me MC is a lifestyle young blood and it can lead to a bloody end. When I turned 16 he surprised me with the 67 Sportster we painted for a customer letting me know it was mine I was so excited and happy I was speechless then two years later the bike stolen and I ended up with a frame tank an fenders left. 15 years later I took those parts and with the club and family made the bike into a custom build for my son keeping with the tradition alive as it's a part of my FAMILY.

About Derek Warrington

Derek Warrington, road name “Aztec” is the current President of Cruising USA SC, an OG member of the Black Dragon Biker TV family, and moderator currently writing articles and newsletters for Biker Liberty Florida. He was raised in the MC life, 34 years young, an old hippie chopper cholo at the soul, and proud Native American. Family and club motto, “love, peace, and motor-grease 🤘🏼😎.

Loyalty/Blind Loyalty Where to Draw the Line

by Derek Warrington

Exploring Our Roots: Where Do We Begin?

As we think about our roots, how far back should we look? In the motorcycle club (MC) world especially, this is an important question. Should we look to the club’s origins? The historic racing roots? Do we go back to the era before vests, when members wore sweaters? Do we identify with the greaser and SOC (Social Outcast) years, or do we connect with the hippie chopper era?

There's no right or wrong answer to this question. It's a matter of where we, as individuals, connect with the culture. Our personal character and upbringing often influence which era resonates with us most.

I, Derek "Aztec" Warrington, from Cruising USA—a club for everything motorized—admire each of these eras for what they contributed to the culture as a whole.

What If the World Was Different?

Imagine if World War I hadn’t shut down so many companies—back when there were over 100 motorcycle brands in America alone. Sadly, we’re down to just two major players: Indian and Harley. Can you picture saying, “My club brother, that’s a sweet Flying Merkel!” or, “Awesome Crocker you have there”?

I challenge my brothers and sisters in this culture to look back and ask themselves: Who would I have been back then? A SOC or a greaser? A hippie or a soldier? Would I have had the courage to ride a motorcycle on a wooden track at 100 mph, without brakes or a clutch?

Respecting the Culture

Are you truly respecting the culture? Are you grounding yourself in the roots you've chosen? This is crucial to consider if you want to be part of the MC world with authenticity.

Ask yourself: Are my motives for joining this culture pure?

For the 1%ers: The Realities of Outlaw Life

For the 1%ers, ask yourself if you truly have the stomach for the outlaw life. This lifestyle may lead to prison or even death—something many lifers view as a form of death itself.

How long can I keep this up?

Is this truly a young man’s life? These are tough questions, but it’s vital to confront them. Ignoring wisdom could leave you stranded when things get tough. Are you listening to the guidance of your elders, both in the club and in your life? Are you passing this wisdom to the next generation? Learning and sharing these lessons keeps the culture alive, preventing it from becoming a shadow of its former self. My stepfather and club founder, Greg "Woody" Woodings, always said this.

A Challenge to Reflect

These are important questions, yet only the person in the mirror can answer them. “Daring are those who will look,” my dad used to say. The question is, Are you daring enough to look?

Systemic Repetition = Success

By Papa Penguin

DISCLAIMER: Once again, we are talking about medical matters. I have no current medical certifications of any sort. I’m providing you with information, not advice. This article will talk about the specific scenario of a motorcycle accident and isn’t going to be applicable to all scenarios. Take what’s useful and shit can the rest. Remember YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU!

 In our last article we discussed the most frequent injuries and basic tools you need to treat those injuries. In this article we are going to discuss the first steps of treating the injured. Identifying the injuries. 

 If you’ve never seen, smelled or tasted trauma before you’ll remember it like the first time you got on a bike. Bodies will be bent in odd ways; their color will be off and the smell will sear itself into your nostrils. Your fight or flight response will activate. The brain will scream “Danger biker! Danger!”. People’s response will generally fall into 1 of 3 categories.

1. Run away

2. Freeze in place

3. Confront the danger

If you don’t prepare your body is probably going to force you to take options 1 or 2.

 I know some of you are convincing yourselves you will take action. Talk to anyone who has seen combat or treated seriously injured people. Brain lock or freezing is common, even amongst people who are trained. Instead of rolling the dice, start preparing.

Prepare or fail!

Decide now. While you’re drinking a beer on your couch, when you don your helmet, or you’re at the club house. “If I see someone go down, I’m going to take action. I’m going to immediately down shift and brake in a controlled manner. Then I’m going to maneuver safely to his side. I’m going to get my medical kit out and I’m going to use that gear to save his life.”

 The second step is developing the skill sets necessary to provide proper help. This could be a formal first aid course or picking the brain of a club brother with medical experience. Whatever method you use to gain that knowledge, make sure the sources are accurate and applicable to what you want to accomplish. Ex. You wouldn’t go to a cop for advice on MC protocol. Don’t go to a heart doctor to learn how to treat a motorcycle accident victim.

 If your organization doesn’t have it in the culture or bylaws to have a medical component advocate for it to happen. It may be as simple as bling for the vest to encourage desired behavior. Or it could take the form of the club raising funds to get folks Red Cross First Aid training. It could also take the extreme of adding it to the bylaws. Ex. 10% of members shall be qualified in First Aid and CPR. 

 If you’re an officer remember, other men have placed you in a position of authority over them. You have a responsibility for their health and welfare. Create a mechanism to make sure there are first aid tools and trained personnel supporting every evolution. 

 Having an MC make the news because they provided lifesaving medical care in an accident would be a welcome change to the news cycle.

Systematic repetition saves lives

There is a common saying when training for high stress scenarios. “You don’t rise to the challenge; you regress to the level of your training.” In the medical world we use all kinds of mnemonics to help remember information. The first thing to remember is this:

I will not become a victim too

 When you come upon an accident scene make sure it’s safe. DO NOT RUSH IN BLINDLY. Are you on a blind curve in the road? Maybe you need to send some folks back to set up a visible lane block? Is the vehicle in the water and you can’t swim? Is there leaking gas displacing oxygen? If someone has been shot or stabbed, make sure someone isn’t hanging around to put extra holes in you. Evaluate all the dangers on the scene and assess how to stay as safe as possible before you jump into action. A few seconds evaluating the situation can prevent you from making the situation worse by becoming another victim.

CALL 911!

High in your list of priorities should be calling 911. If you’re in the middle of nowhere you may need to have a pair of riders (no one gets sent anywhere alone) go find a better signal. Make sure they can provide the 5 Ws and the H:

· Who

· What

· When

· Where

· Why

· How

Write it down on a sheet of paper before you make the call. A short pencil is better than a long memory.

 “911, what’s your emergency?”

“There is a single car wreck at mile marker 24 on highway 301 east just after a bridge. There is one adult and 1 child in the car. A child car seat was in the back, but no child was in it. There was blood in the vehicle and the children were crying. There are 2 guys helping the people in the car and 2 guys have blocked off the road because the accident is around a blind curve.” 

 Be brief and be accurate. If you don’t know, then say so.  Don’t make things up or guess. 

 When you call 911 you do not hang up. You let the dispatcher tell you to hang up. This ensures the dispatcher has all the information they need before the call ends.

 911 is how you get highly trained professionals with all sorts of gear on scene. The sooner they get there the better the odds of survival.  

You have to have a system to be successful

When training for high stress scenarios you will find mnemonics are useful to recall information in the heat of the moment. This makes sure we don’t miss injuries and makes sure we work in a systematic manner. The order in which we examine patients for injuries is HNS CASPER.

· Head

· Neck

· Shoulders

· Chest

· Abdomen

· Spine

· Extremities

· Rectal

You will conduct a “blood sweep” with your hands to look for injuries. This is similar to a pat down police officers use when checking for weapons. Run your hands down each body part and look at your hands to see if there is blood. MAKE SURE YOU PUT ON GLOVES FIRST! Examine them in the position you find them.

 If the victim was involved in a rapid deceleration accident (ex. Car wreck or motorcycle wreck) just assume they have a spinal injury and don’t move them unless they are going to die. Ex. The car is on fire or they are going to drown.

 If the victim is awake ask them where the pain is. If they identify pain in their neck or back assume they have an injured spine. Don’t let them move. Assess the areas that hurt. Use your hands to check for injuries.

 The mnemonics to check for injuries is DCAP BTLS.

· Deformity

o Ex. Something is bent the wrong way

· Crunching

o Ex. Something feels like rice crispies under the skin

· Abrasions

o Ex. Road rash

· Punctures

o Ex. Something poked a hole through the skin like a gun shot or a knife

· Burns

o You know what a burn is

· Tearing

o Ex. A chunk of flesh is missing

· Lacerations

o Ex. A linear cut through the skin

· Swelling

o If you are unsure of something swelling compare it to the other side of the patient’s body. Things should be roughly the same size and shape.

 What you are being provided with here today are the bare bones for response. There is so much more to learn.

Turnover

When the ambulance shows up be prepared to give a brief turn over. Give them the 5Ws and the how. Also give the ambulance crew the PII for each injured person.

· Patient name

· Injuries suffered

· Interventions provided

Suggestions for your organization

If you are part of any sort of organization that engages in activity with inherent risk it’s prudent to make medical response an integral part of your operations. You could create a template of training new personnel on board or targeting people in specific positions. In an ideal world it would be roughly 10% of your organization trained in medical response and carrying medical gear.

Saved rounds

The topic being covered is something people spend their entire lives preparing for. The information I’m giving you here is a snow flake on an iceberg.  There are tons of things I haven’t covered. 

 Also consider creating small laminated cheat sheets and put them in with your medical gear.

 Like anything else, take what’s useful and shit can the rest.

About Papa Penguin

Papa Penguin is a truck drivin, whiskey swillin, beer chuggin, tobacco chewin, beard wearin, 2^nd amendment lovin, freedom obsessed motorcycle enthusiast who is 100% red, white and blue. He dropped out of high school when he was 17 and joined a little canoe club you may have heard of called the US Navy. During his 20 years of service, he managed to avoid ever being stationed on a ship but had to look at more penis than a 10¢ hooker on nickel night.  All you’ve gotta to do to pull that off is go play full contact hide and seek with Marines as a Corpsman. Do factory work with a chance to drown or get shot at with a job descriptor of “Pecker Checker.” Life’s all about tradeoffs. 

 Along the way he managed to get an undergrad, 2 graduate degrees and a proverbial clown car of certifications. All paid for with your tax dollars. Don’t thank him for his service, let him thank you for paying taxes. 

 He’s worked managing hotels, as a safety professional, various first responder jobs, was a mid-level health care provider, is a purveyor of fine (and not so fine) booze, an ex-husband multiple times over (he swears it ain’t his fault), father, stepfather, grandfather, and husband to a wife WAAAYY out of his league. If you ask him how he pulled off that last one the answer will be something along the lines of “God looks out for fools, drunkards and kids.” 

 And if a certain 3 letter federal agency is reading this, yes, he honestly lost all his pew-pews in a tragic boating accident while fishing above the Mariana Trench for giant squid.  God’s honest truth.

What happens when you buzz a pack of 1%ers

When Buzzing a 1%er Goes Wrong!

When Buzzing a 1%er Goes Wrong Part 2

Thank you for reading, please like, share, and subscribe!
Black Dragon
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