I'm thinking about starting a motorcycle club at the high school I work at. This should be an interesting as it will highlight the general fear around motorbiking. Our school runs downhill ski racing, mountain biking, rugby, and ice hockey teams, but I suspect that motorcycling may be an uphill struggle to establish as a club.A number of our teachers and students ride. We even have a student who is a competitive motorcross rider. I bumped into a graduate last year when I was writing my motorcycling learner's test, she was taking the motorcycling technician course at Conestoga College in Guelph. There is expertise, interest and activity around motorcycling in our school and our community, I only hope that the panicky liability-thinking that dictates a lot of decision making in schools calms down and takes a rational look at this. Offering students access to the experience and opportunity a club provides would lead to a safer and more well rounded introduction to motorcycling. From that point of view, every high school should have a club!
We could pull off field trips to motorcycle shows (along with the auto-tech department) and offer training opportunities both off road and on road. We have several local motorcycle retailers nearby who we could work with doing seminars or information sessions on various bikes and gear. The club would let the more experienced staff and students express their skill while offering the bike-curious a more thorough introduction to motorcycling.
I'm going to pitch this when I get back and see what the response is, I'm hoping reason trumps fear.
