The Wild GeeseThis From James
- To have fun and socialise.
- Is a LOOSELY put together club which is not official and has no constitution to govern it. (This is a big attraction).
- Has no rules and ownership by any individual or group.
- Every individual has the choice to participate in activities, rides or social events .
- A forum for personal agendas
- A place to moralise on individual's personal values and lives
- Is not a platform to voice political, cultural or religious beliefs
There's dissent in the ranks and change is afoot !
This is my understanding of what the WGMC is all about :
Above all, to ride motorbikes and share the stories that are generated from this great activity
On the other hand this is my understanding of what the WGMC is not:
There seems to be quite a strong reaction to the events of last Sunday which, in essence, was a change to what normally happens on a Sunday.
Quite a few turned up for the usual get together and a decision was made for those who preferred to join in to break from the tradition of coffee and breakfast before a ride and head off to a different location.
To those members who were affected by the change of plan I sincerely feel sorry. I do have empathy for the fact that sometimes plans are made and changes come along and those plans are messed up. No one likes that and to some degree those who were affected have some cause for discontent.
However if you were really upset and have reacted very strongly to the events of last Sunday , I suggest that you maybe taking too much ownership of what is not yours or for that matter anyone else's and that is The WGMC.
Most bikers by the very nature of Motorbike riding, tend to be strong individuals and therefore have definite opinions and view points usually with a good splash of ego. Whilst these traits make for interesting people they can also be a bit of a problem when it comes to reaching consensus on various aspects of running a club even a loosely put together one like the WGMC.
Based on the above, all clubs have their ups and downs and as long as there's humans involved, there will always be the odd rift and disagreement. It comes with the territory and people should try to not get too upset about it.
The debate within the WGMC from the very start has been Socialise Vs Ride. Whilst we meet at ANY venue that provides seating with food and beverages the tendency will be (and it's only natural) to socialise and catch up with our riding buddies.
The down side of this is that riding tends to be left out or given a later time slot which shortens the actually riding time in a day.
A suggestion is that we, like other motorbiking groups, meet at a designated NEUTRAL gathering place, like a service station and from there, ride to the first stop for a coffee or something to eat.
Another suggestion is that we utilise the Web site that Gizmo so very kindly maintains and funds, to announce preferences for rides to come. The majority of folk have access to internet these days so this medium should not be a problem and for those who do, a call from a riding buddy can be the answer.
And maybe for those that have a need to know of a destination in advance, a monthly roster of set places can be drawn up to accommodate these needs.
The next step is to use our really good communication skills putting our egos and personal agendas aside and come up with a change that will accommodate the majority of WGMC punters.
This can be done, it's not that difficult!
Chau for Nau
