BIKES: Semper Ride

Motorcycling Lifestyles

BIKES: Semper Ride

Camp LeJeune enlists the help of Cornerspeed's Aaron Stevensen for some riding instruction...

Aaron Stevenson | http://cornerspeed.net | Posted July 01, 2009 Charlotte, NC

At times the wind became so intense that Tommy and company had to cut the FMX show short as they were being blown over towards the edges of their landing ramp. (Photo: Aaron Stevenson)

Last week I received a phone call from my friend Ike Dejager at 2020racingacademy.com regarding motorcycle education for members of the armed services. Ike’s school already works with the USMC for military off road training so he’s very familiar with what’s happening in the military regarding motorcycling. Ike put me in touch with 1st Sergeant Jason Joiner at Camp LeJeune, the Marine Corps base in Jacksonville, NC. The Marine Corps would be hosting a motorcycle expo and rally in conjunction with the release of a movie made for the Marines on motorcycling and rider education entitled “Semper Ride”. 1st Sgt. Joiner asked if I would be interested in coming down to Camp LeJeune to talk to some of the Marines about the Cornerspeed and Cornerspin schools (www.cornerspeed.net) and rider education. After talking to him for just a few minutes, I readily agreed. I already knew that many service men and women were getting injured on sport bikes. What I didn’t know was that our fighting men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are returning to the US after surviving combat deployment only to die in motorcycle accidents stateside. We are losing more Marines in motorcycle accidents than in combat. This alarming and sad statistic has prompted the Marine Corps commanders into action. To help launch the rider education and raise awareness, viewing Semper Ride, which by the way, is a very cool flick featuring a laundry list of top rider’s from MX to road racing to FMX, was mandatory for all personnel.

And speaking of personnel let me explain something here for those of you that haven’t been to a base like LeJeune. At any given time, there are over 45,000 Marines at this one base. This is definitely not the place for a foreign power to attempt a beach landing! In addition to LeJeune, USMC Air Station Cherry Point, and Camp Geiger are right next-door, and they too were part of this rally including a base to base “poker run” style ride for Marines.

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