Another fun interview I had the opportunity to conduct at AIMExpo 2015 was with the wonderful Tina Doggett of the BMW Riders Association International.
Me: Tina, what is your membership at?
Tina: We have a membership of 5,000 members, and that’s increasing. We are an international club; we have members in Canada, Italy…all over the world.
We have a national event every year and this past week it was in Harrison, Arkansas, where the riding was fabulous.
Me: Is it track, is it road, is it off-road?
Tina: Harrison, Arkansas has a lot of great riding on their roads. They’ve got one of the top riding spots in the United States. We had an even out there. It was great. Everyone had a great time and now we’re here, trying to let people know we’re here.
Me: How would one go about joining your riders association?
Tina: They can go to our website, which is www.bmwra.org and they can sign up there as a new member, or they can download the application on the website and mail it in, or they can call headquarters and we can take care of all the information for them.
Me: Do you guys do anything to increase rider awareness?
Tina: Yes. BMW riders are notorious for safety. They’re probably the most serious about all the gear. They know their gear; they know their products. They’re all about education; they take a lot of additional classes. BMW riders are very serious about riding.
Me: And do you offer classes for your members or maybe discounts?
Tina: We don’t, but we’re partnered with BMW Performance Center, and as a member of the BMW Riders Association, you can go through them and save on your classes.
Me: One last question; do the international members come to the national events?
Tina: Some do, yes. It depends on how they handle their vacations and stuff.
When you’re a BMW rider, it’s actually kind of interesting because we have a lot of smaller events with local rallys. They’re all over the United States and this is how we re-connect with our friends that we’ve made over the years. You go to these and it’s “Oh hi!” and you catch up. It’s a family, it’s pretty cool.
If you’re a BMW rider, you should really check out BMW Riders Association International. Their membership rates are insanely affordable and you get cool benefits like a free subscription to their own magazine, On the Level Magazine, member only discounts, free classified ads, and more!
Hop on over to www.bmwra.org to learn more and join!
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