Benefits of membership.

[Gray]

Chicken Tikka is quite popular.

Back to membership. A club is made up of individuals contributions. Be it Jokes, Advice or Services. However a web based forum cost money to run and a lot of someone's time. I feel that £30 is a reasonable additional contribution for the amount of enjoyment I get from using the forums and invaluable advice.

[magick]

Hi LV

I met you at Lawnmower Mark's party - I would agree with Baza - if you are unsure about joining wait a bit and see - there is no rush.

The reason I joined the club was because there is no pressure to attend any rallies or meetings - I was in a club with very strict rules which meant that you had to attend 1 monthly meeting and at least 2 other weekly meetings and there were set rallies that everyone has to attend.

Dozer and I choose which club meets we attend and which rallies we go to with no influence or pressure from anyone else - and thats the way it suits us due to personal preference and other committments.

Look forward to seeing you at Mike's Farm Party - you simply have to try the cider

Magick

[Mike Benis]

Originally Posted by HOG maniac

I only joined because of the Birds

That's funny, I joined for the bees....

Seriously though, I think people get involved in this club at two levels, wanting to give back some of what they get out: the first is to join and pay the subs and the second is to help at local or national level with rallies, organisation and the committee etc. as time permits.

Cheers

Mike

[Tones]

Originally Posted by magick

you had to attend 1 monthly meeting and at least 2 other weekly meetings and there were set rallies that everyone has to attend.
Magick

Wow, HAD to attend........that's a bit harsh...


I joined the club as there was no pressure, just a lot of like minded people enjoying there varied interests around a common theme. I currently don't 'do' a lot of events, but I like the fact that I'm not discriminated against because of that.

[magick]

Hi Tones

I agree - it was difficult to fit the committment in with living life - but it is a tight knit club and a very good one - I am still in contact with pretty much all the club members just not an active member any longer.

That is what I find so great about HDRCGB - you make your own choice about involvement and no-one gets berated for being more or less involved.

[kevscrivener]

Originally Posted by willy_warmer

I think there is more pressure to be "involved" once you've payed up.You are part of the club and that becomes a responcibility.Rule 14 for example.
I can remember posts berating people who dont get involved and leaving all the organising up to the regular few. Its not everyones cup of tea L,V.
There's no question there are benefits, in discounts and stuff,but you have to pay a price for that.

I don't think we actually berate people who don't contribute physically, John, it's more despair that there aren't more like you who have actually stepped forward and done something useful, although with hindsight the Club should have been quicker to give credit to your contribution.

Given that it is a minority who get up off their asses and help I think that the subscription cost is well worth the money. Problem is of course that we're a one-make motorcycle club, just like the Triumph Owners Club or (dare I say it? ) the Gold Wing Owners' Club, and so we rely on volunteers, whilst at the same time telling everyone who wishes to join that "you don't have to do anything except pay your sub".

Perhaps in that respect we're our own worst enemy; however I would not have it any other way. Many of us have been down the other road, and that's why we're here.

I'm getting a little miffed by this have too BS. I joined the club as I met some like minded individuals via a invitation from a club member and enjoy riding with them.

The only law I have to follow loosely is the Law of the land. And I will ride with who I want whenever I want regardless of any club rules.

I hope I have not joined a club full of politicians and wannabe power mungers.

Originally Posted by L.V.

I’ve been contemplating paying up for membership to the H.D.R.C.G.B. for some time now,. I’ve got a fair rapport with many members here (on the support site) and have met a good few of them, & I’ve been to the odd event where the majority of the attendees were riders club members, and in general I quite like what I saw.

My question is.- Although I would gladly pay £30 P/A for a years membership- for this site alone.- It is in my understanding that it is “independent” of the club itself,- and is free for all, (bar the club business section). So considering I’d provably only do one or maybe two official events and maybe a couple of non-sanctioned satellite do’s is it really beneficial for me to pay membership?- bearing in mind I’d never wear any club regalia, provably wouldn’t use the tool hire (even though I can well understand the benefits of a tool bank). & isn’t most of what is in the club magazine readily available on this site,- only a few months earlier?

If someone could explain to me the full benefits that I would gain I’d be most grateful.

With Regards L.V.

I guess I could give as good an answer to this question as anybody, since I don't get any tangibly direct benefits of membership. It is true that you can get on this site without being a member, but it is also true that the site exists in conjunction with the club and it is this relationship with the club that gives it such a distinctive cache. If you run through the major contributors to the site, you will see that they are, almost without exception, members of the club. This says nearly all that can be said about the nature of the club. I doubt the cohesion that exists among the contributors to the site could be maintained without the club's existance.

The members have a wide array of views and perspectives on things. I, for one, wouldn't have it any other way. Being on the left, I am in a clear minority here, but it bothers me not at all, and I relish the discussions and arguments generated as a result of the differing ideologies. I recognize that some are nervous or put off by these kinds of discussions, but most of us who get into them still regard each other as family, and left to our own devices will sort these things out.

I don't feel any pressure to participate in the various club activities. And I certainly don't feel straightjacketed by any club rules (if I did, I'd just become a member of the Committee, and then the rules wouldn't apply to me ).

Originally Posted by lawnmower

snap

LV just do it theres no commitment and that 30 quid you will spend in one night down the pub will only give you a hangover

Originally Posted by Steppenwulf

yeah, the club £30 will give you a headache for the whole year

I had a hard time sitting in my chair after reading this, and I think I'm now incontinent.

[Limey_Dave]

I went to the club site looking for info and followed the link to this site.I read the disclaimer on this site so new the score but to me they are one and the same.It's mainly club members using this forum to talk as if at a club night.I liked what I saw and joined,the fact I could do it online just meant I did it sooner.Not everything in the 'quin gets on here,a couple of issues back there was a good story by a guy with a pan with shovel top end.He doesn't do computers which is a shame,I'd like to have seen more pics.

LV why not join then you can have a real quality moan as a disgruntled member.