by John Payne, Regional Officer of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club in Canada

It was in the early Spring of 1999 that I first became aware of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club. While browsing the internet I came across a link to a riding club called The Southern Cruisers Riding Club. I was immediately struck by their simple approach to what riding as a club was all about. The emphasis on riding and the lack of rules and regulations or the need for meetings or commitments of any kind sounded like just the thing I was looking for. I was already a member of a club which had more then enough rules and regulations and it was definitely time for a change.

There was and is a simple process to apply for membership online and as there were no dues or any other form of payment required. I figured I had nothing to lose. In about 3 days I received an email welcoming me to the Club and informing me that I was the first Canadian to have joined and I was given a "Member at Large" ID number and that was pretty well that.

About 3 months after joining I discovered that someone had started a chapter in the Toronto area and I immediately sent him an e-mail letting him know I was in the area and interested in joining his chapter.

However, before we were able to communicate I decided to investigate the possibility of starting a chapter of my own in the Burlington area. I sent in a request for chapter application and on a Friday evening shortly thereafter, I received a phone call from the Membership Director in Memphis Tennessee, Bill Strebel.

He wanted to know if I understood what was expected of me as a 1st Officer and if I was prepared to put in the effort to make a success of the Chapter. He went on to describe the Southern Cruisers, it's origin, it's founding President Rick Perry better known as Rickster and it's basic philosophy. I assured him that I was prepared to do whatever was necessary and Chapter 57 was born.

Shortly after the formation of Chapter 57 I met a fellow through the ISRA forum who happened to live in Burlington and was anxious to meet others who had a similar love of riding. We met over a coffee at Tim Hortons and grew to become fast friends. His name is Ken Offless and he is my 2nd Officer and right hand man.
It wasn't long after that when things began to take off. Applications for membership were steady and the next event that took place was the selection of my 3rd Officer and Webmaster, John Cosentini. John was quick to establish our own web page for Chapter 57, the first of it's kind in Canada and it has been growing ever since.

During this period, a chapter was also started in Kapuskasing under the guidance of Mike Micallef and has been growing steadily. It was clear that the philosophy of the Club; no dues, no meetings and no commitments of any kind had struck a cord with bikers everywhere and our membership continued to grow to the point that it became necessary to form new chapters.

First came Orangeville under the guidance of Kurt Wulf, then Niagara Falls under Mike Riddick, then London under Scott Milne, then Durham under Bruno Marchese, Kitchener under Bill Ralston, Newmarket under Mike Langevin, Kawartha Lakes under Richard Oulahen, Barrie under Justin Kidd, Timmins under Doug Turcotte and Muskoka under Garry Sparling.

On the National scene we have Vancouver Island under Bev Green, Calgary under Jim Oelke, Regina under Cory Radons, Winnipeg under Paul Elshoff, Montreal under Wes Brander and St. John River Valley under John Turner.

It was decided to put all the chapters under one link at www.SouthernCruisers.ca to simplify accessing the various Chapters not only in Ontario but Canada wide.

The rate of growth within Ontario and Chapter 57 led me to the conclusion that we needed someone to take on the responsibilities of dealing with community relations and this Spring Brian (Hink) Hinkley volunteered to take on this responsibility as 4th Officer.

His enthusiasm and dedication to both the Southern Cruisers and his role as Community Relations Officer has been outstanding. So it isn't surprising to add that on January 26th, 2003 Brian became 1st Officer of Chapter 57 leaving me free to deal with multi chapter issues both here in Ontario and Canada wide.

It is people like Ken, John and Brian and the continuing efforts and dedication of the Officers of the various chapters that help make this club the success it is.

Currently there are over 20,739 members spread among 364 Chapters world wide in the Southern Cruisers Riding Club and in Ontario the number has surpassed 1100 with a Canada wide membership of over 1300 divided among 18 Chapters. All this in a period of just under 4 years.

The fellowship and joy of riding combined with the "Keep it Simple" philosophy of the SCRC will, I'm sure continue to make this club the success that it is in the years to come.