If you felt the Northwest Side rumble on Sunday, that was probably them.

A local motorcycle-enthusiast group kickstarted the cycling season on Sunday as 125 bikers staged a mobile safety-awareness rally.

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George "Amish" Deas of Northlake enjoys a morning cigar as he starts his motorcycle up to take part in the ABATE 2007 safety awareness ride beginning at the 36th Ward office of Alderman William Banks Sunday..
(Joel Wintermantle/for Pioneer Press)

The Chicago chapter of ABATE (A Brotherhood Aimed Towards Education) Illinois led members of area cycling clubs on the 80-mile, two-wheel trek across Chicago and the suburbs, starting at Alderman William Banks' 36th Ward office, 6841 W. Belmont Ave., in the city's Montclare community. Though he didn't join the procession, Banks, a longtime supporter and eight-year member of ABATE, that morning received the organization's highest honor.

"The Dave 'Dogkiller' White Award is given out yearly to the person that has done the most for motorcyclists' rights and helping us out with different things, and Alderman Banks fit the bill this year," said Bob "Doc" Schraeder, a spokesman for the local chapter, which has nearly 500 members.

Schraeder, a Dunning resident and 6-year member, said Banks has been an ABATE backer for most of the local chapter's 22-year history, one which started before the statewide organization -- now 61-chapters strong -- existed. Schraeder recounted a City Council meeting during which a Near North Side alderman "known for disliking ABATE" interjected into a discussion regarding motorcycle-parking issues to note he'd never met a member of the organization that he liked.

"Alderman Banks stood up and said, 'Excuse me, alderman, but I take offense; I am an ABATE member,' " Schraeder said. "... When we need something, he's there."

Banks, he added, even sprang for coffee and donuts for the throng of cyclists before the hour-and-15-minute ride started at 10 a.m. The route took them from the alderman's office to their final destination of Harvard, Ill. There, members met with the town's mayor, who presented a proclamation commemorating May as Motorcycle Awareness Month.

"We were out riding to let people see the bikes and recognize that they're out on the streets, now," Schraeder said of the safety demonstration. "Although there are people who ride them year-round, there are people out there by the thousands" in spring and summer.

Notices for the ride hailed it as a "rain-or-shine" event, but cyclists lucked out, enjoying a sun-soaked day that reached 82 degrees.

ABATE has statewide chapters across the United States, though no centralized authority ties them together on a national level. Chapters comprise members from motorcycle clubs who join forces to promote safety-awareness and education, as well as to lobby local governments in favor of riders' rights, Schraeder explained. He pointed to the defeat of a City Council initiative several years ago to ban cycles on Lake Shore Drive.

The mission of ABATE is encapsulated in its stance on helmet laws, which Illinois does not have, Schraeder said.

"We're not anti-helmet, whatsoever," he said. "We have members who ride and wear helmets.

"What we want is freedom of choice ... . That's what we're about."