Well, where to start?
I could start this as in all great stories
by saying '..a long time ago in a land far away..', and in essence
that would be true as the club evolved from a distant shore. The reality
is that this club started because one man had a vision. That man was
Nic, now our hardworking and totally committed club owner and administrator,
who decided that the world was ready for a new kind of virtual motorcycle
club, namely one that had respect for others as its core value.
This
was a bit radical as many bike clubs were aggressive, confrontational
places where newbies felt intimidated and lady members were limited
to a few brave souls with very thick skin who could brush aside the
inevitable remarks. Nic decided he wanted a club where the term 'family
friendly' was not just clever PR spin, but a reality. Nic
knew a few of us already and confidential discussions started with
a view to starting our own club. We were already members of other
clubs, but shall we just say that we all decided we wanted a change
of scenery.
There are many bike clubs on the web,
some dire and some great, but we felt we were looking for a club where
we respected each other and where every opinion was welcome without
abuse or arguments. Our leader
contacted a few of us and suggested we put our knowledge and dubious
talents together to get a new club off the ground. As I look back
now I realise what a formidable task that was, but the more hurdles
we faced the stronger our resolve grew that we would succeed.
We had decided from day one that the
membership of the club was everything - the better the members, the
better the club? We wanted folks who would participate in the club
(both virtually on the web, and in real life where they could), rather
than build up a membership database of a thousand or more who never
came back once registered - what's the point of that? A tall order
we thought, but it was surprisingly easy to find Fireblade enthusiasts
who felt the same. We have some great folks on the site, with more
joining each week, and each one brings something new to the club.
Some stay for a while and leave, that is true of all clubs, but our
core membership continues to rise and the rapid growth in 2008 has
been the result of us being number one in the Google search engine
rankings when the word 'Fireblade' is used.
The club now has a proper financial
setup that allows us to maintain this site and fund our overheads
correctly, good support and sponsorship from our lead supporting companies
with more in discussion, and our committee structure now has area
organisers as we take the club from a virtual meeting place to a physical
club that has regular meets both nationally and locally in your area.
Having said that we are not a business, have no desire to be one,
and still provide core benefits completely free of charge as that
is an ongoing philosophy of ours.
It was always important to focus the
club around the forum where we all come together and have some good
natured banter, help each other and our 'newbies' with any technical
problems, and arrange our meet-ups etc. To that end, and to make sure
our family friendly philosophy was maintained we appointed some forum
moderators. And what a great bunch they certainly are! They encourage
and motivate the members to use the forum, but are there in case our
fundamental principles need to be enforced. Oddly, apart from a few
initial and inevitable 'would-be members' (who didn't last long due
to being unwilling to live within our rules) they have had little
to do since. A real testimony to our core membership of over 500 like-minded
Fireblade enthusiasts.
Here's something that may be a surprise,
some members don't actually own a Fireblade, and many members have
additional makes of bike as well as a Fireblade. In fact a few folks
don't have a blade at all and ride another make of bike! It's OK,
they are receiving help and therapy... So don't feel intimidated if
you don't (yet) have a Fireblade, as long as the sight of one stirs
your blood you are OK in our book.
We had a great 2007 season and an even
better 2008 one, full of meetings, rideouts, and other events that
we encouraged members to participate in. Why not join us now for what
is going to be the busiest year yet for the club? You can also show
your support for the club by getting a CBRF sticker for your bike
(see
here) and or a club tee shirt and other club merchandise (see
here) if you want it. But that said we are not on any sort of
fund-raising drive. There is no membership fee for the forum or use
of the majority of this website, no annual subscriptions for the free
areas, and no payment expected by us for your enjoyment of this site.
We do have a full membership for those that want it, and they get
discounts and offers sent to them from a myriad of suppliers who are
now seeking us out because of our collective purchasing power. But
that is completely optional.
We do this because we love blades, and
if you do then we invite you to join us. Its a great club and one
where you will be respected.
Click here to
join us and get your free newsletter...... then come along to the
forum and have a chat, we are a friendly bunch!
