Everyone’s Invited

Story by David G. Williams// Photos by David G. Williams and Warren Fenton
December 19 2018

A monthly motorcycle social event that’s spreading to all the coolest cities.

On a warm August night in Vancouver, I back my bike against the curb by an ice cream shop and shut down the engine. I managed to squeeze into a space, along with more than 100 other bikes lining both sides of the street. I’m greeted by Warren Fenton, one of the Vancouver hosts. He tries to greet everyone, makes introductions to be sure everyone meets someone new, takes photos and posts them to Instagram. “This isn’t shop-ride oriented, so we don’t have any ride worries. It’s strictly for people to meet new people, make new friends and talk,” Fenton explains.
Riders arrive on everything from scooters and vintage rides to current street bikes and mini-bikes and even a sidecar outfit with a dog in it. I meet Dave with his 1966 Tiger 500 that looks virtually new. We talk about his experience buying it from an old guy on Vancouver Island who was a machinist. “The drum brakes are pretty good,” Dave says. “I just leave lots of room.” We talk for a bit more before moving on to meet other riders. This is #TheMotoSocial.

If you live in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Hamburg, Budapest, Cape Town or Aukland, you could be attending a MotoSocial, hang with cool bike lovers, drink coffee or eat ice cream and ogle bikes. But primarily, the idea is to just connect as friends. And even if you don’t live in one of these cities, the way this thing is spreading, it could be in your town by the time you read this. You could even be a host.

Humble Beginnings

Motorcycles at the Moto SocialIt started quite simply. Back in 2013, Viktor Radics of Toronto and his bride, Samantha had an idea. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have an event during which riders of all stripes and brands could just hang, talk and get to know each other?”

Their goal was to help people connect with one another and to help everyone feel more at home and connected in their city – to make Toronto feel more intimate and to solidify the community of riders. Using motorcycles as the glue, the idea was to bring people together in person with these three basic principles: Everyone is welcome, everyone is invited and everyone is included.

And Viktor and Sam have worked And Viktor and Sam have worked hard at it, finding hosts in all the above-named cities, spreading the good vibes and sense of community. People are connecting with them through social media and wanting to get involved. This isn’t some local bike night. It’s becoming a global phenomenon. “We exist to build community and to build camaraderie,” Viktor says. “We’re more about the people. The bikes are just the common thread.”

Meeting People Face to Face

In this age of the social media-obsessed, Viktor and Sam are trying to get people to meet other actual people. And it’s working. I meet Kelvin with his ’05 “Bruxton,” which is his cross between a Bonneville and Thruxton. There’s schoolteacher Maureen with her 113 cc Cowl Edition Yamaha Raider. Then Paula with her ’96 Honda Magna. Sporting her classic Marlon Brando-style riding jacket, Paula’s a newer rider and is embracing the biking community, and loving riding with her dad, who’s been on two wheels for 50 years. “There are varying degrees of douchebaggery in the riding community, but this is a good group,” she says. That seems a fair assessment.

TheMotoSocial has a beautiful and bountiful website filled with stories, photos, a blog, videos and details for every city. I encourage you to visit it, and get involved. And as Fenton says, “Just be friendly.”

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