HAVE A READ OF DARREN'S STORY BEFORE SCROLLING DOWN FOR MEMBERSHIP DETAILS ...
So, there we were, the wife and I enjoying a quiet coffee in a cafe near Gran Alicante having just parked up my 1800cc Suzuki Intruder, when a large group of fellow bikers pulled up and sat down a few metres from where we sat. A number were English speaking, but I also noticed that this was a multi-national club with French, German, Norwegian, Flemish and other languages being spoken.
What was also noticeable and somewhat unusual with many motorcycle clubs, there were lady riders and many of the riders' partners riding pillion were also 'patched up' with the "Rawhiders MG" insignia on their backs.
So, as like-minded bikers always do......we all start chatting!
Having ridden bikes mainly with groups of friends over the past thirty plus years, I was very interested to learn more about the Rawhiders MG Club and what seemed to be a very friendly and welcoming bunch of guys and girls, aged from their late 40's into their 60's. I discovered that the club was established 13 years ago and the Spanish term 'MG' (Moto Grupo) is equivalent to that of an 'MCC' in the UK, a formally recognised motorcycle club that operates in a slightly more relaxed manner, yet observes all the protocols of an authorised back-patched members motorcycle club.
I am pleased I made conversation.....I have now been a very proud Rawhider club member for over five years!
Our Club has one of the largest multi-national memberships right across the Costa Blanca, many have Spanish residency, but others also live overseas and visit Spain either within their permitted periods or just have holiday homes and visit a few times a year. There are no fixed requirements to how often an MG member has to attend events and rides, other than be as committed as they can be. Whist being completely independent, the club is also closely associated and welcomed by many of the other major MG and MC bike clubs here on the Costa Blanca and regularly enjoys very friendly social inter-club clubhouse gatherings, ride outs with other clubs and events and are out on two wheels at least two, sometimes three times per week!
Rawhiders MG is very much a bike club with an all-important 'family' orientation and over 12 years, also prides itself and was founded on raising significant funds for important local Costa Blanca based charity organisations. These include the Alzheimer's Association in Torrevieja, the AAN families in need charity in La Marina, a Men's Refuge in Gandia and the MABS cancer charity. Please see our website for more information and photo's. Being in a great bike club and also raising funds for much needed local charities makes being a member, a very satisfying experience!
If you are an experienced motorcyclist and enjoy all the camaraderie of the wider bike scene and want to be part of a warm, friendly, but serious (yet fun and relaxed) patched motorcycle club, Rawhiders MG may well be for you. The Club has limited membership space now available for 2023. However, before making contact, please read all the club information contained on our website to ensure our club expectations can be met. In addition, please check out our Facebook pages for a fantastic insight into all the weekly activities that Rawhider members participate in.
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CLUB MEMBERSHIP DETAILS
You live in, or spend some time in Spain- Only 30 Euros covers one rider and pillion per annum. However for new joining members its a one off fee of 60 Euros for the first year (including all mandatory patches) then the fee reverts to 30 Euros per annum for subsequent years. The above fee relates to one bike per membership, including a pillion. So for members with 2 or more bikes in the family, the additional bike riders would be required to pay the membership fee.
Two mandatory front patches are included with your membership fee (Rawhiders MG patch and a personal name patch)
We also have an optional 'Adventure before Dementia' patch at an additional cost of 4€.
The back patch is released to members as and when, at the discretion of the Club Officers.
We normally ask any potential member who contacts us, to pop along and see us for a social chat and coffee, and then come out with us for a couple of rides or so, just to see if we all get along. It may be that you are not resident here yet, and just visiting, or you may be resident and between bikes etc, but whatever your situation, please contact us for a chat and we can take things from there.
If you are a scooter rider, please see the last paragraph at the bottom of this page!
If you become a member, please pay your membership fee via PayPal if possible...see payment instructions on the Subs and Donations Page. If you do not have a PayPal account, please ask a friend who has one, to pay us on your behalf. Alternatively you can pay in cash to one of our Club Officers at a meeting.
Just 4 other things to remember please!
- If you become a member, most of the emails we send out (and we dont send many) are for information only, but occasionally we send an important one out, where we need an answer (for example if a restaurant wants numbers for one of our breakfast meets) so please please reply as appropriate.
- Before you decide to become a member, have a good look around the site, in order to obtain a general flavour of the club, particularly this Become a Member Page, About us Page, Legal & Stuff Page, Patches & Protocols Page. Also please read and digest the Club Riding Policy below, and also check out the Membership Revocation details link as well. By joining the club you agree to be bound by all of the foregoing, including our general site culture and advice and guidelines. Also, when you gain access to the members Whattsapp Social Chat and Rider Ride-Out Groups, You agree to be bound by the relevant conditions of use.
- We are a proud community based and charity supporting patched club. Our members wear their jackets/vests/ bearing the club logos/patches with pride, so that when we are 'on the road' visiting our supported charities, other clubs, retail establishments, or riding in general, we look professional and responsible, projecting a good image and promoting the professional reputation of the club. Guidelines for club patch display and general patch protocols are available on the Patches and Protocols web-page. Please note that new members must wait 6 months before being able to purchase our back-patch at the clubs discretion.
- We ride sensibly and safely, and if you become a member, please read the Riding in Convoy advice, on the Safe Riding Info Page on the site. If a rider makes any mistake or misjudgement on a ride, which causes them or others, injury of any kind, when, for example, overtaking inappropriately, or any other unsafe action, the club does not accept responsibility for those individual’s activities.
If members have any suggestions, query, or indeed a complaint at any time, these should be directed to the club officers in writing. The merits of any such submissions, and in the case of a complaint, these will be fully investigated. If necessary the complainant will be invited to meet with club officers in order to hopefully reach an (amicable to both parties) solution ...However we must emphasise that after taking all the relevant facts and considerations into account, the clubs decision will be final.
In short, please read and scrutinise everything as mentioned above, there is no point in trying to join the club unless you are happy with everything ... if you have a query about anything, please flag it up and we will be happy to explain and elaborate.
Rawhiders MG - Club Riding Policy: (Statement 2020)
"Unlike many other MGs, MCC's and MC's, the Rawhider's Club Officers take a very liberal and relaxed approach to freely allow its members to ride out with any other patched clubs and riding groups. However, please observe Club rules that Rawhider's Colours should not be worn publicly when riding out with other clubs or riding groups unless permission has been granted. Other clubs / groups manage their rides in different ways and the Rawhiders observe a specific code of conduct that we are proud to put our colours to.
Whilst the Club take this somewhat unusual, but very relaxed approach to its members riding out with other clubs and groups, we insist that all Rawhider members MUST must prioritise official Rawhider Club ride-outs and club arranged events in preference to alternative ride options that may be offered elsewhere on the same day.
As stated above, Rawhider's Club Officers therefore insist that where members choose to ride out with alternative clubs or groups, this should be done "in addition
" to Rawhiders pre-arranged official Club ride-outs and Team events, not at the expense of the Club. This would be considered as unacceptable for most other clubs and Rawhider members would very much welcome improved participation from their fellow riders in valued support of the Club name".
A huge amount of work and planning goes into organising rides and events and Club Officers give up their own free time to include: driving the planned route in advance, arranging refreshment hospitality, health and safety for riders, booking places of interest to visit, and ensuring that the whole riding experience for members is enjoyed.
Ride-outs are arranged via the Future Events Page on the Website and also on our members Whattsapp Groups. Guidance regarding meeting times and places is also provided. Our usual procedure is that members meet up at different times and places prior to a final meet, and then we aim to arrive at our final destination as one convoy. The 'all member' final convoy arrival is important... say, where we have been invited to an event and are expected by marshal's. It also looks more professional if we all arrive as a group and not in 'dribs and drabs'
For clarity, the Club arranges the following official events per annum for all members to participate:
12 member ride-outs
12 breakfast mornings
Various away day riding/hotel breaks
Summer BBQ party
Xmas dinner party
Ad-hoc charity and fundraising events.
Before applying to join, if you are not sure about something, then ask us a question on the contact us page. Also your details are private and never disclosed to third parties.
Scooter Riders.......we extend warm greetings to all our scooter rider friends, and as fellow Two Wheeler's we have the greatest respect, but sadly we have to insist that to protect the core integrity of the club brand, we do restrict our membership to motorcycles only. If you are a scooter rider seeking a club, please contact us and we will endeavour to point you in the direction of scooter clubs on the Costa Blanca.