Cobra World is a premier motorcycle club in
world. I had the opportunity to speak to
one of their Road Captains, Zach, about what a club is like and what makes
Cobra World so special. For anyone who
rides a motorcycle in world and for those who want to ride a motorcycle in
world, Cobra’s is the place to start your quest. One of the wonderful things offered by Cobra
is a beginner’s bike for only 1L and lessons on how to ride. Although they sponsor special days for
interested prospective members, if you want to be part of Cobra show up at
their SIM any time and speak to whomever is on the SIM [link at end of
article]. Cobra World is a very
welcoming place to all.
I have zero
experience in motorcycling in world, no that isn’t exactly true. I have ridden a motorcycle into the water and
given up. Yesterday I found a renewed
interest in riding after I tried a little with Road Captain Zach. First I had to learn a few new vocabulary
words to understand what he was speaking to me about. When you are taking your first look at their
motorcycle club [mc] and are just hanging around the SIM, not attending any
rides or any events, you are called a “hang around”. When you decide you are interested in being a
prospective member you become a “prospect”.
Prospects join in the rides and in all events if you are online at the
time. Prospects also go to church. Another new term, “church” is a meeting. So a prospect does all the things they would
be doing as a member for a while. The
goal is to get to know the members of Cobra while they get to know you at the
same time.
Membership to Cobra comes when the members vote you in and you
become a patched member.
As a Road Captain, part of what Zach does is
books their rides and runs certain events.
One of those events is the ‘Learn to Ride Event’ I mentioned earlier
where they promote helping people learn how to ride and to handle a motorcycle
and give them a view of this awesome mc.
Their rides take them on the roads of SL as well as to other SIMs where
there are tracks. At their SIM they have
three tracks that wind around the SIM gradually going into the sky. I had the opportunity to ride on the back of
Zach’s bike up all three tracks. There
is a place to stop mid-way along where there are shops and areas for kicking
back. I figure this is where the
experienced bikers wait for we beginners to catch up.
The mc has relationships with other mcs in world. The various mcs will allow another mc to ride
on their SIM. This happens fairly
frequently providing quite a diversity of tracks to explore.I learned another
important fact about the club, if someone rides along behind you they do not
have to be a club member.
This lead me to an interesting dialog with Zach as I thought
well….
Seersha Heart: do you ever
use your bike to flirt with women?
ZACH: well
maybe a few times lol
Seersha Heart: bet it is a
chick magnet *laughs*
ZACH: yes
chicks love bikes, most of the time I get along without having to bring the
bike out
Zach invited me
to the Cobra World SIM to take a look around.
I landed near their community board near a well-marked Rez Zone. Off to one side was the $1L bike for
beginners and those who didn’t have a motorcycle to ride. Some of the Cobra members are builders and
build bikes. Zach is learning to build
bikes and sounds quite excited about it.
It was time to see Zach’s favorite bike a White Stallion by Silvercloud
bikes complete with painted white stallion on the gas tank. When he told me he was going to “whip it out”
I became cautious as in world that could mean a lot of different things. However, he produced his bike and was
demonstrating the animations that came along with it. His bike can take a rider so the animations
worked for a two animation as well as a single animation. He told me it is no harder to drive with two
than it is with a single rider. I did
manage to make him laugh with this question…
Seersha Heart: does size
matter in a bike’s performance?
Zach: no with
bikes no
Seersha Heart: *laughs* good
to know
I spoke to Zach
about their mc on a wide range of questions.
I learned that the demographic of the club is about even men to
women. To become a Road Captain, he had
to finish a lot of rides and express interest in the position. I asked him what advantages someone would
have to being a member of Cobra World instead of riding alone. He said that at Cobra they are all
family. He also emphasized that when
they ride together it’s like you are riding with your family and you have a
great feeling of pride.
After seeing the clubhouse and the SIM up
close as well as having such a knowledgeable guide, I decided to give driving a
try. I must say Zach has enormous
patience. He offered his own bike for me
to try driving. It wasn’t until I was
actually driving that I thought I should have told him I didn’t know there were
gears to shift. He may have suspected my
lack of experience when I asked him “how did I get into reverse”. Well, irl the bike would have suffered, in
world I was actually able to drive a motorcycle better than I ever had
before. I did not run into the water,
and I listened to Zach’s advice.
If you are
thinking of trying to ride a motorcycle or a seasoned rider, Cobra World is
definitely a place to visit. The SIM is
well lain out, they have a clubhouse and a close relationship with
members. Stop in and give it a try, you
won’t regret dropping in on them. They
are super friendly and always open for new people to come along and join
up. This writer is not giving up on
riding yet, I plan to be a “hang around” for a while and see what happens.
Contacts: