OFF THE WIRE
http://galvestondailynews.com/story/159802
Motorcycle rights activist Sputnik dies at 70
By Bronwyn Turner Correspondent Published June 29, 2010
Sputnik Strain, 70, of Alvin, a motorcycle activist who strode through the button-down world of the state Capitol wearing a Mohawk and with the word “free” tattooed on his forehead, died Thursday in Elgin.
He had been working at the state office of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association when he was apparently felled by a heart attack. Strain had just finished lobbying this past session for one of the most comprehensive motorcycle safety bills in the country.
Strain also will be remembered for his determined push to repeal the motorcycle helmet law in Texas. The legislature approved the repeal in 1997.
More than 1,000 motorcyclists from across the country are expected for the memorial service, planned for July 10. His ashes will be carried in a biker casket trailer, pulled by the Black Diamond Motorcycle Hearse, a 1992 Electra Glide converted to a trike.
The parade of motorcyclists will lead to the Capitol grounds, where a memorial service is planned on the pink granite steps. It will be a fitting spot to remember the man legislators were hard put to forget.
“His appearance was, shall we say, different,” said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who was a state senator when he met Strain in 1993. “When you saw Sputnik, you remembered him. I recommend all lobbyists get a Mohawk haircut.”
Patterson authored the motorcycle helmet repeal law, with Strain’s support.
“He was just not going to take failure as an option,” Patterson said.
“He was jovial but determined. He was a friendly, outgoing guy, afraid of talking to no one.”
Strain, who kept his Mohawk haircut even into his senior years, taught a valuable lesson, Patterson said.
“Don’t be afraid of the first impression you leave because of your appearance because your persistence will always prevail.”
Bill Strain had been called “Sputnik” since his days in the National Guard, when an injury put him on painkillers. Friends joked about him being “high” as the Soviet satellite. Strain later changed his official name to “Sputnik.”
Strain was “the Willie Nelson of bikers,” said Terri Williams, secretary-treasurer of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association.
“I cannot put into words how devastating the loss is to the biker community, to his family,” she wrote on the association’s website.
“Sputnik will go down in history as the greatest motorcycle rights activist in the history of our nation.”
Williams met Strain when she was working at a motorcycle injury attorney’s office in Austin. He formed the association in 1992, organizing bikers to descend on the state Capitol annually to lobby for safety laws and other issues.
Strain will be remembered not only as an activist but also as an encourager, Williams said.
“He always taught me, no matter what happens to me, I should always have faith and keep going. He had a great deal of faith in God.”
For Strain’s 70th birthday, he had additional artwork added to his forehead. Angel wings were placed on either side of the word “Free.”
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Details
• Strain is survived by his wife, Gwendolyn; three children, Chance, Vernon and Lisa; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
• For updated information on the memorial service plans, check the website, www.tmra2.org
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