Some of the best rides in New York State, in the 1980’s were the ABATE sponsored helmet protests. There was usually a designated camping area and riders made it a weekend event. The pack, consisting of several hundred bikes would meet on Monday in the huge parking lot near Taft Furniture, and the helmetless parade would ride Central Avenue into Albany, the capitol, where speeches and meetings with politicians took place. The whole event had a festive mood; I never saw animosity. After the event, folks put their helmets back on and rode home with a feeling of accomplishment and camaraderie.