Summer 2010 was a bittersweet time for bikers around the country as they mourned the passing and celebrated the life of a true legend in the arena of motorcycle rights, Sputnik Strain. Strain, born Bill Strain, died of a heart attack at the age of 70 on June 24. He had just completed lobbying work for a Texas state motorcycle safety bill.

New York personal injury lawyer Mitch Proner, a devoted biker who advocates on behalf of injured motorcyclists, has spent much of his career protecting and asserting the rights of his fellow bikers. Likewise, Strain – known for the Mohawk he wore even in his later years and the tattoo of the word “free” emblazoned on his forehead – fought to ensure that bikers’ rights were not infringed upon by the government. “Sputnik will go down in history as the greatest motorcycle rights activist in the history of our nation,” said Terri Williams, a one-time employee of a motorcycle accident lawyer and current secretary-treasurer of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association, for which Strain also worked.

Indeed, Strain’s loss will be felt, not only in his beloved Texas, but from the shores of California to the streets of New York. Personal injury law has changed for the better due to the hard and selfless work of activists such as Strain. Fittingly, Strain’s ashes were carried in a biker casket trailer attached to a Black Diamond Motorcycle Hearse.

New York personal injury lawyer Mitch Proner and his fellow bikers will continue to be vigilant protectors of bikers’ rights, helping those who have been injured by the negligence of others. The motorcycle world, however, will never know the likes of Sputnik Strain again.

“When you saw Sputnik, you remembered him,” said Jerry Patterson, a former Texas state senator who first met Strain in 1993. “I recommend all lobbyists get a Mohawk haircut.”