This article is for those folks that have the following perception "Biker = Outlaw".
ALL FELLOW BIKERS - YOU ARE EXCUSED FROM THIS LESSON....
Ok - Plenty of us have either read or written something about a Bikers Image. Rough, tough, rebellious, outlaw, assholes - you name it, it probably all personifies negativity.
Despite those occasions where charity rides are made, the overall persona is - STAY AWAY FROM THEM! I'm sure there are some benefit organizations that are probably scarred to death to even put out there hand to take the check for fear of losing their life.
Maybe this sounds harsh and even controversial, but I don't really care. We can thank our Biker ancestors for providing this image and the many generations that followed to carry it on. Even today, if you have been reading the papers or watching TV, the image still lives on.
However, how many blue and white collar workers do you know or hear about, that love to ride? Personally, I know plenty. Do you think they are part of the Hells Angels? Do you think they are out selling their families and wives? Do you think they are plotting which bike they are going to steal next? HMMMMMM - Give it some thought if you really need to....
OK - I know what it is. It's our leather and denim. It's our shaded masks that cover our face. It's our loud exhausts that cause chaos. It's our tattoos that are a sin of the world! It's our bandannas and rough looks. Is this what scares the crap out of you????
Well let me help educate you with a short course entitled "Bike 101 Safety for dummies":
1. Leather - It is our second skin on the road in case we have the unfortunate pleasure of meeting you in an accident. Should we hit pavement, the leather protects our skin!
2. Denim - Seriously - Would you wear a three piece suit on a bike?
3. Shaded Masks - These are called helmets and visors. Helmets are to prevent our head from splitting open in the event of item 1 above. As for the dark tinted visors - do you wear sunglasses when you drive? Same idea on a helmet Einstein!!
4. Loud Exhausts - I'll make this real simple - if you HEAR them in your car, it just saved MY LIFE!
5. Tattoos - Had those before I had a bike... So go back to the drawing board....
6. Bandannas - Have you ever wore a ball cap for several hours and took it off thinking that you looked like a million bucks? Or - can you imagine wearing shoes with no socks for hours at a time. How do you think these shoes would smell afterwards? Get my point?...
7. Rough Looks - How do you think your skin would look after traveling in the wind at an average speed of 55 mph or over?
Now that I have explained in a short time period the reasons to these outlandish acts of rebellion we display, I'm willing to bet by tomorrow, or maybe even in the next few seconds after you move on from this article, your mind will have not changed one bit.
So do me a favor - don't ever think of getting on a bike!!!
Rubber Side Down! (What’s the point of trying to explain that to you?!)
B
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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4 comments:
Amen brother! I realized a long time ago that "people" are going to think what they will of bikers regardless of the good that comes from charitable rides and events. I try not to give a rip what they think. I have my family, my job, and my home... so my lifestyle is just none of their business! Some say, the older I get, the more like an old mother duck I become... Flat footed and don't give a damn! Ride on!
Leather and denim - check
Shaded mask- check,on occassion
Loud exhaust - check
Tats and bandanna - no check
Rough look - I was born this way
Never have considered myself a Biker. I'm just a guy who loves to be in the wind, on two wheels, doing my own thing. More of a Scooterist than anything else. That works for me and I couldn't care less what other folks think about me.
But, that also reminds me of being in the lobby of a bank a year or so ago. This guy comes in and he is jingling as he walks. Everyone in the place turns to look at him. Dressed in full, new, leather, biker boots that he stomped with each step, chains dropping from each hip, slapping together with each movement, black bandanna with a skull, and dark glasses. He followed me out and as I mounted my Harley he climbed into a mini van. Nope it wasn't Halloween, just a Bad Ass Biker - Wanna Be terrorizing the masses.
People judge me a lot in Chile just because I'm a gringa, so I really try not to judge anybody just because they're anything.
the only bikers I really disliked were those that met at a bar near my house and all revved their enginges at 3:30am. but I didn't dislike them because they were bikers, just because they were inconsiderate of the hour and the fact that other people were sleeping and their noises were SO LOUD.
Nice job Bam! Like AZ Harley dude I too was born this way... never had two thoughts about it otherwise! Look forward to reading more.
Ride Safe