A Monthly Publication of the Modified Motorcycle Association of Arizona June 2009
Sleazy, Wheezy, Queasy, Breezy Rider friend of mine reminded me recently A that this year is the 40th anniversary of the release of the film “Easy Rider.” I remember seeing it for the first time at a theater in East Lansing, Michigan where I was attending Michigan State University. I’ve probably seen the movie a hundred times since. Each time I do there is one scene that really sums up the movie for me. Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson are camping outside a small Southern town, where the locals were less than friendly. The Jack Nicholson character tries to explain his opinion of why they are seen as a threat to these locals. “They’re not scared of you.” he says to Dennis Hopper’s “Billy,” “They’re scared of what you represent to them. . . What you represent to them is freedom. . . Oh yeah, they’re gonna talk to you and talk to you and talk to you about individual freedoms, but they see a free individual, it’s gonna scare ‘em.” I think that statement is really true. I think it was true then, I think it is true now and I think it will be true in the future. And I also think that it is the reason some of us are “bikers” and some of us are “people who ride bikes.”
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This is not another “Real Biker” debate. This is reality as defined by the ultimate motorcycle movie. The Easy-Rider ideal of a biker is a truly free individual. And very few of us are “free individuals.”
I have a lot of respect for the 1%ers. Yes, they scare most people. Do they scare them because they are perceived as rebellious and unruly and sometimes unlawful? I’m sure that’s part of it but maybe, just maybe, the thing that makes them really scary to most is that they are truly free. Bikers who live the lifestyle have given up on social mores, “acceptable“ behavior and sometimes laws, especially those they see as unjust. They ride
“I’m not a real biker because I’m willing to obey.” because it is their nature and their character, not because it’s recreation or sport. This is so different than the way most people live their lives it scares them. While it doesn’t especially scare me, I’ll admit I’m not a real biker. I live my life like the 99%ers - I am willing to obey. I own a bike but I also own a house and a car. I have obligations to my children, my granddaughter and the Beautiful Michele. I have a job, an HOA and credit card debt.
I am willing to follow the rules so I can have those things. And I will never scare anyone because I am not a truly “free individual.”
2 choices It comes down to this: You can be a “Real Biker.” Live the lifestyle. Ride where you want, when you want and how you want. And don’t follow the rules. Whatever the rules are, they don’t apply to a truly free individual. Or, you can be someone who rides and helps make the rules be what you want them to be. Like rules that don’t interfere with you riding when you want, where you want and how you want. I’m not a “Real Biker” but I’m not a poser either. I ride and I wrench (I wrench a lot – I own a Shovelhead). And I’m willing, beyond the obligations to job and family and the credit card companies, to work to make sure the rules I’m going to obey are rules that benefit me. I’m going to be active in making sure the rules about riding are about riding not restrictions on riding, the rules on driving a car protect us and the rules against prejudice extend to us as well. If you’re a real biker, living the lifestyle as a free individual, this message is not for you. I really do respect and even envy you. But for the rest of you – make a choice. Let’s face it, 1%ers are 1%ers because, well, they constitute only 1 percent of us. The rest of us whether we ride or don’t ride pretty much follow the rules. I don’t care if you’re an all-for-show sleazy rider, an oldgeezer wheezy rider, a very beginner queasy rider, or a few-times-a-year-get-your-face-inthe-wind breezy rider, if you’re not a true “easy rider” then join the fight. Call or write or e-mail your legislators. Be active in a motorcycle rights organization. Get on the “Call to Action” list. Become a “Defender.” At the very least, if you’re reading this and you’re not a member of an MRO, then join one. Your twenty bucks will help fund our efforts. Where ever, when ever or how ever you ride, ride safely. Gelman Editor, Motorcycle Patriot