#bikerblah

[bikerblah]

God bless the soldiers! And airmen, sailors. I am a product of the United States Department of Defense, my father was a soldier, my mother was a hippie, I have a little brother, and nobody cares !!! I have learned lol, but the advantage of growing up moving around a lot, is the culture you can absorb and life’s moral lessons are always on a faster grading curve …

There’s a town outside of Ft Sill , Oklahoma known as Lawton . As I recall the only notable thing about the town , other than the military base was a Goodyear plant , soooo just sniff on that for a sec . I’m trying to place the year in time and the only thing I got is when the raiders and redskins went to the superbowl My little brother had the raiders rain poncho and I was rocking the redskins , my brother was so popular walking around the Taft elementary school yard during recess, I digress , It was the first time I remember that my dad had decided to live off base , even that’s not really important but at this time in my life I would first come to understand the “have’s” and “have not’s”.

I guess it’s common to progress as a child on two wheels into BMX racing but what I have learned is that it is not common, is what everyone refers to as a natural . In fact it takes a lot time , money , and practice to get good at two wheels (no matter what discipline) … now all I saw was the neighbor kid that was my age riding around on a cool looking huffy, and before I know it , he and his parents are inviting dad and I to the local BMX race track.

Why am I typing this ? Cause I have to start at the beginning, None of the clicks or or sub cultures are going to make sense if the “beginning” is skipped, however I can summarize, I didn’t have a proper track bike when I went , my father also didn’t understand why the helmet and pads he bought at the post exchange on base were frowned upon , this would be my first experience with American civilian citizens and the very pervasive judgement and ridicule one will endure when your poor.

… I had to be about 9 years of age , the track was located in an area near “medicine park” just outside of the Indian reservation, I remember buffalo/bison grazing near the road as we drove to the track, I also remember the emotional roller coaster of excitement turning to fear as you see the track and riders, my dad had to help me pull my huffy out of the trunk , the older boys were catching so much air off the jumps, the only thing that stopped my legs from shaking was pedaling the bike to registration. My dad barley had the 10 bucks to participate, at the end of the night I would have wrecked twice , bent my front rim , would learn how to take insults from grown adults and also experience another competitor donating a rim and showing me how to change the inter tube, I would place 5th in my first BMX attempt and although it’s nothing to brag about, it was enough to come back the next weekend and race without having to pay another registration fee, something my dad liked a lot , there was a half dozen races and the best I did was a 3rd place finish, a blue ribbon, no trophies in the early 80’s . I also took with me a fundamental dislike for American civilians and the status they assigned to wealth, don’t get me wrong the best riders on the track were not poorly equipped but you could see that the best riders, the more successful riders had good gear and equipment, they were also the ones that helped out the most .

I’ve carried this memory with me for close to 40 years now , and in my youth I was relentless to call out “posers” , “glamour boys”, “wannabes” , “cheerleaders”, and “fakers of funk” … I would take a permanent maker and write “I am a slow ass pussy” on your rear tire near your chicken strip , then stand there making fun of your squeaky new leather jacket , trying to get you to swing on me, I have been in many dust ups , and if I’m honest, I’ve lost more fist fights then I have won … if I’m going to be honest…. As I do an inventory on this behavior, it’s just jealousy, I have always believed that you shouldn’t be able to buy your way into this culture , at least not “hard core biker” culture .

The economic downturn of 08/09 , taught me a big lesson in economics, hindsight is always clear but , I have learned that it’s the rich or the more affluent motorcyclists that keep the culture funded, when Freddy Mack and Fannie mae went bust, Sons of Anarchy finished, Billy Lane killed a man drunk driving… again … all the bike build shows left cable , it was hard for a biker , no one was buying bikes, no one was building, bike shops and dealerships just went away , it was a bubble and I was there , I remember living in a urban city of Nashville and could only get parts off of eBay … crickets, I still hear people say I used to ride , like it’s a pass to come and scrutinize my sled , I just nod , sometimes I’ll ask why did you stop ? Did you wreck? Have kids ? The answers vary but I usually can pick up that it just wasn’t a “cool” “popular” thing to do any longer , again the Population that is the American pop culture had decided, so what is the being a “biker” … is it a fad?? Is it a culture? Is it a lifestyle? Or is it simply an affordable form of transportation?? What is this thing of ours ??

Till the next blah 🤘… ride safe , ride sober 😎