Ernie S.
Diamond Member
Last Wednesday, I loaded up the Harley in my toy hauler and headed back down to South Florida.
For the 10 years I lived in the Fort Lauderdale area, every year on the second Sunday in December, I've gone for a ride with 30 or 40 thousand of my closest friends.
The ride is called "Toys in the Sun" and last Sunday was the 24th time South Florida motorcycle clubs and organizations have come together to raise money for the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital and collect toys for kids that wouldn't have toys under the tree if it wasn't for thousands of mean, nasty, ugly, long haired, bushy bearded outlaws.
It rained Sunday for the first time in my years of attending, but we still managed to get 35,000 motorcycles and approximately 70,000 people.
We collected a bit north of $1,000,000 and 9 semis full of toys.
Not bad for a bunch of reprobates, huh?
So, I guess what I want to discuss is what people think of bikers.
I've ridden Harley Davidsons for 43 years now and have watched the perception the general public has of my brothers and sisters change some over the years, but there are some still out there that view us with disdain.
35 years ago, I rode up on a motorcycle accident where a car had purposely cut off a bike. A local patch holder was riding with his wife, He was killed instantly and his wife died a few hours later.
The man who cut them off told the investigating officer that it was no big deal, they were only a couple of biker scum.
The officer, who was a biker himself, got suspended for 2 weeks for beating the crap out of the bas&*%d.
I've had people try the same crap on me as well, though only once in the last 10 years or so.
These days, it's not nearly so blatant, but I still see people roll up their windows and lock their doors when I pull along side.
So, I'm a biker. Do you feel threatened? How do you react when me and a few of my friends pull up a stool at your favorite watering hole?
I guess
For the 10 years I lived in the Fort Lauderdale area, every year on the second Sunday in December, I've gone for a ride with 30 or 40 thousand of my closest friends.
The ride is called "Toys in the Sun" and last Sunday was the 24th time South Florida motorcycle clubs and organizations have come together to raise money for the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital and collect toys for kids that wouldn't have toys under the tree if it wasn't for thousands of mean, nasty, ugly, long haired, bushy bearded outlaws.
It rained Sunday for the first time in my years of attending, but we still managed to get 35,000 motorcycles and approximately 70,000 people.
We collected a bit north of $1,000,000 and 9 semis full of toys.
Not bad for a bunch of reprobates, huh?
So, I guess what I want to discuss is what people think of bikers.
I've ridden Harley Davidsons for 43 years now and have watched the perception the general public has of my brothers and sisters change some over the years, but there are some still out there that view us with disdain.
35 years ago, I rode up on a motorcycle accident where a car had purposely cut off a bike. A local patch holder was riding with his wife, He was killed instantly and his wife died a few hours later.
The man who cut them off told the investigating officer that it was no big deal, they were only a couple of biker scum.
The officer, who was a biker himself, got suspended for 2 weeks for beating the crap out of the bas&*%d.
I've had people try the same crap on me as well, though only once in the last 10 years or so.
These days, it's not nearly so blatant, but I still see people roll up their windows and lock their doors when I pull along side.
So, I'm a biker. Do you feel threatened? How do you react when me and a few of my friends pull up a stool at your favorite watering hole?
I guess