|
|
| Author |
Message |
| ironboltbruce |
This post is not being displayed because it has a low rating (Spam). Unhide this post / all posts.
|
 ironboltbruce L Plate Warrior
Joined: 21 Aug 2010 Karma : 
|
 Posted: 18:20 - 21 Aug 2010 Post subject: Sturgis 2010 Highlights Biker Exploitation and Pussification |
 |
|
STURGIS 2010: COLORS OR WEAPONS NOT WELCOME, BUT PEE WEE HERMAN IS...
A Not-So-Satirical Commentary on the 70th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Copyright (c) 2010 Bruce Arnold. Republication with attribution permitted.
"I never give'em Hell. I just tell the Truth and they think it's Hell."--Harry S. Truman
SATURDAY (14 August 2010) marked the end of 15 days and 5,790 miles in the saddle for DP, Hidalgo and me. We rode the first 1,515 miles from Miami Beach FL to Wichita Falls TX in 35 hours 35 minutes, qualifying for what should be certified as my 51st Iron Butt ride.
The next 1,540 miles took us west across stretches of Route 66 in Texas and New Mexico, then north through the awe-inspiring peaks and valleys of the Colorado Rockies, and finally northeast across Wyoming to Sundance (where the Kid got his name), our home base for the 70th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
After spending four enjoyable days cruising 455 leisurely miles through the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, we rode back to SoBe by a shorter 2,280 mile route that took us through the less-inspiring but somehow more inviting ridges and gaps of the Smokies.
For the first time since 2005, I made it all the way to Sturgis and back without being arrested under a false pretense, getting ticketed for defying an unjust mandate, or having to rush a heat-stricken rider 30 miles to an emergency room. In fact, our greatest misfortune this year was a lack of cell phone service: ATT may cover "97% of Americans", but they sure as Hell don't cover 97% of America. 97% of the time my ATT phone was a worthless pocket weight, so I am 97% sure I'll be replacing ATT with Verizon. Anyway... I'll share more details about "the Ride" in future installments, but first a disdain for political correctness coupled with deplorable anger management compells me to convey the following commentary regarding "the Rally":
The commercial exploitation and pussification of the American Biker was as open and obvious at this year's "Black Hills Trailer Classic" as is the ongoing perversion of patriotism, needless sacrifice of our sons and daughters, and greedy sacking of our treasury, pensions and savings by the Republocratic puppets on the payroll of "Washington, Inc." and their Kleptocratic masters pulling all strings left and right from Manhattan. "No Colors or Weapons Allowed Inside" signs pervaded business establishments along Main and Lazelle in Sturgis proper, making clear their intent to strip us of our culture as they take away our cash. I ignored them as I always do, but this year the Case 286 sheathed on my belt actually got me summarily uninvited from two "biker-friendly" bars that will receive no free press here.
Meanwhile, just down the road at the Buffalo Chip--owned and operated by Belle Fourche attorney Rod "Woody" Woodruff--throngs of both motorcyclists (those who rode) and trailerists (those who towed) wearing shiny new Hot Leathers vests adorned with just-purchased pins and freshly-sewn patches that say something but mean nothing (ok, been there) mindlessly welcomed registered sex offender and alleged child pornographer Paul Reubens a.k.a. "Pee Wee Herman" [ see https://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/4563512 and https://tinyurl.com/peeweeonpervlist ] to the stage. As biker-bucks barrister Woodruff put it, "Bob Dylan is here because people like him, and Pee Wee is here for the same reason: They are both American icons."
BULLSHIT:
Declaring a public peter pumper like Pee Wee Herman to be an "American icon" comparable to one of the greatest folk/protest singer/songwriters of our time is an absurdity, an outrage and an insult to our biker culture. But I can understand why Woodruff would take that position. The Buffalo Chip is, after all, aptly named. As is often the case with fabrications found in the bikers' rights arena, the Chip exists ostensibly to serve and benefit bikers but effectively to line the pockets of a lawyer. So naturally we can expect that shyster--like any shyster--to say whatever he deems necessary to keep the cash coming his way. What I cannot fathom, however, is why thousands of "bikers" were tripping over themselves to buy Pee Wee Herman t-shirts and dolls, and hundreds even signed up to ride with the sick bastard.
Even worse, for a children's charity like Kids and Chrome to stage a meet-and-greet with an accused kiddie porn collector as a fundraiser simply defies comprehension.
Given Woodruff's inexcusably perverse but undoubtedly profitable promotion of Pee Wee Herman this year, some are expecting the Chip's 2011 headliners to include Drop Dead Fred or Boy George, but my money's on Beverly Hills toilet troubadour George Michael. No matter, though. Barring their resurrection of Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan, I'll continue spending my hard-earned biker bucks at the Gold Pan in Custer, the Ponderosa in Hulett, the Dime Horseshoe in Sundance, the National 9 Lariat in Gillette, and the many beckoning Black Hills hideaways where our biker culture is honored and not exploited, our Constitutional right to bear arms is respected and not restricted, and "Welcome Bikers" is a sincere greeting rather than a rubber worm.
Find the linked version of this article posted here:
https://distanceriding.ldrlongdistancerider.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| hellkat |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 hellkat Super Spammer

Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| imanupstart |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 imanupstart Traffic Copper

Joined: 16 Jul 2009 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| bazza |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 bazza World Chat Champion
Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| MarJay |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 MarJay But it's British!

Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :     
|
 Posted: 21:53 - 21 Aug 2010 Post subject: |
 |
|
Sense of humour? fail.
Realising this is a UK based forum? Fail.
Believing that anyone is interested in that? Fail.
https://www.248am.com/images/fail.jpg ____________________ British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another. |
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| yuri2085 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 yuri2085 World Chat Champion
Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| pinkyfloyd |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 pinkyfloyd Super Spammer

Joined: 20 Jul 2010 Karma :   
|
 Posted: 00:07 - 22 Aug 2010 Post subject: |
 |
|
https://www.yattermatters.com/wp/wp-content/images/2009/08/sleeping-at-computer.jpg ____________________ illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said. |
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| ZRX61 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 ZRX61 Victor Meldrew
Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| multijoy |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 multijoy World Chat Champion

Joined: 03 Oct 2008 Karma :   
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| hellkat |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 hellkat Super Spammer

Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| Ariel Badger |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 Ariel Badger Super Spammer

Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Karma :     
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| hellkat |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 hellkat Super Spammer

Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| Ariel Badger |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 Ariel Badger Super Spammer

Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Karma :     
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| pinkyfloyd |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 pinkyfloyd Super Spammer

Joined: 20 Jul 2010 Karma :   
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| bazza |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 bazza World Chat Champion
Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Karma :  
|
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
| hellkat |
This post is not being displayed .
|
 hellkat Super Spammer

Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :  
|
 Posted: 10:50 - 22 Aug 2010 Post subject: Re: Sturgis 2010 Highlights Biker Exploitation and Pussifica |
 |
|
| Quote: | where our biker culture is ... not exploited |
The bit that confuses me is he is not understanding that the exploitation is predominantly of those people who buy themselves into the culture anyway.
Its only the wannabe types that want to buy all the associated crap that goes with "the lifestyle" to convince themselves and others of their righteousness.
Most bikers wouldn't really give a shit about having a PeeWee Herman doll - other than maybe to use for jokey voodoo or to hang on a dartboard.
Many are too busy doing their own thing to really be interested in the huge marketing drives directed at stupid people who are ready to throw their money into the pockets of the lawyers-cum-bar-owners and faux-biker knick-knack manufacturers.
It never ceases to amaze me that they keep claiming to be individuals, and yet riding all those miles to somewhere like Sturgis, Daytona, Laconia, to be ripped off not only by "the man" who owns all the petrol stations - but also by the corporate barons who have the sponsorship bucks to keep those rallies going, and who have invaded almost all big events nowadays.
Any event organiser knows that there's nothing quite like capturing a big sponsor for your event, and for quite some time organisers can be pretty elated about the prospect of having "names" at their rallies/parties. But after a while, somehow noboby notices that they're all kowtowing and chasing their tail doing what the corporate or celeb wants, and not that which they themselves or their punters want.
There comes a time when the smart money moves out and goes back to doing their own less glossy, less sponsored, less stressful thing elsewhere, i.e. drinking with their mates, in a little bar where they can park their bikes round the back
But people like the OP refuse to be budged from their place at the busiest noisiest bar, they reserve their right to have a grouchy old pioneer mentality because they were "there first".
Have fun, old man.
I'll be down the road somewhere else. ____________________ Not nearly as interesting in real life. |
|
| Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
 |
Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 15 years, 217 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
 |
|
|