Sauntering vaguely downward / Why so SeRiOuS?
Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 1:54 pm
Long with little fulfillment at the end. You've been warned.
So this (relatively new) guy at work decides to learn to ride last spring. Buys an 89 Sportster, very cool little bike. I try and nudge him in the right direction a few times, get him wearing a helmet and proper armored jacket, etc. He was never ootmik material per se, but potential to be a positive note in the overall cacophony of riders out there.
Now, not that his turn toward the less-desirable side makes him a bag guy, or less of a rider, in fact, he's pretty hardcore about racking up miles, but, well, you be the judge...
Over the summer, he goes to the Harley dealer, and after a few trips, and talking about all the really great guys (salespeople) he's met there, he comes in one day with a brand-spanking-new Sportster 48. And they're sharp looking bikes, it's just the factory took all the fun out of it for you, but whatever. So he comes to me a lot with bike questions, and so we banter some stuff around, and he really doesn't want to modify it/customize it, it's too "perfect" as is. He decides on some new pipes, same ones I have. I tell him sweet, we'll pop those on over a few beers one night. Well, no, the dealership will do that, cause his "buddies" will hook him up.
OK, not everyone is really into working on their own bike, which I argued with him that if he's gonna ride a Harley, let alone a Sportster long distance, he needs to learn some basics, but whatever.
So then one day he sends me a few pics from the dealer of him trying on different jackets, comparing and contrasting the Willy G skull vs the classic Dirt Track style. My response was "which has more armor?"
Neither...
So at a class this fall he pulls up in his HD chaps, HD jacket, Scorpion helmet (there is still good in him!!), and at lunch, pulls out his HD chain wallet to pay. With a CC (just sayin'
).A few weeks go by, and he starts talking about a Firefighter MC he's been looking into, the Axemen. By my best intel, they like to walk the line, they went the club route and have their 3-patch back, and get to call themselves an MC, yadda yadda. So I kind of point out to him that it's certainly his choice, but those clubs are a little weird. I give him the short version of the UTMC early history as I understand it, and left it at that.
Another week goes by, and he comes to work, wearing his Axemen "cut," talking about how cool all those guys are. So ok, I've kinda lost this one, but hey, maybe he'll look around one day and decide being a rider involves riding, not costuming. Whatever, still an intelligent guy to talk bikes with.
So today, my shift is doing our vacation picks for next year, and I'm waiting to pounce on DOOM!!! dates, and he's trying to line up Sturgis.
One of the officers looks over at the two of us as we have a running conversation between picks about bike stuff, and tries to start ribbing us about being in "clubs" (I've tried to explain us, it's like beating my head into a wall).
The officer says to me "and you, yours has that funny name, it's something weird, what is it?"
To which I respond, "No, HIS is the funny one" as I start to get a random inkling of the giggles.
The other rider responds for me, "the Underground Terrorist Motorcycle Cult. We're the AXEMEN, what's funny about that?"
Me, laughing outright now "because you guys take yourselves seriously!"
Noone else there got it. Thought some of you might.
-Rench
