ty ty ty that said it all

I guess I am not a biker anymore. I trailered my 41 year old Harley that I built to Sturgis last year. At 58 them hardtail kick starts are kind of ruff after a couple of hundred miles.

Moose, you earned your stripes and a lifetime membership a long time ago.

i am too mechanically inept ta be a biker, so!
but i do ride in every type of weather - hey, 'tis Ireland, i would ride all of 3 days a year if i rode only in fair weather...
i do sleep on the ground, or on a table for comfort sake
oh, and i don't own a fookin trailor!!!

I'm a biker if I wannabe and not if not. I got caught in the rain once after my overnite stay at the Motel Roach in Albany, Ga but got under the overpass as fast as I could. Never built a bike from the ground up, from up to down, from front to back, or back to front; did put a luggage rack on, a new cam and lifters, new exhuasts, pulled carb, and changed spark plugs. Just paid a man to do a new cam, lifters, and some other work for me; he knew what he was doing and I didn't. Hey, it's tough to live up to some of the biker standards that are tossed out there today when your responsibilities in life are much more than riding a bike. If a biker thinks he's cool or badd cause he meets all the so called standards in order to be a biker; well, try spending 12 years with no help raising kids from birth and 4 years old. I'm not tryin to toot my own horn here but we all are who we are. Some trailer their bikes because like was said; they wanna take the easy route (That's their choice)...or, the ol back goes or the hips are not real, or ya only got one leg (all kinds of reasons). Ya wanna ride then ride, ya wanna call yourself a biker then call yourself a biker...Who really gives a shit who, when, how, and what ya ride? Geeeeeeesh, this crap of we all have to fit in a nice little package of standards in order to be approved by someone else really gets old. If I don't meet your standards as a "BIKER", don't worry about it and ride your own bike with a smile on your face enjoying the freedom we have. Oh, annd I wear a leather vest (Actually 2) that has every patch, pin, and other insginia I earned as a member of another club that over the years has fought every battle when called to defend your right to make your self proclaimed standards and I'm proud of what I wear on my vest, cut, whatever because I earned it. Everybody ride safe and ride free!!

i'd say ya've earned yer wings, brother dude...

i have ridden in the rain and ice, because my truck was broke down and had to get to work, would have rather drove the cage those days. i ride when my shoulders and back allow it, there is steel just above the waist band, and both rotator cuffs have been torn off and sewn back on. i trailer my bike in to the shop when the problems are more than i have time to deal with, like fxr, i have kids i am teaching how to live in the world. i don't like stereotypes of any kind, it is so easy to place a label. i go to rallys, i see more and more boots with no scuffs, new jeans freshly pressed, new button down shirts with the sleeves cut off. but in time, these "posers" will have faded jeans, wore out assed boots, sunburnt and a permanent squint from the sun. shit, that sounds like me when i got my first bike, and then me now. guess i still to a degree am a poser to some, and i guess i don't give a shit. i ride, therefore i am.

Biker,... that is a term given by non Bike riders to people that ride Motorcycles. It doesn't matter what you ride (short of a moped) people that know nothing about Motorcycles have made that term universal for all Motorcycle riders. The point here is I don't personally give a shit if you call me a Biker, Bike Rider, Motorcycle Rider, or the damn anti-Christ, I love to ride my Motorcycle, and I don't have to live any given lifestyle to enjoy riding my Motorcycle, and anybody that thinks you have to fall within some preconcived set of rules to enjoy riding a Motorcycle is bull shit. I don't know how to make a watch, but I enjoy the fact that I can tell time. Yes I do most all the work on my bike, but because I don't have the knowledge to paint a bike like mind has been painted I will take it to a shop where a professional works that does know how to paint a bike. YEP I've bedded down behind a dumpster in the dirt before, does that make me a Biker...FU*& NO. It makes me a cheep bastard that didn't want to sleep in a motel. I'm rolling with the Moose here, as you get older, as much as you may hate it, you need to change the way things in life are done.
I think I've said all I can say on this so called post.....on yea I do have one more thing to say............
I going to the Meet and Greet in Ky next week with my bike on the back of a trailer! GUESS I'M NOT A BIKER!
Dragon

I work on my own bike as much as possible, my bike has never seen a trailer and I wear a vest with a couple of reflective patches on it. I do not wear any military patches because I have not earned those but I am very thankful and proud of those who have. I also ride a metric. I guess my point is it is not what you ride it is if you ride.

I was at a funeral for a fallen brother last fall. The minister asked all the "bikers" to stand. I was sitting in a row with brothers from his club. The person next to me elbowed me to stand. I don't consider myself a "biker" so I looked and asked him why I should stand? He said "you ride don't you, get up!"

Well yesterday I did a very stupid thing, and now I walking around like Amous McCoy....I tried to leg press 900 pounds at the gym, Like a dumb ass. I've pushed 600 before, 300 pounds is quiet a bit. So now this old dude ain't walking so good.
Limping Dragon

Sidetrack, Ezzyrider, Dude, Badinfluence, NightDragon and Minion!!! You all said what I say. I have never been, nor would I ever be, part of a package that some others have created to try to define who or what I am!.

Derek... I think yer headed in the "Right" direction. Like you I've ridden when I didn't feel like it because I had too. Shoulder, knee and back "shot"... Vision getting iffy and hearing "screwed"... I take the newer bikes to the shop BECAUSE you need a computer interface to be able to do more than correct the tire pressure! Electronic Fuel Injection and computers have taken the wrench and screwdriver out of the hands of most! I still have one ride left that's an "air breather" and I do work on it. When I don't have to cut the grass. Take the Grandkids camping for 2 weeks. Drive to New Hampshie to see the other Grandkids. Work on the pick-up truck. Trim the hedges, take the wife out for "Date Night", Paint the window sills, wash the automobile, wash clothes and dishes because the Wife has a "day job" and try to keep a home from falling apart! Do I have time anymore to just sit and "play" with the bikes? Hell no! I'm just happy to be able to get a ride in now and then! Yeah, my boots are scuffed up. (sometimes I put polish on them an old military habit) my chaps are all twisted and bulging from wear, jacket fits tighter than it should (ya gain weight when ya git older) I got vest "extenders" (not because they look cool, I need them) I've slept under the bike. I've slept under picnic tables wearing my jacket and left the helment on for a cushion. Enjoyed The freedom of riding and the Road Trips. BUT.... Time respects NO ONE! Like ya said Derek, give the new kids on the block some time. They'll get their "battle scars", pay their "dues" and eventually figure it out. Some will continue, others will fade away. Wannabe, Poser, Biker.... It all comes out in the "Wash of Time"..... Sarge...

Put me in the poser column too--I guess. About 2 surgeries ago, I made the decsion that I could not longer even change my own oil, turn my own wrench or sleep on the ground more than two nights in a row. So I have joined the trailer pulling--camper sleeping crowd. Man aging sucks......

Last time my bike was on a trailer it was still in a crate being delivered to the dealer. Didnt "Build" my bike from the ground up but I have customized it to my taste with my own wrenches. I'll ride in any kind of weather however, I'd rather NOT ride in the rain and snow. Rode cross country last year and the first night out, slept on the ground. Thought it would be "Cool"... All it was was uncomfortable. The rest of the trip saw motels. I would ride ALL the time IF I didnt have other responsibilities in life. And Hell, I don't even have an AAA card. If I have a flat on the side of the road you damn well know I'm gonna wish I did. I don't like fixing flats !!! Guess I'm a poser. Ya know what, I don't care WHAT they call me..... I was not put on this Earth to fit into a stereotype mold. I am who I am and that's OK by me !!!!!! 

Damn right I enjoy making my own foot steps in the sand! The ones that are on here a lot, and have formed an opinion of me based on my post and replys will either like me or hate me, and I'm completely ok with either. There is no way to please everyone, and why should one try in the first place. I like Dyna's (I think) little quote.........I would rather be hated for who I am .....then loved for who I'm not!!!
Dragon