I'm not much for New Years' Even celebrations. I just don't see the point to get all drunk...& if you're not drunk, then you're out on the roads on the only night you can guarantee there are drunk drivers on the road. Call me a pathetic excuse for a human being, but I'm always looking to minimize personal risk.
...though I think fireworks are always an awesome choice to spice up any celebration. In fact, if you added fireworks to Arbor Day, maybe I'd celebrate that, too.
So instead of partying like it's 1999 (which I did, btw...I'm not Amish), I was boring. stayed home, ate a ridiculous amount of food, drank some beer, ate some cookies. And watched TV. Not boring, ball-dropping TV...I flipped between The Walking Dead marathon on AMC & Sturgis Raw on the Travel Channel.
Guess which one I'm going to talk about here?
Watching Sturgis Raw was like watching a train wreck & I couldn't look away.
The Good: The Hamsters Custom Bikes: I couldn't seem to embed the video because I suck at html. Or CSS. Or whatever you use to embed vids. But the link is here & will take you to the awesomeness that is the Hamsters. First of all, that name is ridiculous. I love it for its ridiculousness. And these are not your stereotypical bikers...just guys who like to build custom bikes & be the best at it. And the designs are "unusual" too. Not just skulls & blood-dripping knives...some pretty classic looks, clean looks, & dare I say pretty looks?
The Bad: Bitches & Booze: yeah, I called them Bitches. First of all, these are strippers who tend bar, not bartenders who dance. Don't kid yourself. I had a disagreement with my husband about this...right up until the boss of the joint mentions you can't dance on your bar if you don't have your "dancing license." Which makes you a stripper. And I don't have anything against strippers...I say make money any way you can & feel comfortable with...just don't kid yourself while you're doing it.
On top of the ridiculously sexed-up version of women, there's the drinking. Alcohol & driving DO NOT MIX. Now you're going to add a motorcycle to the equation? Quick reflexes are everything on a motorcycle and you lose that when you drink. So how freaking stupid it is that the majority of the culture revolves around meeting at a biker bar, drinking & eating, then DRIVING HOME???
Here's a simple equation: booze + biker/jacked dudes = fights. Go ahead...try & prove me wrong. But anytime you have this much testosterone & this much booze, you're going to have bar fights. It is inevitable. And freaking dangerous.
The Ugly: The Biker Gangs: And I'm not talking about "biker clubs" made up of like-minded folks who just happen to like leather vests. I'm talking about hard core crime organizations that ruin the biker reputation. The go-to crime club is the Hells Angels. There are others, but I think it's fair to say that most folks recognize the Hells Angels name, brand, & reputation. And to be quite frank, I think it's where the whole "biker look" comes from. Not much else to say about it... it's obvious why this part of the biker culture sucks ass.
And what did I learn by watching this show? I'll probably never go to Sturgis. In fact, it put a bad taste in my mouth for Daytona Bike Week too...but since it's only 2 hours away, I'll probably go anyway. But this TV show....just WOW. It did not give me a warm & fuzzy about the motorcycle culture. At all.
