The Knights Table
Monthly Newsletter July 2013
Greetings from your President Will
The Biker stereotypes
By Will
The second you swing a leg over a set of wheels you're prone
to riders and non-riders sticking you into a tidy packet of biker stereotypes.
As the president of The Palm Beach Knights, I know better than to try and
categorize bikers based on their ride (OK that may not be totally true)...
But
our shared imagery must come from somewhere.
If you have spent any time at a biker event, you get to see
a big cross section of motorcyclist. This is your opportunity to test the
stereotypes. (And point and make fun of) I chose the Leesburg bikefest for my
observations.
The result was... well... kind of funny. As it turns out
there is a lot more truth to the stereotypes than many of us would like to acknowledge.
Here's a list of what I read online.
Stereotype: Harley riders hate full faced helmets;
BMW
riders love them.
Conclusion: True
Then there are those predictable BMW riders. 91% of those
who rolled past us wore a full face helmet. OK, maybe that one wasn’t that big
a surprise. Also, 82% wore long sleeves and pants. Staying true to the
unwritten by-laws of the BMW fraternity that geared up-ness is next to
godliness. How many Harley riders did the same? Also, no big surprise about 14%
with full-face helmets (14%!!). The rest donned their signature half-helmets
that wouldn't save a kid on a big wheel in the park. They did, however, score
very high in the long pants category, at 95%. Thank God, I mean just the
thought of seeing those hairy, lumpy, scarred appendage’s is enough to give me
a sleepless night. Long sleeves were a different story... only 29% had coverage
down to the wrists. Who Hell needs sleeves anyway??
I’m with them on this one.
I mean why did I spend all that money on Tattoos just to cover em up.
Stereotype: Goldwing riders are obsessed with
decorations/embellishments.
Conclusion: True
It's true that the Goldwing's big Tupperware festooned body
makes it more conducive to a little dress-up, but owners seem to
out-do even their fellow tour bikers in the ornamentation's category. 39% of all
Goldwing riders who rode past flew an American flag attached to the back of
their bike (Harley tourers were their closest competition, with 10% flying the
flag); So much for the whole why don’t you buy an American bike thing! 30% had a stuffed animal strapped on
somewhere; and 15% had tassels sprouting from the hand grips. I’m not sure if
this is some kind of alternative lifestyle symbol or just beautification's. (yes, I know I have them also) Of all the bikes viewed "decorated",
71% of them were Goldwings. Is it because their riders like to take a little
more of "home" with them wherever they go? They certainly have the
room. Sounds like its own stereotype
altogether, (but that doesn't necessarily make it untrue...)
Stereotype: Sportbike riders never wear proper gear.
Conclusion: True/False
Who you callin' a squid? Ok, 96% of all sportbike riders
wore full-face helmets, a huge number that would lead one to assume this group
fully acknowledges the jeopardy associated with riding machines manufactured for
velocity... But don't discard your stereotype just yet: This same group of
riders ranked the lowest in other protection; only 20% wore both long sleeves
and pants (and of those, 60% were Ducati riders -- take the Ducati riders out
of the mix, and you're down to only about 10% who were fully covered). That
means the remaining 80% were in the famous shorts and t-shirt beach-ready
combo, which defies our best attempts at logic. Must be that road rash is in
vogue with this segment.
Stereotype: Female riders are wiser about gear than male
riders.
Extra points!!!!
Conclusion: Slightly true.
The stereotype of female riders as careful bikers led me to
expect their gear habits would blow the guys out of the water, but the
differences weren't so extreme. Female bikers wearing full-face helmets totaled
40%, compared to 37% of their male counterparts. And 33% of ladies were
properly attired in long pants and sleeves, compared to 28% of the guys. We'd
still declare the ladies victorious winners, but after a few sightings of some
fashion abominations, there was a mandatory docking of points and we had to
call it a draw.
I should note that
female riders wearing bikinis, got bonus points. After all, that got them “seen”
and isn't that the safest option.
Stereotype: All biker dudes are covered in tattoos and chest
hair.
Conclusion: False
We know... We were disappointed too. We'd kinda hoped that
the gruff, tattooed biker with a rug of chest hair under his vest would
dominate the visual landscape, but the numbers came up short.(no not really) Of those surveyed, only 11% had any sort of
tattoo showing, and an even slimmer fraction bared their rug -- 3%. To add
insult to injury, most smiled when they passed by, which completely rescinded our
idea of bikers as a rough-n-tough bunch.
Of Note:
If you want to see a video of Roscoe's Chilli fest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-a-aByHcng
Not too early to get your Hotel
MEMBERS GETTING OLDER!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-a-aByHcng
Not too early to get your Hotel
The Hotel is ..
LA QUINTA INN & SUITES LAKELAND WEST
1024 Lakeland Park Center Drive LAKELAND, FL 33809
call 1-863-859-2866
We have a special Rate of $69/night. When you call tell them you are a Palm Beach Knight to get the special rate. I would do it now, the rate is good until October. you can cancel free of charge .
MEMBERS GETTING OLDER!!
Happy Birthday to:
Brian “RAM” Murphy
John “Kali” Kalinouski
Rick Priezzoli
Patriot Guard Mission
- July 2 ·
- This mission was canceled. I hope to be able to post more Patriot Guard missions in the future.
Bike nights at Renegades. July 3rd
This got rained out.....SUCKS!!
Sunday Brunch at the Seminole Country Inn Indian Town July 14th
This was Steven "Gunner" Cohen's inauguration ride as a Road Captain. I want to take a moment to say what a great job he did and that we look forward to him leading more rides in the future. The weather threatened us for days, but we got real lucky and had a dry ride. The food was excellent.
6th Annual Fort Lauderdale Summer Bike Fest July 21st
We had a great turn out of knights for this event. While the day was HOT, we didn't get wet. It was good to meet some new Knights, Marc, Bart and Tom.
We had a large group, and I thought of splitting us in to 2 , but I wanted to see how we would do as a large group. All in all I think we did great. The event was, well the usual kind of small Bike Fest we have come to expect. Still fun to do every once in awhile. Sitting together in the restaurant and just hanging out was the best part for me. A big atta boy to Tom"Echoes" for making the big effort to come even though I could tell it hurt like hell!!! Thanks Bro
Our first "OFFICIAL" Club (K)night get together July 26th
(at least someone pays attention when I talk)
We had a very good turn out with over 30 people attending. I was so happy to get to meet families and friends of members. We had many new and old members join us. Luca and Bonnie celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary with us!!
The Knights are growing and getting more popular all the time. We had some awards: congratulations to Paul Sachse, Paul Manna, Lauren Petschek, who won achievement awards. Also a big congratulations to Steve "Greenies" who won a motorcycle pocket watch for reaching the 5K miles mark!! The iPad was won by our own Mark "Kruzen, and the 50/50 was had by John Kali. Thank you all for making this a great night and a great club. Knights Rule!
Member of the Month
Everyone who attended the club night!!!
( and their friends and Families!!
Everyone who attended the club night!!!
( and their friends and Families!!
UPCOMING RIDES:
Ft Pierce Tiki Hut Sun Aug 04 9:00 AMRide to LaBelle for some good BBQ
Sat Aug 17 9:15 AM
Punta Gorda Village Fish Market & Restaurant
Sat Sep 07 8:15 AM
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