The "Brotherhood"

Me chillin at the old hang out

    There isn't a single biker out there whether weekend rider or hardcore live to ride, ride to live rider that doesn't talk about the "brotherhood" at one point or another. So I'd like to take a bit of your time to express what the "brotherhood" means to me not simply as a "biker" but as an individual.

    We've all gone through life gaining new friends and loosing old ones for one reason or another. We all know what its like to experience betrayal from someone we'd thought to be one we could trust to have our backs at all times. Its not a very good feeling and at the sake of sounding soft, if you've been through it enough your heart tends to develop rhinos skin and callus over and in the process you no longer trust anybody out there in the real world. You don't have to be a biker to understand what I'm talking about.



    Now if at some point you come into possession of two wheels and an engine, you suddenly feel liberated. Just being atop a v-twin makes you feel like you're a part of something, a part of history. And as such, you feel almost accepted in a sense because you've finally got people to relate to. After all, with motorcycles comes culture and lifestyle, even for the weekend riders.

    Not unlike anything else in the world, the culture is divided and opinionated, its political and even daunting at times. You've got the riders who suit up from head to toe in black leathers every weekend and ride down to the bar with a few of their friends, or maybe do a 60 mile loop just for fun. You've got the commuters, the road trippers and the motorcycle clubs.

   Motorcycle clubs are divided into three basic categories; the MC (Motorcycle Club), the RC (Riding Club) and the MM (Motorcycle Ministries) each very distinct from the other, though not to the non rider or the uninformed. To many, all people atop two wheels are the same regardless of insignia, but that's not the case.
 
   Motorcycle clubs generally sport a 3 piece insignia consisting of a top rocker stating their club name, a center patch with their club insignia, and a bottom rocker stating their origin or "territory" accompanied by a small "MC" just right and below of the insignia. MC's are organized, they have structure and goals, often they run charities and offer many community services. Their structure enables them to organize within themselves to raise club funds to cover riding expenses, repairs, club buildings, medical expenses to cover accidents if they ever come about, and more.
 
   Riding Clubs are also known to ride with a three piece insignia but more commonly sport a two piece for political reasons. By sporting a two piece with a top rocker stating their name and center patch for their logo, they avoid any trouble with 1% MC's or "Outlaw" clubs by refraining from stating an origin or claiming a territory. I wouldn't expect non riders or the uninformed to understand the politics in this but I'll cover that in a later blog. Riding clubs generally have no rank structure, but rather are simply a group of friends both large and small who enjoy riding together and regularly hold social gatherings e.g. BBQs, group rides, bike shows ect.

    Motorcycle Ministries are religious based clubs who's mission is to spread their gospel throughout the world and throughout biker culture. MM's are typically divided regarding insignia as there are many 3 piece and 2 piece clubs, but all are recognized in the biker community. You'll find MM's at just about every bike rally in the world, handing out bottled water, offering property storage at ralleys where colors may be banned as well as other public services. Because of MM's neutral status, they are generally respected and recognized by all MC's.

My father and I

    The one thing that each of the above said riders hold in common is their brotherhood. Whether you're in an MC or MM, to become a member you've gone through a screening or "prospecting" period where you hang out regularly with the club, you attend club meetings when invited or allowed, and offer your assistance in any number of manners for the sake of proving your loyalties. If you're prospecting with an MC you might be found standing outside the bar while the rest of the club is inside having a good time. Its not a sign of disrespect, but rather you've been assigned the duty of watching the bikes to make sure that someone doesn't mess with them. You'd actually be surprised about how many douche bags out there have been caught drop kicking a bike and causing a domino effect. An act like that can cost people thousands of dollars in repairs, and it doesn't just happen to clubs, its a chance for anyone that rides. Maybe you've been given the task of bartender duties at the club house, or pushing mop after a party. Its a process that lets the full patch members know if you're willing to help out when needed, and in turn earning their respect.

    Riding clubs unlike MC's, are generally more concerned about riding with a bunch of people than they are about finding friends you can count on. You don't have to spend much time, if any, proving loyalties or quality characteristics other than that you can ride. In most cases this is fine, but also leaves the club prone to individuals clashing or not getting along. Its common that when riding in an RC there is typically less concern with riding formation and more about having individual fun with the group. This is when you'll see more bikers goofing off, maybe doing wheelies or speeding past one another in joking manners. Its more about having fun, and less about always being safe, uniform, or respectful of other motorists around them. There's nothing wrong with this if the club makes regular practice of safety or respects others. In the end, an RC is simply a very relaxed version of an MC.

    MM's typically follow the same protocol as the MC's in that generally you have to attend a church body regularly, you have to study their mission and pass a simple basic test on scripture to better understand the Ministries purpose. You're also expected to attend club meetings regularly to stay up to date on ministry activities, church visits, rally attendances and services and the like. MM's also follow MC riding protocol and rarely break formation or spend much time "goofing off". They still have fun, but its more about just enjoying the ride and holding your place in formation.

Brother Mike

    How does this relate to brotherhood? Well that's simple, excluding RC's from the equation. When you belong to a club, you understand that every single full patched member that stands around you at any given point in time has gone through the same experiences, and struggles that you had. You know that when you look at one of your brothers, they'll have your back. When I say they've got your back, I'm not talking about holding someone at gunpoint or backing you up in a brawl (unless you're being attacked). I'm talking about knowing they'll be there if your ole' lady runs off with another man or your struggling to cover the bills. They're there for you to talk to and lean on in your struggles without holding judgement or spreading gossip. You can trust them to keep things between each other, even to the extent of not sharing with the entire club. If you share personal struggle or information with a brother, its common respect and knowledge to know that its not to be shared with others unless permitted. Its about being a part of a family that's there for you even more than your own flesh and blood.

    Do you have to be in a club to experience brotherhood? Well no, though its no doubt the better route to go. I personally do not belong to a club, but have many people I call brother. I associate with MC's and MM's. I don't regularly associate with RC's for personal reasons. I'm a Nomad, the last lifestyle to be discussed on this topic.

Me at the old Idaho State Pen

   
    Nomads, or LW's (Lone Wolfs) tend to refrain from joining any sort club. We respect those who respect us and prefer to just keep it simple. We typically prefer riding solo than with a group, but also take pride in group rides with the right people. We are generally the most prejudice when determining who we associate with due to our introverted nature.

    The process of acceptance is much harder as a Nomad, and requires much more time than it does for any other kind of biker within the community because we don't offer our kinship to just one particular club and in many cases this is a conflict of interest to clubs, so earning their respect can take much longer. A Nomad will rarely, if ever know any sort of club business; and we're ok with that. Business is none of our concern. The only thing that matters to a Nomad is knowing that you've got people out there that you can trust; knowing you've got a place to crash if life goes south. A Nomad is sort of the lost soul of the community. We might know exactly who we are in life, or we may not. People like myself generally don't have much money, we're sort of a social outcast and struggle to comprehend the ways of society. All we have is our integrity and respect for mankind and the bike between our legs. Any time I roll into a garage, people know without doubt that if they need a hand all that need be done is ask.




    Its not about proving something to others when you're a Nomad, its simply about being yourself and serving your brothers. I've pushed broom, chopped barrels, built garage contraptions, I even rattle canned a rat rod Chevy once. In most cases its on a barter bases in exchange for bike services, but even if bike services were not included, I'd of done it all simply to help my friends. And they all know it.

     If you're wondering why I chose this topic, its to explain why some people are not accepted, or even looked down upon or treat poorly. There are people out there who know no bounds, or respect, they may be down right douche bags. They may be a weekend warrior who hardly rides, they may be a full fledged club member or some aimless Nomad, but their attitude is their downfall. They blow through traffic at 120+mph, they fly down the highway or down town doing wheelies without consideration of pedestrians or traffic. They take over the road and taunt LEO's. And they're not the kind of people you could trust to really do anything more than be a nuisance to society and the culture. It needs to be known that these foolish individuals are not accepted by any section of the biker culture. They take pride in their wild card attitudes and typically wreak havoc on society in the name of fun. Reckless individuals who are only accepted by other fools. These fools make the rest of us look bad.

    Don't get me wrong we all have fun, many goof off by speeding or doing wheelies from time to time, but you all know who I'm talking about. That crotch rocket that just blew past you on the freeway doing 130 and cut you off as he weaved in and out of traffic, he's that rider doing burn outs at a stop light during rush hour traffic or lane splitting illegally (illegal in 49 states legal only in CA), or he's that rider doing wheelies with 12 oncoming cars and 4 in front of him. These acts of ignorant recklessness are the fruits of a tool. Those who are inconsiderate of others safety are not accepted by the 99% or the 1%. Again, I'll explain the percentages in a later blog.

    I personally support lane splitting, but living in Idaho I'll tell you the reader that if one is to lane split here they greatly increase the risk of injury because drivers are not used to it. You're much more liable to catch a driver off guard and cause them to panic. Not to mention the road rage that comes from cagers. Countless broken mirrors because of a biker VS cager confrontation. A biker illegally splits and ticks off a cager who nearly wipes him out in return, the biker gets pissed at the cager for nearly killing him and knocks off his mirror or busts his rear window. Two rights don't make a wrong is a concept seldom accepted by motorists of any kind in these situations.

    The point being that if you're being disrespected or unaccepted by the community, odds are you're the guy who's simply self centered and nobody wants to be around because of the bad publicity that follows you.

I hope you enjoyed this bit of opinion, and look forward to my next blog regarding 1%ers or "Outlaw" clubs.

MLH&R
Ziptie