=v= The recent Harley Davidson thread is funnier in light of this article about last April's
Critical Mass arrests in Pittsburgh:
pittsburghcitypaper.wsprintIt.cfmOpen ↗
The upshot is that most of the charges were bogus, and one antiquated law got the bikers a slap on
the wrist. The part that's funnier is when the arresting officer opined, "If they want bikes, buy
a Harley."
=v= How things change! Used to be that Harleys signified an outlaw rebel image -- and indeed, that's
essentially their ad campaign. But these days, if you ride a bike that doesn't pollute, the cops
tell you to get a Harley in order to be a more upright citizen.
=v= What's next? Joe Camel sponsoring D.A.R.E.? <_Jym_>
P.S.: Bonus Harley tale below.
------- Forwarded Message
To: [Top Secret Email List Name Suppressed] From: Jym Dyer <[email hidden]> Date: [Suppressed -- Ask
Tom Ridge] Subject: Re: Fighting Noise With Noise (fwd)
=o= In May 1999, we biked out to the Embarcadero to watch some fireworks. I forget what the occasion
was; something to do with corporate rock & roll, I think. Jason brought along some water pistols,
and we had us a hella fun bike-by water pistol battle.
=o= There were some Harleys parked nearby. The Harley owners showed up, dressed in their official
Harley-logo leather jackets with official Harley-logo blue jeans and official Harley-logo leather
[censored] packs. Not exactly the type of people who are stereotypically associated with Harleys; more
like the type of people who are stereotypically associated with purchasing their lifestyles off the
shelf. They probably have CD racks filled with corporate rock & roll.
=o= They were upset that we might be splashing water on their Harleys. (Remember, this is at the
*water*front.) So we moved away from their precious possessions, but they still weren't too happy
that we were squirting water around, even though we were like 20 feet away. So they decided to hop
on their Harleys and rev the engines.
=v= Now, one of the things Jason does when biking the Bay Bridge is measure the decibel levels. So
he happened to have a decibel meter with him. He handed it to me, saying, "See who's louder!"
=v= Then he pulled up alongside the Harleys, made twisting motions on his handlebars, and started
yelling, "VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!" I checked his decibel level against the decibel level of the
Harleys. Jason was louder. <_Jym_>
------- End of Forwarded Message