Come on…at 60 I just have a tough time with the whole sneaker thing, in general. What the hell is with these television “motorcycle club members” riding in them? White sneakers, no less. When I got into this whole bike thing it was BOOTS ONLY! We did not wear wingtips, oxfords, sandals, “Flip Flops”, high heels, flats, pumps, Penny Loafers, and certainly NOT sneakers when we rode. We wore manly footwear. And it was NEVER WHITE! Never, ever!
Now, I do confess that when I drank heavy and lived at the beach in San Clemente, I might have ridden bearfoot and with no shirt. Ok, truth be told I was so bad that the bar I drank at would keep a t-shirt under the bar for when I came in (the Bird Cage was a great bar). No shirt, no service. Now that I am older and…well, older…I know that there is no excuse for not wearing the proper footwear when you ride. I was guilty, sure, but I can say I never ever wore tennis shoes in my riding life. My life long friends can tell ya: Barefoot before sneakers!
This was the result of wearing flip flops while riding….
It just kills me to see these young riders with bright (and by bright I mean blinding) white sneakers while they ride. It has gotten to where I cringe at the sight of them. I have to wonder what they are thinking. It just never even crossed my mind to hit the road with anything white on my feet, let alone tennis shoes. I can not, for the life of me, remember exactly when or where the “boot bug” bit me. I just know I will not ride without them now. Maybe it stems from when my brother Sam got hit on his Knuck. When he got to the hospital they cut off his boot. I will never forget the way they just hacked that nice boot off his crushed foot. We both felt bad for the loss of a nice boot but my brother was glad he had them babies on. It sure saved his foot. It was crushed but all there. After that I learned to love my boots. I am almost never without them on my feet. I can not count the times my feet have been saved by those old boots.
When the bucks flow I have two pairs: One steel toe set for riding and one non-steel toe pair for dancing. I wish this young crowd would look up to and learn from the older riders. But, these young cats think they know EVERYTHING! Even if you tried to tip them for their own sake, they would have hundreds of excuses about how and why their chinese-made sweat shop tennis shoes are soooooooooooo much better for riding than a pair of American-made steel toe boots. I guess when you have to shoot it out with cops and various gangbangers on your way to lunch, then dash from your club meeting to a meeting with the Feds to rat everyone out, lightweight footware would come in handy.
Yes, you read it correctly! Sandals for bike riders – don’t try this at home folks!
My old friend DH Denny has been riding as long as I have. I have a hell of alot of respect for this old badger. He also never rides without boots. I have to wonder if it is just an “old guy” thing. When I was young I looked up to the real men who rode in those days. It seems all these younger guys want to look to for examples is a bunch of actors who play motorcycle club members on television. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: THERE IS NO SONS OF ANARCHY. THERE IS NO CHARMING, CALIFORNIA. IT IS NOT REAL LIFE. THEY ARE NOT REAL BIKERS.
I have given up even trying to show these kids the errors of their ways. I guess they have to lose a foot or two to learn. If they took the time to look at the pictures of the true old school riders, they would see that even they wore boots. The women, too. I met an 80 year old woman who still rode her Indian….IN BOOTS. She had been riding longer that I have been alive.
All SOA bashing aside, I would encourage the young riders to put boots on when they ride. The shit could get deep quick and you could lose a foot. Besides, you never know when you might need to kick a field goal with some chumps head to save your own. Then you will thank me for telling you not to wear your Hush Puppies. You want your boots on when the whip comes down, trust me. Do what you want, I will be wearing mine. Sneakers On Algie? Never!
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