I started to write how timely it was to be reviewing this book just before the Fourth of July and how it could remind us to value our freedom. Then I realized how trite that can sound. As Americans we should treat every day like The Fourth of July. We should never forget why this country was founded as a haven for freedom. As motorcyclists we should be aware of freedom every time we swing a leg over the saddle and go for a ride. As motorcyclists we should be aware that we are constantly targeted by any and all forms of government bent on passing more laws targeted specifically at motorcycles. To keep us safe. For our own good. To save the taxpayers the cost of taking care of injured indigent motorcycle casualties that over load the health care system. Or any other bullshit reason to take away our right to ride. Yes , Right to ride. Friends it is coming down to the wire for freedom. Worldwide. As Dave Nichols points out in The One Percenter Code: How To Be An Outlaw In A World Gone Soft:
We have become a nation addicted to fast food and gasoline, striving for a whiter smile while our freedoms are taken away day by day. Most Americans would never dream of fighting the system they helped put in power, because if they did, they’d be thrown in jail, lose their jobs, lose their friends, lose their spouses, but most importantly, they’d lose their stuff. One percenters don’t give a shit about stuff. The code is the law, and one percenters live and die by the code.
Dave delves deep into the source of the elusive code through history and legend in an entertaining and inspiring manner. Much of The One Percenter code is familiar territory to what has been covered in other motorcycle history and popular culture cycling literature. Nicholls manages to fuse the story of the motorcycle as a vehicle of transportation and of the imagination and the people who take the life of a biker to the edge and further. Buy it, read it and follow the code.
Author: Dave Nichols
Photographer: Kim Peterson
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
Item: 194781
ISBN: 9780760342725
Publisher: Motorbooks
