Passes & Canyons Blog

By now everyone has heard about the confrontation between the Mongols and the Iron Order MC at the motorcycle expo over the weekend. One person died and several were injured. Everything is still sketchy but parts of the story are emerging.

I was planning to go to the expo this year but completely forgot about it. The first reminder I got was the Sunday paper informing me of the shooting and that there would be no Sunday at the show.

It’s very interesting that this was between a one-percenter MC and a cop MC. My first thought was that it might have been over the Iron Order patch, which is the typical three-piece thing with a Colorado rocker. ABATE of Colorado has revised its logo to avoid friction with the clubs but I can easily see a police MC refusing to kowtow to the one-percenters. But that was the Sons of Silence pushing ABATE, not the Mongols. I don’t have a clear take on the whole scene but a quick check shows that the Mongols have the Colorado rocker, too, so do those two battle it out? And would the Mongols have taken on the Iron Order over their rocker? I have no idea; just speculation.

I do have this, though: a report from Jerry Pokorny who was there when this all went down.

After the “doo doo” hit the ventilation system just after noon all the bad biker gang types bailed out of the Expo and well riddance I might add. Actually it had the effect of making the even a lot more pleasant for us 99%ers who are the good guys just wanting to walk around and enjoy the show.

I think the promoters have a problem since the gangs use this as a gathering place and have been showing up in larger numbers the last few years. In the past the gangs would walk around in small groups of two or three and pass other rival gangs with no issues but last couple years they have come in force and pick an area where the stay bunched together just watching the crowd like the expect something to go down at any moment.

Just after I purchased my ticket for entry, a continuous stream of at least 150 Banditos just marched in 3-4 abreast (big nasty looking surly beasts) and entered with out making any effort to pay (like us legit suckers). The poor door attendants were not about to try to stop them and I don’t blame them – it’s a good way to get beat up bad. I suspect the promoters are “looking the other way” since the small contingent of uniformed Denver police on site would have been like the few brave soles who defended our embassy in Benghazi so nobody called the cops to intercept them.

Next year they might have to institute a “no colors allowed” policy and use metal detectors for screening the entrance for weapons but that is not going to help the popularity of the event. And if they have still open today (Sunday) it would probably be the best (safest) time to attend since they will have security on high alert.

Pity the few have to spoil it for the many. I wonder if these kinds of activities could be construed (and prosecuted) as “Acts of Terror”? Just a thought . . .

That part about the Bandidos is interesting. I was there a few years ago and saw that steady stream of Bandidos coming in en masse. I wasn’t at the entrance to see if they were paying and that never crossed my mind. Do expos in other cities deal with these kinds of issues? It all reminds me of why I haven’t been much interested in the show the last few years.

Biker Quote for Today

More evil. Not so much Knievel.

Why would people who are self-proclaimed rebels tie themselves in with an organization that demands strict observance of very tight rules? That’s what I don’t get about the outlaw motorcycle clubs.

I’m reading The One Percenter Code: How To Be An Outlaw In A World Gone Soft, by Dave Nichols. This is not a review of the book; I’ll put that up on Examiner.com when I’ve finished reading it. This is just me musing over the things I’ve been reading in this book that make me shake my head and wonder.

The main question is the one I already stated. Nichols, as well as other writers whose work I’ve seen, makes a big deal about how outlaw bikers give a big middle finger to authority. And yet the demands of the clubs themselves are so far stricter than anything society tries to impose. (Before I go any further, I want to make clear I have no first-hand knowledge of these things; I’m just going by what I read. If these writers are full of it your issue is with them, not me.)

So for instance, Nichols says that when the club goes on a ride all members are required to stay with the group at all times. That is so totally opposite of what I want to do when I ride. I’ll stay with the group, but if I want to do something other than what they group does, I’ll just say fine, I’ll meet up with you later. Don’t anybody try to tell me I’ve got to stay with the group!

And becoming a member! Oh man, it sounds like a military academy carried to an extreme. If you’re a prospect you are at the whim of every member who tells you what to do and you do it, period, or else. This is called showing your dedication and commitment. I call it a bunch of bull and I would never be party to any such arrangement. That’s part of the reason I never joined the army, never pledged a fraternity, any of that stuff. I don’t take that crap from anyone.

Then there’s the casual way that Nichols describes any number of ways to get your ass whipped by outlaw bikers if you don’t follow their rules of conduct. Never mind that “citizens,” as we non-club members are called, probably don’t have any idea these so-called “rules” exist. Nichols does note that in public places the club members do cut us citizens some slack, but hey, I don’t buy off on your rules. Don’t think you have some right to pound the crap out of me because I did something that annoyed you. And what’s with the freakin’ violence anyway? I’m not a big guy at all, so just because you can beat the crap out of me doesn’t make you good or right or better than me or anything, it just makes you a jerk.

Now to hear Nichols tell it, violence is a way of life for one percenters, but I suspect it’s not quite that extreme. I’m guessing there are plenty who are actually nice people and they get tarred by bad behavior of the minority. But there are two things that are absolutely clear here: I don’t want any part of the one-percenter life and no one-percenter club wants anything to do with me.

Hey, that works for me.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Overland Expo 2012 offers boost for adventure tourers

Biker Quote for Today

Prison is sometimes referred to as “The House of Bad Decisions.” In motorcycling, that’s the hospital. Don’t go there. — Brian Catterson