Are you still riding alone?
It always starts with the motorcycle. However, it can go well beyond that. There has always been a biker social aspect of riding, and for some this includes such things as motorcycle or riding clubs. For many people, the idea of a motorcycle club has become a new and somewhat romantic phenomenon with their popularity growing through various television shows and movies over the years. While Hollywood certainly has played a role in the growing popularity of these types of groups, in reality they have always been so much more than what is shown on the silver screen.
In a very real sense, biker clubs have been around since the first mainstream motorcycles came onto the road. During the 1950s, when the popularity of riding a motorcycle increased due in part to the various Hollywood movies and stars like Marlon Brando and James Dean, many people began to identify with the idea of owning and riding a motorcycle. Even the biker“look” complete with leather jackets and greased hair became the new standard of cool.
When it comes right down to it, a biker club is only a group of individuals who share a common passion and love for their motorcycles. It is a group of friends, family and comrades that have found a strong and common bond, which is started with a common love of motorcycles and riding them. If you strip away all the stereotypes that are seen, a motorcycle club is very much like any other club in existence. There are criteria for membership, there are benefits for belonging, and the members are expected to act in a manner that reflects the ideals of the group as a whole.
Like many close-knit groups, biker clubs are characterized by a strong sense of belonging to something that is grander than what you are. It’s about a strong bond, a friendship that while borne out of the love of motorcycles have grown into something much more. For many motorcycle enthusiasts, being part of a biker club is a sense of pride, of honor, and some would even say a sense of familial love that may be lacking in other areas.