RENO STREET VIBRATIONS 2008

Street Vibrations, the annual biker event that is held in Reno, NV every single year proved to be a success once again. Upon my arrival to downtown Reno, the biggest little city in Reno, things appeared to be quite quiet. This is definitely not the norm for this animated town. Every year thousands of chrome cowboys, leather babes, street vendors and motorcycle clubs roar down the main strip to partake in the festivities.

There was rumor floating around that troubled lied ahead for this quaint town of Nevada. The feeling that I was in a ghost town for 3 days was probably due to the real ghosts of trouble past, 2002 that is! Back in 2002, the hell's Angel's and the East side motorcycle gang Mongol's had it out and in a big way.

According to many online resources, the trouble began some 16 years ago over the right to wear a California patch. OK, so this is starting to sound like an episode of, "Sons of Anarchy" on HBO. Truth has it, that the war continued on and ultimately caused the death of the head of the Hell's Angel's in San Francisco. We will just call him "Papa", as that is what his family, club and friends liked to refer to him as.

Well as with any war, people start pointing fingers, primarily the Hell's Angel's, and rightfully so I might add. They determined that the Mongol's had something to do with his death and guess what folks? They want justice! In the MC biker world and among many OMG's, justice doesn't come in the form of law enforcement, it comes in the form of retaliation. To be fair, this is how the entire world thinks, not just bikers folks.

Reno never seemed to have a worry about the retaliation coming their way but others apparently did. The town was pretty deserted for a biker rally or event. Sure, vendor's still peddled goods, casino's still took your money, or at least mine and hotel rooms had minimal vacancies, but the town had an eerie silence to it. Was it in respect and mourning for Papa? Could it be people were afraid to ride in on their chrome horses, for fear they would end up in the middle of a Wild West shoot out? Or was it just the economy crisis rearing its ugly head?

Every year, Reno projects Street Vibrations to pour a whopping $70 million into the economy. I believe their guess is accurate too! Bars, casinos, hotels, restaurants, gas stations and yes, even mechanics stand to gain a piece of the green.

Rock and blues bands performed all weekend, Ted Nugent made an appearance, not that I had an extra $45.00 to take a peek at him...That's what zoom lenses are for! And of course, major bike builders and half naked women were there -- such as Simms (my personal favorite). Big Dog had their usual models on display, as in women! Alright let's be fair here, Big Dog was also offering a $10k discount on some of their bikes. Who needs women when you can take off $10k of the bike of your dreams?

I had only one concern, all the rumors of this "proposed" war between the hell's Angel's and the Mongol's. All went great, Reno is awesome, the bikes on display were phenomenal as usual, no riots, no colors flying out of control and the tri tip sandwiches have you crawling on all fours for more. The few Hell's Angel's I came across were charming, can I even say that without getting beat up? Well maybe it was the fact that I unknowingly wore red all weekend! Someone could have informed me of this. Kudos to Reno for keeping it real and real safe!

What I took away from all this? Simple really. I learned that red is for Angel's, black is for Mongol's, green is for Vago's and Pagan's blue, who knew? OK seriously folks, there is way too much hype roaring around with motorcycle clubs, riders and law enforcement these days. Leave them alone, they will leave you alone and besides if you want the facts, here they are:

The "colors" worn by bikers or members, actually they can only be worn by members, consist of either a 1 piece patch for Motorcycle Associations, 2 piece patch for Rider Clubs, or a 3 piece patch for true Motorcycle Clubs. The 3 Piece Patch Set consists of the club logo and the top and bottom, usually crescent shaped, which are referred to as "rockers". The number and arrangement of patches depends on the nature of the club and will have the chapter number more than likely.. All true Motorcycle Clubs will have a 3 piece patch arrangement.

Let's talk about what I said on wearing red for a minute, people do not really have to worry what color they are wearing, I was just pulling your leg or something. Most clubs sporting a 3 piece patch are 1%ers. This translates to 99% of clubs, riders and enthusiasts are law abiding citizens, there is really only about 1% who lurks about in your shadow and use crime as a statement.

So does this mean walk around behind these guys trying to get a closer look at their patches? I wouldn't! I would probably beat the tar out of you too, should you try that with me. Also here is one of those, "Don't Try This At Home" things. Don't wear a patch or color that is not yours to wear! The club patches always remain property of the club itself, not the member, and only

members are allowed to wear the clubs colors. Allowing ones colors to fall into the hands of an outsider is an act of disgrace and may result in loss of membership in a club, or some other punishment, want to take that chance?