Different Angels.

Yesterday Hell’s Angels—today’s…Angels?

Hike-a-Bout is not only about hiking although this occupies much of our time. When we are not climbing, walking the trails, engaging in business or doing other things, we observe the action about us. Some we find fascinating, others not. Over the years, we have noticed that the roads are filling with ‘bikers’. This is a sect that we pay more attention to than in the past. Did you ever see the advert “Own the Open Road”? Well, we sometime think they adopted it as their own. There they sit, big bikes, big men upright and proud with sunglasses reflecting the scenery. Usually, there is a woman riding aft. These days it could be another man. We never see them on the trails, only the roads. It seems that they enjoy the journey rather than the destination.

What we do find amusing is when they get off their bikes and disrobe. First, they take off the helmets, the leather jackets follow, then leather pants and finally, the sunglasses. Then we are shocked. The Hell’s Angels have become tired old people with ‘big boops’. The youngest are in the late fifties, followed by people as old as the late seventies. We even noticed a ‘Bobba Biker’ on Thursday. We wonder what it must be like to sit on a bike and travel all day. We imagine Dov and Bernice or Harold and Shirley on their bikes traveling the West. We have difficulty with this picture. Then again we know our imagination is somewhat lacking. My editor says I am being judgmental. ‘You should get your own house in order first.’ I think about this as she makes a good point. I reply after deep thought. ‘We don’t even have an apartment, never mind a house.’ She looks at me with narrow eyes and a strange smile. Maybe I should buy some leather pants, I’m thinking.

Sometimes I think my editor lives dangerously. She points out to me how fastidious the bikers are. ‘Look’, she says, ‘The first thing they do is wipe down their machines so lovingly.’ I do notice that and am impressed with this characteristic. One day she say to me, ’You see that big guy there with the rag and window-cleaner?’ I nod. ‘Why don’t you ask him to clean our windscreen—offer him a buck.’

Our first question when we arrive at our motel is: ‘Are any bikers staying here?’ If the answer is in the affirmative then we do not set the alarm clock. Rather, we rely on the bikers. At 6am after the first coughing spurt is ending, we learn all interesting facts about bikes, the weather, the route and the night activity. Then, in case the loud voices outside our room were not enough, we listen to the finely tuned engines purring as the bikers rev them with full throttle. When they eventually leave, with relief we begin to daven with extra kavanah.