PSA: Almost died tonight

Today I was invited to an Oktoberfest. One of my old friends who rides motorcycles said his crew was going to ride and he invited me to meet them there. I thought, "neat, a small town country Oktoberfest and reconnecting with my buddy." Well, "there" was the middle of nowhere in the woods and it was a complete, hardcore biker thing. Not really my kind of crew, but they were all friendly and I didn't feel out of place at all.

Until I committed what is evidently a massive faux pas. I took my camera over into the woods to get some shots of the stream and the sun in the trees. Turns out, cameras are a big no-no. I found myself in the middle of nowhere surrounded by several guys (one of whom had a big stick) who were not happy that I had a camera. The only reason I'm not buried in the woods right now is because I showed them the photos and none of them had any people in it.

I was "escorted" back to my (very metric) bike where I locked the camera away. I hung out long enough to make it look like I wasn't scared out of my mind, but 150 drunk hardcore bikers all giving me the eyeball wasn't comfy.

So the moral of the story is, don't take your camera to Oktoberfest.

I checked my mirrors a lot on the way home.

What about phones? They all have cameras now.

Well, no one was holding up their phone taking pictures or they might have been "escorted" as well.

Those people are mental

Toebra wrote: Those people are mental and have sticks!

Toebra wrote: Those people are mental and have sticks!***and evidently something to hide***

It's best to ask about the no-no when encountering a situation like that.

Uh... DUH. If you want a picture, you ask real nice first and they will tell you yes or no. Oh, and as a PSA, it is best to not go to events where there are that kind of people, or at very least stay away from them at "mixed" events. Learn to recognize a three part patch. Top rocker, bottom rocker and a middle picture. They are like SEALs. If one of them berkeleys you over, the rest will be right there to pound the E36 M3 out of you (or worse) regardless. They don't care if you are in the right, they will back one of theirs to your death.

Dr. Hess wrote: Uh... DUH. If you want a picture, you ask real nice first and they will tell you yes or no.

I wasn't shooting them, I was 100 yards away in the woods shooting the other direction.

And I learned a good lesson.

Once again I am reminded that my boring life aint too bad. Glad nothing went south for you.

Another "campfire story". It's the sign of a life well lived. Someone once told me that it was not the number of breaths we took that made a good life, but the number of times something took our breath away.

In reply to curtis73:

This will be the "No Biker Selfies" chapter of your memoirs.

NOHOME wrote: Another "campfire story". It's the sign of a life well lived. Someone once told me that it was not the number of breaths we took that made a good life, but the number of times something took our breath away.

I'll tell you the truth. I took a huge emotional hit from my divorce, and nights like this show my how far I still have to go. I recall a time when this would have bugged me for 5 minutes. These days it doesn't take much to make me a complete ball of wasted space.

So this one definitely took my breath away.

I witnessed a similar thing with some Pagans in a very non-biker hangout bar in Philly years ago. A guy that was part of my group was taking pics of his friends at the bar, when all of a sudden a couple of Pagans come from some far corner of the place, punch the dude in the nose,take his camera and pull out the film, and tell him it's time for him to leave.

I'm the closest thing to a Philly native in the group,so everyone looks at me for an explanation of what just happened, and I'm dumbfounded. I know that Pagans are real deal 1%ers, so I just say we should probably just go someplace else.

As we were leaving, a couple of Philly cops were laughing at the dude with the bloody nose. Apparently they were looking through the window and saw the whole thing go down. No, they didn't ask if we needed help.

Remember, Philly is the Mogadishu of the USA.

Rob_Mopar wrote: In reply to curtis73: This will be the "No Biker Selfies" chapter of your memoirs.

Just last week someone suggested I watch S of A on Netflix. I'm afraid it will give me flashbacks now. Someone will find me in the fetal position sucking my thumb with that paused on TV.

NOHOME wrote: Someone once told me that it was not the number of breaths we took that made a good life, but the number of times something took our breath away.

I'm pretty sure that means "take your breath away" as in, seeing a stunning sunset, hearing a magnificent concert, viewing a wonderful piece of art, or experiencing true love.

I really don't think it's the "OH E36 M3 I'M GONNA DIE" kind of taking your breath away.

curtis73 wrote: Just last week someone suggested I watch S of A on Netflix. I'm afraid it will give me flashbacks now. Someone will find me in the fetal position sucking my thumb with that paused on TV.

I wouldn't let that stop you. Sons of Anarchy is so ridiculous (at least after the first season or two) it is basically parody. I looked up once the main character kills something like 175+ people on screen, which I'm pretty sure would make him the most prolific serial killer in American history.

You never know how alive you are until you almost die.

Glad you walked away from that situation in one piece! Eff that whole business..

you didn't almost die... they just wanted to berkeley with you a bit, rattle your cage somewhat... if they were serious, they would have at least taken or smashed your camera and made sure you didn't have a cell phone or other means of recording anything or taking any pics on you before beating you to a pulp..

In reply to HappyAndy:

... Pagans? What, like dudes in bath robes that worship a goat?

p.s. I still miss Philly, sometimes.

novaderrik wrote: you didn't almost die... they just wanted to berkeley with you a bit, rattle your cage somewhat... if they were serious, they would have at least taken or smashed your camera and made sure you didn't have a cell phone or other means of recording anything or taking any pics on you before beating you to a pulp..

That's how I read it as well. They wanted to berkeley with you and see how you reacted. I suspect if you had pushed back and told the stick dude that you can take any pictures you want he would have backed down pretty quick. Because these days nobody knows who's carrying and taking chances is beyond stupid.

That said if I'm out in a crowd: I'm carrying.

I work with some people who are hard core bikers.. not 1%ers.. but close enough to get respect from that group.

No thanks, I will stick to sailing

mad_machine wrote: No thanks, I will stick to sailing

Here is a niche market we can fill - gang bangers or bikers (???) that are into sailing.

Datsun310Guy wrote:

mad_machine wrote: No thanks, I will stick to sailing

Here is a niche market we can fill - gang bangers or bikers (???) that are into sailing.

Pirates? Everything old is new again eventually.