On the Bikers Rights Front

Arriving in our Mailbox:

St. Cloud-area courts dismiss biker's complaints-
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Two St. Cloud-area judges have dismissed a dozen court complaints filed by bikers who were stopped in July 2007 during a run near St. Joseph. The 12 bikers sued the Central Minnesota Drug and Gang Task Force, which was one agency represented among the nearly 20 officers that stopped the bikers.District Judge Michael Jesse dismissed six conciliation court cases Monday. Stearns County District Court Judge Elizabeth Hayden dismissed six on Friday. The conflict comes from a run of more than 70 bikers, which included some recreational riders and some members of the BPM Motorcycle Club. Read More HERE.

Bikers Don't Exceed Noise Levels At Rodeo: 

Published: November 11, 2008 BROOKSVILLE - Despite concerns of excess noise and rowdy behavior, the biker rodeo held Halloween weekend on the county's eastside seems to have gone off without a hitch.Well, almost.Deputies reported a fight between two women. The victim was treated at the hospital for minor injuries. The other was charged with misdemeanor battery.There was also a complaint, lodged last week, of cussing over the loudspeaker. Code enforcement officials will look into it. Otherwise, the event that many neighbors feared would lead to trouble, was tame. It will be up to county commissioners to determine if it was tame enough to allow the organizer, Brooksville rancher Jimmy Batten, to do it again next year at his 40-acre ranch at 27151 Soult Road.On both nights of the event, Code Enforcement Director Mark Caskie said he was stationed along Soult Road and  Wildflower Drive - close to the activities.Caskie said he took decibel readings and at no time did the noise from the rodeo exceed county ordinances.Zoning Administrator Gary Fisher said he drove the area the Monday after the event to see if rodeo organizers cleaned up after themselves.Fisher said the only thing he saw on the side of the road was a discarded fast food cup.

Contrary to reports of public nudity at past rodeos, participants kept their clothes on, he said. Except for two women, who took off their tops, he said. However, both women were body-painted and "you couldn't see anything," Batten said.The games taught motorcycle safety and skills, he said. For example, in one game, bikers had to push a beer keg 50 feet over a course to hone their maneuverability skills. Dozens of residents showed up at a county commission meeting in September to complain about past biker rodeos and asked the board to take special precautions. Commissioners approved a conditional use permit but, to play it safe, asked for tight security measures and crowd control. The board also asked staff to draft a follow-up report to determine whether noise ordinances were followed.

OUR APOLOGIES FOR INCLUDING THIS. AT FIRST WE THOUGHT IT WAS A STORY ABOUT "BIKERS"Add to Technorati Favorites

 

Ding, Dong the trike is Dead

On July 20th of 07 We posted the following Four Wheel Trike Towing Odessey about our little escapade wherein we towed my ol ladies ""Trike" to Georgia.  Now when I say escapade I do mean "escapade." Following the above link will take you to the story.

Needless to say I was not then nor have I ever been very fond of that Beast.  So although not proud to cop to just how the beast was killed, it is now dead.  At my own hands.  Now although I still will have to worry about getting killed on my own bike. I will know longer have to worry about me, my lady or Laurie getting killed on that thing. Mea Culpa.

My apologies to the Dodge that had to go to the grave with it.

Before:

 

After:

R.I.P.Add to Technorati Favorites

Has Lopez-Cantera paid us a visit? Or Not?

Sent To:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4357&SessionId=60

Honorable Carlos Lopez-Cantera:

On our website
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/
in response to this post
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2008/10/helmets-law-abate-of-floridas-president.html
we found the following comment attributed to you dated October 29, 2008 4:07:00 PM EDT

The biking community has my word that I will re-visit the motorcycle tag language this upcoming legislative session. I will personally file legislation to lower the penalties for placement of tags from the $1,000, $2,500, $5,00. it is at now.

CARLOS LOPEZ-CANTERA
State Representative
Florida
305-442-6877

We wish to verify as to whether or not this comment actually came from your office or if someone is misrepresenting you

respectfully
Robert Conroy (aka rc)
Publisher:
Let Freedom Reign
Big Bend Bikers For Freedom
Member
Bikers Of Lessor Tolerance (B.O.L.T.)
Patriot Guard Riders (PGR)Add to Technorati Favorites

This is a Motorcycle?

Biker Rogue tips us of to this one:   

 If listed as motorcycles collisions, crashes, injury and deaths will be added to statistics for two wheel vehicles and the three wheel vehicles we now know as motorcycles If they are listed as motorcycles, will occupants be required to wear helmets in states that require them? Will the operators be required to have a motorcycle endorsement? Will they have to take the mandatory rider training courses like they are in Florida?

Story here . Federal law classifies them as motorcycles.Add to Technorati Favorites

What Recession? The Vibrator business is humming!

We would have probably passed this little story by. But considering the obvious role that vibrators play in Biker Lifestyle and the hell we have caught from covering the vibrator races at K&K in our little newsletter rag we just could not resist. In fact we feel somewhat vindicated. When you consider that the big three auto makers may not survive it is comforting to know that the vibrator business just keeps humming (or is that buzzing) along.

From Tech Crunch:

What Recession? PriveCo Coughs Up $1 Million For Vibrators.com

Posted: 12 Nov 2008 07:34 AM PST

Privately-owned PriveCo, which specializes in retailing “embarrassing” products online, has paid $1 million for the acquisition of the domain name vibrators.com (a little NSFW).
PriveCo began selling private things out of a spare bedroom on a website called ShopInPrivate.com back in 1998, and has steadily grown to an operation with 12 separate retail sites whose warehouse ships 1500+ packages per week.
This is how they justify the price of the domain name:

• It is an instantly recognizable name,
• Tied to products that people want to buy in complete privacy
• Customers will value PriveCo’s policies and services
• Competitor websites lack professionalism and tact
• PriveCo has strong experience in this field

DomainNameNews spoke to PriveCo President Tom Nardone on the phone and got hold of the exact details of the transaction:

Priveco has closed on the deal to buy the domain outright, but whois ownership has not changed because the current owner is financing the deal. Priveco made a six-figure down-payment on the domain name and will be paying the rest off over the next few years with an 8% interest rate.

Update - We also got in touch with Nardone, and he specified: the deal was $200k down and 800k at 8% over a fairly short term. Transfer will be done just before the end.

Either way, $1 million is a lot of money, especially in these troubled economic times. What speaks for the company, however, is that they’re bound to know exactly how valuable it is: PriveCo has been running Vibrators.com since 2002, essentially leasing the domain from someone else. The domain is currently registered to Vibesales in Jonesboro, Arizona, but Nardone says he bought the domain from an individual, not a company.

"PriveCo has been running Vibrators.com since 2002"

I have to guess that this may have been a Freudian slip by the Tech Crunch writer. After all they can't be as sick as the rest of us can they?  We also must assume that despite the protestations we heard regarding our coverage of the vibrator races that :

A. There are some folk buying vibrators that ain't copping to it,

or

B. There problem was not actually with vibrators but the use of them as racing racing vehicles.
Kinda like a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) thing ya know.  Though I have searched the statutes and have yet to find anything laws governing "vibrator abuse", since all things are possible, I can only imagine (which in and of itself is intriguing) that such can occur.Add to Technorati Favorites

It's an honor to honor-reflecting on the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall in Tally

Pic by Glenn Walker

Last Thursday morning a small group, I say small  relative to the population of Tallahassee, gathered to Escort the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall to it's place of Honor on Lake Ella.  Appropriately renamed “Hallowed Ground” for the duration of it's stay.  With little fanfare, those who were able began unloading the truck and began putting together the pieces that would become the whole of what represents what was one of the most turbulent times in American History. And then to honor those who were killed in a far off land during that time.

By Friday evening the wall was ready to be presented to Tallahassee in opening ceremonies that were short and humble.  No political grandstanding, no fireworks. Just a small crowd with the honorable words of a few veterans and the sound of the water from Lake Ella's fountain in the background.  They understood.  The wall speaks for itself and only those who will listen will hear it.

How ironic I thought as a few blocks south a large crowd partied in the streets near the states capital for one of many “Friday Night Downtown Get Downs” held throughout the year to honor the FSU football team.  What a strange dichotomy I thought.  Are these times any less threatening than other times when America was fractured?

Lake Ella is a busy place and after dark an unusual place.  So it is good that the wall is never left alone, unguarded.  And yes there were those who walked by who had no idea what it was they were walking by.  There were those to, who were drawn in by curiosity in the middle of the night and those who preferred the cover of darkness to communicate with the past with tears.

Yes it can get cold in Florida. But at dawns break volunteers would arrive bundled up to read the names of the fallen.  Name after name drifting across the lake in a cadence that blended into the  background    almost becoming unnoticeable unless the sound stopped.  All 58,256 and others who are added to this day.  Thirty three years after the few remaining Americans evacuated Saigon, and the last two US servicemen to die in Vietnam were killed when their helicopter crashed, not all have yet come home.

It is as if all the names being read become one long word echoing the plea, “Remember”.

After the Veterans day parade, relegated to the side streets of the State Capital by city officials that speak respect with their tongues yet demonstrate disrespect by their actions, the wall takes on almost a celebratory nature as those who did make it home share what only they can.

Having been to the Southern Wall in Pensacola and the two traveling walls in Tallahassee I can only imagine the power the actual WALL, in Washington, must have.  Not being a Veteran, I will never know it's full power.  But having lived through that era I can attest to it's healing abilities.  There are those who may disagree but I am convinced that the Wall is sending a message to all who would stop long enough to listen.  That belief was validated when I returned home and on the news was chaos in the markets, as people were clamoring to stop the bleeding of some our most basic institutions and principles.

I  did not make it to the closing ceremonies.  Instead I met with a veteran privately.  Veteran and non- veteran with a common fear.  The lessons of the past have not been learned. 

Veteran and non-veteran with a common commitment: To put aside our obvious differences.  To put aside how we may or may not feel about a particular war, political party or agenda, skin color, ethnic background, or religion. To work towards the one goal all our founding fathers agreed on, Liberty.

“IF NOT NOW, WHEN?”-Richard Bach from “Illusions”

Click here for pics of the wall in Tallahassee.Add to Technorati Favorites