Steve Lackmeyer wrote a very pragmatic piece on his okccentral.com blog today in answer to a letter to the editor in the Oklahoma about Bricktown not being welcoming to motorcyclists.

Here is my response. I can only speak to about crotch rockets but if you feel the same way I would like to know.



Hey Steve. I'm actually going to comment on this as I am a motorcyclist living in Deep Deuce. Your grabber above is well written and highly pragmatic. The problem is biker culture is not pragmatic.

There are three primary cultures of motorcyclists that I have observed-

1. Harley Riders "HOG"
2. Super or Street Bike Riders "Crotch Rockets"
3. Up and coming plethora of newbie Scooter Riders "Stellas" etc.

I own a crotch rocket. I can't really speak for Hog or Scooter riders. However, my guess is that their issues are similar.

There is no pragmatic way to explain this other than riders like comfortable "habitats". You can like it to any group that congregates- animals, bible study groups, birds, or skateboarders. lol

Bikers are no exception. They usually congregate with their own "type" (though not exclusively) and very much do their socializing with people that ride, not pedestrians walking down the street. However, we sit on our bikes, talk to our friends and watch what is going on up and down the street.

Before Bricktown became very "managed" there were lots of places that became attractive for congregating. The most notable spot was the extremely large underutilized space in front of the ball park. It became a street bike hot spot because it was open, protected by a curb and pylon barriers that kept traffic away from our bikes. If an event was going on near or in the area we simply didn't show up those days because we didn't want to get in the way or have our prized possessions damaged. However, I can remember dozens of bikes lined up. You would take your girlfriend, buy her dinner, then hang out with your friends and watch people and stuff going on. You were close enough to the action but far enough away you weren't in the way of any of the pedestrian activity.

I can't quantify what the economic impact of our group constituted. I know I bought food for myself or dates. However, we were out there nearly every night so we couldn't blow $60.00 on a meal every single night. Most people bought food from the sonic by the fountain. Obviously drinking is not very smart when riding any kind of bike. So we didn't spend much on drinking.

The problems occurred when the "over management" started. The police did not like large groups of people congregating and if I recall there was an incident when a drunk jack ass ran into a parked car (not part of our group by the way). Of course that could have happened irregardless of whether or not we were nearby.

Basically, the "non-rider" and "lack of understanding" took our spot away and I have never seen the level of my group back since. The Ball Park did not care one way or another until it was questioned by merchants and authorities. A hasty decision was made that we weren't contributing enough to allow us to congregate there and we left. We tried to "re-congregate" near the fountain in the small indented drop off zone but soon park limit signs were added to move us out.

I realize that it is a difficult element to understand if your not a rider. However, it is a culture with viral and quick communication. When we were asked to leave we left. We felt insulted because were citizens- not some "mad max" sort of people. We haven't been back in an steady since or large numbers since.

There are not enough parking spaces along the street to facilitate the kind of gathering we had. Plus, street parking creates "a line" of bikes. It is not conducive for sitting on your bike and socializing like group parking. It is like trying to talk to somebody at the end of a lunch counter. You have to yell and nobody wants to do that.

I was in Bricktown often and it was an awesome environment in front of the ball park. I think that we were severely misunderstood and perhaps regarded as threatening. However, the "crotch rocket" culture is youthful and we have our own etiquette. Many of the people in the group were lawyers, bankers, college guys and gals, older high schoolers- quite an interesting mix (Oldest was 60 youngest was 15). When you get on a bike you leave your work behind and you enter a different world.

You just want to chill, watch people, have people come by and admire your bike, hang with your girl, and pretty much be left alone by "the man" or authority.

I feel we added cultural diversity to Bricktown and perhaps a responsible protective element because we cared about the neighborhood and were the "eyes on the street". However, we want a protected space, for free, alignment of bikes in groups, and someplace that we can see the action. The ball park large, protected, flat, and smooth concrete space is still perfect and undeveloped and if the city, ball park authorities, Bricktown association, etc made it available to us again I think the gesture would be much appreciated.- Jeff Bezdek

Bass Pro parking lot?

Yeah. We really want to hang out in the most "UN-urban" part of downtown next to a parking lot of boats. Get yourself a pogo stick.

Nothing new here. It happens in every city. Okc didn't plan Bricktown for the citizens of OK. It's meant to be a tourist draw.

Oh Jeff, you know I'm just kidding. As Stick47 said, this is nothing new and no Urban City plans for bikers, at least on a regular basis.

I'm not asking them to plan for it. Your missing the point. What was there worked for us. Nothing changed until rules were added, thus it does not have place for motorcyclists anymore. Whats that song Signs? Old song- signs everywhere.

Basically, just give us our place back since we weren't bothering anyone and no one else uses it. That is the point.

Another plug for deregulation.

Freedom, liberty, that's all we all want. Whether it's property rights, personal rights or motorcycle rights.

Here's what I think you should do. Get all your buddies and your ladies and park yourselves in the green grass right there on the canal corner. There's plenty of room, you get a great view and you're right in the middle of everything.

Start a new group, BT Bisons.
Get everyone signed up.
Distribute leathers & t's with Bison emblems.
Revel in the fact yer not just bikers, yer trendy artsy fartsy bikers
Park any damn place you please.

I would bet Mickey Mantle's and Nonna's had some input on the ballpark spot as well...Probably didn't help their upscale image to have a large amount of young bikers right across the street

__________________
Dr. Spaceman: Now Jenna, medically speaking for your height your weight puts you what we call the "disgusting" range. Fortunately there are solutions. For example, crystal meth has been shown to be very effective. How important is tooth retention to you?

For the most part people and especially "younger people" have been discouraged in "congregating" anywhere in the metro. I remember hanging out on 39th Street in the early 80's and the police would routinely run off anyone parked in the lots along the road. We parked at the old Cable Mazda location with the blessing of the general manager since we didn't leave trash behind and never bothered the cars. It has been the same at all of them regardless of jurisdiction like Broadway in Edmond, Air Depot in Midwest City or 12th Street in Moore.

Since many of the older persons have the "perception" of possible gang activity associated with any group younger people I could only imagine that the scrutiny is even worse now than it was back then. I would think that there are other areas to congregate in Bricktown other than Mickey Mantle Drive that is not as high profile and may not get as much scrutiny.

Yeah, it's just that we like to watch what is going on. Not comparing our group to "Neighborhood Watch" but I can assure you that no one did anything to anybody around us. It is funny how once you put a protective leather jacket- doesn't matter whether it is slick and urban or rugged and Harleyfied- people don't mess around. lol I guess we looked at it in a good way. Other people might have found it threatening.

I will say that after we left, that is when knife fights and the "real" gang related stuff started happening thus prompting the construction of the Bricktown Police Station. Funny how that works.

Thanks Luke. We are totally in agreement on this area.

Unfortunately its on a slope. lol And rocket tires don't do so well on grass- nor the weight on the kickstands/soft ground. Good effort though.

I know but perception most of the time is stronger than reality. We get a little bit of it when some of the groups that I ride with at times, usually until we remove the helmets and they see we are mostly mid-40's riders, some younger and some older. We have a monthly "pie run" somewhere in the state (Texas) where we get as many as 80 people show up from all over the state. Some of the smaller towns were apprehensive at first but never had an issue having 60 or so bikes parked on a town square. Some of the papers have even written stories about our group. Like I said, much of it is perception and the activities of the others reflected on your group, valid or not.

Rocket tires? Not a Triumph Rocket?

Even a GS-Adventure would have trouble parking there, not getting up it but definitely parking. I don't like taking my Sprint on gravel roads much, street tires aren't too good on it.

Yeah. That is why we liked the Ball Park site so much. Flat protected concrete area. I might go out there and try to take a pic of it with my bike so people understand.