Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Wearing black and skulls again?

I’m back with yet another mind provocative thought. This time it’s all about the biker obsession with the colour black and skulls. And I’m not just talking about the guys and gals that ride cruiser style motorcycles. I’ve know many adventure riders and even been a super bike rider myself, yet black clothing and skulls seems to catch our attention.
So let’s think first about the black clothing we all own. Heck, one look at the washing line after the washing machine has done its job, shocked me the other day when I actually realized that all of my clothing is black or so dark in colour that it is bordering black.
Why would we wear black though, considering that we spend our riding time out in the open, being beaten on in the sun. Kind of the worst idea, if I think back to that physics class in high school about how light rays work and that black absorbs light. But then I thought about it further and came to a few reasons that would explain this biker life obsession with black.
For starters, its much easier to keep clean, especially if something happens on the road that turns us into grease monkeys. And secondly, black is the colour of most of the leather that we all wear for protection, because its easier and cheaper dyeing leather black instead of other colours.
Just my points regarding black, despite that it involves you sweating in the slightest bit of shade you do manage to find at the next jol you attend.

Now onto the topic of skulls, we boldly head. Prior to this blog post, I sat and read up on a ton of articles and other blogs on this exact topic. The general consensus on all of these prior articles/posts is surprisingly the same in the long run, but there must be something else surely that draws the attention of motorcycle riders across the spectrum and worldwide.
Yes, I agree that the effects of WW2 had quite a bit to do with the rise of military veterans arriving back from war and purchasing motorcycles at a minimal cost from the army in various countries. Most notably the Harley-Davidson’s of the American Army. This led to veterans creating “gangs” made up of service units, which in turn led to the use of military unit insignia, which tends to have a lot of skulls involved, so as to frighten the enemy.
There is also the ancient approach to it, in that skulls signify immortality, seeing that it is all that remains once all the juicy bits decay into the ground.
However, I myself, as a motorcyclist, don’t feel any particular draw to any of these theories, that still do have some significance to the biker lifestyle, however not so much to me personally.
For me, it is more so a reflection of mortality that attracts me to the skulls that adorn of motorcycles and gear.
And this includes the jewellery that I wear even when I'm not riding.
I tend to side with the mortality that the famous biker skull symbolizes.
Bare with me here now as we delve into the depths and possibly relate together.
Every time I swing my leg over a motorcycle saddle, I embrace the fact of my mortality.
I accept that there is a possibility that I might not make it to my final destination. This doesn’t mean that all the skulls adorning me mean that I am an irresponsible rider in any way though. After all, I could be taken out by the cager at the next intersection that jumps a red light.
However, in the depths of my being, it means that I am embracing the dangers of the life I live as a biker. I live my life as fully as possible, in every way, and the skulls are merely a display and reminder that I am not afraid of death.
I know who I am and what I have accomplished, and that means I know where I believe I’m going if this ride is my last ride.
So thus, I adorn my skulls in all the black attire I wear on a daily basis, showing and sharing my way of life as fully as possible.
Ride safe all you awesome, black clad and skull adorned bikers!

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