Free Republic

<p>A Prius driver who was using his cell phone to record footage of a pack of motorcyclists veered into them Sunday morning, prompting some of the bikers to beat him up on a San Mateo County freeway, the California Highway Patrol reported.</p>

One hundred and ninety motorcycles, driven mostly by Chicago firefighters, are on their way to New York for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The motorcycles left on Tuesday morning from US Cellular Field and will make stops at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where flight 93 went down, and at the Pentagon, before reaching Ground Zero on September 11th. Tom Maloney, a Lieutenant for the Chicago Fire Deparment, started the Chicago to New York motorcycle ride after the 9/11 attacks. Maloney and several other Chicago firefighters traveled to New York after the attacks to help the New York firefighters dig through the rubble....

In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on American roads due to distracted driving. Now, April has become National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The MSF has put together a list of 10 things cagers need to know about driving around motorcycles. I hope you’re not reading this on your iPhone from the driver’s seat. 1. There are many more cars and trucks than motorcycles on the road and some drivers don’t “recognize” motorcyclists. They ignore them, usually unintentionally. Look for motorcycles, especially when checking traffic at an intersection.

 2. A motorcyclist may look farther away than he or she is in...

TOPEKA, KANSAS Showing no discernible limit to their insensitivity, and seemingly eager to puff out their chests in the wake of their recent Supreme Court victory, the Westboro Baptist Church issued a press release stating they plan to protest at the funeral of the seven Clouse children killed in a tragic fire in Perry County this week. The release is full of bluster over their Supreme Court victory and claims the fire was a result of God's wrath for Pennsylvania. After all, isn't that where the man who sued them for protesting his son's funeral and inititiated a landmark free...

Pictures of unusual motorcycles.

A German student "mooned" a group of Hell's Angels and hurled a puppy at them before escaping on a stolen bulldozer, police have said. The man drove up to a Hell's Angels clubhouse near Munich, wearing only a pair of shorts and carrying a puppy. He dropped his shorts and threw the dog, escaping on a bulldozer from a nearby building site. He was arrested later at home by police. The 26-year-old is said to have stopped taking depression medication. After making his getaway on the bulldozer, he had driven so slowly that a 5km tailback built up behind him...

Doesn’t remind me of this…

This brief video presentation is from today’s Memorial Day eve yearly “Rolling Thunder” motorcycle event. This event takes place each year in our nation’s capital to honor those who had given their lives for America. With MANY THANKS to those who gave their lives so we can be free, as well as to our veterans, and to both AP and YouTube.

A Chattanooga police officer has resigned after it was revealed that he was associating with members of the local Outlaw Motorcycle gang. Derrick Pendergrass had been placed on administrative leave awaiting the outcome of an internal investigation of allegations that he knew and associated with the gang members, many of whom are believed to be known felons. He resigned Tuesday. It is a violation of police department policy to associate with known felons, according Chattanooga police public information officer Rebecca Royval. The investigation into Mr. Pendergrass’ actions stemmed from the recent federal crackdown of the local Outlaws Motorcycle gang. Federal...

More than two dozen motorcycles crashed on a freeway in Oregon on Friday, blocking traffic for hours, police said. Oregon State Police said the bikers were behind a car when traffic unexpectedly slowed in the northbound lanes on Interstate 5. The collision sent bikes scattering across the road, near Wilsonville, south of Portland.

WILSONVILLE -- Members of the Brother Speed outlaw motorcycle club rolled into a bloody 26-bike crash on Interstate 5 north Friday afternoon, south of Wilsonville. "When we arrived on scene, it was ordered mayhem," said Lt. Mike Towner of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. "There were ... two dozen motorcycles scattered across the freeway." Two bikers with critical injuries were flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center and OHSU Hospital in Portland. Seven other crash victims with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance. Northbound lanes at Milepost 282, near the Baldock Rest Area, were shut...

The motorcycles roared down the street, their riders in black leather vests. Long hair peeked from under helmets. Clad in jeans, dark shades and short-sleeve shirts revealing the occasional tattoo, they parked their bikes and headed toward the Catholic church last month. Almost 100 strong, these bikers are out to change public opinion. One sported a patch on his vest that read: "These Are My Sunday Clothes." They're not your father's Knights of Columbus. They're knights on bikes, New Jersey's first Knights' Motorcycle Ministry. "We want to make sure that the public image of bikers isn't what they see on...

I plan on riding my motorcycle to the September 12 Washington D.C. protest rally. Any others from the Pittsburgh area that would like to meet up and ride there together, lets organize.

When self-professed "pro-sex Republican" Meghan McCain visited the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last year, she was with her father on the campaign trail. She's back again this year and this time she's looking for love. In a tweet posted Wednesday afternoon from the South Dakota gathering, McCain expressed her desire to find herself a pierced and tatted motorcycle man: (screw) harvard MBA's, show me your nipple ring, harley and arm sleeves of tattoos and I will run away with you Except she didn't use the word "screw."

Next week, I’ll be riding a Harley at the Sturgis Biker Rally in South Dakota—with the very same bad-asses who helped reinvigorate my dad’s campaign when it needed it most. So many memories of my father’s political career, especially the two times he ran for president, include bikers. There is something about bikers and biker rallies that makes me feel particularly patriotic and—dare I say it?—Republican. Let me start from the beginning. I have been going to political rallies since I was a young child. If you delve far enough into the depths of Google—and look at pictures scattered throughout...

Having started the morning with two hours of crucial talks with US President Barack Obama, some might have expected Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to have spent the rest of the day in the office. But not so for the increasingly multi-tasking Russian strongman, who spent the afternoon in casual dress visiting a Moscow bikers club known as the “Night Wolves”, television pictures showed. Perhaps the transformation of Putin - whose varied activities over the last months have ranged from scolding oligarchs to singing Soviet-era songs at a school to touring a supermarket - should be no surprise by now....

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2009 – Pam Crane sat peacefully in a patch of freshly mowed grass along Highway 27 here in the nation’s capital, remembering her husband, his patriotism and his cause. Bikers from all across the country pull into the Pentagon's north parking lot May 24, 2009, to participate in the 22nd Annual Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, D.C., to remind the nation that many American servicemembers who were prisoners of war or missing in action are still unaccounted for. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. She...

Sometimes momentous events happen without much notice in Washington. Such was the case os Rolling Thunder and the White House.

Motorcyle Enthusiasts Turned Away From Popular Myrtle Beach Rally Spot: As the women at the SBB biker bar here greet the six o'clock hour by jiggling to a blaring version of Kid Rock's take on "Sweet Home Alabama," Bob Johnston leans back, flips his flip-flops off, and ponders the state of America's biker culture. The party inside the saloon notwithstanding, the news ain't good, he says. Just up the road, Myrtle Beach, S.C. -- the site for 68 years of the world's largest Harley-Davidson rally, drawing nearly half a million riders annually -- has effectively tried to shut down the...

Announcing a bikers "Ride-In" in support of the Media March and Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party Meet at: The Varsity, downtown ATL - April 15 KSU: 4:30 p.m. Short ride through downtown Atlanta to the Capitol in support of the Media March and Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party. The media can only ignore us for so long. Let's rattle some windows at CNN Center, AJC and more...time for our 'voices' to be heard.

A prominent Swedish member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang will have to survive without the sickness benefits he has been receiving for the past 10 years as he was shown to have hidden income sources. Hells Angels member Thomas Möller in Malmö will no longer be able to cash in more than 200,000 ($24,500) per annum in sickness benefits after a decision by the Social Insurance Agency (Forsäkringskassan) to freeze the payments, Svenska Dagbladet reports. Möller had been the subject of an investigation after it had emerged that he had kept incomes totalling several million kronor from the tax...

SYDNEY – Warring bikers brawled through Australia's largest airport Sunday, beating one suspected gang member to death and brandishing metal poles "like swords" as they rampaged through the main domestic terminal in front of terrified travelers. Police said a group of suspected gang members was ambushed as they disembarked from an airplane. "A fight ensued, the fight moved through various parts of the terminal," said Police Detective Inspector Peter Williams. He said 15 men were involved in the violence, which rampaged from the ground floor up one level to the departures hall before most of the men fled.

The city of Myrtle Beach and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce have launched Web and print information letting visitors know that from the city's perspective, the May motorcycle rallies are over. Myrtlebeachbikerinfo.com launched last week, and brochures are available for distribution primarily through local hotels. "We have new laws, and we'd rather not surprise visitors," city spokesman Mark Kruea said. "We'd rather they have some idea of what to expect when they come here." People who haven't followed the bike-rally news since fall might not know the city has implemented stricter noise and muffler rules, a local helmet...

After deliberating over most of three days -- and at one point saying they couldn't reach a verdict -- jurors acquitted two Hells Angels bikers of attempted murder for a 2006 gunfight that injured rival Outlaws Motorcycle Club members. Prosecutors said they still plan to try Chad Wilson of San Diego and John Midmore of Valparaiso, Ind., on a more serious conspiracy charge for the Aug. 8, 2006, shootout at Custer State Park, though the judge asked for legal briefs on whether that would be double jeopardy. Attorneys for the state said Wilson and Midmore went to Legion Lake Resort,...

The Meade County State’s Attorney said Friday that members of the Hells Angels initiated a bar scuffle that led to the shooting of one of club’s members at the Loud American Roadhouse in Sturgis earlier this month. Meade County State’s Attorney Jesse Sondreal said in an e-mail that the investigation has revealed the Hells Angels “instigated the assault” in a fight with the Iron Pigs on the evening of Aug. 9. The two clubs got into a fight just before the shooting, according to witnesses at the scene and authorities. The Iron Pigs is a national motorcycle organization made up...

(snip) "We're committed to making sure our customers are safe and feel safe in the Loud American Roadhouse," he said. Kinney's comments came Thursday, the day after a Meade County grand jury called for the arrests of the shooting victim, four off-duty law enforcement officers and another biker. (snip) Meade County clerk of courts Lane Keil said no warrants or summonses would be issued Thursday because there were no judges on duty to sign the orders. The grand jury heard testimony from 25 witnesses on Aug. 10 and from 10 more on Wednesday. After considering the evidence, the panel found...

BROOKSVILLE — Perched on a stool at Crossroads Bar & Grill, Larry Obonnon stroked his handlebar mustache and looked over several fliers for a state campaign encouraging motorcyclists to wear brighter colors. One flier, titled "Green Eyed Monster,'' featured a man wearing shades, a black leather jacket and, stunningly, neon green chaps. Obonnon shook his head in disgust. "I've been riding since the 1960s," said the gray-haired Obonnon, clutching a Budweiser, "and this stuff here ain't going to change a thing.''

Click to watch video: McCain: Sound of Freedom (50,000 Bikers)

Rolling Thunder, Inc. 21st Anniversary Memorial Day Demonstration in Washington, D.C., May 23-25, 2008, To Include Families of Iraq War POWs/MIAs ROLLING THUNDER MISSION STATEMENT The major functions of Rolling Thunder®, Inc. are to publicize the POW/MIA issue, to educate the public of the fact that many American Prisoners of War were left behind after all past wars, to help correct the past, and to protect future veterans from being left behind should they become Prisoners of War/Missing in Action. Rolling Thunder is committed to helping American Veterans from ALL WARS. • Rolling Thunder, Inc. is a class 501(c)(4) non-profit...

Run for the Wall returns More than 400 bikers rolled down Hobsonway last year, the first time Run for the Wall came through the town. This year a pair of helicopters plan to join in the parade to the Colorado River Fairgrounds. By Marty Bachman Over 400 motorcyclists will return to Blythe on May 14 as part of the 20th anniversary of the "Run for the Wall," paying tribute to veterans as they make their way to visit all the war memorials in Washington, D.C., including the Vietnam Wall Memorial. Veteran bikers from the Vietnam War, Somalia, the Gulf War,...

Two Hells Angels bikers charged with starting a gunfight acted in self defense because rival Outlaws Motorcycle Club members targeted them, lawyers for the men say. Chad Wilson, 32, of Lynnwood, Wash., and John Midmore, 34, of Valparaiso, Ind., are accused of shooting at Outlaws bikers Aug. 8, 2006, at Legion Lake Resort in Custer State Park, where the Outlaws gathered for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 70 miles away. According to a federal court document, an Outlaws member who was not wounded said he returned fire at the man who shot at his group. Wilson is a member of the...

(CNN) -- Two masked and machete-wielding men who barged into a club in Sydney, Australia, couldn't have picked a worse night for their robbery -- a monthly meeting of bikers. About 50 burly bikers fought back with tables and chairs -- pretty much anything that wasn't bolted down. One would-be robber was tied up; the other in the hospital. Police arrested both. "These guys were absolutely dumb as bricks," Jerry Vancornewal, leader of the bikers, told CNN Thursday. "I can't believe they saw all the bikes parked up front and they were so stupid that they walked past in." Vancornewal...

A would-be armed robber in Australia couldn't have picked a worse target. He ended up hog-tied and in hospital after trying to hold up a bar where a biker gang was holding a meeting. The man and his accomplice, wearing ski masks and waving machetes, stormed into a club in a Sydney suburb last night, local time. About 50 bikers had just started a club meeting in another room and jumped in to intervene. Security camera video from inside the bar caught the entire fracas, which began by the bikers looking somewhat confused. As soon as the burly members of...

Denver and Mountain View police apologized to members of the Hells Angels and settled a federal lawsuit over a 2005 traffic stop with a $14,000 payment to the bikers, their attorney said Thursday. The apologies signed by Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe and Mountain View Police Chief Eric Gomez mark the second time Denver police have had to say "sorry" to the Hells Angels.

For the second time in five years, Denver Police have apologized to the Hells Angels motorcycle club for possibly violating the group's Constitutional rights. In a settlement released Thursday, attorney David Lane said Denver and Mountain View Police agreed to pay a total of $14,000 to the group, and apologize for a Sept. 2, 2005 traffic stop in Mountain View

Three motorcycle riders are hospitalized in stable condition after a run-in with a bear in St. Johns County. State troopers say the bear ran in front of the bikers Sunday on I-95 near State Road 207. The animal was killed when the motorcycles slammed into it.

DMV probe keeps bikers off road Orange County kit bike owners aren't sure when they'll be able to ride or sell hand-built vehicles. Friday, June 22, 2007 BRIAN JOSEPH SACRAMENTO -- Dain Gingerelli says he locked up a sure sale of his motorcycle in April – about $10,000 for a kit bike he built himself. But two months later, the bike is gathering dust in his garage and the cash is in someone else's pocket. What happened? The state Department of Motor Vehicles, Gingerelli said, blocked the sale. It turns out Gingerelli used a kit made by Custom Chrome Inc....

Should California ban or place speed limits on lane-splitting by motorcyclists? Ban all lane-splitting (0 Votes, 0%) Allow lane-splitting, but set speed limits (0 Votes, 0%) Allow all lane splitting (1 Vote, 100%) Note: Scroll down on the homepage a bit and look for the poll on the right side. Vote accordingly.

Quoted from a posting I found at DC Indy Media: "It would be a real shame if the expensive custom paint on one of these bikes ended up with, say, Inca's tag keyed into the gas tank and a lot of nice chrome accessories as well as the spark plug wires missing at 3 AM. Riding while drunk and literally "getting smashed" would be an even bigger shame!" http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/139196/index.phpEAGLES UP!

'Thug' bikers have it all wrong By Mike Seate TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Marie Malagreca wasn't looking for trouble when she traveled from her home in O'Hara to Washington, D.C., for an anti-war protest. But when the 79-year-old woman arrived in the nation's capital on March 17, she found her path blocked by a beefy, leather-clad biker with an agenda. "He got right in my face and started asking me what I thought I was doing protesting the Iraq war," she said, "and then he started calling me dirty names." Malagreca was one of several local protesters who shared...

PEORIA, Ariz., April 15, 2007 – Servicemembers stationed in Baghdad got an earful – and an eyeful – yesterday from about 4,000 supporters who gathered here to show their appreciation during the third Cyclerides.com “Hearts to Heroes” motorcycle ride. Riders are seen in the side mirror of a Hearts To Heroes ride participant as the group made its way around the Phoenix International Raceway. The ride, the third Cyclerides.com has hosted, is held to honor the troops and benefit troop-support organizations. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. A two-way video connection, provided...

The president of the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels says people have been rude to him and his feelings have been hurt since the group was ruled a criminal organization by an Ontario judge last year. In an affidavit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Rick Ciarnello lists a number of public snubs including a couple in a restaurant who asked to be moved because they didn't want to sit next to him after he walked in wearing Hells Angels colours. He also claims he has been treated rudely by his local supermarket staff, and he says many people are...

Jurors in Hells Angels trial surprised to see flaws in government's case Grainy video, sketches with little meaning and lengthy testimony from drug addicts -- those pieces of evidence had jurors presiding over the Hells Angels trial questioning the strength of the federal government's racketeering case against the motorcycle club. Four years after the 2002 Laughlin River Run, during which the Hells Angels engaged in a violent battle with the rival Mongols, prosecutors attempted to nail 11 bikers for attempted murder and being a criminal enterprise, a gang

Plea deal ends state, federal cases ByADRIENNE PACKER and K.C. HOWARD With their case against the Hells Angels unraveling, federal prosecutors agreed to a plea bargain Wednesday that reduced charges against the six main defendants and dismissed all charges against three dozen other members of the infamous motorcycle club. Forty-two Hells Angels had faced the possibility of life sentences as a result of a gunbattle with their rival club, the Mongols, in Harrah's Laughlin during the 2002 River Run motorcycle festival. But under the deal approved Wednesday, six Hells Angels will serve no more than 30 months in federal prison,...

Federal prosecutors aim to prove bikers are part of organized criminal entity Sorting out what happened during the gunfight inside Harrah's Laughlin won't be the toughest challenge for federal prosecutors trying Hells Angels members; the true obstacle will be proving that the motorcycle club is an organized criminal enterprise, an expert sayAdrie

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2006 -- When Noel Totten arrived home to find 40 leather-clad motorcyclists pulled up at his house in Bloomington, Minn., he knew why they’d come. Universal Recording artist Rockie Lynne, co-founder of Tribute to the Troops, presents a plaque to Noel Totten Sept. 8 at Totten's home in Bloomington, Minn. About 40 members of the group visited Totten's home to pay their respects for the loss of his brother, Chief Warrant Officer Eric W. Totten, 34, an Army Chinook helicopter pilot who died May 5 when his chopper went down in Afghanistan. Photo by William Moss  '(Click...

STURGIS, S.D. (AP) -- Biker gangs have made the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally a violence-marred affair in the past. The rally, which draws about half a million people each August to the Black Hills in western South Dakota, has since gotten older, laid-back and more diverse. But this year, gunshots about 75 miles away reminded attendees about the gangs. Authorities said two men affiliated with the Hells Angels shot and wounded five Outlaws Motorcycle Club members in Custer State Park earlier this week. Suzanne Church, who has ministered to biker gang members at Sturgis since 1997, said she hopes there's no...

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2006 – More than 100,000 motorcycles carrying Vietnam veterans, current and former servicemembers, family members, and other supporters rattled the streets here today. Three Vietnam veterans listen to the speakers at the Rolling Thunder XIX Ride for Freedom at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., May 28. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The motorcyclists were participating in the Rolling Thunder XIX Ride for Freedom from the Pentagon parking lot to the National Mall. The ride is held every year by the non-profit group as a demonstration to raise awareness...

SAN ANTONIO, May 25, 2006 – Their mission here accomplished, three Virginia businessmen are scheduled to arrive home today after completing their "Ride for America's Patriots," a 3,200-mile roundtrip motorcycle ride designed to raise money for wounded veterans. Bikers representing American Legion Post 593 in Converse, Texas, lead the way for three Virginia men arriving on their "Ride for America's Patriots" May 19 after a four-day trek from Fairfax, Va. Photo by Cheryl Harrison  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. On May 15, three riders - Tom Donegan, Joe Kurnos and Bob Loy - set off in cool temperatures...