Bricktown is not Inviting to Motorcyclists- Streetbike Hub Should be Reconstituted
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
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Originally Posted by metro
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