Geezer with a Grudge: All the News that Didn't Fit

Aug 10, 2012

All the News that Didn't Fit

Good News/Bad News

The good news is the economy is clawing back toward "normal," as first quarter 2012 US scooter and motorcycle sales are up 9%. The bad news is that we have a long way to go to get back to pre-depression sales. 2007 two-wheel vehicle sales were around 950,000 units and 2011 sales were at 441,000 on and off-road units.

Hoka Hey Payoff

The Harley long distance event continues to provide entertainment as the 2010 and 2011 "winner," William Barclay filed a suit against Hoka Hey organizers Jim and Beth Durham and "the Medecine Show Land Trust.” The Durhams "disqualified" all 11 2011 finishers from receiving the $250,000 cash and $40,000 motorcycle first prize. Barclay is asking for $5.29 million in damages, plus attorney fees and court costs. The 2009 and 2010 payoff was just as messed up, so this is nothing new for the Durhams. The 2012 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is supposed to start on August 5. How many suckers will line up for a pie-in-the-sky this year? For that matter, Barclay is probably trying to get blood out of turnips.

Arrested for "Obstruction of Revenue"

Natalie Plummer, a Houston Texas bicyclist, fed up with her city's less-that-subtle revenue generating tactics (read "new taxes"), scrawled "Speed Trap" on a paper bag to warn fellow citizens of a road hazard ahead. The Houston cops threw a tantrum, forcibly searched her backpack, arrested her on a trumped up "felony obstructing justice" charge. Since that was clearly bogus, she was eventually charged with 'walking on the roadway" after being jailed for 12 hours. It's impressive that the Houston cops have solved all of the city's real crimes and have so much time on their hands for stuff like this.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: I looked at the Hoka Hey web site, it's a softened Iron Butt for Harleys. 6000 miles on a touring bike is supposed to be a big deal? The video seems to put it on par with the round the world travelers.; 8/10/12, 10:16 PM
T.W. Day said...: Hey! 6k on a Harley is probably as impressive as surviving a couple of waterboarding hours. Give credit where credit is due (and where common sense is absent).; 8/11/12, 1:18 PM

The Geezer Story

I stumbled upon this column name (Geezer with a Grudge) almost 20 years ago, in 1999. The first Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly editor I worked with, in late 1999, complained that the magazine was getting no mail and the editors wanted to know if any readers were still out there. I fired off a sarcastic note, as a joke, intended to provide a little humor and some feedback. He published it as an article and later called me to say he'd received more mail on that letter than he'd received in the past year! I followed that with an offer to write a monthly column attempting to piss off a particular section of the magazine's readership to see if that tactic would generate some mail.

It did, probably more regularly than the magazine wanted at times, and I wrote a monthly column for MMM until the magazine died in 2018.

I plan to post an occasional old Geezer article into the blog, followed by short comments about the current status of my perspective on our activity/sport/vehicle of choice.