Ethnography FINAL draft

Imagine, you are on a main road going about 60 miles per hour, winds so cold as they hit you hard in the face and you feel the tingles run through every inch of your body. Imagine going so fast that even with the blink of an eye you are five feet further from where you were before you blinked. Imagine having all the fear in the world, but having to pretend you are completely fearless since death could be inevitable. Imagine feeling so scared that your stomach tosses and tumbles continuously, and you feel as though you may see that bowl of Lucky Charms and those triangles of toast that you ate for breakfast that morning. Imagine being able to experience the thrill ride of your life, and having to have that “do or die” attitude the whole entire time. Well, that’s what it is like though. That is what it’s like to have the title of a biker, a street biker.

What better way to experience the subculture of bikers than to take that thrill ride yourself and see why the experience is such a big part of their life. So, there I was standing in front of the biggest challenge of my life. I saw my boyfriend pull into the driveway with his green and black HJC helmet I bought him for Christmas, his Shift brand motorcycle jacket that is black and white, and of course the Lime green Kawasaki Ninja 650R street bike that I was about to ride. He just looked at me and could see the fear radiating from my eyes and through my body language. He did his best to relax me, but I had a feeling no matter what he said wouldn’t relax me. But then before I knew it, I was on the back of his Lime green motorcycle with my own black and white HJC helmet and my own black and white Shift brand jacket, all ready to go. He began to drive and I felt myself clench my fingers onto his jacket, holding on as if I were about to fall out of a three-story building window.

As we had approached the speed of 40 mph, my arms, at that time, were wrapped around his entire stomach and I couldn’t understand how this was something “fun” for bikers. As the Lime green motorcycle reached 60 mph, I could feel every gear shift change as well as my body thrust forward from the force. I eventually tried to loosen my hands as they began to feel numb from the ice cold winds and the amount of pressure I was using to hold on tight. I relaxed and looked around. I finally began to realize why bikers feel the way they feel while riding.

I opened my eyes and saw all the different color trees pass my vision one by one. I saw all the cars pass by at lightning speed, but strangely some even seemed as though they weren’t moving at all. I remember driving by all the people in their cars and all the pedestrians. Surprisingly, it was funny because the second you drive by people when on a motorcycle, everyone seems to stare at you in awe with their jaws dropped and their eyes wide open with excitement as if you were a celebrity passing by or something.

Finally the thrill ride came to an end and as we approached my house, he eased on the brakes and I felt myself jerk forward. It was bumpy due to all the rocks in my driveway, and that wasn’t very pleasant because I have an injured back. I could feel the sharp pains run everywhere in my back and especially up and down my spine repeatedly. Those sharp pains hit every muscle in my back and I was just glad the ride was over. After what felt like an eternity, I felt myself let out an enormous sigh of relief as if I had dodged getting hit by an 18-wheeler truck. Then, the excitement had arrived. Excitement of overcoming such a dangerous thrill ride had overpowered my body like a dog’s excitement when he accomplishes a hard trick to get a cookie.

This is what it is like though. This adrenaline rush is what a biker thrives for and what a biker lives for. Riding that motorcycle, their baby, is a value that makes them want to wake up in the morning. Although death can sometimes be on your mind the entire time, to be a biker is to be fearless when thoughts like that occur. Being a true street biker is to know that although it is dangerous, being fearless is just part of the gig, even if you have to fake it. Be fearless and stare death square in the eye makes you have such a confidence in yourself that makes bikers feel as though they are on top of the world. That is just what it is like though. That is what it is like to be a biker, a street biker.

Ethnography Rough Draft

Imagine, you are on a main road going about 60 miles an hour, winds so cold as they hit you hard in the face and you feel the tingles run through every inch of your body. Imagine going so fast that even with the blink of an eye you are five feet from before you blinked. Imagine having all the fear in the world, but having to pretend you're fearless since death could be inevitable. Imagine feeling your stomach toss and tumble continuously, and you feel as though you may see that bowl of Lucky Charms and toast you ate that morning again. Imagine the thrill ride of your life, having that do or die kind of attitude. That's what it's like though. That is what it is like to have the title of a biker, a street biker.

What better way to experience the subculture of bikes than to take that thrill ride yourself and see why the experience is such a big part of their life? So, there I am standing in front of the biggest challenge of my life. I see my boyfriend pull into the driveway with his green and black HJC helmet I bought him for Christmas, his Shift motorcycle jacket that is black and white, and of course the bright green Kawasaki Ninja 650R street bike that I am about to ride. He says, "It will be nothing, and the ride won't be that bad", but I think all bikers say that before a passenger jumps on the back. But before I know it, I'm on the back of his bright green motorcycle, with my own black and white HJC helmet and my own black and white jacket, all ready to go. He begins to drive and I feel myself clench my fingers on his jacket, holding on as if I am about to fall out of a 3-story building window.

As we hit 40 mph, my arms are now wrapped around his whole stomach and I can't understand how this is fun for bikers. As the bright green motorcycle approaches 60 mph, I can feel every gear shift change, as well as my body thrust forward from the force. I eventually try to loosen my hands as they begin to feel numb from the ice cold winds and the amount of pressure I'm using to hold on tight. I relax and look around and finally begin to realize why bikers feel the way they feel while riding.

I open my eyes and saw all the different color trees pass my vision one by one. I could see all the cars pass by at lightning speed, some even seeming as though they weren't moving at all. I remember driving by all the people in their cars or even pedestrians. it was funny because the second you drive by on a motorcycle, everyone seems to stare at you in awe with their jaws dropped and their eyes wide open in excitement as if you were a celebrity or something.

Finally, the thrill ride comes to an end and as we approached my house, he eased on the brakes and I felt myself jerk forward. It was bumpy in my driveway because of all the rocks so I felt pain in my spine run up and down repeatedly due to my bad back. Sharp pains ran through every muscle in my back and I just hoped to come to a stop soon. He stopped the engine and finally my body's pain began to relieve. Excitement of overcoming such a dangerous thrill ride overpowered me like a dog's excitement when he completes a hard trick to get a cookie. This is what it's like. This adrenaline rush is what bikers have to live for.

That's when it finally began to dawn on me why bikers enjoyed the dangerous thrill rides so much; Although death can sometimes be on your mind the entire time, once you act fearless and stare death in the face, that is when you get the adrenaline rush that makes it all worth while. That's what it is like to be a biker, a street biker.