Las Vegas, Nevada - April 7, 2000 - Images By:Mike Townsend |
Somuch of all life is an illusion, happiness, sadness, what we often perceive as happening may be much more a configuration of our feelings and emotions at the time. That is why Mike and Bruce's decision to rent Harley Davidson motorcycles to experience Las Vegas is so interesting because the things they saw and did are tempered by the sound and electrifying sensation of knowing that what you do and after you do it will be followed by mounting one of the noisiest and most romantisied forms of transportation other then the horse. With that in mind the picture at the top of the page is also an illusion. Mike took that picture of Bruce on the Harley near the Las Vegas speedway and the darkened street scene was added here. |
Here is what Mike had to say about this topic: |
"We rented Harleys on Wednesday. Bruce loved it as much as I did. I never realized that he had not been on a bike since my first one, a 250 Suzuki Motocross, when I was 18. But he took to it real well with a little instruction from me and we had a wonderful day. We rode in a stagger formation with me on the outside so he felt very safe with me making the decisions as far as traffic and speed were concerned. Riding the bikes was a great opportunity to observe the contrast between the desert and the city." |
We have talked about the iconic nature of the Harley Davidson Motorcycle before in Ensign and Mike has provided us with several articles that depict the reverence it has here in Canada but in the United States there is a curious mixture of nostalgia and patriotism that associates this US made machine with "The American Way of Life". One can not help but think of the maverick, wild west cultural connotations that American's consider as important. Marlin Brando's Rebel Without A Cause, the image of James Dean on an old Harley, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson are images etched in everyone's memories and linked to what is American. Even Austrian actor Arnold Schwarznager establishes himself as a true American in Terminator II as he rides to save humanity on a Harley |
The American mystique of personal liberty and self determination is a fascinating problem. A country that evolved as a Rebel nation fought a civil war to free its slaves and over a hundred years later is still licking its wounds from that war. The surprising failure to achieve even the simplest of its ideals of individual freedom make it one of the most dangerous places on earth to live or visit. Some how these confusing issues are part of the world that is the Harley Davidson motorcycle. This Las Vegas cafe is almost a temple to the icon and what it represents including the the monster US flag in the |
background and the mechanical eagle suspended from the
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Mike passed on the following recollections he had about Harley riding in Las Vegas after looking over this article.
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