Ups & Downs

Ups & Downs

UP: To Berkeley Breathed, syndicated cartoonist, for poking fun at the silly side of biker culture that looks to "liberate the rebel within." A recent "Opus" strip featured the penguin ducking into "Weekend Rebel Motorcycles" for a "tinkie winkie." A salesman, wearing a dorag, chaps, a dress shirt and tie greets him, then sends him on his way wearing a strap-on beer gut, a half-helmet and riding...a Segway scooter. DOWN: To the Associated Press, for its completely dumb picture selection to accompany a recent motorcycle-related story. The tragic headline read: "Three Children Injured at Conn. Parade," and copy related that a "motorcyclist was doing a stunt with the front tire off the ground when he lost control..." Bad stuff, for sure, but the wheelie photo AP chose to illustrate the story? Four-time 250cc World Champion Max Biaggi lofting the front end on his Camel Honda MotoGP machine... DOWN: To mainstream media, yet again, for finding a new angle to attack fun. "Trouble on Two Wheels," a Los Angeles Times article this past summer, fanned the flames of paranoia about the pocket-bike "craze," saying California Highway Patrol officials worry "...the proliferation of the two-wheelers may bloom into a statewide threat to public safety." Gosh, if it goes national, we might have to alert the Department of Homeland Security!