The letter from Australia is a weekly newsletter from our Australian office. This week’s issue is written by Julia Bergin, a reporter based in the Northern Territory.
Ron Noll was known for riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in flip-flops, or thongs as they are known here, preferring the ventilation and comfort of uncomplicated footwear in the heat of the Central Australian desert.
But on Sunday morning he arrived at a gas station in Alice Springs dressed in sturdy boots. Noll reluctantly acknowledged to an amused circle of motorcyclists that he had made a “necessary change” in the interest of safety.
The four riders (Noll, Richard Blom, Daniel Bowman and Marcia Fels) are part of the local Harley owners group, whose total membership numbers about 25. They were all wearing denim, leather and, yes, boots. This loose-fitting uniform was completed with a leather outer vest adorned with an eagle and Harley wheel insignia.
Their outfits may have suggested the stereotype of a menacing biker gang. But his preference for tea and apple strudel was a sign that this club had no desire to break the law.
The two patches on the back of their Harley vests confirm this. One more patch would have indicated that they were in an outlaw gang, such as the Hells Angels, Bandidos or Comancheros. In Australia, they are known as MCs or motorcycle clubs. Mr. Noll and his companions belong to a category of their own: the SMC or social motorcycle club. In short, they are simply motorcycle enthusiasts.
After traveling about 130 kilometers (80 miles) in an hour, the Alice Springs HOG stopped at the Kata Anga tea rooms in the indigenous community of Ntaria, also known as Hermannsburg, southwest of Alice Springs. There, over a cup of tea, they talked about the dangers that threaten social clubs that don’t stay in their lanes and respect the unspoken rules of the local biker culture.
The best way to stay out of trouble, Noll said wryly, is to do “as little as possible.”
While there are no illegal MCs based in Central Australia, they can still exert influence in the region.
According to Alice Springs bikers, another social club recently attempted to move to South Australia and ended up encroaching on the territory of a well-known MC. As a result, they say, it was forcibly shut down, or “patched up” in biker slang.
“If you’re in their territory, what they do is they come, go to your clubhouse and say, ‘Give us your keys.’ You have a choice: you walk out the door, leave your bikes here and we’ll take care of you,’” Blom said between bites of apple strudel.
That was an example of a social club wanting to “prove gangster,” said Shannon Althouse, a former Darwin Rebels club leader who served seven years in prison for attempted murder. (Mr Althouse, who was not at the tea shop, is now a youth coach at the Arrernte Community Boxing Academy in Alice Springs.)
Blom said too many motorcyclists were influenced by movies that promote violence, hierarchy and gang culture in general, as well as poor riding practices.
“There are biker movies, even in ‘Wild Hogs,’ where they have four bikes riding two by two together,” he said. “You should never walk level like that, because when a crow or an eagle or a bird hits you in the face, you’re going to react.” That could lead to a carnage, he said: a swerve, a collision, someone running off the road.
Mr. Bowman agreed. “It’s dangerous, but they do it,” he said. “The MC group that passed through Alice last year, the Mongols, all traveled side by side.”
The Alice Springs HOG travels in echelon formation. The person in front, the “captain of the road,” chosen solely based on which bike has cruise control, is on the right side of the road, followed at some distance by someone on the left side, and so on. This gives everyone an unobstructed view and the space to react quickly if necessary.
The group has a rule against “suspicious behavior” on the roads, and Blom says it takes punishment very seriously, imposing a fine of five Australian dollars (about $3.25) on anyone who dares to cross the road. road captain
“Ron always pays $100 upfront at the beginning of the year,” Blom, the ride’s road captain, said of Noll, the rider who preferred flip-flops.
Mr. Noll had his reasons. “There’s no way I’m waiting for you at the end of a trip,” he said quietly.
Now here are our stories of the week.
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