WOULD YOU RIDE A MOTORCYCLE IN A KILT? LUCKY OR NOT - MOTORCYCLE SUPERSTITION AND SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

Saint Patrick's day is a great time to be a biker.

Its a day to do what we love best... Go a little crazy... Get a little (or extremely) drunk... Have a good time - and if you so choose to.... YOU CAN DO IT WEARING A DRESS!

HERE IS SOME INFO ON THE IRISH KILT

WHAT'S WRONG WITH TWO DUDES RIDING ON A MOTORCYCLE WHILE ONE IS IN A DRESS? -NOT A DAMN THING.... ON SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

Advertisement for Douglas Motorcycles -  Man wearing kilt

two bikers in kilts.... those might be Scottish though

Well... I bet it keeps things cool down there. 

Across the world people celebrate the day by wearing green, and generally mucking about.

A COUPLE OF FUN LOVING BIKERS IN GREEN

Stanley Woods (1903-1993), Irish motorcycle racer famous for 29 motorcycle Grand Prix wins and winning the Isle of Man TT races 10 times in his career. A print from the photo album Popular Personalities, issued for Piccadilly Juniors Oval Photos, 1935.

For all those who wondered... Saint Patrick actually rides a trike!

It's true. Motorcycle Riders are a superstitious group, and with saint Patrick's day luck at stake we thought is would be a good idea to review some of the superstitions that surround motorcycles and bring luck or a lack there of.

The following came from: 

https://www.gofarmag.com/2014/april-2014/309-motorcycle-superstitions

written by Go For a Ride Magazine - All credit due

Some of the long held superstitions and their origins follow:

Ride Bells...

Want to keep evil Gremlins, Demons, and Evil Spirits away from your beloved ride? A ride bell is in order. But do not buy it for yourself. It must be a gift in order for the magic to really work. Some say that the evil road spirits become trapped in the bell and the constant ringing drives them away. Others say that the ringing keeps the demons from hanging onto your ride at all. Searching for the origin I came across a tale about an old biker who went down on a lonely dark road. He threw as many things as he could at the road gremlins until all that he had left was a bell. The bell kept the gremlins at bay long enough for help to arrive in the form of another biker. When his safety was certain he gifted the bell to the helpful fellow biker. Hence the part of the legend that says you must receive your bell as a gift. Never steal another biker’s bell. The evil spirits will be drawn to a bell whose magic is tarnished by a bad act. 

Green Motorcycles...

Why on earth would a Green bike be bad luck? Bikes used in World War II painted military green were often considered sitting ducks. Many military riders were taken out some say because of their Green bikes. A legend was born and is still widely believed by many today. 

Blessing of the Bikes...

Religious or not having your bike blessed is believed to bring safety to the biker in the coming ride season. Churches around the world hold annual blessings for bikers. While these events are called Blessings of the Bikes they are really more about the riders. The Vatican’s Pope Francis held a blessing of the bikes. More than 35,000 bikes and their riders were in attendance for this event. Francis’s open-top Jeep navigated the main street to St. Peter’s Square blessing the thousands of people in a sea of Harley Davidsons. This event was part of a four day anniversary of Harley Davidson. Blessings are held around the country at Churches and other locales and date back several decades. 

Karma…

Seeing a broken down bike on the side of the road is not as common as it once was. Technological and mechanical advancements have reduced breakdowns greatly. Stopping for that lone biker that is on the side of the road will indeed come back to you. It will come back to you the same way not stopping will revisit you when you break down. Karma will take her turn teaching you a valuable lesson. Don’t just wave and move on. I once stopped for a gentleman on the side of the road on the way home from Bike Week. He was broken down and a diabetic. We took one of our bikes out of the trailer loaded his up, gave him food and water and a ride home. I rode my bike home with peace of mind, knowing that I had saved someone from great inconvenience, and potentially a serious health crisis. We exchanged Holiday Cards for years. 

Dead Man’s Motorcycle…

Superstition has it that riding a Deal Man’s Motorcycle is bad luck. This does not mean that he was in a fatal accident on the machine. It is said that his spirit is still riding the motorcycle on his journey to the other side. If you are riding it in the physical world he will knock you off of it. Even the parts from that bike are bad luck.