Hell's Angel

I'm not sure why, but after handing me a flier for a bike rally on Staten Island, this Hell's Angels mama blurted out, "Do you want to take a picture of me on the bike?" Maybe because I had a bigger camera and an Oxford University t-shirt on, I possibly looked like I was working the event instead of attending. Anyway, when a Hell's Angels mama asks if you want to take her picture on a bike, I'm thinking it's a bad idea to say no, even if you don't. Even when others in the brotherhood come flying in to park and you have to wait for them, I think you wait nicely and take the pictures of the lady. And as I said, "Um," big daddy was shouting "I'll move it, I'll move it," as though my hesitation was rooted in the bike's poor angle to the light.



That's the bike owner and presumably mama's daddy there on the right. Once I started taking pictures, her attention appeared to wander. A group had formed behind me with outstretched hands holding cell phone cameras.


I don't remember what I meant to snap in these shots. Maybe I was just bending down to tie my shoe, but she came hustling back to the bike to pose from the other side. "Thank you," I said after a few clicks.

UPDATE: Given the skepticism of the fine commenter, I looked more closely to see that in fact these folks are from the Low Riders MC of Staten Island. They are standing in front of the Big Red Machine tent and intermingling, so my confusion is legitimate.

Also, since I've just re-read my little story, if you're not a regular reader of this blog, the unmentioned punchline is that I almost never take posed photos of models, so the fact that I found myself doing so with this lady is what made the whole thing awkward. Obviously people take pictures of women on bikes at bike events all the time.

This is one of the bikes I waited to park next to the one in the above photos.