6/5/2023 0 Comments Lone wolf patch![]() The price of a new set of tires, or thousands of miles worth of gas, stuff a real lone wolf could use. Well, that’s (let’s see, uh…) 26 for rockers, 25 for middle patch and 250 for the vest, uh…about three hundred bucks to show the world you are an independent lone wolf. ($250 at Harley, for a nice ‘distressed’ one so you look like a salty ole veteran, or about a third of that if you go for a cheap vest). Instead of buying a K&N air filter for his bike (or some other performance improvement or necessary riding gear), this guy went out and bought aĪ 12″ lower ‘rocker’ (patch) ($12.99 at e-Bay), and presumably an upper patch (possibly saying ‘Independent’) for the same price. ![]() So, he’s basically an independent, unaffiliated rider like me, except…he has patches. Is it the invasion of the Mongols? Is the Red Machine roaring into town? Uh, no…as my eyes focus better, I see it’s just a Lone Wolf, wearing a patch like some non-lone wolf (a ‘clubber’). Until then, I can only wonder…and maybe grin a bit as these lone wolves saunter down the road, looking like some outlaw from a distance. Should be interesting, and may result in a follow-up blog at some point. Still, I can only imagine, so instead I’ll ask those I meet on the road. I can imagine some one percent clubs don’t dig it (and are quite, uh…vocal about their disagreement). I’d like to interview a few of the guys who wear such patches and hear their experiences. This is one of those questions that has no right answer each biker does what he or she chooses, and lives with the results. How I ride and who I ride with (or don’t) might give a hint about that…to the observant.īy golly, people have even done Masters’ dissertations on this… Yet I think how I walk and talk and act shows that. Maybe I need a patch saying ‘Jed, the Saddletramp’ so everyone can tell who and what I am. Would that express my individuality? Would that show I am unaffiliated? I dunno. Yet I can’t help but think the best way to show I am a lone wolf is to… not wear a patch, or a cut, or anything else – just wear whatever I ride best in. Still, as potentially ludicrous as it seems, I support all peoples’ right to wear any damn-fool thing they want. If you look at me walking down the street at some rally, would you need to see a patch to see if I ‘take care of business’? Would you need to see a patch to tell if I fit in better with the vast majority, or with the one percent (or less)? So while the ‘Army’ part of me gets the whole patch bit, the ‘Marine’ part of me wonders why a person needs a patch to display who they are, how they are affiliated, or whatever. They knew who they were, and didn’t care if anybody else did. All Marines, all riflemen, all interchangeable. It was simply a blouse with the globe and anchor stamped onto it. It didn’t have a unit patch, or any badges or other accoutrements. Yet I flash back onto the old USMC uniform – it didn’t have a nametag, or even a USMC tag. It is cool to wear patches that have been honorably earned, ones that set you apart from others, and are recognized as badges of honor and accomplishment. I can get the whole patch thing – the Army is filled with various patches and badges and etc. ![]() I just have to wonder how independent a person is if he or she wears a patch in emulation of others, of clubs that are definitely not independents. ![]() Not satisfied with just a bit of incongruity, these ostensible lone wolves even wear a middle patch… ![]() It produces a sort of cognitive dissonance in me – two opposing ideas trying to coexist. It’s like I call myself French, but wear an English uniform, or call myself a soldier but wear Marine clothing. While it’s incongruous to see a ninety nine percent club wearing a one percent-type cut (especially Christian ones), it is even odder to see ‘independents’ and lone wolves wearing these patches. What used to be the sole uniform of one percent motorcycle clubs has now been adopted by various associations, federations, and confederations. Lately I have seen more and more patches (upper rockers) on vests. ![]()
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