Hells Angels they ain't.
A tough-looking, leather-clad gang of Hasidic bikers who call themselves "Rebbe's Riders" are cruising the tri-state area, bringing God's word to other motorcycle-riding Jews they meet on the road. The Riders -- members of the Brooklyn-based Lubavitch sect -- say their love of choppers gives them something in common with Jews who might have strayed onto the Highway to Hell.
"If a rabbi walks into a bikers club, he doesn't exactly fit in. But if he comes riding up on a bike, doors open to him," said Jonah Halper, 30, who founded the Riders earlier this year.
"[Some fellow Jews] make comments that what we do is not a Jewish thing. They say, 'How can you ride bikes as Jews and say it's for a Jewish purpose?' " Halper said.
On the road, the Riders get more respect -- especially from other bikers.
"No one sees the Rebbe's Riders and says, 'Who are you guys?' " Halper said. "It's not like the Crips and Bloods. There's a certain kind of respect you have for other riders that transcends lifestyle or creed. When we pass a gang on the road, they wave and we wave back."
They sport cool colors -- T-shirts with a logo of a bearded Hasid wearing a wide-brimmed fedora and badass sunglasses, à la ZZ Top.
4 comments:
There's a goup of them in Australia, too.
Or, there once was. (Maybe they were Israeli guys, back-packer).
They would tour with their "Harley Davidsons" all the way from the Top-End, smack-bang down the centre-middle of Australia - via the Simpson Desert. Then roar their way onto Hobart, Tasmania.
Phew!
I think they're the YOWies - Yids On Wheels.
"... ex-hippies who morphed into baál teshuvas"
- they have the like of us in Australia too?!
Yeh, at least they could keep their beards.... (the men I mean) LoL
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