Brooklyn, NY

So this year for Halloween I decided to be ChaosChic (sans cape, makeup and costume) and hopped on my cute little motorcycle to go play... the day was perfect -- sunny and clear, in the mid-seventies during the middle of Fall-soon-to-be-Winter, on a weekend and Halloween to boot. All the ingredients necessary for wreaking havoc and mayhem on the streets of New York City (just two days after the Yankee parade).

Now, I, in particular, am not really a mayhem-wreaker. I would like to be but I'm just not cool enough. :( My wheelies are a lot like a small Texas town - blink and ya miss it. Hovering at the 4-6 inch mark, I practice when I hope no one is looking and pretend I know what I'm doing. (I don't)

Anyway - back to the chaos... the last time there was a semi-organized wheelie-fest that I was invited to was the middle of September and I took lots of pictures of the boys in Staten Island kicking the boys from the Bronx collective butts.

Well, this has created some problems. For one, I'm told that the guys in the Bronx aren't really as bad as they were when I witnessed them but I can only tell you what I saw... and you know as well I as do - you should never believe the hype. But the bigger problem is the egos of the motley Staten Island crew (aka Wheelie Boyz/Babez). oh me oh my. Not enough props - not enough pictures.... whatever is a girl to do? .

So, anyway, this guy Paulie sends me an email and tells me who he is... apparently he's the cousin of this guy (I don't know his name but isn't that a great shot?) and Paulie seems to know all the guys in Staten Island that I think are so utterly amazing on two wheels (or one as the case may be).

So Paulie invites me to Brooklyn and promises lots of ill shit. Map in hand, I brave the streets of Brooklyn and head off with my camera in search of chaos. Of course, this will be a little bit different... it's supposed to be mostly quads but I'm promised lots of two wheeled machines as well, so I go.

The guys in Brooklyn are nice. Friendly. I meet Paulie and he was very good. I watch them do their thing on the quads - lots of neat tricks, a wheelie here, some guy going sideways, 2 guys doing 1 wheelie, synchronized wheelies, a pretty quad, a guy with a wig on a short quad. very nice. the quads were an interesting change. But...HO-HUM, not a sport bike in sight. Sorry, Paulie, I'm BORED. Now, I'm sure I'll feel differently about quads when A) I'm riding one or B) there's snow on the ground and my little R6 is useless to me. But for now, I don't see them as very exciting. However, everyone had a big grin on their face, so what do I know.

I'm packing up my stuff to leave and along comes an enduro bike. He does a couple wheelies - they weren't horrible. And then comes an R1. Now, maybe the guy was good or maybe my senses had been lulled to sleep from the quads, but he did a couple of semi-impressive wheelies (none of which I got pictures of). So I stick around... And then along comes 4 or 5 more bikes... and then 10 more.. and then 10 more. And, HARK, my boys from Staten Island (well, plus Lora but she's just as much fun as one of the guys)!

Without further ado, let me give some props. I was trying to figure out who the best person was at wheelies... and I think that's just impossible to say because everyone is good at different things. Mario is consistently way up there and I love riding behind him in traffic while he's got that front wheel up. JohnV, on the other hand, is always trying new things - feet over the bars, endos... whatever. Santo, geez, why can't I ever get a good picture of the guy. He's very smooth. Nice wheelies, nice endos. And who's the guy on the R1? Fast. Always too fast for my slow digital camera. All the guys are good, but truly the only thing that separates a great wheelie from a spectacular wheelie is a witness. So I tried to get as many pictures as possible so you can see for yourself.

If I ever get a job again, I'm buying a helmet cam. About half an hour after the Staten Island crew shows up, there's cops coming so we leave. 11 of us are playing in traffic at high speeds and that's when the guys were at their best. As we're weaving in and out of traffic I'm watching bikes wheelie around cars, splitting lanes. Little puffs of smoke shooting up whenever they land. Rolling burnouts at lights. Lots of adrenaline. Lots of fun. I was a very happy girl running around town with everyone. Suddenly giving up a day of twisties and corners to watch the boys show off didn't seem like such a bad trade off.

Enjoy the pics!

Dianna