US 1950’s biker culture all seemed a bit irrelevant to me, Laurie Taylor seemed to be trying to categorise all motorcyclists as Marlon Brando wannabes. The question “Is there such a thing as a middle-class biker?” was particularly silly.
That we’re principally white and male though, is something the programme could have explored better. Hollywood stereotyping doesn’t seem a good enough explanation, yet the PhD from Manchester didn’t get beyond that. What
was interesting was her point on safety: that other road users find us intimidating so ignore us to reduce the stress… rather like the peril-sensitive sunglasses from The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.
