So I used to have this bright blue back pack that I carried when riding my 1977 Honda 550 four. I had no saddle bags, and strapping a crate to the back like so many others were doing back in the day was sort of lame, so I just threw the stuff I needed to carry in the back pack and I was on my way. But that bag turned out to be more than just a place to carry my stuff. It also became the place for my biker patches.
I was a kid back then, in my early twenties, and I didn't own any leather. Though I briefly though about getting some, I figured that it was too expensive and didn't really match my bike. In fact, before I was going to spend money on leather I wanted a helmet with a full face shield - something else I couldn't afford on a meager income. But I could afford patches.
So there, on the back of my bright blue pack, was a huge skull patch with the phrase 'Ride free or die!' in flame red. No matter where I went I used to get asked, 'What's that on your backpack'? People loved it! So I added some smaller patches to the sides just to kind of fill it in.
I'm also a guitar player as well, and I used to look for stickers to plaster all over my cases. I guess this patch thing was just an extension of that. It was a way for me to express myself publicly in ways I would never thing of speaking. It's a freedom sort of thing that a lot of people take up. War vets are another great example.
There was this Vietnam vet I knew who had inked a beautiful sunset landscape on the back of his jacket during the final days of his tour. It was his way of saying goodbye to a war and a land that were not his. He left the back of that jacket unscathed, but he started adorning the front and arms with all sorts of patches.
Of course, he had several relating to the Marine Corps; I think one was even issued to him by the company he was in. But then there were some other military patches, an American flag, and some others you might find on a biker's vest. That jacket, which this guy wore everywhere, became a way for him to remind people about Vietnam; good, bad, or indifferent. Like so many other people, his patches became his bull horn.
As for me, I sold my bike about twenty years ago because I needed some cash. I know I kept the back pack although I have no idea whatever happened to it. If I ever get another bike I'll probably buy the leathers right along with it. Then I can start with some new patches that reflect my ageing personality.
Maybe another huge skull with the phrase, Live Free Ride Free ! and a Biker Grandpa Patch
