To thunder or not to thunder
By Harry Hilgers - Oct 13, 2008

It is the crack of dawn on a clear Sunday morning.  It promises to be another spectacular day in the Rocky Mountains. A fresh cup of coffee in my hand, I stroll outside to cherish the cool early morning breeze and the peace and quiet so characteristic of this time of day.

For the last hour or so, the red robin has been serenading the neighborhood to awaken it from its early morning slumber. Life is good. Quiet serenity is good.

My neighbor to the south takes to the street for his early morning jog. My neighbors to the north and west are rolling out their hogs. One more sip of my coffee and I wander into my garage to follow suit. Shortly thereafter the three of us meet to go for a leisurely Sunday morning ride up South St. Vrain canyon and across Peak-to-Peak highway. We will have breakfast in Estes and then ride home along the Big Thompson.

While taking it easy with our throttle hands we slowly ride out of our neighborhood. We keep our pipes quiet. There is neither reason nor sense in waking up our neighbors and violating their right to enjoy their own private peaceful morning.

We have a good neighborhood and we respect each other. Just because I appreciate the thundering roar of a V-twin does not mean that they do as well. Life is good. Mutual respect is good. Quiet pipes are good.

Pretty soon we are heading west on Hwy 66 and pass the Outlaw Saloon as we roll quietly through Lyons. A few minutes later we are riding through the national forest stretches of South St. Vrain canyon. Our Screaming Eagle pipes begin to thunder as we accelerate into the first bend and then dance from one turn into the next. The canyon walls in the narrows amplify the sound of our V-twins and their echoes combine with the breeze to generate a musical concert of melodic drum rolls. ......patato......patato......patato......Each turn creates new musical phrases that combine to generate a symphony of soul stirring rolling thunder.

It seems that each ride up this canyon produces its own unique composition. A composition that is here and now and will never be heard the same way twice. Life is good. Rolling thunder is good. Loud pipes are good.

Up on top we roll out of the canyon and onto Peak-to-Peak highway. The majestic snowfields on Longs Peak glitter in the morning sun. Winter lasts long up that high. But not “down” here. Even though there are still many snowdrifts in the trees, most stretches of the highway are perfectly dry. Springtime is in full swing on Peak-to-Peak highway.

Once through Allenspark, we again roll on our throttles as once more we thunder through the bends. When riding my hog, the MSF phrase “Slow, Look, Press and Roll” is rewritten as “Slow, Look, Press and Roar.” Roaring is good. Rolling thunder is good. Loud pipes are good.

As we approach Lilly Lake we again quiet our pipes and roll easy past the trailhead. Some hikers are enjoying a peaceful walk on the nearby trail. We do not want to violate their right to their own quiet way of feeling free. We wave and they wave back. Life is good. Quiet pipes are good.

Once past Lilly Lake we again roll on our throttles into a thundering roar to climb the final hill. Rolling thunder is good. Life is good. Loud pipes are good.

We now begin our descent into Estes Park. The final two S-curves make for great foot peg scrapers and pipe draggers. Just before town we turn onto the Marys Lake bypass through the residential area to our restaurant. Again our pipes are quiet. A few pedestrians wave at us as we wave back. Life is good. Quiet pipes are good.

After breakfast we roll through town and east on Hwy 34. A few horseback riders are using the highway shoulder to trot towards their trailhead. Our throttle hands stay easy. We don’t want to spook the horses. The riders wave as we wave back. Horse riding is good. Life is good. Quiet pipes are good.

As always, the ride down the canyon along the Big Thompson is simply exhilarating. Traffic is light since at this time of day the majority of the traffic is going up the canyon. Along this part of Hwy 34 there are many stretches where we can thunder our pipes but then again there are also residential stretches where an easy throttle hand is called for. Common sense is again in order.

It is early afternoon when we arrive home. After parking I grab a cold beer and join my wife for a nice quiet afternoon in our lawn chairs on the patio. Well, at least that was the plan.

Just as we begin to doze off, our windows begin to rattle and our dogs start barking. A group of fellow bikers on straight piped V-twins has decided to do burnouts on our neighborhood streets. They seem to care very little about our right to relative peace and quiet. All of a sudden life is not so good as loud pipes are being used to harass the folks in our neighborhood.

Those bikers are my ambassadors. I can’t help but wonder when some angry car driver will nail me because loud pipes were used to harass him and his neighbors. After all, this driver will think that I am one of “them”.

Sure, there is a valid argument that loud pipes are a form of Freedom of Expression. HOWEVER, the freedom of speech secured under the First Amendment does not mean that this freedom may be used to harass others and in doing so, infringe on their rights. If you don’t believe me, then consider taking the time to read up on some of the Supreme Court rulings relating to First Amendment cases. If after that you are still not convinced then maybe you will be after hearing what the cop and then again the judge has to say after you used loud and profane language during a stop for a traffic citation.

The moral here is obvious. There is a time to thunder those pipes and then there is a time not to. If this is not good enough for us, then let us try to get the law changed. In the mean time, we will not get anything accomplished by infringing on the rights of others except to get the community at large angry at all bikers. The result of that could very well be (it already has) that a few citizens will get some new “anti loud pipes” city ordinance passed because Straight-Pipe-Rambo enjoys doing burnouts in front of their homes. Or worse yet, some car driver will nail one of our fellow bikers in order to get back at Rambo.

As I am writing this, the big hand is coming up on midnight on this cold January evening. There is about a foot of snow in my driveway. The outside thermometer says five below. The CD player is playing “Ridin the storm out on a full moon night in the Rocky Mountain winter”. Springtime seems so far away now. Winter really sucks. I think I will go to my garage, open the door and fire up my hog. It will make me feel better. I won’t roll on the throttle though. I don’t want to harass my neighbors.

Harry is an engineer, retired and understands oppression and liberty in ways that most Americans do not.  He is grateful for his United States citizenship because he earned it.  He has trained and mentored many motorcyclists in skill development and safe riding.