Was up in Oregon near Crater Lake staying at a little hotel/bnb above a somewhat isolated country store in the middle of the forest along a 2-lane road.
Finally drifting off to sleep around midnight after a long day of driving we start to hear the faint sound of motorcycles (Harleys most likely). Over the course of what seemed like an eternity they get louder and louder…and louder, until it is ear splittingly loud as they approach our location. And then they stop.
They then dismount their now silent metal steeds and proceed to have very loud conversations (presumably because their own hearing has been compromised) about how awesome of a ride they are having.
After a short while, they remount and start up their very loud bikes (with lots of vroom vrooming to check that they’re actually working) and depart, regaling us with the same chorus that gradually (again for what seemed like an eternity) fades away.
We’re in the same state, where helmets are totally optional (thanks, Governerd, you ginormous tool). Consider that traditional helmets mute most everything. If Bluetooth helmets function anything like the headphones lots of people wear at gun ranges, they would be superior to wearing no helmet while blasting music from a safety perspective - the volume at which these asshats are broadcasting vastly exceed my community’s noise ordinance maximum - these assholes couldn’t hear the township fire truck’s new double-echo siren if it was directly up their tailpipe. Seriously, they sometimes loiter more than 500’ from my house at the park parking lot, and I register them at 60-80 dB from my backyard, with several buildings in the way.
Interesting times we live in where a silent Tesla can blast any fossil fuel car off the road for acceleration. F1 cars maybe loud but sound whiny.
I’m developing a deeper understanding of my inner ‘hoon’ and the socio-economic diversity of piston driven tech.
The Cars That Ate Paris, Vanishing Point, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Herby The Love Bug, Death Proof…
Moved to the country expecting peaceful quiet and now have constant chain saws during the day and load frogs at night. I wish I had the occasional burn out!
