Little Gay Riding Hood: Eaten by a Wolf

Product Information

In our digitized culture, ECMC is still around because it offers its members something they can't find online. "The club community has survived because different needs have existed that the clubs have filled in," Chaz says. "With a motorcycle club, the bonds are even stronger than that of your generalized leather club or MC [men's club] because we have a lot more in common with each other," he says. The Men's Clubs, which often have a fetish focus like leather, might have a few members who ride motorcycles, but they're not all 100 percent all-riding motorcycle clubs like Empire City. "We ride together, we protect each other. When we ride in formation, we are a well-oiled machine. We watch out for people on the road; when we change lanes, we make our presence known." As we move north on the West Side Highway, I get it. Motorcycling is incredibly dangerous and when you invest your trust in people to watch out for you, to ride safely, to essentially take your life in their hands, having them so closely and carefully uphold it makes you feel closer to them. I feel the wind in my face and the corners of my mouth naturally upturn and they just stay there, involuntarily. The freedom and the openness of riding a bike are so powerful that it makes dealing with the danger of it worth the trouble. When you get to experience that along with a group of people even for a day, like me, you begin to develop a sense of camaraderie and community, so I can only imagine what it's like when you've been riding with these people for years. The motorcycle may be the foundation of Empire City, but the people are what gave, and continue to give, the club the soul that has been making it a home and a family for over 50 years. It was also around this time where the laddish behaviour from fellow riders started to appear. This manifested itself with homophobic slurs, insulting other riders in a homophobic way, and even talking about girls in a derogatory way. Dallas’ size is one of the most recognizable things about him! Not just his height, but also his impressive musculature. He’s worked hard to build his body up and knows a lot about physical training. Not surprisingly, the younger, shorter boys he encounters are interested to learn more from him, hoping to be just as big as him someday.

In my experience, British Cycling does not care about this issue. Countless times I have been at British Cycling-run sessions – like Regional Schools of Racing (RSRs), and even on Great Britain Cycling Team apprentice camps and the Junior Academy – and a rider has said something homophobic, transphobic or used a slur in front of the coaches, in front of commissaires, and none of them has reacted in the slightest. Picture by Will Palmer/SWpix.com – 12/06/2021 – Cycling – Junior Tour of Yorkshire – Boys Road Race (Stage 2), Harrogate, England – The peloton during the boys road race. Featured image: Will Palmer/SWpix.com – 12/06/2021 – Cycling – Junior Tour of Yorkshire – Boys Road Race (Stage 3), York, England – The boys road race rolls out during the neutralised zone. Read more From old newspaper reports in England we get stated evidence of the desire to shame those who rode the stang: Shavez, who describes himself as the ‘fresh meat’ of the group, came across GBMCC when he was browsing the gay social media app (‘the orange one’ apparently) and got talking to one of their current members. After a bit of persuasion, he popped into the Prince of Wales for the monthly social.Not included: Transportation to Billings, Montana; items of a personal nature such as alcoholic beverages and souvenirs; travel insurance; and gratuities for ranch guides, housekeeping, or HE Travel host. As if to underline the point, just after Clay’s interview was published, a talented male junior rider reached out to us, keen to share his own story and experiences of being a gay rider in the sport. He has asked that we published this piece anonymously, fearful of how he might be perceived by other riders, coaches, teams, etc.This is what he had to say… He’s not staring per say, but now that he’s seen it once in a barely there picture, George can’t help himself from sneaking a glance or two whenever Dream walks past, looking at his thighs and his legs with thinly veiled confusion, trying to figure out if it’s just the photo or Dream really wears things like that on the regular. And one of the surprising things I learned, was that Maid Marian was a late addition to the legend—from the late 16th century on. Prior to that, she had her own folkloric tradition, apart from Robin. And in my opinion, her addition completely skews the whole narrative; it stops being about Robin and the merry men, and starts being about Robin and Marian. So by leaving Marian out, and reinforcing Robin's connection to the merry men by making them not just an army of brothers, but an army of lovers, we've got a whole new dynamic—and a whole new Robin.

While some joined for the camaraderie and chance to take the journey with those with shared experiences, others joined for the opportunity to travel internationally and complete runs all over Europe, whether they’re in North Wales or the Netherlands, France or Italy. For some, just the sense of liberation is enough. GBMCC began in 1977 as a club for gay men and women bikers. With its current membership of around 350, the UK-based group are now the biggest gay biking club in Europe. And even though many of its members are at an advanced riding ability, many join as complete novices. Rodi: I did want to reflect the full spectrum, and also the fluidity of same-sex attraction and identity. In the book, "merry" is a term that's analogous to our "gay," but it's much more porous; it includes anyone whose sexual life strays outside the bonds of the strictly heterosexual norm. A massage therapist comes to the ranch mid-week. Most people enjoy a relaxing massage after time in the saddle!Rodi: I did quite a bit of reading and research—a lot of which is reflected in the “Queer History of England” text feature that's included in each issue of Merry Men. The simple fact is, there's not a lot of original source material, for two reasons: first, in the medieval period, same-sex activity was seen as a behavior, not an expression of identity. In other words, there were—in modern terms—gay acts, but not gay people. (“Homosexual” is a much later term.) That was the official view, anyway; my personal feeling is that the people engaged in that behavior probably felt very differently. That's how I'm treating them in Merry Men; though even there, some of the cast are exclusively gay, and some are less so. These experiences have left me feeling like my sport doesn’t want me; if the governing body doesn’t care, who will? I’ve always loved it; there’s just something freeing and joyous about you and a good well-matched motorbike,” says Chris Townsend, a 48-year-old from South London. “Plus let’s face it, there’s just something sexy about a bike, and they can give you massive grins. Big kid, I know, but I’m a petrol head. What can I say?” Mark’s hands and his mouth, they can take him to heaven and the skies above and make his body burn. That’s why they were holy. They make him sin. While Dallas loves these little guys just as they are, he can’t resist the fun and flirtation of a little work out. He invites Austin to his studio for a little session, curious to see what the young man can do.

I love the sense of freedom and – when I’m riding well – the feeling of being at one with the bike,” says David Jennings, who rides a Yamaha Fazer. “It’s been compared to the closest you can get to flying. It’s incredibly relaxing too, you have to really concentrate and let go of other thoughts.” At an RSR level, British Cycling pushes out workshops on anti-doping, which is great, but that is only one aspect of making cycling a safe sport. In three years of these sessions, I never once heard anything about inclusivity. Even now, I see British Cycling statements about pride or ethnic inclusion, and I find them wishy-washy and forced. I do feel that attitudes toward theLGBTQ+ community in cycling are changing. The mostly positive reaction to Justin Laevens coming out a few months ago, and more recently Clay, is something I didn’t think we would see in cycling for a much longer time. This makes me hopeful that one day I will feel able to share who I am with others. For now, however, there is still a lot of work to be done, at all levels of the sport. It’s not that we need to force anyone to come out, but rather we need to create a space where riders feel safe enough to be who they are.We have been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to our interview with Clay Davies, Britain’s only openly gay elite-level male rider. We hope the piece helps to spark change within cycling, taking it to a point where riders can be themselves and acceptance is the norm. As Clay said in his interview, however, there is still some way to go. He's proven that it's fine and he's been accepted," Gordon said. "Hopefully if there are people who do want to come out and they're slightly worried or uncomfortable they can talk to him. It should fill them with confidence that he can be himself and be a lot happier. Rodi: It's sexy, violent medieval fun, retelling a legend you only thought you knew. And gay guys get to be action heroes, which hardly ever happens. It's also high time big, burly men got some appreciation. Merry Men is a lumbersexual's dream book. IGN: I feel like these are all serious questions, but it’s actually quite a humorous and entertaining book! Was it fun for you to look at the Merry Men through this new lens and come up with their banter and decide who would be paired up as a couple and who would be flirting with who? It’s not that we need to force anyone to come out, but rather we need to create a space where riders feel safe enough to be who they are