Free Republic

Getting paid to ride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle all day seems like a dream job. Except for the heat, the cold, the rain and snow and of course, the inattentive motorists who plow into you. But for motorcycle cops, there’s no place they’d rather be than the seat of a Harley. “We’re police officers, and we get to ride a Harley for free. What’s better than that?” said Arlington (Va.) County Sheriff’s motor officer Ralph Rice. Rice and the 17 other motorcycle officers in his department ride FLHTP Electra Glides to escort the president, respond to accidents and patrol traffic. Several...

MILWAUKEE - A motorcyclist was killed on Milwaukee’s east side after he was hit by a car. It happened Friday afternoon near Humboldt and North. Police said a 61-year-old woman from Milwaukee was driving her car southbound on Humboldt when she tried to turn right to go west on North Avenue, but instead of turning right, she went across all the lanes of traffic. Police say the woman hit the curb on the other side of the road, and tried to correct herself. That is when she struck the motorcyclist. Police said 55-year-old Michael Fleming of Michigan was riding in...

On Debbie Argel’s first motorcycle trip from California to Wisconsin in 2003, she was nervous about the risks, but encouraged by her son, Air Force Capt. Derek Argel. He told her: "Fear of death is really just a fear of life. Go for it, Mom." Two years later, on Memorial Day, 2005, Derek was killed in Iraq. In his memory, and to raise money for children of special military forces killed in the line of duty, Debbie and her husband, Todd Bastian, are riding their cycles from Lompoc, Calif., to Milwaukee for Harley-Davidson Inc.'s 105th Anniversary Celebration. The big party...

Ray and Jeannie Jordan put 105 flags on their bike for the 105th anniversary Harley-Davidson celebration. Ray, a Vietnam vet, wants to remind people flags are not seasonal.