a mad max future

Lately we've been seeing a rise in motorcycle traffic. While I am accustomed to seeing lots of bikes on certain weekends, we are now seeing lots of them all the time. I don't really know what the explanation might be, but I have a few guesses. Perhaps it is the gas crisis (although gas prices have been coming down lately). Or perhaps it has something to do with the motorcycle rallies and events that are planned in this part of the state. I know that many bikers like to hit the winding mountain roads around town, too. There have also been a number of retail shops and businesses that have opened recently that cater specifically to biker. From leather shops to bike-only motels, to accessories dealers carrying the latest aftermarket Harley parts, it is becoming a "biker's world" out there.

With the impending recession, it makes me wonder if we're going to experience a landscape similar to the Aussie one from the movie Mad Max, where large troupes or rogue bikers scurry across the land in search of fuel and villages to plunder. Perhaps that is a bit extreme, but there are lots of doomsday theories being thrown around right now, and the current economic crisis is only fueling that fire. Although I have to admit to having a certain morbid attraction to the idea of our messed up society starting all over again, I fear for what that would mean for our children. My wife and I can live with a certain amount of unpredictability and a somewhat rustic lifestyle, but my children would not be prepared for anything of the sort.