Brothers on Bikes-What it is to be a Saint-2-Sinner

"What is Saints-2-Sinners?", has got to be the most asked question I get.  And, depending upon my mood, the answer may vary.  If I'm in a good mood, I have a standard reply, it goes a little something like this, "Well, it's a bicycle club that doesn't take itself too serious."  If I'm lucky, the stranger will give me the sideways look and drop it.  If not, I then launch into a rendition of, "We're just a bunch of goofballs who ride bikes...all kinds of bikes, and like to party."  Understand, this is my generic; pat  response.  99% of the people asking don't give a shit and, they aren't going to remember in 15 minutes anyway.  They simply ask to hear themselves talk.  And the other 1%?  Those are the ones who won't let me get away with it.

Fact is, I didn't know how to properly describe something when I didn't know what it even was myself.  It started as a hoot and has snowballed over the years.  How do you tell people, "Well, a bunch of us like to go to the trails; get drunk, ride bikes, cook out, instigate, antagonize, burn shit up, etc. Etc.?"  At least that's how it started 13 years ago.  In that time we've all gotten older and cut out some of the stuff above but, not all of it.  Some of the crew disappeared; then came back.  Some of them didn't.  Some of them included mountain biking and road cycling to their repertoire; some of them still only ride BMX.  However, through it all, we never took it seriously we just kept riding bicycles.

That changed for me the morning I found out about Jon Hines death and saw the picture, our boy Chris Hayward, posted.  I can't even look at it.  It breaks my heart.  It also made me realize something.

 
For whatever crazy reason, people believe in us and take us seriously.  To say the realization was humbling doesn't quite cover it.  We've literally grown something out of nothing and it's given me a whole new appreciation for the club.  Well, mostly the people in the club.  When people are tattooing your logo onto their bodies and risking the chance of a fight by wearing your colors, it's serious.  It's real. 

With that said, I know, when all is said and done, the real answer to the question, "What is Saints-2-Sinners?, is really... "It's a brotherhood."