By Pauline Dulang, Reporter
Defiance Harley-Davidson hosts their 3rd annual Hot Rods & Hawgs Car and Bike Show on Saturday at their store parking lot.
Popular biker stereotypes generalize motorcyclists to be gang members, violent, reckless, or even elitist, but the Omaha Defiance Harley-Davidson crew put on a show that says otherwise. Over 35 eclectic cars and bikes were on display at the family-friendly event for all to see and experts to judge.
The Hot Rods & Hawgs Car and Bike Show features a pin-up contest, music, vendors selling oddities, food trucks, a beer garden, and a kids’ zone with inflatables and free face paintings.
Defiance Harley-Davidson Event and Marketing Coordinator, Sarah Bernhagen, says they put on these free events for the community to be part of their biker culture and for everyone to see how much they love people.
“We are truly family, and we want to make sure the community understands that as well. We do a tremendous amount to give back,” Bernhagen said.
Defiance Harley-Davidson holds fundraisers for Moving Veterans Forward, a non-profit in Sarpy County dedicated to helping struggling veterans move into a home; Javelan, a program that provides funding for service dogs for military veterans and first responders; Operation 22, an outreach program focusing on bringing awareness to veterans struggling with PTSD and suicide; and children and homeless shelter events.
“We’re very community-oriented. A lot of people don’t realize that, but the motorcycle world is probably one of the most giving groups of people you can ever find,” Bernhagen said. “People look at bikers and think ‘they’re scary looking,’ but you’d be surprised who’s on the backs of those bikes. We have lawyers, we have doctors, we have nurses.”
According to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, there are over one million registered automobiles and over fifty thousand registered motorcycles.
Second place winner for the Hot Rods & Hawgs pin up contest, Becky Neeb, became emotional when speaking about the impact biking has on her life.
“You don’t realize the comradery in the biker community until you’re in it. It’s a complete and different family,” Neeb said. “When you go to other states and you’re out on your bike and you see someone with a Harley-Davidson t-shirt, you automatically have another family member. You can go up and talk about anything with them because you know you share that same interest.”
She says the freedom alone to ride is such an amazing feeling, a feeling she didn’t understand till she bought a motorcycle for herself in 2013.
“I have one patient, when she comes in, she’s always asking me “Where did you ride last week?” It’s kind of cool,” Neeb said.
Neeb works as a receptionist for a local optometry office. When her patients find out she rides, it opens their eyes to the humanity of the biker world.
Defiance Harley-Davidson will host a ladies’ night event on Oct. 21st to celebrate female bikers, their testimonies in the biking world, and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
