The Suicidal Riders
The Suicidal Riders are a GoGang that even other GoGangs give a wide berth. Not because they are violent or rude, but because they are seen as just plain nuts. They take hotbiking to a level beyond what even most gogangers consider safe. Despite the fact that they have only been on the scene for two years they have suffered 24 serious injuries and 3 fatalities among members. The Suicidal Riders will only race on turf where there is an element of mortal danger. They were founded by a juve named Derrick “Diesel” Avery, who wanted the ultimate rush. He hotbiked all over Night City but never really felt the rush he was looking for. Then one day he and five other gogangers were being chased by a CorpSec patrol and decided to run highway 828 against traffic to lose them. This would be difficult under any circumstances, but when it is peak rush hour at over 160 mph it was well… suicide. The group managed to loose the CorpSec dead boys but one of the bikers was killed and another won’t be walking anytime soon without cyberware. This was the rush that “Diesel” had been looking for and all of them felt it. The four surviving bikers became the original Suicidal Riders and they began racing highway 828 for the fun of it. Staring death in the face made them feel more alive than any sim ever could and gave them a rush no drug could ever match. They began scouring the city looking for any course that was a danger to life and limb.
The Suicidal Riders instantly became the top dog among the local GoGangers. They were flooded by waves of juves who wanted to join. Thankfully “Diesel” and the other Riders agreed early on that only those truly worthy riders would be accepted into the gang. Every perspective member is sized up and if the aspiring rider doesn’t make the grade they are turned away without getting a chance to ride. If the juve showed enough skill they would have to race one of the gangs members on any of the Suicidal Riders courses. Of course all of these courses have some element of mortal danger on them and at least a few fatalities. If the juve makes the entire run without wiping out or chickening out then they are officially a part of the gang. Once a juve is a member they are allowed to hang with the gang wherever they are taking residence and can call on the gang for protection. “Diesel” even established rules for someone to challenge him for leadership of the gang. If a ganger has his eyes on the top seat all he has to do is find a new course for the gang to race on and challenge the leader. Of course this new track must have a suitable near death factor and you have to win, but anyone can challenge for leadership.
Sixth months ago “Diesel” was finally ousted by a Juve named “Mad” Nash Miller. Miller moved the gang to and old stretch of seashore highway to a place called Departure Point. Departure Point is a white-knuckle ride across the edge of a cliff that ends in a downward slope leading into an abrupt 90-degree turn. There are countless news articles of cars going off this stretch of road and it is rumored that over a thousand people have perished here since the highway was built in 1930. The Riders have taken up residence in an abandoned hotel a couple of miles from the point. Since most of the people in the area left when the ocean got too polluted the place is pretty far from prying corporate eyes. The riders have turned the place into a kind of hideaway where any juve can go when they need to lay low for a couple of days. They also have a small garage set up where they can repair their bikes.
While the Suicidal Riders are the elite of the GoGanger community they are actually pretty approachable. They’ll let any juve hang around as long as they know they are not part of the gang and will not be allowed to race. Although let it be known that the Riders have no love for Golden Kids that think their hot stuff just because their daddy bought them the most expensive cyberbike on the market. A month ago Damien Murdock, the golden kid son of famous stunt rider Lance Murdock III, showed up at the point and demanded a race. The Riders laughed at him and told him to come back when the training wheels were off his cyberbike. Damien pulled out an auto pistol and again demanded a race. Apparently the Riders beat him, took his bike, clothes & gun, and made him walk home naked. In order to stay true to the code they sold all his stuff and gave the money to a local gang of squats. They may be suicidal adrenaline junkies but they always follow the code. They have been known to take the odd courier job from time to time and it is rumored that Nash might have connections to the Eden Cabal.
