This past Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of Altamont. Being a Rolling Stones fan as well as a fan of all things the strange state of California has dished out in terms of pop culture, (hot rods, biker gangs, B -movies, surfing, hippies…the list goes on) I have been amusing myself with the pop culture bad boys of the open road: The Hell’s Angels. Hunter S. Thompson spent some time in their midst back in 65-66 and got the scoop on their scene, delivering his first novel: Hell’s Angels. (The images below were taken by Thompson and have been reposted from the Deadlicious blog) Despite your opinions of the Angels, and biker violence in general, Thompson’s novel gives us a glimpse into a complex subculture that co-existed with the hippie movement of the 60s, and is all but vanished (for better or worse) from the highways of the US, save for a few good natured weekend Toys for Tots runs (hardly the stuff of renegade biker legend).

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