LIFE Rides With Hells Angels, 1965

Outside the Blackboard Cafe at night, Bakersfield, Calif., 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Hells Angels, California, 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Two women riding with the Hells Angels hang out at a bar in 1965. "This is one of my favorites from the whole shoot," Bill Ray says. "There's something kind of sad and at the same time defiant about the atmosphere."Bill Ray—Time…

A sheriff's officer keeps an eye on the proceedings outside a bar that the Hells Angels have made their headquarters-away-from-home during their San Bernardino-to-Bakersfield run, 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Women -- including one with a bandaged nose -- hang out in a bar while bikers gather in a separate room, California, 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Sonny, the leader of the San Bernardino Hells Angels, gets stitches in his head after crashing his bike, California, 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Hells Angel, California, 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Hells Angel, seated on his bike, 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

A man in Bakersfield, Calif., casts what appears to be an appraising eye over the Hells Angels' Harley-Davidsons, 1965. Bill Ray—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images