Elitists

Ace spends a lot of time traveling for work and enjoys killing time by reading cycle mags. He is a huge fan of custom bikes and admires the dudes that wrench them. Ace dreams of building a bike of his own one day. But one tired theme runs through every article, and that's how they do it old skool. It is always the only way and they are not just factory bolt on rigs. No shit Sherlock. Every time that Ace reads about some egotistical gear head talking this way he wants to scream, "Fuck You!" OK, we get it, you're a custom bike builder. Here's the thing, not everyone has the tools, workspace, or ability to custom build a bike. That's why we appreciate and buy the bikes they build. Some of us only have the means to buy bolt on accessories and it is just as satisfying to customize our own personal ride that way as any. That's also the reason Ace started the Brotherhood of One, because of the elitist attitudes some many bikers have. Did y'all watch the build off between the Teutuls and Jesse James? Jesse James is a good example of what Ace is talking about. He wants to be a me-against-the-world, I-can-blacksmith-my-own-bike-in-my-million-dollar-mansion-hideout rebel but sold out for the money. Ya can't have it both ways dude. Your either a part of our society or you're out. If you're building bikes to show off in magazines and contests and putting them up for sale them you're in. All of y'all, your talk is cheap. Let's get off of the badass ego trip and enjoy custom bikes. Peace out.

A Good Cowboy

Ace lit out on a ride; it was a cool but sunny day. He rambled the country roads, stopped for gas, and then rode on. Miles later, he rolled up on a little country store and feeling thirsty he turned into the parking lot and rolled to a stop. There were several folks sitting and talking on the front porch; one of them an ol' biker. He asked Ace the year of his hawg to which he replied, "'05."
"I got an '07, same model," the ol' biker said, "but that's a nice bike."
"Thanks," said Ace as he pushed on the wooden front door of the store.
He bought a drink and walked back outside. He cracked the top and took a cooling sip and looked around. The other patrons were engrossed in their conversations as Ace passed by. He made his way to a bench on the end of the porch within earshot of the ol' biker and a man that he was visiting with. Only a few feet from the two men, he couldn't help but hear their conversation, but his interest was in tuning them out as he gazed out at the countryside. He sipped his drink as an occasional vehicle drove by.
Then the man said, "Oh my God, look at that; it's a scooter with training wheels!"
Ace looked over and saw an old man and women, sure enough, riding on a scooter with training wheels.
"I wouldn't be caught dead riding one of those," said the man.
"Hey," the ol' biker snapped back, "just remember; a good cowboy never knocks another cowboys horse." He looked over at Ace who gave him a knowing smirk and a nod. Ace heard enough. He saddled up to his ride, fired it up and rode off. The ol' biker's saying was still on his mind. There's no doubt that Ace agreed with the it, it's the premise that he founded the Brotherhood of One on. And true, a scooter with training wheels may be the choice of only a select few; but at least they were out with their face in the wind. Ace caught up to the scooter a few miles down a country highway and being a good cowboy, gave them a thumbs-up as he passed.

Know Thyself

Last night Ace was sitting on the porch enjoying a cold beer and righteous conversation with one of his best bros, Big Rog. Rog was elucidating on how fucked-up the world's system is and how it can grind you down, eat you up and spit you out. They agreed on the significance of keeping a good perspective and playing hard when the chance arrives to keep a balance in life.

This morning Ace climbed aboard his hawg. It was all ready a hot, humid, and sunny day as he fired up the V-twin, popped the clutch and rode on. He dodged traffic out to the two lane country highways that traverse the hilly pastures. As is usually the case, the miles rolled by and the world fell away. At 60 MPH Ace was as relaxed as it was comfortably safe to be. His conversation with Big Rog from the night before was rolling around in his mind when he was reminded of Socrates' guiding rule, "Know Thyself." The night before Ace and Rog agreed that getting out on a long ride will also get you out of the world, so to speak, and clear your mind. Have you've ever noticed that clearing your mind is like cleaning out your garage? You don't just wipe it all out, you have to pick up each thing and inspect it and decide its value. Should I retain it or discard it? All of the crap in your brain, the drama, the lies, the disappointments, the confusion and mislaid plans needs to be sifted through. Then, behind that pile of junk, the dreams are found. As the miles roll on, good memories and good ideas fall into place. This is where one begins to know thyself; where the light shines bright behind all of the bullshit. Man, today is one less rat running in the race. Ride on!

A Summer Ride

Ace took a ride on a typical summer day. It's the Fourth of July weekend and he was expecting a lot of traffic but it wasn't the case; it seemed like just another Saturday. The sunny blue sky was filled with billowy white clouds and even at 60 miles per hour the air was warm on his skin. Every ride has a different reason; some are just to get to a destination, some are to enjoy the scenery, or a cruise with your bros. Ace's ride this day was to enjoy the machine. He wanted to forget about work and the plethora of a-holes that complicate his life and enjoy the fascination of his youth; sitting somewhat motionless on a two wheeled machine made of multi-shaped metal that is powered by the fiery, repetitive ignition of gasoline fumes. A machine filled with tanks and tubes of combustible fluids that drive the oily pistons up and and spit hot noxious fumes from its barreled exhaust pipe. Its almost magical to twist the throttle on the handlebars and feel the instant response of rolling energy. Its a bedeviling thought that as the energy rolls you forward and your feet come off of the ground to find the foot pegs, that you stay balanced on two wheels. Yea, that's what Ace was after; and he found it.

After riding down some familiar two lane country highways, Ace approached an intersection in which he's ridden through many times, but this day he turned right to take a road he'd never traveled before. He was pleasantly surprised to pass a beautiful farm on the side of a hill.

The pasture fell away steeply off of the edge of the byway, exposing a vista view seldom seen in Florida. He stopped and took several pictures to add to his ride collection and would have liked to hangout there for a while but for the pickup trucks that sped closely by.

So he rode off and looped around to head back home. He found a favorite backroad and peeled off of the highway and glided onto it. It is a smoothly paved road that runs adjacent to a rock quarry. It gently rolls through a grassy thicket with bushy scrub trees. There aren't any lines on the pavement and Ace can swerve and slalom across the entire solitary artery and feel the weighty bike wondrously surrender to the sway of centrifugal force. The road then cascades down through a woods and you can feel the summer temperature instantly drop by at least 10 degrees in the shadowy tunnel. You can smell the murky cool dampness that transcends time as if it could be prehistoric, the same smell that originated with the earth. The road then proceeds out to an area of small gentlemen farms and bends roundly to the left splitting an old pine plantation. The 30 foot, sun baked slash pines are fragrant in their sentinel straight rows. The road narrows to nearly a single lane along the pastures of the Starlight Ranch. An oncoming white pickup truck slows and navigates to a stop, edging the passenger side tires into the grass to let Ace safely pass. They wave in acknowledged respect in passing. Ace rolls on along the fenced property canopied with Spanish Moss draped live oak trees as corralled horses graze on this summers day. The road ends back onto a two lane country highway. Ace checks for oncoming traffic before pulling back up onto the highway and twisting hard on the throttle. His Harley roars loudly to life and with the wind blowing through his hair he shifts wildly through the gears. Though his ride on this summers day would soon end, Ace has spent these moments of his life doing what he wanted, the way that he wanted. What's more American than that?

An Early Spring Ride

It's one of those Saturdays where the sun is out beyond the patch of white clouds, warm enough for a t-shirt. There is a nice steady breeze wiggling the plants as they stretch their early Spring extremities. Ace straddles his rumbling hawg, kicks it into gear and rolls off. The air is cool on his bare arms as he slices through the shadows of the trees. A few degrees less and he'd wished he had a long sleeve shirt on, but for now it's comfortably tolerable. He knows that the day will warm as his attention turns to the traffic. There are lines of bikes headed towards town; he figures that most are aimed at hitting several of the barroom events, but not Ace, he's headed out of town. He is looking forward to jumping on the nearest 2 lane byway and get the hell out of Dodge. Within moments he's rolling out where the houses get more and more sparse and the cow population takes the lead. Mile after mile he covers countless acres as his tires cut a thin slice on the tarmac. It's a spring day that smells of new plant life and pollen. Warm pockets of air spring his mind forward to thoughts of summer. Nature is timeless and if one can look past mankind's scars and piles of crap on the earth it can be seen. It's there, right around the next bend in the road and over the next hill and it's Ace's aim to find it.

Long Way Round

If you haven't been turned onto the TV show / documentary titled "Long Way Round", then you need to find it. It's the story of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as they ride motorcycles literally around the world. Their challenge is to bike 20,000-miles, cross 12 countries and 19 time zones in just 115 days. Riding their BMW GS R1200s, they crossed Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia to ride the Road of Bones through Siberia, over to Alaska, through Canada, North America and finished in New York. This experience is the quintessential essence of the Brotherhood of One--to ride, to experience.

In looking up the show on the web, http://longwayround.com/ I discovered that there is another journey that I must see. To quote the site, "After the epic Long Way Round journey, Ewan and Charley decided to ride 15,000 - miles the Long Way Down from John O'Groats, Scotland to the Southern most tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas and then on to Cape Town."

Hats off to this team for doing what we all wish we could do.

60 Seconds

It's a beautiful sunny day, almost 80 with a slight breeze. Ace backs his hawg out of the garage and fires it up. Blat, Blat, Blat! The motor sings it's beautiful bass song. Ace straddles the seat, hits first gear and he's gone. Isn't that first 60 seconds or so just the best feeling in the world? Even after all these years when that 2 wheeled machine starts rolling, carrying my body so effortlessly and I smell the air as it sweeps across my face, its like being a young buck lost to his own fantastic universe.