NOV 2023 #234
Contents
NOVEMBER ISSUE 234
FEATURES
_________
Autism Awareness
7
France In America
11
Bert’s St. Pete. Bikefest
28
Ride Appalachia
36
Hogster’s Chopper with Tracy
56
COLUMNS
_________
James Irwin: A Name You Can Trust
43
Nefarious James
47
Spyke & Mike
52
CMA
54
DEPARTMENTS Contents Page
2
Letter From The Editor Dave Nichols
4
Movie Review
44
BTR Kids
54
REPORTS
56
_____
___________
Ron Galletti Sells Harleys
6
Letterfly
33
Mike Dean Crawford R.I.P.
55
ON THE COVER
____
Bert’s St. Pete Bike Fest November 16, 17, 18, 19, 2023 OCC Roadhouse www.saintpetebikefest.com
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Like PHANTOM TELEPHONES THE PATTERN-LOVING BRAIN, SEEKING SIGNALS in the noise, RAISES ACOUSTIC GHOSTS OUT of the wind’s ROAR. ALL HIDDEN IN THE AIR and RELEASED by SPEED.
from Season of the Bike by Dave Karlotski
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PO BOX 3021 Brandon, FL 33509 PUBLISHER
Ron Galletti 813-785-3895 888-795-5779 rg@borntoride.com
CO-PUBLISHER
Deb Galletti dgalletti@borntoride.com
EDITOR
Dave Nichols editor@borntoride.com
ART DIRECTOR Peter Soutullo art@borntoride.com
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Erick Runyon
ART DEPARTMENT
Erick Runyon , Peter Soutullo, Craig Miller art@borntoride.com
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION Deb Galletti DGalletti@borntoride.com
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ROAD CREW
Vick Velosity, Mark Crowder, Doug Bright, Birdman Mike,
SCENIC RIDE CONSULTANT
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ON THE ROAD TEAM John & Heather
CONTRIBUTORS
JP Brady, Neale Bayly, Susan Hurst, Spyke & Mike, Eric Albright, Paul Murray, James Gladstone, Scott Odell Indian Rider Bill. The Phantom
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ron & Selena Hawks, Doug Bright Daniel Gallant, Scott Odel, Eric Albright, Chopper Dave, JP Brady, Erick Runyon, Craig Miller Vic Lawall
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FRAN HAASCH LAW GROUP www.LawFran.com 866 LAW Fran ADVERTISE BORN TO RIDE OFFICE
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Letter from the Editor
DAVE NICHOLS
FROM THE HELM GIVIN’ THANKS – WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOU! HOWDY BROTHERS AND SISTERS! Welcome to November, the month that brings you Veteran’s Day on the 11th. Enjoy the freedom of riding your motorcycle on this incredible day that honors our men and women of the Armed Forces and all of our intrepid veterans out there! November is also the month that brings us Thanksgiving; a great opportunity to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives… and they are many. Our cover story for this issue is all about the awesome Saint Pete BikeFest! Your brothers and sisters here at Born To Ride are gearin’ up to blow the doors off out at Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson on November 16th through the 19th. Join the Skyway Charity Ride with Paul Teutul Senior from American Chopper fame. Put your ride in the Bike Show Mafia ride-in show. There will be ten great bands playing over four days, plus pro wrestling, and wild and wooly Redneck Biker Games! Visit www. saintpetebikefest.com for more info. You don’t want to miss this kickass event! We’ll see you there! Loyal Born To Ride advertiser Fran Haasch is putting on the 15th Annual Food Drive to benefit the F.E.A.S.T Food Pantry this month so that no one goes hungry during this season of thanksgiving. Come on out to 1275 Nebraska Avenue, Palm, Harbor on Friday, November 10th from noon to 6pm and bring food items to help those less fortunate. See the ad in this issue. Also on November 10th through the 12th, we’ve got the fabulous Gator Bike Rally at Gator Harley-Davidson with killer bands, three bars, and new 2024 bikes to check out. All this and more is riding your way in this amazing month of Thanksgiving. This November issue brings you a Mega 16page feature called France in America that follows one rider’s trek of over 21,000 miles across America on two wheels. Gary France is a biker from England who takes his HarleyDavidson on a four-month sojourn across ths
great land and makes many discoveries along the way. Join us for this epic once-in-alifetime road trip. Yes, this issue of Born To Ride ia packed with everything bikers love, including a killer feature on Hogster’s Chopper with tantalizin’ Tracy shot by Daniel Gallant. Riders are always giving back to their communities for good causes and this month we cover bikers doing good for Autism Awareness. Riding the mountain backroads of the Appalachians should be on your bucket list and we’ll go in search of brightly colored falling leaves along Country Music Highway 23 for some of the best riding in America. But wait, there’s more! This issue checks in with Letterfly as he roars through quaint Midwestern towns, riding the roads of Michigan. All this plus Nefarious James reminds us to be grateful for the little things in life. Turns out they’re mighty big things. And our own crazy parrot gets mighty nervous at this time of year. We join Spyke & Mike for a crazy cluster pluck. Don’t forget to join our Born To Ride Facebook Group to keep up to snuff on all the motorized adventures coming up and join Boss Hog Radio on Thursday nights for good ol’ Biker talk, and check our Instagram, it is growin’ fast! Have a biker friendly business? Let Born To Ride tell the world all about it! Advertise and support the south’s best biker magazine. Thinkin’ about adding to your stable? Get a new or preowned Harley from Ron Galletti at Tampa Bay Harley-Davidson. Ron will get you on the bike of your dreams. Give him a shout at 813-918-6521 and tell him Born To Ride sent ya. Happy Thanksgiving brothers and sisters, from our family to yours. Ride full of turkey! — Dave Nichols editor@borntoride.com
RON GALLETTI WELCOMES YOU TO TAMPA BAY HARLEY-DAVIDSON AND HE IS READY TO GET YOU THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON OF YOUR DREAM. NEW 2023 MODELS OR PRE-OWNED, RON WILL SET YOU UP ON A DEMO RIDE ANYTIME. CALL: 813 918 6521 TRADE-INS ARE WELCOME AND WHEN YOU BUY FROM RON HE WILL PUT YOU IN BORN TO RIDE MAGAZINE.
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THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOTORCYCLES & THE PEOPLE WHO RIDE THEM
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A 21,000 MILE USA DISCOVERY ON MY HARLEY-DAVIDSON
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing
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Gary France is English and lives near London. In a few short years, Gary’s self-description changed from “Project Management Executive” to “Writer, traveler and motorcyclist, who is happiest when combining all three.” That’s quite a shift, but nevertheless an authentic summary. Riding with just his thoughts for company, Gary’s description of his 4-month trip unfolds through a down-to-earth record of what he saw, whom he met and what he felt on the road, backed up with an impressive photographic inventory. As he clicks up the miles from the New England states, through the Midwest and the Rockies, and closing in the desert states of the Pacific coast, his thoughts, language and photographs become increasingly reflective and vivid as the ‘journey’ progresses— revealing more and more of his internal exploration and steady winding down. The book will resonate BTR 12 | BORNTORIDE.COM
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Get the book at www.GarySFrance.com
with many. Not just those who wish they could make such a once-in-a-lifetime road trip, but also with the many men who have faced the unspoken uncertainties and reassessments of midlife. This is not only a detailed guide about where to go and what to see in the USA. It is also a personal story of one person seizing the moment—a living testimony to the maxim that travel is not so much about the destination as it is about the journey itself. One man living his dream, and carefully cornering through the opportunities that midlife presents. Having ridden 21,475 miles in the USA on one spectacular road trip, I was struck by a few things. I had no idea that America is so beautiful, with so many great places to see. I rode over high mountains and across deserts. I went to big vibrant cities and tiny towns. At one point, I saw almost no cars in 78 miles of riding, and at another I saw 78 cars on the road in one second. I saw extraordinary wealth and extreme poverty. I saw old things that should BORNTORIDE.COM | BTR 13
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be cherished, and I saw brand new things to marvel at. At times, I was boiling hot—others I was freezing cold. What an amazingly diverse country the USA. I would like to thank America, all of it and all of its people. As a nation, you have some extraordinary qualities and Americans are a very special people. I was touched by your generosity, politeness, and overwhelming friendship. Just about everywhere, I went bikers greeted me like a brother. We shared road stories and a few beers and it seems bikers are almost the same the world over, going out of their way to help a fellow motorcyclist. My motorcycle carried me effortlessly on a tremendous journey without complaint and without any major problem. There was only one make of bike I could ever have ridden across the U.S. on, and it had to be a Harley-Davidson. I was so impressed by America and the people I met, I wanted to record the journey in some way and a book seemed the obvious answer. Having now written that book, France in BTR 20 | BORNTORIDE.COM
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America, I can only hope I did justice to a wonderful country. Gary France We are proud to announce Gary is a new international moto-jounalist for Born To Ride, and he has some really cool stuff on the way for us all. Grab a copy of his book because it’s awesome; his 21,000 mile discovery of America should make us all proud of our great country through the eyes and words of Mr. Gary France. FRANCE IN AMERICA is a visually stunning 400page volume offering a unique mix of Americana, travel, motorcycling and a personal account of male mid-life transition. The book showcases an extraordinary 21,000-mile solo journey by a man leaving behind his professional life and identity to explore America and fulfill a lifelong dream. The official launch of FRANCE IN AMERICA will take place at Warr’s (King’s Road, London, UK), Europe’s oldest HarleyDavidson dealership. The only current book source is www. garysfrance.com. BORNTORIDE.COM | BTR 21
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Zion National Park Utah
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Monument Valley
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Antelope Slot Canyon arizona
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For more information on the book, France in America, go to: www.garysfrance.com
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LET’S RIDE
Sunday promised to be a special day. Great weather is predicted so I dedicate the time as a day to ride. I couldn’t wait. Up before dawn and underneath the twinkling stars, I started my trek. On the horizon, just the right amount of puffy clouds teased the emerging lumens and began a rhythmic, magenta glow. As the miles clicked by, a spectacular show of color began to fill the eastern sky, with the golden orb teasing beneath a lateral layer of mauve. Finally, a piercing sliver makes an entry accompanied by all the fanfare of the available visual spectrum that would have made Gunther Gebel Williams green with envy. Washed by the beauty while enjoying the freedom of the road, gratitude filled my being. Quaint Midwestern towns entered through my windshield and soon filled my rearview mirrors. I recognized the red brick buildings clumped up at crossroads that became a town a couple of hundred years ago that remain pretty much unchanged except for that new neon pizza sign. Many sights piqued many memories of episodes that occurred during this interesting life I’ve live. There is the old building where I
did that stunning corvette sign years ago, there’s the farm that Randy used to run, hey, there’s the Mack Brush Company, the last brush company left in America, still making those floppy pinstriping brushes I use to create old school designs. Maybe I’ll stop in and see Mike on Monday. Further down the road I see the town that had the annual street festival where, years ago, my dad, who finally yielded and accepted that I was bound and determined to live an interesting life, drove up in his van to join me and he ended up running the speed ball game on the carnival and had the time of his life. For those of you who have never ridden the roads in Michigan, the real treat is on a day like today. I roar through a street with leaves both falling like snow across my path and swirling concentrically on unseen currents around in the street, sort of like the way a flock of birds morph in the sky into amorphous shapes. Being immersed in the color and animation of this season punctuates the beauty and the brevity of the moment. The road takes me past rolling farms with old barns intact, a reminder of how things were done with teams in an era before balers and tractors. Vast fields of standing corn are tan now and wait in silence for the inevitable harvest. A rumbling combine stands victorious in a now empty field belching out his prize into a waiting semi rig. A multitude of parked cars grabs every square inch of the grassy shoulders surrounding the pumpkin strewn old time fruit stand and indicate that a festival is going on. Getting closer, I smell wafts of cider and food cooking that mixes with the aroma of the autumn farm. As I slowly pass by in parade fashion, I wave at the people in the hay wagon being drawn by a team of Belgians, the color of a new penny, with fancy black harness with nickel plated hames knobs and buckles on their pulling harness. A long straight road is flanked by a wooded thicket, the
Let Letterfly create amazing art for your home or business.t Call 813-505-5539
earth just beginning to receive a layer of insulating leaves. The trunks of the trees have been obscured all summer and prior to the virgin area becoming void and cold, the symphony of trees harmonize in a melody of color. Inspired by the day, I want to get back to the rig and begin to write but I’m not doing it indoors. I grab the laptop and find a secluded place to begin. I bang out a few paragraphs and old friends stop by after recognizing the rig. Toothpick Tom has a ridiculous trike that looks like an egg on wheels with handlebars, forks and a front wheel of a bike sticking out of one end. He enjoys telling the story about how a Dodge Neon back end was slammed together to utilize the propulsion from the hemi engine inside and the vast storage space in the still intact trunk. The bike portion was a conglomeration of many parts from an old Kawasaki Voyager. I couldn’t resist; “What are we going to paint on it?” After thinking for a moment Tom said; “How about ‘Tom’s Hillbilly Trike’ across the back.” Soon I was wielding a brush, deftly applying the paint that would serve to identify this contraption. When finished, I grabbed my helmet once again and climbed on the back to see how it rode as we headed on our way to a restaurant. In the parking lot, a semi-circle of people gathered around and Tom proudly fielded the stream of questions they had. I enjoyed being in the wings for a change. Later, with bellies full, going down the highway under twinkling stars with a poem of headlights augmenting the nocturnal spectacle, the day of the century was finding its end. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just take off and ride. There is something special about being immersed in the great outdoors that does something good for the inside of a man. —Dave “Letterfly” Knoderer
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RIDE APPALACHIA
BACKROADS OF APPALACHIA The leaves are falling to the ground here in our mountains and another riding season is coming to a close for us here on the
Backroads of Appalachia. It was a season to remember this year
as thousands of new riders came to our region to experience what we have to offer here in the last unexplored frontier on the East Coast. On the Motorcycle Side of our Non-Profit Organization, our all volunteer Whitley County Motorcycle Facebook Group
averaged over 20+ new members per week all season long as
more and more riders joined us in our mission to bring economic
development to our small forgotten coal towns through Motorsports Tourism. It is truly a community effort here at the WCMG and we are making a difference and we could not accomplish what we have in such a short time frame without you the rider. We are
humbled by the response we are getting now and no words can tell you how much we appreciate your support of what we do.
This season we were able to attend 5 major Rally events, bring
our new Backroads of Appalachia Live! Show to Facebook, add 8 new gps-enabled trail routes to our Backroads of Appalachia Mobile Application, and host over 25 events and rides helping many small towns, small businesses, numerous charities, and
multiple people in need along the way. We also began adding
gravel and adventure touring routes to our BOA Mobile Application BTR 36 | BORNTORIDE.COM
and we are already working on the expansion of our trail route
system to include another Appalachian state, West Virginia! This will allow us to reach even more impoverished areas across
our region while also bringing you more of the best riding in
the U.S.! When you come here you are not just making lifelong memories, you are also helping our area recover from years
of economic downturn. For everyone who came to ride here or
visit us this season, our media partners, our sponsors, and our state and local government supporters, we thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone next year as we pull out all
the stops in 2024 to bring you our biggest riding season, trail route system, and event schedule yet! Stay tuned next month as we begin our Winter coverage highlighting many different
areas for you to check out and explore here on the Backroads of Appalachia starting with the one and only Country Music Highway 23!
-Jay Fryman Founder, Whitley County Motorcycle Group Backroads of Appalachia Journalism Team BORNTORIDE.COM | BTR 37
Down Load th
is APP Free
A Biker Helping
Bikers
JAMES IRWIN
LET’S AVOID EVER HAVING TO SAY “I WISH I KNEW BACK THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW” What a stellar month this has been! Started off celebrating the Quaker State 20th anniversary party. I attended the event with former off shore boat racer Drew Moon. Drew and I met through Born to Ride and he became a CLIENT and CLOSE FRIEND. I have found over the years many boaters ride, too. We all love to feel the wind in our face. Maybe that’s why dogs love to s<ck their heads out car windows. During the Quaker State event there was a auction for charities. I was the WINNING BID for the Evel Knievel Tribute guitar signed by legend himself and other daredevil legends such as Bills Gills who jumped a set of Ryder trucks that aired during super bowl VIII. Another signature was Terry Hopkins who set the land motorcycle speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
There are only two ways to help people financially. You can either help them find a better product than they have today, one that potentially pays a higher rate of return but may require more risk. OR you can help them be more efficient with the money they already have.
I believe in the latter of those two approaches. I believe there is more opportunity to serve my clients by helping them avoid losses than by predicting the winners. You are probably wondering how I do that. Well, there are five major areas where most people are losing money unknowingly and unnecessarily. Call me or attend one of my webinars or seminars to learn these simple truths. I also help fellows bikers answer important financial questons like:
Do you know what rate of return you need to earn on your current savings and investments In order to live at your current lifestyle in retrement and have your money last till life expectancy factored in for inflatioon? Do you know? Do you want to know? I can answer that ques<on in a 15 minute phone call for free. CALL ME 1-833-467-2865
Do you want to know how to be in the ZERO % TAX BRACKET? Is your re<rement plan a IOU to the IRS?
Did you know tax rates are going up Jan. 1st 2026?
Did you know that David Walker former Comptroller General of the United States says TAX RATES WILL HAVE TO RAISE 50% by 2030 just to pay for unfunded obligations like Social Security,Medicaid, Medicare, and interest on the national debt?
If you think this won’t happen just think about all the thing happening now you never thought would happen. The PROCEEDS of my winning bid went to Rev Jims Racing for Orphans foundation and Floridian Sheriff Youth Ranches, two outstanding causes! The month ended with a party attending Bert’s Harley Davidson Halloween festival. What a fun place that has become thanks to Christy Bert’s event specialist. My wife Jamie dressed up as a cop I was a prisoner. What a great life sentence to have. My name is James Irwin, and I am a financial professional with a unique approach. I help people find money they are losing unknowingly and unnecessarily.
Prepare your financial life like you prepare your motorcycle for a long ride. You would never ride if your odometer, speedometer, and fuel gauge didn’t work would you?
My experience has always been that bikers are very charitable people who love giving back to the community in meaningful ways. I’m of course a fellow biker as well, and my services are complementary to bikers!
Call now for your personalized financial GPS. James Irwin 833-4672865 I will be at your service, or visit one of my websites at www.BikerHelpingBikers.com or www.HealthInsurance65.com
Call 833.467.2865 Bi-monthly Money School 20 min. Webinars at Healthinsurance65.com
BORNTORIDE.COM | BTR 43
win her heart. The next morning he dupes a local dealer into selling him a Kawasaki dirt bike. He hands the dealer an envelope with a five-dollar bill and an I.O.U. while he “test rides” the bike. Thirty seconds later he leaves the rear of the shop with the dirt bike tied to his sissy bar. The next Sunday, he enters the motor cross and on the last lap, he crashes out while running third. CC picks up the bike and carries it across the finish line to the delight of his fellow gang members and the crowd. Moon at this point says he’s disgusted with all the racing crap and some of the members leave with him. The Kawasaki factory rep is impressed with CC’s riding skills, and loans him a bike for the next race. At the end of the day he wins $600.00 and returns to the Head’s camp. CC gives money hungry Moon $500.00 and says he’s keeping a hundred for himself. As usual, a fight ensues and Moon takes the money from CC while he is recovering. Moon gives the money to his girl, and later that night she once again tries to get with CC. While he is kissing her, he takes all the money out of her pocket and he leaves the next day to find Ann. Ann puts CC up in her mansion, and the typical romance carries on for a few days. cohorts try to molest Ann in the back of the This month’s movie is CC & Company That is until Moon and the Heads kidnap her. Limo. CC rescues her by roughing up the starring Joe Namath and Ann Margret. Moon demands $2,000.00 for her freedom, guys, and begins a romantic connection Namath Plays C.C. Ryder, a former but CC challenges him to a flat-track race motorcycle mechanic who is a member of the with Ann, which is cut short by the arrival on their choppers. CC bargains for a loan on “Heads” Motorcycle Club. Margret plays Ann, of a tow truck. Down the road a piece we the phone, and promises the money will be a fashion journalist. The flick opens with CC meet up with Moon, who is the leader of the paid back the same night. Later that evening gang. He sits in a fancy chair, which the in a grocery store, as he cruises the aisles the Heads break into a high school, and use and makes a sandwich by removing this and club mamas call the throne. Moon isn’t too the school’s track for the race. After a few that from shelves to assemble the sandwich happy with the mamas, and sends them out minutes of some fairly good stunt riding, the on a mission to get him more money. Moon’s scene shows Moon crashing through a fence on the child seating portion of the shopping whole gig seems to revolve around money, cart. OOOH NOOO! and into a parked car which explodes in a This may be the most dangerous part of the and the girls go out hitchhiking to collect fiery mess. some from whatever citizen or ‘Square’ film! Can you imagine what sort of bacteria As the rest of the group runs to Moon, CC may exist on that little plastic seat? No telling they can find. Later in the evening they all and Ann leave on his chopper. The song reconvene at their campsite in the desert. what sort of soggy diaper may have been CC Ryder plays as they ride down the road. there just minutes before! Anyway, CC eats Moon’s mama seems to have a thing for This film was made in 1970, runs 94 minutes CC, but he pretty much has his sights set on and is currently available on DVD under the sandwich, drinks a carton of milk, and throws away the evidence, before heading to Ann, and refuses her advances. the “Cheezy Flicks” Label. I must agree The next day, the Heads are cruising checkout with a package of candy. Outside that it was one of the most cheesy biker he dons his “colors” and rides off on a fairly down the road when they come across a exploitation pieces that I have ever seen. sign for a Moto-X race. The heads blow cool looking shovel head chopper. Poor lighting, dialogue, and flaky acting add the gate and disrupt the motor-cross by As usual in these “B or less” films, he to the mess. One thing that really turned riding their choppers around the track. Of meets up with his fellow gang members in me off was Namath’s constant referral to course Ann is there with her photographer the desert. As I said last month “It’s always his chopper as a Honda. With no visible in the desert.” As they cruise down a desert and some models, who are on the scene redeeming qualities, I could only give this with a Kawasaki factory race team. As the highway, they encounter a broken-down one 2 stars, and that based on one or two shoot continues Ann and CC again have limo containing Ann. While CC looks over fairly nice ‘period’ choppers. a conversation, and he plots a scheme to the engine compartment, a couple of his The Phantom Movie Review BTR 44 | BORNTORIDE.COM
Do you have a favorite Biker Movie we don’t have? Let us know: info@borntoride.com
BE GRATEFUL “no one in this country, or the world for that matter, should ever go hungry.” Welcome to November. Hopefully you enjoyed, and survived Biketoberfest and Halloween. Now it’s time to gear up for Thanksgiving. It’s the time to remember and celebrate the things we should be grateful for. The little things. You know, health, happiness, living indoors, food on the table and things like that. Many out there do not have some of these things. Others have none of them. It may be that time to think of them during this holiday season and give a hand up if you can.
at the argument of who loves or hates Trump, but nothing about how the current administration is quickly destroying this country. Those who support Trump or those who support Biden have the right to do so. Both sides should debate each other to support their views. Start with the topic of achievements of your candidate, not what
Sometimes it’s hard to reach out to others to help them when we have so many cons out there who aren’t needy but greedy and lazy. Still, no one in this country, or the world for that matter, should ever go hungry. As predicted, we now have lab grown meat and synthetic eggs on our food shelves. We have conflicts starting all over the world that our government is getting us involved in. Our borders are being overrun by illegal immigrants from all over the world who are slowly exhausting our social resources. Many of our veterans are still living on the streets even after our government gave its word not to forget about them. All of this paid for by us; the hard-working tax payers. Many people’s involvement in our political system stops
you have against your opponent’s choice. Grow up. Finger pointing accomplishes nothing. It solves nothing. We have electric cars taxing power grids to failure and brown outs on the west coast. We have freshwater shortages all around the country as well as wildfires and food processing plants burning down to the ground. Farmable land is being left to dry up and not produce well needed food. Gas prices are through the roof for
Tell Jim what you’re thinking, what do you want to say to him? editor@borntoride.com
no reason, and on and on. But why should society care? As long as marijuana is legal, pills are easy to buy on the street. Our educational system is a joke, gangs and violence are on the huge rise, crime is rampant and we can easily make money by selling nude photos of ourselves or become popular by eating Tide pods or licking public toilet seats and posting it to social media. all is good, right? The plan to dumb down America is in full swing. But why am I complaining, right? I miss the freedom and quality of life we use to have in this country. Some of us work harder than ever before, and in return it seems we are punished for it. We are being priced out of existence. I remember purchasing my first motorcycle. It was a basket case. I traded a typewriter and $100 for it. The rest of it was paid for with blood, sweat, and tears. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was mine and I was proud of it. You sure as hell can’t do that today. I ask you this. Why are those that have the most to lose do nothing to stop this? When you figure it out, let me know. Ride Free. Be as safe as you want to be. Live your life to the fullest and remember, Freedom isn’t Free.
--Nefarious James American Patriot BORNTORIDE.COM | BTR 47
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A CLUSTER PLUCK around taking turns pecking at his legs!”I cackle, “Dude! Y’all thought that was funny but you weren’t the ones feeling the dirt flying up around you and hearing whistling noises over your head. It reminds me of an old joke. What is the sound that a dizzy yard bird makes?” Mike scratches his head for a few seconds and says, “I dunno, cluck, cluck?” I squawk, “No, birdbrain, you’re never too old to learn something stupid, it’s wobble, wobble!”
Here we are my BTR friends, into November. It’s one of Mike’s favorite months to ride and my favorite month to hide. I’ve been mistaken in the past for being a mini-colored turkey, but I’m nothing like my cousin Tom. Although I do feel his pain along with the pheasant, the grouse, the partridge, and Cornish game hens. Depending on where you were raised made a difference with what was being served up on a platter during the dreaded fourth Thursday of this month, Thanksgiving. Mike breaks in, “We seem to go through this every year, my funky, feathered fowl. Just because many moons ago back in West Virginia, you almost made it as a table centerpiece doesn’t mean you have to give in to your PTSD. You have to let go of the memories when you were running around on grandma’s farm with all your poultry pals and Uncle Bob (who is half blind in one eye and can’t see out the other) was taking pot shots at anything feathered that squawked and moved. We all knew he meant well and couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn, but it was funny watching him try and then joke about it. We thought it was even more hilarious when he ran out of ammo and your bigger barnyard buddies would chase him BTR 52 | BORNTORIDE.COM
Mike replies, “Well, nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. Speaking of Uncle Bob, I want to die like he did; peacefully in his sleep after eating a big Thanksgiving meal. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car on their way back to Kentucky.” I chirp, “I bet the last few words out of their mouths was probably something like this: ‘One year would you please stop making Thanksgiving a cluster-pluck with all your ridiculous shooting and jokes?’ Then he possibly replied, ‘Okay, I’ll try quitting right now, cold turkey…’ This was likely followed by miles of silence. I’m sure that’s when his narcolepsy set in.” Mike babbles, “Well that won’t happen to us. None of my relatives will ride bitch on the Fat Bird 3!”
I squabble, “I am poultry in motion and you will never hear that from me! I hope this food coma day is better than last year when you decided to have a few friends over for what can only be described as Turkeygeddon. Just stick to the recipe and nobody will get hurt. Let me explain.”
“I heard it. Pouff! Pouff! Then the smell. A large plume of smoke started coming out of the top of the oven. Mike’s’ beautiful mini turkey, all slathered in three pounds of butter, was on fire! The baby bird began exploding from both ends. His homemade
stuffing was making loud noises, shooting out and slamming into the sides of the oven, knocking the door wide open. It started spewing white stuffing everywhere. I had never witnessed such a display of culinary chaos in my life!” Mike stops me and says, “Okay my little yard bird. That version doesn’t really do the scene any justice. I like the poem you wrote better.” I raise my wings and start reciting:
“There was something burning and it smelled a little fowl. I looked at the oven and flames were coming out of the cowl.
My cousin popped out of the range and rocketed into the air. It knocked every plate off the table and partly demolished a chair. It ricocheted into a corner and burst with a deafening boom. Then splattered all over the kitchen, completely obscuring the room.
It stuck to the walls and the windows, totally coating the floor. My cousin was attached to the ceiling, where there had never been cousin before. Stuffing blanketed every appliance, poultry smeared every saucer and bowl. There was no way Mike could stop it, that burning bird was out of control. Later he cleaned with displeasure and remorse talking to himself as he mopped. That he would never again stuff a turkey with popcorn that hadn’t been popped!”
I turn to Mike and say, “You’ve spent way too much time on GobbleGoogle.com. I’m on a dinner roll and it doesn’t get any butter than this. I think you need to get my poultry wings in the wind, your stuffing soaked knees in the breeze, and the Fat Bird 3 wheels rolling down the road avoiding the gravy. -SPYKE
Do you have a riding pet story? Let us know, Spyke wants to feature them! editor@borntoride.com
RONNIE and EMILY’S
CHRISTIAN MOTORCYCLISTS ASSOCIATION commercialism of the season. Thankfully, we can down-shift, Be Still and Be Thankful! decelerate, and truly focus on the things that are important in The fall season is a wonderful our lives. After all, it is vital to our emotional health and welltime to get outside and ride. It being! This idea of slowing down and being thankful reminds is fun to think about the cold me of a few verses in the Bible. weather clothing we’ll soon be In Psalm 46:10 we read, “Be still, and know that I packing in our saddle bags. We am God! I will be honored by every nation.” And then can anticipate shorter days and in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says, “Be thankful in all longer nights, with some areas circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to bursting into color as the leaves Christ Jesus.” We see here that it is important to slow down, change and reveal beautiful hues be thankful, and focus on God. of fall. Other areas will find themselves with a cool breeze, whisking away the memories of the hot summer heat. As Teach’s Takeaway, cooler temperatures bring out the desire to take longer rides, it We need to slow down and be still before God. also brings out event organizers. It is God’s will, or plan, for our lives to be thankful. Fall is often a very busy time of year. During the cooler months, many groups choose to hold their biker events and Take the time to enjoy God’s blessings in your life. rallies. In early November, we see rides celebrating veterans Riding is enjoyable as it is, but the fall temperatures and for Veterans Day, and in late November to early December, changing of the leaves make it that much better. Use this time we see toy runs in preparation for the Christmas season. to relax and celebrate. Create new memories with those you As much as these rides and events bring happiness and joy love and don’t let the pace of the season steal away the joy of to its participants, truthfully my favorite time of the year is being with your family this year. Remember too that He is God Thanksgiving. and His will for you is to rest and be thankful. Ride on. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to slow the pace down. Fellow Soldier in Christ, With a thankful heart, my wife and I ride our bikes to our Wayne (Teach) Masiker family gathering with parents and siblings. We have the Christian Motorcyclists Association opportunity to relax and spend quality time with the ones wayne.masiker@att.net we love. It is so easy to get caught up in the high-speed BTR 54 | BORNTORIDE.COM Check out BornToRide.com for more articles from Christian Motorcyclists Association
MIKE DEAN CRAWFORD F O R E V E R I N O U R H E A R T S | R . I . P. 1 0 | 0 2 | 2 0 2 3 Mike “Slim” Crawford moved to Florida in 2011. Mike, originally from Chicago, in search of a better life for his family and a place with all year riding weather.Mike rode for over 30 years making forever friends all along the way, he was a part of Bikers Against Child Abuse, The Italian Angels, along with several other riding organizations. Mike was always willing to go above and beyond to help others, unselfishly putting family, friends and at times, strangers in need, before himself. Mike loved being out on the bikes, riding with friends, sharing many laughs while having a beer at his favorite watering holes. He loved his family, including the three pit bulls he rescued, but most of all Mike had endless, unconditional love for his beautiful daughter Faith. Mike is now riding with the real Angels, gone way too soon. He is forever in our memories and his spirit will always be with us.
Please join us as we ride that last rumble in Mike’s honor on Sunday, December 3rd starting at Showtown at 11:00am riding to Peggy’s.
HOGSTER’S CHOPPER WITH TRACY PHOTOS BY DANIEL GALLANT
Well, we’re do I start? The Hogster is 24 years old this year. I finished it in December of 1999. This bike just won’t ever go out of style with its signature Choppers Inc. 6-up and 4-out 45-degree rake up front and a 240mm rubber out back. It just has that cool factor, man! It has a suicide foot clutch jockey shift and a 101cubic inch motor built by the one and only Rob Schwellinger of R&R Cycles in Tampa, Florida. My good friend and longtime brother Billy Lane set up the chassis and handed it back to me. I laid down a colorful cloak of House of Kolor kandy tangerine over a nova orange metallic. Over 24 years later, that paint still pops, man. This motor is about 26 years old. Yep, that’s what I said! I’ve been trying to blow it up for years now it just won’t grenade. The motor is all S&S with 4.3/4 stroke, a 3.11/16 big bore kit, 2.1/16 intake valves, and a Super G carb with a Thunder Jet set. It also has a 550 Red Shift cam and I run VP Racing fuel only. She is a handful at full tilt Boogie! I Love this chopper. She will always be my number one. it been in a few mags and featured on the cover of the first Born to Ride DVD cover. Ron and I shot it down in Ybor City with the late Panhead Tom Hawes towing Ronnie to
BTR 56 | BORNTORIDE.COM
get all the cool shots. What a blast that was! I remember something about a busted chain after too many hole shots, LOL! I’ve built many choppers and vintage style Harley Shovelheads since 1982 at Crowder Custom Choppers. It’s just in my soul. I still live and breathe this lifestyle, it’s who I am! Ride Hard, Ride Fast!
--Ugly Ed Crowder aka Hogster
I am Tracy Stephens who has a passion for modeling and living life to its fullest. I have worked at my company for 28 years with many more to go. I have been in a music video, front cover and inside of a magazines, won beauty pageants, modeled in fashion shows, volunteering for different charities and so much more. I have a love for hunting, fishing, scuba diving and camping. I also love being girlie by buying the latest fashions, doing my nails and hair and occasional tea parties with my girlfriends. My main love is family, friends and life! I’ll end this with my favorite mato in life is “Never Let Anyone Dull Your Sparkle”