12 August 2010 back from the big trip to the north. Now when I left Daytona July 21, it was a heat index of 105 and looking like rain. I was wearing shorts, boots and a long sleeve, light weight, fishing shirt (for sun protection) and headed to Birmingham, AL to see my Sister  Berta and spend the night. My Mother is 92 this year and lives in Huntsville so it was important to stop and visit the next morning for breakfast. She will feed me if I don't hang out to long. It sure was good to see her and talk. I hit the I-65 about 11:00 am and made it to Lobo's in Marion, IN in time for supper. The next day we changed the oil in my bike and had a few cocktails while I recovered from 1200 miles of jamming. Had a good time and it was nice to see Lobo hanging in there like the old days. Now Saturday the Devil's Diciple's were having their annual Indiana party up in St Joe county and it was an easy putt to there. Great food,  band and some great people I have known for 30 years showed me fine hospitality. The band was awesome and I even got to do a few tunes of course including the song I recorded for them in 1981. Everyone knew the words. Imagen that.



Now Sunday morning I slowly climbed aboard the old Swapmeet Special and headed north to Lancing and Bummer's house to tinker with my bike and check the progress on the Twin Engine Bike. Except for a few small details the Double is almost ready for the 2011 Bonneville trials. The faring man was there, Dave Joseph, and had some great ideas for a smaller fiberglass version that is more suited for high speed flow than the current one that may have put to much down pressure on the front end and contributed to the high speed wobble, maybe. Like Willie G. says "Less is more!". So we will try it. Now before you knew it the weekend was there and off to Marion for The Family MC annual building fun or fund party at their property. Of course it thunder stormed and the Santana Band's PA took a shit and I ended up doing a single on a small outfit for an hour or so while they fixed on it. Gina got up while I was playing "Bobby Magee" and took over and to the joy of everybody kicked ass, thanks Gina. She was also my pit person out a the salt flats a few years ago and her husband Marve is legion in the motor cycle world of engine building. He's working for Greg Gates now on some awesome projects.
Now the girl below needed her ear cleaned and Lewis was right there. Below that is Uncle Bill and me with the prospects Ol lady on the way to Marion, MI. I have to say that the ten days I spent on te road were the best I can remember in a very long time. From the stop at Lobo's on the way up to the stop in Knoxville and Big John's on the way back south it was wonderful. Thank you my friends again and again...


7 June 2010 and man do time fly or what? A lot has happened after bike week and I just ain't had time or took the time to up date this page. Maybe just lazy I guess, being semi retarded or what ever they call it helps to put stuff off. I said goodbye to a long time friend May Day in Alabama. When you lose a someone that had such a heavy uninfluenced on your life, Ya just don"t know what to say,  how to feel or what to do sometimes. He taught me many things. After my first Drink, he showed me the way to the CROW ZONE and how to move on. RIP Goat, I will miss you.
Now I got a chance and the honor to go to Johnston City, Ill for that poker run to raise money for a brave little girl whose cancer couldn't take the smile away that day we rode for her. Close to five hundred friends of Steve's Customs Motor Cycles, along with her family showed up and came up with over $15,000 for her and a small, pink Cadillac, batteries included. At first she was a little shy with all those strangers standing around grinning like a possum in a pear tree until she figured out we loved her and where there for her. Wa who, she started having a blast! driving that tiny car around the parking lot, even hauling a young boy around with her. You know how girls just want to have fun.

Now when I got back to Florida,  I helped my  good friend Ray with this eighty year old Veteran friend of his what had his cataracts removed from his eyes and needed drops put in during the healing process several times a day. Then on Memorial Day, I was honored to sing the National Anthem at Riverside Park here in New Smyrna Beach at he city ceremony and later at the post I sang the Lee Greenwood tune "God Bless the USA" when we raised the Flag to full mast. What an honor. Thank you my fellow Veterans for your service and WELCOME HOME...





22 March 2010 Bike Week is over and people this is the first time I ever saw vacancy signs at every motel in town. The local news  readers claimed there was 500,000 bike lovers in town over the 10 day period but where they were staying or hiding I sure don't know. Anyway the Moving War Memorial was at 600 North Atlantic Ave and I made it there with some other Vets  Thursday morning. God  knows it is important but it just guts me when I read the names of my friends posted on the Vietnam Memorial  Wall again. I just have to when ever I see it, knowing what it will do to me personally. But life must go on and to live well and have a good time is what they gave there lives for. This years Cream Corn Wrestling at the Last Resort Bar in Harbor Oaks was one of the best ever. Of course as the hold by  hold announcer, dedicated it to all the men and women over seas on freedoms frontiers when I led the National anthem and everybody joined in. The girls in the ring fought the best I ever saw and the crowd was with them all the way. Lets face it, nobody knows what is going to happen next and might as well have fun while we are here. The economy makes it hard but for a couple of hours we was in the corn and having a blast. My Brothers managed to get the Twin-engine bike to Lansing, MI for the repairers. Still need to come up with the money for new Z rated tires for them 17" three spoke Buell racing wheels that Red Beard came up with. Well my sister and her grand daughter made it to the Magic Kingdom last week and graced me with a visit on the boat. They said them porpoises was the best show and the eagles and sea birds diving for fish was the best show they saw on the whole trip. The Hogman and Bummer made it down and brought me some boat parts from Parts and a oven and range for the galley on this boat. Man I needed that stuff and Hoggie just loved the Indian River from  my point of view. I just got off the phone with Ugly Custom Steve. He called to remind me of the charity poker run in south Ill 22 May this year. I will be there for sure. Not to get all gushy but I have the best friends in the world...

22 February 2010, just a few more days till Bike Week here in the Daytona area. Already there is a ton of people in town and they have been coming down for the past few weeks. The constant sound of Harley's is of course music to my ears. Now the big plan for me is to do the Cream Corn Event at the Last Resort Bar Thursday afternoon about 1:00 pm, but you can also see me at what they call 600 North Atlantic Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings and maybe even Saturday night. they got all kinds of great cover bands like the Rolling Stones, and such, that sound they make, if it is possible, better that the real thing, I am still working on coming up with the parts for the new front end for the Twin Engine bike and expect to try and make at least one or two of the Monster Mile events at Maxton, NC before the Salt and that clock is turning faster as I get behinder. Man but it is fun.

18 January 2010, it's Monday and we gots the day off cause it is Dr MLK Jr Day. I am on the boat and the wind is out of the west  blowing about 10 to 15 knots and the sun is shining bright on this cool day. I had trout for dinner cause they was moving slow with the freezing temps that you could just pick them out of the water by hand. They were moving so slow, at the surface to get warm, well, it was like garbing fish in a tub. My Brother Parts and Custom Steve are about to take the Double to Lancing, MI to Hunts Hog Shop now that he snow going away. We'll get that front-end installed and let the machinist Bummer do his thing on the two 114" shovel heads and tune the bike for the next try for 200 mph. Of course I am working out and trying to keep this old body in shape to be able to hold on. Eating my veggies and fruit, not to mention that fresh fish. I got to go the Doctor Wednesday in Tampa for consult on by aches and pains not to mention my Brother Arthur who is constantly with me. I know, cry baby cry, it is real, something that if you live long enough, you gots to deal with... Well pain is a sign of life they say, and I sure feel alive...

31 December 2009, so here we sit like birds in the wilderness and nobody really gives a shit? I don't think so, no I think birds get more pussy than pussy's get birds, as we used to say in merry old where ever. Red  Beard sent the Buell 201 or something front end and rear wheel. They are 17 in three spoke racing wheels and we is gonna need new tyres, the ZR rated kind. Now on the last trip we fell down cause the old adjust-a-glide front end went to wobbling and shucks I fell down. NEW FRONT end and dampners are called for for sure. My leather person wants a ton to fix the old Eric Von Zipper jacket from Brooks in Royal Oaks, MI withe the zippered on Easyrider's leather pants what got tore up and to run the ECTA's Monster Mile, Ya's gots to have armored racing leathers for over 175 mph attemps now and Oliver said he wants me to do The Monster Mile for a shake down run before we go back to the salt. Hard surface and trees at the end of the course, so I got to get break calipers for it now as well. I am six-two, 225 lbs, 32 in inseam 36in waste 17 1/2 neck and 34 in reach, to the wrist, 46 at the chest. Now if you got some old leathers laying around or a extra set you don't use any more let me know. I'll need a new hat to, the SCTA kept my old one to study why I ain't dead. Cool...


4 November 2009 and all is well on the Indian River here in Central Florida. My run to the salt started with a stop in Alabama with the DDMC national. Here is pic of Killer, Fat Dog and me singing our song. We  had a blast  like in the old days. It is hard to believe just how many of the Brothers are still around and it is hard to take how many have made the jump to hyper space and remain in our hearts. Oh yeah, welcome to all the new guys. While in Alabama, I stopped by my Moms house for a visit. She will be 90 years old in December and has double breast cancer and has decided to ride this bout with the big C to the end. She says they have cut on her enough and her life has been good, no regrets to speek of and the meds make her feel good enough to read her books and watch Law and Order on TV. I love my Mom. The next stop was in Illinois where I picked up my Brother Ugly Parts and the hang around Gunner. We loaded my bike in Gunners truck and put Parts son's Buell on the trailer with the Double and Gunners iron head Sportser and headed for the Bonneville salt flats. My first pass was 160 plus and at the end of the disappointingly run, I put my hand on the cylinders and they were barely warm. What the hell? Maybe I was running to high octane gas. So with little chance of having to go to tech on a record run, I decided to just cut the 110 with some 89 street gas so it came out to about a 100 octane or so. We warm her up real good and off I went on the next pass. Oh my God that engine came to life like never before. About the one mile marker she went in to a high speed wobble, I guess that old ajust-a-glide wasn't meant for those kind of speeds, and while slowing down from the fastest I ever went, she through me and went down. There were skid marks on the salt from the front tire for about one hundred yards and roll marks after that of me for three hundred yards and the bike slid almost a quarter mile passed where I came to rest. I watched a drop of blood from my slight case of road rash hit the salt and splatter and felt honored to add my donation with all of the really true great racers of our time to the Great White Dyno. I was given a real racing front end for next year from Red Beard, Mescal, AZ. We will do it again or at least that is the plan. More to come on the trip in a few days, of course I road on out to LA on the Swapmeet Special and back to FL. What a trip that was...