The tour is over. It has been, since 2 nights ago. I’m hanging out in an El Paso Texas motel room now. I have 2 more days to get to Hawthorne California, clean out my van and head home.
I hope these guys had a good time. I think they did. I know I did.
I can say this: the view is a lot different from the captains chair.
I’m still digesting it.
Easy Rider Tour #2 Read More »
Got an email this weekend from a guy who’s done the trip once, and is doing it again on a 62′ Panhead Hardtail. Thats hardcore. Not even Fonda and Hopper can claim they Rode the whole route like that. Very Cool, and thanks for the pics Mike!
“I followed your map in 2012 and rode from Ballarat to NOLA. It was a great trip. I plan on doing it again from PA in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of the release of the movie on a 62′ Panhead hardtail.”
Love it. If you’ve done the route, got a picture or just got a bitchen old bike to show off I’d love to see em! Email alan@mrzip66.com
Easy Rider on a 62 Panhead Hardtail Read More »
I’m ready. Whatever I don’t have, I’ll figure out on the road. That’s half the fun of riding I think; Solving a problem as it comes at you. I got my CPR and First Aid Certifications today, bought several pairs of new socks, and I have money in my wallet. I’ll pack tomorrow. I can’t hardly screw that up.
Missus Zip told me she has anxiety because I haven’t made a list. I love her, but I hate lists. To me, it just means you haven’t thought it all through somehow. It’s like my Dad told me before my honeymoon: “Take twice the money and half the clothes”. The old man knew a thing…
I am ready to ride.
Watching the clock. Read More »
Putting together some music for the trip. A great song, on a good road, at the right time is a beautiful thing…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLIerfXuZ4
I’m fairly stoked. Just booked my flights, Picked my bike, and I even know who my Van Driver is now. Shit is starting to get real. Easy Rider tour. 2 weeks of straight riding is not routine, at least for me. Some of these roads I’ve seen so many times I know like the back of my hand. I see em in my dreams sometimes. I can’t wait to show them to other people and have some fun in the process. Fuck me, I can’t wait to ride.
So, as it stands the documentary crew is coming too. That got approved this morning by Eagle Rider. We’ll see how that rolls.
It could be good. Stay tuned.
Easy Rider Tour: Engage Read More »
I was surfing around Netflix this weekend, trying to find a movie. Netflix can just be another TV wasteland, but occasionally if you surf enough, you can find a pony in a pile of shit. I found a documentary on Paul Williams. I passed by it several times. I knew who the guy was, and anyone who lived in the late 70s and 80s knew too. he was everywhere. Paul Williams, is a funny little guy.
Remember Smokey and the Bandit?
Paul Williams is that short dude. You may or not remember him.
When I was a kid, Paul Williams was everywhere. Fantasy Island, Love Boat, Beretta, Match Game, The tonight show more than a few times…. Stuff I remember as a kid. He was a TV personality. I never knew him as anything else. I always wondered why he was there.
But, the guy had a serious talent for writing music. Like, more than most. Like, what most musicians dream of. I don’t know much about music, but check out that melody and how it rolls around in your head if you let it. Its a fairly good song, methinks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkkgYjazSkk
He wrote this one as well for 3 dog night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkkgYjazSkkHere’s another one: From the Muppet movie in 1979. If you ever bring this up again that I posted this, or said I like it I will punch you in the throat. For hell sakes… I was twelve.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2DTLbTQj0I
He wrote this for a local bank Commercial. He was just trying to make a buck at the time , then it got found. This is a great song, and is still the #1 wedding song to this day.
He wrote a bunch more you might recognize.
Anyway, just a thought about the guy. An influence on his generation.
People are interesting. Everyone is trying to make their own way, in their own time. The underdog great ones inspire me.
Lots of things to do today. I gotta take a few tests, get a few things ready for the tour next week, help a few clients out with their websites, and whatever else I’m forgetting. It’d be cool to work a movie in there, somewhere. Or something.
Why, Happy Saturday!
This song has been on for the last week on the way to work. It seems like an omen to me. It’s kind of got that Ska thing going…. Might have to make the playlist for the ride…
Just got off work. Kicking back in my garage like I always do, decompressing from a day. I get off work a couple hours earlier than the wife, and I got my little setup in here where I can sit by my bike, see whats going in the world on my laptop that seems to stay out here. Turned out, Its an impromptu man cave, but it does the trick.
The tour is looming. I’m not sure how many more days, but enough that I need to get a few things ready. Get some bike music together, download the latest maps for my GPS, do some research. The truth is, that shit takes an hour. It’s just fun to anticipate and think about the thing you like doing the most in the world. I can’t wait. I’m gonna milk this whole preparation thing like a cow.
Want some Doobies?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kl0rAnLvJs
Its starting to get real Read More »
Seems like some good things could be brewing. I spent some time with the guys who are making the Easy Rider Documentary earlier this Summer. Showed them a few of the locations, and quite honestly I have come to like these guys. I mostly think that hollywood is full of shit, but they’re clearly fans and basically solid human beings. I’ve gained a pretty fair amount of respect for them. Everyone they’ve introduced me to is pretty real, and The more I talk to them I just sense they’re trying to make the best movie they can. They’ve shown me nothing but respect, which makes me want to show it back to them. hell, thats just how humans work.
A couple of years ago, I got asked by a guy who flew me out to L.A. to make a documentary on my blog. Or Easy Rider. or Something. I was flattered, and I took the bait. I got there, and within a few hours my bullshit detector just pegged at 10 and stayed there. Nice guys, but my first impression was that their main objective was to name names and get laid. Sitting by the pool and talking to girls who are wanting to be in a movie really ain’t my thing. I just went back to my hotel room and waited for my flight home, fairly pissed off. I’m not that guy. I was wiser for the experience.
Anyway…
So the Easy Rider tour is in 2 weeks….. well, 16 days, but who’s counting. The documentary guys want to come and film, but that’s up to EagleRider. My first commitment is to the safety of the tour, The enjoyment of the people I’m guiding, and the integrity of the guys who I will be employed by for 2 weeks. They called first, and I’m really excited to ride these roads and share a little of what I love with who will end up being my new crew. Make some friends, make some miles, and have some fun.
The tour is a little different this time, and the first time I wasn’t sure what to expect. Lets face it: most people haven’t watched the movie, and the average guy doesn’t really care. I think this time It’ll be less about the details, and more about the experience. Thats what lasts, in peoples memories. I’m fairly positive I can show em some fun, and hang with the American Tattoo’d Biker guy. I had a blast on the first tour, and made some friends who I still connect with now and again to this day…. I think this go around I’ll do it a little different. if there’s a biker Easy Rider freak like myself, then that’s just a bonus. Those are discussions ya make at the bar, sipping a brew after a 300 mile day, and learning about someone else’s experiences in life. I’m in.
Yeah, I’m pretty fired up. I’m not gonna lie: its getting close.
Easy Rider Tour & Easy Rider Documentary Read More »
If you have to ask your wife if you can have a Harley, you shouldn’t have one.
I’m proud to say my wife and I work out most life decisions together. Except for Bikes.