Hulett, Wyoming Bike Week Transformation

Population 360 days of the year: 408, and then, for just a few days a year, the unmistakable sound of man and machine - Rolling Thunder will echo over the Black Hills and descend upon this small town. 100,000 sandwiches will be served, countless gallons of beer and soda will be consumed, T-shirts, patches, leathers and lord know what else will be bought and sold, and then, as quickly as it came the thunder will roll back out and over the hills until next year.

Population during the Sturgis Rally and the Ham-n-Jam aka, No Panties Wednesday, an estimated 30,000 - 40,000 at any given time with a constant parade of stock and custom Motorcycles, Choppers, Crotch Rockets and other two and three wheeled mechanical works of art running 2 wide and 6 - 8 miles in length (both coming to and leaving).

The first picture shows "Downtown" Hulett, the second shows the bikes parked about 1/2 mile out of town. They're lined up all the way in to town and anyplace they can park on the main drag.

Hulett may best be known for its proximity to "Devils Tower" of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" fame.




Hulett, Hulett Wyoming, Hulett Wyoming Bike Week, Sturgis Rally, Motorcycles, Bikers, Motorcycle Events

A Bikers Tribute

Different things inspire motorcycle owners to customize their bikes. It could be based on death, ladies, art, abstract, or in this builder/owners case a tribute. The entire motorcycle was a tribute to the firemen lost in the 911 bombings of the towers. I chose to take a photo of the gas tank on this bike because of the details that were incorporated. The old-skool gold leaf graphics; the fire engine red color, the Fire Department insignia on the "tank bib", but most of all because of the way the owner decided to incorporate the names of the fallen. Click on the picture to see them.

"In Memories of" are a big deal in the biker world; tattoo's and patches are the most common and mainly reserved for those we were closest with, my hat's (bandanna's) off to this owner for his "IMO".



Motorcycles, Bikers, Motorcycle Travel

The Eyes Never Lie

It's never about the Destination, anyone who has rode a motorcycle farther than a beer and chips run knows this to be true.

Anyone who has ever been pealed off of their saddle at the end of the day with their knees aching and their back filing for divorce knows, that while the destination (the days or the trips) is always nice to get to it only serves a limited purpose.

Rest, recuperation, and the opportunity to wake up at the crack of dawn and do it all again.

We are the cowboys, cowgirls and modern day gypsies of the 20th Century. It's not a statement supported by facts, rather a deep seeded knowledge that we hold true.

A yearning to travel and be one with all that is around us - and it dwells within our blood. It is a core element to who we are, we need it like we need water.

You can tell a brother or a sister through simple observation; they don't have to be in jeans and leathers or even near a motorcycle and you will know. We are the one sitting in the conference room combing through a multimillion dollar budget. We are the one covered in the dust from the construction site. We are the neighbor at the block cook-out.

You can pick us out of a crowd, just watch our eye's shift ever so slightly when the rumbling sound of a motorcycle in the distance passes. We may have just come off of the road, the engines still warm, but the longing and desire is strong.

The eyes never lie.





Motorcycles, Bikers, Motorcycle Travel

Living by it

I would change the last few seconds to just fade to black. I've ridden some pretty radical non-HD bikes in my life and personally I don't care what you ride, just ride.

... that reminds me... I need to go and find that "Big and Rich" song ... I think it's called.... Save a Horse...Ride a Cowboy ;)

Motorcycles, Bikers, Motorcycle Travel

Motorcycles and Music

When I was young (that sounds terrible!) I used to run the highways wishing I had music. I would play song after song in my head and on occasion I would even dare to try and sing louder than my pipes. Of course this usually lead to the ingestion of some flying protein and the mad brushing of teeth after the ride was over, but the point is that music always was and remains a big part of my life and I missed it when I was riding my motorcycle.

My friends and I agreed that there had to be a way to get "tunes" on our bikes. Back in the day we didn't have portable anything. The Walkman was years away and the iPod, oh hell, not even imagined yet. So in the honor of teen ingenuity we would bungee, duct tape, strap any way that we could our "boom-boxes" to our motorcycles, fill our saddle bags with the 14,000 "D" cell batteries that it took to power those things for the trip and wa-la! Music on the road.

We would head out for a trip to Colorado to visit a friend, a weekend in Mexico, a quick run to the beaches of San Diego and we'd have music to listen to along the way. Of course changing the 8-track while riding was near impossible so you'd better like what you were listening to for at least until the next stop.

I started thinking about this the other day when I was out taking a sunrise ride through the desert back roads, kicking back and enjoying the sounds of the built-in stereo on my '07 FLH. Today it was the sound of 3rd Eye Blind, Nickleback and the latest from Kid Rock, "All Summer Long". It is the Anthem of my life past.

Back then however, it would have been Steppenwolf, The Allman Brothers and Janis Joplin... Oh well, Welcome to the future :) Now, here's some Kid Rock and "All Summer Long", enjoy.

highways, music, riding, motorcycle, bikes, motorcycles, Colorado, San Diego, 8-Track, FLH, 3rd Eye Blind, Nickleback, Kid Rock, All Summer Long, Steppenwolf, Allman Brothers, Janis Joplin

Going Up The Country - Woodstock 1969

A little Saturday fun... sit back, relax.... remember?

"Canned Heat" Going Up The Country - Woodstock Music & Art Festival 8-16-1969

Canned Heat, Going Up The Country, Woodstock, Woodstock Festival, Festival, 1969

Motorcycle Art

I found this pic, and many more like it (check the site out), and had to put it up on "Ride White Lines". Being a Motorcycle enthusiast and going to a ton of shows over the years I've seen all kinds of M/C art, but I have never seen anything quite like this. This picture and all of the ones of motorcycles over at All Fine Arts have been crafted from watch parts. I thought it was pretty cool from several aspects; time (no pun intended), craftsmanship, originality, interpretation - really thought it was cool. Check out more over at All Fine Arts.

Peace


Technorati Tags: art, motorcycles, Motorcycle enthusiast, Ride White Lines

Motorcycle Christmas

Time for a bit of sales - no high pressure, I personally hate that crap. With Christmas right around the corner here are a couple of ideas. All of the designs that are associated with the "Whitelinesroadwear" e-store are my photo's or designs. The "bobber" mouse pad is one of my favorites. The photo was taken on Main street in Deadwood in front of Deadwood Harley Davidson - which by the way didn't have a single Harley on their showroom floor. Basically at the time we were there Deadwood Harley was just a glorified T-shirt booth. But there were some custom builders that had some really sharp bikes out in front of the store.

Here's the obligatory link for the mouse pad: Custom Bobber

And

One for the main site: White Line

If you take a look; thanks. I appreciate the visit.
If you buy something; thanks, I hope you enjoy it and please give me some feedback on quality and so forth.
If you ignore this post altogether - hey, I don't blame you but a guy's gotta try.

Ride safe.

Biker Quotes

Quotes from: Hunter Thompson


“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.”

"Some people will tell you that slow is good-and it may be, on some days...but I'm here to tell you that fast is better. I've always believed this, in spite of the trouble it's caused me. Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles ..."


Quotes from Unknown Authors

• “Life may begin at 30, but it doesn't get real interesting until about 150.”
  ~Author Unknown
  
• Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window. -Author Unknown
  
• When you're riding lead, don't spit. -Author Unknown
  
• Everyone crashes. Some get back on. Some don't. Some can't. -Author Unknown
  
• The best alarm clock is sunshine on chrome. -Author Unknown
  
• If you want to get somewhere before sundown, you can’t stop at every tavern. -Author Unknown
  
• Catching a yellow jacket in your shirt @ 70 mph can double your vocabulary. -Author Unknown
  
• Whatever it is, it's better in the wind. -Author Unknown
  
• Work to ride and ride to work. -Author Unknown
  
• Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly. -Author Unknown
  
• Young riders pick a destination and go... Old riders pick a direction and go. -Author Unknown
  
• You'll never see a Motorcycle parked at a Therapist office -Author Unknown
  
• Harleys don't leak oil, they mark their territory. -Author Unknown
  
• I ride way too fast to worry about cholesterol. -Author Unknown
  
• Never try to race an old geezer, he may have one more gear than you. -Author Unknown
  
• Midnight bugs taste best. -Author Unknown
  
• Sometimes it takes a whole tank full of fuel before you can think straight. -Author Unknown
  
• It takes more love to share the saddle than it does to share the bed. -Author Unknown
  
• You can forget what you do for a living when your knees are in the breeze. -Author Unknown
  
• Sometimes the best communication happens when you're on separate bikes. -Author Unknown
  
  And my personal favorite
  
  
• Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul. -Author Unknown