My 4 Wheeled Life

Me in one of the many sweet pools of Ann Arbor, sometime in the 90's. Loved that board, it was a DogTown longboard that I cut down and re-set the wheelbase. I always liked a little more lumber under my feet, especially in a deep pool.

Photo from the same session as above. The pool was at an abandoned Holiday Inn on the West side of A2. Years later I would build a house not to far from there. The pool was still skateable but a total bust in the daylight hours so we only skated on full moons with candles lighting the

coping and inside the deathbox. Some of the best sessions I could ever remember happened in the wee hours in this pool. It was a little creepy because of the old hotel but it never seemed to stop us.

Some of my boards from the day. My friends and I road mostly Alva and Dog Town equipment, indy trucks and the hardest wheels we could find. I have HUGE stacks of old boards, I kept every one of mine and most of the ones my friends pitched. Those were good fucking days for me and my friends and I miss them. Skateboarding kept me out of trouble and jail (most of the time) during my first 30 years and if I ever have children they will no doubt roll with their papa.

Regular visitors to this site have no doubt seen a few skate bent posts. This is because, until the old bikes, nothing meant more to me than skateboarding. I've been doing it since the summer 1978 (I was a wee lad). Anyway, old Harley's and skateboarding seem to make for a popular combination judging from the amount of blogs dedicated to both. I believe it's because the rush and stoke are so similar. You also conjur up the same looks from the straights. Well I'm throwing my hat into the ring, I have the same disease. Here's a little taste of my skateboarding life.

I Sure Do Miss Summertime...

Rich's bobbed Nightster and a tastey little VL. Thanks for image Rich!

Cycle Porn #7

Gettin it. I can smell the clutch.

Our Daily Sled #17

The Teutonic Sporty.

Good Luck Golnaz!

One of my best friends said "so long" to the D this morning. As I right this she has already set foot in her new home on the west coast. She will be missed by many but especially by me. Friends come no better. Good luck to you G!

Some Friday Art

"The Little Lords"

"Hipshot" detail.

"Ufalo 7"

Apologies for the poor image quality but let's face it who's really lookin? Some work from a few years back.

400mph in '47 - The Railton Special

Powered by twin supercharged 12 cylinder Napier Lion engines, getting the power to the ground through a simple 4wd sett up, it went 394.19 in 1947 ultimately becoming the first car to break the 400 mph barrier. Designed by Reid Railton and driven by salt flat vet John Cobb. Dig that driver position, imagine scooting along at 400mph with you melon sticking out of that gofer hole!

Choices...

I love this photo...

Courtesy of the COC.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Enjoy your dinner, wherever it may find you...

The 3am Pan

Clean..........

Stylin'

The Real Moderns

The art and design of the Native Americans from the pacific northwest is other worldly. I could look at images like this all day and never become bored. It's images like this that make me wonder are we really more advanced?

The Hackman Chimes In!!!

Mr. Dave Hackett himself dropped a line into the ZON and left this pic as a token of thanks for his mention in my post "The Style Merchants". He was a cool dude then and is a cool dude now. How cool is that!!

He still flies the bandanna...

Here is his reply in full...

The Honor is Mine, my Brother...
"Old Skaters Never Stop- We Just Roll Out..."

Thank you.
Best,
HACKMAN

Thanks Dave!

12,000 miles in four weeks FIN - Milwuakee

HD museum at the 105th B-day for HD in Milwaukee.

Seeing so many beautiful bikes in a such a perfectly designed space was a hoot.

Plenty of track hardware on display.

1940 Knucklehead - one of my favorites.

Evel's ride flies solo.

Probably as clean as this old hill climber has ever been...

This side hack rig not so much...the Indian logo is interesting.

Vintage shop swag.

Ode to the mighty Booze Fighters.

The Captain and Billy were no where to be found but there bikes made the gig.

Legendary "King Kong". Left me speechless, I'm still not sure what to think...

Even more bikes on the ground floor!

Juicy road racer...I think this may have been one of Rayburn's machines.

How cool is that? I wanted to hear this Pan hill climber run.

My dad finding some time in the saddle.

Jeff Decker's sculpture dominates the ground surrounding the museum. Willie G and family commissioned the piece and donated it to the museum. Amazing.

My '39 leaving it's mark on the museum.

The "other" museum in Milwaukee, this one contains art...

...and the building is a work of art in itself.

My dad, Ian and Tipsy waiting for the Boss. My dad kept us laughing all night.

So that's it folks. It was the greatest August of my life. I collected over 12,000 miles. Met a bunch of great new friends and road coast to coast without a map, GPS or (at some times) even a clue. I did not get lost, sick, shot by rednecks or eaten by a bear. The highlights included Sturgis with the Harley crew, Bonneville with Sleepy and his dad, surfing in Oregon and the week in Nor Cal riding up the coast with Kate. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Hopefully the stars will align a few more times in my lifetime and allow me to spend another month or more on the road. Thanks for tuning in!

Tether Lust

Did you ever lust after something that you had absolutely no use for but still felt like no matter what the cost, you had to have it? Well I did this summer at the Davenport swap where I stumbled onto these tether cars. Lovely eh? I wanted one in the worst way but (for once in my life) the voice of reason talked me out of opening my wallet. There's always next time... Wait! I really DO need a 3K dollar paper weight!!!

Bonneville Pan

I shot this panhead at speedweek this year. The tent was empty so I was unable to get any details. Anyone know who's bike this is? I'd like to take my Pan to the salt this summer and I have a couple questions. Let me know if you have a lead.

Eye Candy

Yummy.

This one's for John...

Best Land Rover add ever...

Our Daily Sled #16

Nice. Love the footwear...

Revolution is Good

Did you ever feel like everything in your life was about to change? I feel like the movie of my life is about to hit the second act. I've had moments like this in the past; last year of HS, the day I graduated from college and the day I bought my first bike. But those are all obvious milestones. The way I'm feeling at the moment has not been set off by anything completely obvious (even though there are some things going down at the moment). It started deep inside as a very subtle feeling, turned into a gentle hum and now feels like a constant buzz. Strange. The picture above speaks volumes to me, I see myself in every face and realize the train they are on is transporting them somewhere else...I swear I'm not on anything. Really. I'm just stoked and a little freaked out...

The Style Merchants

Checkout Jay's right hand and his head relative to his knees...a zen master.

Tony flowing his relaxed vibe pre pool era. Check out his stance, the lazy but tuned-in left hand and the subtle "s" in his body. Pure flow, Pure style.

Dave Hackett, ripping a frontside grind. I street skated with him (and Steve Olson) in Ohio back in the day. He skated with a powerful energy that did not come from punk rock entirely. His surf style roots were very apparent whenever he would attain speed. Like Jay and Tony he had the flow in buckets but he also had a violent side to his riding that made him a touch more modern. His right hand says it all...the bandanna doesn't hurt it all either.

God bless the Style Merchants.