A Western Roll PT7 - Cro Customs

After A few epic days in Nor-Cal we were scheduled to get down south to L.A. for our real destination on this road trip - Born Free 4.  Putting us up for our stay in southern California was the uber-gracious Caleb Owens and his beautiful wife Kristen.  I first met Caleb last year at the Brooklyn Invitational where he was showing Siksika - one of the most iconic panheads built in recent history.  I was drawn to Siksika (and all of Caleb's bikes) by it's proportions - they are perfect.  There isn't a bad line on that bike and visually everything compliments everything else.  It's also a perfect study in aesthetic restraint, an idea usually ignored on a lot of modern builds.  When we got to Caleb's shop he was just finishing up Yang Yang his new Born Free build, the bike that would ultimately earn him another builders choice best of show award 24 hours later.  Given his track record of successes and awards you might expect Caleb to have a head the size of a medicine ball but instead you find out that he is one of the most down to earth guys you'll ever meet with zero ego. He went WAY out of his way for us making sure we were comfortable during our stay and I cannot thank him enough for it. Thanks to Caleb, Shayna and I would be meeting most of the west coasts motorcycle fraternity over the next 4 days.  After getting settled into his shop loft we spent most of the night and a solid chuck of the early morning hours helping Caleb get Yang Yang ready for the show.  We all went to sleep exhausted but full of dormant electricity due to the pending good times we all knew were coming. First thing in the morning we would meet some of Caleb's crew, pack up the bikes with gear and point them all at the Oak Canyon Ranch.  Born Free 4 is next!

Our Daily Sled #280

A Western Roll PT4QHQ

Max kindly welcomed us at the door of his semi-suburban Oakland HQ.  He was calm and collected but the shop looked like a war had been fought - or a bike had been built with the clock ticking and a deadline marching closer and closer every second which it was.  But the bike was done now and looked great - I'm sure you have seen many luscious pics of it everywhere by now.  The shots above are probably the first ones taken of it by a stranger since Max had just finished it an hour before we arrived which was cool.  Even cooler was the fact that he was nice enough to contact us and invite us over even though he had just arrived at the end of an exhausting build.  A build that included a time crunch with a very public deadline, a major last minute color change, a marathon final push and even a bad case of the flu.  Having said all that he was full of smiles and good vibes and we were giddy just to be there.  After checking out the shop and all the goodies hanging everywhere we sat down for a few Bohemian's and some story.  I thought it was cool that most of the well known bikes he has built still shared the same stable space standing right next to one another.  You could observe the evolution of his aesthetic from the original 4Q knuck to the new Born Free pan.  It was inspiring to say the least.  A lot has been written about Max and his bikes and I'm not here to report anything super revealing about the guy other then the fact that to us, two strangers passing through his city, he was ultra-gracious enough to give us some of his time and let us take a peek inside his inner sanctum.  A few days later at Born Free we bumped into Max.  He greeted us looking totally rested and all smiles.  He was looking at the other invited builders bikes, clearly as stoked as we were to be witnessing a little history.  I thought to myself our little 2-wheeled sub-culture is alive and well - and in good hands.  Thanks again Max!

A Western Roll PT5

Traveling south from Marin county on the coast to San Francisco is something everyone should do at least once in their lifetime.  Stopping at the northern overlook on the base of the golden gate bridge you can see the entire city laid out in front of you like a scale model.  We started in from the western beaches working our way east towards the bay bridge.  Covering most of the tourist stops was OK but it was getting off the beaten path and into the different burgs that really gave you a strong taste of the place.  I've been to S.F many times and each time feels like a first time - it seems to transform itself.  Or maybe it's because each time the city transforms me?  Either way or neither way, it's one of the worlds greatest cities and exploring it is a blast and should be done slowly so as to not miss it's smaller details.  While walking around Haight street shopping for some new music I got a text from Max saying he had just finished his born free bike and would love to show it to us. Cool beans.  A few minutes later we had cold beer and were crossing the bay bridge with Oakland square in our sights...

Wauseon...

...is difficult to put into words (or pictures) but I'll do the best I can.  Stay tuned...

Wauseon Bound!

The rain has passed and Rosemary is loaded down and ready to roll.  I'm headed to the greatest swap meet you have never heard of.  Well, OK you probably have heard of it but never thought you could have the time of your life in a lonely cornfield in Ohio so why go - well, there now, you're wrong. If you do decide to come, please say hello. As for the rest of you, see you all next week.

A Western Roll PT4

After a day of riding the pacific coast north of Bodega Bay we decided to change the scenery up a bit and  check out the giant redwoods in the Armstrong Woods State Park.  From the base of the forest floor and the cool shade of the 3000 year old towering beasts there was a one lane super sketchy road that took you straight up the side of a mountain to a vista that overlooked the entire park.  The view was expansive to say the least (the first pic in this post) and like most of the places up here could not be properly captured on film (at least by me).  Soon we were once again aching for the coastal road so we decided to head south towards San Francisco.  More unbelievable views as we headed south.  It seemed like around every turn there was another epic view.  Much like the coast to the north only with more color right up to the edge of the ocean - like a nuclear bomb full of TNT and bright paint was dropped on the entire region exploding large chunks of our country, breaking them off and rolling them right out into the beach break to cool off in the technicolor wash of the pacific.  We could have stumbled around here for a lifetime...

Our Daily Sled #279

I took a couple dozen pics of this luscious pre-unit Triumph from Small City Cycles.  I rarely find british bikes I like but this one was absolutely nailed. It reminded me of a Kieth Weesner painting come to life!

JD&Cindy

JD and Cindy flying home first class from Will's Post-Born Free BBQ. You meet the nicest people on a chopper.  http://www.flyingmonkeyfabrication.com/   http://www.fashionserialkiller.com/