 Bex: "I might have put something in his pants □"
How we met the wing-nuts from Re-Cycle Garage Santa Cruz, the same twisted minds that bring you the Motorcycles & Misfits podcast,
We recently headed on down to Portland, Oregon for The One Moto Show. It had been a long, long drive in, down the I5 the day and night before and I was desperately trying to get some sort of, "Why no, I don't want to kill you just because you spoke to me before noon" mask on. So there I was, practising my very best whack-fuckery way too early in the morning, on the hotel lobby coffee-bot.  Liza's tasty tasty '72 CB750
Suddenly, out of nowhere, I was verbally assailed from the rear. When I turned around it was to see myself, in all my naked glory, in a pic from one of our blog posts last Summer. Seems my insta-stalker had seen the logo on the patch on the back of my Kustom Baja Hoodie, (no joke, we live in those things on the road, they're like a big hug from a drunk God) and Google-ized us. To say I was unprepared would be an understatement. Hell, I wasn't even wearing real pants yet.
Didn't matter. The lady's name turned out to be Liza Miller. She was the founder, back in 2009, of Re-Cycle Garage in Santa Cruz. We started shooting the shit, like riders and wrenchers do, and it turned out that we even had a couple of the same old hunks of metal in our stables. Namely some Kawasaki KZ440's and Honda '72 CB750's. Nothing better than talking to someone that knows your joys and agonies with the same machines.
BY THE END OF IT ALL I HAD GOTTEN TO LEARN A BIT ABOUT THEIR RAD CO-OP TOO. RE-CYCLE GARAGE IS A DIY MOTORCYCLE REPAIR AND RESTORATION COOPERATIVE IN SANTA CRUZ, CA. A ONE DAY A WEEK FREE CO OP SPACE WHERE ANYONE CAN COME AND USE THE TOOLS AND GET ADVICE AND HELP, IN ADDITION TO A FREE GEAR ROOM, WHERE THEY PASS ON DONATED GEAR TO THOSE THAT NEED IT.
They also proudly proclaim two main products, elbow grease and bikes that run. The Re-Cycle Garage mission is simple. Keep the bikes on the road.
THEIR FIRM BELIEF IN INCLUSIVITY, ("HEY, IF THEY CAN RIDE, WE'LL LET 'EM IN." LIZA DECLARES DURING THEIR RIDE WITH NORMAN REEDUS SEGMENT) HAS HELPED THESE HAPPY HOOLIGANS GROW QUITE THE FOLLOWING. WHETHER YOU'RE LISTENING TO THE MOTORCYCLES & MISFITS PODCAST, WATCHING THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL VIDEOS, CHECKING OUT THE PICS ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE, OR LUCKY ENOUGH TO HANG WITH THE GANG IN PERSON, ONE THING IS ALWAYS FRONT AND CENTRE. THESE FUCKERS HAVE FUN, GODDAMNIT! We highly recommend doing all of the above. You won't regret it. Matter of fact, you just might learn some cool shit and finish up with a huge grin smeared across your kissing hole. Seriously, go check 'em out, tell 'em Killian from Killman Customs Independent Buildhouse sent you. Maybe they'll toss you a frosty one. 
Re-Cycle Garage 413 Laurel St., Around Back, (not our mailing address) Santa Cruz, California [email protected] Call +1 831-359-1311
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 This one's picture heavy everybody, so if you're wanting to see a ton of world class custom and vintage motorcycles, you're absolutely in the right place! We'd been wanting to see The One Moto Show, in Portland Oregon, for a while now and let me tell you, it more than lived up to our expectations, setting the bar sky high for future adventures down south.
PORTLAND IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO LOSE YOURSELF FOR A WEEKEND, OR LONGER. BLUE STAR DONUTS WERE RECOMMENDED SO HIGHLY BY EVERYONE THAT WE JUST HAD TO CHECK THEM OUT AND THEY BLEW US AWAY. WE WENT BACK AGAIN TO GRAB A BOX FOR THE RIDE HOME. THAT BLUEBERRY BOURBON DONUT WAS KILLER! The staff at The YardHouse treated us to great service as we sampled tasty snacks, (their Vampire Tacos should be required eating!) and several flights of top quality beers from their 130+ draft taps. It was the perfect way to wind down after a marathon trip through I5 traffic. Google labours under the mistaken impression that Victoria to Portland is a six and a half hour trip, but make no mistake true believers, it's more like twelve. Especially with two hour waits at the border.  Finally, one of our kickass drivers from Radio Cab, (an all-veteran company that took great care of us all weekend) recommended Muu-Muu's for brunch and were we ever glad we took his advice. The food was bangin' and I finally found myself a much needed Bloody Mary that was mighty fine too. The staff were on top of their game and had us fed and watered for our epic journey back north in no time flat and with style. Yup, definitely can't wait to see a bit more of this funky town!
WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET ACROSS IS THAT YOU NEED THIS EXPERIENCE IN YOUR LIFE. IT WAS A BIG KID CANDY STORE AND WE RUBBERNECKED AND SHUTTERBUGGED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF IT.  It was an authentic treat to see Rawhide cycles' latest offering to the gods of speed up close. I'd been eyeballing their social media posts about that machine for a while now, and it was even better in person. Just a clean, sexy and elegant build with a gorgeous stained glass sissybar and upholstery that pulled everything together perfectly. These guys brought the sweetness in a huge way! Got a chance to chat up the way knowledgeable crew from Langlitz Leathers for a bit too. It's a beautiful thing when you get to shoot the shit with a straightforward and genuine team. these dudes have one serious pedigree and the quality of the work on display was second to none. WE ALSO MET A PRETTY GROOVY MARRIED COUPLE FROM GOOSE IT GEAR. PAM WOLFF AND HER HUBBY WERE A JOY TO TALK TO. WE ACTUALLY LOVED THEIR WARMTH AND STYLE SO MUCH THAT CANDICE PROUDLY PICKED UP ONE OF THEIR AWESOME SHIRTS AS A SOUVENIR. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK YOU TWO, WE KNOW HOW HARD IT CAN BE TO BOOTSTRAP A SMALL BUSINESS, ESPECIALLY AS A COUPLE, AND WE'RE ROOTING FOR YOU! SPEAKING OF FUNKY FOLK, THE LADIES AT THE SIEGE VINTAGE MOTORCROSS SHIRTS BOOTH HAD US IN STITCHES. THE STORIES ABOUT HUBBY HAVING A COLLECTION OF BIKES AND BITS SPRAWLING EVERYWHERE TO THE HORIZON REALLY STRUCK HOME, AND WE GOT SOME GREAT LAUGHS IN. YOU ALL PUT UP A GREAT DISPLAY, THOSE SHIRT DESIGNS WERE TITS, AND WE HOPE THE EVENT WAS A SUCCESS FOR YOU.  Another sexy as Hell scoot that really blew my hair back was this pinky/purple dreamboat by New Church Moto. No one with a soul could look at this bike and not want to ride it over the rainbow. Made my day just to see it and I can't wait to check out more of their work in the future! Not even kidding, a fella could've get a terminal case of whiplash scoping out all the dope metal in residence. The bar staff at this shindig were all super-friendly too, one pretty lady in particular wanted to photobomb us after her shift and we were more than happy to oblige. You rock mysterious beerslinger!. Thanks for the wicked service from everybody and all the fun. You ladies killed it and we appreciated the hospitality.  There's no way to adequately describe all of the marvelous toys that we drooled over at The One, so I'm going to include a gallery below of my personal faves. Please forgive the quality of some of the pics. All I had to work with was a phone camera, so there's a bit of noise due to the low lighting. If anyone wants to chime in with info or questions about anything, feel free to weigh in, in the comments. All in all, The One Moto Show was a phenomenal experience, in a groovy town, with great people and even better machines. We can't wait to go back next year, only this time we'll be setting up and bringing a bike or two. Thanks for everything, we're so glad we went and Portland was a blast too. Everyone should definitely make the trip to check this event out next season. Keep that rubber side down ya filthy animals and we'll See you all on the flip side!                                                                    
* You can catch our portion of the podcast, starting at roughly 1:09:25, or just grab a cold one, chill for a bit and listen to the whole thing. Then go back and check out some of Re-Cycle Garage's other stuff. It's worth it, these particular misfits have a pretty sweet groove.
 Click the pic to hear the podcast
Okay, so eight o'clock, day one. Seriously everybody, how straight up sexy is Liza's voice on that Motorcycles and Misfits Podcast? Be willing to bet that more than one lonely soul has fallen a little bit in love with it, while rolling down a rainy highway at night. Found her calling that one did, for certain and truly.
Huge thanks to the Re-Cycle Santa Cruz gang for being so chill and friendly-like. You made the whole Motorcycles and Misfits experience a lot of fun and the post-inquisition surprise game of Scooby Doo style wobblypops and rootbeer tag was a challenge worthy of our skills. hope everyone had a blast at the One Pro race flat trackery down in Salem! also, I have some disclaimers. This was my first verbal media interview. I wasn't really certain what a podcast was exactly and I was nervous as balls. I actually wasn't even sure whether or not I was on camera somehow until it was all over. Turns out that being interviewed in real time is indeed a whole new dynamic and I already knew damn well that being in front of a lens makes me a bit slower than the average bear, so have mercy on a man. I made a few boo-boos and I definitely indulged in a bit of deer-in-the-headlights stammering and rambling type-stuff from time to time, but for a first attempt I think it went pretty well.
 Bex, improving on our plans for polar domination!
Other than that, enjoy the interview! Naked Jim was a blast to shoot the shit with during and we got a chance to chat up Bex afterwards. Not only did she approve of my desire to invade Antarctica on two wheels, but she improved on my nefarious plan, and even offered to build the tires! Girl after our own hearts, that one is. BTW Candice wants to know the story behind Naked JiM's nakedness.
For anyone that's interested, here's a little bundle of background on how all of this wound up going down.  Hands off, this one's all mine!
I am a bit of a weird little beastie that definitely goes bump in the night. I love my beautiful, amazing fiancee Candice, old motorcycles and critters. I am not a morning person, requiring coffee and a smoke to bump start. Which is a bit strange because I try to stick to decaf, as diesel can make me a tad exhausting and random to deal with for unfortunate and unsuspecting wayward muggles.
I also firmly believe that some words need sprucing up a bit, and that their original forms are more of a loose suggestion, kind of like motorcycles. All of this, along with a distinct lack of filter and more curiosity than give a damn can lead me to some odd places. I also quite like things this way.  This hotel rocks! Where's the scoots and beers?
Now, we'd had a bit of a slog to get down to Portland for The One Moto Show on Friday, so Saturday morning I was dragging ass pretty hard. Having hoovered down the in-room decaf offerings in our seriously badass hotel, The Inn @ Northrup Station, (go there, they rock) I threw on my Baja Hoodie and pinballed downstairs for a dart.
Don't judge, cigarettes have probably kept me from killing most of you at one point in time or another. You also most assuredly do not want me anywhere near the big red button before noon, or it'll be a short week for everyone. Anyways, After suckling on the smokey teat I gromped back into the lobby to check out what was on offer for breakfast. Bacon and java aside, I am not a breakfast sort, preferring a Bloody Mary around afternoonish, but Candice is all about that brisk crack of Hell stuff, so it was a quest for my baby. While I was ooh and aahing in the general direction of the waffle maker, I remembered the super-computer-and-flux-capacitor driven, deep-thought-required, coffee device next to the front desk that I had seen a few minutes before. Bazinga! I could grab us another couple of neon mugs of warm and wonderful before heading back to the room! It's good to be a hero.  Nudes R 4ever. Click pic for blog post.
So there I weebled, dry-humping the bejeezus out of this friggin' java monolith straight outta 2001: A Space Odyssey, desperately trying to get it to spit out some decaf. No love.
Utterly outmatched and in a weakened state, I somehow managed to persuade it to provide two cups of leaded go-juice. Fuck it. Could probably use the caffeine anyways. My honey would just have to smite me for the public good if I got out of hand. While I was about the brew-haw-ery, I heard a comment directed my way from the rear and turned around to see a naked pic of myself from one of last Summer's blog posts on our website. My friendly assailant had seen the logo on my back and apparently Googled the shit out of my innocent defenselessness. Definitely Not what I was expecting just then, but not a conversational opening gambit that one could just ignore either. Well played indeed.  Found the chow!
And that's how I met Liza, who is one seriously cool lady and knows her old bike shit. She and her squad from Re-Cycle Santa Cruz were up to cover The One Moto Show and, while the Missus and I had headed to the local 100+ beertap Yardhouse for some reconstitutionals the night before after finally getting into town, Liza and the gang had made it down to the event. Which gave us a considerable yardage of near-and-dears to chat about.
We wound up gabbling away like two chickens on a fence, for what must've been an hour or so, as I sucked back both cups of caffeinated joy. * (BTW, Sorry again about that Honey, def missed out on those bf points) Eventually her hooligans appeared, and we shook paws all around. Great bunch of folk they were, pretty sure my imaginary tail must've been wagging by this point and Somewhere in there she asked if I'd mind interviewing with them for their Motorcycles and Misfits podcast later that afternoon. I said "why the hell not?" and trundled along about my bizness.
 When we rambled our grinning selves on down to The One Moto Show in Portland last week I had a sneaky little bucket list item in mind. Have a shot with Craig Rodsmith, of Rodsmith Motorcycles in Grayslake, Illinois. Mission accomplished, Now kindly pardon me while I fanboy it up a bit. Just gonna say right off the bat that Craig is one patient and gracious guy. When we were getting ready to head back to the hotel after a full day, and I still hadn't had a chance to say Hi, I pretty much just grabbed the poor bastard on his way past. Wouldn't have blamed him a bit if he'd told me to get stuffed, but it turns out he's a lot nicer than I am, even if he is still the only person I've met that swears more than I do. * (Full disclosure: I use the word "Fuck" like a comma.) Between displaying his new Pipeburn featured turbo Guzzi V9 at the Chicago Progressive International Motorcycle Show on Friday and participating in the Rizoma Behind the Build panel at the One Moto Show in Portland Oregon on Saturday the man had a chock-full docket, and that's before gearing up for Mama Tried in Milwaukee later this month. Doing two shows in two days, on opposite coasts, would pretty much have me in permanent, "I'm not a morning person" mode, but not Mister Craig Rodsmith. Nope, he was all friendly and personable-like.
In a perfect example of karma, my completely platonic man crush got to meet one of his own idols this weekend, when they were co-panelists. A certain Miguel Galuzzi, designer of the Ducati Monster, head of Piaggio's Advanced Design Center (PADC) and design manager of the Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi and Gilera motorcycle brands. can not freaking wait to see what kind of potential creative collaborativity-type stuff comes out of that particular friendship!
Safe to say that we all really dug the cool, relaxed vibe at The One Moto Show and, with any luck, we'll all be meeting up again next year. This time though, Rodsmith Motorcycles and Killman Customs Independent Buildhouse will both be bringing bikes, and you all KNow that's going to be a good time. Thanks a ton for the courtesy Craig, It made a serious impression. if you're ever looking to chill out, head on up to our neck of the woods some time. We'll get our knees in the breeze, check out some nature and hoist a few! |
Click this pic for Mexican Blankets & Straps!
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