Moto Melee

I'm finally back on the planet after the Moto Melee and the 4th of July holiday. What a great couple of weeks. It's making it very hard to get back into the daily grind of business as usual. The Melee was really fun this year. Loads of good bikes an a crew of people that I only see once a year, but wish it was more. It also makes me wonder why Los Angeles has such a shit motorcycle scene.  San Francisco is such a great mc town. I've been to some other good cities as well, but SF is the best. Maybe it's just the vibe of the city in general, but it seems like there's a whole community built around vintage bikes. You have to hand it to Harley Welch and Jeff Guzaitis for creating this thing. It really is my favorite thing to do. I look forward to it all year. As always, there were exploding bikes and drunken shenanigans, and that's what makes this thing so much fun. I try and explain it like this: the year I blew apart my Vincent gearbox on day 2, I still had an absolutely brilliant time. It's all part of the experience. This year on day 3, I awoke in Fort Bragg bright and early. As I opened the door to my second floor hotel room, I looked to my right to see the beautiful Northern California morning. I then looked to my left to see my Norton had been carried up a fight of stairs and perched on a second floor balcony by mysterious elves during the night. My first reaction was a broad smile. My second reaction was laughter. I know that this would upset many owners of vintage machines, but it just made me glad to be on this journey with people who after a few drinks would think that this was a good idea. Brilliant!  So as the real world makes it's way back in, and I go back to the frantic chasing of nickels and dimes, I can look at a cell phone shot of my trusty Norton perched high above a cheap motel parking lot and keep carrying on. All the while thinking about what I'll ride next year. So, to Harley, Jeff and Deb, thanks for that reminder that I need to try and enjoy this life every now and then, and providing the event to do it.