Blog

Coming up on the dreaded one year anniversary that Mike would like to forget about, but can’t.

Well here it is my BTR friends, June 2020. Coming up on the dreaded one year anniversary that Mike would like to forget about, but can't.June 23rd, a beautiful Sunday afternoon bike ride down the Bayway was turned upside down when a distracted driver cut Mike off and almost took us out of existence. Instead a small tree in the median did the dirty work. The 2009 Fat Bird 2 was only flying for a short period of time compared to his original scoot, a 1996 FLSTF, better known to many as the original Fat Bird.Its demise happened during the…
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The Green Swamp Preserve – Born To Ride Finz Rides

For some reason every time I hear the Talking Heads song Road to Nowhere I think of riding a motorcycle, jumping on the scoot with the intention exploring new roads or scenery. Here’s a suggestion for an exploration ride, the Green Swamp Preserve. The Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve is located in the fourcorner area of Lake, Pasco, Polk, and Sumter counties. How you get there is up to you. What does matter is you realize this is an exploration ride, so don’t be afraid to go left when the directions tell you to go right. Don’t take the following directions…
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Here Goes Everybody

Here goes everybody. The moment you’ve been waiting for. More sarcastic and raw points of view from your own Nefarious James. Being upfront, not everybody will agree with me. That’s the beauty of American freedom. Don’t expect me to really care about your point of view or if this hurts your feelings. Grab your crying towel or whatever you need to get ready for this because here it comes both barrels. I am friggin at wits’ end with all this virus shit and stimulus checks that everyone is hoping to receive. Fed up with complacent citizens of this country willing…
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What is Going on Here?

Government takeover? It looks like it to me. They shut down our economy, then left town. Went home. No more congress in Washington. No more leadership. But no cut in pay for congress. Again, like I asked last month, whatever happened to the “real” ABATE (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments)? Wake up folks. This is a government takeover. You gotta stay home. They tell us to let them take care of us. How, you ask? How about shutting down our economy. WHAT!?!? The government tells us that people are dying. Just like they do everyday of the year. But wait…
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Elsa Rosenberg Florida Ride Or Die Magazine Rider Profile

Elsa Rosenberg Elsa has been a part of the Bay Area sportbike scene since 2001. Originally from India, as a young girl Elsa rode just about anything she could get her hands on – as long as her family didn’t find out! “I started out riding bicycles, mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles. My family didn’t approve of riding motorcycles due to them worrying about me getting hurt.” Leaving India for something new to do, Elsa landed in Los Angeles. “I wanted a fresh start from India. I wanted to get out and come to the United States. I decided to get…
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Heaven Fields Florida Ride Or Die Magazine Rider Profile

Born To Ride Women’s World has always been dedicated to women that have a unique and wonderful story to tell in regards to their life on two (or three) wheels! This year, I celebrate 40 years in the wind. I started when it wasn’t cool let alone “normal.” But I persevered and accomplished many good things in promoting women in the exciting world of motorcycling. Born To Ride is dedicating this column to three Ride or Die Women Riders. Each has a one-of-a-kind story to tell in relation to her life in the wind. I’m thrilled to have been able…
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Operation Zero – Stay in the Fight!

I want to take this month to feature some of the great things my Veteran brothers in other motorcycle clubs are doing. VNV/Legacy MC has a mission to reduce veteran suicide that has become a major focus of theirs. Thank you Mudflap for the article and the entire club for allowing this effort to be brought forward. Suicide has become the leading cause of death in the U.S. military—exceeding accidents, car crashes, and even combat. Historically, the suicide rate in the military has been below the civilian rate. But since the early 2000s, the rate of suicides has been steadily…
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Nefarious James “Second Amendment”

I believe the past month has been hard on a lot of people. It's not a normal occurrence that the bikers out there are told to stay home and put up their motorcycles in hopes of fending off an unseen attacker. Normally when we are attacked, we respond back with the closest version of what’s described under our second amendment and be done with the issue. This however is a whole new type of deviant. I don’t want this article to be about this virus. I’ve decided to make it about something a lot of people won’t talk about. With…
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The heart and soul of your bike is the fuel tank

The heart and soul of your bike is the fuel tank. Originally, the tank was new and clean, but over the years that all has changed. If you are tired of cleaning carburetors or think you need a new tank because yours is too rusty or it leaks, I have the solution. We clean tanks and preserve the metal – even permanently stop leaks! The highgrade epoxy coating we use is second to none; we can even remove most Kreem and Red-Kote liners. We have a fast turnaround time; it’s the easiest thing you’ll do all week. Call 813-407-2226 or…
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JP, Has everyone gone nuts?

I know there is a “new” virus running around the world. And I know that it’s in the United States. But c’mon now people, we’ve already been through a lot, and we’re healthy, and we’re gonna make it through this one. Motorcycle events are canceled, or postponed. Same thing with auto shows, sporting events, schools, restaurants, government offices, even jobs.....you name it. But I am still hoping that the government doesn’t decide to shut down the internet “for our safety”. Y’all know what I’m talking about. A possibility of catching the Coronavirus thru osmosis, or something equally stupid. “Stay away…
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There is nothing quite like riding in the mountains of North Georgia and the Carolinas

There is nothing quite like riding in the mountains of North Georgia and the Carolinas. For the most part, the high traffic roads are easily ridden and full of sightseeing opportunities. Perhaps one of the best features of these bigger roads is that most of them are four or five lanes wide, making for an easier ride and fewer difficult passages. This means that we can ride without fear and trembling, and simply kick back and admire the beauty of the area. There is a “monument” to the trickery of more difficult roads, located at the start of the Tail…
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Social distancing has been a biker attitude since two wheels were invented – Spyke & Mike

Oh, the trying times we live in my BTR friends. Mike starts babbling, "Spike doesn't understand the concept of what's going on and now she's getting hit between the eyes with humanity poop. The world throws so much at us from the moment we wake up to the instant we pass out. We are constantly facing a thousand ways to die. If it isn't job issues, family problems, dealing with getting old, riding our motorcycles around the millions of crazy drivers or just the everyday hurdles we have to jump through to stay alive, it's now SARS-CoV-2. Call it what…
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Unspoken Responsibility by Nefarious James

First and foremost I am proud to be an American and an American citizen. That seems to be taken for granted by a lot of people out there but with that statement comes a lot of unspoken responsibility. Our country and the world are currently going through life-changing, historical, times right now. We are shaping and molding a new image of the world we live in. I got to say this, and I’m putting it out there for the whole world to read, what the hell is wrong with a majority of the people living here? We were a country…
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Chopporama Builder Profile: Jon Bonner of Vigilante Metalworks, LLC.

Chopporama Builder Profile: Jon Bonner of Vigilante Metalworks, LLC. of Fort Myers, FL. 'Bonner' as his friends call him, and his wife Christal Maiden form a pretty interesting dynamic duo within the motorcycle community in the Fort Myers area. Bonner has been building and fabricating since he was a kid in a bicycle shop. About six years ago he was in a serious BMX bicycle accident which literally cost him his life (for a brief moment). After a year in recovery, he decided it was a good time to pursue his dreams and open up a custom motorcycle shop. As…
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Cuban Harleys, Mi Amor 

Cuban Harleys, Mi Amor  Backroad Diaries Cuba from the perspective of a small, unique subculture; 50 portraits of people who have resistedand have kept their Harley-Davidson motorcycles neat and tidy. In 1967, the Government ordered all Police-Harleys be buried in a hole in a prison in Santiago de Cuba for ideological reasons. Then, in the 70s and 80s, spare parts were nowhere to be found, so Cuban Harlistas cannibalized parts from Russian cars and adapted them according to their needs – pistons from Ladas and valves from Kamas, while exhaust pipes were made from old transformers. A Harley was only…
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Highrise Harley – Women’s World

By Myra McElhaney Highrise Harley After spending most of my life on the back of someone else’s bike; I got my license and bought a bike at the ripe old age of 59. When my husband died, I missed him, and I missed riding with him. One of those things I could change! Learning to ride had to be easier than finding another good husband with a bike! At first, I just wanted to learn to ride. I didn’t know if I’d ever get a bike of my own. I just couldn’t see how it would fit into my lifestyle.…
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