Feature

Choppertown Live dominates Thunder by the Bay!

What do you get when you combine a good healthy mix of outrageous choppers, vans, hotrods, skateboards, great builders, beautiful women and perfect Florida weather? You get Choppertown Live! We hosted a royal feast of a chopper show at Thunder by the Bay on Feb.19, 20 and 21st and we have got to say, it was an amazing event! CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO CHECK OUT THE BIKES With the hot hits of the 1970s pumping way in the background, and an impressive line-up of custom choppers to drool all over, the 11,000 square foot building was filled to the…
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SPYKE & MIKE GO TO THE PET STORE

It's a great time to be living in Florida my Born To Ride friends. As the rest of the country is shut down either from snow, freezing temperatures, or creeping corona virus, we here in Florida are enjoying a fairly open for business state with warm weather, outdoor events and live music on a limited but regular basis. Most recently, the Gibtown and Sarasota Bikefests are now a memory of good times. Many Kodak moments were made with new and old friends. Check it out on the Born To Ride website. All that fun was just getting our partying taste…
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DO YOU LOVE A GOOD BIKER BAR? OF COURSE YOU DO!

Well, come on out to the Red Star Rock Bar in Tampa, right behind the Harley-Davidson of Brandon dealership for a day of killer food, excellent drinks and awesome live music. We’re talkin’ a St. Patrick’s Day biker blowout celebration on Wednesday, March 17th called the Irish Stampede! Join the Soul Circus Cowboys for some righteous rock ‘n’ roll and scooter-friendly good times. Paul Medrano, owner of this rip-roarin’ whiskey bar and roadhouse says the venue started because of his love of Led Zepplin. “I’m a rock ‘n’ roll guy,” he laughs. “We try to find eclectic bands and touring…
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Life is a Ride. Live it!

Hello again, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Nefarious James. No politics this month, no government talk, just plain old reflection. Had a really good time at the Thunder by the Bay event and its inclusion of Choppertown Live. Choppertown Live brought back a lot of personal memories for me. Seeing the old bikes and cars really sent me back to when I was growing up. Things were much simpler back then. No computers, it was safe to drink out of a garden hose, and lots of time spent outdoors. Didn’t really worry about getting sick from everything you touched…
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Leather Lid Inserts, an established Leather Saddlebag Accessory business based in southwest Florida

Ray V. Gordon is The Owner & Founder of Leather Lid Inserts, an established Leather Saddlebag Accessory business based in southwest Florida. They’ve coined the phrase “We take the sag out of the bag” because that is exactly what they do. Ray has been riding motorcycles since he was 14 yrs old and has watched the motorcycle industry grow and is glad to be a part of what it is today. After 35 years of owning and operating a successful aluminum company in Ft. Myers FL, Ray sold the business so he could retire (he thought) and bought himself a…
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THUNDER BY THE BAY’S CHOPPEREOWN LIVE – CREATIVITY CENTRAL

Aside from the old chrome and stainless-steel components securely attached between welded and painted structural tubular steel, I saw an old shovelhead engine with slight wear pocks and a cast iron texture that spoke of the fifties carefully polished to a mirror sheen. The only color on the machine other than chrome and black was the color of the spark plug wires. “Make the design yellow,” My bearded customer commanded, “to match the wires.” Then he added, “with a little bit of gray.” A small bobber with apehanger handlebars and a coffin gas tank echoed old school fun. I would make…
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BORN TO RIDE TV’S 1,300TH EPISODE

Plus, Choppertown Live, Daytona Bike Week and more! HOWDY BROTHERS AND SISTERS! There are big doin’s around here at Born To Ride as we celebrate the 1,300th episode of America’s longest-running biker lifestyle TV series, Born To Ride TV. Ron and Deb Galletti started Born To Ride TV over 25 years ago and the little show that could, just keeps on rollin’ down the tracks! Imagine creating thirteen hundred incredible episodes. Catch Born To Ride TV on Facebook, Choppertown and YouTube. It’s biker TV, made by bikers, for bikers. We have to say, this year’s Thunder by the Bay and…
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Reader’s Ride – Farrel’s Custom Touch

Farrel Bernstein has lived an amazing life and has had an illustrious career. Born in New York and now living in Port Richey, Florida, self-proclaimed CEO, designer, craftsman and chief cook and bottle washer at Custom Touch Biker Jewelry, Farrel is a lifelong biker who has motorcycle oil runnin’ in his veins. His old school jewelry is made by bikers, for bikers. We’re talkin’ hand-made, unique fine jewelry and motorcycle accessories. You could say that he’s been involved in a lot of skullduggery as much of his biker art is adorned in sinister skulls. Farrel tells us that his parents…
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The past holiday season has been tough for Mike my BTR friends.

The past holiday season has been tough for Mike my BTR friends. Between covid and some unusual circumstances regarding his healing, his addiction has reappeared it’s ugly head. These trying times have become so bad that it’s almost as if Mike has the onset of dementia and this feathered egg maker almost cracked. Let me tell y’all about it. Ever since last month’s new revelation with people and doors, Mike has been wandering around, talking to himself and thinking out loud. It was the straw that broke the camels’ back. He has now fallen off the wagon, right back into…
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The Squeaky Wheel

Welcome to February, 2021. It’s already one month into the new year, and I gotta wonder how many people made those resolutions on New Year’s and have already quit the attempt to make the changes they wanted to see in their lives. Very unfortunate. We, as a society, need to realize that it takes time, effort and drive to get what we want. Not a handout. What we’ve seen in 2020 is not the right way to go about getting what you want long-term. The old saying is that, ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease’ and unfortunately, at times that’s true. We…
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CHOPPERTOWN LIVE

What happens when you mix an award-winning series of Chopper Documentaries under the Choppertown name, add about 50 world class chopper builds, a few hotrods, an amazing 11,000 square foot venue in a topical climate like Sarasota Florida? You get an awesome event called ‘Choppertown Live’! This three-day event is brought to you by the good people at Born to Ride Media and will be held at Thunder By the Bay at the Sarasota Fairgrounds Feb.19th, 20th and 21st. Our goal at Born to Ride is to bring you an incredibly fun three day immersive ‘experience’ complete with a motorcycle…
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2021 THUNDER BY THE BAY MUSIC & MOTORCYCLE FESTIVAL

ONE OF THE BEST EVENTS TO ATTEND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THUNDER BY THE BAY IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA. This event is constantly bringing in the best of music, vendors, parties, contests, and more. I had the great opportunity to speak with Lucy Nicandri, the Festival Organizer and Executive Director for the Suncoast Charities for Children, about this year’s exciting event! In terms of Covid-19, I asked Lucy what changes had to be made in planning this year’s Festival. Nicandri shared, “Expanded safety precautions and social distancing measures will be implemented for the safety and…
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Biker Legend, Mondo Porras – The Godfather of Choppers

Revered as the “Godfather of Choppers” by many of his peers, Mondo can look back at an illustrious career in custom bikes as very few can. From judging and putting on bike shows worldwide, to television appearances and hardcover books, his story is as unique as the man himself and his name as instantly recognizable as the long, low and lean bikes Denver’s is most known for. Of course, it wasn’t always just “Mondo.” In fact, during the early days, back in the sixties when he began his career at Denver’s Choppers in San Bernardino (commonly referred to as Berdoo),…
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Indian Larry’s Gasoline Alley Block Party

Born To Ride continues to look back at our relationship with Indian Larry. Here is a reprint of an article BTR published in August 2004 Where better to spend a Saturday afternoon then hanging out in Brooklyn at Gasoline Alley? Indian Larry is the host with the most and proves that his talents and vision surpass just motorcycles. From choppers, hemi’s, to jet engine trucks, this made for a world of eye candy and party props. The melting pot of NYC showed its true colors. A wide display of multi talented speed enthusiast, including Dave Cronk made this event completely…
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Hang with the Chillbunnys

Whether you ride solo, with your man, have a rad vehicle or just simply dig the lifestyle, you’re good to party with the Chillbunnys. Created out of pure love of the lifestyle and community, the bunnys welcome anyone and everyone who is interested in custom culture. Based in the foothills of the Carolinas, the Chillbunnys came together through one common thread, that thread was Danielle Nigro and her boyfriend Jason Darnell aka “The Chillbilly”. What started off as a joke soon became a fast-growing business, with a clothing line and a community of people interested in the same things. One…
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2021 HARLEY-DAVIDSON CVO MODELS COMBINE EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCE, STYLE AND LUXURY

Two Models Debut Harley-Davidson Audio powered by Rockford Fosgate MILWAUKEE (January 19, 2021) – Harley-Davidson® Custom Vehicle Operations™ represent the pinnacle of Harley-Davidson style and design. Created for the most discerning customers, the 2021 CVO models offer show-stopping finishes, advanced technology, exclusive components and attention to detail that borders on obsessive, engineered and assembled to factory-quality standards and backed by the Harley-Davidson limited warranty. The Milwaukee-Eight® 117 powertrain – the most displacement and power offered in a motorcycle straight from the Harley-Davidson factory – is exclusive to four limited-production, premium CVO models. CVO models for 2021 include the CVO™ Limited,…
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