By Lulu

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To listen to most of the vendors and establishments in Sturgis the crowds were down a bit, mostly due to 2015 (next year) being the 75th Anniversary of the South Dakota rally. There were still plenty of bikes on the highways and plenty of bellies at the bars everywhere you looked. Buffalo Chip featured huge bands as always and I was fortunate enough to have VIP access to the Florida Georgia Line concert thanks to Russ Brown Motorcycle Law Firm. Easyrider Saloon, Knuckle Saloon, Broken Spoke and One Eyed Jacks were filled to capacity on most nights. There are vendors everywhere and of course bike shows. But what sets Sturgis apart from most rallies is the ride. Beautiful scenery is what awaits you when you hit the highway for Spearfish, Leads, Mount Rushmore, the Needles or Custer State Park. A special thank you goes out to Dean, Felicia and Ray for taking me riding 4 of the 35 days I was in South Dakota. Since I flew in it was depressing not being able to hit the pavement. If you don’t have this one on your bucket list for the 75th start saving it is just a magical place to visit.

On one more note, the guys at Sturgis Cycles were absolutely awesome to a friend of mine who found herself with a dead car battery…they came to the house, jumped her car and then took the car in for a diagnostic check. Like to give a shout out to people that go above and beyond!

By Lulu

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August not only took us to Sturgis, we also hit the road to south Florida and joined Mike and Dee Dee for their big event in Davie at the Round Up. The parking lot was full of vendors, spectators and bikes. The guys from Cartel Baggers out of Miami were in attendance in full force with awesome looking motorcycles. The sponsors Budweiser, Jagermeister, Twisted Tea, Monster, Bikers Inc., Southern Bike Night and the law firm of Gordon and Doner helped make this thing the place to be in August if you love to ride. The Twisted Tea bikini contest featured 9 women who competed for major prize money and the lucky first place winner went home with $1000! Music filled the air all afternoon and ended with north Florida’s famous band Big Engine! Put this on your events to check out next summer. We stayed at the Renaissance for only $85 dollars a night and it was gorgeous. It also gave us a chance to throw away a little money at the Hard Rock Casino. Thanks South Florida Bike Events for a great day.

By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2000 years prior.

“A democracy is always temporary in nature. It simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship”. “The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During these 200 years these nations always progressed through the following sequence. From bondage to spiritual faith. From spiritual faith to great courage. From courage to liberty. From liberty to abundance. From abundance to complacency. From complacency to apathy. From apathy to dependence. From dependence back into bondage”.

The Obituary Follows: Born 1776, Died 2016.

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University, School of Law in St. Paul Minnesota points out some interesting facts concerning the last Presidential election. Number of States won by Obama 19, Romney 29. Square miles of land won by Obama 580,000, Romney 2,427,000. Murder rate per thousand residents in counties won by Obama 13.2, Romney 2.1.

Professor Olson adds, “In aggregate, the map of the territory Romney won was mostly the land owned by taxpaying citizens of the country. Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenant and living off various forms of government welfare”.

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the “complacency and apathy” phase of Professor Tyler’s definition of democracy, with some 40% of the nation’s population already having reached the government dependency phase. If the President or Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to 20,000,000+ criminal invaders called illegals – and they vote – then we can say goodbye to the U.S.A. in fewer than five years.

We have a President who believes he is either a dictator or a king. He constantly informs us that the Constitution is meaningless and he doesn’t believe in the three branches of government by reminding us that he has a pen and a phone and he will bypass Congress. He needs a six-month vacation, twice a year. Our Congress, both the Senate and House of Representatives are controlled by establishment politicians who only care about their perks and their reelection. Sounds like a good time to consider term limits. Our government is the most corrupt it has ever been since its inception.

We need a revolution in this country. Not with pitchforks, torches or guns but with the power of the vote. We have a very important election coming up in November and everyone should realize how much is at stake. Apathy is the greatest danger to our liberty and freedom.

I used to be afraid of dying but now I’m afraid of reincarnation, God Bless our children and grandchildren because they are the ones who will be paying for this.

I’ve got more to say about this in my blog on my website nobodiesopinion.com

See you on the shiny side up tomorrow…

By Raven Van Pelt

American Legion Riders Post 54 and VMA Chapter 1046 held a benefit for the Florida Youth Advisory Committee, Saturday the 16th of August.

There was a Meet and Greet Friday night, and then Saturday a ride was held with about 100 people and 70 riders, with steak dinners upon return.  Sunday a breakfast was held for those who attended.

The Florida Independent Living Counsel Inc helps to assist and advocate for people with disabilities in achieving equal opportunities. There’s no place like home, and they mean real homes, not nursing homes. ADAPT is fighting so people with disabilities can live in the community with real support instead of being locked away in nursing homes and other institutions.

Florida Independent Living Council, Inc. believes that when people with disabilities want to work, they should. The Trust supports individuals and non-profit vocational rehabilitation programs throughout Florida with fund-raising, grant making and public awareness of disability issues.

They envision a seamless supportive partnership between Florida business and government to provide assistive technology products and services which will enable persons with disabilities to participate in independent living, education, work and recreation from birth to death.

For more information, you can contact Molly Goslin
Executive Director 850-488-5624

By Lulu

August was one of the most stressful months of my life and honestly the few miles of highway I was able to enjoy in Spearfish, South Dakota and riding out to the Stone House Saloon with friends was about the only saving grace. Sturgis is always bittersweet as Bull who was the man who brought me into the world of motorcycles never made it there. We were leaving on a Tuesday eight years ago and he died the Tuesday before we were to leave. Our bags were packed. I had a brick laid in the sidewalk there in his memory. A break up is never easy and when it is someone you simply still adore it makes it really tough. Add that to the list of August rain! I also missed out on my family’s yearly beach vacation for the first time in order to go to Sturgis. It was a huge price to pay for five weeks of hard work. Where I am going with all this is sometimes the choices you make or paths you choose end up having a huge cost that you don’t foresee. Spending five weeks in Sturgis…I lost out on the precious chance to see my sister’s face when she found out she was going to be a grandmother for the first time, missed snuggling up with the youngest of the offspring my brothers and sister have blessed the world with and missed spending hours watching the waves with my two sons and their 5 fantastic children. After 3 weeks in Sturgis the price of my trip to the motorcycle Mecca hit me hard and I longed to be in Pensacola with my family…that made it hard to just relax and enjoy the ride.

Having a casual affair with a boy from North Carolina during Bike Week 2014, turned into a romance that knocked me off my game. Kelly Clarkson sings in one of her hits off her Thankful CD “The trouble with love is: it can tear you up inside, make your heart believe a lie, it is stronger than your pride. The trouble with love is: it doesn’t care how fast you fall, you can’t refuse the call and you’ve got no say at all”… That pretty much sums up my summer trying to hold on to something that you know will never be, lying to myself that if I just don’t let go I may end up with what my heart wanted, but my mind knew I would never have. The reason I am airing this here is that we all make choices as we live, never stopping for one second to think of the consequence or cost. Blowing by a car on the wrong side on your Harley you could end up with broken bones that will haunt you the rest of your life. Drinking and getting behind a set of handlebars could end up with a devastating financial cost or much, much worse. Having a fight with your best friend can end up hurting you both and often it can be beyond repair; in the end neither of you will probably recall what the argument was even about. Falling in love with someone that isn’t available can happen before you ever realize it is too late!!

Once you make the choices and bear the price then the work becomes trying to forget the cost and focusing on the good in your bad choice. Sturgis it was new friends I made, laughs I shared even during tears of homesickness and, of course, the amazing feeling of flying down the highway with such incredible views. And for the heartbreak I am trying to get over it will be great memories of passion, pillow talks and feeling safe in the redneck’s arms.

Be careful of your choices, take a breath and think about the paths you embark on and no matter what live life as if today is the only day that matters…it may be the only one left.

By Lulu

Well for the folks at Gator Harley-Davidson in Leesburg another year has come and gone. They celebrated another anniversary of successful business this summer and in this economy that is really something to be proud of. There was great music and even Big Engine rocked the house, a bikini contest, a 50/50 raffle that Paul Fullerton won and a great tattoo contest. When you are looking for that new ride check out Gator H-D in Leesburg they are happy to win you over to the wild side!

By Lulu

As kids remember holding your breath until you are blue in the face? Well Glenn owner of the Dog Pound Saloon in Bunnell and Smiles nightclub in Palm Coast took turning blue to a whole new extreme…and for a super cause. One of his employee’s children is in need of major medical attention that will require an intestinal transplant. The cost of just transporting the family to and from is a burden, much less treatments, surgery, medicines and the list goes on. So to help ease the financial burden and even more importantly to show moral support Glenn offered to change his appearance if $3000 was raised. And change it he did not only getting a Mohawk but a royal blue one. His generosity of transformation easily raised the money and even as of the writing of this he is blue! But the family isn’t it certainly went a long way to lift everyone’s spirits. Glenn is one of my best friends and this is just one example of why I love this guy!