Welcome back to the All Riders monthly newsletter brought to you straight from the Matt Cave!
This is "4M: The Matt Cave Moto Monthly Mailer".
A few Halloween jokes and riddles to get October brewing...
What do you get when you divide the circumference of your jack-o’-lantern by its diameter?
– Pumpkin Pi
What is a ghost’s favorite dessert?
– Boo-berry pie with ice scream!
Why didn’t the skeleton go to the Halloween party?
– Because he had no-body to go with!
Why do demons and ghouls always hang out together?
– Because demons are a ghoul’s best friend.
Know why mummies never reveal their true age?
– ‘Cause they like to keep it under wraps.
How can you tell if a vampire has a cold?
– Because of the coffin!
What do spiders do for fun on Halloween?
– Surf the web!
Whoa, boy those were bad! I'll give you a second to recover. Ok, good? Let's move on.
We MADE IT!
If you were alive in Florida this past week, then you know that Fall has arrived. There was a tad of brisk in the morning air, and we got a few days of some seriously lovely, mild-mannered, beautifully sunshiney days. That is what Florida is all about. Now it is just a matter of time until the sweat-wrenching summer sloppy seconds are just a distant memory. Mark my words, we will still have a few more hot ones to go this October, but we are winning the battle for great riding days, and Mother Nature is about to give us our due.
As the poor northerners start their "How do I Winterize my bike" threads on the forums and Facebook groups, those of us lucky Floridians are just starting to get our juices flowing in preparation for Biketoberfest and beyond. Over in Daytona and Ormond, we should expect the usual debauchery in all of its prototypical motorcycle malarky. This includes your leather-clad big bearded biker bros, your over-aged fake-breast brandishing biker broads, and your tire-roasting, bike-destroying, "Hold-my-beer" blustering pomposities. The air will be saturated with the sweet scent of rich ratios, the aromatic allure of steak tips and potatoes, and the distinct effluence of middle-aged masculinity. Although only the tiny sibling to the epic Daytona Bike Week, as all of us central Floridians know, Biketoberfest stakes its claim to its share of the biker porn pie.
"Get Back, Witch!" No, man... it's a Get-Back Whip.
One of the more curious pieces of biker paraphernalia is that long braided "whippy-thing" that hangs down off of the handlebar of some of the more "serious" biker types... and maybe even some of the more "toolish" wannabe types as well. That curious, illicit (in some places), Lanyard of lethality In question is the Get-back whip. Let's take a walk on the wild side for a moment while we explore the history and uses of said "Whip of Wonder."
A typical example of a Get-Back Whip.
So, they say the old Get-Back whip began life out of a need for 1% club members to have an accessible weapon ready when riding, all the while riding with sass and style. Back in the 70's bikers would sit around and make Get-Back whips in their spare time. They would gather around a warm hearth or a pile of the spoils from their last robbery and braid up straps of leather in all kinds of colors and fabulous flavors. These rough-and-tumble rogues and renegades would be sure to coordinate their Get-Back whips' colors with their specific club colors. This way, all of the other big-bad biker dudes from the other dangerous biker clubs could all recognize each other just by looking at their color-coordinated flamboyantly fantastic handlebar-mounted wind whistling whips. Isn't that precious?
They say the whips were also excellent for use as a motorcycle theft deterrent. The idea is that if someone saw a Get-Back whip hanging off the bar of a sweet ride, then they would immediately know that that bike was the possession of a mean mamma-jamma. They might even recognize the club colors, and then they would know that there was likely a Tupperware party of the nefarious kind happening right then and very close by.
Some say the Get-Back whip also serves to be seen more easily on the road by other motorists. Some say that they are totally innocent and that the beautiful brightly colored braided ribbons of roughness catch the attention of motorists. This is due to the dangly, wriggly, wind-whippy nature of the thing. I don't know about you, but I call bullshit on that one. That smacks about the same side as the ole' "Loud Pipes Save Lives" routine. Uh, no, not really. You just like to sound obnoxious because people didn't pay enough attention to you when you were a chubby little elementary school kid. Nothing wrong with that, but let's call a spade a spade, shall we?
Here's a nasty little sucker. Look at those brass knuckle attachments and those dangle-spikey things. Not only is this Get-Back whip suuuuper scarey, but it is also done in my favorite biker colors: Black and Periwinkle Purple.
These days, the need for malevolent modes of mastication is pretty much a non-thing. Violent confrontations with 1%er motorcycle clubs have diminished, and the need for the Get-Back whip has declined in kind. Today they are mainly used for the decoration of a motorcycle. So, nowadays, if you see a Get-Back whip mounted to someone's steed of steel, you can be pretty sure that that biker is simply footloose and fancy-free. That biker wants to show how fabulous they are. Maybe ask them what the colors represent. Perhaps it is in their wedding colors. Maybe a lilac or a chartreuse. It could be that the colors represent the rider's favorite figure skating team, or if shades of deep blue, possibly Vangough's Starry Night. You won't know unless you ask, and if you don't ask, you might regret it.
If you are considering a Get-Back whip to liven up your road rocket, keep in mind that there are some legal concerns in some states. In some states, they have to be permanently attached so that they cannot be removed in traffic, and in some states, they are considered a deadly weapon and can land you in jail! Man, the price we pay to be fashion-forward. I'll tell ya.
Enough about That.
Moving on... October is upon us and we have a few things going down this month. Check it out:
1) First Fridays Moto-Meetup: First Fridays returns on Friday, 10/1/21 with a visit to Mellow Mushroom in Port Orange. Looks like this will be the permanent home to First Fridays from now on. 5790 Journey's End Way, Port Orange, FL 32127. Funky, art-filled chain pizzeria featuring craft beer, calzones & creative stone-baked pizzas. 7:00pm.
2) 10/3/21:
27th Annual Bruce Rosssmeyer's Camp Boggy Creek Ride for Children
We have the 27th Annual Bruce Rosssmeyer's Camp Boggy Creek Ride for Children coming up on Sunday, 10/3.
While All Riders do not organize this ride, there are a handful of All Riders whose hearts are near and dear to Camp Boggy Creek, so we want to make a real effort to get All Riders out in force for this one.
To foster a spirit of joy by creating a free, safe, and medically sound camp environment that enriches the lives of children with serious illnesses and their families.
Now if that is not a mission to get behind, then I don't know what is. Keep an eye out for more information on this ride. We will likely get together and ride to the start of the event together. There is a $50 dollar registration fee, but hey... that's how we support the cause.
3) 10/16/21:
Daytona Biker Church Live Music Jam
Also not an All Riders organized event, the Daytona Biker Church crew are some awesome people, and we want to support them. Many of them are also All Riders members. Either way, this is going to be a great time with good people, live music, and free hotdogs and hamburgers.
4) 10/21/21:
Third Thursday Moto-Meetup: Thursday, October 21. As always, Third Thursdays Bike Night will be at Abbey Bar & Odd Elixir downtown Deland. Amazing staff, great beer, wine, mead, and some finger food to boot. We start at 7:00 pm.
You also get 10% off of your entire bill with your current ARMD membership card.
Check out Abbey Bar:
5) 10/23/21:
The Full Moon Halloween Run. Dan will be leading the Full Moon Halloween ride on October 23. There will be raffles, costume prizes, and a great ride and socializing. Keep an eye out for more info on this one.
6) Chuck's Wednesday Ride to Nowhere: The famous weekday evening ride hosted by the 'Route Master" Chuck "Magnum" Boehm continues through October. The itinerate Route Master is forever on the job. Chuck will be hosting with a 6:00 pm KSU in order to take advantage of all available daylight this month.
Follow the link above for t-shirts, patches, membership cards, and work shirts.
Shameless Motorcycle for Sale Plug: Quoth the Raven "Nevermore"
Those of you on the Facebook group have already been introduced to "Raven". My father's nearly pristine 2014 116ci Indian Chief Classic.
I realize that it is silly, but we Ramieris have been naming our bikes for decades now. It is a bit sophomoric as well, but it somehow makes the motorcycle feel more important. Naming the bike imbues it with a life of its own, and it makes your XYZ bike unique and somehow better than the next guy's seemingly same XYZ bike.
So, this is my father's 2014 Indian Chief Classic: "Raven". The bike is aptly named for its shiny black plumage. Another Ramieri motorcycle tradition shared between my father and I (not so much my brother... he was the Black Sheep in this regard, lol) is tremendous painstaking self-destructive obsessive-compulsive cleanliness and perfection disorder. So while this lunatic preoccupation over motorcycle par excellence causes people like my father and me undue and unrelenting pain, our pain is your gain. See, the upside of living as a psychotic detail-freak is that when it comes time to sell one of our once prized possessions, the thing winds up being one of the best-kept examples on the market. Although I know it must happen on some blue moon sometime; I have never seen a bike for sale better kept than one of the bikes my father or I have owned. Now, I am not tooting my own horn here; I am just telling you like it is. My father kept this bike to the standard that we live by, and so it is yet another fruit of our labor of love.
This bike has only around 11K miles on it, with only 4K on the 116ci engine upgrade. The stock motor was a Thuderstroke 111 ci, which was significantly weaker. This bike now produces 103hp and 137 ft-lbs of torque. It is exceptionally comfortable, and the suspension is the most amazingly supple suspension of any motorcycle ever. It just devours bumps and rough roads. You don't feel any of it. I am not kidding.
My father is 77 years old, and he has two other bikes that are lighter and easier to deal with. He decided to pass this one on to a worthy recipient (someone who can pay for it, that is).
He is willing to let this thing go for a steal. Gimme a ring if you wanna discuss it, or drop me an email at: 407-782-3329 or matt@theallriders.com.
Barracuda Bill
October will bring us more of Barracuda Bill Breaks it Down: Bill Upchurch will be wrapping up his review of the Airflow (bike-specific) seat cover, as well as some parting words for the Air Moto tire inflator.
Beyond Beyond...
We have got the toy boxes ready for the biggest All Riders event of the year. Save the date for the one run to rule them all... 6TR: The All Riders 6th Annual Toy Run. 6TR benefits the Toys for Tots organization. We gather toys from supporting businesses all around Fl, and we organize this run to attract motorcycle riders from all over. The entry fee for the ride is one $20 unwrapped toy. All of the toys collected go to Toys for Tots for distribution to underprivileged kids in Volusia County. We have donated thousands of toys with our Toy Run over the past five years. If you can only make one All Riders event this year, make it this one. Saturday 12/4/21.
Other Information:
As always, if you would like to check out some fantastic reviews and interviews, check out our relevant pages:
If you are new to riding or want to bone up on some group riding info or learn about how we do things at All Riders, check out:
We also link to the AMA database of motorcycle laws in the USA at All Riders 101.
If you want to learn more about or membership card program: ARMD, go here:
Please take some time and check out the rest of the site, and if you have any criticisms, ideas, corrections, or worthwhile general observations, feel free to email me at:
matt@theallriders.com
ARMD SUPPORTING VENDOR HIGHLIGHT:
Stop by and check them out before they move to their new location. Mean deals on all kinds of new and used inventory. •Offering 10% off of parts and service for ARMD Members.
(386) 740-2453 2610 S Woodland Blvd, DeLand, FL 32720
Thanks for stopping by. Rubber down!
-Matt
