Riding a Honda Gold Wing at the Age of 87 - Age Need Not Be a Factor

I thought I started riding very late. I was 51 when I decided to ride for the first time. I took a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) class to learn how to ride. I have met a few riders who are much older than me who are still riding. Leo, in the Polar Bear Grand Tour, is still riding at 97 although he switched to a trike about five years ago. Leo was riding before I was born. I eventually ended up in a Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Chapter F in New Jersey. The Wingers are a pretty safe bunch with a lot of safety classes and riding rules with safety in mind.

For those of you wanting to know how older riders are doing in GWRRA, a chapter member steered me to a video from CBC.ca about Frank and Mary. Frank ran a machine shop before he retired. He had always wanted to ride motorcycles but work got in the way. At the age of 67, Frank learned to ride on a used bike and then worked his way up to a Honda Gold Wing. He and Mary joined a GWRRA group in Newfoundland and now they are the most respected members in their motorcycling community. Frank is now 87 and Mary is 84. Here's a 22 minute video that appeared on TV recently that lets you get to know the couple up close. Being a GWRRA member may not appeal to all riders but Frank and Mary are thriving in this community of riders. Take a look at the video and see where you may find yourself in a few years - enjoying retirement doing what you love and having more friends than you ever imagined. Watch the Video.

Sons of Anarchy Starts Season 5 on FX

The Sons of Anarchy TV show has begun its fifth season on the FX channel. I wasn't a regular viewer in the first four seasons but I'm going to try to watch season 5.

The show has a huge following. Right now they have over 4,691,460 Likes on Facebook.

According to their website:

"Sons of Anarchy is an adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club's (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that, Charming. The MC must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers, and overzealous law officers. Behind the MC's familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegally thriving arms business. The seduction of money, power, and blood."

The second episode of the fifth season is coming up on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 10 PM on the FX channel.

If you are a regular viewer of Sons of Anarchy, please offer your opinion of the show in the comments below.

MotoPickers - A Show for Motorcyclists

I just saw a teaser for a new TV series called Motopickers. They claim that a deal is being worked out to get this on television. It's about a small business that travels around to find old motorcycles, then restores them. Of course, there are problems along the way.

See a video of what we all may be able to see soon.

Rescue INk Unleased - Animal Rescue and Motorcycles

Seems the National Geographic Channel has a few shows and series this season that involve motorcycles. I mentioned earlier in my blog the show, Motorcycle Crash Tech. Now there is a series, Rescue INk Unleased, that, although it is not about motorcycles, it does feature motorcycles. Here's an excerpt from a Press Release:

Rescue INk unleashed is a new weekly series that documents this unlikely group of animal activists on their crusade to save helpless, abandoned and abused animals. Featured on “Ellen” and in The New York Times, this eclectic band of brothers — composed of club bouncers, security guards and even a retired New York Police Department (NYPD) detective — is on call 24/7 to take on cases no one else will. They’re not cops, animal experts or even animal control. They’re just big guys with even bigger hearts and a desire to save animals from deplorable living conditions and abusive or simply misguided owners. Each one-hour episode of Rescue INk unleashed takes viewers on “ride-alongs” as members follow up on leads in the New York metro area. Taking an average of 100 calls a week at their headquarters on Long Island, they jump into their cars — or on their “hogs” — and confront alleged animal abusers, rescue fighting dogs, investigate stolen animals and (firmly) encourage owners to give up their pets if it is in the best interest of the animals.

The first episode runs Friday, September 25th at 10 p.m. ET on the National Geographic Channel. It's called, "It’s a Cruel, Cruel World"

Sons of Anarchy - New Motorcycle TV Show on FX

Check out The Sons of Anarchy on the FX TV channel this Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 10 pm ET. This is an original series centered around both a family that rides motorcycles and the motorcycle club family of which they are a part.

I had heard of the new HBO series, 1%, but it's going to come out much later than this one on FX. There was controversy about 1% because Sonny Barger, founder of the Hells Angels, had brought a lawsuit against HBO. The folks involved with Sons of Anarchy do not seem worried about any legal action by anyone.

Here are a couple of links to stories about this drama that some are referring to as "Easy Rider Meets the Sopranos."

http://blog.meevee.com/my_weblog/2008/08/sons-of-anarchy.html

http://vtwinshow.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/biker-wars/

The show also has its own fancy website:

http://fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/#Nav/Homepage

I'm sure there will be mixed reviews on this new show. It will be portraying the lives of motorcycle riders who come from a small segment of motorcyclists. It will be dramatic and might result in non-motorcyclists tending to paint you with the same brush that the creators of Sons of Anarchy used to define its players.

This new series may not be as great as The Sopranos -- which took early barbs for misrepresenting the Italian population -- but give it a chance. It could be like most of the big screen motorcycle club movies of the past with emphasis on violence and mayhem. Then again, with the extra time accorded by episodic TV, it may allow character development so we can begin to know the people involved in the story.

I know I'll be watching. Expect a review after I've seen the pilot and one episode.

Motorcycles Hit the Screen for 2007

Every year I hope for some decent movies or TV shows about motorcycles. Last year I liked The World's Fastest Indian about the life of Burt Munro. That one starred Sir Anthony Hopkins. I also liked the TV show, American Chopper, about the adventures of Paul Sr., Paul Jr. and Mikey Teutul of Orange County Choppers. I've watched almost every show in the series and observed their success as they built their world-wide fan base. I realize that American Chopper doesn't appeal to a lot of bikers, but I enjoy it and apparently so do millions of other people. Here's a review I did of their latest book, Orange County Choppers: The Tale of the Teutuls.

What about this year?

There are two major motorcycle-related motion pictures being released soon. There is also one Reality TV series that should be released as well.

The first movie is Ghost Rider starring Nicholas Cage and Eva Mendes. It's based on a Marvel Comics character and set to be released on February 16, 2007. Here's the Ghost Rider Web site that also gives a trailer.

The second movie is Wild Hogs starring Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, and John Travolta. It also stars Jill Hennesy and Marisa Tomei. The four main characters are now making the talk show circuit. I saw them all on Oprah just yesterday. This is a story of four guys in a mid-life crisis who decide to take a road trip on motorcycles. Along the way, they encounter a few real bikers and that's good for a few laughs too. This movie will be in the theaters March 2, 2007. Here's the IMDB Website that will lead you to a trailer.

Finally, there appears to be a Reality TV series about a biker build-off of metric bikes. 22 builders have been chosen to create their own custom metric bikes and a winner will be chosen. This series has been looking for a network and now seems tied to ESPN2 for a release in the second quarter of 2007. Their information says that the first show will appear on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. EST on March 31, 2007. Now since the beginning of daylight saving time is starting early this year on March 11, please check your local schedules to get the correct start time. Here's a link to the Metric TV site with as much information as is available. The link to the trailer is at the very bottom of the page.

Do you know of any other new movies or TV shows with a motorcycle theme? Please leave a comment, below.