Ride Across America: Day Fifteen (part two)

The problem with writing these blog posts after riding for hours is that I often forget to write about some of the things that come across my mind during the day.

That was true about today’s post. When I first left the hotel, before I hit the incredible Death Valley, I was thinking about the upcoming bike rally in Vegas. I thought about all the bikes I’d see, all the leather vests, black t-shirts, big egos, and bad ass attitudes. And I smiled. For a group of people who claim to be independent and view themselves as outside the “norm”, we really do like to conform to a certain image.

Not that I can point fingers, mind you. With my black t-shirt, jeans, tattoos, long hair, etc., I seem pretty good at fitting in to a certain image.

However, as I was thinking about this, I found myself thinking about Indian Larry. Now, some of you may not be aware of who Indian Larry is (you can check out his website here), or I should say was, since he passed away a few years ago.

Indian Larry was an incredibly creative bike builder. I didn’t know him personally and never had a real conversation with him. All I knew of him was what I read in magazine interviews. But, I liked his bikes.

I decided that Indian Larry was “my kind of biker” when I read an article about him shortly after his death. The reporter was interviewing some of his closest friends and his wife. They were sharing how Indian Larry loved to work on bikes with classical music playing as loud as possible.

Now, I’m not much into classical music (would rather have a fork stuck in my ears that suffer through too much of the stuff), but to read about a hardcore biker, respected by most in the field, who enjoys classical music … well, not what you would expect. And that’s when I truly became a fan of Indian Larry.

I like people — bikers or non-bikers — who don’t care what the “norm” is within their culture. Most bikers would make fun of their friends if they caught them listening to classical music. “What real biker would listen to that crap?” Well, Indian Larry for one.

I met another biker tonight who doesn’t fit the norm. I became a fan of Mike when I was introduced to his blog. In my opinion, he has the most interesting and well written motorcycle related blog on the planet.

The fact that Mike can actually write sentences makes him a little unique within the biker world (I kid, I kid).

Sitting with Mike (I should ask him if he prefers Mike or Michael) was as interesting as reading one of his blogs. Five minutes after we sat down, he pointed out to me exactly how many people were sitting in the bar, the number of men to women, and that two of the women had identical purses. He would turn to someone near us, and with a simple comment, have them completely engaged in a conversation with him. In fact, I discovered the secret to the incredible stories he tells in his blog: he reads people very accurately.

Mike is an incredibly intelligent individual. He has a recorded I.Q. of 180. He consults in very “heady” scientific stuff. At one point, while explaining to the waitress how well the ventilation system works at the MGM (I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you … or something like that), he slipped into using words with more than three syllables. The waitress stared blankly at him. I think he was just playing with her.

The point? Mike doesn’t fit into the typical biker stereotype. It is just as easy for him to sit with a simple biker like me, as it is for him to engage in a conversation with a University Dean.

I like that he doesn’t hide the fact that God blessed him with smarts. Instead, he simply lives out the purpose that he has to the best of his ability. And for that reason, I really dig Mike.

Most of the people I meet this week will just seem boring to me. They will be your typical baker, banker, accountant, etc., trying to play a role that really isn’t them. The ones I will find fascinating are the ones that are difficult to define right off the bat. Five minutes into a conversation with them, I’ll know there is something worth discovering about them.

Indian Larry, bike builder and classical music lover.

Mike, biker, writer, and smarter than your average bear.

My kind of bikers.