The Fish update

Word is that Joe was discharged the other day and is chillin at home. The surgery on his leg was successful but has to go back in for his hand. We would all like to thank everyone for the amazing outpouring of support and generosity, it really is impressive.

Clarke and I got together the other night to go through all the shirt orders and started working on the logistics of getting the shirts ordered and out the door. We are a little overwhelmed at the moment and we ask for a small amount of patience from you guys. Again we cant thank you all enough for your support and generosity.

Soon enough friend we will be on the road again. Keep your head straight, see you soon.

SUPPORT

Fuck man. Just woke up and heard that a friend had a real close call lastnight. Joe 'the fish' from Hated of the World had an accident but is getting patched up today and will hopefully be out real soon. Catch more details as they can get to posting an update at the HOTW spot.

You've probably seen his bike somewhere, and if you're lucky enough to have gotten to hang out with him at all you already know hes a good fuckin guy and doesnt deserve shit like this, unlike way too many other people that could use a good smack from a minivan.

We are trying to help the guy out and raise some scratch for the over priced rebuild kit for a couple of his limbs. $10 from every HOTW Support tee will go straight to Joe to help with whatever he needs. And everyone that buys one will be entered to win $100 worth of goods from the FOTS shop. He is in surgery as I type this and has no idea. He may feel weird about getting this kind of attention but tough shit. I want to creep him out everytime he sees someone wearing one of these tees for years and know his back is covered. If you can, please show your support. Thanks

Get well bro. See you on the road real soon...

SUPPORT UPDATE-

I am fucking blown away. 8 tees in about an hour and even a guy that didn't have enough for a tee but sent in $10 that he had left. It fuckin flat out rules that people care so much and do what they can still when someone goes down.

If you already have one of these tees, have something against such a ruggid handsome style, dont wear clothes because youre a nudist, whatever your deal is... that's cool. If you still want to help by sending a donation you will still be entered to get the $100 worth of stuff for every $10 sent. You can paypal your love to fotsclarke@gmail.com

Every penny goes straight in Joe's slim fittin jean pockets.

We only had 16 tees before this happened and they are already half gone and going fast. I am going to add more sizes and quantities to the shop than we actually have so everyone that wants one will be able to place an order. But the down side is that you may have to wait a little bit before Chris can get them printed and we get them shipped. It may be a delay but will not be forgotten. Thanks so much for your understanding and support.

Got a text back from his girl this morning while he was still under the knife that told me to thank everyone as well.

SUPPORT UPDATE #2-

Fucking a man. Feel so bad for Joey but stoked he's gonna pull through & his beautiful bike survived as well. If anyone wants to kick down some extra bucks for the support shirt, Clarke will surely forward it onto Joey to help out.

I would like to head up the non-cash donation deal. When I wrecked - I was so blown away by the monetary donations which helped pay my medical bills & get my bike back together but when people sent me other stuff too like magazines, old biker movies, stickers, coloring books - shit like that to keep me happy while I was laid up, that was super cool as well.

So, if anyone has some old biker mags, movies, etc. to keep joey happy/busy while he is laid up, please send them to me & I will get a big care package together to send up to him. Thanks to everyone for the support! I know Joey will appreciate it for sure.

send non-money fun bike related stuff to
Joey the Fish
c/o Joey the Zito (or just Joe Zito)
608 Sherwood Ave
Gloucester City, NJ 08030

Thanks!

SUPPORT UPDATE #3-

Talked to 'Dr. Deathhead' Chris today. Joey may be able to get out tomorrow if all goes well. He is expected to have a full recovery after a lot of hard work, time and expenses. Chris also said he doesn't have health care and only had liability for the bike. The good people that helped out on our site alone kicked up about $500 today. Its fucking rad to see the overwhelming good vibes going his way. I hope it makes him feel better for at least a minute and Im sure he would thank each and everyone of you.

Any company donations would be very welcomed and plugged up like a free hookers mouth.

I pulled the trigger

I've been debating on buying one of these since there was talk of them coming to the states. Got a price I couldnt pass up on this one and I have to say its a blast. I've been using it as a daily commuter since I got it 2 weeks ago. It doesn't have the soul of the Ironhead but it does what it is supposed to do. This is the only Evo I have ridden more than just around the block. I see some track days in my future.....

The Brain in the City

Me and the family met up with Brian of HOTW for the punk rock flea market, the name needs work, and we bought some shit we didnt need. I was jealous to see him rollin out while I was in the womans car.

Delivery

Got my COC shirt in the mail today. Thanks for the pins and stickers Jeff, I always appreciate the extra goodies.

Cross Country Trip, Part 5

OK - So, I packed up the bike & for the 1st time throughout my journey, I headed east into the sunrise. I still had about 2/3 of a tank of fuel so I decided to head right up to mesa verde from the campground since it was just up the road. I later found out that was a bit of a mistake. I had underestimated how far it actually was from the entrance to the park to the cliff dwellings. There are basically two different routes to take once you get up on top of the mountain ridges within the park. One is the more popular & congested route, the other had a much more interesting twisty road & a little less popular spot - the choice was obvious for me. I always opt for the more interesting road in any situation as sort of a bail out in case the spot I am trying to check out turns out to be lame - at least the ride would be cool, right? In this case, the ride and the spot were awesome. I win.

I rode down to the pit houses & step houses & hiked down to check them out. Its tough to explain how amazing it is to see something like that, so I will just say that it's totally worth the trip. When I was getting ready to head out, I noticed the ride in was quite a bit longer than I expected so I only had about 1/3 of a tank of fuel left. I still had my two reserve bottles but I wasnt ready to find out just how far or un-far they would get me. I did a little shoestring mile counting with the park map & unfortunately discovered I wouldnt have enough fuel to ride down the other ridge to check out the rest of the park and then make it out of the park, back to cortez where the gas stations were. On this trip, there were a few spots I had to pass on because of time or fuel constraints but I'm cool with it. I like the idea of saving some spots to check out later in life. So I ended up riding back out the way I came in but I will say that it was one of the best roads I have ever ridden. Just super twisty with non stop elevation changes for miles & miles.

I made it down out of the park & got fueled up. From there I was planning on hitting the 4 corners monument where CO, UT, AZ & NM all meet. Being a land surveyor, I get tripped out on funky territory monuments. So I roll up to the gate & it was closed! Damn! Oh well, roll on. I rode south along the NM, AZ border through the navajo reservation. More great scenery and roads of course. My next stop was the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert in AZ. It was pretty damn hot and for the 1st time, it was actually cooler to ride with my visor down on my helmet. The hot wind blast felt like it was melting the flesh from my skull. So I bombed onward & got to the park.

I found a couple taking pictures of each other in front of the sign & got the dude to shoot me with my cam. I cruised into the park & was glad I got there when I did. The sun was just starting to set so the painted desert looked even more amazing. It literally looked like a sci-fi movie set. The petrified wood was really far out too. I didnt know quite what to expect but, no shit - its wood that had turned to stone. It was pretty awesome for sure. I would definitely go back through that park.

I had planned on meeting my friend Amy near Scottsdale that night so, since I was running low on daylight & didnt want to show up super late, I bailed on taking the crazy dirt road, the apache trail, coming down from Roosevelt Lake that I took with Michelle last year, I took the highway. I was pretty amazed at how awesome bombing the highway was. I was finally far south enough to start seeing the huge cacti & man was it hot! I still cant get over how the bike didnt overheat at all. Its air/oil cooled but when I was really pushing it in some areas, I was going over 100 in over 100 degree temps for miles & miles & the bike didnt even seem phased by it at all.

I finally met up with Amy & Chris at a restaurant & was so stoked to see some friends for the first time since I had left. We ate & went back to the house & they have a killer inground pool so we all went out for a late night dip. The following day we had planned on doing some fun stuff & I was going to take the whole day off the bike to give it, and my ass a rest.

The next day hanging with my AZ peeps was really awesome & I'll post about it next time.

(To be continued...)

See part one for the link to all the photos

big ben

the death science guys just welcomed another member to the crew. anyone that has hung out with benji for more than 2 whole minutes knows that he rolls to the beat of a different drummer to say the least. he had us cracking up for a couple days straight out at born free without even trying to be funny. shortly after we parted ways we all agreed that he will be missed. only about a dozen or so awards were given at born free out of over a thousand bikes. his shovel that he built with jeremiah from love got some space age award or something. im starting to think it may be because benji's ideas are from about 10 minutes in the future. and if he ever says anything that seems out of sorts its just because you havent caught up with him yet. hope they know what they are in for. im looking forward to seeing his deal in the mix. probably stuff like how he makes fightin gloves out of dead squirrls in his root cellar that he dug with a horse skull that he had to kill for trying to steal his dreams. or it may be stuff that will completley unimpress or confuse most people. you just never know what is going to happen next with this guy. stay tuned. cause the ride just got a little more interesting

one for the road

jay on the flathead, me and the brain on pans, hot mom rob on a shovel, mike d on his ironhead, zito on the triumph and q on mike d's new daily commuter the xr1200. about 250 combined years or old iron that somehow made it about 3 hours each way there and back with only a couple of minor fixes on the side of the road. good times and twisty mountain lanes that were much needed. we blew right past a turn once because i was in a complete eurphoric daze somewhere between the road and outer space i think.

head for the hills

i get one weekend day off a month and tomorrow is it. i try to take advantage of the time so me and a half dozen of the boys are strapping the camping gear and some tools to the bikes and heading into the mountains. couple hours of backroad chopper bikin, good friends sharing the lane, cheap beers, laughs, a fire, wash room to whore bath in, some bad food from the local gas station and the escape from the noise and hustle. im all set man. later

captain caption

and the winner is...

the dumb and dumber quote flat out made me laugh the most because it reminds me of one of my favorite people that i miss and don't get to see nearly enough of anymore. a guy that has been a good friend for a long time that would and has literally dropped everything to help me out of a real bad jam, several times and never question or judge. rather find some fucked up humor in something when it seemed like there was none at an inappropriate time and hit taco bell on the way. dumb and dumber is not my favorite movie but it is one of his probably because it and this guy have a similar sense of humor. when you feel stupid laughing but it doesn't really matter, even if its you that you're all laughing at. this was a grown man with the scooter poster proudly up on the wall in his rumpus room for craps sake. even though i think i remember his wife not being to impressed with his decor choices. but she got him too.

so Tony D, get in touch. and if its tony bologna aka 'candy' you can kiss my milky white ass if you think im shipping it out. pretty sure you or your boy andy still owe me some money from when you pinched some fots stock and said you would pay me later. if its not the same tony, congratulations and forget all that other crap i just said. email me your contact info so it can get out the door and up on your wall. fotsclarke@gmail.com

last chance for romance

I work 6 days a week. I have off tomorrow. In about 12 long hours I am picking up a case of high life on the way home. At some point tonight after a few adult beverages and catching up on some sittin I will read the caption contest comments. Last chance to get it on before it comes to an end.

New crew member

This is Bronson, he's a 2 year old AmStaff. Got him from the SPCA. He is still tryin to find his place in our house but with a little work I think he will be just fine.

eye candy

The DS gents are cooking up some sick shit like this sweet sugar skull tail light. Only about 20 or so are being made. Get em while you can if you can. Got a batch coming soon to a FOTS shop near you.

While you are waiting, go to their spot and read Fingers story to pass the time. Friggin hilarious

loved from hated

Dr. Deathhead over at Hated of the World sent me a little party pack recently. It included some fine art, some stuff to get your junk up and some stuff to wipe it down after, vanilla scent, or flavored... not sure. The box also contained their newest assault on the eyes for your wearing pleasure. The doctor said to buy two of them and don't ever call me in the morning.

thanks Chris. the creepy smut art rules

Cross Country Trip, Part 4

After waking up from the sunrise on my face, I loaded up the bike & rolled on westward on rt 50. The riding was absolutely amazing. The views from the road through Curecanti were some of the best yet. I was planning on hitting the black canyon of the gunnison and colorado national monument park on this day. When I got some food at Monarch pass the day before, the lady at the counter chatted me up a bit & told me I had to go check out the black canyon. This, in my opinion is the best way to travel. No plan, no route in particular, just a general direction and willingness to ride all day for days. Rolling solo, I think people are more into talking to you. Especially when they see the NJ plate and you're nowhere near NJ anymore.

I stopped at a sweet country diner & took a restroom sink bath before I sat down & had a bitchin' breakfast. Good thing because this was one of the most epic days of riding I've ever had. After I ate, I rolled on up to the black canyon national park. It was all sorts of awesome twisties that rode along the ridge of the canyon. I stopped at one point to hike a trail to a viewpoint & when I shut the bike off, I heard this crazy sound. It was coming from the bushes. I took a closer look & saw all these strange little locust looking bugs that would click. Since there were thousands of them, it actually sounded like those rain stick things you used to find in those hippy stores. I hiked down to the edge & saw these amazing tiny black birds that looked like mini stealth fighter jets. They looked like they were all just having a blast flying as fast as they could. They would swoop through the canyon & they were banking & swooping all over, so fast that you could hear their wings cutting the air.

After the bugs & birds, I cruised on through the rest of the park & back down to 50, heading west. I rode through some little downtown areas here & there but stumbled across this killer car lot that had all sorts of 40s & early 50s cars for sale. These werent all done & prettied up but were being sold as project cars. I know the southwest is the perfect place for finding a nice rust free project but to find a dealership full of them was really far out. I jammed northwestard heading toward monument park and found the area becoming a bit more developed & was wondering if I was in the right area or not. My map said I was so I charged on.

I found the entrance to the park & man was I blown away as soon as I started riding up into it. The road just went up & curved with these super hard uphill hairpin turns & then through the mountains with these tunnels carved right through the rock. I couldnt even manage to get a great pic of the entrance road but the one shot shows the road doubling back. That was just a small sample of how killer the riding was, let alone the scenery. It just seemed to go on forever, twisting & rolling & amazing views of red cliffs all over. I found a spot called fallen rock & hiked down. I found myself just totally tripped out on my location & it was just dead slient other than the wind whipping through the low lying brush. The sun felt great & I just laid back & took a sweet nap on the warm smooth rock. I am a big fan of random naps. I woke up to what I thought was a bee in my ear but looking closer at it, I realized it was a hummingbird. I think it was telling me I'd better get back on my bike because when I walked back there was another one checking out my bags. I cruised on feeling real good about my dual sport bridgestones in the twisties. I wore any chicken strips off them way early on the run so they were nice & scrubbed in. The scram actually goes through the corners quite nicely since I upgraded the suspension. With the new floating front brake, I could brake hard before the corners & roll on the throttle through each turn. After so many miles on the bike, it just felt like an extension of me. Feels awesome being fully dialed & confident with your machine on all levels.

After all the killer riding in monument park, I headed south along the utah-colorado border. I was a bit bummed about missing moab & arches park but I'm saving utah for another run. I still had more to see in colorado. I was heading toward the southwest corner so I could see the cliff dwellings at mesa verde the following morning. The ride proved to be continuously amazing. Colorado doesnt quit with the awesomeness. What a beautful place. I went down through another serious mountain range near Telluride & crossed some serious elevations again at Lizard head pass. It was dinner time so I managed to find a killer burger joint just north of cortez. They had some picnic tables out on the porch to eat outside while enjoying the late day sun. I sat down with my dinner and my maps & yet another roadside prophet joined me. This fast talker dude who was pretty nice & really knew the area. Wouldnt you know it - the dude was originally from jersey? I go on so many trips & meet people from jersey. I guess that tells you something, huh - People are just itching to get the hell out of here. After chatting with the one dude for a bit, a couple showed up on a bike & we all bullshitted for a bit. Talking bikes & traveling.

I headed down to cortez & found a KOA. (kampground of america). This was by far, my least favorite campground. It was clean & had hot showers & all but man it was packed. The campsites are on top of one another. There was some kook next to me camping with what I guess were his kids but the motherfucker kept staring at me. I said 'HEY! HOW ARE YOU?!' and the kook just barely nodded. Then I jumped in the shower & was in there for about 5 minutes and someone came in who sounded like the president of the local mickey mouse club ' hey, come on guys! hurry up! theres people waiting out here!' I felt like jumping out all wet & naked & kicking his face in. I just had the most epic day of riding ever and just paid more for a camp site than I did for a hotel & this asshole is hollering at me. So aside from the shitty KOA experience, I did actually get a good nights rest & got up early & headed east to Mesa Verde.

(To be continued...)

See part one for the link to all the photos.