A Couple from the Road

 

Kostas from Greece above and some of his brass castings below.

 

Heading south along hwy 49, LV picketing

Rednecks colors from the Rogues MC in Holland. Some of you might remember the picture of Redneck carrying Jonathan around in Chimay, Belgium!

HATS!!!

Finally. We got them up in the store right now: deathtrapsmc.bigcartel.com
These are adjustable mesh trucker hats made by Otto. Screen printed bill and front, one size fits most!

We also have a limited supply of the Swap Meet shirts left over. These will not be printed again, so get them while they last!

This is what my life has been missing!

After I picked the bike up in Oakland I quickly tried to rack my brain and figure out what exactly needs to be fixed from the long adventure across the pond. There were some obvious things: regulator, battery and primary drive. But as I searched the bike over, there were some surprises too, like a broken tranny stud, missing mirror and so on. It's was also nice remembering all the good times we had over there. The hose clamp on my exhaust, been there since Germany, and someone asking me where I got my rear tire, "got that guy in Luxembourg".
After I got it started and did a couple quick miles down the highway, it was time to get over to the swap meet for the early birds Friday evening. It brought back a huge smile to my face as I took the long way up, with my bag on the sissy bar, as this was the way it was for 3 months while we zig zagged across Europe.
Yes, this is what I needed!

Swap Meet!

Well it snowed last year, and this year we of course had a little heat wave come through. Not a huge deal though, as we had 6 kegs there for the thirsty! We sold out of the bottomless mugs, broke out the new hats (finally), and also sold a bunch of the swap meet shirts. Kept everyone fed with chili dogs or bacon cheese burgers, with locally grown heirloom tomatoes and grilled onions! Huge thanks to Blue Oak Farm for the veggies and Marty and Todd for manning the grill all day.

Also a huge thanks to everyone who showed up, and to the vendors, see you all next year!

 Night before

 Bacon for the burgers.

 Honda chop

 Parts, parts, parts

 Ruby showed up!

 Knuckleheads

 Chicks in vans

 Wolfs tank being painted by Matt

 The new hats. Will be in the store soon!

 Hiding from the afternoon sun

 Better luck next year

 Levi and a midnight tattoo session

And then there were three of us. Wolfs finished tank

SWAP MEET!

Well we're down to the last couple of hours, and we've been getting a lot of last minute reservations for spaces and also a couple questions on where it is exactly. Its at Estes Customs, but he has since moved from last year. The address is: 14969 Camage Ave Sonora CA

If you're coming east on 108, take the Mono Way exit, then take a right onto Mono Way. At the next light, Tuolumne Rd, go right. About 3 miles up the road look for Steves Place (local dive) on your right, and go left. This will be Nugget, and Camage will be your first right, Estes is 1/2 mile down on your right.

If you're heading south on 49, go through Sonora and that will eventually put you onto 108 or Mono Way. Then follow the above directions.

There will be signs along the way, as long as the cops don't tear them down.

Speaking of which. Those of you who have been to Sonora before, know that the local fuzz have a hard-on for motorcycles, cars, and people in general. In town watch your speed, no illegal passes (Gus) and just keep a look out. Know your rights and know the laws. Don't let them pull a fast one on you! Spend your money at the swap meet, not at the courthouse!

View Larger Map

See you guys Saturday!

TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR SWAP SPACES! THERE ARE SOME LEFT, AND YOU CAN PAY FOR THEM THE DAY OF, BUT EMAIL US IF THAT IS YOUR PLAN SO WE CAN RESERVE THEM FOR YOU! OR JUST COME AND PARTY
deathtrapsmc@yahoo.com

Paz, Holly, Ponts, Paul

Stole this from the new DicE

"I'd always see those 'Loud Pipes Save Lives' stickers on bikers helmets outside the bar, and I never really thought twice about them. The stickers would just kind of blend into the banal biker aesthetic that we're all too familiar with, just another platitudinous saying amidst a garden of 'American boys ride American Toys' and 'Helmet Laws Suck'. But when you spend those late nights at the shop wearing torn up knuckles like wedding rings because the wrench slipped...when you're so frustrated that you stopped caring to use a rag to wipe the sweat off your nose so you just use your black, gritty hands and when you're knee is sore and swollen from the kicker slipping, what about those nights? Those nights aren't spent alone. Two dozen beers and a half dozen friends are all invested with you. The collective interest of the group understands that this is what we do to stay sane and to keep our heads above water. We each know that outside of the thin tin walls of the shop we're worried about paying next month's rent and paying for last night's bad decisions. We all struggle with the mundane problems of life that stretch us to the breaking point together. But a cluster of flickering headlights speeding down Old Montgomery Highway at 1am on a hot Alabama Night always outruns problems. The girlfriends and the bills and the jobs get washed away in a cloud of smoke. The problems can never scream hard enough to be heard over the rumbling exhaust. Maybe there's more to that sticker than I thought. Maybe loud pipes really do save lives???"
David Clyburn, Birmingham, Alabama - USA

Finally!!!

Well it's been almost two months since I last saw the bike right before it shipped out from Rotterdam. It arrived in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, but took another two weeks to make the final 400 miles to Oakland.
I picked my buddy Stu up in San Rafael after I paid the shipping company in Concord, and we headed south into Oakland. No fog, hardly any traffic, and actually really nice customs officers, made it possible for us to make it back to San Rafael in time for some afternoon beers, before some more beers for dinner.

Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.

Mark Twain

Sure as fuck isn't 29 Palms! German troops and tanks.

Downhill

This is about 15 minutes from Sonora on the way back from Yosemite. This is actually the route everyone will be taking to get over to Mammoth Lakes through Yosemite. Watch out for gravel

France

Got an email from Emmanuel and Jimmy the other day. They are both back home in France and have wasted no time getting back on the choppers and ripping around the country.
My bike currently is taking its sweet time getting from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the final leg of this adventure. Almost as long as it took to get from Rotterdam to LA! What the fuck?!?

Sacramento Raceway

 
Some of the guys made it down to the drag strip a couple of weeks ago for some free drag racing. Great shot of Todd taking off and another of everyone gearing up. We've got some more photos floating around and we'll post them as soon as we get them.


Swap Meet is only a couple of weeks away, spaces are filling up!
Thanks for the photos, Scotty and Ronny. See you guys soon!

Visitors

While I was traveling with the Rogues through Bretagne France, a couple of the guys there told me they were coming to California and wanted to meet up when I was back. Well true to their word, Emmanuel and Jimmy showed up in beautiful and hot northern California. They were both traveling separate from each other, but were able to meet up at an old western bar for one drink together.
Great times, who's next?!?

Trumpnut

I'm sure everyone has run into Nick somewhere along the road, but if you haven't, here's your chance. This will be the perfect swap meet warm up before you head over to ours! If you can't make it to this, check out his website for some killer parts: Trumpnut