Cycle Connections

Wishing all of you a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year, Filled with Joy & Peace....& NO COVID!!!

Here’s To Hoping That We All Get Back To Having Fun, Safe Adventures Soon, And   We Invite You To Share Them with Us!

Remember, Wash Your Hands and Practice Social Distancing, Stay Safe & Well

Cover Design By: Lisa Bonta

In This Issue:

Custom Paint That Rocks!

CC Custom Coatings & Graphics offers high quality, ultra-durable Motorcycle Custom Paint !

We are the premier Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Custom Paint, Paint Repair, Powder Coating and Ceramic Coating shop in the mid-west.

                     Photo’s & Article By: Christin Elders

18YRS COUNTING AND GROWING!!! Another beautiful year with some beautiful people... The precious Children, amazing bikers, beautiful car show, and so much more. Let's not forgot the wonderful food they serve each year; the Gintown Lowlife Society Family 11th year. And it only gets bigger and bigger. Such a heartwarming feeling. Not just the first time we go but every time. This is what we do and are about! Period.

CUSTOM LIVEWIRE ONE™ MOTORCYCLES DEBUT AT AUTOPIA 2099 IN LOS ANGELES

Reimagined Electric Motorcycles Launch the Future of Customization

LOS ANGELES, CA (December 9, 2021) – The customization potential of the LiveWire One™ electric motorcycle was on full display on Saturday, Dec. 4 at Autopia 2099, a new and dedicated EV event held at Optimist Studios in Los Angeles designed to showcase electric cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and other mobility solutions. The event featured more than 80 vehicles, from home-built and conversion EVs to brand new cars and trucks, plus a display of what the event organizers called retrofuturism. Two custom motorcycle builders, SMCO and Earle Motors, presented the first fully customized LiveWire One motorcycles, both of which originated in Los Angeles, a city rapidly becoming LiveWire’s most successful market.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – January 2, 2019 – HawgWilde Cosmetics, LLC’s (HWC)

online late 2018, was a very exciting milestone for Andrea Bates,

CEO/Co-Founder and Shari Weisman, COO/Co-Founder of HawgWilde

Cosmetics,

  The Stars were shinning bright here in Alabama the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Zoo Run Safari for Children's Stars that is, prompting Santa (Stephen Whitley) to make a special early appearance just to have breakfast with them. He brought the "Magic Man", Larry Moore with him to entertain the kids and make balloon creations for them.

  Once again due to Covid, the rally was on then off then back on again. But in the end the powers that be in Panama City Beach, Florida decided to go ahead with the Fall Rally much to the excitement of the rally goers who’ve been waiting to get out and ride and get back to some kind of normalcy.

  Last year, there was no Vintage Festival due to Covid, this year the Festival is on and in the days leading up to it, wouldn't you know, it's raining up a storm around here, so it would be just a little damp around the edges as people came in to set up in the Swap Meet area. But by Friday, the sun was shinning bright in the sky sending down a rainbow as if to put its stamp of approval on the weekend.

                         Photos By: Christina “Shooter" Edwards

This past Labor Day weekend, I was invited by my sister, Andrea “ Squeaky” Forte to ride in the 9 th annual Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association’s Fallen Brothers Ride.

This was my first ride and not having participated before I had nothing to compare it to but now I know there’s nothing to compare it to. Throughout the year she and I had discussed all the pre-event planning. The planning can easily take 6 months or more for a gathering of this nature. There are a lot of nuts and bolts to put together for a successful ride, not to mention the safety issues.

  On Saturday, October the 16th, the Veterans Brotherhood was once again, the host of the Zoo Run Raffle/Booze Raffle benefiting Children's of Alabama, it was also the birthday of Brotherhood member, Ross Jones, who's girlfriend, Nikki cooked Chili to feed everyone. Alabama was plying on the big screen, which meant that the house was a buzz with excitement and activities.

  Well God blessed us with an absolutely beautiful day for a run to the Zoo on Saturday, September the 25th, 2021. The only thing missing was our Star families. This Covid mess has really had things turned upside down for way too long now.

A nice long motorcycle ride can be a fun way to get outside and enjoy a nice sunny day. But what if the weather isn’t so nice? Riding in extreme weather conditions such as strong rain and snow can be dangerous, and potentially result in a deadly accident. But while it’s advisable to avoid riding in these conditions, sometimes riders have no choice. 

  My girls, Cindy Lou & Kelly Kimari , loaded up the truck and trailer and hit the road early Thursday morning, August the 5th, headed for the 81st Annual Sturgis Rally. We asked them to be our roving photojournalist for this trip so that we all could experience Sturgis, at least through their eyes....since not all of us are fortunate enough to get to do that experience in person. Cindy Lou is a Sturgis virgin and has been looking forward to making this journey with her good friend, veteran Sturgis goer, Kelly      

  On Saturday, August the 14^th, the Veterans Brotherhood hosted one of their famous Chow Call's...with a twist, a Bike Wash courtesy of the girls from Gin Town Lowlife Society.

   What better way to splash into the heat of summer, than to splash into the river to shoot the rapids (sorta kinda :-) and float on your raft for a leisurely cruise down the river. And some of these rafts are quiet literally making a statement! It was like a river float parade.

                It’s 6:00 a.m. and we’re on our way to Georgia with some of our fellow Charity Riders club members and closest friends. There are six of us headed for a weekend getaway and we couldn’t be happier! Who wouldn’t be happy to get away for some much needed wind therapy, not sure where all it will take you? There is so much beauty to be found in our great state of Alabama, and trust me, we have seen a lot, but we’re ready to see some new sights and venture upon some new long and winding roads we’ve never been before. The mountains are calling to us, and we have answered the call, so off we go!

  I'm glad we at least KNOW folks that get to go have some awesome adventures, also glad that they come back and share that experience with us all. Our friend Christopher Litteral with the Alabama Law Tigers group was there with his team, giving away a “glamping” experience” and brought us back some cool pictures from their time there, he also got to meet Loretta Lynn’s grand daughter…how cool is that!!

  On Sunday, June the 13th, hundred's of people rolled into the Moody Civic Center to honor and pay respects to a couple of their fallen hero's.

It was a beautiful, all be it a little hot, (so hot, that a few of the people had issues by the end of the ride) Sunday afternoon as motorcycle after motorcycle rolled into the parking area with many jeeps and cars mixed in. The Moody police chief was on hand to speak before the ride left and afterwards when the ride returned.

According to a 2012 study, most motorcycle riders regularly practice lane sharing on freeways and multi-lane roadways. Very few riders report being cited by law enforcement for this practice. Still, there is much confusion over its legality and safety. While many discourage lane sharing, there is evidence that it actually improves rider safety, and there is a growing push to legalize it in more states.

Lane Sharing vs. Lane Splitting and Filtering

  On June the 12th, 2021, The Saints and Friends of The Miracle League, hit the road leaving from the Cullman Elks Lodge #1609 (a big supporter of the Miracle League) with some of the superstars along for the ride, one of which is Brandi Story Evans son, superstar athlete Jacob. Brandi spent many months gathering all kind of special goodies for this event and she along with Lynn Gordon Jones and Tiffany Day Wilson provided the awesome pictures of the ride to share with all of you.

  On September the 12th, 2021, the Legion Rider's gathered at the American Legion Post #171, (to the tune of over 200 motorcycles!!) for the 16th Annual 9/11 Commemorative Ride on the 20th anniversary.

  On April, 28th 2021, as further signs of the country slowly getting back to some kind of normalcy, the Spring Thunder Beach rally kicked off in Panama City Beach Florida after being put on hold last year due to Covid. April 28th was the official start date however; many of the bikers were already rolling in to town early in the week to get things started.  For the most part, rally goers experienced beautiful weather, aside from a few brief showers early on, which didn't dampen anyone's spirits about being back at the beach.

On May the 8th, 2021, the new kids on the block, "The Charity Rider's R.C", hosted their Grand Opening-Open House and drew in around 85 Bikes and probably 20 to 25 caged rides. They also had in excess of 10 other clubs who participated as well as a lot of independents. The Veterans Brotherhood was one of those other clubs who hosted a stop over during the ride leading up to the open house.

  On Saturday, May the 30th, Bad Boy Toyz Garage and Hooters in Pelham, Alabama kicked off the first "Pipes And Pints" Sunday afternoon get together. This is an event that came together as a way for everyone to just meet and greet, have a few colds ones and some good food while enjoying each other’s company. Also, Stephen Krubinski, owner of Bad Boy Toyz wanted to include "Sound-Off" contests for pipes and audio, with the assist of "Bare Naked Body Worx"  the winner receiving $250.00; pretty cool, cause who doesn't like showing off their rides and hard work, it got a little loud around there for a brief period, people for sure knew we were there.

On Saturday, April the 17th, 2021, the Faith Rider's and Cedar Grove Baptist Church hosted the 9th Annual Lyla Ride.

The 2021 Season of racing for anything, has taken on a different look AGAIN this year, due to Covid, but at least there are some races taking place, which is a good thing because people are still yearning for some normalcy.

Indy racing rolled into Alabama on April the 16th, 2021, to start the race season off; what better place than the coolest world famous track at the Barber Motorsports Park.

-- We (our local CMA in Tennessee) held a Blessing of the Bikes, Saturday, April the 3rd. There were approximately 200 bikers to come out

We couldn't make Daytona Bike Week but had a couple of friends who did, (Will Peek & Frank Pate) so we asked them to share some of their awesome shots with us all. 

  On Saturday, March the 20th, 2021, the Veterans Brotherhood hosted a St. Patrick's Day themed Chow Call as a way to get folks back out and doing things together again.