March 2020 Editorial
Article By Chris Callen
You know, I must be getting older, cause the things that seem to just be good common sense somehow go unapplied in the world today, at least in the motorcycle world. I mean, values like respect, both for self and for others. Appreciation, both of what you have and what you do not, and the common sense to treat things like they matter.
Now, I know that we live in a disposable society these days, and more and more nothing is of heirloom quality as far as how things are made. But what about what they stand for? Does this still have any real-world application, or since it is the status quo to just go for the gold, or do what you can to sell out forty or fifty years of a name’s sake? For me, and I’m sure the good folks that brought me up to know better, the answer is no, it’s not. As a matter of fact, for them and myself, the simple act of suggesting that I sell out is disrespectful enough for quite a few many colorful metaphors to be slung in your general direction. But you see it over and over today, people and businesses taking something and denying the history and tradition of something and casting it aside in the name of a brand-new high-dollar future. And who cares? After all, once they succeed, they won’t have to be around the riff-raff anymore and if it fails, same deal. They just scurry off to whatever other great conquests might wait in whatever other industry still doesn’t know them. But what about Nietzsche’s “Huddle Masses,” the bungled and the botched? What will be left once they slide the grease rag across the table, smoking up the last bit of fatted cow grease once the feast is finally over?
Well, dear reader, let me assure you… Plenty! You see, as they sat and fed their faces on the whims of trend, many of us could have cared less, and still more than we do now. For so many of us, this motorcycle thing has had ups and downs as far as the business and popularity goes, but by and large, inside our own garage or out on our own road trips, it’s always been alive and well. And of course, there will be the ever-present skeptics who cry, “But don’t you worry about the future?” and to that, I answer, yes, of course. From where I sit, I can see cheap donor bikes for me and all my chopper cohorts, learner bikes for all their kids at a good price as well and more idiots going off to the wonderful world of Yoga and granola every day. Oh, did that last line piss you off, well that’s what happens, just unfriend me. As far as the future “they” refer to, you know the one where a few million new riders are needed… Now, I consider that somewhat a paradox. The future, for the most part, will handle itself and from what I can remember, we are going about this in the complete opposite direction from what it was that grew the motorcycle community to begin with. Here’s what I prescribe, do this twice a day… at least. Find a young person, maybe one that lives in your house, maybe the neighbor’s kid. Pull up fast on your bike, slide to a stop, throw some trash on the ground and scare the hell outta them. Then look them dead in the eye and forbid them from ever riding one of these dangerous machines. Should do the trick, it worked for all of us… Didn’t it?
As far as the name Cycle Source, if you are new to this publication, it’s put out by regular, mostly blue color people who just love motorcycles. The trends we follow are those that lead us to more good times, and the fashions we report on are usually the type of flannel that keeps you warm when the shop is cold. Leathers that keep your hide attached when you go down and helmets that… Ok, what was I gonna say good about helmets here? No, I’m kidding, a helmet that keeps us safe and doesn’t break the bank. If this all sounds reasonable to you for the mere price of a pack of cigarettes, then welcome to the family. If not, please put this magazine down so another loyal reader may find it intact. Until next time, this is Uncle Num Num signing off!
