Crossing the Border to Ride Together

Jorge Rojas López says that like the hippie counterculture movement of the 1960s, bikers and their reputation for being rough, tough and rebellious is uniquely American.

A motorcycle club's pin adorned a patch of the Mexican flag.

But that did not stop Mr. Rojas, 67, and about three dozen other Mexican nationals from traveling as far as 900 miles to attend an event in Austin that celebrates the fierce independence and individuality of the Lone Star State, the Republic of Texas Biker Rally.

Billed as one of the largest rallies of its kind in the country — rivaling similar events in Sturgis, S.D., and Daytona Beach, Fla. — the rally draws more than 35,000 people from across the world, promoters said.

The event, which celebrated its 19th year when it was held this month, included performances by the 1980s metal stars Twisted Sister and the Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil. It also featured, for the first time, performances by Mexican motorcycle acrobats, part of a national club called the Confederación Internacional de Motociclistas Oficiales y Policías de Caminos. The group includes members of regional clubs, like Dorados de Villa in Ciudad Juárez, of which Mr. Rojas is a member, across the border from El Paso. Others come from Mexico City, Nuevo León, Querétaro and Guadalajara. The group’s performers are daredevils who mount one another’s shoulders, ride backward on front-end rims or form human pyramids on two motorcycles as they cruise along a designated route. By day, they are professors, teachers, police officers and businessmen.

“The biker is from here, the real biker, and this is a Mexican expression of that culture,” Mr. Rojas said. But the Mexican signature, he added, is the acrobatic element. “We don’t see them dominate the bike the way the Apaches dominated the horse better than the Spaniards,” he said.

Mr. Rojas, a criminology professor and the rector of the Universidad Cultural in Ciudad Juárez, said the performance transcended the tumultuous histories between Texas and Mexico.

“From my sociological point of view, Texas is really a mixture of cultures,” he said. “Mexicans, we don’t harbor resentment. To the contrary, we see this as a cultural expression. The culture is universal: it doesn’t have borders or limits, it doesn’t have a color. We’re citizens of the world, and as such, we understand this cultural expression.”

Alejandro Galán, the national group’s leader, acknowledges the history but uses it as a punch line instead of a point of contention.

“We’re here because we want to take it back,” he joked, referring to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, under which Mexico in 1848 lost its northern territory to the United States.

The state’s Chicanos, Americans of Mexican descent who identify with both cultures, say the Mexican bikers are a welcome addition to the Texas event.

Mikey Rodriguez, 42, is a member of the Latin Lords MC, a group from Baytown, near Houston. This was his 13th visit to the rally. In previous years, the Mexican riders would caravan in, wearing Mexican wrestler masks amid a cheering crowd. That they make the trek, he said, is not surprising.

“When you’re involved in this lifestyle, you travel left and right,” he said.

Rachel Salas, 36, a Latina and native of Lubbock, said the Mexicans were as welcome as anyone else and just as embraced.

“Everybody gets along, I think that’s a good thing,” she said. “Everyone is very friendly, almost too friendly.”

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Source: NYTimes (Aguilar, 6/21)

MMI Grad builds motorcycle shop from ground up

When Bret Sealy set off from his small Central Texas hometown for Motorcycle Mechanics Institute (MMI) Orlando, he had little more than his Harley, a toolbox and the goal of owning a motorcycle business. Since then, Bret has worked hard as a student struggling to make ends meet, a machinist serving the U.S. Army and National Guard, and a one-man construction company to earn his most prized possession – his own motorcycle repair shop.

Today, he’s back in Richland Springs, Texas, pursuing his passion for motorcycles as president and owner of San Saba Ironhorse, Inc. But achieving this childhood dream hasn’t come easy.

“From the time I watched a friend ride his dirt bike around our neighborhood, I knew I wanted to be in this industry,” explained Bret. “Whether I was working odd jobs or serving on Army convoy missions, I never lost sight of that goal.”

Though his jobs have varied along the long road to entrepreneurship, Bret’s work ethic has remained strong. While studying at MMI, he earned $100 a day tiling pools. After graduating in 2007, he briefly worked as a technician for a Harley-Davidson dealership, but he couldn’t ignore the desire to be his own boss. To help save enough for startup costs, he joined the Army and trained to be a machinist.

“Besides the chance to serve my country in Iraq and Kuwait, the Army prepared me for the motorcycle business,” said Bret. “When I got back to Texas, I expanded my skills by making wheels and axles for rail cars at machine shops, and fitting pipes for oil and natural gas drilling. Between working as a machinist and my training at MMI and in the military, I feel like I can make just about anything.”

Despite his growing mechanical expertise, Bret still needed to boost his savings to start the business. He joined the National Guard for the weekend drill pay and slowly began laying the foundation for his new motorcycle repair shop … literally. He dug trenches for plumbing, poured the building’s concrete foundation, erected its steel structure, wired electrical systems and painted it inside and out. Until the shop really got off the ground in 2012, his do-it-yourself approach raised more than a few eyebrows around Richland Springs.

“It’s a small town – there were just 16 in my graduating class,” said Bret. “I’ve known lots of people who talk about their dreams, but never do anything about them. I knew I wanted to be different.”

At 27, Bret has developed San Saba Ironhorse into a burgeoning business. Specializing in Harley-Davidson and Yamaha motorcycles, the shop also services other bike brands and ATVs used by hunters who visit the area. He’s boosted profits by fixing wrecked motorcycles he buys from insurance companies and selling them online. MMI’s entrepreneurial training has come in handy as the business has evolved, too.

“Right now, I’m still just a one-man show. But Ironhorse is growing and I hope to hire a team someday,” he said. “If you want to build your own business, you have to understand it’s not going to happen overnight.” Brett would like to express a http://www.sansabanews.com/news/110717/special thanks to his friends and family who helped along the way to make everything possible.

“People had all kinds of negative things to say when I told them about my goal for this shop,” he added. “But if people tell you that you’re just dreaming or being unrealistic, they’re wrong. Don’t let other people’s opinions get in the way of what you want to achieve. It’s all up to you.”

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Source: San Saba News (AP, 9/7)

Unique motorcycle safety device aims to reduce rear-end collisions

Look ma, no brakes.

But slow down anyway!

California startup Vectolabs has developed a new type of safety light for motorcycles that illuminates when the bike slows down, regardless of whether or not the rider is using the brakes.

Called Vololights, the device is comprised of two sets of LEDs built into a license plate holder that’s fitted with an accelerometer and CPU. When it senses that the motorcycle it is installed on starts slowing down, a pattern of blinking lights goes off to get the attention of following vehicles.

Since motorcycles decelerate much quicker than four-wheel vehicles when you let up on the accelerator or downshift, many riders don’t use the brakes to slow down as often as car and truck drivers do. Doing either of these things will cause the Vololights to flash twice per second, while using the brakes will flash them five times per second to indicate a more severe stopping event, augmenting the motorcycle’s stock lights.

Many motorcycle organizations and state departments of motor vehicles already encourage riders to flash their brakes when slowing, a step Vectolabs is simply looking to automate. It is also aimed at owners of some classic bikes, including 1960s Vespa scooters where the hand grip for the front brakes isn’t even connected to the lights, only the brake pedal is.

A number of electric cars, including the Tesla Model S, illuminate their brake lights as soon as you lift off of the accelerator, as their electric motors instantly start generating electricity and forcibly slow the car down in the process. Even more so than with motorcycles, you can drive these kinds of cars much of the time without using the brakes at all.

Vectolabs says Vololights fits a variety of motorcycles and is confident that it will conform to state and federal legal requirements for lighting, but will recommend users check their local laws. A ‘stealth mode’ turns off the system if you drive somewhere they are not allowed.

But don’t mount up and head to the motorcycle shop just yet. Vectolabs is in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign that aims to raise $50,000 by June 12th in order to put the Vololights into production. A number of pledge levels are available, but it’ll cost you at least $69 if you want to get on the list for a kit.

In the meantime, watch out behind you.

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Source: Fox News (AP, 5/29)