HalfThrottle

Gary and I have a friend named Jay who came up with the basic idea for this video. Gary put together a script and recruited a few actors. I did some editing, but spent most of my time complaining about how long everything was taking. The video turned out better than I thought it would.

The biker who plays Hillbilly in the film is actually called Hillbilly. I have no idea what his real name is. For the opening shot Gary told Hillbilly to walk out of the bar and to be angry as he said his line. Hillbilly had never done any acting before and seemed a little out of his element, but when he walked out and smashed his beer on the ground I was a believer. We did a couple more takes of that opening shot, but during editing decided he nailed it on the first one. I could watch a whole series of videos where Hillbilly rides around pulling pranks on different people.

The music in the video is from http://www.danosongs.com/
The 2 tracks used are Gem Droids, and Boom Born Blues.

Before Mitch and I started our trek back to the U.S. from Costa Rica we went on the most epic hike I’ve ever been on. We hiked along the coast from one village to the neighboring village down the coast. We had no idea how far away it was, it was foolish, and dangerous, and amazing.

http://bit.ly/KyEPtm
I thought about keeping this, and if no one bids I guess I will. This is your chance to own a piece of the machine that I rolled around Panama on. I’ve signed the back, but if the winning bidder wants me to scribble something on the front I can do that as well.

Buy the song on iTunes — http://bit.ly/JQnDDU—
Buy the song on Amazon — http://amzn.to/JQqv3V

This has been looming for a while now, but it’s time for me to leave Panama. Rather than just make a video announcing I was selling my bike I wanted to do something special. That machine and I have been through a lot together and I get strangely attached and overly sentimental about some things. Motorcycles are one of them. Part of me worries that when I sell her she will simply shatter into 100’s pieces like the Bluesmoblie near the end of Blues Brothers. If I’m honest the song makes me a little sad when I listen to it.

I began to sing this song to myself while riding one day, and had to pull over and jot down some notes before I forgot it all. Other than the occasional karaoke night I’ve never considered myself someone who sings. One reason I love YouTube is that it gives me the opportunity to try new things. As I push myself to be more creative some very strange videos might appear in your inbox, but once in a while I come up with something I’m proud of. I worked hard on this goodbye to my friend, the indestructible Kawasaki KLR650. We had some amazing adventures together. There was certainly no shortage of great footage for me to choose from when editing the video.

I have zero musical abilities, and was in over my head trying to make this into something decent. After writing the lyrics to the tune of “A Boy Named Sue” I approached JD Mader for some help with the music. He tweaked the lyrics a bit and came up with some great music that gave it more of a folk feel than the country feel it originally had. Something I was happy about because I love folk music.

JD and I have never met in person. I was lucky to find such a talented guy who would drop everything he was doing to help me with this project. JD is better known as Lockjaw in KLR circles. He is a talented singer/songwriter and author who has published several books. To hear more of JD’s music check out: http://jdmader.bandcamp.com/

Here are the links to his books:

Joe Café — http://amzn.to/JQoTqR

The Biker — http://amzn.to/JQoULh

Bad Book — http://amzn.to/JQoX9V

Another story from my time in Nicaragua. The Supply SGT. became my arch nemesis, and Mitch and I tried to liberate as many items from his evil clutches as we could. This is a story about a very well executed plan that landed us 2 refrigerators, and cold drinks for the next 4 months.

(I thought the sneeze was funny)

Thanks everyone for sharing the video and entering the contest for a free pair of boots. When you share my videos it really helps my channel to grow. This was the most valuable item I’ve ever been able to give away, and I really appreciate http://www.cruiserworks.com/ sponsoring the contest.

You can say thanks to CruiserWorks by following them on facebook and twitter and remembering to shop with them the next time you are in the market for a high quality pair of riding boots.

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We didn’t go on the canopy tour, but it is a cool road so I decided to film it. I talk a bit about canopy tours, and why I would prefer to live in the mountains of Panama verses the beach in Panama.

This is a bit of a bouncy ride up a dirt road, but the scenery was beautiful.

No idea how long it had been since my last oil change in the Kawasaki. So I decided to make a quick video showing just how easy it is to do a small job like this. As much as I beat on the bike I need to take care of it once in a while.

Not all of the steps I go over in this video are required, however I highly recommend them.

Tweet or share this video on facebook for a chance to win a pair of boots worth $325.00 from my amigos at http://www.cruiserworks.com/ This is the most expensive item I’ve ever been able to give to you guys. All I ask in return is you help spread the word about my awesome YouTube channel, and this awesome company who was willing to hook someone up.

Show some love to CruiserWorks by visiting their website, and following them on facebook and twitter.

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