11.25.2014

Moto-Tuesday, because Mondays Just aren't Enough!

I think Steve would be ok with even tweaking this to say- "Riding is life. Anything before or after is just waiting."

Quick Catch-up


No, I haven't forgotten you dear blog or blogmates, life just took a few unexpected turns over the last month.  Fall has been something else this year!  There have been multiple hospital trips for kidney stones (not mine thankfully), and most of a week off for zero lower back cooperation (yep, this one is me).

I've been gathering a bunch of thoughts and info, it will probably be best to split this into two articles.  So, I'll do this one as the fun one and then next one as the "mechanical stuff".

Over the last month, I'm pleased to say I have been able to ride in to work on two of the four Mondays.  My bike is currently in the garage shivering and together we are deciding if I'll get to ride on my birthday (this Friday), which I was able to do last year - it was cold, but clear, or If I need to pull the battery, and wrap her up for the season.  (I honestly don't feel that a snow blower is in ANY WAY a reasonable substitute for my bike!)

So, let's ride!
Quite appropriately I started with that picture of Steve McQueen. Now, I've always loved Steve McQueen - what's not to like, he loved fast motorcycles and fast cars.  He was even kicked out of art college at one point for driving his motorcycle through the student union or admin building. 


On Any Sunday

I was of the age, when it came out, to go to the movies to see On Any Sunday with my dad (yes, we went more than once and yes, they put it out more than once).  The original, by Bruce Brown first premiered in 1971.  Back then there were no videos or dvds or iTunes, so you saw it at the movie theater or drive-in and then you might see in on tv sometime in the future, or sometimes, especially if it was a limited first release, they might re-release it later, sometimes even more than a year later.  (I know, how did we ever handle the waiting!)  Ordinary motorcycle guys were in it-  some racers, some riders, some Sunday day trippers, and some actors, one of whom was Steve McQueen.  If you didn't really know or like him before, when you saw him as an average motorcycle riding/ motorcycle loving "Joe", you started.  It became an unusual sensation - for anyone who rode any type of motorcycle in any type of motorcycle activity, any where in the world, this movie was you.  Back in the day things didn't go "viral" but they could become cult classics.  It is all about the love and obsession many of us have with motorcycles. It made household names and heroes,for some of us, of Malcolm Smith, Mert Lawwill, and others.

Then Steve died and the movie somehow ended up tied in with his estate (his production company was noted on the film) and then no more On Any Sunday for more than a decade.  Eventually VHS machines were born and video stores came into being, things were worked out, and we were able to see it again.  They eventually even did some follow-ups: 
  • On Any Sunday II (1981), starring Bob Hannah and Larry Huffman
  • On Any Sunday: Revisited (2000), by Dana Brown
  • On Any Sunday: Motocross, Malcolm, & More (2001), by Dana Brown
Yes, I have seen and own them all. Although #2 was not nearly the same same level of "Wow!" as the first one, it was still awesome and had some of the next generation of racers.  If you are a fan of the original and you have seen "Revisted" or "Motocross, Malcolm, and More, you need to.  You will enjoy them immensely.  It was fun in  "Revisited" when they spoke with even new generations of moto-heros like Travis Pastrana who said that some of who they were and their love of motorcycles came from watching On Any Sunday.  Many dads took their kids in part to share their love of all things motorcycle with them.  It was literally life-changing for many people.

Enter, On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter


So, color me supremely happy and surprised when two and a half weeks ago I found out there was  a bright, shiny, new On Any Sunday movie coming out:  On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter!  by Dana Brown.  I hadn't heard anything about it until I got a newsletter from ClassicBikes - talking about it.  It is currently is limited release all over the country (USA - I'm not sure about international release information).  Do yourself a favor and go see it!

The film quality, imagery, and artistry are great, they exceed the original.  I went with my dad, of course!  And though there weren't many people in the theater for our showing - Sunday morning early (a very appropriate movie choice for a Sunday I thought :D) - it was an instant group of friends who had almost all experienced the original in theaters.  An older guy with a side-kick said, "I went and saw the original with my dad, and now I'm here with my son."  We all nodded knowingly and smiled.

The original On Any Sunday film managed to both show a cross-section smorgasbord of dozens of types of motorcycle racing, in a myriad of places around the world, AND have a bit of a story line as it followed a few select racers through a race season, like Mert Lawwill.  My father's complaint with the new show what that he felt like they did have as much of a story line as the original.  I myself was hoping to see some of the newer evolutions of the sport from the original like Endro-Cross (in an area - a cross between motocross and some endurance trials all on a man created course where you can watch everything because it is neatly contained in an arena).  I also would like to have seen some of the indoor trials (again - they've taken the fun craziness that is trials- upped a few levels of nuts and brought it indoors where people can actually see and appreciate it).  I also think it lacked some of the international flavor that they somehow managed to get into the original (mostly with the International Trials we saw Malcolm Smith participate in, over in Europe - which I happily found out this year, they still do!).

Am I disappointed?  Heck no!  I loved On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter! My eyes were as wide open as they could be, my mouth dropping to the floor from time to time, and tears falling from my eyes by the time we left.  Some of the new things that I loved (maybe because I am a girl) - How many cute, curly haired little girls were getting out there and mixing it up with the boys on the track, flinging mud as good as they got.  And I'm really, really looking forward to On Any Sunday, the Nextest, even Niftier Chapter.  When you see how many of these daredevil and motorcycle dad's have daughters and how many have and are picking up their love of all things moto from their dads, you'll realize that the next film may well be the girl power generation!

I am one of those girls.  I rode on the tank/handlebars in front of my dad, I've ridden cross-country behind him, I've seen him do trials, and flat out dirt bike racing.  I saw the original On Any Sunday with him and I still ride with my dad (on my own bike, of course) as often as possible.  He's my motorcycling buddy. Yes, we should've been in church that Sunday, but it wasn't the first and it won't be the last, sometimes you just gotta ride - On Any Sunday!

Penny


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