Kickstands Up EP_04 Freedom Rides

I love two wheels or anything fast. The Road Glide is so far my number one bike. Rock and roll, brother. Every time I throw my leg over that bike on a new adventure, I'm rolling into new cities. And when I roll up to a spot and see bikes parked out front, I know, before I leave, I'm leaving with new friends. It's the beautiful thing about the motorcycle culture. We all share this passion. This passion for the open road. It's something that connects us and brings us all together. Every time I leave a city, headed out for a new one, I know I'm leaving behind some friends. Some friends that I hope, one day, to share miles with again. On my mission to hit every Harley-Davidson dealership in America, I had to blow through town so fast. I realized how many amazing bikers are out there. And these stories need to be told. I'm Adam Sandoval, and this is Kickstands Up. Today's special guest is Raymond. Raymond is a war veteran, suffering from PTSD. And anybody who knows anything about me knows that I always try to support my military. And I really try to use the motorcycle culture to work on PTSD. The beautiful thing about riding with Raymond today is we've also got a couple professional athletes that are going to be joining us. My name is Mike Callerin. I'm a professional BMX rider. I've been riding for a really long time. I'm from Racine, Wisconsin. And I just moved to San Diego a couple years ago and just living life and enjoying it. My name is Barry Nobles. I travel the world living the dream as a professional BMX and mountain bike racer. Myself and these athletes alike are given the freedom to live the lives we do by the sacrifices men and women like Raymond make every day. Let's show them how it's done today, huh, guys? All right, man. Rock and roll, brother. Ow! It shouldn't be long before Big Bam is showing me the bike that I'm going to ride out on the trip today. Harley-Davidson's sending me a new 2017 to ride every week. And I'm excited to see what's next because so far, they've blown my mind. So the bike that Harley-Davidson provided for your ride this weekend is the Ultimate Road Glide. Now, this is the special, right? This is the special. See, I always said if I got another bike after the War Horse, it would be a Road Glide just because of fixed fairing. What's unique about this bike is the stable fairing. It's mounted to the frame itself. And what benefit comes from that is that when you're going by a truck, you're not going to get that little wiggle and the vibration. It's going to slice right through the wind. I'm excited. You should be, brother. I wish I was in your shoes. But once again, my feet are too big. Your feet are just too big. My name is Jules. On the road, I was called Harley-Babe. And I've ridden with Adam for many miles. Really excited to be back out here and sharing the road with him again. My name is Hua. My last name is Chen. Everybody calls me Chen here. You know, it's easier because nobody pronounced my first name right. The ride today definitely spoke about it. I'm really excited to get some sunshine and the wind in my face. And it looks like we don't have any rain coming. You ready, bro? Ready when you are, brother. When we left Top Rocker, headed to Riverside, I ended up in front. And I'm new to the new infotainment system. And I made some wrong turns. And I had us back in the back streets. And we ended up showing up like a half an hour late. But everybody was still there waiting. What's up, guys? What's going on? How you doing? How are you, man? Barry. Barry, Adam, man. Nice to meet you. Absolutely. My pleasure. Mikel. Mikel, nice to meet you as well. Absolutely. So I'm here today meeting up with Adam. I see his videos online. And just seeing what he does with the vets. And to be here to be a part of it and actually ride with Adam just makes the weekend that much better. All right, guys. Here's the deal. The dealership had called me out to do the 22 challenge for the veterans. And well, I think you guys need to participate with me. Let's get down. I'm pretty sure I saw you called out on it anyhow. And well, you just need to be part of it. So let's just get everybody lined up here first. Are you guys ready? Yeah. Let's do it. One, two, three, four. One more. Yeah. I do. Maybe I do 44 next time. Just for good cause. I like doing things like that. What I get out of riding motorcycles is that adrenaline. I love two wheels or anything fast on wheels. So whether I'm jumping 50-foot jumps on a BMX bike or just pin through traffic on a Harley Davidson, I'm excited. I don't think in my life I've ever seen a more vibrant rainbow. And it's cool. So it's like, yeah, we had to get dumped on a little bit. But that view was immaculate. It was immaculate. Well, Barry, it's awesome to share the road with you, brother. I'll be watching you for this year. You going to have a big year? Oh, it's a massive year. Doing BMX and mountain bikes. Just keeping the adrenaline high on two wheels. Riding with Barry was cool, man. He liked to shred it. I could tell that his BMX characteristics were pulling over into his motorcycle riding. It was cool to share the road with him. Didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked to. But I think we'll end up sharing the road again. And maybe I'll even make it to one of his competitions. Take care, brother. You guys be safe. All right. Next last stop is Palm Canyon Hotel and RV Resort. It's supposed to be this epic destination with this Wild West theme, which is, I mean, honestly, right up my alley. I'm a Western guy. I mean, I got the belt buckle. That's got to mean something, right? It got chilly as hell, man. I know. I can finally feel my fingers. It got pretty cold. Elevation changed, you know, so we were battling that a little bit. I was concerned about how the other riders were going to deal with it because some of them had less than ample gear. But nobody seemed to care. Everybody was just living in the moment, having a great time, and we were just happy to get to the resort. So I don't know where we're supposed to go to check in. Let's try this way. I hear they got a tavern around here. You heard they got a tavern? Yeah. I don't believe it. The cool thing about motorcycling is we all experience the road in our own way. But when we get off, we get to share those experiences, and that's when the real bonding starts. So, like, when you do your freestyle, a lot of injuries? I broke my toe playing soccer. Broke your toe playing soccer. That's why I don't mess with mainstream sports. I kicked the ground before I got the ball. I broke it. So when I got in my wreck, when that lady hit me, I was lucky. I had this app. I want you guys to know about this app, dude. They're a sponsor of mine. They're called Law Tigers. Okay. They're motorcycle attorneys. They're huge out here in California. It'll give you all the information to document your accident. Like an outline. Just a complete outline in one app. I'm telling you, man, especially someone who's passionate like you who wants to be able to stay in the game, it's all the difference between you having to figure it out on your own and having people there to help you do it. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't even be able to still ride today. This resort is really cool. I can't see all the details yet tonight, but I can't wait to wake up in the morning and take it all in. I've spent so many nights in so many rough places, and to have them take such good care of me and care of the team and everybody who rode with me is just, it's one of those things that you just need to be thankful for. Never would have I guessed a year ago or two years ago when I left on my very first cross-country motorcycle trip that I would have companies like this going out of their way to help me and everybody who's riding with me. I truly am blessed. We are at the beautiful Palm Canyon Hotel and RV Resort, and this place is amazing. They've got Airstreams. They put us up in a beautiful hotel room last night, and I really like the style of it. It's just all Wild West-themed. It makes it really obvious why it's such a popular destination for motorcyclists and 4x4 riders. I mean, you look around here, man. If I had a Jeep, I'd want to dig off into these mountains. Just the landscaping, the attention to detail. This is a great place to go by yourself, with a date, or a large group for sure. All right, Doc. Well, hey, man, I really appreciate you coming out here today. You know, when I really started this trip, it was for children of fallen soldiers, which was really something really close to my heart. The more time I spent on the road, the more veterans I spent time on the road with, the more I realized what motorcycling does for these men and women. The hidden therapy, they say. You know, every veteran that rides, every man and woman around this country that enjoys the road, the therapy with their loved ones, is just an amazing journey. You know, there's a lot of things that get done for our military that don't get maybe the, don't get talked about enough, and, you know, you've got a very unique story I'd like to share with the people. Very well, very well. Some people who really stepped up and changed your life, right? Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Once upon a time, we all come back and have trauma that we have to deal with. Next thing you know, depression came along. Hell was starting to set in, not knowing that there was something wrong. So, since then, post-traumatic stress disorder has not only challenged my life, but challenged my family, challenged my friends, challenged me. But because there are organizations out there that are willing, that are giving back. Wounded Warrior Project and Harley-Davidson partnered up, and they gave six veterans a motorcycle of their choice, and this was the choice. I'm glad to see you smiling. I'm glad to have spent this time with you, seeing you enjoy yourself. I've enjoyed your company immensely, and I've learned a few things from you over the last day. Sometimes you've just got to slow down and go with the roll. I think one of the best parts about this whole weekend was the diversity of the group. I just really appreciate the whole experience, and there's nothing that beats this, you know what I mean? Like, I can't, I couldn't ask for more. This week's bike was a 2017 Road Glide, and this is a bike that I've been wanting to ride for a long time. And I'll tell you, it impressed me. It actually has me thinking of leaving my Street Glide style bike and looking at maybe a new style bike for me. The fairing was so stable going down the interstate, and I do a lot of long-distance traveling. I truly believe if long-distance traveling is your gig, there is no better bike than this Road Glide fairing. And frankly, the way that it's pushed out just made me feel like I had a lot more room. It made me feel more open out there on the road. So, long-distance traveling, the Road Glide, is so far my number one bike. I appreciate both you guys coming out. I mean, what a great way to honor what our veterans do. You got two guys living their dreams by the sacrifice of our brave men and women like you. I just can't thank you guys enough for all of the effort that you put in. Day in and day out, we're cut from the same cloth. And so, as a token of my appreciation, I already know you know what this is. Oh, sir. Thank you so much. Honestly, man, I get to live my dreams because of the sacrifices that you've made, and I can never thank you enough, you know? And as well, thank you so much. What this is, it's a sign of gratitude. It signifies brothership. It signifies family. These are challenge coins, and probably one of the most well-respected traditions in the military. It's just a huge honor to be able to present these to Adam and Doc, and just to show them my gratitude for all that they're doing. And it's just one of those things. Like, we're family now. Thank you guys so much, man. Rock and roll, man. Appreciate you guys, man. Yes, sir. Thank you so much. From veterans to pro BMX riders, sharing the road, we all bond on the same feelings. Open throttle and gripping the concrete that shreds behind us. Four wheels moves the body, but two wheels moves the soul. The connections made on these two wheels will carry with you for the days, months, and years until you reconnect. I live to experience some of the greatest sights to see in this land of the free. This is a freedom that was given to us by those who sacrificed. You don't always need a plane. Use that freedom and just go. On the next episode of Kickstands Up, we're headed downtown Hollywood to cruise the Sunset Strip with a bunch of our friends from Top Rocker Harley Davidson and UFC superstar Smiling Sam Elvey. We'll see you there.