FozzyUSN Posted October 29, 2008 #26 Posted October 29, 2008 This got me wondering if bikers could've been Cowboys in a previous life. I know this is stretching things, but my mind wanders the whole time when I am out riding. craigr If this is the case, and we are all cowboys while on our respective 'steeds', are we then supposed to 'herd' the cages? And if so, where do we herd them to?
Snarley Bill Posted October 29, 2008 #27 Posted October 29, 2008 when i started messing with horses it was wonderful. met lots of people won alot of horse shows. did some amateur traning, did some team penning, then i went professional and made a job out of it. did alot of training, kept showing, bought and sold alot of horses, had a boarding barn, and even owned a tack shop. it was fun for a few years then it got to be a drag like alot of jobs and ruined the fun part. still of all the things i enjoyed the most was running cattle and trail riding. it's probably a little better than bike riding, cuz if you have a trustworthy horse you can take off in the woods by yourself, and there ain't nothing like being close to nature with just you and your buddy under you. i had some really good horses that were a joy to ride. now i'm down to one horse and the urge seems to have gone away to ride, i still ride but not often. now i love riding my bikes more than i ever have in my life. and met alot of fine people because of it. but my memories are still there of all the fun i had with my favorite horse of all time herman. had to put him down seveal years ago and i still miss him. in fact i am sitting here starting to cry, sorry about that. darn that was tough to write.thanks for letting me share a great memory. bill
FreezyRider Posted October 29, 2008 #28 Posted October 29, 2008 Having raised 4 kids in the sticks of upper Michigan and having tasted the freedom of our great country with one of them at a time on the back of my scoot has always brought about thoughts simular to the starter of this threads thoughts.. Up before dawn, breakfast of fruit from the bag hanging on the antenna,, ride the prairie/mountain two tracks,, stop and pan gold for a few hours,, pull into a small western town about 1 hour east of Jackson Hole Wyoming.. Can feel the dirt on my neck cracking as I turn my head to answer the lady with the Cowboy hat on behind the counter.. Yes mam,, gallon a water - box of granola - bag of Jerky and just a minute,,,,, Wahooo (daughters bike name she earned by making it 4000 miles without complaining) - you want some gummy bears (her fav).. Sure Dad she says - I smile at her when she smiles at my question cause she is COVERED in prairie dust and her eyes look like racoon eyes where her goggles left em clean... After we pay for our gas and groceries we meandor back out to the old 84 Royale that just cleared 135,000 miles on the ode.. Having learned longggg ago that you always saddle up from the right side, my daughter headed that way.. About that time a Cowboy riding a gorgeous Mustang all solid in dark brown color except for 3 white feet comes around the corner of the old building we just walked out of.. The old guy smiled at us, tied his reigns to a hitching post beside the building and walked over to Wahoo and I.. He asked where we were from. My daughter being only 12 was still shy and she kinda winced at me like we were in some kind of trouble.. I pulled my googles back off (dont always wear them but on this particular day it was REAL windy and prairier dust in the eyes aint much fun) and told him we were from Michigan.. He asked how long we had been out - 17 days I said.. He said it looks like you two Cowboys are having a blast.. I told him that he was right on target and I told him thanks for the compliment of calling us Cowboys.. He said that it has been MANY years since he had actually seen folks like us that still practiced the real art of Cowboying and that it did his heart good to meet us.. I asked exactly what that meant to him.. He said he could tell by looking at our bike and us that we didnt take to moteling and that the water jug hanging from the antenna and bag of apples under the jug told him we also probably lived off the land and only came back to civilization when necessary - I smiled and told him he was very observant.. He asked what I would do if we were miles back in the mountain and the bike died.. I laughed and said,, what would you do if you were miles back on your ranch and your horse died?? He said he would walk out.. I told him that I had always told the kids that if we did get into a broken bike to the point that I couldnt fix it that we would give the bike to some Indian kid and take a bus home - he laughed and said "you know what - just from the little bit I have talked to you I can tell you are serious - and I was... I also told him that he was correct about not being motelers either,,,, that there is just NOTHING like riding morning till dark and dropping the bag on the desert floor whereever you happen to be after riding 16 hours... He laughed and asked my daugher if she got bored sitting back there... She smiled and said "life with my dad has never been boring.. That all REALLY happened back in the early 90's.. Fast forward to last year... My other daughter was home for the summer from Medical School (Manhatten/Cornell) and she chose to do a 3 weeker out to Sturgis and then Montana on the bike instead of flying to Europe.. It had been several days of hard prairie riding on two tracks, and we ran into a couple of Lakota Indian women at a Farm fueling station out in the middle of nowwhere.. They had a little boy with them about 6 years old that couldnt take his eyes off us.. I walked over to him, wiped some of the dirt off my face and smacked my pants so the dust flew off and you could see blue jeans again.. He was well trained and didnt answer me when I asked where he was from.. His mom smiled at me and told me they had a farm about 20 miles away that they raised miniture horses on.. She then says "so where you two cowboys from".. My daughter told her and the ensuiing discussion lasted over 2 hours.. In the end we got invited to thier farm for dinner and offered a barn to sleep in ANYTIME we wanted to stop!!! I do agree with JT about the real Cowboy issue.. Years ago I did a 2 month journey up into Nova Scotia then down the coast,,, coming up out of Texas and across Nebraska shortcutting to Washington State to visit a family friend I did some real digging into finding the ol Chisom Trail... If you dig around a little you can still find monuments that have been placed that show the actual route that REAL Cowboys did their thing... If you do as I do and spend some time sleeping on the earth in those areas you will be SHOCKED at how difficult those guys had it.. The "trail" runs across our country on the east side of the Rockies - do you know what that means??? Muggy - so muggy at night you cant breath , sticky, bug laden, heat and then dont forget those cattle drives were HUGE so STINKY they did!! There is a spot on the red river that Cowboys used to push those grass eaters across and while the cows were crossing the cowboys used to walk across the river on the cows backs - NO SMALL UNDERTAKING for sure.... Anyway,,, even though real cowboying is gone forever I still lean more toward that philosophy way more then the whole "biker" ideal and always have,,, guess its just a flaw in my charector.. Cowpuc Cowpuc, Thanks for sharing your stories. I always read your posts....You have lived a fascinating life. Reading things like this causes a hidden stirring in my soul. Maybe a "suppressed cowboy" lives there! Thanks again! Joe
PITBULL Posted October 29, 2008 #29 Posted October 29, 2008 You mean "real cowboys" aint the ones with the big trucks hanging out the the bar getting one too many Coors Lights in 'em and gettin beat up????????
Squidley Posted October 29, 2008 #30 Posted October 29, 2008 I think you might be on to something!!!! Thats my favorite David Mann pic there Maveric
Ladyrider Posted October 29, 2008 #31 Posted October 29, 2008 Cowboys are hunks, but bikers are the big hunk(s)...they are big, bad, soft and cuddly....mmmm...ahhh...yea...did I tell you I miss riding? oh ya, lets see cowboys...bikers...cowboys...bikers...I will take BIKERS! Now lets ride!
dray Posted October 30, 2008 #32 Posted October 30, 2008 http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/drayco58/cowboy-1.jpg?t=1225324904 ya i can see squid as a cowboy now!
Sailor Posted October 30, 2008 #33 Posted October 30, 2008 Bikers are also like sailors. When you are out on the water it is just you and your sailboat. When it gets rough it is just you and your skills and boat against the elements. To sail and survive you can not just buck the tide, waves and wind, you must ride with them, like riding a horse or a bike. You must be in tune with the bike, boat or horse and work together.
KICKSHOT Posted October 30, 2008 #34 Posted October 30, 2008 I quess it depends on how you define cowboy. But I do relate to that when I ride. Load up my favorite mount, strap on my favorite shooting iron, and head out for where the wind takes me. Free to roam and partake in what I see fit. No boss, no rules, just road. Heck we even ride our motorcycles like the cowboys did. Feet forward, upright in the saddle and arms extended to the bars/reins. kickshot
cowpuc Posted October 30, 2008 #35 Posted October 30, 2008 Cowpuc, Thanks for sharing your stories. I always read your posts....You have lived a fascinating life. Reading things like this causes a hidden stirring in my soul. Maybe a "suppressed cowboy" lives there! Thanks again! Joe Thanks for the compliment Joe.. My wife of 28 years and a number of really close friends have been twisting my arm for a while now to staple all my ride stories together and create a book.. Another very close friend went behind my back and got with a designer and put together a cover/title and the like and gave it to my wife,,,,, the guy is always trying to stir up trouble.. All that said,,, I have told all of them over and over again that if I ever did actually persue such an honorable task that I would only do so because of responses like yours.. That "stirring of the soul" that your talking about is what 50 years of "Cowboy Biking" has always done for me so I KNOW how important it is in our lifes!! Thanks again!! You mean "real cowboys" aint the ones with the big trucks hanging out the the bar getting one too many Coors Lights in 'em and gettin beat up???????? Pitbull, I rode out to Lake Placid this past summer with my brother and some of his friends.. That group had to head home and I went off by myself exploring the mountains between Placid and my daughters house in Greenville SC.. I found all kinds of really cool stuff on that little weeklong jaunt to her place.. I found several real old abandoned coal mines, even strapped a classic vintage coal miners axe onto the front of my scoot that I found in the hills.. Found several old mountain shacks buried under Kudzu Vine and even found a couple real old car bodies on the side of a two track.. During that whole time I never did see one of them Cowboys your talking about..... Side note,,,, I did pass by a drinkin joint along the way that had a bunch of bikers sitting around drinkin but they didnt have any trail dust on em...
oldandcrotchety Posted October 30, 2008 #36 Posted October 30, 2008 I've rode both horse and bike, and I can say that not only do I prefer the "exhaust note" of the bike over the horse, I have never had a bike catch my back turned and bite me in the butt.
FreezyRider Posted October 30, 2008 #37 Posted October 30, 2008 Thanks for the compliment Joe.. My wife of 28 years and a number of really close friends have been twisting my arm for a while now to staple all my ride stories together and create a book.. Another very close friend went behind my back and got with a designer and put together a cover/title and the like and gave it to my wife,,,,, the guy is always trying to stir up trouble.. All that said,,, I have told all of them over and over again that if I ever did actually persue such an honorable task that I would only do so because of responses like yours.. That "stirring of the soul" that your talking about is what 50 years of "Cowboy Biking" has always done for me so I KNOW how important it is in our lifes!! Thanks again!! Well, puc-er man, if you EVER do publish that book, put me down for a copy! I'm itchin to read it already! Joe
FozzyUSN Posted October 31, 2008 #38 Posted October 31, 2008 Bikers are also like sailors. When you are out on the water it is just you and your sailboat. When it gets rough it is just you and your skills and boat against the elements. To sail and survive you can not just buck the tide, waves and wind, you must ride with them, like riding a horse or a bike. You must be in tune with the bike, boat or horse and work together. AMEN
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