DRIFTINDUSTRY

A Record of Drifting by Bri

[driftindustry]

Miss Behavin’ Columbus 2019

This past weekend was Miss Behavin’s 3rd annual event, held this year at Land Grant Brewing Company in Columbus, OH. I’m including some of my favorite shots taken by the talented Erika Gene Clark.

I got involved in working on this event about two years ago when Courtney Bryant, the main mind behind the magic, asked a few of her friends to be involved in helping out with her idea. Courtney was developing a platform where she could simultaneously celebrate females doing things that aren’t historically seen as very female while also promoting and supporting a charitable cause.

Miss Behavin’ promotes female riders and drivers through featuring them on social media and showcasing their cars and bikes at the annual event, in hopes it will inspire and encourage other females, of any age, to aspire to anything they want, regardless of gender biases. But equally important and at the core, it promotes and benefits non-profits and charities through generous donations from local businesses that are auctioned off at the annual event.

I remember attending Miss Behavin’ on year one at Seventh Son. That year they raised $328 for Peace for Paws. I think I might have met Courtney for the first time there. By the second year, I was involved and helping with planning and building a brand. Year two was held at North High Brewing in the rain, with a silent auction and a few local vendors selling goods. Despite the weather we had a good turnout and raised $1063 for Ruling Our Experiences.

This year, our chosen benefactor was Advocating Opportunity, who provides comprehensive services to women and men who have experienced sex or labor trafficking. Trafficking is a huge problem here in Ohio, and we were pleased to be able to raise over 2k in donations thanks to all of those who attended.

To boot, the crowd was huge and it was a rad ol’ time. I’ve never been a regular attendee to bike and car shows, but what was cool about Miss Behavin’ is that there was a little bit of everything there; from choppers to dirt bikes to vintage street cruisers and hot rods. I brought Uncle Rico out, my ’87 Ford E150 Fiesta Camper Van, with my 79’ XR 185 on the hauler, and left the doors open for folks to see my custom build. There’s something voyeuristic about watching people look at and talk about your ride with you standing there as the anonymous owner. I love seeing the reactions.

I gave one kid the grand tour, which takes a total of five minutes and consists of turning in a circle and pointing at the stove, the spice rack, the raccoon portrait, the fishing pole holders, the convertible couch / bed, the toy van on the van dashboard, and the 80′s/90′s dirt rider mural on the fridge front. It’s a point of pride, especially when I think of three years ago when I had it stripped bare and slowly started re-building the interior, mostly from scrap and donated material. Uncle Rico is an amazing machine, but he paled in comparison to the Firebird, Boss 302 and GMC Sierra Classic staring directly at him (I see you, ladies). And then those paled in comparison to the vintage Chevy truck parked across the alley. I should have brought my Falcon, but it has a track record of breaking down at Miss Behavin…it’s done so every damn year.

My 1990 Kawasaki KDX 200 was leaned against the brewery wall next to rows of bikes of all sorts. Choppers, vintage stock bikes, modern dirt bikes with sumo setups, dual sports, etc etc, but I was seeing so many familiar faces I barely had time to look at them. It’s inspiring to me to get to talk to other women that will rattle off every small detail about their own bikes with the same amount of enthusiasm and love that I have for mine, so my only regret from the event is not being able to spend more time doing that. Columbus has an amazing scene of female bike and car enthusiasts, and MissBehavin’ was definitely proof of the growing motorcycle community, both male and female.

Before I got into the planning and efforts of putting on Miss Behavin, I barely knew many of the women I know now through being involved. Since year one, it’s gone from “they” to “we” and now I call them close friends; women I reach out to for things, women that I hope know they can do the same to me, women that I hope I get to ride with more this coming year. And we’ve now all watched this event grow significantly in three years time. Not only because of our efforts but also because of a community of people all willing to give something to a bigger cause. That’s what it’s all about. Through Miss Behavin’, I’ve learned that the amount of time and effort it takes to plan and execute an event like this can only be met with relentless persistence. It sometimes seems like too much to take on. Until you’re there, at the event, and can catch a moment to really look around at the people, the bikes, the cars, and my sick van ; )

Then it all makes total sense.

If you didn’t make it this year, come out to Miss Behavin’ 2020.

And ride / drive in with your friends.

Miss Behavin’ Founder / creator: Courtney Bryant

Support Crew: Kelly Ortman, Andrea Kellett, Jennifer Marlatt, and me

Support Support Crew: Grant, Dan, Kyle, Tyler

Event Photographer (all photos seen in this post): Erica Gene Clark Photo

Donors:

Low Brow Customs

Rendevous Salon

CD 102.5

Brittney Farley

Cauldron Tattoo

Kumler Collision

The Table

Cafe Napolitana

Clawkeeper

Leslie Sharp

Turner’s Barbershop

Old Familiar Barbershop

Pinned Acupuncture and Wellness

Comune Restaurant

MiddleWest Spirits

Shoppe 815

Electric Soul Cycles

The Space Columbus

Parsons North Brewing Company

Digico

Kat Moya

Midwest Mermaid

Throttle Company

Passion Poor Taste

H&D Tools

Seel Made

Tough Luck

Vendors:

Seel Made

Throttle Company

Electric Soul Cycles

H&D Tools

Midwest Mermaid

Tough Luck

Thunderkiss Coffee

Clawkeeper

Pre-Party: by Pinned at Duecento

Event Host: Land Grant Brewing

After Party Host: Parsons North Brewing

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Ireland Moto Trip Day 06/07

Cliffs of Moher, pool sharks of Shannon, the End

Day 06 was a shorter 120km ride from Cliffs of Moher and back, and that was a pretty good distance considering we stayed at the cliffs for a couple hours. The main area was gated and you had to pay to enter, so they were a completely different experience from the Slieve cliffs, but still breathtaking.

Once you get to the cliffs, you can either head south or north, towards O’Brien’s tower. We headed north and found out you can actually walk the cliffs past the park grounds, where signs are posted everywhere that you’re entering at your own risk. It was pretty windy that day, and I was amazed at how many people were walking along these skinny dirt paths and out onto the cliffs edge (I mean, so did we). It wasn’t until after we all took turns sitting on the edge that we saw the signs talking about how the cliffs have been crumbling in recent years. There were 12 deaths in the past year alone. I’m always conflicted when I hear about deterioration of places like this. I’m sure some of it is naturally occurring over time, but the extreme amount of human foot traffic is no doubt contributing, and that makes me sad even though I’m one of the people walking through it. It was nonetheless an amazing sight to see and I was glad this was one of the last places we visited before our trip came to an end.

We rode back to Bunratty a little earlier than we had been ending rides, because it was most likely going to rain again that evening and after two days in the rain we didn’t feel like getting caught in it again if we could help it. Our last stop before pulling in the bikes for the night was at the Bunratty Meadery, where we all got to try the local meade and the Irish version of moonshine, called Poteen. It’s made from barley. I came home with a bottle, naturally.

We got cleaned up at the villa and ride into a neighboring town, Shannon, for our last dinner together in Ireland. I doubled up with Ty for the night, and we stayed to play a few games of pool with some locals. It was a rare night indeed - I completely sucked and Ty carried us to save face for the American doubles team ; )

The next morning we hung around town for a while, touring the local historical village and getting our last conversations in with the animals. Goats, deer, chicken, pigs, and some really cool Irish wolf hounds. We took the highway back to Celtic Rider to save time. Nobody in the group really enjoys highway riding as much as back roads. The views definitely aren’t as interesting. But I personally don’t mind a straight 70km cruise from time to time. As long as I’m on a bike, I’m pretty dang happy.

10/10 loved it. See ya Ireland. Maybe never again. There’s so many places to explore!!!

[driftindustry]

Ireland Moto Trip Day 05

Westport to Bunratty in THE RAIN

We woke pretty early without much sleep. Two surfers were out on the beach, probably from the van parked across the cove. They didn’t take too many passes before heading back in - it was pretty cold out and I can only imagine how cold the water was. We were able to make coffee and breakfast and pack up the camp gear without rain, which was so key. After looking at a map, we decided it didn’t make much sense to ride back to Westport to meet mom and dad because it was going to take us two hours just to get to their first stop at Dunquaire Castle en route to our next destination, Bunratty. So we texted the plan to meet them at the castle and hit the road again. Then it poured again. I mean like really fucking poured. I was freezing by the time we stopped for gas about 20km out from the castle. Despite the heated grips on the F700 my hands were completely numb (I had on two layers of gloves - one inner layer I use for extremely cold weather snowboarding days and one outer layer of armored leather). My Fox dirt riding boots had collected an actual pool of water inside them by this time. Even the inside of my helmet was wet because I had to vent it to prevent fogging. We had all rented Klim gear from Celtic Rider - jacket and pants to try out for the ride. And it proved to be far superior to any road riding gear I’ve had in the past. And this day tested it’s threshold. My core was completely dry. What Klim gear can’t do is protect your ass from a completely soaked sheepskin seat. Write that down.

A little clip from leaving the camp site and riding to Dunquaire that day:

We finally got to Dunquiare Castle and somehow beat my mom and dad. We found out later they had tried to take a quicker route to get there, and got led THREE times to a road that no longer existed. The first word out of my dad’s mouth when we saw him was “miserable”. I’m laughing now, but at the time it actually was pretty rough. Once we found out the castle was completely outdoors and there was no place to escape the rain, we all said screw castles and decided to just hammer the remaining 80km out to Bunratty on the closest highway we could find.

A completely soaked GoPro and soggy sheephide seat.

In Bunratty we were staying at a place called Bunratty Villa; more of a family-run Inn than a hotel, outside of town in the countryside. It was beautiful, and I was soaked and frozen but all I needed was a nice drink. No bar. Ok a hot shower and then we’d ride into town for a drink. No hot water in the room. For a brief moment I wanted to bail and go to the next town where I could find an actual hotel with an actual bar and actual hot showers, I was SO COLD. But we all dried off, the rain miraculously stoped and we walked the 15 minute walk into town for dinner at Durty Nellies, a bar that had been there since the 1600s (and I stopped being a baby). I’m not sure whether my dad ate more there or on the way there - he obsessively picks blackberries any time he sees them and the streets there were lined with them in every direction. We made a few stops at gas stations and gift shops to pick up some alcohol so our rooms could be properly stocked in the absence of a bar. The family running Bunratty Villa were so extremely nice that it made up for anything originally bothering me. They took all our soaked clothes to wash and dry them, and even hung my sheepskin out on a line to dry.

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Ireland Moto Trip Day 04

Kylemore Abbey and remote beach camping

Our Celtic Rider description for Day 4 said it would “possibly rank as one of the most enjoyable rides of your life” so we were pretty stoked for the route that took us through Maam Cross and the Partry Mountains and onto the “Sky Road”. We stopped in Roundstone Coastal Village after I saw a shop with sheepskins hanging over the front railing and decided my bike seat needed an upgrade. 

I’ve seen older riders with sheepskins on their seats before and always kind of laughed at the addition, but I’m telling you it was like sitting on a fluffy cloud. Until it rained, and then it was like sitting on a wet sheep. And it rained, and didn’t stop. We couldn’t see more than 15 feet in front of us for most of the ride into Kylemore Abbey, so who knows if it lives up to the Celtic Rider hype. But luckily everyone was laughing about it. While parked and drying off, an older guy came over to ask about the bikes and started reminiscing about his years competing in trails riding all over the world. He rode Bultacos and Montessas, and I was wishing my dad hadn’t walked ahead before we ran into this guy - they would have had a lot to talk about. Those moments are some of my favorites as a rider. Anyone that’s ridden has a story and a good memory; they always serve as ice breakers and a common language between strangers. We found out from several folks that dirt riding isn’t very popular in Ireland. No-one really had a proper explanation for it, just that it never really took off there. I wonder if it’s because so much of the land is privately owned farmland. It’s definitely not because of the lack of terrain.

My mom was adamant about wanting to stop at Kylemore Abbey, and it took us some work to actually find it, but it was so worth the stop. 

The Abbey dated back to the 1860s when it was built by Mitchell Henry when his new bride fell in love with Ireland, and then she tragically died of dysentery after a trip to Africa. The Abbey went through several hands of ownership in its lifetime, and operated as a school and now a Benedictine nunnery. Henry built his empire there, keeping massive walled gardens and greenhouses running, and giving employment to Irish workers that had just suffered though famine and a cholera epidemic. It’s pretty unbelievable to get a glimpse into how these people lived at the time. The walled gardens and greenhouses were only partly restored, but you could imagine just how immense the whole place was in its prime. The castle itself was set up similar to how it would have been in the 1800s, with extremely lavish furniture and dinnerware. Not really my thing - I just kept thinking about how much it would suck to have to clean that whole place. I’d take the gardener’s house with three rooms any day (add a giant garage, please)

Tyler and I split off after Kylemore Abbey and put coordinates into the Garmin for what we thought might be a spot to camp. We had done a ton of searching online, and Tyler found a spot south of Westport on the coast, that was supposed to be one of the few “wild camping” spots in Ireland. The coordinates (which I won’t share unless you have a secret spot to trade) led us down another rural road, the kind that is paved but has a strip of grass running down the center. Pretty common in Ireland. It was still raining, enough so that I had to ride past a turn Tyler was making because I was sliding on the wet road when braking. 

By the time we found the sand path out to the beach, the rain had slowed down and we could see a car coming out from one of the paths, so we decided to take that one. Slowly. It led us around a few bends and then straight onto a cove looking over the North Atlantic. There were a few vans parked out there but no-one else in site otherwise. It felt pretty good to pull out the camping gear and set up so we could see the ocean and the bikes from our tent. Definitely a dream of mine, and I was so happy we did it. We got to hike around the rocks by the cove a little before it started raining again. If anything had been dry enough to have a fire, we probably would have gotten in the water. But everything was completely soaked. One bottle of wine and a weed pen later, we both agreed one more bottle would have been perfection.

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Ireland Moto Trip Day 03

Donegal to Wesport - Minnaun Cliffs, random churches, and failed camping attempts

We got a late start to Day 3 and probably didn’t take off from Donegal until around noon. We were still working out the kinks of packing in the best way. Because Tyler and I were hoping to find a camp spot, we unpacked our hard cases every night and repacked the next day even if we were staying in the same hotel. Once we got our bags organized in a better way, we were able to only take a few things in each night, and leave most of the camp gear locked on the bike.  Before we even got to our first official stop at Minnaun Cliffs, we saw a random abandoned church and stopped to explore. Those are my favorite types of spots and this one had been abandoned for a long time. The walls were still completely in tact but there was no roof, and full size trees were growing inside the old church. We climbed a pretty sketchy ladder in the tower to get a better view from the top. Even though the church was abandoned, some of the graves were as new as 2016. Not a bad place to be buried, if you’re into that sort of thing. You could see for miles.

Our next stop was Ceide Field Neolithic site and Minnaun Cliffs. The overlook was pretty stunning and my dad could not get over how there were cows at pasture all the way out to the cliffs edge, meaning some farmer owned that land. Most of Ireland is farmland or preserved historic buildings, so we were excited to be riding into Ballycroy National Park, where Tyler and I split off convinced we could find a camp spot. It turns out Ireland’s national parks are much different than ours and are mainly for preservation, not viewing or camping. We had read online that it was indeed legal to camp as long as you were 40 meters from a road. But….there were no roads leading into the park. We took gravel road after gravel road and kept ending up at farm properties and remote houses with no crossings into Ballycroy. We were kicking ourselves for not yet having the GoPro properly set up - we had to stop for at least four cows in the middle of the roads, and the farmers didn’t seem to happy about us being on their roads.

We finally found a dirt road that looked promising - except for the steel barrier keeping us from crossing. Tyler managed to get one of the bikes around it (not without difficulty) so we doubled up to ride down the road and see where it led. We almost went down together a few times trying to get through some of the sandier stretches of road. It didn’t really seem to lead anywhere in particular. We found an old abandoned house and barn and decided to go back to the other bike and make a final plan for the night. At this point the flies, or whatever they were, were so thick you could barely put your helmet on without getting them trapped inside. We couldn’t tell whether this road was part of the park, or just outside the boundaries. We really wanted to camp but ultimately made the decision to ride onto the hotel, not knowing whether we’d wake up to a pissed off farmer or not.

We rode past Clew Bay into Wesport while the sun was setting, and the pictures don’t come close to doing it justice. I was leading for part of that night ride, until I came around a corner with a high embankment on the left and just missed hitting a sheep that was huddled up right next to the road. I made Tyler lead the rest of the way so he could risk being the sheep murderer ; ) 

By the time we got to the Wyatt Hotel in Westport, I was completely beat. The route that day was 250km but with all the searching we had done I imagine we rode about 350km on back roads and gravel. It doesn’t seem like much by American standards, but it is when the roads are so narrow that oncoming traffic is an actual threat. That night we decided to do our proper research, determined not to leave Ireland without one night in a tent.

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Ireland Moto Trip Day 02

Glenveagh National Park and Slieve League Cliffs

It rains a lot in Ireland. We knew this. But our first whole day of riding was absolutely perfect. It sprinkled for maybe 15 minutes or so the whole day, and the sun even came out a few times. The first few days of riding, it took a lot of concentration to just remember the differences in traffic. Look right, stay left. Sounds easy, but it really does take intense concentration to break years of habit. It wasn’t until day three or so that we were all comfortable with the change. And I was also getting used to what it felt like to ride a touring bike. I don’t have many four strokes, and definitely nothing that weighs as much as a fully packed BMWF700GS. Getting used to the engine brake, and riding a bike that was heavy enough that pulling the throttle in made me speed up was enough to completely occupy my mind during the 226 km of day 2. Tyler led for most of the day, and ended up leading for the majority of the trip. He’s such a good rider - his pace was always perfect for the road and level of traffic, so it made sense for him to take the lead. 

The route was incredible. I’ve never seen country side so lush. You could feel the history everywhere, and our first stop at Glenveagh Castle solidified that. Set within the Derryveagh Mountains, we spent a good two hours walking around the castle grounds, which I found much more interesting than the castle itself.

We rode past Errigal mountain, and took a couple stops to get some photos on the way the Slieve League Cliffs, Ireland’s highest sea cliffs. This ended up being one of my favorite stops of the trip. The cliffs are a bit difficult to get to via a winding mountain road. There was a gate at the road, which in Ireland doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t enter - it’s just there to keep livestock in. It had already been opened by others on that day, so we rode straight in. We rode up to a small top parking area before getting off the bikes to climb the rest of the way. 

The Slieve Cliffs are obviously a popular spot, but not commercialized. No gates or payment required. Just get there and explore. I loved it. We spent several hours wandering around. There were sheep everywhere, which started a trip-long obsession to try to pet one. Irish sheep aren’t very interested in humans. But they definitely know the best landscapes. We hiked out to a watchtower on one of the cliffs that was surrounded by more sheep shit than I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t blame them. That’s where I’d hang out all the time, too. The views were insane.

On the way back to Donegal we stopped in Killybegs. a fishing port, to have dinner. It’s Ireland’s largest port, and still has more charm and character than even the smallest ports in the states. Returning to Donegal, Tyler and I parked in the town square, where several other bikes were parked after the day’s ride. The street parking gets really crowded - my dad had woken up that morning to a van parked a literal inch away from his bike. We didn’t even know how he could've fit in there without moving the bike. We spoke with a few local folks that said it shouldn’t be a problem to just park the bikes in the square all night. I wish the states would be more accommodating to bikes like that. 

That evening, the bars were packed for Saturday night. Tyler and I found a spot off the square a little bit with a pool table and we shot a couple games. It’s a lot different there, and I remembered playing this way in France years ago. The balls are not numbered - they’re yellow or red, and smaller than typical pool balls (along with the pockets). A scratch gives your opponent two shots on their next play. I smoked Tyler that first night, but he would be the one carrying us a few nights later playing doubles with some rowdy locals. 

[driftindustry]

Ireland Moto Trip Day 01

Arrival in Dublin, Ireland

I’m breaking up my recent motorcycle trip through Ireland by day to post. Here’s how it all went down. 

We took a red eye flight to Dublin, with plans to taxi immediately to Celtic Rider in Kildare and hop on our bikes. With a three hour delay and flight complications, we were pressed for time when we arrived at Celtic Rider at 10am. Paul from Celtic Rider had us set up efficiently and it didn’t take long for us to have our suitcases re-packed into the hard cases on the bikes. This was the first time I’d be riding a bike with this much luggage on board and I was a little nervous about the weight and height. At 110 lbs wet, bikes don’t often even know I’m there. My dirt bike seat height sits at 36.5” and with a lowered BMWF700GS the 30” seat height proved to be no problem at all. I was amazed at how much we could actually pack into two side cases and one top case. Tyler and I were also dragging along camping gear even though the plan was to stay in hotels. We were hell-bent on finding spots to camp in Ireland en route. So we had tent, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, cook set and MRE’s to fit along with our clothes. With one extra bag strapped to the back of Tyler’s bike, we had it all on board.

Paul from Celtic Rider set out with us for an hour long introduction to riding in Ireland. He was incremental in helping get us used to riding on the opposite side of the road, understanding the road signs, which vary quite a bit from American signs, and then he sent us on our way.

Our 7 day trip was self guided, with Garmins set by Celtic Rider to take us from one destination to the next. We also had a printed guide, describing suggested stops and places to see along the way. I was really into this setup - I’ve taken guided trips before and while you do learn quite a bit more with an actual guide, the sense of freedom to be able to set your own schedule and veer off course is taken away. And that’s one of the things I love most about traveling. From Celtic Rider we set out to make the 223 km trip to Donegal. Because of our late arrival, we basically had to book it to the destination. But “booking it” in Ireland, especially when you’re staying off the freeways, takes a long time. A 200km ride on back roads can take you all day, and we learned this pretty quickly. 

I led most of the first day, with Tyler next and my dad and mom in the back. Ireland uses roundabouts more than traffic lights, which keeps things flowing a lot better than having to stop all the time. But it took some getting used to to understand which lane to be in on the approach. I had to sneak in between cars a couple times on the first day after starting off in the wrong lane. I was super happy with the handling of the F700 already - for it’s weight it was still super nimble and responsive.

Not being able to make stops on the first ride day didn’t really matter much, I was too pre-occupied with the insanely beautiful scenery and the repeating thought of “holy shit I’m riding a fucking motorcycle through Ireland” A good start to the trip. We got to Donegal right before sundown, and our hotel, The Central Hotel, was right in the center of the town square. The Olde Castle Resturant, a short walk form our hotel, gave us our first taste of traditional Irish food; lots of seafood, locally raised meats and veg, and lots of Irish whiskey. I won’t talk about the food much, but know that it’s incredible.

[driftindustry]

Months ago I promised posts of my current design project and it's progress, but after what has seemed like an eternity of battles with city zoning, a loss of about 60 phone photos of projects in process, and countless hours of mistakes and re-do's, I've failed to make that happen. But in an attempt to get back on the blogging track, here's what I've been up to. And yes, the plane propeller ceiling fan is still to come. My house. My blank slate. My work shop. It's starting to take shape.

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So my blog is going to be taking a bit of a different route over the next...ohh I dunno....2 years. Because I am going to be consumed with a current project I'm working on: my house. About a year ago I bought a building - a small warehouse of sorts - and decided to turn it into a live/work studio. And here I am, a year later, still in the construction process. The video shown here is the original vision I modeled for the space, and the photos show where I am in the process right now as far as the exterior and interior walls / HVAC / electrical / plumbing. As for finishing the space, furniture, etc....I'll be doing most of the work myself. I have no idea how long it will take me, but the goal for me is to not purchase anything new. I'll be finding used items or building all of the interior components myself. Posts coming in the following months will cover everything from custom wooden bathtubs to WWII plan propeller ceiling fans to exterior pulley systems.

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Last weekend Louisville Vintage Motorworks took a ride to Wigwam Village in Cave City. Vintage bikes in a vintage setting. It doesn't get much better. See all the photos here.

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Photos of AMA vintage motorcycle days. See the rest here.

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I went to Illinois for Chicago, but fell in love with the outskirts of the city. I have a thing for old signs like this one.

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Summer always makes me want to travel again. Wyoming was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and I truly miss it.