Obviously I’ve let this particular creative outlet ‘go to seed’ (haven’t posted anything here in almost 4 years) but not because I lost interest or drifted off. Big changes, personal and industrial, kept the focus elsewhere, and any creative energy was channeled through other outlets–mainly commercial. I’d actually apologize, but only 3 people have ever even read this thing, so why bother right?

After the multi-location dealer I was with in the Treasure Coast area closed, I drifted south a bit and did a stretch with the retail wing of a the world’s biggest HD rental company, Eaglerider at their location in Fort Lauderdale. A total change of direction for me, at least in terms of the hardware. The people were terrific, and Fort Lauderdale was like another planet, at least compared to the sleepy retirement area we were in prior.

This led to a job with a start-up, Hurricane Cycles Miami Beach, sort of a hybrid rental/retail store located right in the thick of things in South Beach. It was an opportunity to operate a shop in an environment unlike anywhere I’ve been. We were an Eaglerider franchise, and rented Triumph, BMW, Honda, & Can-Ams; the retail space was kind of a mix of the usual metric shop stuff, with a mix of the ‘New-old-school’ brands that have recently taken hold, like Biltwell. Sadly (and I mean very sadly) the owner was not committed and just as we were starting to build momentum, quite suddenly pulled the plug.

So now, I find myself back on the beach, and it is definitely not South Beach. It is amazing here in Florida how drastically the motorcycle biz has contracted in the past 5 years or so, so my quest for a new position could become a little protracted. The absence of Shop ‘media commitments’ will hopefully allow me to express myself here, a little more bluntly, and totally without the commercial considerations.