Thanks to a new channel on my Direct TV, called MAVTV, I have had to watch
Easy Rider three times in the past two weeks. I somehow find myself drawn again
and again to the sound of the exhaust, and the charisma of a road trip on two
wheels. But this time, after remembering certain roads they travelled, I
wondered if they looked familiar from repeated viewings, or had I ridden them?
So thanks to www.mrzip66.com, I was able to
see where Wyatt’s and Billy’s ride to Mardi Gras took them, and retrace some of
it myself. It seems I have ridden most of their route over the years, and that
is why it looks so familiar. True the opening scene at LAX is forgettable, not
my idea of a ride, but I remember taking John to the airport in 1975 via surface
streets, and riding past the end of the runways with planes overhead shaking his
car. But from there they went by cage, in a 1958-60 Ford pickup, and spent the
night in Ballarat, on the way to Death Valley. Close to where the Manson Family
hid out at a movie ranch. Never been there, but close, and I can see them
riding down 395 past the Trona exit, then 58 into Barstow, then taking RT. 66
east, no I-40 at the time. Going through Daggett, Ludlow, past Roy’s in Amboy
and continuing east, I have ridden it many times. Past Needles, the worst place
on earth, and then to Kingman, where we have spent many the first night on trips
leaving So Cal. Leaving town north by northeast on 66, I have paced the freight
trains at 80mph, before heading past Valentine, Truxton, and Hackberry Springs,
before again entering civilization in Seligman, where Angel Delgadillo still
advertises Dead Chicken and serves up soft serve on hot days. So far, you are
still in the credits of the movie, but it all looks familiar-all 500 miles of
it-even the bridge across the Colorado, except your eastern view is just the
opposite of the Joad’s view of Rt.66. Great riding, no cars, history, and
historical.
You have passed through Williams, and past Bellmont, where the Harley
Dealer runs a café, and the motel that flashed NO VACANCY to them still stands,
just not in business anymore in this biker friendly environment. Then there is
Flagstaff, where we separate from Rt.66, heading north on US 89, to US 160. A
road we have taken too many times form our home in Durango, and across the
Navajo Reservation, with side trips through Monument Valley. Again I had passed
the Sacred Mountain station where Billy got upset when Luke Askew filled Wyatt’s
tank, it is still there. And then into New Mexico, where we skip to the Taos
are, which back then was a rough tough redneck town, and Dennis Hopper was even
the mayor for awhile. Today an artist’s colony with boutique motels, but just
45 years ago martial law. And it also takes me back to my first Christmas with
Theresa, going to Taos Pueblo, on the reservation, and watching them shoot guns
in a ceremony while taking pictures, which afterwards we found out to be
illegal. Driving a Pacer, a demo car from work. How things change. Which is
why Easy Rider had to build a hippie commune because no photos allowed in Arroyo
Hondo. No wonder their skinny dipping in the hot springs looked familiar, it
too in the Taos area, near Rio Grande Gorge. Roads I have travelled so many
times, brought back to life via the movie. Then into Las Vegas, NM, where they
get busted for parading without a permit, no wonder it looked familiar. Still
looks the same today, been by the jail many times, just never in it. And from
there through the Pecos Wilderness, and to Amarillo, again on a road I have
ridden, I believe it is NM 104. With a stop at Lamy with my last Torches ride,
to see the train station where we picked up my parents in 1982, shades of Bad
Day at Black Rock, except Black Rock was bigger. Why build a train station in
the middle of nowhere? Maybe hoping it would become a Las Vegas. Then to
Amarillo via Tucumcari, back on old 66, where I spent a night at the Holiday Inn
when moving west in 1975, and again 30 years later on Torches. Same biker
friendly folks who let me put my R90S inside away from the storm.
At that point it is across Texas, we lose track until the rednecks in
Louisiana. When first moved west I travelled US 287 into Amarillo, just the
opposite of Billy and Wyatt. And we have ridden across Texas on US 70, passing
through towns only locals visit, and having dinner one night in a Tex Mex local
diner,the only real Mexican food. Marked with non-matching silverware, plates,
and great cooking. All served with a smile, not unsuspecting like in
Louisiana. Rednecks today are a common sight, back then a CAT Diesel hat meant
danger, today it means trendy. Then to New Orleans, which reminds me of
Savannah, Georgia, its sister city, where I have walked among the tombstones,
buried above ground. I can still feel the humidity, and the sounds of the mills
in the background. I can still feel the fear of gong through the south in 1974,
not yet 20, with the visions of Easy Rider in my head. No place for this long
haired freak, but that is another story.
And I have ridden down roads, past levees that look so familiar, where two
rednecks want to just scare two bikers, ending in death. A scene in the movie,
although I know it is coming, still catches me off guard. And leaves me in
shock. Sadly they never found what they were after, to quote Pearl, “freedom’s
just another word for nothing left to lose.” Billy thought they had made it, to
retire in Florida, after cashing out, making the big score. Wyatt knew better,
and I look back at his tossing of the watch in Ballarat, and his comment of
being hip to time. They had searched, but hadn’t found. They had looked for
the peace but it still escaped them. And I thought of myself, just before I met
Christ, having the same values and goals, just wanting to ride free, and for
free. But learning that freedom comes with a price, and only in Jesus will you
be truly free. That no road except the one that leads to Him will get you
there, all others are just part of your testimony. But that when you finally
arrive, you know it, and can look back at how Jesus guided you even before you
were saved. We used to tell “Jesus doesn’t make people freaks, He makes freaks
into people.” I am one. But as a new creation in Christ, I still have a past
that I look back on, if only to show me how far I have come. And as I look
back, the roads I’ve ridden had value with Him, before they were just a way to
get to where I was going. Now every ride has value, and meaning, just because
Jesus is along. I can see where drugs led so many to destruction, and how
dropping out as so many hippies did was only for a season, until they sobered
up, got jobs, and became part of the establishment they resented. It seems true
revenge is having to look back on who you were, and God’s ultimate revenge is
salvation. Allowing you to become what you once detested, and enjoying it.
Giving life to one who was dead, and now alive thanks to Christ. And the
ability of looking back, and sharing your testimony of how far you have come.
And how far you have to go, with heaven the ultimate destination.
In Easy Rider two riders sought that heaven through earthly goods and
experiences. Only to come up short. Which leaves the movie with a sad and
honest ending. But in Christ we go on, with more roads to travel, places to
eat, and people to meet. Time well spent on the road of life, best with your
best friend along side you on a motorcycle. And although my ride has not been
easy, that is where I am today. Riding with my two best friends, Jesus and
Theresa. A trip that began some 38 years ago, but actually earlier, some 44
years ago in a movie theatre. Watching a movie that turned out to be my goal in
life. But this time having a happy ending in Christ. America is out there.
May all your rides be as fruitful, but never too easy. The not so easy roads of
a real easy rider, riding in Christ.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthw25biker.blogspot.com