Ride with Norman Reedus (2016) s01e03 Episode Script

1 I mean, how can I say no to a custom porta-potty? Wow, dude, this is amazing.
If I just stick my face in that and inhale, will I be drunk? - Do it.
- We came from Atlanta.
- We went up to Dragon's Tail.
- What? We did Blue Ridge.
I've never seen anything like it.
We're all we got.
I can't think of anything that we did that wasn't awesome.
(theme music playing) Reedus: My first time, I was 13.
I borrowed my buddy's YZ80, and I sped off to my junior high school to show off.
I was riding a wheelie on a hill when, bam, I hit a bump, went airborne, flipped over backwards, and came down hard.
They took me to the hospital and stitched up my knee.
Soon as I was out, though, I was back on that hill.
Half hour later, I was back in that hospital.
That's the thing about bikes.
Once you start, you just can't stop.
They connect you to the road.
The road, that connects you to everything else.
(motor revving) It's that mentality that draws riders from all around the country to Appalachia.
This area is a biker's dream, and I can't believe I've never found the time to experience it.
From Atlanta, I'm heading north into some of the most beautiful roads in the South.
Along the way, I plan on hitting the Fontana Dam, riding the famous Dragon, then heading up the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way to Asheville, North Carolina.
I know some places along the way that specialize in BMWs, Ducatis, and vintage Harleys.
It's a mecca for gearheads out there.
I'm starting out at Brother Moto, a cool motorcycle co-op in East Atlanta.
First things first, I had to pick up my friend Jason who's gonna go on the ride with me.
- Crazy bike right here.
- Yo! - Hey, what's up, man? - What's up, Bubba? - Some coffee for you.
- Thanks, dude.
Nice to see you, man.
Morning.
- Doing all right? - I'm good, dude.
Reedus: Jason Paul Michaels is a custom bike builder.
By the time he was seven years old, he was already modifying his lawnmower-powered mini bike to increase the air intake.
A kid after my own heart.
He's a good friend who knows these roads inside and out.
We're going up to Blue Ridge Parkway.
I keep hearing stories how awesome it is.
Dude, it's stunning.
Like the vistas when you're on the road, I mean, it's just beautiful.
Everywhere you look it's just mountains and the skyline.
- I mean, it's fantastic.
- Wow.
- Have you ridden that yet? - No, I've never been up there at all.
Va-va-va-vow.
Like guys will just blow by you at 100 miles an hour.
- It's insane.
- Really? Wow.
I've heard that (bleep) gets crazy when the sun goes down.
A little bit of whiskey.
Maybe jumping through some fire.
- Like burnouts.
- Ruh-roh.
- Should be good.
- Yeah, that sounds fun.
Reedus: Is this your ride right here? Michaels: Yeah, dude.
The Motus.
This thing is insane.
They're made in the USA.
Alabama, to be specific.
It's essentially like an LS 350 Chevrolet minus four cylinders.
So it's a Chevy engine chopped in half - and put in this motorcycle? - Basically.
- Wow, dude.
This is crazy.
- Yup.
There's, like, over 800 patents just on the motor alone.
- Check this monster out.
- Yeah, dude, the Confederate, man.
- The Hellcat.
- It's so pretty, this bike.
And it's got so much power behind it, too.
It's nimble, man.
I mean, look at that.
They opened all the gears, the cam, everything.
The frame doesn't completely cradle the engine.
The engine actually becomes part of the frame.
This is full, ground up, everything is original.
- Very cool.
Very cool.
- Show me your spot.
- Brother Moto.
- These guys are awesome.
It's a co-op.
Let me get my coffee back.
- Hey, that's mine.
- Oh, is that yours? Yeah.
Michaels: You can come in, you can rent a space.
Work on your bike.
It's just like a little hub.
- Oh, there's Cat.
Good to see you.
- Good to see you.
- This is Norman.
- Hi, nice to meet you.
I'm Cat.
- Norman, nice to meet you.
- Good to see you.
- What's up? Hey, Meg.
How are you? - Nice to meet you.
So these girls are part of a club called the Lady Fingers.
- Like the donut.
- Yeah, like the donut.
- Exactly like that.
- So we're going for a ride.
We figured we'd start at Brother Moto.
What better way to start a ride? Brother Moto was started by a couple of great guys, Jared and Bobby, and it's a really awesome motorcycle co-op.
It's really kind of brought together the motorcycle community here, which is amazing.
They're great guys.
Great place.
Wow, tell me something what's this bike back here? This little monster.
This this looks like a little Yamaha dirt shredder.
Somebody had fun on that.
It's covered in mud.
- This BMW is cool, too.
- Oh, sick.
- Can I take pictures in here? - Yeah.
(shutter clicking) Thanks for having us, yeah.
Yeah, it was a pleasure, yeah.
(motors revving) Reedus: For me, riding is about exploration, adventure, and meeting salt of the earth people.
The folks at Brother Moto are solid people looking out for their community.
The perfect intro to this trip.
Reedus: So I thought we'd head up to Ellijay, Georgia.
It's about 80 miles north.
Michaels: Whatever you say, man.
I'm just following you.
Reedus: First I want to hit up Apex Cycle Shop.
They work on vintage BMWs and Ducatis.
- You ever been to this place? - No, I've heard of it, though.
Reedus: Our first stop is Apex Cycle Shop a legendary place that specializes in vintage BMWs and Ducatis located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The coolest thing about Apex is it's totally under the radar and all word of mouth.
- Hey, guys.
- Hey.
- How are you? - Good.
Good.
Hi, I'm Norman.
- Hey, I'm Rachel.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, too.
- How you doing? Wes.
Nice to meet you.
Come on in, fellas.
- Wow.
- Holy crap.
Look at this place, man.
Rachel: This is the workshop.
This is where we work on these old bikes.
Try to keep them on the road.
Reedus: Show us around.
What do you got? What do you got? What do you got? - What year is this? - Rachel: This is a '54.
- Rachel: And that one's - Wes: A '64 R69S.
Wow, they're so pretty.
Wes: People freight them to us.
We get bikes in from all over the place.
It's restoration or custom jobs.
A lot of the old stuff is repairs.
Broken gear boxes.
Rachel: We just finished a pre-war bike.
That was pretty sweet.
- Wow.
- Heart of the machine right there.
Yeah, right there, man.
How long have you guys been here? This spot since 2010.
So we opened in 2002.
We were down the street out of my parents' garage.
And why vintage bikes? Why not the new bikes? - I don't know.
- They're fun to travel on.
It's an adventure.
'Cause you just, you know? There's a soul.
- It's, like, got that - Rachel: They've got a story.
You can feel it.
That's my favorite.
Did you guys have the same mindset to end up here? This happened so organically.
People would just call and say, you know, "Are you still working on Beemers?" And next thing we knew, we had more business, and we just we're like, "We'll just stay.
" It's nice up here.
We're out of the rat race.
It's quiet.
And we just can do what we love.
It's good.
No stop lights.
I get it.
Trust me, I get it.
You guys are the cutest couple ever.
Michaels: Right? Right? - I want to be you.
- Aw.
Reedus: Do you guys have kids? Rachel: We have one.
We have a son.
Seven years old.
- Reedus: What's his name? - Race.
Good name.
Good name.
My name's Norman.
Everyone's name is cooler than mind.
That's a good name.
Was it always just BMWs? I grew up around them.
Everybody rode.
My whole family.
My mom rode, my grandma and grandpa.
Watching my uncles race and everyone.
- Wow.
- How'd you get into riding? I had a friend of mine in junior high that had a YZ80 that I just kept getting stitches on, and sort of got into it that way.
And, like, you know, running from cops and killing the engine in-between houses.
- And that was kind of fun.
- Awesome.
Let's go for a ride.
Let's do that.
Wow.
- Let's see.
- Mm-hmm.
- (motor starts) - Ooh! - Wes: There you go.
- Rachel: Tickle 'em.
Cool.
He's got it.
He's got it.
- Now it's your turn, dude.
- Yeah, right.
Wes: Yeah, give it a kick.
Almost.
Almost.
Almost.
Hey, I'll see you later, Norman.
- (motor starts) - I'm coming.
- Very cool.
- I feel like this one likes me now.
Michaels: Oh, man, what a feeling.
Dude, I'm riding a motorcycle from 1954.
Crazy, right? And it's, like, perfect.
It really puts you back there, doesn't it? Yeah.
Reedus: Both these bikes are very cool and highly collectable.
Jason's on Rachel's 1954 BMW R51/3, the first postwar twin cylinder allowed.
I'm on a BMW R69S with a rebuilt engine.
From the factory in 1969, it was considered the hot rod of its time.
Reedus: Sitting on this old bike, I can imagine the original owner riding the same road 50 years ago.
The way Wes and Rachel keep them running, the person who will be riding this machine 50 years from now hasn't even been born.
Now it's time to sample some local cuisine.
In a word pies.
But even better, in two words fried pies.
Dude, how awesome was that? That was great, dude.
That was great.
I am so amazed at how straight and true and smooth these things are.
- Rachel: Aw.
- Like, I was about to get up and surf it.
- (laughs) - Is this your local pie place? - This is fried pies.
- After you.
- Let's do it.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi, what kind of pie you got? We heard the pie is awesome here.
We have apple, peach, cherry, strawberry, blueberry, coconut, chocolate, and sugar-free apple.
Say that again.
How that what? What's your favorite? My favorite is coconut.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Let's get a coconut and a cherry.
- Coconut and a cherry.
- Yeah, yeah.
All right.
- All right.
- So what's in the pies? - There you go.
- What's in the pies? Just homemade goodness.
- Yeah.
- I love that these are "Walker's fried pie.
" - Right? - We call our zombies walkers.
It's like they knew you were coming.
- Oh, man, this is awesome.
- Fried pie.
- Mmm.
Mmm.
- Wow.
So where we going next, bro? Reedus: Yeah, so we're going to the Dragon next.
Hopefully Khaleesi will be there, waiting for us.
On a weekend? No, don't go on a weekend.
- So it's just super packed.
- Yeah, it's If I only had a couple days to run off, - I'd go to Cherohala.
- Tell me about that.
- Less populated.
- Peaceful, pretty ride.
- Peaceful - You'll like it.
I would recommend that if you're just gonna - Oh, for sure.
- "Cha-cha-holla.
" - Yeah.
- The cha-cha-holla.
Cha-cha, I like that name better.
- What's it called again? - Cherohala.
You sure we gotta switch now? (laughing) Reedus: I'm sorry to say goodbye to Wes and Rachel, but I feel great knowing that there are enough Ducatis and BMWs in the area to keep them busy.
(rock music playing) Wow, it's beautiful here.
I wanna do this forever.
Reedus: The show runner of "The Walking Dead" does a courtesy call with the actors at the top of each season to let us know what we can expect and ask questions.
Every season I've only asked one question "Do I still get to ride a motorcycle?" His answer, "Yep.
" And I say, "Great.
That's all I need to know.
" Hey, before we go to The Dragon, I want to hit up Fontana Dam.
Whoo-hoo! I can't wait to ride it.
Stars and stripes! (engines revving) Man: really close.
(laughs) What's the rock do? - I just gotta ask.
- Keeps it from blowing up.
(snickers) (motorcycle passes) Reedus: We've traveled two hours north of Atlanta, and covered about 100 miles of road.
It's time to head to this jaw-dropping place I heard about, Fontana Dam.
408 feet of steel and concrete.
Reedus: At the start of World War II, the government needed an out-of-the-way place to build airplanes.
Then they realized they were gonna need a lot of power to keep the conveyor belts rolling and the lights on for those workers.
They chose this spot.
The dam started construction just three weeks after Pearl Harbor.
Michaels: Aw, here we are.
We're coming up on it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Wow, dude, this is amazing! Whoo! Reedus: That's an 11,000-acre reservoir.
240 miles of shoreline.
Michaels: Wow, we should stop and take a picture.
This is ridiculous.
I mean, we were in downtown Atlanta.
- Traffic - Slamming coffee, trying to wake up.
Trying not to get hit.
Throwing tons of cat food in a bowl with my cat looking at me, like, "Where you going now, jerk?" (laughs) You know, and now this.
It's a completely different mindset.
Jesus.
I'm gonna do a "pan-o-shot.
" "Pan-o-ram-o"? Pan-o-ram-o, here we go.
You don't mind I'm ripping off your "pan-o-ram-o.
" No, dude, it's all good.
As long as you send me yours.
Unless yours is better, then send me yours.
Reedus: I love solitude, the open stretch of road and nature all around me.
That's when I want to be on a bike the most.
Newsreel narrator: Atop the purple high country of North Carolina and Tennessee lies the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
It is important that the few essential roads do not mar the park.
Here's one through famous Newfound Gap.
Michaels: I hate to kill your buzz, but we're almost at the Dragon's Tail.
And it looks like it's way too crowded already.
No, it's cool.
Let's at least stop, take a look.
From the dam, it's about 25 minutes to a place called Deals Gap, a combination motel, restaurant, and store.
It's at the end of the dragon's tail.
With more curves than any 11-mile stretch of road in the world, it's a biker's wet dream.
Oh, wow.
Unfortunately, everyone's having the same dream at the same time.
So much for solitude.
Yeah! What's up, man? Hi, Norman, nice to meet you.
- Yeah.
- What's going on, ladies? - Hi! - (laughing) I just gotta ask you, what are you riding? Yeah, I'm riding this guy right here, the Confederate.
Anybody ever tell you you look like Daryl from "The Walking Dead?" - That's me.
- No way.
Yeah, I'm under here somewhere.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah.
Don't spoil it, dude.
- Hi, how are you? - How are you? What's your plan? So what's on the itinerary? Making some runs up and down the hill.
And then we've got Fiddies 4 Life races.
- Fiddies 4 Life? - Tell me about that.
Deals Gap mini-bike race series.
So little pit bikes.
They're wicked quick little bikes.
- Wow.
- Where do you race? Right here in the parking lot.
- Like, right here? - And we race all the way to the end.
Right around the gas pumps? Right right around the gas pumps.
That sounds super safe.
How safe is that, yeah? You guys should definitely come watch.
- Yeah.
- Dude, check that out.
Oh, look at that Camaro.
Sick.
Smokey and the Bandit.
Smokey and the Bandit.
(chuckling) Michaels: Yeah, that's awesome.
- You go by Rhino? - Yup, I'm Rhino.
Oh, my God! It's got 11 27" slicks on it.
- Used to pop wheelies on those all the time.
- I can ride wheelies on 'em.
I could be a good zombie.
Yeah, I'd shoot you with a crossbow.
Before you shoot me with a crossbow, let me make sure I can bite into a good-looking woman.
You gotta be a zombie doing a wheelie.
There you go! So what are you riding out here? I got two over there.
You gotta have a backup bike to come here just in case something happens, so You're hardcore.
What you do to your arm, dude? - Motorcycle accent.
- Oh, man.
Really? I'm permanently like this.
So you ride one one handed.
So you got your throttle and your front brake here? Is that right? Throttle, front brake, and then an automatic clutch.
I mean, I love riding.
It's my passion.
That's one of the things I won't stop doing at all.
- Good for you, man.
- Watch Rhino, right here.
(engine revs) Reedus: I love this place.
It has an amazing energy.
It's just too packed to ride the Dragon on the weekend.
The last thing I need is for parts of our one-of-a-kind bikes to end up on a branch of what the locals call the tree of shame.
And no way in hell was I gonna miss the parking lot races we heard about.
Ladies and gentlemen, you're here for the main event right here at the one and only Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort.
Reedus: I feel like a dog watching someone eat a very small but very juicy steak.
It's so close, I can taste it.
(whistle chirps) That was crazy.
If I were back in junior high school right now, I'd be about an hour away from more stitches.
You guys look badass.
Badass.
But how did you get into this in particular? A couple guys worked here.
Some guy showed up, said, "My bike's faster than your bike.
" Here we are.
Like, a little 50cc.
I think Judd's was actually a kid's bike, and then it's bored out to an 88cc.
Emcee: All right, guys, I just found out Reedus: You guys ever battle? I made the mistake one time of knocking the wife down.
- Oh! - (all shout) How dare you? I slept on the couch for a month.
(chuckling) (engines revving) There's no gas in those gas pumps, are there? Oh, no, it's in there.
(tires screeching) - God! - What? Reedus: Are they racing for a prize or something? Just to be number one.
Bragging rights, yeah.
Man: You ain't first, you're last.
Reedus: If I learned one thing tonight the smallest thing can become the biggest adventure in the right hands.
Really close to my head.
- (laughs) - You know what I mean? Maybe I should step back a little bit.
That's crazy.
- Eat my dust, Norman! - Whoo! All right, hit it, lets do it! Can I reach his balls from here? (music playing) Reedus: You wanna switch bikes? Michaels: Yeah, but I think we should, like, rock, paper, scissors or something.
- Michaels: Really? - Yeah.
Sure.
(laughs) - You can ride this one! - All right.
All right, dude, let's go! Reedus: It's day two.
Last night, that was crazy.
Things kept going long after we tucked the cameraman into bed.
Today, expectations are high.
It's just 70 miles to the beautiful and historic Blue Ridge Parkway.
I love this motorcycle.
It's awesome, man.
You could go forever on that thing.
(revving engine) It wants to wander a little bit.
Yeah, I feel like it's some pony I need to break.
Michaels: Yeah, there you go.
There you go.
(horn honks) Kind of a wimpy little horn for that macho vibe you got there, bro.
(both chuckle) I'm gonna try to catch a butterfly in my mouth during this stretch.
Be like Mr.
Miyagi with a fly.
I'm just gonna do it with a butterfly in my mouth.
(thunder rumbles) Man, it's starting to rain pretty hard.
We should probably stop somewhere.
There's a Dairy Queen three miles on the left.
Reedus: Let's just stop here and dry off.
Ice cream would have been a better idea.
I wonder what this place is anyhow.
Holy crap.
Yeah, let's go look around this place while we're here.
- Yeah.
- Let's see what all this stuff is.
This door's too good.
I gotta take a picture with it.
Oh, this is properly destroyed.
Pretty awesome.
- (shutter clicks) - Stars and stripes.
Reedus: People sometimes ask me, "How can you stand riding in the cold, when it's wet?" But that's all part of it.
You're cold when it's cold and you're hot when it's hot.
But you're alive and you're there in the moment.
If the weather gets to be too much, you just stop and discover some new place.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee! Three quarters of a mile.
Yeah.
Reedus: One town I knew we'd ride through was Cherokee.
But what I didn't know is what we'd find when we got there.
It's right there! That is awesome.
- Check that thing out.
- Take a picture.
I've never felt so emasculated in my life.
Here, let me take a picture in front of that.
It's too good.
One, two, three, four.
- Here, let me get yours.
- Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie.
Ha, this is totally nuts.
Dude, you're so tiny.
I've heard that before.
Can I reach his balls from here? Oh, it's "push.
" Oh, wow, hey! What's going on, guys? What's the story with the statue out front? Back in the '50s, there were a row of Indian statues in an airport down in South Florida.
About 1961, they sold off and closed that airport.
And this is one of the last surviving ones.
- Roadside attraction stuff.
- There was, like, a big Wasn't there a Texaco sign with a big dude? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- And then there was the big, - like, Paul the Bunyan guy.
- Yeah.
Paul the Bunyan guy.
It's Paul Bunyan.
- Paul Bunyan.
- Paul the Bunyan guy.
Reedus: Do you ever do tattoos of the Indian? I've done a lot of Indian tattoos.
I've been tattooing for 31 years now.
- We've done quite a bit of different ones.
- Oh, cool.
Michaels: So you have tons of motorcycle riders come through here? You must.
Robin: Yes, the Smoky Mountains are some of the best riding scenery that you can find.
If you look in the mountains, you'll see this really pretty shrubbery that's called mountain laurel, and it grows real thick.
It just, like, ties into knots.
During their removal, during the trail of tears - Okay, yeah.
- As they were being gathered up and stockaded and moved to Oklahoma, the Indians would go in there and hide.
- Wow.
- And the Cherokee here are all descendants of the ones that hid in the mountains.
Oh, wow.
Thank you so much for having us.
- Yeah.
- The history lesson.
- Thanks for coming in.
- That was amazing.
Thank you very much.
Reedus: Not long ago, this entire area was Cherokee hunting ground.
It's heartening to think of those who had the tenacity and bravery to stay behind and fight for freedom when everything was against them.
That's what the road is.
Freedom.
We appreciate its pleasures, but we remember its costs.
Dude, I eat ice cream, like, almost every night.
But don't tell anyone.
I'm telling everyone.
("Let's Ride" playing) Hey, little mama I watch way too many cartoons, I think.
I'll be leaving tonight Be back home tomorrow Entering the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Whoo-hoo! You wanna slow down You wanna lay around But let's ride Reedus: Most roads were built to get from point A to point B.
But the Blue Ridge Parkway was designed for the joy of the ride.
It's a true example of metaphor.
The journey is the destination.
Michaels: Oh, my God, dude.
Reedus: That is so beautiful! Reedus: Yeah.
(chuckles) - Oh, my God! - Oh, my God, dude! Reedus: This is I've never seen anything like this.
They just barely move.
So that's why they call them the Smoky Mountains.
'Cause of that smoke.
- Yeah.
- Michaels: That's awesome.
Reedus: I'm super happy we did this.
- Definitely.
- There's nobody up here but us.
- Nothing.
- Dragon was cool, too.
But you're right, it's, like, you know, skip Disneyland.
There's a ton of other rides.
- That was a good move, like - It's true with everything.
Restaurant recommendations.
- Absolutely, yeah.
- You know, everything.
- Yeah, you got - Girlfriends.
- Yeah, girlfriends.
- You know what I mean? Yeah.
(chattering) See ya.
To the Broken Spoke.
Whoo! Reedus: The last leg of our journey, Asheville.
Which is 20 miles ahead.
For now, we're just enjoying the road and the ride.
You did 1,800 miles on a Grom? I did.
Yes.
Oh, my God, high five! You're insane! It was awesome! - Can I sit on it? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- This is hysterical.
Oh, my God, this is so cute! It's a blast to ride.
Set it up for flat track.
(imitates engine revving) You gotta name it Sparky or - Michaels: Sparky! - Slayer, or something.
You're, like, one of a kind right now.
Michaels: Trendsetter, right there.
- You are a trendsetter.
- I guess so.
And then how do you stick someone on the back of this? - (laughing) - Dude, let, here - Get up front! Get up front! - Right? (laughing) Dude, right? Let's go, dude! (chuckles) It's like that scene from - "Dumb and Dumber!" - "Dumb and Dumber!" - Yeah! - (chuckling) We'll be, like, freezing and Samsonite! (motorcycles passing) Michaels: When am I gonna get my ice cream? Michaels: Let's make sure you never get ice cream this whole trip.
Reedus: Asheville's this super relaxed town where New Age liberalism meets Bible Belt conservatism.
And at the end of the day, they all go out for barbecue.
We're here to visit A Broken Spoke bike shop a place specializing in rare Harley parts and Frankenstein bikes.
But we're always ready to stop anywhere else along the way.
Michaels: Hey, I got a detour if you're game, bro.
You in the mood for some old time religion? Hell yeah.
What do you mean? I heard of this guy, apparently he loves Jesus as much as he loves motorcycles, so he started a church for bikers.
Supposedly, it's pretty rad.
Cool.
Let's do it.
Pastor: Glad y'all are here.
You could have been anywhere else, but you're here.
You know, it's not about the building.
It's not about the bikes.
Who's it about? - Congregation: Jesus! - It's about Jesus.
You know what I mean? Thank God.
God is good.
You know what I am saying, he is! He is! That's what freedom's all about.
It's about when you're riding across the country, it don't matter whether you got long hair or tattoos.
It don't matter.
You know what I mean? However you dress, there's so much of that mess out there.
You know, judging your brother and sister.
How many of y'all have been judged because of the way you look? - Woman: Yup.
Yeah.
- Absolutely.
How many of y'all have judged the guy in the suit and tie? Now, be honest.
- Yeah.
- Absolutely.
The same goes both ways.
You can't do that.
It's got to be out of love.
Life is a lot like a bike.
I you don't know how to ride it, you're gonna wind up somewhere you don't wanna be.
So, Lord, I thank you for this day.
No doubt.
I once was lost But now I'm found That was a beautiful sermon.
Thank you, brother.
You said a lot of things that really struck me in there.
- Yeah.
- How long have you had this church going? It's been seven years.
Been at this place for five.
It's been a long road.
I mean, it's been a journey.
And the Lord has blessed us.
It started out We got a network, and there's 11 of us now.
And the goal is to have them throughout the United States, so that the biker coming through, man, he can stop, and he know he's welcome.
You know? I came out to the South, and it was the first place I ever saw other bikers wave to you as you go by.
- And you think, you know what? - Absolutely.
Like, if I break down on the side of the road, that's the guy that's gonna come back and help me out.
- It's the biker way of life.
- Yes, sir.
I mean, even if somebody's outside the biker community, man, they need help? Man, the bikers are gonna come and help.
You throw on some barbecue out there, and they'll really come.
(laughter) So I heard something about an outhouse race or something like that? A porta-potty race? Yeah, come here and let me show them to you.
Yeah, let me see.
Yeah, this is softtail.
The other one's hardtail.
Michaels: I saw a custom porta-potty.
- You wanna get in one? - Sure! - Michaels: Hell yeah! - It's like I mean, how can I say no to a custom porta-potty? We're gonna put him in there and see how loud he screams.
You know what I'm saying? (all laughing) - I'm so scared, actually.
- Oh, my God, dude.
Woman: You do realize you might die today? This is terrifying.
Hey, Tattoo, Dog Man, we're gonna do it from right here.
Reedus: I love that I won't be able to make production on Monday on the show because I was killed in a porta-potty.
(laughs) Ew.
Whoo! The handle's right here.
Oh, handle's right here.
Man: Y'all know the famous last words of a southern redneck, right? "Hey, y'all! Watch this!" (chuckling) You're going down, pal! (chuckles) Eat my dust, Norman! Whoo! All right, hit it.
Let's do it! (engines revving) (whooping, cheering) Whoo! Yeah! (whooping, screaming) - Did I win? - You suck! I love it.
I think I won.
I love you did! - Yes! - Oh, my God, dude! - That was crazy! - Amazing! Amazing! Literally, holy (bleep).
- Thank you.
- (laughing) Whoo! Whoo! Reedus: There's a real sense of community and camaraderie in Asheville.
And taking a ride with the whole congregation was my kind of church social.
(horn honks) Michaels: You up for one more detour? Always.
There's this place I've been to.
They make real corn mash moonshine.
It's called the Howling Moon Distillery.
Now you're talking.
(banjo music playing) We're here.
Are you ready, "Freddy?" - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Oh, wait.
Check this out.
(playing banjo) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Reedus: I know what this looks like.
You can't write this stuff even if you tried.
Who's a good dog? Who's a good dog? But I swear, we just rode up on this guy and he was already playing, right across the road from the moonshine distillery.
Sometimes the South is even more "the South" than you expect.
(shouts excitedly) Nice to meet you guys.
I'm Norman.
- How you guys doing? - Great.
- It's hot outside, but it's - Yeah, it is.
- Have a good ride? - Yeah, it was awesome.
Reedus: Is this a family business? Has it been passed on Yeah, this has been in my family for generations, making moonshine.
This condenser here, this copper condenser, is about 125, 150 years old.
- No way! - Whoa! - Yeah.
- Can I ask, like, what's the legal points around this? Absolutely.
100% legal.
What does the rock do? I just gotta ask.
Keeps it from blowing up.
Oh, good.
Good.
Good.
This is about as old school as it gets.
(snickers) - Ooh, what's this? - This is our mash room.
This is where all the magic happens.
Oh, wow! Take in that smell! If I just stick my face in that and inhale, will I be drunk? It'll get you started.
You know, yeah, see do it.
Come on.
Okay.
(chuckling) I went to church this morning.
- Yeah, you did.
- You know what I mean? - It'll burn your eyes.
- It'll get so bad that you can't even come in this room without it burning your eyes.
- Whew.
- Right? You get a little lightheaded.
- Yeah, absolutely.
Oh, yeah.
- (coughs) Whew.
It'll get you.
Your eyes are starting to water.
(all laugh) After Prohibition started, they outlawed alcohol all over America.
It created a boom.
There was more alcohol than ever.
You know, everybody that could find a still or make a still started one up.
And they hauled it all over the country.
And to get it there, they had to have fast drivers.
They had to outrun the law.
And that's what they did.
That's how, you know, a lot of that NASCAR came to be.
They started outrunning all the law, and there was no law that could chase 'em, so they started racing each other.
Do you know anybody that used to take those roads? Any stories back then? Yeah, my dad and my uncle, they both used to do it all the time.
Wow.
That's cool.
Where are they? Daddy, Ernie, come here for a minute! Super Bee! - Wow.
- A Super Bee! - Hi, how are ya? - How are ya? - Norman.
- Nice meeting you, man.
It's a pleasure, man.
Hi.
Yes, sir.
We were just talking about back in the day, when the moonshine guys used to build cars that were faster than the cops.
We heard a rumor you guys used to do that.
Oh, yes.
(all laugh) Knock on wood, yeah.
(laughs) Can I get a shot of you on this car? You look too cool right now.
This looks awesome.
- Bam! - Hey, got you a little something over here.
Whoo-hoo! Today was a good day.
(chuckling) Looks like it's gonna be a good night.
Right? A very good night.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
Those were, like, the legends that we met.
Yeah, I think we just met the kings right there.
We're running shine.
It doesn't get any better than this.
Yeah, what a good day.
Wait for me, dude.
I don't wanna get caught by the cops.
If we go down, we're going down together.
(engines revving) ("Rabbit and the Wolf" playing) Reedus: You know, I had a friend when I was young who used to sneak gin out of his grandfather's liquor cabinet.
The old man would scratch a line into the bottle just to know if any of it was missing.
So my friend made up the difference with rubbing alcohol.
They found the old man in a neighbor's rose garden one Sunday morning naked and laughing his ass off.
I imagine that's how they're gonna find me and Jason when we polish off this moonshine.
The rabbit and the wolf, when they decided to leave The rabbit and the wolf, no longer hiding the seed The rabbit and the wolf, so innocent and wee The rabbit and the wolf I know it's hard to believe Reedus: The last place I want to hit A Broken Spoke.
It's an old school Harley repair shop with bike parts you can't find anywhere else in the country.
It's just ten miles up the road.
(rock music playing) Jason, I think you're gonna love A Broken Spoke.
I heard they have a ton of rare parts that people haven't even seen in years.
We're headed for A Broken Spoke, a local hangout spot and repair shop specializing in vintage Harleys and seldom-seen parts.
Wow! This is A Broken Spoke! (rock music playing) Michaels: Yeah, let's check this out, man.
Wow! This is awesome.
Look at this terrifying little thing.
Wow, pure evil.
Yeah, you could take a million pictures in this place.
This is like a museum in here.
Hey.
Norman.
How you doing, Norman? D.
Wayne, Norman.
- Jason.
- Hello, Jason.
Where'd the name Broken Spoke come from? Where what's the story with that? We're kinda infatuated with Frank, you know? Full of complex pieces and parts.
Frankenstein, I love it.
This back through here is like, overflow.
Oh, that's sick! Is that original? - Yeah.
- Oh, my God, that's like gold dust.
- Sure, it is.
- Why is it so rare? Um, well, they quit casting.
Aluminum casts, they quit 'em in '65, '66, '67.
You know, they didn't do 'em very long.
Oh, yeah.
Old Sugar Bear.
- What's Sugar Bear? - West coast stuff.
- Back in - He was, like, one of the only black guys building choppers.
He was the only.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, is this, like a legit Bates seat? - Yeah.
- Oh, my God! Is this, like, Christmas morning for you? Wow, look at this old Fulmer.
Oh, my God, man.
- Man! - You're geeking out right now.
Dude, totally.
You're witnessing Are you putting together a motorcycle in your mind right now? I am.
Like, I see so much happening right now.
Wow.
It's like legends and lore.
Nobody really knows where you guys are.
It's, like, you hear about it That's not a bad thing.
(laughter) Hey, cutie.
Nice to meet you too.
My boy rides.
He's right there on that one.
He's running over that other kid.
I saw him earlier.
There he goes again.
He got him again.
That's my kind of kid right there.
Yeah.
Everybody knows everybody here.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
We're all we got.
Good vibes.
Yeah, love it.
Love it.
Brother, I just wanna say thank you for this experience.
Oh, dude.
Thank you, man.
Yeah, this has been great.
I mean, it's all been about brotherhood, and and what he said in there, he goes, "We're all we got," you know? And Camaraderie, right? It's cool.
Yeah, little terrors on big wheels running each other over and stuff.
Yeah, this you know, and I think there's a stereotype about, you know, people who ride Harleys and stuff like that, and they're not.
They're all cool people, you know? No.
Yeah, it's been a ride, man.
I appreciate it.
It's been fun.
Yeah.
Reedus: You know, people sometimes think of bikers as outlaws or malcontents, but A Broken Spoke has a spirit of community that proves the opposite.
Nice to meet you.
You have a lightsaber.
Whether they're bikers, neighbors, kids, or hipsters, the people who gather here are all spokes on the same wheel.
This is quite the party.
It's a good vibe.
No matter who you are or what you ride, you're gonna be welcomed with the same open arms.
Sometimes we just gotta burn a little rubber.
("Burning in Hell" playing) Fire in my heart Left me burning in hell Demons keep a close eye It seems there's no way out He started a flame He left me to burn, there's no one Well, I wish I could tell you about the rest of the night.
It involved something called the "chopper chug.
" Start it! (engine revs) (cheering) (birds chirping) The trip went by so fast, but it's time to head home, back to Atlanta.
Michaels: I would definitely stay longer in Asheville if we had more time.
What about you? Reedus: Man, I'd love to stay here and check more of this place out.
I say before we head out of town we make that one last stop.
You know what I want.
- Oh.
- Mm.
This was a good idea.
I have to say.
See, you should listen to me more.
(laughs) I should.
There has been nothing that I haven't loved about this trip, man.
I have a new appreciation for the South.
I can't think of anything that we did that wasn't awesome, you know? What do you gotta do on Monday? I gotta go back to work.
I have a super early call tomorrow.
Man, I gotta get a haircut.
(scoffs) Need a haircut.
Tell me about it.
You and my mom, that's all you guys talk about.
Got a little more time.
We still got some daylight.
Let's hit that, uh what is that? That Chewbacca sky rocket.
Let's do that.
The Chalupa freeway.
Yeah.
We'll hit the Cherohala Skyway.
- Chewbacca, here we come! - Whoo! Make Chewbacca noises the whole way there.
(imitates Chewbacca) Reedus: Back at Apex, things were neat and precise, while at A Broken Spoke, they specialized in good old American chaos.
They both served the same free spirit that we found Deals Gap, the Howling Moon, the Freedom Biker Church, and on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
And the people we found were as inviting as they were generous.
When you're young, you do half-assed things just to do them.
You don't think about risk and loss and danger, because the thought that you're not going to live forever hasn't even crossed your mind.
And sometimes, in your enthusiasm, you don't even think about the miracles around you the awesome scenery, the fantastic people, and the love they feel for each other, or the trickle of summer sweat on your forehead.
It's great being old enough to appreciate the journey instead of obsessing over what's next.
After all, it's the ride that matters most.
And it's just where I want to be.