NO BIGGER COMPLIMENT!

As you fine folks have probably figured out by now, I am a pretty humble guy!  I live my life by four simple letters; L,L,H&R!  LOVE, LOYALTY, HONOR AND RESPECT and to me, there is no other way to live it!  If you follow these four letters, to the letter, you will get the very same back.  Of course there is always the Classless Buffoon who feels that these letters mean nothing at all and that they are a "slogan" of sorts and don't apply to them.  They will soon find out that they apply TO ALL OF US!  You get back exactly what you put out in to this world we live in.  Sometimes it comes back on you in an instant and other times it takes a bit longer.  In some cases it takes nearly a year to the day, but I digress, that is a different story for another time.  I will say however, that when I get to see a person who puts themselves above all others have shit come crashing down on top of them, I do get an evil little smile across my lips and it reaffirms my faith in humanity and in the universe!

In this case though, what I am speaking of put a joyous smile on my face!  I believe that the universe puts people in our paths for a reason and what we decide to do in that moment forever changes the course of our lives.  Some of these choices bring us much joy and some of them bring us much heartache, but nobody gets them right all the time, so I say go ahead and make those choices because normally the good outweighs the bad.  I walk in the main bar at the Broken Spoke Campground and I immediately begin to see so many familiar faces and my heart warms a bit.  These are all people that I had the great honor to work with last year or to meet on the road at other events, good people!  Each of them walk across the floor to shake my hand or hug me and tell me how great it is to see me again and I am touched to the core.  Here I am thinking that this can't get any better, I am bubbling over with good vibes!  I hear my name called and I turn around and I get a smile from ear to ear!  What greater honor can there be than when the band that has shown up to perform, have shown up wearing I KNOW JACK SHIT t shirts?  If you want to speak of an experience that humbles you, this was one of them!  I don't believe a bigger compliment could have been paid to me!

Ryan Rolando who looks like he is 19 years old, has been playing at the Broken Spoke and has been part of the family for over 20 years now.  I can only assume that he began playing the guitar at the Spoke when he was one or two years old!  This guy is the epitome of class!  I knew in that very moment that my time at the Spoke was going to be amazing.  I believe that the universe sends you signs or signals and it is up to us to recognize them and use the information accordingly.  In this case, in this very moment, all my nerves calmed down, all the pressure lifted up off of my shoulders and I knew that I was not alone in my mission to make this, the 71st annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally a success for my Spoke family!  Each and every single one of us was a team and we all worked towards our team being victorious.  This my friends is one first class operation that is manned by first class people who all put the Spoke ahead of themselves and any petty bullshit that comes with working with so many people from different backgrounds falls to the wayside and everyone knuckles up, it is an incredible sight to see!

For all of those that welcomed me back to the Broken Spoke I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.  It was an honor and a privilege for me to work side by side with you and I look forward to doing it again, perhaps more than I look forward to any gig!

Jay Allen, you had the faith in me to watch over your baby while you worked your ass off down town at the Original Broken Spoke Saloon and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity that you afforded me!  You sir are nothing but class and I applaud you for it!   As I type this, you are hopefully breaking yet another land speed record up on the Salt of Bonneville and I wish you nothing but greatness!  Until we all see each other again at the Spoke, I wish you all nothing but the same feeling of joy and happiness that I got to experience these past few weeks.

Until we see each other on the road,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and The Man off your ass!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

There are times that you never forget, this is one of them!

The 71st annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is now over and I am home safe and sound from a 3 thousand mile bike ride! As with any thing in life that you put your entire heart and soul in, there will certainly be ups and downs. From the moment that I arrived at the World Famous Broken Spoke Saloon, it was non stop and at a break neck pace. The shortest day that I worked was 16 hours and that was day one, from there I became more committed and put in on average, 18 hours per day. We go to Sturgis, our holy land to experience the brotherhood, the fun and most importantly the bikes because after all, that is what this entire lifestyle we chose is about, THE BIKES. All the rest of it is just a bonus. We get to spend time with the people we love and would do just about anything for and for some of us, Sturgis is the only time we get to see each other. This was my first year hosting at the County Line Campground and it was the honor of my life to be welcomed back as part of the Broken Spoke family! Many of you have heard me say this but it bears repeating. The very first time that I met with the one and only Jay Allen about working for the Spoke I asked him what he expected of me, what did he want me to accomplish while there. I was fully ready for an hour long meeting and I had my sharpie and blank paper ready to take notes. What Jay said to me I will never forget, he said "Jack, I'm glad you asked". "I want you to welcome everyone in to our home and treat them like family". That was it, those were my entire list of instructions! This man is one class act!

The entire Spoke family is one class act. I know that I have not written much since I left for Sturgis and maybe now you understand why. One of the things that blew me away most was how they handled some very special guests. The Rolling Wall, the Vietnam Memorial, rolling wall has found its home at the Broken Spoke Campground and we were honored to have them. They will return next year and the Spoke will once again be honored to host this amazing tribute to the more than 50 thousand men who gave all in defense of freedom! When the opening ceremony of the wall begins, everything stops, EVERYTHING! The music stops, the party stops, the drinks stop and you can't so much as purchase a t shirt if you wanted to. ALL BUSINESS STOPS! I had the incredible honor and privilege to be part of this ceremony this year and it is something that I will never forget as long as I live! Being a biker, we all know a great many who survived Vietnam and returned home like so many from world war 2 and found the motorcycle and longed for freedom and peace and they found that through brotherhood and the open road! I didn't lose anyone in that war, shit, I wasn't even born until 68' but it made no difference, it touched me like I couldn't even understand. The dedication that these guys have for this memorial is second to none! On a side note, I want to mention another group of bikers that deserve credit and normally don't get it. THE WALL OF DEATH! Because of some insane weather this year it caused great delay in getting their own wall set up. They were far behind in its construction and until it is up and open, they are losing money. Every second that they are at an event and not performing, they are losing money. The time came for the opening of the wall and for the wall itself to be constructed and each and every member of the Wall of Death stopped what they were doing and went down and built the Memorial Wall! Because of the time that they spent, they were not able to even open up for business until the next day. THESE GUYS ARE NOTHING BUT CLASS AND TRUE PATRIOTS! The next time you see them, shake their hands and let them know that you appreciate the hardest working guys in the bike world!

Here is a short video that I managed to capture during the opening ceremony. The sound is not the best and the camera work may be shaky but I think you will see how powerful it was. When it came time for me to speak, I was terrified that everyone there would know that I had tears in my eyes and hear it in my voice! The Spoke was built on RESPECT and everyone involved with the Wall or who has ever given up everything to fight for this country deserves nothing less! GOD BLESS THE AMERICAN SOLDIER!




Until we see each other on the road, or at the Broken Spoke Saloon,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and The Man off your ass!

Your friend,
Jack Shit

Consider this!

So many of you have sent me messages asking me about Sturgis.  Questions ranging from where are you working, will you be working, where are you staying, are you hosting the Downtown Spoke again, what is going on with all the rumors I've heard and so many more.  In this post, I will try to answer as many of these questions as I possibly can for all of you. 

First and foremost, the questions of will you be working, where will you be working and where are you staying I can answer with one simple answer; THE ONE AND ONLY, WORLD FAMOUS BROKEN SPOKE SALOON CAMPGROUND County Line!  Once again, I have been welcomed back as part of the Broken Spoke Family and I will be the host of the 2011 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally at the Spoke.  Right now, many of you are probably scratching your head thinking, but you work downtown and Jay Allen is the host of the Campground, what gives with that?  WE ARE SWITCHING IT UP!  Jay will host the downtown Spoke and I will host the Campground for the 71st Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

To answer the questions about all the rumors that Jay is no longer with the Broken Spoke or no longer part of the Broken Spoke, nothing on earth COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!  Jay Allen is now and will always be part owner of the Broken Spoke Saloon.  Jay built the brand in to the amazing business that it has become today, why would he ever leave that?  I've seen so many posts and gotten messages like Screw the Spoke, we are supporting Jay!  This makes the least sense of any statements that I have ever heard!  If you say you are supporting Jay Allen, then support the Broken Spoke, it is just that simple, Jay is still an owner there.  If you boycott the Spoke, then you are in fact, boycotting Jay.  Does this make any sense to you yet?  Let me put it this way.  There is a relationship between Jay and his other partners in the Broken Spoke Saloon and like any other relationship, emotions can run heavy when you are very passionate and care about that relationship more than most anything on earth!  I liken it to a couple that has been happily married for many years.  Some times in that relationship, you need a break, just that simple.  If you don't step back and step away for a brief period, you can ruin that relationship.  Like a husband and wife love each other, sometimes they can't stand being around each other.  They have ridden all of the ups and downs together for a long time and rather than throw the relationship away by making harsh decisions in heated moments, the couple decides that a break or "trial separation" may be needed.  They don't do this to end the relationship, they do it to save the relationship.  When you have a bit of distance between you, you realize just how very much you each mean to the other and you realize that although there are good times and bad, the good far outweigh the bad.  You realize that you love your other half more than you could ever imagine and come to the conclusion that neither of you can live without the other!  Separation makes the heart grow fonder and in this case, I believe it to be exactly what will happen.  EVERYONE NEEDS A BREAK EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, it is just that simple.  As relationships grow, you find that there are things that you just can't stand about your partner and there are just things about your partner that you learn that you could and would never want to live without.  You realize later that had you not stepped back and taken that much needed break, that relationship with the person, or in this case, with the "place" that you love with all of your heart and soul would have ended.  As far as I am concerned, JAY ALLEN IS THE BROKEN SPOKE and I am honored to be part of the family there.

This year at the Broken Spoke County Line, we are bringing it back to basics.  Old School biker party and camping.  We are making this event as it should be, about all of you, our extended Broken Spoke family!  It seems that over the last few years, every major company has come in to Sturgis and booked bigger and bigger bands and attractions, in my opinion, taking away from what Sturgis really is and that is about getting together to RIDE AND PARTY with dear friends that you have known forever or dear friends that you have just met and will know FOREVER!  The Spoke is going back to the way things use to be and making the event about YOU and not about us!  Go out for a ride and come back HOME to the Broken Spoke Saloon where you are always welcome.  We have so much planned for you guys this year that you won't have to go any place else.  So save yourself the DUI's and plant your ass at the Spoke and party your collective asses off with us.  The area around Sturgis has some of the most beautiful riding in America and you won't want to miss out on any of that and when that ride is over, come back, jump in the BIGGEST BIKER POOL ON EARTH and relax and get some rest because come sun down, we are going to show you the best party in Sturgis! 

Many have asked about how Jay feels that I am coming in and hosting the Broken Spoke Campground?  Let me assure you of this, Jay is my friend and I would never have taken this gig without his complete and total blessing and I HAVE THAT AND THEN SOME!  As a matter of fact, Jay was a big part in me getting the gig at the Spoke and I will be eternally grateful.  Come out and support the Broken Spoke and our friend, mine and yours, a guy who has done so much for our lifestyle, Mr. Jay Allen and don't forget to go downtown and visit Jay at the original Broken Spoke on Lazelle Street and tell em that your friend Jack Shit sent you!  You don't even have to worry about riding down and getting busted, you can take the SPOKE TO SPOKE SHUTTLE that runs from County Line directly to Downtown and drops you off right at the door of the Spoke!

For everyone who will be attending the rally, I can't wait to see you all!  There is no rally on earth like the Sturgis rally and we are all going to have a blast this year.  Even if you are staying at another campground or hotel, make sure you get your ass over to the Spoke and come say hello. 

Another question that I keep getting asked, "Jack", will I be able to pick up I know Jack Shit shirts at Sturgis again this year?  Yes you will!  I have an order that should be finished shortly and yes, I will be bringing shirts up to Sturgis, you can pick them right up at the Campground and yes, the money still goes to helping with the cost of Diane's MS meds and such!  Thank you all, I look forward to seeing each and every single one of you fine fuckers up at the BROKEN SPOKE SALOON!   

In the next few days, I will be posting event schedules and such to show you just what we have planned for you maniacs so keep an eye out for those.

Last year was my first time ever hosting at the Broken Spoke and when I arrived at the campground I immediately checked in with Jay Allen and asked him, "Jay, what do you expect from me"?  I figured I would have a 30 minute conversation with him about my duties there and so on.  That is not what happened at all.  His answer was five words!  JACK, TREAT EVERYONE LIKE FAMILY!  That was it!  Those were my duties and what Jay expected from me and that is just what I did and what I will continue to do this year!