It was a clear and sunny that infamous Monday morning in San Juan. The plane awaited to haul me toward Orlando where I'd jump a rental car to Melbourne, home of Choppers Inc. As the plane took off I got a panoramic view of the North Coast. The surf was breaking in foamy explosions. The entire coastline looked better than ever. It was a really nice day. But wild action awaited for me in Florida and it was time to rock.

As planned, I arrived at Billy's shop around 1:00 PM. It was my first encounter with Billy's Discovery Channel entrant into a two man ride-off. The Orange chopper (which I later nicknamed Agent Orange) was rumbling toward completion. It was still on the lift, work to be done, parts to complete. I took a long look at the shapely project and sat down on a milk crate to soak it all in.

The Discovery filming crew was there, a bit antsy, but there. Billy was busy as hell trying to juggle the bike and his other commitments. Aaron from Paramount choppers was on hand to give Billy considerable, last minute, assistance. Nick, a Choppers Inc. master mechanic, was going crazy with other projects and his busted, multicolored toe. Yep, so what's new at Choppers Inc.? Time went by and kept going. I thought about getting a hotel room and resting up. We had a long ride to Pensacola ahead of us, at least that was the plan. Billy, Aaron, Ruskin, Booster, Beaner and me would get on our choppers and meet the "other side", Dave Perewitz and the Hamsters. Yeah right. Billy said he was going to work all night, and you know how it is. If a brother is going to burn the candle, we all burn the fucking candle.

Night turned into day and I passed out on a red couch. Not too bad, considering the lovely Suzanne tucked me in when she returned from work. The insanity rolled on. We were expected, yet still working. We all pitched in and did what we could, being aware of that strange space/relationship between builder and chopper. I endeavored to help out, while keeping a safe distance away from the artist and flying tools. Finally the chopper sputtered to life, the crew filmed the event and then took off for our meeting point. There was still work to be done. Tuesday was almost gone.

At 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, Agent Orange rolled out the doors and was ready for a maiden voyage. Soon after that we loaded the Camel bike and my chopper in the trailer to head out. Yep , no trailer shame, I had appointed myself truck driver with Nick. The rest of the guys would roll on. Billy decided to load the chopper as well for the ride to the meeting point in Pensacola. It would be quicker that way, but he would ride Agent Orange from time to time to break the beast in. By eight we were on our way to Pensacola, really late, behind-fucking-schedule late.

The Discovery crew was flipping out, but being in two places at the same time is impossible, as far as I know. Who could blame Billy, he built five awesome bikes, moved the shop, plus built a bunch of customers' bikes in less than six months. No easy feat, most single projects take longer than all these combined. The guys took off on their choppers and we never saw them again. Let's fast forward a bit......

The " other side" (Perewitz and 60 Hamsters) had already left Pensacola for Baton Rouge, which turned into Lafayette and a bit further. We were haulin' ass trying to get there as soon as possible, something that never happened.

By the time we got to Pensacola there was a call from Aaron, his battery had taken a dip and they were in Tallahassee searching out a new one. We had their helmets and gear, and they needed 'em, plus some warm stuff for the night ride. We stopped at the state line and hid their stuff behind a fallen tree trunk, which added another story. But we had to keep on rolling like madmen on a mission. We crossed Alabama and Mississippi in a flash. As the evening started to cool down Billy decided to ride the bike a bit, Booster as well. We rode/ drove into the state of Louisiana by night fall. That was the last time we saw Booster that night.

To top it off we received another call that Aaron's battery had gone to better life (the second one), plus his regulator as well. They were forced to look for replacements in the darkness. Still in Florida, we hit interstate 12 towards the West, no time to turn around and pick them up. They understood. That's the way of the brotherhood. Sometimes you can help, sometimes not. By the time we got to Baton Rouge we got another call from Booster, his pulley nut had loosened and he was some place near New Orleans. I guess he got carried away with his new six speed tranny, what the hell. The bike was finished that same morning.

There was a Cajun party and Billy was expected. We had to carry on. We had no choice. By that time Beaner had his hand inside a dark tree trunk and was thinking of snakes. At least they found their gear and his hands were intact. Although, it seemed a bit funny that he had a rattlesnake adorning his top hat later on.

At last we made our exit. Billy was as tired, even more so than we were. The Discovery crew took him right into the party. We ducked directly into the hotel room. It was 11:00 p.m. Wednesday night, over 60 hours since I had left my house in Puerto Rico. We snagged Booster a tow truck for a mere $500.00, made the arrangements and crashed like there was no tomorrow. The shitty part was the obvious realization that there was a gruesome tomorrow ahead.

Thursday morning I rode my bike towards the group. On the way my chopper omitted a strange vibration. Upon inspecting it I noticed that the rear axle had come loose. A quick decision was made to put it back on the trailer and fix it at the next stop, no suck luck. The threads had gone south. I was trailer queen 'till Shreveport.

I was apart of the last Discovery ride, what a blast. This time it seemed like a sea of yellow Hamsters. Over 60 bikes were lined up, ready to go. We started calling all this little mishap the " Hamster Conspiracy". Actually we started calling it the rodent conspiracy since the first morning at Choppers Inc.

We left Lafayette following Billy and Dave Perewitz down country roads. The crowd was separated since it was too large for the small streets of the Bayou. Before I forget, they (Billy and Dave) had to get up at five in the morning for helicopter shots down I-10--way too fucking early for this Caribbean soul. I was more than happy in my hotel room.

As always the rides are as fun as the people you meet. We always have a great time at the gas stations along the way. Cops love to show up, shoot the shit and admire the bikes. We even managed to get a police escort in one of the towns. As you might imagine, I'm skipping some stuff. Why? Well, I don't want to spoil the show, so let's keep on.

One of the highlights of the day was Billy's ass catching fire. His pipes merged into the fender. Yep, the fender was actually part of the exhaust. Although we had wrapped it, it still got hot. We became the unofficial water boys, that is, until his padding caught fire and we had to rush to put out the flames. In typical Billy style, he said that Dave was telling him that his ass what hot, and he thought Dave had turned gay, to which Dave responded..."Choppers are for Kids".....

Mike Lichter and Billy Lane. Mike has been shooting Sturgis for over a decade. On Father's day his first photographic book will be published by Motorbooks International. It's a tribute to his riding history and Sturgis.

To cap off the road day, we met at the last gas station and Billy popped a classic wheelie. Bye, bye to the rear belt, the Chopper rode in the trailer for the last 40 miles. We had late night plans (AKA visit strip joints) but everyone was beat to a pulp and we had to work on the bikes. We opted for a dinner break. Michael Lichter joined us and we had a great time, just talking, and enjoying Booster's antics. That's when the rest of the guys showed up. Yep Ruskin, Aaron and Beaner, they finally made it all the way, two rigid choppers and Beaners raked Road King. We had to kick a bunch of kids out of Billy's room. It's amazing how people recognize him and relate to him. Another long day waited ahead of us.